Stocking Up On More Herbs

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

Adel hated shopping for more herbs, it wasn't so much the shopping part but having to take the bus all the way across town. Sure there was one closer to home but it wasn't very well stocked and even though this shop was relatively new it was better stocked. At least thats what her friend said so Adel decided to take a chance on this one. So far it looked nice, very clean and organized. Thankfully smudge sticks were close to the door and easy to spot so she picked a few she liked, approving of the white thread used to bind them.

Next she poked through the jars of herbs. Bay leaves first, used to help induce visions. A spell Adel had not tried before but the idea was intriguing; but there was no guarantee that what she would see would make sense.

Holly, sandalwood, snapdragon, and foxglove; for protection. She burned these as incense to back up the purification of a circle. Just have to be careful to use them for only personal use and not true magical use, the herbs would only mix and the results could be very dangerous.

She looked curiously at the few amulets before noticing the book section and heading over to look through them. Unlike the more common books of the day these were hand written, a noticeable improvement from the many magic stores she had visited. The books smelt vaguely of smoke, in a good way of course. It was very faint that she almost wondered if she imagined the scent.

[Maya]

I watched my customer from my position behind a pile of books on the table, as seemed to be becoming habit. The problem with running a magic shop was that I was just as interested in alot of my stock as my customers were. I did, however, like the chance to evaluate my visitors before they knew I was there. It allowed me to get an idea of their motivations. This one so far seemed genuinely to be jsut stocking up. She clearly knew what she was looking for, but the things she picked up were mostly harmless... protection type stuff when used in the traditional way. I decided it was time to reveal myself. I stood,
"Anything I can help you with?" I asked. I was interested, as always, so see her reaction to me too... I didn't exactly look like your average magic shop owner...

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

Adel nearly dropped the book she was holdng but managed to catch it. She should have known the shopkeeper was going to be around the place somewhere but she hadn't even seen the person sitting there. She gave a nervous chuckle, "Sorry, didn't see you there."

She collected herself for a moment before speaking again, "I was actually looking through your books, trying to see if I could find one that caught my interest. I mostly deal with protection stuff, slowly branching out but I haven't found many magic books that deal mostly with defensive magic or healing magic, most books I've found are more offensive. Can you recrommend anything?"

She didn't look like the normal kind of person she saw in magic stores, she was used to old guys, hippy middle ag woman or gothic people her age, not someone who looked so... normal? And even then he knew normal wasn't quite right but it seemed to fit better than anything else.

[Maya]

I smiled, nearly chuckling as she obviously tried to figure me out too.
"Sure." I replied. "I've got a few good ones over here." I indicated a shelf near the table, and headed over, picking out one particular book, "This one is great for healing- keeps it simple, some of the books you get these days are more about flair than practicality... but I say who gives a damn if it looks fancy if something simple does it just as well, y'know?" I laid that one on the table and picked another. "This is one of my personal favourites for protection spells. It's pretty old school so some of the passages are.... questionable. I get the feeling a few bits and pieces were lost in the many translations, but if you have some idea what you're doing, its the best one for the job." I left out the fact that both this store and my own apartment were laced in enchantments straight from these pages.

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

She moved around to see the books the shopkeeper was motioning to and listened as the keeper spoke.

"How much are they?," she asked, glad to have found a few books on more defensive magics. "Unless they're not for sale, than could we work out an arrangement?" She wasn't sure how other shops worked with their older books, then there was always the question of price. Being a college sudent she didn't have a whole lot of money.

"And no offense but you don't look like any normal magic hop keeper, and I'd like to say you look normal but you aren't, I can tell that much," of course she could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time. "When I came in I expected an older man, a hippy woman or some gothic person who was in it for fun."

[Maya]

I chuckled at her bluntness,
"I guess I'm not the average." I admited, shrugging, "I just sorta fell into all this when I was younger."
MAJOR understatement.
"As for the books, the first is published fairly widely, so thats for sale at 25 dollars. The second is more rare I'm afraid, but you are welcome to come in and check it out anytime, or you can borrow it... say 5 dollars per week?"
It wasn't as though there was any chance of her running off with it. It wasn't just the shop itself that was protected.

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

"That would be wonderful," she smiled. "Renting it would be easier than coming by, I live across town and getting away can be a bit hard with the bus systems."

It turned out that trying something new was great, glad that this new place had supplies she needed. Of course there was no way to know for sure that the books were real until she got them home but she had a strong feeling that these books were the real thing. Of course many mass market books had a few spells in them that worked even if it was small, and as the shop keeper had said, many focused more on flair and not practicality.

[Maya]

"Ok, great." I said with a smile. I seemed to be ok at this whole shop keeper thing... which was a surprise as in general I wasn't exactly a people person...

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

She smiled reaching for her purse to get her wallet. "Do you have any buisness cards?" she asked wallet in hand. She took out a couple of twenties to pay for the items.

((I'd write a longer post but I gtg to work and I don't really want too me late. XD ))

[Maya]

I beamed, leading her over to the counter to sort out her purchases, and handed her one of the little cards I had set there. I hadn't really thought that I would need bussiness cards, but it had seemed like the right thing to do. I was glad now that I had.

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

"Great," she beamed, taking the card and slipping it into her wallet. "Well it was great looking through your shop, you certainly have a lot of very interesting items in here, and it's nice to find a place that is actuall stocked with herbs!" She was quite pleased with that fact, glad that she would now be able to try out the new spell she was trying out, and a few books to look through.

[Maya]

I chuckled,
"Thanks for coming in." I replied, "I'm just starting out, so it's nice to have a... proper... customer." I knew that she would know what I meant. "I hope those books work out for you."

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

"Don't get very many?" she asked curiously. "And they should help. thanks." She slipped the books into her bag.

[Maya]

"Well the majority are passers by who think this sort of this is kooky and amusing, you know the type... plus people who know what theyre talking about tend to be wary until you're able to prove that you know what youre talking about too... if that makes sense?"

[Joan "Adel" Madison]

"It does, it's not like everybody who's into this stuff knows," she shrugged, throwing her bag over her shoulder. "I'll be back with your book."