All That Glitters

The interior of the jewelry store was clean. Way too clean. Every surface was polished as much as possible. The marble floor was spotless, the glass displays free of smudges and every piece of jewelry within gleamed under the bright lights of the store.

‘Well, this is a little overwhelming,’ John thought as they looked around for an employee to talk to. ‘It’s a bit bright in here.’

‘Not a fan,’ Senka groaned.

‘You’ve never mentioned not liking bright light,’ John thought back, a bit concerned that Senka had been suffering whenever they went outside.

‘Oh, it’s not something like me being negatively affected by it. Just that I prefer softer, less obnoxious lighting,’ the spirit explained.

‘Can’t say I disagree with you there,’ John replied.

“Man, it’s too bright in here,” Beth complained aloud.

“I think we’re all thinking that,” Vivian said quietly. “But we probably shouldn’t say it out loud. Best not to offend our prospective business partner.

“I think we might have caught them at a bad time,” Estelle said as she fiddled with one of her earrings. “Sounds like there’s something of a heated discussion happening in the back.”

When the witch saw the confused looks everyone else was giving her, she let out an awkward chuckle. “My earrings can increase my hearing. Nothing in the mall’s rules says I can’t use magic on myself and our little chat with Nadiya reminded me I had these ones in. Can’t make out what’s being said, probably some privacy magic.”

“Would have to be sound dampening not negation, given that you can still hear them,” Vivian muttered before she closed her eyes in concentration. “And I can’t feel anything that would indicate a proximity alarm so they might not realize we’re out here.”

“Good thing we’re not here to rob the place,” Beth joked as she poked a displayed pair of dangling earrings. “Would be easy if they’re preoccupied.”

“I wouldn’t be so brash,” Vivian cautioned. “They might have sensory magic that I just can’t sense. And they could have decided that protecting their merchandise was more important than timely customer service.”

“Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in them being a help to us,” John said.

“That likely would only apply if they control whoever we get to dig up the materials,” Vivian remarked. “But a strong relationship between these people and them is looking like a detriment.”

“Maybe whoever they’re arguing with would be a better fit?” Senka suggested.

“They’re getting louder,” Estelle reported, flinching slightly at whatever she was hearing. “And angrier.”

The door to the backroom swung open with far too much ****, smacking into the wall with a loud bang.

“If that’s your final offer, I think the clan will be taking our business elsewhere,” a thick gruff voice bellowed as its owner stomped out onto the sales floor. John wasn’t surprised to see it was one of the dwarves he’d seen before, though at some point between then and now, their number had dropped to just the one, it seemed.

He stood about to John’s chest and was a bit broader than him. His face was stretched into a scowl, gold hued eyes framed by furrowed brows, and though John had a hard time seeing his lips through his thick brown beard, he suspected they were drawn into a frown. The staccato clap of his sandals echoed around the store as he marched out, scarred hands clenched tight into fists. He stopped when he noticed they were there then let out a harsh breath.

“If I were you, I’d taken my money elsewhere,” he spat before adjusting his robe as he strode out. “Don’t honor deals.”

He stormed out of the store as another man walked out of the back. He was practically the opposite in appearance to the dwarf. Tall and lanky, beardless with a narrow face. Thinning blond hair was combed over his scalp and his skin was slightly sallow.

“Oh, my, didn’t expect that meeting to go so poorly,” he said in a nasally voice. “I’m sorry you had to catch the tail end of that. You know how it is. Supplier tries to rake up prices unexpectedly.”

John wasn’t exactly primed to take the man’s words at face value. And from the looks on the girls’ faces, they weren’t buying it either.

“Of course,” Vivian said coolly.

“Now, welcome to Alexander’s! How may we serve your accessorizing needs today?” the man asked, his eyes sweeping over them.

“I’m looking for some necklaces,” Vivian answered, catching John a little off guard for a moment before realizing that Vivian was fishing for more information on how this guy operated and if he was someone they wanted to involve in their business, even if just as someone who could point them to the laborers needed to procure the metals and gems.

“Certainly.” The man grinned before turning towards the case with the necklaces. Then John’s phone pinged. Summoning it, he was surprised to see a message from Vivian.

