Hair of Dog and Ass of Bear (Eridanus)

[Balderdash]

35th of Fall, 512AV Ah, Sunberth. Beautiful, fiery, smelly Sunberth. Freedom capital of Sylira, and cesspool of the world! Where one could stab a Kelvic in the face after making love to a half-Sym prostitute in an abandoned smithy. To say that its residents were, for the most part, unflappable would be glossing over just how desensitized they were. Today, however, hushed whispers were racing about the city and not a single scampish pickpocket or bubbly child was to be seen. Not only were they scared, but so were some of their parents. Some. What was causing such a stir? A strapping young lad of about five and a half feet whistling cheerfully as he drove a rickety old carriage through the streets. In the children's defense, it was a rather eerie carriage, with spokes almost certainly made out of something that was alive. One of them might have even been a femur. The donkeys that were hauling it weren't much better. Old, scruffy, flea-bitten things they were, that honked at whatever got too close to them. The man driving them didn't look much older than twenty, with tan skin, messy, dusty brown hair, and dustier clothes. Feathers, knucklebones, and other odd decorations were tied into his hair, and two bone bracelets graced his wrists. His arms were a little hairy, his teeth were pearly white, and he seemed completely oblivious to the distrustful looks people were throwing his way, and the rapidly closing doors of some houses. The man's name was Timothy Wood, and he was a man on a mission. Mischievous green eyes were scanning the streets for someone special, someone interesting... Someone potentially rich. He was a man of business, see, and business meant having customers. So far, nothing but the usual Sunberthans, many of whom were giving him a wide berth. Still, there were a fair share of others. Syliran Knights were in the city! That was new. It didn't seem they were the only foreigners either. This was good. The only question now was who to pick. Unless, of course, someone approached him first.

[Eridanus]

There was naught to do but to wait for things to happen, and that was exactly what Eridanus was doing as he leaned against one of the ledges of a nearby wall. An expression of bored contempt graced his youthful features as his expressive eyes stared downcast at the ground before him, yet his ears and mind were busy at work.

People did not notice someone who looked like he was not paying attention to the world around him, and he struggled to filter the mass of information in the form of gossip and hushed conversations around him, seeking one of value.

As the day passed on, he began to hear more and more about some sort of boogeyman that was arriving in town. The only word that he could hear most commonly was the word "Tim", which he had to assume was somehow related to the whole thing. Tracing the source of the disturbance then, should have been easy, but not for a novice Intelligentsia like him.

Instead, he had to manually and tediously attempt it by trial-and-error, for he loathed to make contact and converse with a random citizen for fear of exposing himself somehow. Trying his best to skulk around and to look as unnoticeable as possible, he changed his position and listened in to the words around him. If the intensity of what he wanted to hear increased, it meant he was getting nearer, and vice versa if it were the opposite.

And so by that slow method, he slowly inched his way silently and innocently towards this disturbance, finding himself looking at a disconcerting young man in a carriage. He looked like your average merchant, except that his wares were... interesting, to say the least.

Reminds me of old Karash.

Leaning against a wall as his eyes settled on the merchant, Eridanus delved into the pool of djed that formed the basis of his life essence. Like drawing water from a well, he raised the metaphorical bucket filled with some degree of djed, pulling it gradually but surely towards to the top of his body at around the throat area. Emptying the bucket with his mind, he directed this supply of djed further up, guiding them to his eyes as he tuned into his magical sight, the filters of the mundane world fading away as these mortal limitations were removed.

Glancing at the aura of the merchant in general, he noticed with interest at the larger than usual aura of the merchant, as well as the various glowing shapes that came from his carriage. Too glowing, in fact, that it resembled the fireworks during the Alvadas Festival in its noisy cacophony of colors. Focusing on one of the areas of Auristics that allowed him to see through objects, he pushed his sight further on, bypassing the walls of the carriage to allow him physical vision of the items held within.

That provided him a better basis for his next action, and he next delved into reading the magical trace of the various objects.

Enchanted objects.

That much was obvious, for the djed held energetically within those objects shined with an enthusiasm that a normal, inanimate item would not have. An accidental, physical brush via psychic touch on one of them returned the feeling of a smooth, organic material.

