A dark skinned woman peeked around the door to the alley behind her shop. Her face brightened instantly. "Well look who it is, my favorite customer! Come in. I think there's some tea left."
Tenfingers stepped inside and was guided to a seat at a table. Then her eyes snapped back to her friend in a double-take. "Damn, Jalah, are you sure those are big enough?" Jalah looked wounded, and made an unconscious adjustment to the plunging neckline of her linen dress. Tenfingers continued, apparently oblivious to her hurtful question. "Giant pearls from the Agrippan Sea right? They're exquisite!"
"Oh- my earrings." Jalah's smile returned. "Thanks. Well, you didn't come all the way to The Gate Quarter to flatter me. What have you got?"
Tenfingers plucked the small crystal ball from the front of her tunic and presented it to her friend. Jalah wasn't impressed. "This is half opaque and half cracked. The images are fuzzy, and there's no telling who this lady is. It's only worth something to the person you stole it from. Hmmph. You usually have a better eye for these sorts of things."
"Yeah, I realize that it's crap, but it was the only thing protected by a thief ward. It piqued my curiosity so I nabbed it. Could you take a closer look?"
Jalah brought her eyepiece down and inspected the orb under magnification. "Well you're right about the spent thief ward, although I can't imagine why anyone would..." She stopped, frowning. "Wait- there are traces of something else that got triggered along with the ward, something that was woven in with it so it would be concealed: a curse."
Tenfingers stepped inside and was guided to a seat at a table. Then her eyes snapped back to her friend in a double-take. "Damn, Jalah, are you sure those are big enough?" Jalah looked wounded, and made an unconscious adjustment to the plunging neckline of her linen dress. Tenfingers continued, apparently oblivious to her hurtful question. "Giant pearls from the Agrippan Sea right? They're exquisite!"
"Oh- my earrings." Jalah's smile returned. "Thanks. Well, you didn't come all the way to The Gate Quarter to flatter me. What have you got?"
Tenfingers plucked the small crystal ball from the front of her tunic and presented it to her friend. Jalah wasn't impressed. "This is half opaque and half cracked. The images are fuzzy, and there's no telling who this lady is. It's only worth something to the person you stole it from. Hmmph. You usually have a better eye for these sorts of things."
"Yeah, I realize that it's crap, but it was the only thing protected by a thief ward. It piqued my curiosity so I nabbed it. Could you take a closer look?"
Jalah brought her eyepiece down and inspected the orb under magnification. "Well you're right about the spent thief ward, although I can't imagine why anyone would..." She stopped, frowning. "Wait- there are traces of something else that got triggered along with the ward, something that was woven in with it so it would be concealed: a curse."