Open Chronicles The Great Elbion Giftmas Shopping Bazaar

[Saelia Elbion]

Saelia winced internally at her sister's friend's description of their meeting. Her eyes closed momentarily and she cupped her brow, pressing thumb to one temple and middle finger to the other. Her sister, beautiful and talented, gifted mage that she was, seemed to have no affinity for grace or elegance, even when it was required.

"Minotaur -- " she began, her voice more shocked than scandalized, but there was some of that, too. Her wide eyes cut to her sister and then back to Zael. "You know, perhaps the less I know about these things, the better."

She seconded her sister's recommendation of The Multi-Facet. "That's a good shop," Saelia said cautiously. "But, ah... quite dear -- if you take my meaning. They know they're the best and set their prices accordingly. But it is giftmas time, perhaps they're having a sale..."

Her eyes met Magi's for a moment, and as they fell into step together, she leaned close to listen to her sister. "Really? I was in last week having a ring resized and they didn't say -- well, regardless. Your friend requires a sapphire. Is supervision really necessary?"

She looked over at her sister once more, dark eyes solemn. "Maybe it's better I don't know. I can claim ignorance -- and a long history of spending gold there -- when you and your friend manage to destroy the place."

She raised her voice to include Zael in the conversation. "Have you come far, Ma -- that is, Mister Zael? What brings you to our fair city, other than a sapphire?"

Magdalena Elbion Zael Castomir​

 

[Zael Castomir]

And away they went, off in the direction of this particular shop, the Multi-Facet. Now if an actual shop, not some stall but a real shop with four walls and a roof, didn't have a simple sapphire necklace, then yeah, Zael might have to get himself de-cursed. Heh, speaking of the Champ, Toruuk probably knew of a few mean witches and warlocks who could do that.

Magi's suggestion came with the backing of her sister, though Sae noted in gentle terms how Zael could expect to be drained of the weight in his coin pouch.

"Best I hush up bout not findin any sapphires out here then—they'll double the price on me." Was he really supposed to be spending this money in the first place? No. But he'd make it back and then some in short order once Yuna got him in on that mission for the Department of Acquisitions. So Zael just thought of this as something of a loan from the bank of Gilram, bless his heart.

Magi might have some trouble getting in, so she said. Zael glanced her way and grinned and wondered how he might phrase a "Never have I ever" prompt to get the story of what happened last time out of her.

Have you come far, Ma -- that is, Mister Zael? What brings you to our fair city, other than a sapphire?

"Yeah, I'm from pretty far out of town. Starts with a 'V', ends with an 'ir', and there's a bunch of cunts, pricks, and bootlickers in-between. Gotta say, I like my surroundin's better here than there." The grass really was greener up north. "And what else? Work. Doin things. Meetin people. Pissed one of said people right off, but I never claimed to be the best diplomat or negotiatin type. So, yeah, if a bunch of big burly men try to stab me tonight, that's why."

Damn it was hard to keep a straight face while saying all that. It was the truth, and he had already almost been stabbed once, but just saying it flat out had to be something else for listening ears.

Magdalena Elbion Saelia Elbion

 

[Magdalena Elbion]

"Really? I was in last week having a ring resized and they didn't say -- well, regardless. Your friend requires a sapphire. Is supervision really necessary?"

She looked over at her sister once more, dark eyes solemn. "Maybe it's better I don't know. I can claim ignorance -- and a long history of spending gold there -- when you and your friend manage to destroy the place."

"He's a foreigner," Magda muttered back, "they'll take him for everything he's got in there."

The Multi-Facet certainly knew its worth. They quite regularly took even the Elbionese clientele for everything they had, too.

"An inspiring vote of confidence..." her nose wrinkled at her sister. Straightening herself from the hushed conversation, she hung a right up a main thoroughfare to make their way toward one of the Merchant district entrances. A smirking glance found its way back toward Zael at his very profane choice of words that were guaranteed to color Saelia's cheeks.

"Well Zabadoo, best practice your yes-please's and thank-you-ma'am's on the way. They're real tight-arsed at Facet. Lady LaMarque fashions herself old blood nobility ... whatever the feth that means. But she'll probably take a shine to you if you compliment her brooch. Likes it when the men look at her poufed up bosom."

 

[Azlat Ushus]

“Finer jewellery than you'll see at the Multi-Facet.”

