Cynthia led the group through the center of the opening, weaving around some of the pillars and pathways that spanned the cavernous clearing. She then turned sharply towards a section of the market that seemed less populated, but those who gathered seemed to be financially better off than the average merfolk. As Cynthia pointed out her destination, a chubby gnome burst from the storefront, grumbling loudly. “Ridiculous, I say! Anyone who would spend that much on a magic stick must be out of their minds!” Upon noticing the party and their destination, he pointed a stubby finger towards them. “Don't even bother! The merchants here sell cheap trinkets for thousands more than their worth!”

Nemiea raised a brow at the the words of the Gnome, [color=c0c0c0] “Now I’m simply curious to see what it is that man is talking about,”[/color] she murmured before looking at Cynthia, [color=c0c0c0]”Do you know the person who owns that shop or shall we just go in and I’ll test a magical item or two?”[/color] Though she could easily breath under water thanks to the spell cast upon her, she was still wearing her Cloak, mostly because she wasn’t about to be a slow swimmer. For now though, she doubted it really mattered so she pulled the fabric down and looked around with  interest. Thankfully, her cloak held down most of her hair, the color currently a violet tone. 

“Personally? Not like I know Abba,” Cynthia replied as the gnome swam off, grumbling the whole way. “I don't have much use for what is sold here. But I've been told by trustworthy sources that they are the best.” The merfolk studied the retreating gnome for a moment. “Either I have been lied to about the quality here, or he is simply an unhappy customer,” she mused.

“I assure you the latter,” came a reply from the door. The group turned to see a feminine figure floating inside the tunnel, her arms crossed. Her skin was blue, and her white hair faded into clear strands that made her seem as if she drew energy directly from the water. “I am Pari, and I welcome you to my magical sundries shop. Please forgive the previous customer. He is upset because I refused to sell an extremely rare item for a thousand gold.” Pari gave a short bow and motioned for the group to enter. 

As they swam forward, Jill cast [i]Message[/i] towards Nemiea. [i]”If you keep her busy, I will Identify some items to check their value. I feel like she is legitimate, however.”[/i] The bard punctuated her silent message with a smile, then turned to Pari. “Sadly, our Captain had me spend most of my funds on a map, but I would love to see the items you have for a few hundred gold, rather than a few thousand.”

The feline looked over at Jill for a moment, while she was capable of testing the arcane abilities of objects she could always double check on things that may not show themselves to Jill. With a slight nod to the female, she spoke to Pari as if her nod was simply to agree with what the Bard had just said. [color=c0c0c0]”I am looking for a new staff,”[/color] she told the blue female, her head tilted to the side as she tried to figure out what she was. A part of her thought Undine, she had met one once and she had looked surprisingly similar to the woman in front of her. Only… her hair was blue as well, not the white that faded into the water. [color=c0c0c0]”Got anything that might be useful to a Lightning Dragon Sorceress?”[/color]

While Nemiea had taken the spectator role at the cartographer’s, now it was time for Dyn to do so. While magical trinkets and baubles were of special interest to him, as was clearly portrayed by him having slipped multiple magical rings to his tentacles, he didn’t quite have the spending cash right now. The inks needed for scribing his spells were unfortunately rather costly to manufacture, but he couldn’t trust anyone else to do it. Who knows, they might sell him vanishing or, even worse, [i]replicating[/i] ink! All he could think of was to ask for a pearl, but he knew it was beyond his haggling capabilities for now. He’d have to see if he could sneak it in as a side purchase and gain a discount that way.

However, with the captain’s mantle currently on his shoulders, Dyn’yer’zhead couldn’t just stand idly by doing absolutely nothing. “An unhappy haggler or someone sent in by another business to give negative publicity”, he commented on the gnome that had recently left the premises, “but I hope my lookout can find what she is looking for here. I might take a look myself on the side, perhaps I’ll see something that catches my eye…” The promise of additional business often made shopkeepers more willing to bargain.

The shopkeeper seemed somewhat saddened by the prospect of customers only looking for the less expensive wares, but nonetheless, she showed them around the place. There were several staves of high quality and magic, one of which Jill immediately began to cast her Identify spell on. However, Pari led Nemiea past the more expensive items, ushering her into the more cramped bargain bin area. “I fear that much of what you are looking for is above the price range you have offered, and of course I cannot sell items for less than others would buy them for. However, there are a few wands and staves I have for sale here...” 

She led Nemiea to a wand that had what appeared to be a rubber ball on the end. “You appear to be familiar with metamagic from what I can tell,” she added, motioning towards the tabaxi’s draconic scales. “This wand allows access to a special kind of metamagic. Should a spell that you cast not affect your intended target, you may immediately target someone else, bouncing the spell off the first target. This can save you some embarrassment or, in a worse case scenario, a friend’s life.” 

Nemiea blinked, then looked back at the staffs they had walked by. She only had about 1400 gold, but she didn't think that meant an immediate toss into the bargain section. [Color=c0c0c0]”I am looking for a staff, not a wand,”[/color] she murmured as she looked up at the shop keep, [color=c0c0c0]”And while i may not be rich I am not [i]entirely[/i] broke… well, I guess the only wands I would really budge on are ones with lightning based properties.”[/color] while the Wand of Bouncing Spells wasn't bad, she did at least want to see what else was around.

“Ah, well then,” Pari replied with a smile, placing the wand carefully back where it was originally stored. “This wand only costs about five hundred gold. I can take you to the truly interesting staves, but those often run thousands of gold in cost. Do you have anything worth trading?” Pari began to lead the group back towards where Jill stood, just as Jill finished casting her identify spell.

