Mirabelle dropped the quartz gem into a viscous solution. The liquid in the container slowly grew opaque until looking like a very thick milk. When she finished Mirabelle pulled the gem from it’s bath. The liquid hadn’t stuck to the gem and Mirabelle was careful to avoid touching it to her skin.
“Don’t touch this. It’s not deadly but it will give you a nasty rash.” She said as she gently tapped the set of metal tongs on the edge of the basin.
Mirabelle waved the gem in the air in an attempt to have Amie grab it. Amie reached out but hesitated a moment before ultimately grabbing the smoky gem.
“What do I do with it?” she asked.
“Make a bracelet or a pendant,” Mirabelle shrugged, “You could even make a tiara if you wanted.”
Amie stared at the gnome.
“Oh, right. The gem needs to be in contact with your skin for at least a day for it to charge,” Mirabelle said.
Mirabelle then talked for some time of the various requirements needed for making it usable for her elementalist training. The quartz crystal had been embedded with a unique magical pathway. Once it was able to charge with mana the pathway would activate and allow Amie to speak with the spirit that was now inhabiting the gem. For her four years of study at the tower it would work until it needed to be returned to the tower. It would then be replaced with a second gem. Mirabelle recommended a few jewelers. Amie’s stipend would only cover the basics. She might have to talk Eric into digging into the savings for crafting her equipment. She hadn’t tried to burden him with the costs for any of her required materials. She was quite content with most of her belongings. The one exception was her tome.
“Now lets talk scheduling,” Mirabelle said.
Amie was pulled out of her thoughts ands looked at Mirabelle, “What do you mean?”
“You’re still a student of the tower, even with your unique talents you still need the basics.”
They started going over required classes. Most were pretty standard. Amie found herself taking a couple basic meditation courses and introduction to spell formations. These were required by the tower for every student. After that Amie chose a few classes working with separate elements which were suggested by Mirabelle. At the end of her days she was scheduled to work with her companion that had yet to manifest. Amie also had to schedule a day with Mirabelle to work with her her hydromancy. The end of the week she took a couple of physical classes in the morning. Again, the classes were recommended by Mirabelle to help balance her education. Amie felt a little anxious toward her now packed schedule at first, but was reassured by Mirabelle.
When Amie left the tower she went to a jeweler. The ones recommended by the school were all in the cavern below. She purchased a map from a clerk at the exit on the lower floor. The crowds in the cavern were dying down as it started getting later in the day. The artificial lighting started to change color, like the sun above would at this time of day. She went to the first location she went to was specifically picked by Mirabelle. The building was unassuming. It was well crafted, but utterly forgettable. Above the doorway a sign was hung. It had ‘Mammot’s Jewelery Workshop’ painted I black letters. A bell jingled as she opened the door. It was smooth, like it was gliding on air.
“I’ll be there in a moment,” a gruff voice called from the back of the store.
A man came from the back. He was muscular. His beard was decorated with metal beats and small colorful pieces of cloth. Amie stared at the man with confusion. His proportions seemed odd.
“You’re a dwarf,” She blurted out.
Her face grew red and she started to talk fast, “Not that there’s anything wrong with that. I was just surprised that I was looking directly into your eyes. I thought you looked strange for a human, not that dwarves look strange. I think dwarves can be very nice. Thats not to say that I think they’re not nice. I knew a dwarf when—”
Stolen novel; please report.
The dwarf stopped her with a raised hand, “Before you put your foot any further in your mouth, The floor behind the counter is higher than where you’re standing.”
Amie nodded, clutching her tome in front of her with both hands.
“The floors have paid for themselves through entertainment alone,” The dwarf said with a grin, “I’m Mammot, how can I help you?”
“I, uh, was sent here by Grand Master Sugg,” said Amie, still feeling like she was dying from embarrassment.
The dwarf’s face grew cold, “Her, why did she send you?”
Amie opened her tome and pulled out her gem and moved to place it on the glass counter.
“Ah! Careful!” said the dwarf as he pulled out a white cloth.
Amie paused, holding the gem above the glass display counter. The dwarf put the cloth below and Amie put the gem down gently on the cloth.
