A dark taste in jewelry

[Krista]

Krista went in to a shop, looking as glum as can be. Why shouldn't she be sad? As far as she was concerned, her whole family died that night, seven years ago. There were a ton of sharp pointy things and heavy blunt things around the shop, but Krista was not too concerned with these. What she wanted was something that she was pretty sure would not be just hanging around somewhere. She wanted behind the counter stuff.

"Excuse me, Mr Clerk. What do you have in the way of rings to enhance the powers of the dark arts?" Krista whispered so that no one could hear except the clerk.

Krista knew good and well that dark arts were frowned upon, but she didn't care. She wanted a quick way to gain the power to defeat the bandits from so many years ago.

[AdventWings]

The blacksmith who ran the shop could not help but frown upon hearing the young lady's request. The place they were in was a blacksmith, after all, and the establishment was dedicated to weapons of war and defense. Physical weapons, that is. Why in the world would this shop contain magical items?

"I...'m sorry, miss." The Akashiman shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't have what you need here. If you're looking for metal bangles or bracers, those I have. Metal bands and belts, those I can make. But rings, especially such that you are searching for, I have not."

The large man heaved a sigh, wondering what on Althanas would someone like her need it for. The kid may look gloomy, but he was still reluctant to believe she was out for revenge.

Still, he knew a few people that could help her out. Leaning against the counter so they could converse quietly, the blacksmith muttered quietly to the young magician about where to look for help.

"There's a jeweller a couple of roads to the south." Jirou looked about the room, making sure no one around was eavesdropping on them. "Called the Aquamarine. There, you'll find a Neko jeweller by the name of Kisha. Ask her and she will help you any way she can."

That was the least the blacksmith could do for her.

[Krista]

Krista nodded. "Thanks for the tip." She whispered back and left the store to look for this Kisha person. She almost missed the store. It didn't look anything like she expected. She expected a dark shack. She expected some sort of black market hangout. Instead, she saw a mint condition store, which made her wonder why there were no customers. Still, the name of the store was 'The Aquamarine'.

Krista walked up to the counter and said in a normal tone of voice "Is there someone named Kisha here? I was told she could help me."

[AdventWings]

"Well, hello. That would be me."

The jeweller casually walked out from the shadows of her workshop, the feline sporting an assorted array of necklaces, rings and bracelets made of many shimmering metals. Running a hand through her thick blonde hair, revealing stripes of dark fur running down from her forehead, the merchant of jewellry and gemstones paused to look at the new arrival.

"I've heard from Jirou you needed something, miss?" The Neko smiled, eyeing Krista from head to toe with keen amber orbs. Krista's pointed ears stood out clearly in the feline's mind, though the flowing locks of onyx struck her as a curious sight. Shaking away the thought mentally, Kisha reminded herself there was a customer in need.

"If you could tell me the specifics, I think I may be able to help you..." She grinned, resting her head atop the palm of her hands. "For a price."

[Krista]

Krista nodded. Making sure nobody was around, she said in a hushed tone, "I need something to help enhance the power of the dark arts. I want it to be something small, like a ring or at the largest, a bracelet. Before you ask, I understand the toll that the dark arts can have on a person, but everything I lived for was taken from me all at once, so I don't really care. So, anyway, do you think you can help?"

[AdventWings]

Ahh, another young one out for revenge...

The seasoned jeweller could see it in Krista's eyes when she whispered those words, the sensation of rage and fear all mingled into one. How one could have known, only Kisha could speculate that she had the innate senses of a mother. Either that, or female intuition.

"I see..." The tiger-striped feline leaned back in her chair with a slight frown, her mind's eyes flipping through the pages of items she had in store. There were many to choose from and deal with varying effects, but she would need more information. At least so she could find the right item for the young girl.

"So tell me," She began, idly slipping off a bracelet and playing the deep blue gem against a beam of afternoon sunlight. "What dark arts are you looking to delve into? Necromancy, Elemental Magic, Soul Casting or Hex? There are... special items for each, but one cannot be too dependent on their use. If I know which ones you are looking for, perhaps I can narrow down the list."

Noting the apprehension in the young mage's shuffling, the feline merchant casually glanced at her with a smirk on her face.

