by Jay Boyce
"I suppose that makes sense," she admitted. Looking at the chest, she figured she'd be able to carry it without too much issue. It might be a little awkward, but she could probably handle it. Looking at the crystals, she nodded to herself and then asked, "So, how much do you want for the crystals? I wasn't anticipating this, so I may have to collect some money before I'm able to afford them."
He laughed, shaking his head. "No lass, you can have them. They aren't worth much, and I'm happy to support the Mesmer Bane."
She looked at him, considering, then slowly shook her head. "No, I want you to tell me a fair price. I'm sure this box represents years of collecting for you, and I'm not willing to take it for nothing."
He looked thoughtfully at her, studying her face before he finally shook his head. "Stubborn, aren't you." Nodding, she smiled. He sighed and looked into the chest. "I've been charging five nuts a crystal. Like I said, they're nothing more than baubles around here."
She was trying to do the math in her head. At five nuts a crystal, two crystals were a leaf, so twenty crystals was a laurel, and two hundred crystals was a crown. There looked to be around five to six hundred crystals in the box of varying sizes. Reaching into her shirt, she pulled out her wallet, looking inside. Frowning, she realized that her entire monetary supply consisted of a crown, five laurels, seven leafs, and six nuts. She realized she'd also not visited Damian in three days, which was her only source of income at the moment. She hadn't given it much thought since she basically hadn't had to pay for anything recently. She shook her head, realizing she was becoming utterly spoiled.
"Alright, I'll be back in less than an hour to get this. I just need to go get paid." He looked confused at her statement, and she grinned. "I have a business partner who's collaborating on work with me. I haven't gotten paid for the last batch we did together, and I think most of those should be sold by now. So I'll be back sometime in the next hour or less to collect these, if that's okay."
He shook his head. "You don't have to do that, you know. You could just take them." Jade just gave him a look and he relented. "Alright, alright. I'll see you back here soon." He had thrown his hands up in surrender, grinning.
She nodded, giggling. "See you soon, Keenan." She happily left the store, making a beeline for The Glass Phoenix. As she passed by the front of the windows, she noticed new sculptures, though not a single one was lit. Quickly entering the empty store, she called out, "Damian?"
He came out of the back with a rumble of happiness. "Jade, you're back! I was beginning to think you'd forgotten about me!"
She went forward, pecking the older man with a kiss on the cheek as she said merrily, "Not forgotten, just had too much craziness in my life. Sorry, I didn't mean to neglect you." He looked surprised at her kiss but smiled and studied her.
"Well, you've certainly changed a bit! You look nothing like the scared little skeleton that entered my shop less than a week ago!" His bass voice boomed through the store, and she shook her head at him with a laugh.
"A lot has happened." She glanced around, not seeing a single lighted sculpture even inside the store as she asked, "Did you sell out of everything?" She'd lit up a decent amount of figures when she was last here, so it was a bit surprising for her until she remembered that three days had passed.
"Yes, people have been asking for more, but I figured you were a wee bit busy starting school." She smiled at Damian. He really was too nice to her. Most people would be frustrated that they weren't making all the money they could, but he was just showing…patience.
"Well then, I suppose I'd better fix that." She smiled and he nodded, walking back into the back to leave her to her work as she started walking around, lighting up every sculpture she took a fancy to, which was most of them, honestly. She felt like her magic was getting much easier, as she wasn't even fully drained when she finished, just a little more tired. She absently nibbled on some jerky from her bag as she called out, "Damian, I'm done!"
He came back out of his workshop a few moments later, wiping sweat off his forehead with a rag. He'd obviously been putting something in the furnace. He glanced around the room, surprised at the sheer number of sculptures she'd lit up this time. "You seem to have outdone yourself."
She grinned. "It's a lot easier than it was before. It's probably the consequences of using magic at a semi-constant rate these last few days. I don't get tired near as easily." Plus, light came easier to her than most things. She loved how it lit things within and had stared in wonder with her mana sense after she finished, barely able to see the tiny trickle of magic energy that went into keeping them going.