“The glass will be scratched by quartz,” the dwarf explained as he pulled the gem closer.
He spent a couple minutes in silence examining the gem.
“How did you end up with this?” Mammot asked.
“My original master passed on his duties to Grand Master Sugg.” Amie said.
“Who was your master?”
“Aloeus,” answered Amie.
Mammot drummed his fingers on the counter. He smoothed his mustache with his fingers.
“That makes sense, what kind of elementalist are you going to be?” he asked
“How could you tell I was an elementalist?” Amie said.
Mammot pointed to a small design that had been melted into one of the sides of the gem.
“This only happens with one of the volunteer crypts.” He said, “but you still haven’t answered my question.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Said Amie, “I’ll be a water elementalist.”
Mammot’s eyebrows raised, “Water? Really? In the plains? What awakened you?”
Amie grew pale. Mammot caught the mistake too late.
“I’m sorry, I overstepped myself to ask something so personal.”
“Do you need the information for making my piece?”
Mammot waved his hand in dismissal, “Not so much, I just got a little carried away. It’s rare to find someone attuned to water in an earthen sphere.”
“So what will the cost be for the gem here?”
“It depends on what you’re looking for,” Mammot said.
Amie decided on a bracelet. She wanted it to be reusable because she would hate to get rid of something after just one use. Mammot agreed with. He drew a quick concept on some paper he fetched from the back of the room. Mammot then started talking about materials. Amie agreed trusting his skill. He wrote a number down on a paper and slid it forward. Amie took a peek and Mammot must have seen her expression.
“It won’t be billed straight away. I’ll only need material costs for what I don’t have in stock.”
“How much would that be?” Amie asked.
The two started haggling, when Mammot reached a number that he absolutely would not budge from Amie relented. The price was still astronomical, but she was buying quality and something that she would want to keep with her long past her education in the tower. They shook hands with the deal. She pulled a few of the paper bills from her tome and slid them across the counter. Mammot pulled out a chain and fitted the gem to it. Amie gratefully accepted the chain and put it around her neck, the quartz crystal cool against her skin. Amie would return with the remainder of the payment in a couple of weeks.
As Amie turned to leave Mammot called out, “Tell Mirabelle that I accepted the work because I liked you, not because of her recommendation.”
Amie nodded and left. The bell sounded, signaling her exit. She sighed to herself. The bracelet that they agreed on was a lot more expensive than she anticipated. She dreaded telling Eric how much it was going to be. He probably wouldn’t be surprised. She had told him it would be expensive even with the scholarship. She hadn’t anticipated dropping so much money down on a single bracelet, they certainly hadn’t budgeted for it. Eric would probably have to head to the bank and do some heavy moving. There would be hoops to jump through, always hoops to jump through.
The trip back home was uneventful. She had spent a while at Mammot’s Jewelery Workshop hammering out a design for her bracelet. She opened the door. Eric had taken the chair. He was holding a book and a pencil. Amie sighed on seeing her chair was empty.
“I bought more jam this morning,” said Eric.
“I wanted to fight about it,” sighed Amie.
“Do you want to fight about the chair?”
“Stop trying to bait me!” she said with a stomp.
She laughed because the stomp had been louder that she expected.
“You’re going to hate me,” she said walking over to him.
“Too late, you’re the worst.”
“No, seriously,” she said as she sat down on the ground.
“OK, spill it.”
“I had to buy a bracelet,” she started.
Eric looked at her, “how much?”
“I put down twelve hundred.”
“OK…” Eric said as he put down his book and pencil.
“It’ll be five times that once completed.”
Eric sat stunned without saying a word. They sat in silence for a while.
“You said five times?”
Amie nodded.
“Is it worth it?”
Amie nodded again.
“Is it really worth it?”
“Yes,” Amie said.
“Do you think I’ll be able to talk down the price?”
Amie shrugged. She handed the map to Eric.
“It’s Mammot’s Jewelry Workshop,” she said while pointing it out.
Eric let out a long breath, “OK, so from now on, this is my chair.”
“No!” said Amie.