Eiyuu Kishi Den

Adriel had little interest in making purchases, though he did bring a little money with him. The gold he carried was mostly for emergency needs, though, not that he really ever really had an emergency in his visits to Elohssa, though sometimes he would spend a little money on his sister's whims, or in rare cases, buy himself some exotic food he had never tried before. As he had no interest in giving his patronage to any of the stands or shops, he had been paying little attention to the hawkers, slowly wandering along, pausing when Rhisana lagged behind him. When the priestess called him, his head snapped back, pulling him out of his distant thoughts.

The dark elf moved back to her side to look at the jewelry she was examining. The designs were familiar to him, but he could see already that it didn't have the quality of dark elven works. His mother was quite a lover of trinkets and jewelry, so he was familiar with it, even if he didn't wear it. "Yes, Rhisana?" he asked the priestess.

Rhisana looked up at Adriel, trying to read his face. "This gentleman," she gestured at the shopkeep, "tells me these are genuine dark elven crafted jewelry. I know how merchants love to fool visitors, so I was wondering if you could give me a experts' opinion. On dark elven craftmenship in general, not jewelry. Somehow, I doubt that's one of your interests." she smiled at her joke, hoping for a reaction.

The boothman looked slightly nervous, but he greeted Adriel with a beaming, if slightly insincire smile.

"Well, I am not exactly a goldsmith, but my mother has an excessive fondness for jewelry, and I have gleaned a passing understanding of quality," Adriel replied to Rhisana as he delicately picked up a bracelet to examine it briefly in his hand. With an arched white brow, Adriel's blue eyes peered up at the vendor. "And these are cheap imitations," Adriel said coolly, almost indifferent, then set the bracelet back down on the counter.

Flustered, the vendor harrumphed, but he seemed unwilling to start a fight. Instead, he rolled his eyes and muttered "Honorable dark elves! Never warn ya about those.", before turning to Rhisana. "My brother makes 'em." he said sulkily. "Real precious metals though, swear to gods they are."

Rhisana cocked a eyebrow at him. "The heart of Marmo seems a odd place to lie about dark elven jewelry." she observed.

"You'd think, but the dark elves seldom come to town. Makes it easy to hoodwink main islanders. Most times, anyway." he amended, giving Adriel a dirty look.

Rhisana, for her part, smiled broadly at the dark elf. "Thank you, Adriel. I think I can handle him now."

Adriel was somewhat baffled by the vender's response, but as usual, he maintained his aloof disinterest. Clasping his hands behind his back, he quietly stood by Rhisana, and while he tried to remain aloof, he couldn't help but be curious about what the priestess would do at nearly being swindled. Just how did Falis priests deal with such things after all? A Falaris priest would sooner curse the vendor and invoke the power of their god at such an insult, but Falis was quite the opposite.

Rhisana faced the shopkeep squarely, trailing her hands around the wares, though never actually touching them. She wasn't completely sure how to proceed, but she knew she couldn't simply walk away. Instead, she decided to try and teach this man a lesson. "How much would you ask for this bracelet?" she asked suddenly.

The man started, but he recovered swiftly. "Twenty gold bits." came the reply.

Rhisana nodded. "And how much is it actually worth?"

"...Fourteen." the merchant seemed uncomfortable, but he crossed his arms and stood defient. "As I said, real precious metals."

"Or as you were saying, authentic dark elven jewelry?" Rhisana shook her head. "Forgive me, but I'm not certain I can trust you."

The man sneered. "Then don't. I don't need your business ya know."

"Very true." Rhisana agreed. "However, as a priestess of Falis, I will feel obligated to stand here and inform customers of your falsehoods." she glanced at Adriel. "I can count on you to back me up, can't I, Adriel?"

Adriel was secretly mortified at the thought, but his obligation to the priestess left him rooted where he stood. "Very well then," he murmured, stiffly. "If that is what you are required to do." He was uncertain of what human, or priestly, rules were in such a situation, but he couldn't very well leave this girl to fend for herself in Persei whether he want to be involved in this predicament or not. Rather awkwardly, Adriel stood off to her side with a vaguely sour expression on his face.

Rhisana could have hugged Adriel, but she got the feeling he would die of embarassment if she did. She contented herself with a triumphant smile at the shopkeep. "There it is." she said innocently.