“I think this might be what you’re looking for, Nemmy,” Jill said as the shopkeeper approached. “A Staff of Thunder and Lightning. It would definitely be useful, but I don’t think we could afford it if we put all our money together at once. I don’t suppose you offer test runs, do you?”

Pari chuckled before shaking her head no. “My apologies, but a piece like this is liable to be sold any day. Normal price on this staff is ten thousand gold. What do you have to offer?”

Nemiea was silent for a moment, a frown on her face as she thought about the things she had to offer the Undine(?) before her. [color=c0c0c0] “I am sorry to say I do not have much to offer past my skills as a Dragon Sorceress and a Dancer,”[/color] the Tabaxi admitted, [color=c0c0c0] “Though both could be used to your advantage if you choose to utilize either skill. Usually I can pull in a fair bit of gold at a tavern and I’m pretty good at Monster extermination and item retrieval. Perhaps I can trade you my services up until the amount due is paid off while I am here. We already have a couple things we must do, if my Captain and shipmates are ok with it, I am sure they would not mind me doing a few odds and ends.”[/color]

Pari smiled warmly. “I am not accustomed to taking on indentured servants,” she replied politely. “Once you have enough items of value to trade, let me know. We can renegotiate from there.” The undine gently removed the staff from Jill’s grasp and placed it back in its place. “Any items you could retrieve would either be worth far more than the staff, or not enough for me to let you take it without any collateral, and I have no enemies I wish taken out. It is a lot of gold to let walk out from under my sight, of course. I hope you understand.”

The tabaxi was silent for a moment as she thought, she could understand where Pari was coming from, the only thing she had to offer the shopkeeper was herself, but since she was not in the need for any of those such services she would have to resort to what she was usually good at. [color=c0c0c0]”I understand completely,”[/color] the feline replied, [color=c0c0c0]”I will either have to hope I find something worth trading in for the staff, or hope that I can make enough before it disappears.”[/color] A soft hum left her before she tapped the underside of her jaw in a thoughtful silence. While the wand was not what she was looking for, it was something that would be beneficial to her arsenal, bouncing spells was really nothing to turn your nose up at.

As Nemeia looked over the items, Jill quietly hummed a tune behind her, just loud enough for the tabaxi to hear, weaving her inspirational magic into the song. She gave her friend a wink. “Go get em, Tiger,” she whispered.

>Jill grants a bardic inspiration (d10)

[color=c0c0c0] “Since it is very clear that the person who left here in a huff clearly just didn’t understand the value of the items here, I think I’ll spite them,”[/color] the woman said with a smile on her face, [color=c0c0c0]”I rather like the wand that you initially showed me, and I will admit to it being rather useful… I shall offer 300 gold pieces for it.”[/color]

Pari took a moment to think over her options. “And you plan to return once you have the funds to buy the staff?” she asked as she pondered. A glance was tossed towards the aasimar who simply smiled in response before Pari’s attention was drawn back to the matter at hand. “300 gold is acceptable. I hope you can find enough for the staff as well when you return. I have a feeling you would make a good home for it.”

Nemiea smiled, [color-c0c0c0] “The moment my funds allow, I will be here for that staff I assure you,”[/color] she told Pari before offering her hand to shake as a sign to seal the deal on the agreed upon price, [color=c0c0c0] “It was a pleasure to shop with you Ms. Pari and I am eager to do business with you once more.”[/color]

“And I as well,” the undine responded. “Is there anything else I can help you with?” She looked questioningly towards Jill, who shook her head in the negative, and Dyn, who took up half of her shop.

Dyn was roused from his nearly catatonic state of idly browsing in the store by the shopkeeper asking if he would need anything specifically. Since he had not seen any spell components or advertisements of such being available here, he would have to disappoint her. “No, anything I saw around here was not something I could currently be investing our money in. It either would leave us without rations and maybe even require the sale of a few cannons or I could not think of use for it. I am glad to see she found something she liked however.” The faux captain did not have more to add while they remained in the store and removed himself from the business premises.

Once the crew was outside, he would then turn to their guide for the final thing on his list. “Cynthia, where would one go about finding an alchemist?” he asked, not going further to explain what he was going for. There was also something he would like to ask of Jill, but since he couldn’t think of any ways to discreetly do it, he let it be. It could be solved later.

Cynthia had waited outside the shop this time, as the interior was somewhat too cramped for more than a handful of customers. When the group exited, she immediately swam up to them and offered a smile. “I hope you found what you were looking for,” she replied before nodding towards a store just a few doors down. “That place should sell most basic alchemical supplies. I haven’t been there much myself, but I’ve heard good things about it.”

Dyn would not bother much with the alchemist’s, simply taking the recommendation. He headed inside, calmed the shopkeep down and soon exited 50 pieces of gold poorer and a flask of Alchemist’s Fire in one of his tentacles. “I do believe we are done here”, he concluded. “We should regroup and consider our next move back at [i]SS Ladyslipper[/i].”

Nemiea, pleased with the purchase of her wand and not needing much else, agreed.

[hider=Purchase of Wand] 1d20+8 = 20 (12+8)
Bardic Inspiration roll: 1d10 = 8
total persuasion roll = 28
offered amount: 300gp[/hider]
[hider=Charm the Pants off of Pari]
1d20+8 = 13 (5+8)
[/hider]
[hider=Item Acquired]
-300gp
Wand of Bouncing Spells acquired
https://youtu.be/69AyYUJUBTg 
[/hider]