“What does this do?” Nabiki asked, pointing to a pearly white gem that was a bit smaller then the others and labeled, ‘Bane of the Amazons.’
The short gnome responded, “Ah, caught your eye did it?” And while he was too short to see above the counter, he seemed to know which gem Nabiki was pointing to. “That’s a rather specialized gemstone that would be of no use to you. Perhaps I can interest you in this green one over here. I bet green’s your color.” The gnome cheerfully pointed out another gem to Nabiki’s right.
Ranma’s interest in the gem Nabiki pointed out perked when he noticed its name. “Why is it called, ‘Bane of the Amazons?’ What does it do, exactly?”
The gnome seemed to contemplate something before sighing. “You did ask, and I would be remiss as a salesman to not explain. You see, around the world and over time, there have been a number of unrelated matriarchal communities that share a common philosophy in how men should be treated. We tend to refer to these tribeswomen as amazons. Now, it should be noted that some men enslaved by any of these different varieties of amazons do not really want to be used as nothing more then slaves and breeding stocks. I mean, there are those who swing that way. This gem is meant for the men who would rather not be considered community property. You apply it to your, *ahem*, baby maker where it will sink in completely and you’ll become exceedingly sterile. Beyond even the help of any fertility rites, rituals, magics, or drugs. Usually, when confronted with, *ahem*, a man of no legacy, amazons will do one of two things. Let him go, or kill him. So, if a man is certain that he can escape intact, this little gem makes him worthless in the eyes of the tribe. Later, by willing it off, it’ll extrude itself and you can then pull it off with minimal effort. Thus restoring your ability to spoil grandkids. As you can see, it is a highly specialized, niche use gem that would be of no use to the young lady here. I should note, that a customer’s choice of gemstone is limited to how much power they can safely channel. Perhaps the lady would be interested in some other gem, if it is not too powerful for her.”
“What about this one?” Nabiki pointed to a crystal clear gem the size of the fingernail on her thumb.
“Grants the wearer invisibility.” Nabiki’s mind already whirled with all of the uses she could put it to that would reap large dividends. “Unfortunately, channeling that much energy would most likely fry your brain,” the gnome warned. “The gentleman here, though, could probably use it.”
“Umi-sen-ken,” Ranma said while shrugging his shoulders. “Don’t really need it.”
“Are there any here I could use?” Nabiki was starting to get frustrated at being unable to buy any of the gems so far. It was making the thought of stamping some kind of brand on Ranma more and more attractive.
“Plenty!” The gnome chirped up in encouragement. “Why, look at this set of blue ones over here. All are different power levels of telepathy.”
“Telepathy?” This sounded good to Nabiki’s ears.
“Perhaps this one here. A low level gem, it would grant the wearer the ability to detect falsehoods.” The gnome did not miss the greedy expression that crossed Nabiki’s face. “Or maybe you would prefer this greenish gold one here. A low level clairvoyant gem, once you attune it to one specific person, you would know whenever they were in grave danger.”
“Do you have any that would help in martial arts?” Ranma gazed upon the gems in new light, hearing how useful they could be. “And do they have any side-effects?”
“A couple of them might.” The gnome reluctantly answered. “Perhaps you would like to enhance your senses. The little lady could get one that sharpens her hearing or eyesight. She should even be able to use this one. If she focuses on just one of her senses, it becomes very sensitive but at the cost of not being able to use her other senses at all in the meantime. It would help to have a buddy handy, to make sure she does not walk in front of a bus or whatnot. The young gentleman could get an X-ray vision gem.” Toltiir addressed his final statement towards Ranma.
“X-ray vision?” Nabiki wondered out loud.
“Yes, though it has its limitations. You could see through softer materials like fabric, skin, paper, thin wood; but stone, metal, and bricks would still be opaque. It also enhances the other senses quite a good deal. Very useful. One could use it to see if someone was carrying weapons and what weapons they are. You could use it to determine how many hostile rivals were in a building. It can even let you examine what someone has in weapon space and which item they are currently retrieving. Now, over here, are gems that deal with animal affinity. Over there, to your left, we have gems to manage fears. We even have gems that manifest energy weapons, either staves or swords, that the young gentleman should be able to safely channel. I sell gems that could have you sing like an idol star, or increase, *ahem*, other talents. Perhaps the two of you would like a gem that allows you to walk on water, or up the side of a wall.” Strangely enough, neither Ranma nor Nabiki seemed amazed at those last couple of abilities. But Toltiir knew that there was much wonderment that they have already witnessed. “Or perhaps you two would enjoy our young lovers special. A pair of his and hers matched gems that allows the couple to establish a telepathic link, and also remember the important things like anniversaries.”
Ranma blushed at the thought of being considered Nabiki’s boyfriend. “Actually, we’re not-”
Nabiki cut Ranma off, saying, “-sure if that would be wise. We’ll think about it.” She then grabbed Ranma by his elbow and pulled him to the side. “Well, what do you think? Should we be careful? Think these gemstone appliqués really work?”
“Well ... they sound great and I don’t think he is trying to trick us into buying something horribly cursed, but you can never tell in these sorts of places. Remember though, we came in so we could buy each other tattoos, so don’t spend too much on the gems. I get a feeling a lot of those he pointed out will be too expensive for us.”
Nabiki just huffed, “Are you sure about the tattoos, cause I was thinking we could get ‘Brains and Brawns’ between the two of us.”
Ranma just smirked back. “What? Not, ‘His and Hers’ with ‘His’ on you and ‘Hers’ on me?”
“Lets just look at the tattoos. I am curious what a Dragonmark is.”
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(Posted Fri, 05 Oct 2007 13:25)
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