Lotsa Parties ( Current location: Termina field) Thread 5

Kowen glanced at Calcifer. "Perhaps," she said.

"Well that's a very sweet name." She smiled genuinely even though with the blindfold she was sure the girl couldn't see her. She stood up and looked Jaruzak in the eye. "And what exactly is she doing with us?" she asked him quietly, hoping Zoliel couldn't hear. "It's far too dangerous for us to be dragging blind children into this. I don't even completely like Reina being here and she can take care of herself."

Zoliel looked up at Jaruzak before stepping forwards, "I can see fine enough, thank you" she said. She didn't hear the whole exchange, but 'blind' was a solid enough word to her that she could recognise it more often than not. She walked to the spot everyone had seemed so interested in before, waving her hand a moment to find the lever before pulling it the same as everyone else did. She reached forward and held up her new prize to the owner to hear what it was.

"My apologies." Jillian was humored by her demonstration, She was reminded of Reina, 'Where did all these brave kids come from?' She asked herself.

Ruul checked his wallet. He didn't have too many Rupees left, and he wanted to save some for food anyways. Magic Rings were a pretty valuable resource. He handed Vasu the Double Edged Ring, "How much can I get for this?" he asked.

"30 Rupees," came the answer.

Ruul took the Rupees with a frown. Luck wasn't on his side this time, getting one of the least valuable rings possible. He scanned the array of rings again. So many were appealing, but so many were also outside his price range. He didn't want to spend more than 230 rupees on these. At least not until he'd gathered more money. But the ones within his price range were so specific, and any one of them might come in handy at some point.

Sighing, he picked up a Toss Ring, a Gold Luck Ring, and with some prior hesitation, a Discovery Ring, and then placed them on the Jeweler's counter.

"That'll be 190 Rupees!" said Vasu, never losing his enthusiasm. "Going to go hunting for more rings, are you?"

Ruul gave a wry smile, "Yeah. And I'll hope I get a better one than the Gashapon gave me."

Vasu gave him a quick explanation of how Gasha Trees worked and then placed a box on the counter, "This is a Ring Box. Store your excess rings in here. Also, remember that only one ring works at a time, and it only takes effect if it is on your left ring finger. Also..." He pushed four additional rings towards him. "I can tell by looking at you that you've seen your share of battles. This is the Slayer Ring, for having slain 1000 beasts." Ruul had no idea how the jeweler could possibly have known that, but it was true. He wasn't a fighter, but after 7 years, protecting people adds up. "These two," Vasu continued, "Are for you and the leather-clad archer girl. You two have faced and vanquished a great evil in the past. This last ring is simply a token of my friendship." He straightened up and threw his hands up, "None of these rings actually do anything, but they are collectors' items, and the Victory Rings can be sold to a connoisseur for a great price! Not here, though. I've got enough."

Ruul blinked and slowly nodded, "Alright."

"Hey! You've been through a lot! Hey!" Called the Red Snake as Ruul left.

Vasu then turned to Zoliel, "Ah, this is the Red Luck Ring. While wearing it, you can walk over spiked floors without receiving any injuries. Quite popular with fakirs. I'm afraid its use is rather specific, though."

Outside, Ruul stepped over to Aero and held out one of the Victory Rings, "Apparently this is a collector's time. Somehow the jeweler could tell that we fought BEN," he said with an awkward grin, "and this is what we get for it."

After Zoliel, Jaruzak walked up to the Gashapon and pulled the lever. Taking the ring in his hand, he held it up for Vasu to see, "What will this do?" he asked straight forwardly.

Vasu's face creased into a big smile, "My friend, you may have drawn the best ring of the group! That is the Green Ring. It not only makes your physical attacks more powerful, but also increases your defense! A most useful Ring for fighters." He thought for a second, before pulling out a ring identical to the one he had given Ruul. "I can tell you've seen many battles. This ring is proof of your achievement: The Slayer Ring. It serves no purpose, but can be sold to a collector for a good price if you wish."

"Hey, Kid," Kairo said to Zoliel. "Maybe we should step outside now."