Bone? Perhaps... malediction?

Retrieving his in-depth magical analysis from the carriage, Eridanus zoomed out and returned his focus solely on the supposed maledictor. The man's head turned, scanning the crowd until his eyes settled purely upon the vantha's.

Blinking his eyes several times to cut and disable the flow of djed to his optic nerves, he felt a low hum - possibly a psychological feeling - as the filters of the mundane world returned to cloud his temporarily enhanced sight. It was like applying a mud-colored lens over a crystal clear pool, making him realize how some Aurists could be tempted to keep their Sight on until their eyes bled with overuse.

A brow was raised as Eridanus refused to break eye contact with the merchant, and so did the opposite party, the carriage coming to a halt as he perused the scholar with interest. What would happen next?

[Balderdash]

The bracelets and little "decorations" would also light up quite a bit to Eridanus' Auristic sight. Evidently, the merchant wasn't against keeping some of his own merchandise. A few ticks later, the carriage stopped, the donkeys protesting the whole time as Timothy reined them in. Though a more naive or ignorant man might miss it, there was a certain predatory gleam in the green eyes that were locking onto Eridanus' Vantha ones. Slowly, a radiant grin came across the face of the Maledictor, for indeed that was the young man's identity. This one was perfect. Timothy pushed himself off the carriage, landing on the soft earth with a dull thud that left faint boot-prints in the dirt, and let out a booming "Hel-loo!" The merchant's voice might have been pleasing to the ear, if it wasn't quite so loud... The Ethaefal would soon find his left arm being shaken like a wet noodle by a very eager, and, it was soon becoming apparent, very, very strong man that had closed the distance between them in a little under a tick with two large strides. "Top of the morning to you! Name's Wood. Timothy Wood! But you can call me Tim. All my friends do. I can call you a friend, can't I? 'Course I can." A very talkative man, too. "My carriage caught your interest, did it?" he asked cheerily, throwing one of his arms around Eridanus' shoulders and gesturing broadly to the vehicle. The Vantha would feel the arm about him go limp as the carriage door swung open seemingly of its own accord, though a quick magical examination would reveal an astral arm as the culprit. It was quite obvious that the items Eridanus had spotted were Maledicted now. Every last inch of the carriage's walls were plastered with merchandise. Necklaces of teeth, charms, fetishes, dream catchers, feathered wards, and just about anything else imaginable covered the interior. There was even a longsword made of bone and sinew. They weren't the only items, either. Bars of gold and Isurian steel, pendants, daggers, a granite rock crusher, and a helmet that might have belonged to a member of the Ebonstryfe were tucked into various nooks and crannies in the floor. Indeed, the only empty portion of the carriage were two large, puffy seats of sumptuous red velvet, with a revolving mahogany table between them. A tiny hand-written sign on the inside of the door read "Timothy's Trinkets." "Well, let's have at it then!" the Maledictor crowed as he gave Eridanus a heavy thump on the back, "Tell me, anything strike your fancy?" the polymage would find himself being pushed and pulled to the carriage by the insistent Timothy at this point, "I've got everything, and I do mean everything!" Some of the older Sunberthans were looking at Eridanus with pity, as if he were a returned ghost.

[Eridanus]

Despite the young man's unsettling atmosphere, it was evident that he was a true-bred merchant through and through. From the talkative, trying-to-be-your-best-friend personality to the loud and clear voice, this Timothy Woods was most definitely an experienced salesman.

The vantha let his body be pushed, for he was indeed intrigued at the vast selection of wares that was available.

"Very interesting," He muttered, as the maledictor proudly displayed the contents of his carriage, all the while looking at the scholar expectantly. Eridanus was quite aware of the pitiful looks that the citizenry were giving him, though he carelessly attributed it to the Sunberthians' primitive fear of magic and the unknown.

They are just not enlightened enough to appreciate mystery and arcana.

Studying the contents of the carriage briefly, he turned to the merchant, asking, "What do they do, Mister Woods?" Dropping his voice lower so that only the two of them can hear, no doubt as a precaution for both of their safety due to the magic-hating population, he added, "Surely these... charms are more than they seem, yes?"

