Goals 5-2

Étaoin wasn't sure what time of day it was when she awoke, but she could feel aches in her stomach from the hunger. Muttered complaints about this body being impossible to please fell past her lips like a waterfall as she gathered her things. Fetching something to eat on the way out, she set out on her tasks for the day.

First she needed to acquire coin. Fortunately for her, traders were quite common. When a plane works with two different kinds of currency, having the ability to exchange them is quite useful. As such, entire industries have sprouted around buying up and reselling iebba stones and various other valuables with brokers, stockers and vendors, likely all in airtight contracts to prevent one from screwing over the others as best as possible.

She prioritised selling the little idol of Cecaelya first. It was definitely one of the most incriminating items she had on her person, though it was still done with a heavy heart because as soon as she would hand it over, she knew she wouldn't be able to stop it from potentially getting back to Cecaelya. The idea of depriving the monstrous mermaid of her things brought Étaoin some manner of joy, but she had to prioritize her survival first. Besides, the statuette was easily the most valuable singular item in her possession save from her iebba stones; she could easily cash that in and get enough money to fuel the rest of her shopping trip and cover her life expenses.

A thousand gold pieces. A hundred platinum. Technically it was a fortune. If Étaoin remembered it right, many common people on the material plane, working average jobs, would only earn a dozen gold pieces in a year, if they were lucky. Her home was quite comparable, though money was intrinsically less valuable there compared to abstracts like information or favors. This wasn't either of those places, however. In Tahl'karrser, it seemed like everything was quite a bit more expensive, though she hadn't seen enough of it to get the exact feeling for it.

Despite all of that, she couldn't help but feel like she was being conned. This broker was a fiend after all, them trying to con her into giving up something valuable for much less than it was actually worth could only be second nature to them, even if they weren't avarice fiends. At the same time, she wasn't sure if she was in a place to argue or haggle. She needed the money now and a thousand gold would still cover her expenses for a long time, and allow her money to get the things she needed.

Despite not wanting to waste more time looking for another trader, she had trouble accepting the offer and leaving the statue. She looked up at the fiend, a blend of humanoid shapes with frog like details, not unlike the first creature she'd encountered in this hellscape.

“One thousand and five hundred, as well as answers to a few questions,” she pushed against better judgement.

“Listen little bug, I'm already doing you quite a favor. I'll answer your questions but I'm not adding more than another fifty pieces.”

Étaoin's thorax twitched in irrigation at being called that nickname. “One hundred, and the answers need to be honest. I will not be asking personal questions,” she insisted.

The creature groaned as his hand dove into his pouch and a hundred more gold coins were posited into the pouch next to the statuette. “What do you want to know?”

She had so many questions swirling around her head, she wasn't sure where to start. While one pair of hands picked up the pouch of coins to put away, another replaced it with her bag of iebba stones. When she didn't think about it, using her additional limbs came easy. She took it as the blessing it appeared to be. “How do I appraise these? If I can't learn it immediately, who can offer me the most accurate value with the least amount of hassle?”

With each stone looked at, the creature's eyes widened more. She could swear she could see it salivate as it gets mixed into the salty water. She knew she had acquired quite the hoard, this only proved it further. “Appraisal is either a years long learnt craft or a taxing magical process that isn't a breeze to learn either, but I could-”

“I'm looking for someone magically potent, anyway. Someone willing to teach, too. Only the best, short of the Queen,” she butted in.

The creature’s lips pulled into an unstable, irritated snarl. “I don't know their name or their whereabouts. No one does. An absolutely gifted seer, unrivaled here in the Silver-Echo, maybe even the rest of Tahl'karrser. If you're fated to meet, chances are… they're already watching you if you're looking for them… they'll show themselves to those he thinks entertaining and unthreatening enough to serve some plot of theirs."

That definitely got her attention. “How do you know-”

He cut her off. “These rumors drift on the streams, reaching everyone by the time the tide has cycled. They stick when most anyone who's met this guy either go missing or have no clue what you're even talking about when they do rear their ugly mugs.” There's an exasperated sigh. “Little lady, I'll get these stones appraised right here and now for the least valuable one in here. That sound like a fair deal?”

Étaoin tapped her foot impatiently as he spoke. When he was done, she quickly took the bag off the counter. “I will not be requiring any more services from you, thank you,” she spoke formally, before turning around and trying to take her leave.

When the amphibious fiend reached to grab her, a hand retrieved Cecaelya’s dagger and intercepted the hand with it. It didn't cut, yet, but if he were to pursue using force it would inevitably hurt. He pulled back and allowed her to go with an audible growl.