“...Along with other specialty services you won't see at the Multi-Facet.”​

Azlat hadn't initially placed much weight on the words of that first shopkeeper, who had clear motivation to hawk her own wares. Yet the name came up again in the following two stalls she visited. Both had compared their selection to the same shop, the Multi-Facet. Each claimed theirs as superior, which was quite telling. Azlat had arrived at Elbion without much awareness of the markets, and that the same name kept coming up implied there must be something to the shop after all. Though she'd initially rejected the idea, the repeated reference sparked Azlat's curiosity, wearing down her initial aversion towards making the trip.

It wouldn't be so bad, she figured. It wasn't that far into the district by the direction she'd been given. Departing towards the market district was unnerving, though ultimately uneventful. These heathens despised her – they simply weren't yet aware of it. Of no doubt she was that they'd lay the blame on their city's ruinination upon Thagretis, much as Bhathairk had.

These two were further cities that had suffered arguably greater disaster than Thagretis, and yet Azlat refused to draw any comparison. Grief did not allow for it. It was a pretender who had beset upon her city, and Holy Dragons who had beset upon theirs. That the Elbonians mourned the loss of their own kin was beyond her. It was no fault of Thagretis that they had kept holy what the northern fools had forgotten.

There could be no sympathy. Azlat's loss remained a tragedy she was unable to move beyond. But the priestess knew better than to let her tongue slip. The heathens could keep their divine ignorance.

* * *​

She could tell that she was drawing near as the foot traffic along the city streets became better dressed the closer Azlat came to the shop. The attendant at the entrance gave Azlat a rather warm welcome, no doubt recognizing a wealthy foreigner who quite easily parted from her coin. It was an assessment he'd not be wrong to make. Azlat couldn't care that she was being fleeced, when it was her aim to fleece others even more.

With that, Azlat departed into the shop and took a look around. Her assumptions weren't wrong, and it was as grandiose as she'd hoped for. She immidately browsed the various items on display upon entering the store, slowly strolling along rows of gleaming gold and gems with a wandering gaze.

 

[Saelia Elbion]

Saelia looked over at her sister, obviously scandalized by her friend's language. She shook her head grimly, her cheeks blazing. Her fingers clutched the strings of her purse -- mainly for want of pearls -- until her knuckles went white. Oh, Magdalena, she thought, glancing at her sister and trying not to show the deep concern that she felt. Why do you know this kind of ruffian? What will become of you? Not only was it distasteful -- it was... unseemly. Her sister was destined to be a person of substance and significance. It wouldn't do if she had this kind of...

association.

"That's... almost hard to believe, Mister Zael," Saelia said uncertainly after a stiff pause. "Well, my sister and I will set you right," she said confidently, finally managing to re-erect her composure --

-- until Hurricane Magi continued her rampage, leaving Saelia's jaw dropped and her decorum in tatters.

"Magi!" she hissed. "You can't just go around talking about Lady LaMarque's bosom. Are you trying to get us all banned? I warn you, missy, if you remove the last reputable jeweler from my repertoire you'd better be prepared to polish and scour as needed, because these hands were not made to char." She hesitated a moment then glanced at Zael. "But... she's not necessarily wrong. A lingering look might do wonders."

Not that Saelia was a snob, by any means. Not at all.

"It's just up here," said Saelia. "Just don't look at her teeth too long. She, uh... can be sensitive about them."

Magdalena Elbion | Zael Castomir​

 

[Zael Castomir]

Zabadoo. That was a new one. And what followed after that was, funnily enough, advice not so dissimilar from what he'd heard from his friend Ollie before. Life in the upper echelon of society certianly had all its own intricacies.

"I tidy up nice," Zael said. And, well, that was all the word in edgewise he could get until Magi brought up the best approach for getting into this Lady LaMarque's refined graces. Apparently, the Lady's brooch was constantly hanging in imminent danger of being swallowed up by the large swell of her breasts. The mental image made Zael purse his lips and hold back some commentary—some jokes were too easy to be good...even if he found them amusing.

Sae, meanwhile, rose to the defense of the Lady's presentable bosom. Speaking of Ollie and all, man, he and Sae would make for great friends. Seemed that despite her protests though, Magi was well onto the keen strategy, and Sae ended up seconding it.

