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"A neck chain for the purity stone would serve well ... The cats eye I shall leave with you," Darl responds. "For the jewel, perhaps you have something to help bolster ones mystic reserves? Or maybe something to help protect me the next time someone decides to target me with a spell or curse?"

"It is but a simple jewel...an exxxchange for something magical would not be appropriate." The wormspeaker responds. "Save it for a time. I'm sure a use will present itself."

"There is one other item I would like to learn more about," Darl adds. "This is a bit of a long shot, but I'm sure you have seen and heard many things in your travels ... Does the name Iodin mean anything to you? Perhaps someone from Wormwood lore?"

The wormspeaker thinks for a moment before responding. "I am sssorry; but I have never heard that name."

"If there iss nothing elsse, I will begin work on mounting your stone. I can have it ready for you by morning." Darl gets the impression that the wormspeaker is not very interested in any of his remaining items...except perhaps the cross. Darl catches her eyeing one last time.

OOC: Forgot to respond about the dagger earlier. The wormspeaker confirms Darl's suspicion that the dagger has no magical properties. It is an otherworld item, though, so that fact alone gives it some additional worth to a collector or trader.

OOC: It's been a couple weeks. Any chance you're going to be able to post soon?

OOC: yes ... been away from home for 10 days, back last night. Still catching up, but should get there soon.

"Very well ..." Darl states. "If you haven't heard the name, perhaps you would be willing to inquire about for me. I will pledge the jewel in exchange for information regarding a magical device ... an orb ... which is associated with the name Iodin. The forces of darkness are seeking it, and I am seeking to learn why."

As he rises, he asks, "how long shall I give you for the mount?" Once he gets his answer, he gathers his gear and prepares to leave, thanking the wormspeaker as he does so. As he reaches the door, he pauses and turns back slightly.

"On second thought," he adds,"if you do decide to inquire about the orb, do so discreetly and only through those you can trust. I'd also suggest closing early and opening late for the next few days, finding yourself far from here outside of daylight hours. The source of my curse is a Shade, likely one of Salome's lieutenants ... and a practicer of blood magicks as well. I deeply regret having brought you this risk, and apologize profusely for having done so ... but assure you I was not aware of the curse until you brought it to my attention."

"The least I can do is share what I know, and trust you to take your own precautions, given the information."

Unless this triggers the wormspeaker to start further conversation, he will then turn and exit the shop.

"Very well ..." Darl states. "If you haven't heard the name, perhaps you would be willing to inquire about for me. I will pledge the jewel in exchange for information regarding a magical device ... an orb ... which is associated with the name Iodin. The forces of darkness are seeking it, and I am seeking to learn why."

"Hmm... I will sssee what I can find out tonight..." the Wormspeaker replies, already in apparent thought. "I guarantee nothing, though."

As he rises, he asks, "How long shall I give you for the mount?" Once he gets his answer, he gathers his gear and prepares to leave, thanking the wormspeaker as he does so.

"Give me until tomorrow before the dinner hour and it sshall be done."

As he reaches the door, he pauses and turns back slightly. "On second thought," he adds,"If you do decide to inquire about the orb, do so discreetly and only through those you can trust. I'd also suggest closing early and opening late for the next few days, finding yourself far from here outside of daylight hours. The source of my curse is a Shade, likely one of Salome's lieutenants ... and a practicer of blood magicks as well. I deeply regret having brought you this risk, and apologize profusely for having done so ... but assure you I was not aware of the curse until you brought it to my attention. The least I can do is share what I know, and trust you to take your own precautions, given the information."

"I thank you for the warning, but I am not without some small bit of magic, myself." She says confidently. With the ease that she apparently broke the tracking spell, Darl has an inkling of her power. To his knowledge, the worms alone would not have given her the magic to do that. She probably has a very long and interesting past. The fact that she's as old as she is attests to the fact that she managed to survive the years of exposure to danger that most with her abilities are subject to as they work alongside the Church in the struggle against evil. Most are lucky to see their middle years. {Skill: Lore, Wormwood}

Exiting the shop, Darl looks up and down the street and sees nothing but the expected traffic, mostly on foot.

Darl starts walking back towards his place of residence for the night and thinks about anything else he may want to do before it gets dark.

As he walks, Darl reflects on his newfound knowledge. Given that he was being tracked, there was a good chance that the Shade would show up at the inn as soon as darkness fell; wanting to pick up Darl's lost trail before it grew too cold. Which meant that an altercation was likely inevitable, if he went back to the inn as he had promised.

Well ... he didn't want to go into that particular altercation without his full reserves available to him. He needed some way of refilling his mystic energies, and quickly ... or at least find some way to augment them. A magic shop, perhaps ... or somewhere he might be able to purchase a draw off of a PPE battery. But where was he going to find something like that?

OOC: Would Lore: Magic and/or Lore: Wormwood give him any ideas of where he could get a PPE refresh?

OOC: Sorry, I totally missed this message. I was just getting ready to poke you again but decided I'd better check your thread first.

OOC:
Lore: Magic - Dal can't think of anything besides the obvious methods for getting a PPE boost (rest, getting it from other magic users, animals, etc.)
Lore: Wormwood - There are energy cell crystals naturally produced by Wormwood. Most are controlled by the church, however. The others are closely guarded by practitioners of magic, techno-wizards, etc. Techno-wizards use these crystals to replace the fuel systems in weapons, vehicles, etc. Their available PPE ranges from 10 to 180. In a city this size, there are likely a number of techno-wizards; some working from the privacy of their homes, others possibly out of a shop. The church employs a large number of them.

"Ah yes," Darl thinks. "A Technowizard will do. And perhaps they can enlighten me regarding this staff as well!"

With this thought in mind, Darl begins to seek out a potential TW shop ... being in the merchant district, he hopes the search won't take terribly long. In addition to an assessment of the staff and the refueling of his mystic energies, he also is interested in procuring a more permanent PPE battery ... and on the smaller side of things, perhaps a supercharged TW globe of daylight device.

Darl has no trouble finding Technowizards, most of their establishments look more like junk yards than merchant shops. The first two he tries rebuff his efforts to engage them. The first just claims that he has no time and the second is rude enough to state that he refuses to do business with someone like Darl...whatever that means. The third he comes across seems a little more willing to overlook Darl's appearance. The door itself, of this establishment, is actually an extension of Wormwood. As Darl approaches it, it stretches and opens like the maw of a mouth. Darl can see inside the building more stacks and piles of what, at first impression, appear to be nothing more than junk pieces of metal, wormwood, resin bits and more junk. "Ho! You at the door, come quick and give me a hand with this." A voice calls out from behind one particularly large pile of junk.