"Don't worry, miss. The Coronian Army's got no interest in this shop. You can rest easy for now."

[Krista]

It calmed Krista's nerves to hear that there was no threat in the immediate vicinity. "I have been into studying necromancy for the past seven years. I don't know too much of it yet, though. I don't know if will help you, but I can tell you that I am not very skilled at it yet, so I don't want to take any huge steps. Right now, I just want a minor boost to the power of my skills."

[AdventWings]

The more Kisha listened to the plea of the little girl, her brows seemed to knot together even tighter. What was it that could make this young lass so dire in learning the forbidden arts? There was always a story behind such an occurance, but the jeweller felt out of place to be asking why.

"Well, if that's the case..." The feline sighed, removing a silver ring from her finger and held it up towards the light. The black stone on the apex of the silver arc glinted ominously, hinting at its powers.

"Then this ring should do the trick for you. I don't know how well you can control your powers at the moment, but this ring here should be able to help you focus your energy. I may not be much of a mage, but I can tell you this should prove more useful than a wand that raises the dead."

The onyx orb glinted faintly, awaiting the response of the young necromancer.

((OOC Note: Onyx Ring - Enables the wearer to enhance the damage of their offensive Dark-aligned projectile spells by a small portion. Attack power is increased by the equivalent of 10% to regular attacks. However, casting magical spells with the ring on, including projectile spells, will drain the user much quicker than when not wearing it. Passive Effect.))

[Krista]

Krista glanced at the ring and then asked the all-important question.

"How much will it cost?"

[AdventWings]

Kisha knew this was coming.

But she was not going to let sympathy from getting to her. After all, business is business.

Or that was what she told herself.

"That'll be three hundred and fifty pieces total." The feline jeweller replied, snatching the Onyx Ring in her hand before the young customer could make any more comments. "It's a custom enchanted ring and I have only this one on me right now. It's going to cost you a pretty penny, but that's the price you have to pay."

It was not a high price in Kisha's mind, however. The portion of gold that was going into obtaining the ring would be the least of her worries - What the young dark mage wanted to use it for was another story. The true price would come after that.

[Krista]

Krista could tell a good deal when she saw one. It sounded expensive for a ring, but it was cheap for a black market ring.

"I'll take it." Krista said as she put the money on the table.

"Thanks again"

[AdventWings]

The feline jeweller sighed emptily as she carefully placed the ring on one the velvet cushion embedded into the table, the dark stone contrasting ominous against the blood-red backdrop of the cloth. Not caring to have her other hand do some work, she visually counted down the stack of coins and put them away in a safe place. She would have to find some use for her earning, but that would be another matter for another time. Business was not completed yet.

"So, little girl." Overcome with curiosity, Kisha could not help but ask. "Why is it, for someone as young as you, to be studying such a dangerous and destructive magic form?"

Her eyes remained scrutinizing, attempting to glean some insight to the girl's plight. There were not many circumstances that would bring a cute girl to lower herself to such depths... But what exactly, she wanted to know.

If only to reassure herself there was nothing to worry about.

((Right-o. Post your exit to end this transaction thread or head to a different merchant to continue your purchases. :)))

[Krista]

Sorry for the long wait. I thought I had already made my closing post. I hope that I still have that extra 300 given to level zeroes to pay for this. If I don't PM me and I'll work on getting the money through questing.

Krista stared back at the shopkeeper. "Depression, among other things. I want to be able to protect myself until I am strong enough to get back at those who wronged me. My whole family was killed by bandits before I learned to fend for myself, so I'm a bit desperate for the strength to fight back. I know I'm not strong enough to get revenge, yet, but I hope to get there soon."

Krista left the store with the new ring in hand.

"Thanks again."

[AdventWings]

((My bad for holding you up. Note taken.))

Kisha stared at the departing figure, a deep furrow forming between her brows. Perhaps it was for the best, but the jeweller could not neglect the nervous knot in her stomach.

((Transaction Completed.

Krista loses 350 GP (300 from the voucher and 50 from her general GP stash) and receives the Onyx Ring as noted in Post #8.

Sorry for the long wait. Have fun~))