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Story Four: Enchanting Antiquities
Topic Started: Nov 1 2009, 03:24 AM (259 Views)
Darkom
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In the Imperial City Market District, there exists a certain store. A store unlike any other that have made business within the city’s walls, this shop has some rather unusual items. The owner of this store is a very crafty Breton named Millie Retone, and her home and place of business, the Enchanting Antiquities.


Drusus Magant


The small bell over the door chimed softly, alerting the storekeeper of a customer. The Breton woman looked up from the device on her countertop, a metal contraption covered in gears and dials. The stout Imperial man who intruded upon her work rushed up to the counter, his eyes darting about the shelves that lined the store’s dim walls.

“Can I help you?” The Breton’s straight brown hair was unkempt, several hairs falling from her ponytail into her face, her eyes staring coldly past them at the small robed man in front of her.

“Ah, I do hope so, miss. I was looking for a gift for my wife. It is our anniversary, you see, and I have been racing from store to store searching for something to give her.” The man wrung his sweaty palms, his eyes shifting from the storekeeper’s to several of the items that dotted the countertop.

“Hmph,” Millie Retone smiled to herself ‘Just like an Imperial man. Probably out drinking with his buddies when he suddenly remembered.’ She stood up, the chair grinding on the stone floor. The sudden noise caused the Imperial to wince, “Well, I might have something she may be interested in. Does she have any hobbies?”

“Um, she is an avid seamstress, but what I think she really would like is a nice piece of jewelry.” Drusus Magant turned to the Breton as she stepped around the countertop, walking to the other side of the candlelit room. He followed her to a small cabinet, looking over her shoulder as she opened several shelves, all teeming with shining silver bracelets, rosy golden hoops, sparkling jeweled necklaces, and gem encrusted rings. Drusus’ face paled at the magnificence of it all; surely his wife would investigate wherever he bought her present, how could he get anything but the best?

“If it is jewels you are after, look no further. I have everything from the Isles to Morrowind, and even a few things beyond.” She indicated her collection with a flourish, her face beaming with pride over the splendor she possessed. Unlike many of the other jewel vendors, most of her collection was real gems and pure metals.

Drusus gave a silent groan. This was the last store in the district, he had already checked everywhere else. Oh well, perhaps if he got her something really nice she would stop pestering him about his work. “What is the nicest I could get for, say, five hundred Septims?” ‘Half a month’s pay, fifty good bottles of wine worth of jewelry…’

Millie eyed the man, noticed his pained expression, and deduced his situation. She returned his grimace with a wide smile ‘I’ve never seen an easier sale. Maybe he will buy it…’ “Well, if you really want to impress her, I would get rid of these drawers immediately.” The shopkeeper pressed the two lowest layers in the cabinet back into their places, leaving three drawers of trinkets for the man to choose from, “But if you don’t want to go over eight hundred, you wouldn’t want anything in here.” She indicated the top row, while putting a sly twist on her words, hoping to catch the man in her trap.

“Ah, thank you.” Drusus said off handedly, studying the various jewels amassed before him.

‘Oh well… five hundred is still a good number.’ Millie was disappointed, but she knew a cheapskate when she saw one. When they got a number in their heads, they rarely changed it. “If I may point out one particularly interesting piece, my good sir,” She indicated a small, gold bracelet on the second drawer; a fine chain with six different gemstones hanging from it, “This bracelet is said to have belonged to an Akaviri princess during the time of the Potentate, a real find. I would hate to part with it, but I know your wife would be absolutely thrilled to have a story to tell her friends.”
‘Please let me finally be rid of this thing.’

“I’m not sure; that sounds awfully expensive…” The Imperial eyed the bracelet closely, estimating its worth.

“Oh certainly it would be, sir, if you were talking to any other vendor. But since I know this is going to a woman who can really appreciate it, I’ll let it go for… say seven hundred Septims?” ‘One last try.’ Millie thought, her smile at its most charming.

“Seven hundred! What do you think- I mean, those gems look awfully small. Are you sure it’s worth that much?”

“That and more, sir, but before you say anything else, think about what your wife will say when she gets home from her friend’s party, where all everyone could talk about was her bracelet from Akavir? What more could she ask for?”

“I suppose…” The Imperial trailed off, he was already seeing his wife’s smile in his head. ‘Oh, how long it has been since I have seen that smile.’

