wrfmlogsarchive | Star Market: Day 5

"My hearing?" Ray echoed.

"Your hearing," the merchant confirmed. "Your natural hearing in that ear is the price. It's not too much, especially considering this will provide that for you and more. I'm offering you a very good deal." She stared at him in disbelief and finally just sighed.

"Fine," she said reluctantly, and allowed him to pull her behind a curtain and perform the operation, bottling her left ear's ability to hear as he did. She didn't feel a thing, but he'd told her that was part of the magic and she might feel an ache later.

She walked out looking no different than before, except for a very thin scar behind her ear that was covered by her hair. Ray started heading back to the jewelry maker she'd met yesterday, determined to see if he would be able to change the rose corsage she'd gotten from Aria into something more her style without losing the charm.

Fox had gotten everything she was looking for... and then some... but at least this extra item might be useful... as long as she could find a book of a lesson in it.

"Pictomancy, huh?" she muttered, thumbing through the small pamphet that had come with the enchanted sketch set, which had been found in her bag of holding when she'd finally gotten around to looking through it. With her preferences in inking and color work, she also wanted to fill it out with the appropriate items. There was small art supplies store that carried both magical and mundane items and Fox had reason to buy some of both. Still, the Pictomancy might be all right if she could make sure she was doing it right. Which was why she was looking for a book.

A pug-faced little woman noticed Fox perusing the books and came right over and asked, in a somewhat notable Canadian accent, "Can I help you with something, miss?"

"Er, yeah..." Fox said galncing over the books again. She explained how she'd come by the Pictomancy set and how it seemed interesting to her and that she wanted to be sure she was doing it right, since she knew doing it wrong in magic could be dangerous.

The woman smiled and says, "I've got just the thing. Right this way."

Fox followed, glancing at few other items along the way, to the end of the shelf and what looked to be the full line of the Moron's Guides... or at least the ones relating to magical arts and crafts. There was also a catalogue for the entire Moron's Guide line and a directory of shops that carried them. Some were familiar, including quite a few shops in Radiant Garden. Fox bought 'The Moron's Guide to Pictomancy' and took the free directory of shops carrying the line, as she might just want to look up books on other magical subjects.

Roxas had noticed the increases in security over the past few days. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what was going on. At the moment, he had other things on his mind... like finding information on raising a dragon. Who in their right mind gave away a dragon egg as a random prize like that? For that matter, where had they gotten the egg?

It probably could have been worse, but even just thinking that was begging for trouble. Sighing, Roxas decided searching wasn't doing him much good when he was too hungry to think straight. But eating alone had gotten to feel weird. Where had Sora and the others gone?

Crystal pondered over the charms laid before her on the table, especially considering one which was supposed to protect one from magical enchantments.

The past few days had gone by fine, and although she hadn't really seen any of her friends, she wasn't quite that worried. They could fend for themselves, and she didn't want to impress her sometimes overbearing personality on them.

The Flan on her shoulder gurgled a bit, and Crystal poked its belly with a grin. "That's right, Bloo. I need to find something for you as a snack. Looks like you're getting hungry again."

He saw her looking at the booth, but waited for a while before taking a deep breath and wandering over towards her. This was it. He had no idea how she would take this.

He stood behind directly behind her, not wishing to come out with it straight away. Shaking his head slightly, he peered over her shoulder.

"Those are some pretty interesting trinkets they've got here. Planning on buying one?"

She recognized Will's voice and smiled widely. "Yeah, apparently they can protect against magical enchantments. I'm thinking of getting one, but they're kind of expensive, so..."

She glanced at him briefly, but not long enough to notice a change. "Have you got anything interesting so far? I really want to show you all the stuff I got. You'll be amazed."

"I'm sure I will." He sighed. Apparently she hadn't noticed. "I...got some incredible stuff. Like this eye that can see things other people can't."

He said the last sentence in a matter-of-fact tone, as if it was nothing more than a thing he bought.