The shopkeep stared hard at her, but he seemed increasingly off balanced. "Nine." he said sharply. "Nine gold bits, if you two just move on."

Rhisana shook her head. "You've missunderstood sir. I'm not feeling for a discount."

The man grit his teeth, fairly certain he wouldn't like this part. "Then what?" he demanded quietly.

"Honesty." she replied. "If you sold your wares on the strangth of their affordability, you could still make a living. Instead you lie, and invite scenes such as this upon yourself. I don't want to ruin you, but such dishonesty can't stand."

The shopkeep stared in bewilderment. This had not been what he'd expected. He glanced furtively at Adriel, then back to Rhisana, appearently speechless.

Adriel caught the glance, but turned away in apparent indifference. He certainly hoped this would not last long. Yet, even if Rhisana wanted to spend the rest of the day here, he couldn't walk away from the priestess and leave her to fend for herself. Despite the fact that Persei was firmly in control of the nation of Flaim, Marmo was still a treacherous place, even in the cities. Darkness seemed to cling desperately to what was left of the old Marmo, and Adriel wouldn't trust the safety of any outsider here.

OOC: Okay, trying to get back in it!


Rhisana faced the shopkeep squarely, prepared to deliver her final strike. "I won't extract any oaths to any gods from you, sir. Just promise me, on the worth I know you yourself have, that you will deal honestly from now on."

Still deeply confused, the man nodded slowly. "I promise. I won't bilk folks anymore."

"Very good." Rhisana replied, though the lack of conviction in his voice had been clear to her. "Keep that promise and you may find honesty to be its own reward." she turned to Adriel. "Thank you for indulging me, Adriel. Let's go see what else's happining today."

Adriel breathed a sigh of relief as Rhisana decided it was time to leave. He too was well aware of the noncommittal tone of the trader's response, the man was merely happy to be rid of them. Truthfully, Adriel shared the same sense of relief. Whether or not the trader continued selling wares under false pretenses was not Adriel's concern, but staying on the right side of his customers was likely for the best.

Eager to be moving on, Adriel stepped alongside Rhisana and started walking deeper into the market. "Perhaps you would like to visit another destination in the city then?" he offered. The last thing he wanted to get caught up in helping her set another backhanded trader right. He expected that there were likely a number of merchants like the jewelry trader, always eager to prey on visitors to the city.

Rhisana was quiet a long moment, mulling the discussion over in her head. The trader's responce had dissapointed her, and she knew it was her own shortcomings, her lack of eloquence and her excess of passion, that were to blame. Not for the first time, her inability to spread Falis' light left her feeling rather inadeqate before her god.

With a sigh, she looked back up to answer Adriel. "Let's just walk for now. I need to clear my head a bit." she said softly.

"Very well then," Adriel spoke, then offered his arm almost out of habit to Rhisana. It was probably for the best as well, keeping linked together in the sea of shoppers was safer. After wandering the markets for a short while, Adriel felt his stomach complain that it was time for supper, and soon, his stomach growled audibly. The dark elf cleared his throat uncomfortably after the unseemly bodily sound. "Perhaps we should find a place to eat, and you can sample the local cuisine," he suggested. "Or would you like to go back to the temple and see what they have prepared?"

Rhisana was slightly taken aback as Adriel offered her his arm, but she took it gladly. So joined, she studied him out of the corner of her eye. She suspected that he was a good bit more awkward in social situations then you might guess to look at him. She felt even worse about making such a scene in the market. He must have found that so mortifying. She thought glumly.

Suddenly, Adriel stomach spoke loudly, startling Rhisana so much she started slightly. After she regained her balance and ensured she wasn't smiling, she turned to Adriel and his question. "Let's return to the temple. We've been walking a great deal today already, and I'd like to see Elohssa again." she said.

"Very well then," Adriel replied, feeling a mix of relief at being able to retreat from the city, and reluctance at entering the Marfa temple, again. Turning about, Adriel led Rhisana through the crowd, and by linking arms, it was soon made obvious how it was meant to keep them from getting separated. By this hour, many of the laborers were returning from work, choking the already busy marketplace.

He kept a wary eye on the crowd, watching for pickpockets, but most people gave the dark elf wide berth. However, he did receive much more attention than usual, having a woman in the garb of a cleric along with him. Even in the post-Kardis period they were living in, dark elves did not often associate with clerics of light.