The subtle inflections of his voice should notify the man of his understanding and awareness of malediction, as well as an indirect declaration of his own status as a mage. It took a wizard to recognize another, after all.

Gesturing at the first item that caught his fancy, the scholar remarked, "Like this interesting longsword, for example. And other things around them. What do they... do, if you know what I mean."

[Balderdash]

If it was possible for Timothy's smile to get wider, it did. "I had you figured for an interesting fellow!" he chirped, wagging his finger playfully at his fellow wizard before (once the Vantha was inside) stepping into the carriage with him. "You'd be right. In these little odds and ends are the power to make and break kingdoms, destroy your enemies, turn Charoda into humans, humans into frogs, and anything else your brilliant little mind can imagine!" Slamming the door shut, he pulled a pair of thick leather gloves bearing intricate Malediction circles on their backs from under the table and slipped them on, laughing happily at Eridanus' selection. Upon closer examination, the sword seemed slightly serrated, with a long length of animal hide wrapping around it like a poorly applied bandage, still leaving most of the blade visible. Timothy soon explained why. "Ah, that little beauty! Made from a late Knight's spine, you know. Great man, said to be indefatigable, both at day on the battlefield, and at night, if you catch my meaning." he said with a mischievous waggle of the eyebrows, "Now, since spines are a little tricky to keep solid, I've also used falcon bones as a base, since the actual cord will rot, and lashed the whole thing together with an ox skin! Some maledictors wouldn't be able to make 'em work together, but I'm proud to say I've at least a bit of talent..." the wizard purred to himself with a self-satisfied smile, "And have made what just might be the perfect sword!" With a dramatic flair, he struck a pose akin to a steadfast knight defending a keep's doors, "From the Syliran, the stamina of a hundred men! From the falcon," he pointed the tip forward as if about to run an imaginary assailant through, "speed greater than any mortal could ever wish for! From the ox," Timothy flexed with the sword above his head, "Strength to conquer any foe!" Setting the sword down on the table, he looked up at Eridanus with a grin. "So, what do you think?" Glancing over to the other trinkets, he shrugged and said, "If you're not sold on the sword, let's find out together!"

[Eridanus]

Eridanus snorted when the merchant hinted at the 'stamina at night' part with the mischievous waggle of his eyebrows. The man's description of the sword made him look at the sword with an increasingly interested expression. If what he said was true, this person was a highly skilled maledictor, capable of tying together effects from various different sources and somehow still harmonizing them within the same theme.

If what he had was true, this must be not only an intelligent man, but a very experienced and skilled mage as well. For the sake of argument though, Eridanus merely hummed in agreement as he kept up the intrigued expression on his face, looking through the carriage with no particular target in mind.

"That is a rather skilled piece of work there, Mister Woods," Eridanus agreed with respect to the sword. "However, do you happen to have anything that could perhaps... ah, break the natural laws that tie us down to this mundane world? Maybe, something that can grant extreme and excessive speed for high speed movement? Or... perhaps you might have something that learns and grows, maybe improving autonomously somehow?"

[Balderdash]

The Maledictor frowned and tapped his chin with a spindly finger, "I think I might have something... Let's take a look here..." He started running the first digit of his hand over the various trinkets, mumbling thoughtfully to himself, "Let's see, glassbeak feathers, no... Yukman feet, probably not... Kriital skull? No..." Finally, after a good ten chimes, Timothy yelped with delight and plopped back onto the velvet seat with a necklace made of sinew and a handful of long, thin bones that might have belonged to a bat. "Balicani wings." he explained, "Unimaginably quick bastards that live in Syliras. Been attacked by a couple before. Lucky that I travel prepared. Wear this, and it ought to let you move as fast as they do. I'd avoid doing that for too long, though... Might get nausea, eh?" he said only half-jokingly. "Other than that, I think I might have something from a patch of Qamur lying around somewhere, and I might still have something from a Desolate One. I'll tell you right now, if you've never fought one of those before, don't go looking for 'em. Must've torn through a half-dozen investigators and three teams of mercenaries before we finally managed to put it down." Tim muttered with a shiver, "Still, its remains might let you turn ethereal, so there's that."

