literature

The Adventures of Moth and Flame, Chapter 6

Deviation Actions

Published: Jul 10, 2013

236 Views

Literature Text

Maribelle’s Shop
Maribelle unlocked her shop’s door and it opened with a cheerful jingle. She stepped to the side to let Andromeda walk in first with Ryker. “Here it is, home sweet home,” Maribelle said when they entered. “Ryker, watch your eyes. I’m going to turn on the lights.”
“See? She remembers,” Ryker said to Andromeda. She rolled her eyes.
Maribelle jump started a generator in the corner, and the electric bulbs hanging in colorful glass orbs buzzed into life. Their bright glow revealed walls lined with jars, bottles, and boxes in every shape and size, as well as a myriad of strange objects like a skeleton of a fish with a dog-like torso and head. In the middle of the shop were barrels and baskets filled with pungent ingredients and multicolored stones.
“You have quite a lot of stuff here,” Andromeda remarked. “Where do you get all of this?”
“Oh, I make most of it,” Maribelle answered. “I go out often to find what I need, or I order it from wholesale stores.” She went behind the counter, where glass shelves showcased exquisite charms and talismans, and took out a piece of paper and a quill. Dipping it in ink, she said to Ryker, “I’ll give you the address of my shop so your friends can find me, as well as where to find this forest.” She dusted the note with sand to dry the ink, and then folded it into a small square.
“Thanks.” The folded paper Ryker accepted was as big as a dinner plate for him. “I’ll be right back.” Andromeda opened the door for him and he flew away.
Maribelle twiddled with her thumbs. “So… Would you like to buy anything for your adventure?” she asked, smiling hopefully.
Andromeda raised her eyebrow. “What could I possible need from here?”
“I’m glad you asked!” Maribelle jumped out from behind the counter and started grabbing all sorts of things off of her shelves.
“Uh, I really don’t think—”
“Nonsense! You haven’t even heard what I have yet.” The bottles, bags, and charms she gathered clattered onto the counter. Holding up a jar of pink pearls, she said, “If you swallow one of these, you’ll be able to breathe underwater for about an hour. Side effects include mild pain for the gills to grow and the inability to breathe air during use.”
“Why the hell would I want that?” Andromeda snapped. “We’re going to a forest, not the ocean.”
“I thought you might end up going down a river or something.” Maribelle shrugged. “You never know.”
“How about you suggest something that’s actually useful instead?”
“Okay.” Maribelle put the pearls aside as well as several other items. “I didn’t think you’d really want those anyway. I was just trying to get rid of them.”
“Then don’t show them to me in the first place,” Andromeda grumbled.
Maribelle picked up a red silk bag and opened it to show the gold dust inside. “I think you’ll like this. The dust is attracted to strong sources of magic, like iron fillings to a magnet. Watch.” She took out a ring with a large sapphire from a glass case behind her and set it on the counter. The sapphire glowed briefly when she gave it a tap with her wand. “I’m just making sure it has magic in it,” Maribelle explained. Then she took out a pinch of the gold dust and threw it into the air away from the ring. It started to sparkle as it fell and gravitated towards the ring. When it landed, the dust continued shining for a few moments before fading away.
“Now that is kind of neat,” Andromeda said, surprised.
“You can use it to help you find the Moon Dew.” Maribelle closed the bag. “Its range is extremely limited because it can only go as far as it can float, but if the Dew is anywhere nearby, it should go towards its direction.”
“I’ll take it.” She reached for the bag, but Maribelle held it back.
“Ah, ah, ah.” Maribelle waved her finger at Andromeda. “You have to pay for it first. Normally it runs for 5,000 G*. Since you helped me out earlier, I’ll offer you the discounted price of 4,250 G.”
Andromeda scowled. “Seriously? That much for a bag of dirt?”
“This is quality stuff!”
“Fine. Anything else?” Andromeda scanned over the other items she brought.
“I have a truth-telling serum.” Maribelle held up a bottle with a metallic green fluid. “It takes about twenty minutes to take effect.”
“Too long. I can beat out answers quicker than that.”
“Okay then. How about this viewing glass?” She showed her a wooden telescope engraved with various symbols. “It allows you to see far away, even if it’s dark out.”
“I never needed one before, and I doubt I’ll need one now.”
“You sure?” Andromeda’s uninterested expression didn’t budge. “Well, then what do you think you’ll need? I have everything from healing items to weaponry.”
“Weapons? I always enjoy looking at those.”
“Wonderful! Let me take you to the back and show you what I have.”
Maribelle left the counter and headed for an opening on the back wall that divided the shop. Shields, bladed staffs, spiked clubs, and more hung from racks everywhere in the small space.
Andromeda browsed the shelves, stopping at an array of swords. She picked up a rapier and unsheathed it to look down the blade. “Not bad.”
“If you think that’s nice, I also have some enchanted swords that would work nicely with your fire abilities.”
Andromeda lowered the rapier. “Really? How?”
Maribelle took down a katana with orange ribbons from the wall. “It depends on the sword. I’ve casted spells on them that make them resistant to intense heat or able to create flames. If I remember correctly, I even had one where its blade could heat up so much that it could burn through nearly anything. I might’ve sold that one, though.”
“What does that one do?” Andromeda asked, pointing at the katana.
“This.” Maribelle unsheathed it and a dragon made of flames shot out with a roar. “The dragon will attack anyone who tries to attack you.”
“Interesting, but too flashy.” Andromeda looked at the other swords. “Which of these are heat resistant?”
Maribelle put back the katana and took out a scimitar from an umbrella stand. “This one is resistant not only to fire, but also to extreme cold and will unlikely break under stress.”