Millie saw the glassy look in her customer’s eyes, and congratulated herself on another successful sale. ‘Of course, now comes the-

“Six twenty.” Drusus said suddenly, turning up from the cabinet to stare down the Breton woman.

‘Bartering.’ Millie finished her thought with a stern smile, pulling the key to her lockbox out of her pocket. “Six fifty.”

“Six thirty, and that’s my final offer.” Drusus smiled his self assured smile, proud of his ability to talk the price down seventy Septims. The short Imperial had been shopping alone maybe ten times in his life.

“Sold; I’m sure you- and your wife- will be very happy with it.”


“Cindia, dear, you’ll never guess what I brought home today.” Drusus Magant turned the small key in its lock, shutting out the busy world for the night. The soft candlelight reflected in his eyes, the soft steps of his wife echoing down the narrow hall to the kitchen area. Cindia Magant’s eyes opened wide, her hand flying up to her mouth in a rare gesture of surprise and happiness.

“Oh, Drus, you didn’t forget after all!” The middle age noble’s daughter walked as fast as her high heels would allow over the carpeted floor, wrapping her husband in a loving embrace. In the back of his mind, Drusus noted that Cindia’s usually straight black hair had been put up in a formal bun and, by the overwhelming flower scent, perfumed. ‘She had prepared as well…’

The slender woman drew away from her husband, her hands finding the small black box he held out ceremoniously. Drusus only smiled as she opened the lid, seeing the girlish gleam in her eye as she beheld his present. Cindia Magant possessed many bracelets, and many rings, necklaces, and hoops besides, but each time Drusus brought one home she behaved as if he were proposing all over again.

The fine gold chain sparkled in the dim light, the seven jewels dangling below like apples on the tree. “I love it, honey, I simply love it!” She wrapped the jewelry around her pale wrist, practiced fingers searching for clasps on the chain, her look of joy turning to slight frustration as she found none.

“But where are the clasps to connect the ends? Oh, Drusus, how can I thank you for my present if I cannot wear it?”
The robed Imperial’s look of self satisfaction turned to one of slight uncertainty. Had he been swindled into purchasing a broken bracelet? Of course not, “Here honey, let me see.”

His worn hand reached out for the armlet, Cindia still looking down at the links of gold, following each down to the next in her search. A fresh sparkle came to her eye as she scrutinized the gems; so perfect they seemed! Each one the size of her little pinky nail, each their own perfect shade: frosted white, scarlet red, forest green, ocean blue, royal purple, dusty yellow, and the final stone a perfectly round, completely opaque black gem. She held the finery cupped in her hand, close to her bosom, ignoring her husband’s request; lost as she was in the bracelet’s splendor.

“Honey? What is it?” Drusus asked, his voice faltering with worry. ‘What is wrong?’

Finally, his beloved wife hears him, opening her mouth only enough to utter a reply, “Where did you get this…”

“What? Oh, I had it delivered, why? Is something wrong?”

“No, no, nothing is wrong, dear. It’s just that… these gemstones are magnificent. They must have cost a king’s ransom.” Enraptured by the gems, Cindia’s hazel eyes could not stop questing through each stone. The cut, the shape, the color: all seemed too perfect to be real.

“Well, funny you should mention that.” Drusus smiled; he had been impatient to tell her, and, even if she was acting strangely, she couldn’t help but appreciate this, “I wanted to get you something special, so I ordered something no one else would be able to match. You are holding the bracelet of a real Akaviri princess!”

The Imperial man stood, eyes closed, his contented look once again dominating his face, then draining away as his wife stood silent. His eyes opened, his concerned look finding her still staring at the thing. “What’s wrong, didn’t you hear me?”

“Yes, yes, Akaviri, you say? Very good dear, thank you.” Her dismissive words hit him like a blow; it seems the Breton woman lied to him. ‘But how could anyone not be impressed by an Akaviri bracelet? Why is she still looking at it like that?’“Honey, are you alright? You seem… distant.”

“I’m fine, it’s just so…” Her brown eyes met his for the first time since she first gazed at the gems, “Perfect, is all. Thank you very much.”

