Snippet #2387210

Ronan eventually let his mind drift off elsewhere as the sound of his footsteps against grass became prominent in his ears. Normally he would have chosen to go and find some sweet fruit stall, but today he felt like visiting. Suddenly, his foot collided with a stone and he nearly fell, catching his balance at the last second. "Odd..." He muttered, now focused on reality again. He looked behind him, unaware that he'd gone so far from Komuna already. So far that he couldn't see the stalls and tents clearly anymore. He shrugged and continued to walk. He'd go to the Earth castle and wait there for the Prince to return. They had a lot to catch up on, plus he had a sum of money to pay Ethan.

Part of him ached to win it back through poker, but he knew that he would probably end up broke anyways. So he decided to look for a roadside merchant. Not too much time passed until he found the familiar Rajij, who spends his nights theiving and his days selling. Of course, it took Ronan a long time to realize this.

"Rajij, my dear merchant!" He yelled an open greeting, and the merchant turned to face him. The man was covered in odd, mismatched clothing. A velvet tunic here, red leather boots there, silk green trousers and a purple and orange felt hat. Of course, the man had no sense of style, but he chose the most expensive and attractive of all his clothing to wear. In Ronan's opinion, he looked like a crazed jester. "Ronan, young boy. Come closer so I can see the goods you've come with today." Rajij replied, and Ronan obeyed. "You offend me, Rajij. Is there no other reason I'd come to visit unless it were to sell?" Ronan dramatically gasped, placing a hand on his heart.

"I know you too well to be fooled, boy." He let out a hearty laugh and paused to look at Ronan's supplies. "I see... So you were telling the truth. You have nothing to sell me. This is all junk!" He chuckled, and raised a grey eyebrow. Ronan frowned. "I assure you, this vase here was hand-crafted by an expert! I can tell because it was expensive. But I can give you it for half it's worth." Ronan said, and gestured to the designs on it. "Boy, if you think this is expertice, then you are a fool. You may have been conned into buying it- but I won't be. Now excuse me, but if you don't have anything worth sell-" He stopped himself as his eyes caught glimpse of the ring around Ronan's finger. "That item is worth selling." The marchant said, and eyed it some more. "This ring?" He asked, and frowned. "My dear merchant, this ring is very special to me. My close relative had it made for me, a priceless treasure that I must keep." His theatrics were flawless.

The merchant frowned. "But it is a exellent peice of jewelry. I would add it to my own fingers if I could." He muttered, and looked to the ground. Ronan sighed. "I guess it would look rather nice with the rest of your apparel." When he said this Rajij looked up hopefully.

"I'll buy it from you for ten small ones."
"This is worth a lot more than that. Ten silver."
"Silver?! No way, five silver isn't even enough for that."
"Family relic, Rajij. Seven silver."
"Five."
"Seven with the vase."
"Fine, boy. here's your silver." The merchant spat, counting out seven silver coins and putting them in Ronan's pouch. Ronan smiled sweetly. "It will be difficult to part with the ring, but thank-you, merchant." He said, twisting the ring off of his finger and dropping it in the vase. Rajij continued to spit remarks under his breath and cursed multiple times as Ronan walked away.