Go after that dwarf.

John glanced at Vivian, just making out the faintest distortion where she was altering the appearance of her arm, hiding her phone from view. John didn’t need further clarification about what Vivian wanted him to do.

“Got to take a call,” John announced.

Before Beth or Estelle could ask about it, Vivian hooked her arms with theirs and dragged them towards the necklace display. John was out of the store before either of them raised any questions. The mall interior wasn’t anywhere close to crowded so it was easy to spot the retreating dwarf.

As John power walked after him, his thoughts raced as he wondered how he was going to get him to listen to his offer.

‘Hey, seems like you were getting a raw deal with the sleazy looking guy. Maybe our currently nonexistent mines will pique your interest,’ he rattled off a quick and very poorly thought out introductory line and cringed. It was a horrible way to break the ice. But he couldn’t think of any other way to broach the subject.

‘Do you want me to try?’ Senka asked through their mental link.

‘No,’ John replied. ‘I’m never going to learn anything if I don’t give it a go. And if Vivian didn’t think I could somehow pull this off, she would have found some way to excuse herself instead.’

‘Okay,’ Senka thought. ‘I will be ready to jump in if things go sour.’

‘Don’t make it sound like I’m going to strike out right away,’ John groused. ‘Or that it’s going to blow up and I’m going to get attacked.’

‘Better safe than sorry,’ Senka wisely remarked.

‘Fair. Let’s see if I can keep this from being a train wreck.’

John swallowed, trying to wet his dry throat as he approached. The dwarf had stopped by a decorative water feature, featuring marble angels endlessly pouring water out of pitchers into a wide pool, and stared at it before letting out a sigh. Before John could get close enough to initiate conversation, a boisterous voice rang out, halting his steps.

“Father! How did things go?” the voice carried over the sound of running water and the light crowd like low thunder, causing most people around to glance over at its source before going about their business. Said source was another dwarf, clearly the elder’s son even without him needing to announce it. They had the same brown hair, though the son wore his longer, wavy locks reaching his shoulders. His beard was far shorter in contrast, likely not more than an inch long though still well groomed.

And he had a half eaten corn dog in his hand, a few crumbs marring his red robes.

“Does it look like things went well, Tok?” the elder dwarf asked in an exasperated tone, one of his scarred hands running through his beard.

“Not really.” Tok shrugged. “You only do that thing with your beard when stressed.”

“How observant,” the older dwarf said with a sigh. “No, they didn’t. We’ll have to find…”

He trailed off as he cast his gaze around the area, his eyes lighting up in recognition when they landed on John and Senka, before his expression darkend.

“Oh, I see,” he grumbled, his voice deepening into a low and threatening rumble. “That twig called in the good cops to try and salvage the deal, did he? Thought it was a bit odd he left the store open during our talk.”

“Wait, what…” John tried to speak up and clear away any misunderstandings, but the son was far quicker with his tongue.

“Are you some goon trying to shake us down?” Tok asked harshly, stepping in front of his father. His quick accusation seemed to take even the elder dwarf by surprise though that was quickly overtaken by a look of exasperation.

“Didn’t you hear me say they’re likely playing the good cop? I swear you’ve got ore in your ears,” the father grumbled as he stepped in front of his son, then glared at John. “So, what’s your boss’ new offer, huh? Something more reasonable than 30/70?”

“I think you have the wrong idea,” John said. “We aren’t with that guy.”

“He really did leave the store open while talking with you,” Senka added. “Which speaks volumes about his professionalism. Can’t blame you for walking out if their deal making skills are on par with that.”

That got a rough chuckle from the elder dwarf as he regarded them with a critical eye.

“Alright then. I’ll humor you for a bit,” he said, running his hand through his beard again. “What exactly are you doing following me?”

“Yeah!” Tok interjected hotly, brandishing his half eaten corn dog as if it was a baton. “Were you thinking about mugging an old man while he was lost in thought or… Ouch!”

“Tok, I swear. Stop jumping to conclusions,” the elder said. “At least mine were somewhat possible even if they were a step too far. For that, I offer my apologies.”