Onto the Lady's teeth then.

"Real set of chompers on her, huh. She more of a rabbit or a horse in that department? Get me in the know, Sae, brace me for it."

Magdalena Elbion Saelia Elbion

 

[Magdalena Elbion]

A snort sounded from Magi as she placed herself behind her sister and stuffed her wild curls under her hood. Not that she wouldn't be found out immediately, of course. How many people wore red jackets around here?

"Definitely rabbit," she made a face mimicking having large front teeth, lifted her hands to effect ears and then quickly put them back down and into her pockets as they strode inside. The Multi-Facet's interior was like walking into a palace all packed tidily into a moderately sized shop. Various displays of jewelry of differing styles and makes surrounded the main entrance while the walls hosted cases of unrefined and uncut gemstones, crystals, and rare materials.

The sheer absurdity of wealth contained within one location always made Magi's head roll. It was no small wonder the shop survived Drakomir's fall - it had been protected by countless magical spells and barriers the dragon must have bounced off it when it landed.

Saelia was proving not to be a good shield to hide behind, so she hung back and waited for the much taller Zael to step by. The Lady was off to the side helping a customer choose an engagement ring.

"Ah, Miss Saelia," LaMarque looked up to the newest group to arrive, her eyes lighting up upon spying the proper sister, "have you another piece of your mother's for cleaning? Your father was just in this morning to pick up his cufflinks, poor dear. Lord Elbion's never looked so morose..."

 

[Saelia Elbion]

"And slightly snaggle-toothed," Saelia added in a half-murmur as the trio followed Azlat Ushus into the shop. Saelia hesitated in the doorway, taking a deep breath. There was something about the shop, some mixture of perfume and gold and jewelry polish and the distant smell of burn, of gemcutters and furnaces. To her, it was perhaps the best smell in the world, other than the smell that lingered in her mother's wardrobe, where her mother's perfume and essence had seeped into the wood.

The store reminded her of Mother, too. Perhaps that was why she loved the smell so much. She brought her mother's jewelry pieces here -- one by one, piece by piece, over and over -- not because they were dirty or had lost their shine. Rather it was a way of remembering her mother, of paying tribute. There was nothing left of her, but her things -- her jewelry, her husband, her children -- those, Saelia could still cherish.

Abruptly remembering their aim, the girl stepped out of the doorway. "Not today, Lady LaMarque," Saelia said with a smile. "But -- something almost as good, I hope: a customer. A friend of my -- family," she quickly pivoted. She didn't want Mister Castomir to be sullied by association with Magi until he'd had a chance to get his sapphire. She stepped up to the counter, idly examining a beautiful pearl brooch under the glass.

"Father was here? Oh, his cufflinks..." Saelia shook her head with a wry smirk. "Say, Lady LaMarque -- did he happen to have his eye on anything while he was here? I'm looking for something a little different for the holiday for him. And -- uh -- no need to mention the thing we talked about last week." It wouldn't do to spoil the surprise of Magi's gift, would it?

Zael Castomir Magdalena Elbion

 

[Azlat Ushus]

She grieved what became of her daughter. But more so, Azlat lived on in utter fear of what might befall her remaining kin. She had always been devout, but grief had forged her into a violent zealot. In desperation to find some semblance of control, hate had become the tool she reached for to regain it. To see the suffering inflicted upon others required a sense of compassion that was at conflict with the need for retribution that consumed her.

Of course, Azlat did not know that this was no act of Drakormir. Assumptions bridged the gap in her awareness of events. All she knew was that He had been here, and that the city had suffered in the aftermath of events. What Elbion considered a catastrophe, she saw as a smiting.

Yet, in this assumption, she was wrong. What granted her a semblance of control had also blinded her. She was on the same path to becoming the very same monster that she so despised.

And she knew it not.

In truth, Drakormir had not been directly responsible for the catastrophe. Elbion and Thagretis might share the same nemesis. Such was a possibility that Azlat did not know. And so long as she saw the world through the thick veil of hatred she had chosen, she could not learn it.

* * *​

Within the shop, a scene of true splendour mesmerized her. And that truly spoke to the grandeur of the place, as Azlat was well accustomed to wealth and riches. One could easily tell by her exquisite vestments and incredibly ornate jewellery, replete with gold and sapphires, that she was a very wealthy woman.

