Your hand rapts firmly against the wooden door before you. A few moments of silence later you swallow your nerves and knock again with less force this time.
Still nothing.
A new day had come, and with it, was the hope your plan months in the making would finally come to fruition. All you had to do was pick up what you had ordered…
However…
Shuffling awkwardly in place you stand there for another few minutes before sighing and reaching for the door’s handle, opening it slowly you give yourself just enough room to poke your head inside. Calling out if anyone was there.
“Who is it!?” A woman’s agitated shout came back.
Flinching, you respond with your name and adding, rapidly, that you were there for the item you had commissioned. You hear some muffled muttering before her voice raises in volume, “...Right, come in. I’ll be out with it soon.”
Opening the door further you carefully make your way in, gently closing it behind you, you’re immediately assaulted by the pungent stench of so many myriad herbs and plants that you struggle to determine what is what.
Standing in a somewhat sizable room, it would have been quite spacious were it not for the shelves lining every wall with even more stretching out from the wall to make a maze out of half the room’s space.
No shelf space was left to waste either, what wasn’t taken by books was filled out by bottles of varying sizes, boxes, and satchels.
A slew of tables padded out the room’s other half, each overloaded with various instruments, containers, books both opened and closed, and various plants, rocks, and powders out in the open air. Likewise, strung up from the rafters were rows upon rows of more flora left hanging to dry.
With what windows the room did have buried behind a shelf, crate or table there was no natural light to be had, instead, a series of crystals were haphazardly crammed in whatever space could be found; casting a soft magical glow in a radius around them.
The home belonged to Athas, an elven witch of considerable power and yet another oddball within Graywater. Far more capable than her current station would imply, you weren’t entirely sure what kept a woman like her in a town like this…
Well, at least she was willing to help you.
…For a rather considerable sum…
“Apologies, you caught me in the middle of something,” A tired voice spoke out, looking to its source you see the woman in question step out from a cloth-covered doorway. The sight before you was that of one that belittled Athas’ capabilities.
“Disheveled” was the best way to describe her. From her faded blue robe that obscured most of her form, to her tangled red hair seemingly always managing to cover her eyes in spite of all efforts to push it away, to her emerald colored eyes, always half-closed, with dark circles beneath them betraying her severe lack of sleep. All tied together with a paleness of someone who rarely ever saw the sun. Even her pointed ears seemed to always droop a little.
“Hello,” Was her blunt greeting.
Greeting her back, you repeat what you were here for. Trying to remain polite while hopefully making the process as quick as possible. Unable to shake the feeling that your mere presence was annoying to Athas.
“Yes, of course…” Mumbling, she reached into her robe. Searching around within it for a few seconds before pulling out a disk-shaped amulet. Stepping closer to you, she hands it off to you, folding her arms across her chest afterwards, “Here, should be everything you asked for.”
Taking the amulet into your hand you look it over, a feeling of excitement building up within you as you take in its details.
Fitting snugly in the palm of your hand, its chain slipping through a gap in your fingers, both the amulet itself and the chain attached to it were made of bronze. A series of small intricate runes were meticulously carved into it, and you could see small swirls of blue and white energies dancing around each other within the center. Water and Air magics respectively.
More surprisingly, you could feel yourself begin to heat up the longer you held it. And upon closer inspection you could see a soft pink circling around its edges… Fire?
Looking back to Athas you ask her what this was about.
“Consider it a favor,” She responds simply, “Surely you know how cold it is under the ocean? It’s not a perfect solution but it should prevent the worst of it.”
That… made a lot of sense, actually. You thank her for her foresight to which she shrugged.
“It was merely an experiment,” The elf admitted, her face still maintaining its neutral expression as if this was normal, “I rarely get the chance to create something like this these days, I wanted to see if I could still handle it… Fortunately for you, I could.”
Opening your mouth you pause yourself before you say anything, you’re unsure how you feel about her admitting to your face she used something so important to you as a testing dummy… But you weren’t about to argue with her about it. Instead you merely thank her again, putting the amulet away in a pocket, you begin to take your leave of her house.
“Ah, I should add…”
You halt when she begins speaking again, looking over your shoulder you tilt your head curiously at her.
“It won’t make you any better of a swimmer, but you’ll be able to stay under there indefinitely so long as it’s close to you,” Athas explained before the barest of smirks crossed her face, “I hope whoever you’re seeing down there appreciates it.”
Your eyes widen, stammering over your words briefly before you eventually manage to spit out that you’re unsure of what she’s talking about.
“Oh please,” She counters with another shrug, “No one pays as much as you did for something like this unless it’s for good reason… And I don’t take you as the scholarly type.”
Before you can speak again Athas turns around and begins to head back into the other room, “Not that it concerns me, you do what you wish with it.”
With that she leaves you standing there as she retreats back to whatever she was working on before. Blinking a few times in shock you finally sigh and leave the building, a little ashamed at how easily she read right through you.
But, whatever. You had what you needed now, and you couldn’t wait to surprise Marilith with it tomorrow. A thought that made you giddy, putting a spring in your step that drew questioning gazes from those you passed.