"An eye that sees things that other people can't? You'll have to show me that one," She said, slightly smirking. "What else did you--"

She fell silent and her eyes widened as she turned around. His right eye was no longer normal...a strange wave of fear washed over her and she practically leaped upon him in distress.

"Oh my God. Who did this to you?! Did someone attack you? Did someone put a curse on the eye?! Tell me, Will! Who would have done this to you?!"

"Calm down, Crystal, calm down." He grabbed her hands and held them tight, looking rather ashamed.

"I did this to myself. Didn't you hear me? I bought this with my right eye and there's no way to get it back." He lowered his head. "I'm sorry, okay? But it was my choice."

"Did this? To yourself?" But..." She broke off, obviously in disbelief. "Why? Why do this? Why use your...your right eye as payment?"

A few tears started coming down her cheek. This was too much to take all at once.

"It's a Third Eye. It can see things other people can't. The payment for it was my own eye." He paused for a moment. "The Third Eye chose me, okay? Aparrently I'm the reincarnation of its owner or something like that. A bond between a Third Eye and the one it chooses is unbreakable."

He frowned a bit as he saw her cry. "It's not like I went to the evil side, okay? I'm still me. I'm still Will. Just with a magical eye."

"Well, why didn't you tell me about it? I warned you not to touch anything! I warned you not to meddle in things you didn't know about! And now you're with this...this thing!"

She wrenched her hands out of his, feeling rather irritated. "Why wasn't it so hard to ask?! That's what I don't get. You could have broken the news more easily if you had told me at the time!"

"Because I had to, okay?!" He rubbed his head and sighed. "I knew you would have said no. But the whole point is you can't say no to a Third Eye! It's impossible!"

"Look, Crystal. It's already been said and done, okay? It's already happened, and we can't do a thing. let's just move one from that, okay?"

A wave of feelings rose up within her. Denial, anger, worry, regret... Gritting her teeth, she turned away and started walking away from him.

"Just leave me alone for a minute, okay? I don't need this right now." She couldn't believe that she was actually feeling hurt by what he did, as if he committed a crime of some sort. But it wasn't like that at all. Why did she feel this way?

"Crystal!" But calling her name would be no use. She obviously didn't want to talk.

Why was she acting this way. It's not like he did anything wrong. Maybe it was too drastic a change for her to comprehend.

He sighed and turned around, looking at the trinkets she had been observing before. He hoped she would forgive him...sooner or later.

Today had been another early day, since Amy hadn't been able to sleep very well the night before. She had woken at random intervals and looked around nervously, expecting...what? She didn't know, but she could feel something. She'd said as much to Will the day before, and the security around the market had only been getting tighter.

"I think," She mused as she turned a small dagger over in her hands, feeling the slight thrum of the magic vibrating up her arm, "that maybe we should get going pretty soon. See if someone can go drop us off in Heatherfield before all hell breaks loose."

She felt kind of bad saying that, as if she were being a coward, but she was pregnant for Pete's sake. Wasn't her baby more important than sticking around to help if things went south?

Jalen was looking over the daggers as well, but mostly he was simply watching her. "It's a good idea, but we might not be able to find a ride. If anything happens, I want you-"

"To find someplace safe and lay low. I know, I know." Amy held the dagger up, gesturing to the shopkeeper. "How much?"

The man considered for a moment, then pointed to her stomach. "Some of your child's essence."

She frowned, shaking her head. "Yeah, right. Try again. Something not involving my baby." She could see Jalen's expression out of the corner of her eye, and she wanted to giggle. Too bad Ray hadn't warned him too.

The shopkeeper thought for a few moments before replying. "Very well. Share with me a dark secret that no one knows besides yourself."

Amy frowned, slightly confused. "That's it? Share a secret? What d'you need that for?"

"Nothing you'd understand. Now, do you want the dagger or not?"

"Ye-" The word wasn't even all the way out of her mouth before Jalen had grabbed the dagger from her, handed it back to the man, and pulled her out into the bright sunlight.

"Jalen, damn it! That wasn't fair!"

