How many components did Rosha and Courtney have on them? Only seven, once you count the rock chip.
“Only” is doing a lot of heavy lifting there. Yes, they only had seven components when comparatively, most wholesale types would bring ten. That, however, was seven years worth of accumulation for most.
Admittedly, once you’re strong enough to acquire accessory components, you have more than a few years ahead of you. Well, barring the fact that to find high-quality components requires adventuring, which is kind of counter to living a long life.
Rosha strides into the shop, and the bored human clerk jerks up and straightens his suit, but after looking to the side, slouches down again. “hello. welcome to Kel’s accessories wholesale and training. we do not sell pre-made accessories. all crafting requests are scheduled to take at least a month. there are no rush orders. how may I help you.”
Rosha nods, “We’re here for the wholesale crafting services.”
The clerk perks up again, “Ah, wonderful. Could I have the name of the esteemed personage requesting this service?”
Courtney draws herself up and scoffs, “I am the one who will be in charge of this affair. Now, guide us to some proper accommodations where my maid can bring out our components.” And she sniffs.
The clerk nods and flatters her to appease what he now believes must be someone similar to him. Admittedly, he had a bit of the rough edges knocked off after being forced to work the desk. “Anyway, right this way!” And he gestures to a door on the right.
Now, the entire storefront is quite posh. Gold filigree, silver ornaments, and more magical lights than you can shake a stick at. This door, though? It slid under Rosha’s perception until brought to her attention. Then it was obvious that this was the most well-made piece in the storefront.
Made of heartwood with a deep royal purple color to it. The edges chased with gold yet again, but what really caught the eye was the clearly magical runes. Doubtful that they were functional as actual runes. That would be a security risk.
However, they were functional. Well, at least the buttery silver metal inlaid in them was. Even a place like this wouldn’t waste mithril on pure decoration. Though in this case, there is a chance the metal is simply being used as an expensive Mana battery to power whatever defenses are inside of the door itself.
It is a high-quality door, honestly a little too high-quality. You could go through the wall itself many times easier than trying for the door. But that wasn’t really the point of the door.
Which was proven even more when the pair were led through by the clerk. As behind the door? It wasn’t storing anything. Rather, it was a simple room with an ornate desk in the center.
Oh, sure, the entire place is ornamented and bedecked to a degree above the storefront. Likely everything in here added up to more than enough wealth if someone wanted to take everything, but that wasn’t the point of the room. All the wealth on display was simply to make the rich and powerful feel comfortable with spending cities worth of gold and handing over objects worth more than just the gold value.
Rosha sauntered into the room, made not of a select few ornaments, and sat down in the chair clearly meant for clients.
The clerk watched all this and made a note that she paid attention not to the most expensive pieces in the room, but rather the ones with the most significance. A sign of someone who wasn’t just wealthy or paid attention to the prices of things, but rather a person raised around old money.
After all, anyone can notice a gold brick in the middle of a table. It takes someone who knows and is paying attention to notice that the table is constructed in a traditional pattern and was likely an older piece with historical significance.
The clerk shut the door and a subtle wave of magic emanated out from the door and over the walls and floor until it met at the opposite side. A visual indication of a privacy bubble going into effect. Satisfied it took, he walks over to the other side of the desk and sits down, back straight and off of the chairs back.
He smiles, “Now, how about we see what you want us to work with?”
Rosha, with her hands folded in her lap, nods.
Behind her, Courtney steps forward and places a suitcase on the table, unlocks it with a Mana pulse, and turns it towards the man. “The mistress has these seven objects of interest. We are looking to have them crafted into jewelry. Well, besides the stone. That one, sigh, something of a more manly design is required.”
The clerk takes each piece out one at a time, starting with the rock chip.
Said chip is turned over a few times before he nods, “An interesting piece. This looks to be of the personal progress type origins. Relatively weak and I can’t quite place much beyond that. If we do succeed, it won’t do more than one thing. Are we looking for stats or an effect? Keeping in mind that an effect will be weaker than the equivalent in stats.”
Rosha rolls her eyes, “Sadly we are looking for an effect.”
The clerk nods, “I will note it down.”
He gently places it back down in the suitcase and picks up the next. This one is the body of a dead snake that died while attempting to eat its own tail.
The clerk looks this one over with much more interest. “Ah! A rare piece. This snake managed to embody elements of the Ouroboros myth within itself before dying. Quite rare as they generally die before they manage that. Nevermind the fact that their bodies more often than not are eaten by beasts before someone knowledgeable finds them.”
The clerk then sighs and shakes his head. “A shame that this seems to have been a regular beast. How it grew strong enough to gain a core, I’ll never know. I don’t have much hope for this component.”