Befitting a Traveler...

[Alydia Ettermire]

Sliding her hand over the wide brim of her fedora so that her right eye would remain hidden to the casual glance, Alydia pushed open the door to a shop in Radasanth. Sure, she could probably take what she wanted without trouble, but to be honest, no one would chase her far for what she had in mind, and that took all the fun out of stealing it. Besides, she was sure that the money she had could easily cover it.

The little shop carried so many scrolls and books that Aly couldn't count them all if she'd wanted to...not that she particularly wanted to. She looked around for the shop keep, and a grin pulled at her full lips.

"Excuse me? I'm looking for a relatively detailed and recent world atlas, and a traveler's guide to the more interesting places of the world."

Though an experienced traveler with contacts around the world, Aly liked having information at her fingertips. It helped her give those little touches to clues that made the game more fun.

[Arsène]

"Those aren't very common items," said the store clerk, who was caught off guard by the customer's bright choice of clothes. "However, I think I have something like that in stock."

The trip to the back room took only a moment as the strange man returned at a speedy pace. In his hands were a detailed, recent hand-made map and printed guide to interesting places on Althanas, penned by a playboy traveler in his spare time. They were new and hand a fresh scent to them, contrasting greatly with the heavy musk that hung in the room.

"All together, that should be around 110 GP. It is a lot of information, after all."

[Alydia Ettermire]

"Good information is invaluable," Aly murmured, reaching out to take and inspect the map. While no map convenient enough to just carry around could be as detailed as she'd hoped, which is why she wanted an atlas, at least this one had points where moderately sized towns were.

And perhaps, in this game that I play, a map might have more opportunities for true spontaneity.

"A very recent map...Haidia used to be here, didn't it? And it wasn't that long ago that it was conquered." A finger circled an area that was now marked Salvaran Territory. "Pity, that. It might have been interesting to see."

All in all, the map was reasonable, so next she turned her attention to the traveler's guide, and that was something of a disappointment.

"While this person has certainly seen his share of the world, I was hoping you had a text that dealt more with things of historical and archaeological value to the various nations of Althanas. This book is more valuable to someone who's interested in Althanas as it is in modern times...I'm...something of an historian."

[Arsène]

The store clerk hadn't lost any sleep over the great defeat of the demons; few in Radasanth shed a tear over their conquest. As soon as his customer expressed some disappointment, he quickly snapped back into reality.

"A historian? You don't see many of those these days." With a quick reach under the counter, he produced a small but thick tome, covered in a thin layer of dust. "This little thing will make a nice companion piece to the guide. It's damaged a bit, but nothing obscures the text."

The store clerk slid it across the counter, allowing the customer to take it all in. "I'll let you have it for ten gold. It's musty and won't sell by itself, but it will go nicely with what I've shown you so far."

[Alydia Ettermire]

A dusty old tome on its own wasn't the perfect indicator of something she'd be interested in...but it was promising.

Setting the map and traveler's guide on the counter, she picked up the companion text, gently brushing the dust from the cover and opening it. In its pages she found the truth in the shopkeep's words. It contained information on important items and buildings, including fairly detailed histories for each. She smiled.

"This is just what I need. I'll take this and the map, between the two I don't think I'll have much need for the other. Does the map come with a case, or will I need to purchase that separately?"

[Arsène]

"Well, sans the guide it'll come to 90 pieces of gold. And I'll throw in the map case for free, cause I need the shelf space," said the clerk with a grin, wiping his hands together quickly in a futile attempt to rid himself of the dust.

"Deal?" His back was turned as he spun around and retrieved a black lacquered case for the map.

[Alydia Ettermire]

"Absolutely." Aly briefly considered taking the guide anyway while the merchant's back was turned, but that wasn't what she was after today, so she fished out a hundred gold and set it on the counter before pulling a slip of paper out of her sleeve.

"Hey, I have some friends that are probably going to come in here looking for me in a couple of hours. Can you give this to them?"

[Arsène]

"Aye. I can do that," said the clerk as he took both the gold and the slip of paper. He didn't bother to read it, considering it none of his business.

"Do you need a bag to help you carry that?"

[Alydia Ettermire]

((sorry, I thought this was done.))

The book slid into one pocket, the map into the interior of her jacket. "Thank you, but no."

She smiled, red lips turning up as she turned to leave. "Only the prepared may dare go where angels fear to tread. Carpe diem, voiry-ser."

With that, she was gone...and who knew if ever she would return?

[Zook Murnig]

Where in the World? loses 100 gold.
Where in the World? gains the book and the map.