"No, it wasn't, but something wasn't right there. I don't have your gift, but even I can tell when danger's hiding just out of sight. You can have my dagger, I'll get another one somewhere else."

"But-"

"Sæ'lig."

She rolled her eyes at the nickname and nodded, rubbing at the bracelet on her right wrist. Her fingers traced over the silver vines as they wound around her wrist, stopping at the heart-shaped leaves that framed an oval Lapis lazuli. Jalen had given it to her yesterday after her talk with Will, as a sort of apology for earlier. It was pretty, but it wasn't just ordinary jewelry. It was an object of holding, which pleased Amy to no end. No more dragging her backpack into battle, no more fumbling at her belt trying to get her damn slingshot out of it's sheath, no more awkwardly wearing her sword against her back, jammed at an angle between her backpack straps. Oh, granted, Jalen had admitted she wouldn't be able to use it for a while, not until Eli was a little older, but he hadn't given her the 'Women belong in the home and not on the battlefield' speech she'd been expecting. She'd already gleefully stashed his dagger in it.

Jalen reached over and took her hands, giving them a light squeeze. "Why don't we go find something to eat, and then we'll see about leaving, okay?"

"Mhm." And may we get out of here without running into Calum directly, please and thank you. She thought as he led her toward a food booth.

Ash had been compelled to throw away the pendant, but once she'd put her head back together on the issue, she thought it would be silly. Better for her to own it than for someone who would eat it or worse.

First she had no heart at all, now one too many.

The one thing she did do however was tuck the pendant down into the collar of her shirt so that it could not be seen by anyone. A few of the more interesting-looking or possibly magically endowed patrons of the market still gave her wary looks however the rest of the population seemed to be giving her less of a birth.

She found her way into the tent of a weapons seller who approached her.

"The stone you have in your purse, Miss. Could I persuade you to part with it?"

Ash frowned, then remembered what she had picked up during her unscheduled trip to Agrabah. "I'm a gunslinger." she eyed him, careful not to let on how little she knew of its true value. "What do you think you can sell me from this collection that would come close to its value?"

The man was not dishonest, that much was certain. He held up a finger and dissapeared behind the counter into a back room. The gun he returned with was almost steam-punk in design.

"I was wondering about you when you came in. You have something on you, that under normal circumstances I would have thrown you out of my shop for daring to hold. But you are not a magic user and you do not have ill intents." he touched the spot on her shirt where the lump of the pendant was hiding. "What I have here is a tool that would be useful to someone like yourself. Magic-technology."

"Magi-tek."

"You've heard of it!"

"In passing." Ash wasn't ready to explain having played Final Fantasy VI.

"This isn't the same kind of strength as the armour and it is not as powerful as even the true spell unless perhaps you decide to learn magic for yourself. Its properties include Fire, Ice and Thunder- basic first level elements at half strength. It may get you out of a tight spot someday."

Ash nodded and handed over the stone he wanted. "I think it's an acceptable trade."

"I'm going to add something to the price."

"And that would be?"

"If you would have a cup of tea with me."

"I think that's an acceptable extra."

The merchant was a very intelligent man and Ash could have easily spent the rest of the day there but she had one thing left to get. She'd bought the practical item, the mysterious and possibly dangerous item and she had one thing left. The utterly impractical personal purchase.

This turned out to be an incredible royal purple and jeweled taffeta affair of a dress that was just too damn ridiculous and princessy not to pass up. She packed up her normal skirt and blouse into her bag and decided to go for a bit of a wander for fun, to see if she ran into anyone she knew

You know, it was really, really hard to maintain a sour mood when you just passed one of your friends in the most absurdly froofy gown this side of Andalasia. "Ash?" Ren asked, wondering if her lousy sleep patterns lately had finally given way to hallucinations.

Well, at least it was a relatively nice hallucination, all things considered.

Ash waved. "In the flesh." She glanced at Ren's expression. "What do you think? I was shopping for the wedding and I couldn't resist getting this thing. Not to mention I should blend right in on my Andelasia trip!"

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Star Market: Day 5

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