The party arrived at the entrance of the appraiser. The clothing and rugs draped over the clotheslines and crates of goods made for a decent hiding spot but was only a nuisance to those who already knew of its location. Shin went first, ducking as he swept the curtain door over his head. His two friends followed behind him.
“You three again?”
The appraiser glanced at them from her peripheral version. In front of her was a shelf laden an intricate watch and a set of various tools. She rolled her eyes, turned in her chair to face the three intruders, and took her hood off.
“What do you need this time?”
Shin felt the air behind him get cold as Fuyumi got annoyed at the appraiser’s tone of voice. Nightingale lightly stepped on Fuyumi’s boots in a futile attempt to get her to calm down.
“We have a big stash that we’d like you to look through.”
The appraiser raised her eyebrows and leaned in, intrigued by the pouch held out by the red-headed adventurer.
“Let me see…”
She took the bag, placed it on the table, and took out a pair of tweezers. She stuck it into the bag and pulled out a jewel before holding it up to her left eye. With her other hand, she slipped her thumb under the thin black eyepatch covering her eye before pausing.
“Do you mind?”
“Ah, sorry.”
The three of them turned around. Shin elbowed Nightingale’s side when he noticed him trying to get a peek at the appraisers eye.
“Ouch.”
“Shhh.”
“These are definitely real… you can look now.”
She gestured for them to sit down.
“So… how did you get so many? I don’t remember the patch notes saying anything about increased drop rates in Urumel.”
Nightingale leaned over the table and held a finger up to his lips.
“That’s a secret.”
The appraiser rolled her eyes once more.
“Unless you’re willing to show me your eye, I might reconsider.”
“You’re a little too into that eye, weirdo.”
Fuyumi tightly gripped Nightingale's shoulder and pulled him back to his seat.
“Anyway, can we trust you to appraise all of these?” Shin’s question set the conversation back on course.
“There’s at least 50 of them here… it’s going to take a while. Also, it’s going to cost you. A lot.”
“Money isn’t really a problem. Is there any chance that you would purchase any of the ones that we’re not interested in off our hands?’
The appraiser leaned back in her chair and flicked a coin in the air before catching it.
“I’ll take any that you don’t need. I hope you know that I’m the one who sets the prices here though.”
Shin crossed his arms and nodded reluctantly.
“Before we go, I wanted to get a couple of these appraised first.”
Shin reached into the pocket of his coat and took out a jewel before sticking his hand out behind him. Fuyumi and Nightingale each put a jewel into his hand.
“Take a look at these three first. Of course, I’ll pay.”
“Deal.”
The appraiser took out a small box from under the table and went through the same process as last time. She operated the small machine, appraising each jewel before putting them aside.
“Gold first this time.”
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Shin took out his pouch and reached in to pull out a stack of gold coins. However, he was stopped by Fuyumi before he could hand them over.
“What’s wrong?” Shin asked, looking over his shoulder at Fuyumi.
The appraiser gestured for him to hand it over.
“If we’re going to be doing such a large transaction like this deal. Shouldn’t we know your name at least?”
She was taken aback by Fuyumi’s question.
“Why would you need to know that?”
“You’re the only person in this Dragonfall that we’ve seen that doesn’t have a name above their head.”
Shin glanced up at the space above the appraiser’s head. He hadn’t realized this entire time. Usually, even NPCs had their name displayed above their head. However, the appraiser was a special case. He was surprised at first, but it wasn’t unlike Fuyumi to notice such a minor detail.
“There’s nothing special about my name. Why would you need to know it?”
“I want reassurance that you won’t run off with the jewels.”
The appraiser toyed with the tools in front of her.
“And how would knowing my name help with that?” She said, smiling devilishly.
Fuyumi flipped her dagger out of its sheathe, stood up from her seat, and pointed it at the messy haired woman in front of her.
“I just need a name and a face is all.”
The temperature in the room dropped several degrees as it was covered in a thin white veil of mist.
The appraiser tilted her head at the threat.
“Fuyumi!” Shin loudly whispered.
Nightingale reached out to pull Fuyumi back down but he stopped himself, knowing not to disrupt her while she was in this state.
A hysterical laugh broke out, causing Shin and Nightingale to turn their attention to the woman on the other side of the table.
“You think that I’d be afraid of a threat from someone like you?! You’re hilarious!”
The appraiser rested her chin on the palm of her hand. Her smile quickly faded as a face of pure seriousness took over.
“I have my own connections.”
Fuyumi held strong, retaining her stance.
A long awkward silence overwhelmed the room as the two women menacingly stared each other down. Shin and Nightingale sat in silence, not willing to interrupt the standoff. After what felt like an eternity, the appraiser let a slight smile break out.
“You’re good. I like you.” She said, pointing at Fuyumi.
Fuyumi dropped her aggression and put sheathed her weapon, returning the room back to its normal state. She sat back down, crossing her arms and legs.
“That went a little too far.” Shin whispered to her.
“A little extra show of force doesn’t hurt anyone.” She replied.
The appraiser put both her hands on the table.
“I’ll let you in on it then. My name is concealed because of a jewel.”
She took out a dark blue jewel from its case and showed it off in the palm of her hand.
“This is the one.”
She closed her fingers, concealing the jewel, and putting it away.
“I go by Diane. Don’t let that name slip outside of this room.”
“Nice to meet you.” Nightingale said, extending his arm out for a handshake.
“Don’t get too friendly.”
Nightingale’s arm drooped in reaction to her outright rejection.
“Right…”
“Ahem… so here are the three jewels you wanted. I’m assuming you chose these for me to assess due to their names.”
Diane laid them out on a velvet cushion in front of her. Each crystal was of different colors and shapes.
“First we have this green prism-like jewel, the Windspirit’s Charm.”
She picked it up, holding the jewel between her index and middle finger.
“This allows you to increase the power of wind magic based on the amount of natural wind around you.”
“Ooh!”
Nightingale perked back up and excitedly leaned in to receive the jewel from her.
“Next, this dark red diamond jewel named Sudden Impact. It amplifies the damage dealt to enemies hit in their blind spot.”
Diane flicked the jewel out of her hand toward Fuyumi, who caught it and quickly put it in her coat pocket.
“Finally, this white one called Exploitation. Deal more damage to enemies hit if you hit their weak point.”
After Diane handed over the last jewel, she leaned back in her chair and put her olive cloak back over her head.
“Do me a favor and let me get back to work.”
Diane began tinkering with the watch on the shelf again. Shin, Fuyumi, and Nightingale stood up, pushing their chairs aside. Fuyumi and Shin began to walk toward the exit. However, Nightingale stayed behind, staring at the contraption in her hands.
“What about the jewels?”
Diane sighed, tilting her head toward the three adventurers once more.
“That’s a lower priority.”
“Didn’t you say it was going to take a long ti-”
Diane put her hand out, stopping him before he could finish his sentence.
“It’ll be done when it’s done. This is more important.”
She was completely enamored with the watch in front of her, not even glancing at Nightingale who was standing there puzzled.
“Sorry to bother you.”
Nightingale turned his back to her and met up with his two friends, who were standing outside, holding the curtain aside waiting for him to leave.
Diane clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes before getting back to work.