The shoptenders were quick to pick up on it. A simple look at the foreign woman who wandered into their shop told them of the massive profit that stood to be gained. And such assumptions were completely accurate. The market might have done a fine job fleecing her from her coin, but here, she stood between true professionals who were already plotting to separate her from even more gold.

They'd not have a hard time of it. It didn't take long for one such saleswoman to approach and begin her spiel.

“Welcome to our shop, Madam! I imagine you’ve travelled a long ways, would I be right? Might I ask from where you grace us with your presence?”

“Indeed, I a͞rrive from Routé.” Azlat replied, in terse brevity. The shopkeeper concealed her surprise at the response. Though Azlat spoke truth, her appearance did not seem like it would belong to one from the kingdom that laid to the northeast. Despite the aversion the shopkeeper held towards making any mention, Azlat sensed something was amiss. Sheer paranoia alone bid the serpentine-eyed woman to expand further.

“Well, I did formerly reside in Vel Anir.” Azlat lied. She had never even been to those lands, but she wasn't about to admit to truth when she was surrounded by the presumed enemy.

“Oh, you are well travelled indeed! And what brings you here? Another necklace for your collection? Rings, perhaps?”

“What are the most ornate items you have to offer? I like go͞ld and gemstones. Lots of them.”

“A woman of exquisite taste I see! Well! You've come to the right place, Madam! Follow me, I've a collection crafted by our finest jewellers that you might enjoy.” The shopkeeper replied, bright and chipper with visions of coin and profit dancing through her head as she led Azlat over to a well decorated display case.

Saelia Elbion Zael Castomir Magdalena Elbion

 

[Zael Castomir]

Kress on a stick.

The Multi-Facet was something else. Outwardly, Zael kept along with Sae's lead (Magi moving in behind him as they filed in through the door), but inwardly he felt a bit overwhelmed. Sure, he'd seen a few comparable sights, grand in their own ways; didn't change the fact that what Zael was used to was either the rough and earthy living of a small village or the cold, stark, unforgiving and sterile environs of the Academy. Places like the Multi-Facet always made him feel more than just a little like a stranger in a strange land.

Lady LaMarque instantly knew Saelia and sparked up a genial, even familiar, conversation, which gave Zael some occasion to wonder, man, if Sae and presumably Magi were well-known in a place like this, just how rich were they, actually? An older woman who had entered the shop just prior to them made a comment—saying she had formerly lived in Vel Anir—which briefly stole Zael's attention and garnered a slight glance over. It put him on edge a little, especially after recently running into Kristen Pirian, Zinnia St. Kolbe, and Ivan Skender all within short time of one another. But he didn't recognize the woman, and she sure didn't dress Anirian, so maybe it'd turn out to be nothing.

Back onto Lady LaMarque and—holy shit, Magi and Sae weren't kidding, LaMarque had a rack of carrot-killers alright. For Kress's sake, no jokes about those or it'd take the whole wealth of Alliria to make an inflamed LaMarque part with a sapphire necklace.

Zael gave a small wave of greeting and a sure smile once obliquely introduced by Sae. The kind of politeness Ollie talked to him about suggested he'd have to wait for the conversation to shift from Sae's father (who never looked so morose, poor dear) and onto him to introduce himself more directly and ask about a sapphire necklace. And furthermore, he'd have to use Magi's suggested strategy at the right time. Not from the get-go. Wait for a natural angle to work it in, like if Sae picked up that pearl brooch or something.

Magdalena Elbion Saelia Elbion Azlat Ushus

 

[Magdalena Elbion]

Hanging behind Zael's tall and lanky self seemed to be doing the trick... that was until LaMarque's full attention had been directed at him by her sister. Magi swore under her breath and waited for him to step by a floor display to duck out from behind him, hunched over to avoid being seen.

As for the Lady in question, she smiled primly at Saelia in a way that pinched her lips around her large front teeth, "Well he might have been looking at something..." her eyes pointedly slipped toward a case of ornate letter openers off to the side, managed mischief twinkling in her dark green eyes before she fluttered at a passing store Associate, "Ah - Pedwig, do you mind..." she gestured to the man she'd been helping with engagement rings. The Elbions were very important customers and naturally garnered priority from the store Matron.

