“Yes, you could get the Mark of the Gold Dragon. You would be able to breath underwater and become immune to fire,” Toltiir informed his customers.
“I already took the Phoenix Pill, though. Why would I need to more fireproofing?” Ranma thought the abilities sounded cool, but he wanted to make sure there was no issues.
“Oh? Hmm, how did you get a Phoenix Pill? Those are not easy to come across.”
“I sorta earned it, as a reward, from the old ghoul to make up for her giving me the Cat’s Tongue pressure point.” Ranma explained to the short gnome.
“Oh! So you’re taking the pill to counteract the Cat’s Tongue pressure point. So you’re not at the full potential of the Phoenix Pill because the pressure point diminishes it. Well, the good news is that this dragonmark would remove any sort of unnatural sensitivity to heat and fire from your system. You would be rid of the Cat’s Tongue for good. It would work alongside the Phoenix Pill, but that is moot, as the dragonmark’s gift is the maximum strength one can get. Can’t really increase it anymore. Nothing short of hellfire would harm you. Compared to now, though, you would notice an increase resistance to fire, well ... if you were the type to play in blazing infernos, you would. If you two were to purchase enough other things, I could throw in the dragonmarks for only five hundred yen for both. They don’t really cost that much to apply.” Toltiir smiled to himself as Nabiki dragged Ranma into a nearby corner.
“Well, what do you think? Do we risk buying something? Or run away and never look back?” Nabiki whispered softly into Ranma’s ear.
“Are you familiar with the elven dinner gambit?” Ranma whispered back to Nabiki. Seeing the look of confusion on her face, he added, “In all of the old folklore about visiting the elves and fairies, sometimes something bad would befall a person. Many times, it was because he was foolish enough to eat what they offered him, but also, many times, it was because he offended his hosts by not accepting what they offered him. When elves offer you dinner, it is always a gamble to either eat or not eat. And I don’t think anyone can tell which time is which.”
Nabiki looked at Ranma in admiration, but only for a fleeting moment. “So, what you are saying is that we might be making a mistake buying anything from this store. Or that, once we had entered this store, leaving it without buying something would be the mistake. So we are either dammed if we do, or dammed if we don’t, but not both and we don’t know which it is. Knowing that there are some items here that would have undesirable effects upon us, do you think our best bet is to shop smart?”
“I guess. I think we both seen things we would like to have, and if we were to just leave, we’d probably spend a lot of time wondering about the what ifs.” Ranma pondered out loud. “What do you think we should do?”
“Well, the garden gnome never did say how much store credit he was giving us. If we keep things simple and low key, the low power magic probably has low power side-effects. I bet greed is the customer’s downfall. Trying to buy one big thing, that answers all of his problems. Maybe we should get a few small things. I like the detect falsehoods gem, but the ear piece sounds like a bargain. Almost as good for a lot less. That’s the kind of bargain smart shoppers look for. I’m not really interested in much else, but to be accepted among the deities of business sounds like a great opportunity. I think you should be careful with what you pick out. Keep it simple, come to me for advice.”
“I am only really here so we could get some fun tattoos. Not really matching tattoos, but something we picked out for the other. You know, a token of friendship to remind us of the nice day we spent together today. Nothing magical about that. Should be safe, after all.” Ranma smiled what he hoped was an encouraging smile.
Nabiki smiled warmly before breaking into a smirk. “I guess that does sound safe after all, no runes or gems and whatnot. Though, I was going to request that you get a heart tattoo with ‘I Love Ranma-chan’ inside it.”
“You read my mind! I was going to get the exact same tattoo for you.” Ranma then smirked evilly. “That or ‘Give Blood ... Live in Nerima’ painted on your shoulder.”
Nabiki got a gleam to her eye as she replied, “Funny coincidence. I was thinking of yours being ‘Brain Donor’. Though I was also contemplating, ‘If I only had a brain’.”
Ranma was about to comment on inking Nabiki with ‘Living Dangerously’ when Toltiir walked up and cleared his throat. “So, have you two decided yet?”
Without hesitating, Ranma answered, “Depends on how much a custom tattoo costs.”
“What did you want done?” Toltiir asked as he pulled a sketchpad and pencil from a pocket in his apron.
Leaning over to whisper quietly into the gnome’s ear, Ranma told Toltiir what he wanted painted on Nabiki.
“That wouldn’t be any problem. Why don’t I sketch up something to show you. What you want wouldn’t cost very much, but I am willing to add a little extra for free. It is not often I get to be creative and make something new. Why don’t we step this way and let the lady browse our tattoo selections in peace.” Toltiir began to lead Ranma back towards the counter.
Nabiki had a sudden thought. “Wait a moment, Ranma, before you go. What are we going to tell the others about today? If we said we got tattoos, could we show these to anyone?”
Ranma thought about it for a moment before looking to the gnome. “Any chance of getting a second tattoo, matching, for the both of us that we could show off without worries?” Toltiir just nodded his head in assent.
As the two strolled off to discuss the custom Tattoo Ranma would buy for Nabiki, Nabiki began to wonder what she should get for Ranma. ‘I need a better idea then putting ‘Pork Butt’ onto his rear end. What about ‘Demon Hunter’ or ‘Youma Killer’? Those would be manly enough, right? Or, maybe something like ‘Grade A Prime Beefcake’ would be appropriate.’ Nabiki giggled to herself. ‘Should I follow my heart, perhaps? What would I want to see inked onto Ranma’s skin?’
With a sigh, Nabiki began to look through the displays again. She was trying to find something simple that Ranma and her could both get. After all, Ranma was never good at keeping secrets, and in Nerima you never know when someone might be spying on you. A decoy tattoo almost out in the open would keep people from looking for the real thing.