She could hear him call after her “You… you stingy insect!”

She didn't entertain an answer.

It was the principal of the matter. She might've asked for information but there was no need to lecture her on it. He could promise to be honest all he wanted but it just made his con much more obvious. Even if she couldn't ascribe a numeric value onto her stones, she could tell that even the cheapest stone was about a tenth of her worth. Giving that up that much for just knowing some numbers wasn't worth it. Besides, she had plenty of other valuables that she could trade in if she needed money.

Her thoughts went back to the diviner the frog had mentioned. They sounded promising. She had no way of contacting them, however. At least, not yet. She certainly could look into it and get more information. It was hard to believe there were no traces of this creature anywhere, but if they truly were a gifted diviner then in theory it would be much easier to escape any kind of notice compared to an average person. After all, they would just foresee the path that would leave no evidence.

The only way to encounter this creature then would be to get its attention and make them want to reach out to her. She was planning to start training to become stronger. Considering that she was going to become a big enough thorn that even Dagon would notice, getting the diviner’s attention would easily become part of that. That was, if she didn't want to contact them sooner. She'd have to keep her ears peeled for an opportunity to learn more.

For now, it would be good to focus on the tasks at hand. Mainly, this meant arming herself better. As such, the smithy was Étaoin's first stop. Unlike with the frog-like broker, she didn't have to argue for a decent price, just bargain, which was perfectly fine with her. As fun as the thought sounded to keep using Cecaelya’s dagger as her weapon of choice, she had to concede that it was not made for a purpose and would therefore perform poorly.

She started with picking up a bow. While traditionally a shortbow, for her size it might as well be a longbow. Accompanying it was a quiver of serrated arrows for their brutal efficiency. Bows were invaluable for being able to hit a weak point without needing to come in close. Being able to blind an opponent would be invaluable to tipping the scales in her favor when outmatched, which would be admittedly often. Having to outsmart her opponents and fight dirty to survive wasn't anything new to her. She had always known. Perhaps it wasn't a bad idea to look into what kinds of poisons were available.

She also picked up a new set of blades to save the oversized dagger for more… suitable moments. The swords had cost a pretty penny thanks to their curved blades, but she considered it worth it. Now she wasn't going to end up helpless should things go sideways. If anything, she felt confident in her abilities to proceed.

When she asked about poisons, she was thoroughly disappointed. Apparently those aren't readily for sale. It would be funny if it weren't so frustrating that this sea filled with scum wanted to pretend it was anything else. It didn't necessarily mean she wouldn't be able to find anything, just that she wouldn't be looking on the public forum in the future. The black market and its denizens were a destination for another day, however. She'd just arrived after all.

Lastly for her shopping list were magical items. Well, she didn't have a list handy, and rather wanted to see what was available and affordable. It was hard to go wrong with these, but some would of course be more valuable than others.

A bottomless bag was a no-brainer. The ability to store everything so conveniently was a blessing. It kept her from having to lug that big bag around with all her valuables.

Healing potions were an equally easy choice. Unlike what she was used to, these were made with a gelatinous-like texture. They were far from convenient but of course much better than nothing; Étaoin remembered the one time she'd had one before quite well after first meeting Dragon.

A detection warding amulet was something she couldn't quite keep her eyes off. Wearing such an item would completely hide you from magic made to find and scry. It would cost her the rest of her funding, but despite their price there were multiple of them available. It's unsurprising that in a place festered with jealousy, people didn't like getting spied on.

A thought formed in her head. With a smile, she bought the item, yet put it into her bag for the time being.

Which led her to the next step in her plan: training. Those months locked away in that glass cage had done her fighting instincts no favors, so she knew she would have to aim low so as to not get crushed. Still, she spent a lot of time in her life training so finding an adequate challenge and working her way up would not be an issue. Not only that, but bounties were plentiful around this place. Even the middle class inn she had stayed at the night before had its entrance hall wall absolutely plastered with jobs. It was just a matter of picking the right ones, and she wouldn't have to touch her savings from Cecaelya's hoard anytime soon.

From there the trap was simple. When likely to have piqued or close to piqued the diviner's interest, she would start wearing the amulet. If it saw and foresaw with magic, then being unable to detect her would make that ability useless on her and unreliable when it involved her. Its options would then be to let her go and ignore, something she wouldn't let happen, leading to the only logical answer: it would need to send out someone to come watch her. Whether the creature would show its own face or that of a lackey wouldn't matter, she could just as well trace that lackey back to the lair.