(OOC: This is my 10,000th post! To celebrate, I will be responding to EACH of the three previous posts in one big post! Drumroll please...
)
In the palace of the prince of Hekaga...
The servant in question was a female Dracon with an exotic look, even for her kind. Her skin was a very rare shade of golden yellow with a pale white underbelly. Was it possible that she had dyed it somehow, or that it had been modified by magic? Who knows... mages, lords, and the rich liked to keep unique oddities around their palaces... like baubles... the same way a vain noblewoman collects jewelry. This girl could not have been older than 21... yet she had an air of having served in the palace for many years. Her clothing was very light, yet made out of the fanciest silks available.
"Your wish is my command, human" She said, leaving quickly. Not even ten minutes later, the female had returned with some food in a large porcelain plate; on it was a side of beef, exotic fruits, some bread with butter and olive oil, a side of asparagus, and two containers of some kind of spice in each.
As Jake sat down to eat, the female left suddenly, and returned with a tray... but it wasn't a second course... it wasn't even dessert. She had brought oils... but to what end? This is where Jake would learn the depths of the Prince's brutality and tyranny. The female was trained to treat every one she was sent to serve as if he was the prince himself. The Dracons were not exactly known for goodness, fairness, or equality, but this was far worse than the norm. While Jake was still eating the food, the female took off her top and loincloth, and, in the manner the sick prince would have wanted her to, began applying to oils to herself. And this was treated in her mind as being totally normal... without being prompted by Jake, or the prince, or anyone else, she began to oil herself down... much to the human's disgust.
The spell had made Jake evil, but not twisted... at least, not in this way. He told her to stop and put her clothes back on, to which she expressed surprise and stopped putting oil on herself, but she neither left nor dressed.
"Is something wrong?" she asked. "Maybe you want me to do you first?" she asked, reaching over to touch Jake. Her skin was soft... VERY soft... even by the standards of a Dracon female. This was... odd. Upon feeling her, Jake realized that something had been done to her to make her this way... like her very biology had been twisted for the sick pleasure of the prince. Jake told her to leave, and after she had tried three times to get his shirt off, he finally got her to exit the room. They must have conditioned her to act in a certain way...
It was sad to see the powers of magic and life be captured and twisted to the whims of an evildoer... yet, that is what many mages, or those who employed the services of mages wanted... power. Power is defined as the ability to shape reality to one's will. There was a limit to how much power could be used and in what way before it transgressed a moral line. It was not only the case that with great power comes great responsibility, but that with too much power, the chance to abuse it grows. With great power must also come great wisdom to use that power... or else things that ought not be will come.
At the docks of Minbenthac...
Annette, Margas, Minna, Lucien, and Ilsa all gathered their supplies and put them into the boat. They set sail up the river, traveling at a very rapid pace, thanks to a spell cast on the boat by a mage that Tallon supplied. "So Annette, I've been meaning to ask you... what are human lands like? Do you all wear those odd garments on your feet where you come from, or is it a special piece of clothing that mages use" Lucien asked out of sheer ignorance.
The river was long and winding, and the water was not at all calm. Still, their progress was very fast, and that is what counted. They could go to find Malcia, defeat her, and return to Minbenthac by nightfall if they kept up this pace.
The Marketplace of Minbenthac...
The panic-buying continued throughout the day, the crowds were massive, and the prices were being raised to... "meet the demand." Still, it was not at all hard to find a store which sold armor and weapons. It was a magical store, but they covered supplies like leather armor and other protection as well... albeit of the enchanted kind.
"This is said to be an excellent store for our purposes" Adykon told the group. Entering the store, a female Dracon greeted them. The store belonged to a male Dracon wizard named Ophion, yet he was not around at the moment. In fact, it had been a while since anyone saw him in Minbenthac. His wife, Aurescia, filled in for him. She had a sad, bored look on her face, as she missed her husband... and there was a lot of stuff that happened to her kids... so many things in these last few years...
She welcomed the party as they set foot in the store...
"Welcome to Ophion's. You are free to take a look around, and-... You're the adventurers who have come to stop Dememoras, aren't you?" Aurescia's mood immediately brightened, excited at the prospect of finally being able to do something interesting for once.
"Yes. Yes we are. Word gets around quickly, doesn't it?" Adykon replied, doing the speaking for the group at the moment.
"It does indeed. Same thing with that rumor about the dragon on the palace... although I
did detect a dragon's energy signature yesterday during a ritual spell of mine... but you're not interested in some little tale, are you? You're here for the equipment!"
"We sure are! The king of Minbenthac will reimburse for anything we buy here, so whatever you have too sell, we'll take it!
. No... seriously, we need some armor for the panthers here" Adykon told Aurescia, indicating Eriol and Arianne. "My weapons and armor will be made by the smiths of the king himself, but heavy armor isn't what we need for the gaeans here."
"Gaeans? Oh, those humanoid panthers are Gaeans. Fascinating." Aurescia thought to herself. "Hello panthers! I must admit, I've never seen your kind before, although I've heard of creatures like yourselves." Sizing the panthers up, she came to a quick conclusion, one born of a good eye and years of experience.
"I guess the male needs some heavier armor. Hmm. We've got some of that. I would not recommend giving the female anything, though... not even leather." she told Adykon. "In fact, she's probably wearing too much for a race which I've heard relies on dexterity, and since she is a mage, anything much more than cloth can interfere with her spell-casting."
"How did you know I was-?" Arianne asked.
"I can sense your magical powers. You are an air mage of some power. I'm detecting that your power was born in you... so that makes you a sorceress. I would not advise wearing any serious armor. Being a sorceress myself, I can tell you that. I do have some magical jewelry for your arms, legs, hands, and feet, though. It is enchanted to give you more power, greater agility, and to provide magical protection as if you were wearing more armor, all without the added weight."
"10,000! 10,000!" A crowd screamed outside of the shop.
"What is that?" Selturma asked, as she was investigating an odd, bubbling brown potion labeled "aloc-acoc."
"Oh, that." Vespion shouted. "The banks are closed, but some money is allowed to be withdrawn on a limited basis during this panic. They are only letting a few thousand depositors with good credit take out even a bit of cash. If your name is posted on a list, you can take out some money. This has clearly angered the crowd, as there are roughly 10,000 depositors who wish to take their cash out immediately. Hence, they are demanding 10,000 posts."
The Magic Shop
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