Back at the counter, Ranma enthused his acceptance of the custom design. “That’s perfect! Will it be any trouble making the tattoo look like your sketch?”
“No trouble at all. All I need from you, now, is to choose the colors you’d like.” Toltiir pointed to the wall behind him. Arranged by color, long glass tubes full of ink lined the wall behind the counter. Every shade imaginable was present.
“Well ... I think black would be good,” Ranma answered simply.
“Which black would you like, and, for that matter, I think a touch of red would help.”
Ranma, thinking one black was as good as another, pointed towards the darker end of the spectrum of grays. Then, finding some vibrant reds that he liked, pointed out one of the crimson shades. Toltiir unwrapped some sterile vials, and dispensed the chosen magical ink into them.
“Anything else you would like before I ring everything up?” Toltiir kindly asked.
“Yes, but lets see what Nabiki wants first,” Ranma responded after a moment’s thought.
Walking up to the girl lost in deep thought, Toltiir politely cleared his throat to get her attention. “Excuse me ma’am. Are you all set? Have you decided on your purchases?”
“Almost. Trying to find something Ranma and I would want. Something small, nice, and that people would not find strange for us to get. That way, when people ask why I got this or that, I can say I saw it when I was in a tattoo parlor. If they ask why was I in a tattoo parlor, I can answer by showing them the other tattoo and explaining that we got matching tats. But what would be meaningful to both of us? We are two different people.”
“I’ll discount it if you let me design one. Sort of like a surprise, grab bag that many stores offer.” Toltiir appeared to be thinking, with one hand on his chin and a far away look to his eyes.
Nabiki was immediately on guard. “What kind of tattoo were you thinking of? Not some sigils? Or anything like that one mischievous marking that turns you into a werewolf? I’m not going to get something I didn’t approve of beforehand.”
Toltiir gave an innocent smile as he reassured the girl. “No, no, not at all. I could advise some commonly requested, or traditional, sigils. Or, if you prefer, something more ornate. Also, it is common for boyfriends and girlfriends to get each other’s names tattooed. I could draw up some suggestions for you to choose from.”
Nabiki snorted. “I assure you, having people be able to read Ranma’s name on me would not be a pleasant experience.”
To which Toltiir’s response was to wink saucily and mention, “I can write the names in an alphabet no one would be able to read. Not unless you know someone that can read a language that was old when this planet was but a twinkle in the eyes of the Lords of Creation.”
Ranma replied with a shrug, “I wouldn’t be surprise if the old ghoul could read it, as unlikely as it seems.”
“Well, be that as it may, may I suggest the usual three blessings that most people pray for.” Toltiir then began to doodle in his sketchpad.
Nabiki, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever Ranma had asked for, was disappointed to find that the top page was blank. “I believe those would be health, wealth, and love,” Nabiki answered.
“Yes, you are quite correct. I could draft up something along those lines.” Tapping his pencil to his chin, Toltiir thought for a moment before inspiration struck. “Are you familiar with borromean rings?” Seeing that both of his customers were shaking their heads, Toltiir continued explaining his idea. “As a design, they are found the world over in many cultures. Arising independently, most probably. While many variations of how to draw it exists, usually they are drawn in a manner like Celtic knots. The lines alternate going over and under each other. When drawn right, a close look reveals that none of the rings ever link through another. While all three rings interlock, removing any one of the rings would cause the other two to fall apart. They all share equal duty holding the shape. The name itself derives from a renaissance family, actually three political families united through marriage, that decorated its estate with many such rings. The rings represented each of the three families, and the shape symbolized how their solidarity would fall apart if one should leave. From this context, Borromean rings are often used to symbolize teamwork, where everyone is equally important and success is achieved by standing together. Certainly friends should appreciate the concept of togetherness implied by such a motif. Though, in other cultures, the design did not necessarily stand for such. Using triangles instead, the Norse had a similar symbol called volknaut. However, it represented Odin and the afterlife for those slain in battle. However, you should be able to explain it away using concepts of togetherness, friendship, and familial unity.” Toltiir then concentrated on his sketchpad as his pencil made scratching noises as it danced over the surface of the paper.
Giving him some time to work, Nabiki and Ranma hung back until he finally looked up.
“OK, look at some of these.” The page was full of different quick sketches. A couple was presumably Ranma’s or Nabiki’s name written in runes. The runes were outlined in a cartouche of sorts. The upper curve of the cartouche was tied into a figure eight knot, with the figure eight on its side like an infinity symbol. The lower curve was decorated with three glyphs. A couple more were based on the borromean ring motif. The simplest only included a few glyphs. Another had a different glyph tied to each of the rings at the point diametrically opposed to the center of the design. A different symbol occupied each of the space contained by only one of the rings. In the three different spaces where two of the rings overlapped, laid yet another symbol, a new one each. Finally, in the center where all three rings covered, laid some runes. Nabiki did admire the simple and well balanced design of the borromean rings. Doodled near a corner was a small grouping of glyphs that the two customers recognized as the sigil tiling that was described earlier. Six sigils ringed around a central one. Nabiki made note to remember to ask what each glyph represented. She was wary of getting an unknown magical spell tattooed onto her. She was also trying to work out explaining why they got what appeared to be gibberish and chicken scratches as tattoos, if that was the one they got. The last sketch doodled on the page depicted a naked girl who was barely covered by the embrace of a winged man standing behind her. Their faces were turned and canted so as to be able to kiss deeply while hidden by her hair. Unseen, without magnification aid, was the micro-sized glyphs hidden among the line work.
“What do you think, Ranma,” Nabiki looked over to her companion, “how about this one?” Nabiki then pointed to...
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(Posted Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:32)
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