[Eridanus]

"You must be kidding. A patch of Qamur? How do you even get a patch of that stuff? It's like telling me you managed to secure a vial of moonlight."

Before the merchant could chime in, knowing his talkative nature, the vantha raised his to forestall any interruptions, saying, "You know what, you probably have it. Don't bother to correct me there."

Taking the time to let the information sink in, he realized that this was indeed a treasure trove right here. Remains from a Desolate One? Those beings were that of legend, and were rare enough already. Managing to slay one was a feat in itself, as difficult as trying to find one in the first place.

So tempting... so very tempting...

However, there was one thing they said about things too good to be true.

They generally do not exist.

Therefore it was with caution that Eridanus took the man's words with a pinch of salt, for it would be foolish to simply believe such claims. Nonetheless, he looked at the wares in curiosity, wondering how a patch of Qamur would physically look like.

"What are your prices, Mister Wood? Quote me," Eridanus began as he fingered the necklace made of Balicani wings thoughtfully. "Would fifty gold-rimmed mizas be your time for this artifact? Or perhaps that of the remains of the Desolate One?"

[Balderdash]

Timothy was indeed reaching behind his chair when Eridanus mentioned bottling moonlight, though he shrugged and smiled in what should have been a good natured manner, but ended up coming off more like a leer. "I'm a strong believer in compromising with my customers. For the necklace? Sure, I'll take fifty gold mizas. For the Desolate One... I don't think so," he said with a depreciating little laugh. "That thing cost me at least twenty men, and half of them went just finding it. Now, if you were to offer, say, five hundred and fifty, then we'd be getting somewhere. Or, if you're up for a bit of manual labor, you might be able to work its cost off..." the Maledictor added almost casually. "Heck, if you're a man of very specific tastes, I might even be able to make something just for you..."

[Eridanus]

Eridanus coughed at the mention of the price.

Five hundred and fifty?!

Without meaning to, his mind instantly began to calculate the amount of buildings he could put up for the guild back in Alvadas for that number.

Two hundred and fifty for an empty room. Maybe half that price if I can optimize properly. So two rooms for two hundred and fifty. That would make it... one room for one hundred and twenty... five? Yup that's it. With that amount I can build... Hmm. What's five hundred and fifty divided by one hundred and twenty five?

The vantha's nose cranked as he did more mental calculations.

I suppose I could just increase and check against the total. One room for one hundred and twenty five. Two rooms for two hundred and fifty. Two of the two-rooms make for five hundred. That makes four rooms. And I'll still have fifty to spare for that necklace!

This resulting comparison made it pretty clear. He could not allow himself to splurge in good conscience, especially for a product that may or may not work. That brought his attention to the sly mention of 'manual labor'. From what he knew in the commercial circle, such hinting usually meant that the merchant had something he wanted or needed. In other words, it was usually a commercial trade. He could either pay the man the amount, help him with his errand - trading the effort of doing so with the item - or he could work independently for the gold, use it to secure the item the merchant one, and use it trade. Or he could simply work independently, then use that gold to buy the itme.

Either way it was sure that there would be an optimum solution, if he could short the system and figure out a method of arbitrage. Unfortunately, there was not enough time to do a proper analysis, nor is there enough time to make this work. The fact that this man seemed to be a wandering merchant proved that much. That meant that the solution to keep him in place would be the promise to secure whatever he wants.

Of course, in Sunberth the term 'manual labor' took on new meaning. That usually involved itself with slavery. Unfortunately, he had no wish in partaking in that and so he would be careful with the merchant's terms.

"What sort of labor, just speaking out of curiosity?" Eridanus began, trying to sound nonchalant even though he was really ravenous for information. This method of securing something for the merchant would work in locking him in place, for if he had the merchant's desired item he would then have a bargaining chip on his side, giving his side of the negotiations more weight instead of the current one-sided power deal.

"Also, what's your pricing structure for a customized item?"