Moreau's tale of his trip to the magic shop, told on Dehalyi 15, 997 to concerned friends when he returned after having been gone for a day and a half.
Well there was the wedding, fun was had by all, I had a good time anyway. I think it was the hobbit cooking. The last wedding I remember that was anywhere near this much fun didn't have hobbit cooking. I don't think there are any hobbits within two days by mule train. There were a couple of weddings at the Biblioteca, but they were fairly small things barely distingiushable from a dorm party when a couple of the apprentices got distracted from their studies, there were three of those, no wait four, Hasial and Etherund actually had their act together enough to keep on with their studies once they found a Master willing to take them on as a team, but let's face it most of the Biblioteca weddings were lacking only the crossbow. Now admittedly there was a fair share of those back in Panther Hollow but they weren't just quiet they were hushed up pretty harsh. Where was I, Gera & Pato's wedding, Pato was my uncle's second cousin, Gera was the miller's daughter next valley over -- no direct relation, their wedding was a sight, no hobbits, no diamond draught, but plenty of Panther Sweat. Not that that's the main event but there was near as much drinking, and they weren't dwarves so it had more effect -- even the day after Tabo and Rono were still standing downhill of falling timber and started a fight -- they like as not would've kilt each other iffen they had been sober enough to actually connect - but for those watching it was a sight -- they tried hitting each other with fresh lumber, then they moved to axes... a puppet show doesn't have half as much mayhem, eventually they wore themselves out and just sorta laid there pantin'. They tried to lay on into all of us laughing at them but by that point they were too busy barfing their guts out 'cause they'd jumped up rite quick when they heard us.
Where was I? The magic shop? Yea, I went there this morning, anyway, Pato's and Gera's wedding that was great because they had hired themselves up a ...
Oh, Mariam's wedding. Well that ended late that night with Mi'Lady Raun and The Indrafang retiring to their new home for the evening. We were told that they'd be busy the next morning with setting up the household, so after matins, I headed off to that magic shop I told you about the other day -- the one with the blue lights. I took the crystal pieces, and some of the other odds and ends to see what I was able to get.
It looked a bit different today than it had the other day, but then it wasn't on the same side of the street either. I suppose either I was being my usual absent-minded self, or that there was some enchantment involved, probably the latter as while chatting with the clerk (also different than the one I spoke with previously) I did get him to confirm (more or less) that the shop's location was determined by a something like a "commerce" ley line -- he didn't want to talk too much about it and seemed to be slightly disturbed that I had been able to surmise so much so quickly -- though he got his tit for tat on that when he mentioned that he was able to accept my word that some of the crystal stuff had come from Erenoch as we had been seen there recently. Living in transit like that bears its own burdens I suppose, he also was eager to hear news about the Tower of Snow since he seemed to think it was still a functioning city and was concerned that they had no cutomers from there in quite a while.
Anyway he found even the pottery shard and the Tumbrel fishscale armour fragment of some value -- pointing out that they provided sufficient pattern to recreate them with the repair spell -- obviously true but probably in the main more expensive than practical in terms of the amount of magic it would take, but he allowed as he had customers who didn't feel such enchantments belittled the value of their collectibles. The crystal parts I kept from the tower apparently are musical instruments and there is someone who is trying to assemble them en suite. He struck the bowl and it did have marvelous tone. Undoubtably quite valuable, but unlikely to be of use to us. The disc with the silver fluid he recognized on sight and called it a moon disk. On the one hand I sigh at the true value these fragments may have had, but even a ruby is worthless when you are without water at sea. We didn't know how to use them, and now we have stuff we can use.
We had discussed a set of bone javelins, for Laughing Bear, but he seemed unwilling to sell them for fear of becoming "involved" in the curse or otherwise offending the tree spirit that placed it there. Besides there were quite a number of them, and an atalatl as well, so that seemed likely to have been all we could afford... anyway when we reached our point of final negotiations he had taken the javelins off the table. What we ended up with is a new staff for myself, it would take me a month or more to make one under normal circumstances, or perhaps a single day followed by unknown consequences given that I haven't figured out all the details about how the Earthblood has changed my casting abilities, anyway I have a new staff now. I got a ring that will prevent its wearer from bleeding to death, and a scroll that contains the chapbook directions for learning the spell "Cure Disease"; though it turns out that is not as valuable as it seemed at first because I lack the base spells prerequisite for learning it, it makes reference to the 3rd stanza of the "Sterilize" incantation and the 2nd order gestures of some food spell, and requires the refrain from "Cure Wounds", I think there's a footnote from a fourth spell, but for all of which it follows standard practice and merely references them rather than repeating the formula. I'll transcribe a copy into my spellbook so I can study it, but I won't be able to cast it unless I can learn those other spells. Sorry Matthew. Still a valuable thing to have eventually. Oh, and to match up with the antiques, he swapped me a book of hours it seems pretty old, but in good shape, I expect it had been pieced back together with a repair spell, but now I can study up on the prayers and don't have to keep pestering Alain. Oh and I got 6 gold pennies for the mithril glove down in the armour district.
This leaves us quite a ways away from 11 gold marks we calculated we'd be needing. Unfortunately they don't trade much in cash or plate, or we could could make our way back by Windsor, as he let it be known that he was interested in more things from the Snow Tower. If we do head back north we should try to stop that way, as he said they have dealings in Landsruetown as well. Some place called Gillicote Island too, but he says only in summer there, and the only people around are the sea folk, I assumed he was talking about Ash's people. I asked about places south of Eagles Reach and he got real uncomfortable saying they did business without regard to "politics or philosophy".
Anyway the ring is generally useful, the spell might be useful someday, and I really needed the staff, and we lightened the burden by some bulky stuff we had no use for so it wasn't a complete waste, even if I'm sure they got the better deal, unless we had months to wait whilst I analyse each of the pieces, we had no way of judging their true value, and even if we did, some musical instruments wouldn't have done us much good, I think we're better off now. And we still have the griddle!