Well, all of them but that Magdalena, who was presently scoping out the curiously well-traveled stranger shopping after glorious jewels. Curious, she didn't look like she was from Vel Anir. Magda tip-toed after her to listen in, keeping at least a single display stand or case between herself and LaMarque.

LaMarque moved along behind the display case to stand before Saelia and her friend, eyes skating to the young man she'd introduced. Her fine brows arched upward at the sight of him, a delighted smile pushing into her sculpted cheeks, "My my, they do make them strapping these days, don't they? Well any friend of the Elbions is welcome in the Multi-Facet. Now, what can I help you with today Master...?"

 

[Saelia Elbion]

Saelia touched the side of her nose and nodded at Lady LaMarque, making a grateful smile. "I shall leave you in Lady LaMarque's quite capable hands," she said, venturing over to pat Zael awkwardly on the shoulder. Don't embarrass us, she wanted to say, but instead she simply smiled tightly and moved off to survey the letter openers to which the proprietress had directed her.

Her eyes scanned over the letter openers, trying to decide what her father would like. They were rather ornate, she thought, obviously delightfully jeweled and well-crafted. All were polished and though most were sparkling new, there were a few items that had something of a patina, signs of wear and use. One of them, to Saelia's trained eye, was clearly subtly enchanted.

She couldn't tell what enchantment it was without further analysis, but Saelia did wonder whether Lady LaMarque knew it.

Saelia glanced at Magi and, hoping that Lady LaMarque was well and truly invested in the mysterious -- and strapping, apparently -- young man the Elbions had brought in, cocked her head toward her. Interested to see if anything in particular caught her eye, but also intrigued as to whether she had any thoughts about what might suit their father.

"Waddayathink?" Saelia murmured under her breath.

 

[Azlat Ushus]

The mere mention of Vel Anir seemed to have the opposite effect that Azlat intended. She'd noticed the glances shot her way by Zael and Magdalina. Aside from its existence, location, and that humans dwell there, Azlat knew little of that place. For all she knew, it could be hostile. War and conflict seemed quite commonplace in the new continents. Yet if there were hostilities, none were displayed. Though nothing further seemed to come of it, the unexpected attention remained unnerving.

“Here we have a lovely necklace with one of our largest diamonds available. Fifty carats! You won't find many like it. This stone was discovered in Kerkanna.” Spoke the shopkeeper, but Azlat's attention was already elsewhere, browsing a selection that had caught her eye.

“This ja͟de work looks absolutely remarkable. I've not se͝en anything like it. Have you any more like that?” Azlat asked. The jade was a rich deep green in colour without any noticeable variation, and the jeweller hadn't been stingy with its use. Strips of the stone hung from a golden chain in rows, with striking beads of lapis lazuli interspersed between them.

“Oh? That's a surprise, it's from our Numerian collection.” Replied the shopkeeper, not that Azlat knew of Vel Numera at all. “If you want to buy it, that would be five hundred ducattos.” She added, without skipping a beat.

“Fi͢ve hu͝ndred?” Azlat asked.

“A premium price for premium jewellery, Madam!” The shopkeeper added, making no mention of the fact that the actual value price was nearly half that. If the customer didn't know the difference, she'd certainly not inform her.

“And th͝is one?” Azlat pointed to another necklace on display beside it of jade beads strung together in two rows, connecting to a rather striking centrepiece that had been chiselled down into an intricate pattern and flanked by eight moderately sized emeralds.

“Three hundred and eighty.”

“I'll give you thr͞ee hundred and fifty for it.”

“A discount? Well as you're a new customer, I think I could do this for you just this once. If you buy it now, it's sold for that price.” Replied the shopkeeper. It was hardly a discount when the actual value was easily about a hundred ducattos less than that. She now had a price-point at which to fleece Azlat, and awareness that her wisdom of value was delightfully lacking.

“I'll buy it. Wh̡at else do you have?”

“I'd be pleased to show you more! Should I continue with diamonds, or would you rather see some different gemstones?”

“R͝ubies, perhaps?”

“Absolutely! Right this way, Madam” She replied, guiding Azlat towards another display.