Drusus was concerned; her stare had a glassy, far away quality to it. It felt as if she was not truly looking at him. The man threw away the thought; it was her words that mattered, after all. “It was the least I could do, my love. It’s not every year we celebrate our fifteenth anniversary.” He smiled, everything was back to normal.

Cindia took a final fleeting glance at the bracelet, masked her surprise at finding it wrapped around her wrist, and embraced her husband for the second time. Her lips found his, and the moment became everything Drusus had imagined on the walk home.


Cindia Magant lie alone in her and her husband’s grand bed, her wrist held just over her face. Drusus had just left to fetch the ingredients he required for their anniversary dinner, and Cindia was once more examining her present.
‘How does one take it off? I still cannot find the clasps, though they seem to have found each other. Perhaps it is magic; Drus did say it belonged to an Akaviri, didn’t he?’

The Imperial woman did not know enough about magic to test her theory; she had been raised learning only the skills a lesser noble’s wife must know: some cooking, sewing, and enough about politics to keep track of her husband’s affairs. There must be something magical about the jewelry though, there was no way any plain bracelet could appear so.
She turned her head away from the gems, searching for the book she kept on her nightstand, when a sudden motion in the corner of her eye caught her attention. A writhing, slippery movement in the direction of her husband’s side of the bed; had he snuck home? Cindia twisted her head around, looking for the source of the distraction. Nothing; she was still alone.

‘The wine must be playing tricks on me.’ She thought, recalling the few glasses she had shared with her husband before he had left ‘I hope he gets back soon.’

Her mind was distracted from her loneliness by a sudden burning pain in her right hand. She jerked her arm above the covers, finding nothing but her normal hand and the anniversary bracelet. The burning did not stop, however, and her face contorted in distress. ‘What is going on!’

Just as she was calling out, her voice froze in her throat. ‘Is… is the bracelet moving?’ She could only stare in horror at the trembling chain on her wrist. ‘No, it’s just me.’ She looked at her hand. Perfectly still.

The trembling bracelet began to shake violently, constricting her wrist, the burning pain focused there. The jewels stood straight out from the chain, parallel to the ground, immobile. Was it just a trick of the light, or did each one glare at her, like the beady eyes of a snake.

She tried to jump out of bed, to run screaming down the stairs and out into the street, but her body was paralyzed. She must be dreaming. What else could the whispering voice be coming from but her own imagination? Slithering, hissing voices, speaking in foreign tongues. All angry, furious; murderous shouting deafening her. The burning became unbearable, it felt like her hand had been sliced off.

The candles went out, the darkness smothering Cindia Magant’s screams.



“We’re sorry for the disturbance, ma’am, but we received reports that the suspect visited this store the night of the murder.” Two Legion guards in full armor, standing at her doorstep, drenched from the rain.

“What? Oh, yes, the Magant woman. How terrible; yes, he came to my store that night. He bought one bracelet, said it was for their anniversary, and then rushed out.” Millie Retone stood at the base of the stairwell that led to her living quarters, still in her nightgown. She stifled a yawn; it had been two whole days, and the Legion were just now investigating her tip? How did they ever catch the man in the first place?

“Did he seem strange at all? Preoccupied?” The first Legionnaire asked, his heavy boots clanking on her stone floor. They had both removed their helmets, the first held his under his arm, while the second had placed his on the floor, so as to have both hands to write with.

“Now that you mention it, yes; he seemed in a great hurry, but he said it was because he didn’t want to be late getting home.” Minnie went over to her desk, where she kept records of all her wares. ‘It couldn’t have been the bracelet, could it? No way the curse is real; he guaranteed me that he had seen those inscriptions in every tomb he’d visited, and not one thing had happened to him…’

“I see; well then, if you could give us the papers for the item in question, we’ll just be on our way. Nothing else you’d like to mention?” The Imperial stood tall, his short black hair still drenched from the downpour outside. The second man continued scribbling in his small book; his eyes never left the pages.

“No,” She couldn’t tell them she had gotten it from a graverobber, best to just let life go on, “Nothing; nothing at all. Here you are.” She handed him the fake papers; he in turn handed the document to his assistant.

“Then I’ll just be on my way. Thank you for your time, citizen.”

“Always happy to help the Legion.” Millie said, closing the door behind them. ‘Waking me up like that; can’t that kind of thing wait until the afternoon? They already have the man in jail, no doubt what the sentence will be…’
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