Zoliel looked towards the ring in her hand, then back towards the exit, pausing for a moment. She shrugged, part of her wished she could trade her ring though she dismissed the process as complicated. She didn't shop particularly often, for similar reasons. She'd hate to wish she had her 'rather specific' ring some day, perhaps she'd find somebody with a greater interest for it. She put it on and stepped ahead of Kairo out the door.

Kairo followed Zoliel outside. There he saw fist and Chaos talking while Calcifer and Aero watched the new girl play with her runes.

"So," Kairo said to Zoliel. "Need any more help?"

She looked up at him, and around at the group. She remembered hearing something earlier, something about a fortune teller, she thought. She reviewed her thoughts for a moment before looking back at Kairo, "Would it be all right if I went with you for a little while?" trying to remember who was who through her sight, she pointed at Kowen, "There's something I'm hoping to ask her later..." she said, keeping in mind the claim that she was drained by her earlier work.

Aero smiled and took the ring. "Well, at least it's pretty."

"Now that we're all set... what's the plan?" Calcifer wondered.

Quint decided to buy a new ring on top of the one he already has. Browsing through the rings he picked up a Heart Ring L2. "You you mind telling em what this does?" he asked Vasu. Meanwhile
Trace walked up to kowen and introduce himself. "Hello, I'm Trace, Are you going to join our group on its quest?"

"That is a Level 2 Heart Ring! It restores your health constantly, but at a faster rate than the Level 1 version. Your blue-haired friend bought the Level 1. Probably due to the price. This ring is one of the two most expensive rings I sell here, at 800 Rupees."

"Oy. I told you we overpriced it," said the Blue Snake.

"We need to get a ship," said Ruul as he slipped the Detection Ring onto his left ring finger, and the Ring of Victory onto his right. "We can't rely on the Vortex anymore, so we're stuck using traditional transportation. But I don't think Quint and Jaruzak are done yet." He popped open the Ring Box and dropped the Heart and Toss rings inside.

Calcifer couldn't hold back a grin. "So we're going to get to steal a ship after all?" Suddenly he realized that probably wasn't the best thing to say in front of someone he'd just met. "F-for the greater good and all that stuff," He mumbled, glancing to her.

Zoliel stared at Calcifer after his first line, somewhat surprised, she didn't really think until now what she might be getting into.

"No, no stealing unless it can't be avoided. Which it might very well be the case." He turned to Jillian, "So! It's your call, Captain!" Vasu's enthusiasm might have been rubbing off on him.

"Hmm, How much would i get back if I traded this Bomb ring in?" Quint asked, trying to bring down the price.

Calcifer felt the stare, and turned to the child. "Uh, no, kid, I don't-- it's complicated! It's the sort-of bad means to a good end. We can't help it if we need to get across the sea, understand?"
He was sort of cut-off by Ruul. "Captain". Made his stomach turn. He made a face at himself. Formerly... he could understand, but now he was just having a stupid reaction to something that was... well, stupid. Jillian was qualified to do that sort of thing-- he had no idea how to man a boat. He rubbed the back of his neck. Guessed it was just backlashes of what he'd been feeling earlier...

"100 Rupees! Not many people use bombs, so it isn't a very profitable one."

"Wouldn't the next logical step be to check out the docks? No doubt there's a ship we could secure passage on with a bit of cash." Fist said as she looked towards the waterfront

Zoliel was growing more suspicious, while she did internally admit that this could mean a number of things, whether she was aware of them all or not. Still, she felt a need to observe a bit longer.

"Awwww nut commandeering a ship is one of my skills." Jillian said sadly, she would rather be her own crew anyway but a more qualified and professional crew meant safety, the sea was no place to start fighting again. "But buying passage is smarter." She agreed.

Reina approached the new woman. "You really can see the future?" She asked quietly.

"Whatever happened to all the docks being shut down and guarded up like nobody's business?"

"Remember what time it is..." Chaos said in response to calcifer. Going back in time meant that the wizard hadn't gained power and wouldn't be guarding exits at this time.