An Ancient Art (Book Purchase)(Goss Please)

[Syfec Morbus]

Timestamp: 10th Day of Summer, 509 AV

Syfec made his way through the winding streets of old Syliras, following preplanned pathways to his destination, an old bookstore. Well, bookstore really wasn't a fitting description; The Undeniable Interests was more of an oddity store, selling mostly fake 'magical' items. Though it was one of the best places to buy books as well, even if they would cost you quite a few Mizas. The walk was rather long, the shop existing on one of the back valleys on an edge of town, but Syfec didn't mind. The walk was well worth it, if they had the book he wanted.

The Undeniable Interests was a gem among obscure stores in Syliras. Although it had more than it's fair share of 'magical powders' and 'love potions', the little store also had an ounce of credibility. It also held a few varieties of real magical substances and quite a few useful texts. The owner was an odd man, likely a small time magician, in addition to an intelligent conman.

When Syfec entered the shop, he realized all he had heard about it was very true. The tiny shop was filled with shelves, with strange apparatuses and instruments covering every inch. The walkways in between isles were very thin, so much so that most people would have to sidestep through them. The desk was the only thing remotely organized, but that wasn't of much help when there was no one behind it.

Syfec stepped in, searching for someone to talk to while his eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room. "Hello?" He called out to the darkness.

[Gossamer]

Dominac Ariva looked up from his writing as the bells above the store rang. He wasn't a book store, not at all - but rather a shop set up in his castle wall home. He had a bit of odds and ends from here and there, mainly purchased from scroungers who combed the ruins throughout Mizahar looking for old relics lost in another time. He had vases from old Suva, lamps intact from a city so old no one remembered its name, and books... a few of them at least. He disliked parting with them, though certain texts were written in languages he couldn't himself read. Domanic, in his day, was a great scrounger himself. But his old bones found the weather hard - especially traveling these days.

The human smiled and called out "Over here. What can I help you with, young man?" He said boldly.

[Syfec Morbus]

Syfec glanced over at the old man, wondering how he kept up this strange business in his old age. As the owner smiled at Syfec, he returned the gesture, though they were both obviously fake smiles. "What can I help you with, young man?"

Syfec responded, getting straight to the point, "Well, I'm looking for some books. The topics I'm currently interested in are the ancient language and the art of Gylphing. I'd also be interested in any texts remotely related to those. Do you have anything like that?"

[Gossamer]

Dominac Ariva smiled. "Books is it? Well, I've got copies of copies and a few originals. Some are things even I can't read, so I can't rightly tell you what sort of topics they cover. But they are all over there on that shelf. I don't think there's any books on magic though. We wouldn't keep those long. But I think there is one on the ancient tongue." He said, getting up from behind his desk and shuffling around. "Names Dominac. I collected some of these... even copied some." He said, using a cane to maneuver his way around what looked like a collection of old street signs and shingles.

There was indeed a pile of books. They consisted of about thirty, some newer than others, some obviously only half legible because of water damage or rot. Dominac rifled through them expectantly and as he did so Syfec caught a glimpse of one called 'Gyphing - an Introduction to the most common magic around.' But Dominac kept going, until he pulled out a copy of a book called "Ancient Tongue - a Treatise on Nader-canoch." He handed the book to Syfec and then smiled. "That one is in good shape. It costs 20 GM. Anything else here your interested in?" He asked, gesturing at the pile of books.

[Syfec Morbus]

Syfec shrugged as he got the news that there wouldn't be any books on magic. He couldn't be more that half disappointed, because he hadn't really expected this tiny shop to have a huge collection of magical texts, but he had hoped something would be there. Though, even without the Glyphing book, the trip was still more successful than he had thought it would be.

The owner rifles through a pile of books, looking for the promised book on the ancient language, when Syfec saw just the book he was looking for. He raised his eyebrows as the man passed right by it without mention. Curious.

Acting as if the other book didn't existed, he offered Syfec the ancient tongue book, "This one is in good shape. It costs 20 GM. Anything else here you're interested in?"

"20?! Hmmm..." Syfec responded. He then swiftly walked over to the pile of book, and if allowed, quickly rifled through the books, remembering where the Glyphing book was. He pulled it out, showed it to the clerk, and asked, "I'm interested in this one as well, how much for the pair?"

[Gossamer]

Dominac stroked his beard and looked thoughtful. "I'll take 30 gold mizas for both. I didn't see that other one the first time through. Sorry about that. Oh! You should take this one too. It's called 'Maps of the Ancient World.' I hand copied that one myself. I find maps intriguing. They show the locations of cities before the Valterrian. I am too old to hit the road and travel much, but someone young like you could pick up where I left off and go explore a bit if you wanted too." The third book was thin, filled with hand copied line drawings of maps collected from all over the place. Some even looked like quick sketches taken from other sources. Dominac had no problem with Syfec touching his books, looking at his wares or asking questions. "I'll throw that one in for missing the first one. Same price for all three.. thirty gold-rimmed mizas." He emphasized. Thirty mizas would keep his little shop open for another season if he was frugal and his vegitable garden thrived.

[Syfec Morbus]

Syfec couldn't help but smile at the circumstances; He had found exactly what he was looking for, was receiving it for a a fair price, and was even getting an extra book thrown in. He couldn't have done better if he had planned it himself. He was still questioning how the man could have missed th Gylphing book. Though, it really didn't matter: He had the book now and the seller seemed nice enough.

Syfec handed over the 30 mizas without complaint and took the books. "Thank you very much sir, I'll come back and share stories if I decide to set to the trail."

[Gossamer]

Experience: 1pt Investigation Additional Notes: Purchase of two books - one on Glyphing, one on Ancient Tongue