Andromeda tested its balance with a few test swings. “How much?”
“67,500 G,” Maribelle said with a grin.
“What?! I pay that much for rent every month!”
“It comes with a limited three-year warrantee,” Maribelle added sheepishly.
“I don’t care about its warrantee. Don’t you have anything cheaper?” Andromeda dropped the scimitar back into the umbrella stand.
“Um… I might.” She started looking through the swords, checking their tags. “No, all of these cost about the same. Maybe I have one over here…” She went another corner and dug through a bin filled with assorted, worn out wares.
“If you don’t have anything, don’t sweat it. I just like collecting them.”
“Ah-ha! This is what I was looking for.” Maribelle unsheathed a kris, a long dagger with an asymmetrical hilt and undulating blade. The handle was carved from redwood. “I got it from a trade, so I have nothing in it.” She handed it to Andromeda.
“So what does it do?” Andromeda slashed at an imaginary target.
“That one’s blade will hold a flame if lit, but the handle will never grow hot.”
“Really?” Andromeda snapped her fingers to make a spark and the blade caught it. Flames danced gently over the steel, rippling like running water. She grinned. “Now this is nice.”
Maribelle took it back and extinguished the flames when she returned it to its scabbard. “I thought you’d like it. This one’s 34,000 G.”
Andromeda’s smile turned flat. “I guess that’s more reasonable.”
“Shall I wrap it up for you or do you plan on using it?” Maribelle asked.
“If all goes smoothly, I won’t need it,” Andromeda answered. “But I’m going to keep it with me.”
“All right, then.” Maribelle went back to the counter up front and set the dagger with the gold dust. “Now we’re just waiting for Ryker, right?”
“Yeah.” Andromeda leaned back against the counter, resting her elbows on the edge. “That bug is taking longer than I thought he would.”
“I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.” She started to sit down, but stopped when she heard the mail slot on the door open.
Ryker slipped through and flew over to them. “That was unnecessarily difficult,” he stated, landing on the counter. “I tried knocking, but you two didn’t hear me.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” Maribelle exclaimed.
“Don’t worry about it.” Ryker smiled at her concern and then looked towards Andromeda. “I told Ewlys what we found out. He says he’s going to organize an investigation team, but I want to leave now anyway.”
“How long do you think we’ll be gone searching for these guys?” Andromeda asked.
“I don’t know.” Ryker faced Maribelle. “After you send us to the forest, how easily will we be able to return?”
“That depends on your method of transport,” Maribelle answered. “I could just teleport you there, but you’d have to find your own way back.” She bent down to look underneath her counter. “I think I have something that would work better.” She brought out a thick book with a magnifying glass set in the cover, held in place with leather straps. “This should work.”
“What is that?” Andromeda asked.
“It’s a book with all the places in the world.” Maribelle took out the magnifying glass from the cover and opened the book. “The place you’re looking for should be somewhere in here,” she said as she flipped through the pages. Each page had a bird’s eye drawing of various locations. Across the side and bottom of each drawing had numbers pertaining to the latitude and longitude of the places.
Maribelle stopped over a drawing of numerous trees. “Here it is. Basically you can go wherever you like with this if you just hold the magnifying glass over wherever you want to teleport to.”
“Wait, you can really go anywhere with this?” Andromeda asked, disbelieving.
“Yes. I’ve used it countless times. It’s my personal copy, so I’m only willing to loan it to you.”
“Oh, I see.” Andromeda wished it was for sale.
“Where’s the page for Xanadu?” Ryker asked.
“Back here.” Maribelle marked the forest page with a green ribbon and flipped to the back of the book. The entirety of the city filled one page. “You can return directly to my shop here,” she said, turning over to the opposite page. A square of parchment covered in numbers and runes had been clipped into place on the back cover. In the middle of the parchment was a circle the same size as the magnifying glass.
“That’s convenient,” Andromeda said.
Maribelle smiled proudly. “Yep. I made that link myself.”
“This will work perfectly, then,” Ryker said. “You ready to go, Andy? I took the liberty to prepare first before I came back here.”
“If we can come right back, I’m good to go,” Andromeda answered.
“Well, technically the magnifying glass can only be used once every twenty-four hours,” Maribelle said. “It has to charge up after every time you use it.”
“Good enough for me. The sooner we get back that Dew, the sooner I get paid.”
“All right.” Maribelle gave Andromeda the magnifying glass and pointed to a jade set at the top of the handle. “To activate the spell, just hold your finger on the jade with wherever you want to appear directly in the middle of the glass. After you arrive at your destination, the jade will turn white. It’ll turn green again when it’s fully charged.”
“I can remember that.” Andromeda then took the dagger and strapped it to her belt. She put the gold dust in her pocket.
“What’d you buy?” Ryker asked.
“A new dagger and some magic-detecting dirt,” Andromeda answered. “Now let’s go.”
“Okay.” Ryker jumped up to Andromeda’s shoulder, and she picked up the book. With her free hand, she held the magnifying glass over the page with the trees and covered the jade with her thumb.

*To get a rough idea of how much things cost in this word, simply move the decimal over to the left two places. For example, 5,000 G is about $50.

A tale of action, wit, and the unlikely friendship between a cynical girl skilled with fire-based magic and a tiny but daring moth-like boy.

Next Chapter: [Click Here]
Previous Chapter: [Click Here]
The First Chapter: [Click Here]

Preview image is by =jadesweetbox