Zael Castomir Saelia Elbion Magdalena Elbion

 

[Zael Castomir]

Zael just smiled politely at the compliment from Lady LaMarque; he'd told Magi he tidied up nice and that wasn't no lie, so it was time to tap into some of that Academy discipline, dig into his box of "Kristen" words, and for Kress's sake keep the jokes clean. Master—they threw that around a lot up north. But it wouldn't really do to go correcting the Lady over it, at least not until the necklace and coins were already exchanged. Wait. Wait, hold on. "Any friend of the Elbions"? Were Sae and Magi...?

Zael, for the time being, had to tuck that surprise into the back of his mind, lest it unfurl and with its full colossal force bring about a hefty change in his expression.

"Zael Castomir," he said, not trying to outright hide his accent, but tapering it down some, "and I am in the market for a sapphire necklace." A small sweep of a hand Sae's way, and he said further to LaMarque, "Your store came highly recommended—"

It was right about here when the other transaction currently in process, between the "Anirian" and one of LaMarque's shopkeepers, floated over a sample price of five hundred ducattos. Well, ho-ly-shit, how big was his own "loan" from the bank of Gilram gonna be?

All this, like the mention of the sisters' surname, Zael kept inside, and he didn't skip a beat, "—and so here I am. A pleasure, ma'am."

Lady LaMarque touched a hand to her breast and, as you do with a gesture like that, spoke from the heart. "Well, I am delighted to have such an esteemed recommendation, and delighted further to have you as a patron tonight, Master Castomir. We'll find for you a sapphire necklace, the right sapphire necklace, one which you will most certainly love!"

Here we go. Time to deploy Magi's strategy. "I believe it. You've got a peerless eye for quality." He gave a little nod, eye fixed on the ornament about her neck. "Just look at that fine brooch of yours—who could doubt it?"

Saelia Elbion Magdalena Elbion Azlat Ushus

 

[Magdalena Elbion]

There was a whole lotta duc' getting flashed around in this place. Par for the norm here, though it still raised Magi's brows with great effect. Didn't matter how much money her own family had to their name, she'd never really given their wealth much thought after she'd forcefully sloughed the guise of Lady from her day. The money she spent now belonged to the College because all matters of life could be deducted from her Project Stipend if she tried hard enough and wrote her reports illegibly.

Not that she had any need for such baubles. That was Saelia's thing, looking pretty.

But clouds to cobble, this foreign woman was dripping in coin. Who the heck walked around with that much on their person? Magi scuttled through the shop after them, rustling a stand on the way and catching the clerk's attention. She dodged behind another counter just as he looked over. Caught the tail end of Zib complimenting the Madame's brooch, smirked at her cooing reply, and pushed on behind the counter.

"What...what are YOU doing here?" said a younger Assistant as he brought out a tray of newly polished rings.

Shebs.

Magi froze, eyes wide, and opened her mouth,

d̷̙̤͐ỉ̵̼̕n̸̯̓͘g̷̦̟̓l̴̻̳̕a̸̗̓m̶̳̹͛

​

The Assistant jolted on the spot as if struck by static, blinked his eyes and looked around in confusion like he'd forgotten why he'd walked in, then turned around and walked back out again.

Way too close.

 

[Saelia Elbion]

With the way Magi had to dodge, duck and weave, it was a wonder Saelia hadn't decided to give her socks for Giftmas, but in the absence of further guidance, she chewed her bottom lip and studied the pieces again. She was distracted momentarily by the conversation she couldn't help but overhear the interchange between the other customer, Azlat Ushus, and a shopkeeper. Saela peered around the display at what they were discussing. She nearly scoffed at the asking price of the Numerian collection piece, but she didn't want to offend Madame LaMarque, and anyone who had the money to spend would likely have their wits about them.

Anyway, she didn't want to become banished from the shop, or worse, have Madame LaMarque retaliate against one of her mother's pieces of jewelry.

Her attention went to Zael Castomir then. Well, wasn't he just a natural at this? He'd better watch himself or he might find himself collected as one of Madame LaMarque's baubles. If he has to be extracted -- either from here or from prison -- that's going to have to be a Magdalena problem, Saelia mused. She lifted a finger to a shopkeeper, who came over.

"Has madam selected a piece?" he asked, trying -- poorly -- to replicate Madame LaMarque's drawl.

"This one, please," Saelia indicated the enchanted knife. "I'll take it gift-wrapped, please."

"Would madam care to hear the price?" asked the shopkeeper.