He bowed slightly to John and Senka. “Now, why exactly were you following me?”

The seriousness in his tone made John swallow nervously. “Well, we’re scouting for talent.”

“What sort of talent were you looking for going to that weasel? Scamming suppliers?” the dwarf interrupted with a bitter laugh.

“More like looking for said suppliers,” Senka said.

“So you were trying to snipe us, huh?” Tok asked before taking a bite of his corn dog. “Probably would be a better deal, Dad.”

“Let’s see what they have to say, Tok,” the other dwarf said. “My bones tell me it’s not that simple.”

“It is a bit more than that,” John said, earning a nod and a grin from the older dwarf. “I suppose starting things off the proper way would be the right way to go about this.”

“Bit late for that,” Tok interjected. When his father shot him a look, he shrugged. “What? Just being honest. We’ve kind of gone way off the normal track of the business thing.”

“Don’t think we can argue with that.” John chuckled, trying to ease away any tensions. He adjusted his posture to attempt to look more confident. “I’m John Newman, representing Renox Solutions. And we would like to know if you, or anyone you know, would be interested in an opportunity to gain access to untapped mineral reserves?”

“So that was your plan, eh? Go to the seller of the final product and see if their suppliers would like in on the ground floor of a fresh venture, likely with the benefit of being the sole group to sell the final product,” the old dwarf said. “Not a bad plan, young man. But, if you’ll accept the advice of an old man, I think your pitch is a bit weak. Just your word to go on isn’t much of a hook.”

John had to keep himself from cringing at how right he was. He wasn’t someone with a reputation to leverage or just the sheer presence to make people take his word at face value.

“Now, if you could back things up with proof you’ve got access to these untapped reserves, well, then that would be something to consider,” the dwarf admitted, digging his hand into the inner pocket of his robe. He withdrew a large coin of dull silver pressed between his fingers and tossed it at John. “Suppose you can consider this our calling card.”

John caught the coin and information poured into his head. It was far less abrasive than the mall’s download of their code of conduct, only putting one thing into his mind, a phone number.

“When you have something to show, give that number a call and ask for Vel Foh Baz,” the dwarf said. “If what you show me has merit, I’ll introduce you to the rest of the clan and we can talk about making a deal. That’s the best I can give you right now.”

“That’s fair,” John remarked as he willed the coin into his inventory. “I would be a bit apprehensive if someone came up to me with some job offer without proof.”

Vel Foh Baz let out a hearty laugh. “Well, if it’s worth anything, you admitting that gives you a good mark in my book. Hope what you bring to the table is worthwhile. Let’s go, Tok.”

“Right on your heels, Dad,” Tok said before he saluted John and Senka with his corn dog. “If you got something that gets Dad and the others on board, I look forward to working with ya!”

“Well, it didn’t exactly blow up in our faces,” Senka remarked as the two dwarves marched away. “We got their business card equivalent at least.”

“You know, I think I liked it more when things fell into our laps,” John said in a dejected tone, echoing his earlier remarks. “I hope Vivian’s not going to be disappointed we didn’t get anything.”

“I think you’re being too hard on yourself,” Senka said, her hands gently massaging John’s shoulders. “None of us expected to be able to just go to any random person walking by and get them to join on to our venture without any real, tangible proof that we’re sitting on a gold mine. Getting a foot in the door isn’t a sign that we failed. Just that we have some more steps to take before reaching the goal.”

Senka’s soothing did its job and John felt slightly better over everything, though now there was a pressing need to find evidence they could show Vel Foh Baz.

“We’re going to need to scout for an actual mine location or find some ore,” he sighed. “Might as well do that at the same time we go looking for farm land.”

“We’ve got time to do that,” Senka reminded him. “We aren’t on the clock. Better to have everything nicely in a row before actually getting people to sign on then to keep jumping from one thing to another and working ourselves to exhaustion.”

John reached a hand up to squeeze one of Senka’s in gratitude, leaning his head back to smile up at her.

“Thanks, Senka.”

The spirit leaned down and joined their lips together.

“No need to thank me. Now, let’s get back to the others. We may need to rescue them from an over eager salesman.”