He smiled right back at her, nodding. "That's wonderful news! Should take a bit before we sell out of all of these, and it'll make quite a hefty profit." That seemed to remind him of something, and he reached for his belt, taking out a small clinking pouch. "As per our agreement, this is forty percent of the profit from the last figures. They sold well."
Jade smiled and took the bag, looking inside. She gasped at the fact that there were so many coins inside. She quickly shifted them until they were aligned, counting them up: twenty-one crowns and four laurels. She couldn't remember how many figures she'd lit last time, but it was somewhere between thirty and forty. Looking at Damian, she asked incredulously, "This is seriously only forty percent of the profits?"
Damian grinned widely. "Indeed! You've made me more money in a week than I normally make in a year. Granted, the price will probably drop down, but I was able to spike it up quite a bit for these first few runs. I'll keep it high until the demand lessens."
Jade laughed, shaking her head. "Good luck with that, then! For both our sakes!" She smiled at the gruff man who made such beautiful things, glad she'd found him. Coming back to reality, she said softly, "Well, I'd probably better go. I've still got a lot to accomplish today, but you take care of yourself, you hear?"
He nodded, giving her a serious look. "You do the same. Don't think I haven't heard about the attack last night. I'm glad you're okay."
She looked down at the floor, her guilt at the previous night coming back. She paused, then looked up at him again. "I'll try to be careful. See you later, Damian." It wasn't the happy note she wanted to end on, but he put a meaty hand on her shoulder and squeezed lightly in comfort. She smiled, patting his hand with hers before he let go and she turned, leaving the shop after tucking the money into her own pouch and giving Damian back his. It was almost uncomfortably full, especially now that her bust was so much larger.
She stopped just before the door as a figure she hadn’t noticed caught her eye. It was a rather beautiful sculpture of several mountains, and she grabbed it, taking it back to Damian. “Actually, can you wrap this for me?” He took it from her as she asked, “How much do I owe you for it?”
Shaking his head, he chuckled. “Nothing. Consider it a gift.”
Mock glaring at him, she adamantly dismissed his idea, “Absolutely not. Take it out of the profits of the next batch.” He raised his hands in mock surrender as she gave him a quick hug, taking the box and skipping merrily out. Heading back to Keenan's shop, she entered to find him putting the crystals back into the chest he'd brought out. He turned as she entered and smiled. "Jade, you're back! That was fast."
Jade smiled, masking her sadness as she said, "Yup! I've gotten a lot more proficient at my magic the last few days, so it was pretty quick work. What're you doing with the crystals?" She was curious why he'd taken them out.
He grinned, explaining, "I was counting them, since you said you wanted a fair price." She walked over, examining the crystals. She noted that he'd put in a few layers of cloth so they wouldn't scratch each other, now that she was taking them, and she raised a brow. He laughed. "I also wanted to make sure they were in the best condition for travel."
She shook her head, smiling. "Alright, so how many are there?"
He announced proudly, "Five hundred and forty two."
She nodded and pulled out her coin purse, taking out
three crowns before putting it away again and handing them to Keenan. "Here you go."
He nodded as he said, "Let me just get your change." He stopped when she put a hand on his arm to hold him there.
"No, Keenan. That's for you. In thanks for making it travel ready and for being willing to give them to me. I'm not hurting for money, so please, take it. If you hadn't collected these, I'd be searching high and low for a way to make what I needed. You've saved me a lot of time, which is something I don't have much of. So please, no change."
He met her eyes, then finally nodded as he gave in. "Alright. Thank you, Lady Jade. I'll remember this."
She smiled. "As will I remember your kindness. Oh, I almost forgot! This is for you too.” She’d reached a finger into the box, taking a moment to light up the mountain as she put it on the counter. “I've got to go, but you have a wonderful day. Thank you again."
