The Crystal Sphere

[Boo]

In the village square, you find a shop that you have never seen before. It is a small stone cottage with a large weeping willow in front. A black and brown puppy chases a gray fox cub around the tree. The fox turns and runs toward the puppy, and just as the fox leaps into the air to pounce, the puppy vanishes and reappears on the other side of the tree. You watch as the two play for a while, and then walk into the shop.
As you open the wooden door, the smell of sandalwood fills your nose. The small shop seems much larger from the inside. The entire back wall is lined floor to ceiling with books. The wall to your right has shelves of small bottles; a closer look reveals that the bottles are filled with various types of herbs and elixirs. Half of the opposite wall is covered with different tapestries and wall hangings. The other half has shelves packed with candles, incense, incense burners, and stones of all colors. The ceiling is painted to look like a night sky full of stars, and in the center, a painting of a full moon glows brightly among the deep blues and purples.
You are interrupted by the sound of claws clicking on the floor beside you. You look down, and see the black and brown puppy followed by the gray fox from the yard. They bolt past you, and head to the center of the room where there is a woman sitting, surrounded by a circle of stones, on a woven rug meditating. She is wearing a dark purple velvet hooded cape, which is pulled around her so all you can see is her face. A deck of Tarot cards lies in front of her. “Was she there when I walked in?” you wonder. Not even before you are done thinking it, the woman looks up and smiles “Things around here tend to only show themselves when they want to be seen” she says and at that, the puppy walks over to a smaller rug in the corner of the room, lays down, yawns, and vanishes into thin air once more. The fox curls up next to the woman and looks up at her lovingly as she scratches it's ears.
“Welcome to the Crystal Sphere. I am Vivian, but you may call me Boo. I offer a wide variety of herbs, magickal stones, books on witchcraft, candles, incense, and anything else of a magickal nature. If I do not have it here, I can certainly make, or order it for you. I am also considering teaching classes if you are interested. Feel free to look around, and if you have any questions, I will be more than happy to answer them for you.” And with that she goes back to her meditation.

[Azurel]

Rayne stands still for a moment, considering the old woman's words. When he walked in, he watched all of the events unfold without questioning whether or not they actually happened. He returned his attention to the woman.

"Do you have any objections to teaching Dark Arts?"

OOC: Rayne is a mage and looks nothing like Azurel. This will be so much easier with Rayne's sig.

[Therin]

Therin peeks in the door, but turns away and leaves when he sees Rayne.

[Boo]

Yes, as a matter of fact we have several books, *she walks over to the bookshelf, and picks out three "This should do nicely" *she walks over to Rayne and hands him the books. The Demon Within, Raising Dark Spirits, and Advanced guide to black magic* the books are six dollars apiece, so that will be eighteen dollars. Oh, and, here is a bled of protection herbs, A experienced as you look, I would hate to be responsible for you being harmed in any way due to something you purchased in my shop. Is there anything else I can help you with today?

[Azurel]

Rayne let out a quick laugh upon reading the title "The Demon Within." Rayne hadn't laughed in years. Azurel cracked a smile, though he was barely awake so his sense of humor was off at the moment.

Demon, where is your money?

"This will do."

Azurel let out a sigh. This wasn't the first time Rayne had asked for money that Azurel had earned.

Left pants pocket.

Rayne searched around, going under his trenchcoat and into his left pocket. He pulled out 20 pokus and handed them to the lady, exchanging it with the books and herbs. Luckily Azurel hadn't noticed the amount exchanged or else he would had been furious that Rayne left the shop without getting change; Rayne did so, flash jumping and disappearing right in front of the woman's eyes without saying a word--as if he ever found himself in a conversation.

[Sperrit]

Sperrit walks into the shop, looking at all the strange artifacts.
"Hmm... so this is human magic, eh? Interesting.... Using the dried leaves of dead plants for power? Stones and crystals for focusing power... I've heard the Light Elementals have tried that...."

[Therin]

"They have. They didn't get far with it, either. Unreliable things, the inanimate." Therin speaks from directly behind Sperrit, having entered the store now that Rayne has left. He turns to the woman and eyes her silently before he speaks. "Did you check those pokus? You may want to. Otherwise, you could find yourself in dire straits." Then he bows and introduces himself. "I am Lews Therin Mythral, Professor of Magical Theory at the Thaumaturgical Academy of Norwind, about three days' ride west of Hirald, across the Strait from here. We are currently quite short on teachers, and judging from the myriad of dampening fields I detect here, you at least know what you're talking about. Whether you can teach it is another matter entirely, and one which we shall have to pursue at greater length. Most importantly, though, are you open to the option of relocation? Norwind isn't exactly right next door."

[Boo]

I would consider relocating if there is a need for my assistance. I consider myself to be quite a good teacher. I am looking for a place to live. I am currently living in the back room of my shop, which works for the time being, but I would like to be able to have a home away from the shop, but not too far.

[Boo]

And just for the record, I have found my ways to be extremely reliable. One just has to know how to use their powers, and the powers of the earth's gifts such as stones, and herbs.

[Sperrit]

Sperrit nods and grins.
"The Earth is full of many gifts, but I usually perfer my plants alive and my crystals in the Earth."
Sperrit turned to Therin. "I'm not sure about how well they did or did not do with their efforts, Therin. After all, they did create the Moon stones and the Yruithel, which pocess considerable Light power. Of course, at this point who knows what happened to those precious artifacts. They were scattered or lost long ago."