Saelia's eyes were cool, her lips twitching into a smirk. "Not especially. You can put it on my account. Madame LaMarque will tell you which."

She turned and went in search of her sister, immediately sensing the residual energy of some kind of hex or charm. "I think you should change your middle name to Incorrigible," Saelia told her sister dryly. "And no thanks to you I've found Father's giftmas present. Do you want me to sign your name to the card?"

Magdalena Elbion | Zael Castomir | Azlat Ushus​

 

[Azlat Ushus]

Azlat was hardly a careful shopper. So long as it looked like something she could resell for a high profit, Azlat wanted to buy it. Aiming to simply return with whatever she could carry, the ratio of value to weight was a foremost factor for her to consider, followed closely by the opulent tastes of her equally wealthy noble Thagretan peers. A valued piece would have to stand out - part of possessing wealth was ensuring that others knew of it.

Here however, Azlat had great interest in not being noticed, and it did not escape her that she had not been doing well at it. By now, she’d become rather aware of the attention she had been getting. There had been more odd glances and looks shot her way, and it had been rather unnerving. She had also overheard the greeting they had received on their egress into the shop, yet she could not correctly interpret it. She recalled that one had been welcomed as a ‘Friend of The Elbion’. Another had a close enough relationship to Lord Elbion that she'd overheard his name and title dropped in casual conversation. Though she didn't quite catch who it was, nor how they knew him over the banter of the shopkeeper.

The words that followed only fed Azlat's concerns.

“What…What are YOU doing here?” She overheard a young man exclaim from behind her. Stricken by unfounded fear, Azlat assumed that the message had been intended for her. She wasn't carrying her staff, nor wearing her vestments, nor did she have anything holy through which she could work her magic. Only her dagger, along with a throat full of phlegm that could fuel her draconic fire. Azlat hacked and coughed, and then turned towards Magdalena who was in the midst of weaving magic.

The spell she cast had not been directed at her. Rather, it was directed at another shopkeeper, who walked away in an apparant daze. She looked right at Magdalena. It seemed Azlat was mistaken, but now she was confused and startled. She froze in place for a tense moment with a perplexed expression, pondering what to make of her. It took an awkward moment for the shopkeeper attending to her spoke up.

“Madam, are you okay?”

“I'm fine. Just a b͞ad c͡ough.” Azlat lied as cover for herself.

Magdalena Elbion Saelia Elbion Zael Castomir

 

[Zael Castomir]

Here's the hard truth, folks. So you wanna do somethin' nice for a good friend, huh? Well, there was a range to that somethin' nice you could do, because everybody had a certain amount of means. And Zael knew that what he was working with was awfully humble and very finite—especially after that night with Ruslan in the Quarterfell District, tossing out money left, right, and center; it's a long story. What money he had was all he had until Yuna got him in on that Acquisitions mission.

So practicality had one hell of a seat on the council of Zael's decision-making. He didn't even have the three hundred and fifty ducattos the "Anirian" lady had dropped on that one necklace (this didn't even slow her down, as she went on to keep buying more and more). Hearing those prices elsewhere in the shop made Zael feel a bit alien, like he was an outsider who didn't belong—and not on account of where he was born, but more so on how much money he was born into. What was Magi thinking? Bringing him here? She think he was made of money too?

Things started out well enough with Lady LaMarque. She took to his compliment well, just like Magi said she would, showing off those big rabbit-teeth in a wide and delighted grin, making a shelf of her hand for her chin to rest on as she with half-lidded eyes did a little buttering up of Zael in her own turn. If said buttering up could have somehow spawned an extra couple hundred ducats in his pocket, she might've gotten what she wanted too.

Of course the Multi-Facet had sapphire necklaces, and of course they were expensive. Zael's one and only play was to act like the friend he was buying them for was awfully picky—sorry to drag your name through the mud, Sieg, you woulda loved any of these. It became a pattern by the third time. Lady LaMarque would take one of the necklaces out of its display, hold it up, say a whole bunch of pretty things about it, Zael would play along for a bit but ultimately back out after hearing the price. Rinse, repeat.

Onto the fourth sapphire necklace now, and Lady LaMarque's smile was becoming one of a strained politeness. The shine of that compliment had worn off, that was for sure.

"Maybe this one could match the...peculiar tastes of your faraway lady friend?"