He looked confused at the box she’d put on the counter, but was more concerned about how she was going to leave. "Are you sure you can lift it?"
She shrugged. "Only one way to find out." Closing the lid, she hefted the box from the counter. She staggered for a moment with Keenan jumping to stabilize her, but she managed to straighten by herself first. It was heavy, and she guessed it weighed a little less than three hundred pounds. Apparently crystal was heavy, but then again…it was rock.
Smiling, she said, "I'll make it. Thanks, Keenan."
And thus she hefted her load out the door he held open for her, beginning the rather long trek to Dracona.
It was going to be a rocky road.
Chapter Twenty – Gravity
Almost as soon as the door closed behind her, she tottered a few steps until she was sure she was out of sight before she set the box down as gently as she could in the little alley, thankful for him putting cloth in there so it didn't clink inordinately. This thing weighed at least twice as much as she did, and she was surprised she'd been able to counterbalance long enough to get it outside the store. She glared down at the box. You will submit! She mentally scowled at it. Her fellacai were swirling around her head since she'd stopped in the shade and no one else was paying her much attention. How on earth was she supposed to get this to Dracona?
She pondered her options. There was no way she could carry it up there as it was. If she could find some of her friends, she might be able to convince them to help her. If she hadn't sent away her guards, they'd also probably have helped her. Too late for remorse now. Pondering, she realized there was one option she hadn't considered and hit herself in the forehead, muttering, "I'm an idiot! An absolute idiot!" Touching the chest, she focused as magic spread through her fingers as she concentrated on the wood. What was the use of having magic if you didn't utilize it appropriately?
It was harder than she thought it would be, but eventually she shoved hard enough and felt the magic take hold. She used one hand to lift the box, laughing with glee when it worked. She put her fingers lightly on either side, humming as she she easily carried it out of the alley. It seriously only felt like it weighed about five pounds now, given that she'd basically almost completely zeroed out gravity on it. Absently, she sang under her breath, "I’m glad I triiiiiied defyyyyyying graaavity. I think I'm sly, defyyyyying gravity. No chest will pull me down…"
To other people, it probably looked like she was carrying an empty chest, and she was okay with that. Still, it didn't leave her any real opportunities to brush against people, as unwieldy as it still was, except for the few sections of town that were packed with people she had to wade through. She was seriously considering trying to fly over everyone, but decided that before she tried to fly again, it would not be in an open space. It would be a nice enclosed space where she wouldn't be able to fly super high and kill herself by splatter if she faltered.
Still, when she got to the guard post, she was relieved. She was almost there! "Hello, Miss. May I see your school pass? Also, what's in the box?"
Jade reached into her bra, pulling out her wallet and fishing her school pass out from in there while the young guy looked a little uncomfortable. She smiled at him as she said cheerily, "Here you go. I've got crystals in the box."
Guard two chuckled. "Yeah, sure. It's probably empty. A little thing like you carrying a box that size full of rock? It's a good joke." He laughed again, and Jade smiled innocently at him as she reached over, flipping the lid up and revealing the layers of crystal rocks. His laughter stopped abruptly as he stared at her box, then back at her. He went back and forth a few times before he finally spluttered, "But HOW!?"
"Try lifting it yourself and tell me." He cautiously came over at her provocative words, brushing against her as he went to lift the box. He almost ended up throwing it into the sky, he lifted it with so much force. Only her quick grab at the lid, slamming it shut and pulling it back down stopped it from being sent all over. Quickly taking it from him and putting it on the ground, she laughed and said, "That scared me a bit. I wasn't expecting you to try to throw it!" He looked guilty and confused, so she patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry about it."
He shook his head, asking in bewilderment, "But how? I can clearly see the rocks, but that weighed almost nothing…"
Grinning as guard one passed back her card, she tucked it away before picking up her box with ease again. "I used magic to change the weight."
