Ask to see more artifacts

“You seem to have quite the collection here. I’m curious what else you can offer me?” Liandra asked, fascinated by the possibilities.

“Very well, milady. Give me a minute to check what I have available.”

As the princess watched with curiosity the woman started looking around her shop. “Ah, yes, I almost forgot about those.” She said to herself as she went to a small chest, opened it, and took two small objects from inside. Next her gaze fell on a thin golden chain and she promptly took it. Then she started looking around the shop, searching for something. “Now where did I put… ah, there.” She went to another small chest and took something inside, before going back to her waiting customer.

“Now, then. Let’s see if one of these will catch your attention.” The dark elf put two small pearls on the counter – one white as snow, the other white with a yellow hue. She took the white one between her fingers and showed it to the princess. “This pearl will let you know whenever someone tries to trick you, but it will be up to you to figure out the exact way that person’s trying to trick you. The side effect is that it will work only as long as it stays in your pussy.” Liandra’s face turned bright red when she heard that; the woman continued as if she hadn’t noticed. “And every time someone tries to trick you the pearl will arouse you. If there are multiple attempts to trick you in a short time you could get so horny you could lose control and… well, I’ll leave it to your imagination what could happen.”

“I… see. That can be quite… problematic… at times…”

“Indeed.” The woman put down the first pearl and took the second one. “This pearl will also allow you to know whenever someone tries to trick you, and again it will be up to you to figure out the exact way that person’s trying to trick you – just like the first pearl. But the side effects are different. First, it will work only when in your butt.” Liandra’s blush, which had started to subside, returned with renewed intensity and her face got even redder than before; again the woman pretended not to notice. “Second, you will get aroused every time something touches your butt – including the clothes you’re wearing and the chairs you sit on. And third, the longer it stays in you the more you’ll crave anal sex.”

“So the only difference is in the side effects?”

“Yes… Ah, that reminds me: There’s supposed to be an additional positive effect if you are using both pearls at once, but I can’t remember what it was. In fact, you could see the two pearls as two parts of the same artifact. I’ll even give you a discount if you buy both.”

“That’s good to know…” Liandra answered, clearly not convinced. Having to endure the negative side effects of two items in exchange for an unknown benefit did not appeal to her.

“I’ll try to remember what the additional bonus was. Anyway.” The woman put down the second pearl and took the thin golden chain. “Perhaps this one will be more to your liking. As long as you wear this chain on your arm you’ll know whenever some is lying. However, it affects everyone within a radius of two meters, and it ignores normal obstacles, such as stone walls. If a person tells a lie while in range of the chain’s magic that person’s clothes will become see-through for an hour. And if there are many people in range it can be quite confusing, as you get to feel multiple lies at once. Last, but not least, since you will always be within range you’ll have to either always tell the truth, or walk around wearing see-through clothes…”

“So it affects me too? That… might cause quite the scandal… At the very least it will be very embarrassing.”

“Yes, unless you can find yourself clothes that are not affected by the spell. But believe me – that is easier said than done.”

“And the last item you wanted to show me?” Liandra asked, curious what else the dark elf had to offer her.

“The last artifact is this.” The dark elf put down the golden chain next to the two pearls and presented another thin chain to the princess – only this one was made entirely of shadow. “This chain was made by a powerful dark elf sorceress and is nearly indestructible (or so I was told). It is supposed to increase intelligence and wisdom, thus making it easier to cast difficult spells. It should be able to help you with your problem, too, though. But there are also some severe disadvantages. For starters, the chain is cursed, so once you put it on you won’t be able to take it off until you have sex with a dark elf noble. Of course, that is a problem only if you want to take it off. Second, everything that is horny enough will be attracted to you. That includes men, women, beasts, even some types of intelligent plants.”

“Intelligent plants? There are any?”

“Of course. Though they are rare and there are none near the city, so it is no surprise you haven’t heard about them. Plus, you should be more worried about all the people wanting to fuck you – I seem to recall you said you wouldn’t want that much attention from people… As for the third side effect, it lets you know when those you care about lie to you.”

“Wait, that’s a bad thing?” Liandra asked, confused.

“Depends on the point of view, but I’d say it is. If someone is preparing a surprise for you and wants to keep it a secret, that person might lie to you to keep you in the dark. But because of the chain’s curse it might seem like that person is lying to you with malicious intent. And it’s not easy to know someone you care about is lying to you…”

“I think I get it… It would be so nice if the curse could be removed…” Liandra sighed.

“Theoretically it can be removed. In fact, I know one person who should be able to remove the curse, or at least to change the side effects to something a bit more… acceptable. However, her services are… expensive… and gold is not an accepted currency.”

“She doesn’t accept gold? Then I don’t have anything I could pay her with.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t be so sure about that… Anyway, would you like to buy one of these artifacts? Such as this chain that seems to have caught your attention despite its curse – or maybe because of it, mm? Or the ring I showed you earlier. Or one of the other items… Or, if you prefer, you could give a particular object a try before buying… as long as it is not cursed, anyway. So, what will it be?”

The dark elf woman looked at Liandra and waited for the princess’ answer.