All Seams Fine

[Ataraxis]

That was the name of this quaint little haberdashery. Even with her seldom hidden love for puns, however, the girl had needed time to pick up her courage and enter the establishment, hoping to quickly be on her way after purchasing a few common articles. Well, common with a slight twist.

Twinkling bells chimed as she pushed the glass door, stepping into what she could only describe as a factory of textile rainbows. Tall shelves spanned from wall to wall, fraught with endless spools of gossamer and silk and velvet and plush and taffeta, all coming in brilliant reds, regal teals, emerald greens, peacock yellows and various animal prints. Smaller stands and tables displayed stylish boxes full of buttons, some carved from redwood, some from onyx and obsidian, and many others made from nacre shells and polished pewter. As she had heard, the shop really was the foremost seller of soft goods in this corner of the Bazaar, be that in quantity, quality or variety. That made her hopeful that whoever owned this store would have what she needed.

“Hello!” she said with a gleeful smile, stepping to the counter that was stacked with spools of thread and macramé supplies. She had seen someone move about in the storage room behind it, and hoped whoever was rummaging through the stocks had heard her. “I heard a good portion of your customers are enchanters, so I was hoping you might have a few prevalida sowing needles in stock? Two-eye needles, if possible. They need to have some weight to them without being thicker than the everyday kind, too.” She had somewhat truncated her explanation by omitting the fact that they needed enough weight to be thrown straight to some extent. Common needles would simply tumble to the ground or be lost with the smallest of breezes, which would be inappropriate for the use she had in store for them.

“Also, if you have any, how many could I buy with, say… a hundred coins?”

[Tshael]

Caitlyn Menagerie laughed at the girl. She didn't mean to be rude, one seamstress to another, but weighted needles were hard to create, and in prevalida?

"I'm afraid darling, that I have nothing in your price range much like that, but I do have some simple prevalida needles. Double-eyed, but standard weight. Strong enough to take abuse, as well." After using wrinkled and calloused hands to dig through a small box behind the counter, she produced a single sliver of metal. It shone bright blue, twinkling with creative delight, mirroring the fiendish periwinkle in the old woman's own eyes.

"You must know that it takes more than a blacksmith to make a fine needle," Caitlyn cackled, holding out the tiny ware for her customer. "These will pierce through the toughest hide and sew it with care and delicacy to fine silk without ruining either. You get what you pay for. Eighty gold will put this beauty in your hands."

[Ataraxis]

Lillian had expected the old woman's honest answer, but the girl still could not help but be disappointed. It would be difficult to use these needles as she had previously intended, but still within the realm of reason. The offered retail price per unit, however, was something that did not sit well enough with her. A single glance was all the teenager needed to ascertain the quality of its make, and she understood that the pricing was very honest... but having been raised in a desert city where poverty was a social value, Lillian had grown to be a raging cheapskate.

"My," Lillian began with wonder, "anyone would be lucky to get their hands on even a single needle so exquisite." She gestured for permission to handle the item, and the shopkeep gingerly handed the needle over. The thin cold gloss ran over her skin like morning dew, and even now she could feel it resonate with her own powers.

"But as all things in this world, its value cannot help but depreciate once it loses its uniqueness." Lillian handed the needle over with the same care that had been offered her, and she smiled at the old woman. "I require ten such needles, but I have a tendency to visit the whole of the Bazaar if I am not certain of my purchase... perhaps we could revisit its base price?"

[Tshael]

The woman waved nonchalantly, as if she hadn't a care in the world if the girl got up and walked away without purchase. In fact, it was quite true, and Caitlyn, who had been brought up in the olden days of Radasanth when honesty and ettiquite ruled, offered some information that Lillian might find useful.

"This shop is the one in this market where you'll find these wares. The armorers who enchant their items with embroidery buy their needles from me. If you could get one to part with it, you'd get it used for a higher price. If you wish to look in other stores, I will be here until sundown, however," she paused as she opened the box, counting each aqua gleam in order to make sure that she could back up her words, "less is more, young child, in many ways."

She sat back in her chair, the oak creaking under the shift in her weight and smiled. Somehow she was glad to at least have been able to see Lillian in her shop. She had grown far too cynical in her old age to think that young women these days might actually have use for the talents of the past. Caitlyn herself had only borne sons, but the grandaughters given her were more likely to carry swords than laundry. A woman's true place, after all, was to knit the bonds that she controlled her husband with, and cook the food that could easily be used for nourishment or poison.

"I can sell you the ten needles that you need, which may only be true of my shop and my shop alone, and I'll give you ten for 60 a piece. One, however, will still cost you eighty."

She sat back, expectantly, daring the girl with her gaze to go on the bazaar-reaching quest to get a better price.

[Ataraxis]

Lillian grinned, but not out of arrogance. They were both well aware that needles of this quality could only be found in the black markets for a lesser price, or by cutting out the middleman and going straight to this woman's needlemaker with a more profitable bulk price. Lillian had no qualms in visiting either, having already made her peace with the less unsavory aspects of life in Radasanth, and no doubt did the woman know this as well. Thankfully for the girl's feet, however, she would not need to go on such a tedious search: the revised price was a massive discount on what was already a steal.

"It sounds reasonable - enough to stop me from shaving off another fifty by going to Silas, at the very least." The thought made her shudder: Silas the One-Eyed was a wandering merchant who lived in the shadows of the Bazaar, an urban legend of sorts who always carried exactly what his customers needed. More than a myth, however, this agent of the Black Market was well-known to the top businesses in the city, but his shady character and terrifyingly smarmy personality made any prolonged dealings with him very unpopular.

Saving one crown by haggling with him was never worth the trouble.

She fished in her coin pouch, which jangled heavily as she produced twelve golden crowns. Lillian held her hand over the counter for the shopkeep to take them and count them with a cursory glance. "I believe this should be satisfactory?"

Read somewhere that a Coronian golden crown was 50 GP, so twelve of those is 600. Just in case you were wondering.

[Tshael]

Her eyes widened only slightly at the mention of Silas. How such a young and innocent looking child could possibly know of the darker shadows that haunted the bazaar was a little beyond Caitlyn. However, she smiled and took the gold, turning over each piece in her hands to check for the little details that should be engraved upon each crown. Perhaps there was more to this maiden than she thought, and perhaps the special needles she was ordered would not be so misused.

The gold taken, and ten shiny blue needles wrapped up in a plain brown box handed over, Miss Menagerie watched carefully as her customer left the store and moved quickly and fluidly into the crowds that gathered in the bustle of the market. She stroked her chin, and opened up a specialty drawer that hadn't the coin to be unlocked here today. Within, the heavier needles were sitting almost inconspicuously, all the while the fine metals they were crafted from glimmering with the ebb and flow of magical talent that walked by the store.

Now, what spells could possibly befit a seamstress?

Transaction Complete

Ataraxis loses 600 gold and gains 30 exp.

[Taskmienster]

Exp added, gold removed.