Clarissa stays

"What...."

"Am I?" The herbalist finished for her. "I am a very unfortunate soul that was born with a severe birth defect that affects my appearance....rather extremely."

"I've never seen a birth defect like that...." Clarissa said, walking to the counter. "How does the ring work?"

"Ah...a true mystic never reveals their secrets," The woman smiled, pulling the ring off just long enough for her eyes to shift back to their demonic state, then placing it back, "But I certainly have a secret in my humble store that can help you."

"I suppose so." Clarissa barked out a laugh, "I'm not sure what I want though..."

"It is not about what you want, it is about what you need." The woman looked into her eyes with an intensity that bordered on insanity, then nodded to herself, she stepped out from behind the counter and walked towards a shelf as though she had made a decision. Clarissa followed, unable to help her curiosity. The herbalist was sorting through a jar of something that she couldn't discern. The label said tempus root, but that meant nothing to her.

"You need to stop worrying about your house's upkeep," She said, matter-of-factly, "I can craft you a pendant that makes these chores and responsibilities less of a burden for you."

"What do you mean?" Clarissa frowned, flabbergasted that the herbalist had read her like a book. The herbalist was already cutting a length of leather strip to create the necklace for the root she picked up.

"Whenever you wear this, your sense of time will be suspended." The woman worked deftly with her hands to craft a harness for the small root, "Those chores that take all day? Do them all in 20 minutes. Just make sure that noone else is around when you do them. And make sure that you do not wear this all day; you will have terrible migranes if you wear it for more than a couple of hours."

Clarissa scoffed in disbelief, "You can't possibly expect me to believe that."

"I don't, but I do expect you to walk out of here with this in your purse." She offered the necklace to her,"On the house, call it proof of quality and claim. You can return it if it doesn't work as I claim."