"Well, let's have a look," Zael said in reply, casually leaning a hand on the counter.

Wouldn't be a big loss if he walked out of here with nothing (nothing save for LaMarque's derisive scorn, anyway). There was a lot of time and distance between here and the Blackwood.

Magdalena Elbion Saelia Elbion Azlat Ushus

 

[Magdalena Elbion]

She froze under the direct gaze of that strange lady. Deer in lamplights. Will she or won't she Anirian Roulette. Magda had half the moxie to dare her to, and that half moxie almost made it to her brows to emote just that thought when her gaze switched suddenly to the appeared of Saelia at the end of the counter.

"I think you should change your middle name to Incorrigible," Saelia told her sister dryly. "And no thanks to you I've found Father's giftmas present. Do you want me to sign your name to the card?"

Magda's eyes bugged, a petulant frown plopped right down between her eyebrows and settled onto her lips like a fat frog settled onto a lilypad.

"Noh," Magda blurted back at her, quietly.

“Madam, are you okay?”

“I'm fine. Just a b͞ad c͡ough.” Azlat lied as cover for herself.

Her gaze switched back to the Lady, wavered for a moment, then back to her sister. Whites flashing, then quickly narrowing in reconsideration.

"Maybe," she mouthed after a moment to ponder on it. She had yet to actually find a scarf so backing out now seemed like preemptively jinxing her luck on the matter. With her attention torn away from the curious woman, she chanced a lean to peek at Eyepatch with the Madame.

"How's it going over there for him?" she whispered at her sister and nodded her head in Zael's direction, "The Rabbit looks like he ate all her carrots."

 

[Saelia Elbion]

Saelia's eyebrows shot up at her sister's reaction to her question, and she made a vaguely non-committal noise. "Well then," she said, as if that ended the conversation and, for all intents and purposes, it did. She looked over the display once more, then almost as an aside to her sister: "Try to look normal. Right now you look like a toad who's tried to eat three too many flies at once."

Not nice, it was true, but she didn't mean it as an insult either. She considered it a mere observation.

"Do make up your mind, M--my dear," Saelia said, dodging at the last moment to avoid exposing her sister to the prying ears of The Rabbit. Still, this behavior was eccentric even for Magi, thought Saelia. Nevertheless, she moved closer to her, putting her head next to her sister's, the better to hear her, follow her sightlines.

"Looks like he's gonna get fleeced," said Saelia under her breath. "But that's... pretty normal for the Rabbit. You wouldn't believe how much I had to spend here before I haggled her down to wholesale prices." She paused, glanced at her sister, who was no doubt aware of the extent of her mother's jewelry collection and Saelia's own. "Or perhaps you would."

She turned her attention back to Zael. "Where did you find this one, anyway? I mean really find him. Surely that wasn't the whole story I heard."

 

[Azlat Ushus]

Azlat cleared her throat with a series of small coughs as she walked away with the shop attendant, slowly browsing the displayed jewellery that lined the shelves beside them. Overly cautious to the point of paranoia, she did her best to appear less conspicuous after that startling encounter.

Reflecting back after having removed herself from it, Azlat realized just how odd it had been. Weaving magic against the staff of the shop must have been for some purpose. Perhaps she'd just been privy to some unseen plot – perhaps an attempted theft of some sort? Whatever that other woman was up to was hardly a concern Azlat felt worthy of her fret. It was a concern for the establishment and city, to which she held not the slightest care. As lawless as she had come to expect any barbarian city to be, when their population lived in absence of true holy scripture.

Looting simply seemed to be in their nature.

Granted, Azlat would have happily pillaged this place were she able to, but that was different. Her motives were far more noble, by her own judgement. Better that such wealth were in Thagretan hands, and offered to Thagretan gods.

“Well, when you're ready, I've a fine selection here to show you.” Spoke the shopkeeper, with an extended arm gesturing towards a display that contained a wide assortment of jewellery. Necklaces, brooches, earrings, bracelets and more were laid out, most of which contained at least one prominent ruby. Azlat slowly strode along as she perused the merchandise, stopping by a brooch that had a sizable ruby set within an exquisite winding pattern of silver and gold.

“Care for a closer look, Madam?” Questioned the shopkeeper.

“Pl͝ease.” Replied Azlat.