Guard two finally noticed the fellacai clinging to her hair as he said in awe, "You're Jade…" They were flapping their wings in protest of her sharp movement earlier, but they hadn't left her hair.
She grinned even more widely. "I am. It's a pleasure to meet you."
He bowed, brushing his lips over her hand as he said, "Sorry for doubting you. You're welcome to enter."
Laughing, she nodded and started to walk forward once she got her hand back after she said over her shoulder, "Have a wonderful day!" As soon as she was past the guard station, with a mental thought, the fellacai took wing, flying all around her and into the surrounding empty area. A glance at her pocket watch told her that it was only 9:30, so most of the students were…elsewhere. She realized she didn't actually know where they went if they weren't going to get healed. Eric has just said this was self study time. Shrugging, she kept walking, smiling at the occasional student she saw outside. She figured most of them were seeking shelter from the sun or cleaning up after morning practice.
Deciding she'd stop by the infirmary and see if Scylla needed any help, she propped her chest up against the wall as she tugged the door open, quickly grabbing it again and pushing inside. Several students looked over at her curiously as she held the door open until her fellacai came swooping in after her. She saw recognition pass over their faces as she smiled at them, moving past them to put her box down on the floor before taking a seat next to Scylla, who raised an eyebrow at her. "I thought you weren't coming in today."
Jade replied with a shrug, "I made it up here earlier than I thought I would, so I figured I'd swing by and give you a hand if you needed it."
Scylla smiled her mysterious smile, then beckoned the next two students forward. "By all means. It's faster with you here." They both grinned and got back to the work of healing. Ten minutes later, they'd healed all the students, though one particular boy had hung back to wait for her to finish. Scylla raised her brow again as she indicated the boy. "Looks like you have an admirer."
Jade looked at him. He was toying with his clothes and looking at her with nervous baby blue eyes. She glanced at Scylla and murmured, "Not what you think. I think I'm going to be the bearer of bad news."
Scylla looked curious, and Jade beckoned for her to follow her as she walked over to the boy, greeting him. "Hello, Ian."
He looked at Scylla nervously, then asked, "Hi Jade. Uhm…I was just wondering if you could tell me if you'd seen Frank? He was supposed to be tutoring me this morning because he said he had a free hour next. But I haven't been able to find him, and no one seems to have seen him. Do you know what's going on?"
Jade
glanced at Scylla, then at Ian as she placed a hand on the poor boy's shoulder. "Ian… Frank was…" Her voice was choking up and she looked at the ceiling to try and clear her emotions. Finally, she looked back down at Ian, who looked a little panicked. She quietly finished her sentence, "Frank was taken by the mesmer last night." Ian looked pale while Scylla gasped dramatically. She looked between the two of them, a sad smile on her face as she forced herself to continue. "So I'm afraid he's not going to be able to tutor you today. Perhaps next week."
Both of them were looking at her in confusion, and Ian asked with confusion and a bit of reproach, "Why would you say that?"
She smiled a little angrily. "Because I'm going to get him back." She spoke with utter conviction as she met his gaze, her eyes sparking with righteous indignation. "Preparations are being made, and on Sunday, I'm going hunting."
Scylla asked with interest, "You've called for a mesmer hunt?" Jade looked at her, her confusion obvious. "Every so often, when someone is taken, a great hunt is prepared to go into the forest to search for the mesmer lair."
Jade slowly nodded. "Yes, I suppose I have, but this time, it'll be different." Scylla raised a brow, and Jade smiled angrily again. "This time, I'm in charge, and I'll hunt them using their own abilities. I will follow their taint back to the source."
Scylla nodded, then said eerily, "Then may the blessing of Heavenly Mother be upon you, that you may seek that which was lost. But be warned, no journey is without cost." Her voice had taken on an oddly sing-songy quality that Jade associated with people making prophecies in movies. She felt a chill go down her spine as Scylla seemed to realize where she was again. She smiled and shooed them away, saying simply, "Go on, then. No use staying here."