She shook her head, squeaking quietly, intimidated by his burly frame and bushy beard. He reminded her of a human-sized dwarf, wearing heavy boots and pants, topped by a sleeveless tunic and a heavy leather apron. She noted that his hazel eyes were on the smaller size as he squinted at her suspiciously. The smell of singed hair became more apparent the closer he got. “No, I didn’t break it… But…uhmm…I did change it?” He looked perplexed, walking over and peering around her as she scooted away with a little sigh.
“What the…” He stared at the phoenix, then at her, asking incredulously. “What exactly did you do?”
She smiled a little warily and lamented guiltily, “I just…I thought it would be prettier if it glowed with a fire within, and I’m a new light mage, so I thought it would just be temporary, but it kinda…stuck? I’m sorry, I didn’t know it would happen… I’ll buy it off you. If it’s too expensive, I might not be able to buy it today, but I can probably borrow some from Eric or Stephen until I earn it myself...” She rambled on in her guilt.
He seemed to take pity on her, patting her on the head briefly to shut her up like a doting parent. He spoke gruffly, “It’s okay, little one. I’m not mad, and you didn’t do anything wrong. I’m Damian. What’s your name?”
She smiled up at him, happy that a new little blinking light had appeared in the corner of her vision as much as that he wasn’t angry. Someone who could create these stunning figurines was bound to be awesomely skilled! “I’m Jade. It’s very nice to meet you, Damian. Your work is absolutely beautiful.”
He grinned at her. Everyone liked having their work sincerely complimented, after all. She started to picture him as a gruff teddy bear. He looked a little rough, but he was all soft and cuddly inside. She was amazed that such a big man could have such a delicate touch. “Thank you. It’s always nice to find someone who appreciates what you do. But I must admit, I quite like what you’ve done to my little phoenix. You said you’re new to light magic?”
He liked what she’d done! She beamed, and then it sunk in. What she’d done would probably increase its sell value. If she could do this as another source of income… Maybe it would help. She needed all the capital she could get to start her inventing business. And then she realized… She was in a glass shop! There were things she needed… So eyes sparkling, she nodded and decided he was going to help her make her prototypes; if he’d agree, that was.
“Yes, I’m actually a traveler. I only got here yesterday, and it’s all been a bit overwhelming trying to adjust. But apparently I have an aptitude for magic.” Contemplating the little figurines, she asked quietly, “How much do you normally sell these for?”
She had a shrewd spark in her eye, and she knew he saw it. He laughed and exclaimed, “Aye, you’re a sharp one. I normally sell them for about five laurels, but if you magicked them up, I could probably sell them for a crown.” She nodded. Doubling the price for a little bit of magic, but probably only if it was well done.
She tried to do the calculations in her head, but then gave up. Might as well make it simple so he’d do her favors. She spoke honestly, “I’d like to make a deal with you. As I said, I only got here yesterday, so even though I was accepted to Dracona, I’d like to secure my own funding. With my magic, you’ll net five more laurels. I’ll do it for two, giving you a net gain of three if they sell well. We could do a test batch to make sure the math works out. However, there are a few things from my world that I miss, and I think you could help me with them. They’re fairly simple, and I would, of course, deduct the cost from what you would pay me. What do you think?”
He looked thoughtful, considering what she’d implied as he studied her. Finally, he nodded. “That sounds fair.” Of course it was fair, without him having to do anything, she’d come in and make his product twice as valuable! It was basically giving him free money, plus she figured the extra wow factor would make people more likely to buy them, so he’d sell more of them. It was a win-win for everyone! He proved his acumen by saying simply, “I think I would like to start off with a test batch though, and then we can get a contract written up.”
She beamed. “Perfect! Let’s do the test batch. Which ones do you want me to do?” She glanced around the room excitedly. “Actually, can I pick?”
He laughed. “Go ahead and choose what you want.” The implied connotation was that he wanted to see what she could do. Well, she was going to rise to the challenge! He stayed where he was, watching her. It seemed he wanted to see the process and what she chose, but he also wasn’t hovering like a helicopter mom, much to her relief. Thankfully, she’d started walking a lot more normally at this point, so there was a much lower chance of her tripping and ruining everything, but she was a little nervous about that all the same.
Scanning the room, she realized that many of the figurines were based on what she assumed were the monsters or nature of this world. There were some of the things she associated with animals of her world, but most of them looked wilder and fiercer. She came to a shark-like one, but it wasn’t...quite right. It was stunning, but not entirely like a shark, though she couldn’t quite put her finger on what was different.
Concentrating, she gently touched the glass. It was already a light bluish-gray color, so she tried to match that within the glow of the shark, picturing a dark blue light for the splashes of water it was emerging from, adding little white light tips at the end like foam as well as his teeth. She felt the warmth, and when she pulled her hand away, the sharkey thing was now gently glowing from within. The teeth flashed menacingly, shining as they were. She grinned. It looked awesome!
About six glass statues later, she sank to the floor when she finished infusing light into it. Damian hurried over, a worried look all over his face. “Are you okay?”
She smiled wearily. “I’m fine; I think my body is just telling me my limits and that I’m hungry. I originally came out for food, but I was distracted by your pretties.” Okay, her limit was pitifully low. She wondered if it had anything to do with her stamina. Probably. She should touch more people.
Anyway, she could tell she was getting distracted and had to forcefully bring herself back to the present. With a smile, she said simply, “I’ll be fine after I eat. So why don’t I explain what I need for my special projects, and then I’d probably better go eat something…”
Chapter Fourteen – Phoenix
She left Damian’s store, ironically named The Glass Phoenix, a few minutes later with nine laurels and a small metal box in hand. He’d boxed up the phoenix she first touched and tried to give it to her with fourteen laurels, but she’d stubbornly insisted on paying at least the original price for it and thus would only accept nine laurels. She’d already accepted bribery once, and besides, they were hopefully going to have a long and successful partnership, so she wanted to start on equal grounds.
Still, the coins in her pocket filled her with a quiet sense of pride. She’d begun her first foray into building up the capital to take over the Capitol with her ‘new, innovative’ ideas. And yet, the quiet jingling and weight of the coins also made her nervous. She needed to get a coin pouch or something that would deter any would-be pickpockets. Shaking her head, she walked down the two doors it took to get to Evergreen, entering the brightly lit...bar? Cafe? She wasn’t quite sure what to call it.