bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas,
Bethen had no fear of getting lost in the crowds, pushy as some of the denizens were and much more crowded as the streets were than any place she'd been before, but she as stuck close to Dee as she could manage. Every few moments, the mage would pause to look up to ensure that the highest tower of the Keep remained within view as a landmark to return to provided they got separated, though it was probably better that they didn't. Unsurprisingly, the would-be priest had a better memory for the layout of this district than Beth, navigating them quickly to their intended destination -- or at least one of them, given that Dee specified this stop as only their initial objective.
"You're brilliant," replied the mage to the sister's proposition, a simple and factual statement. Beth had little other way to express just how much she approved of the idea, finding any further words difficult to formulate into a sentence while standing before the stall. The array of stones was almost overwhelming, a veritable rainbow of eye-catching minerals set next to each other in rows and columns and shelves. The stand itself needed no embellishment, because the materials within were vibrant enough. If there was any visible skepticism in her expression, it was not due to any objection toward the concept, so much as doubt she could make the right choice out of all of the materials available to her. More time, she just needed more time to know for certain which was the perfect lump of rock to be fashioned into a long lasting token of her appreciation.
They didn't have that luxury, though. Of all the colored gemstones lined up before them, one particular stone grabbed her attention above all others. The roughly cut crystal was a rich violet color, translucent but not completely clear (milky swirls mingled with the purple), and the intensity of its hue was greater toward one pointed end than the other. There was no price tag near it, just a hand written card that labeled it as amethyst. She curled a hand around the change purse that sat in her belt case; it wasn't all of the coins that the Tower had given her as a parting salary, but she had on her no more than seven gold pieces and an odd bit of bronze and some silvers. Whatever Aurin had spent on her might not have gone matched, but Beth really couldn't afford to spare much more. She could only hope that, once the next customer in front of them was satisfied with his purchase, the price of that stone would be within range.
While they waited, Beth thought it an opportune moment to continue chatting, even if it was a rather unsavory topic and not half as casual as her tone of voice seemed to imply. Anyone listening in might have been mildly perturbed, but she wasn't feeling particularly self-conscious, and it would have been rude for others to eavesdrop, anyway. "Of course I'd like to hear it, if it's no trouble to you. And better that you've learned ahead of time and came away from the experience with wisdom than to run into this situation blindly. At least you know enough to avoid repetition and to instruct others not to follow your example," she answered with surprising cheer to her tone; not that she took the subject lightly, so much as she was the eternal optimist and spoke from personal experience. "Naturally, we don't need to speak of it right now. But any tale you ever want to tell, I'd be eager to listen."