[Alvadas Location] Matilda's Jewels

[Cadence]

Matilda’s Jewels is the best jewelry store in Alvadas. It also happens to be the only jewelry store in Alvadas. Packed from floor to ceiling with shiny trinkets, it’s hard to find anything truly valuable within its walls. The store sits in a small one-story building with a flat roof and tiny windows. It’s quite difficult to find it among the busy streets of Alvadas, even if one is looking for it. However, if one does happen to stumble into this poor excuse for a store, there is no leaving there for a long while. The store’s owner, Matilda Horrens, can be very persuasive and will use bodily force to keep her customers inside if necessary. Most locals avoid the store, but is serves as a tourist attraction for many first-time visitors of Alvadas. The glittery knick-knacks often appeal to some of the younger women and girls who drop into the store, keeping the store afloat with the meager purchases. It is possible to find something worthwhile amid all the clutter if one has a good eye for detail. However, Matilda certainly won’t be able to lead customers toward anything of great value. To her, every broken chain painted to look like gold is a treasure worth keeping. NPC : Matilda Horrens Matilda is a short, pretty woman in her late twenties. She is quick to make enemies as well as friends, as her tongue gets her into trouble almost as quickly as it gets her out of it. Attracted by all things sparkly, Matilda has built her life buying and selling jewelry. She often draws in customers with her easy chatter and ability to spin a good tale. Skills Negotiation 40 Storytelling 30 Persuasion 65 Organization 25 Languages Fluent: Common History: Matilda has been attracted to shiny things since she was a young girl picking up every stone she spotted on the sidewalk. She started collecting paltry necklaces and sparkly rings when she was just ten years of age. As she grew older, her collection grew bigger. She began a bustling trade in trinkets with the other neighborhood girls. By the time she was twenty, she was running a jewelry-collecting operation spanning the entirety of Alvadas. She bought and sold, sold and bought, until there was nowhere left for her to store her new acquisitions. It was then that her elderly father conveniently passed away, leaving her a small fortune. Matilda quickly made use of the money to buy a vacant building in Alvadas and transform it into her very own jewelry store.

[Seven Xu]

Spring 52nd, 512AV

“Listen, I was just browsing, I—” Seven huffed, ducked a pasty arm, and was blocked off again by the tittering woman. She found amusement in this. The halfblood took a conceding step backward, and Matilda loosened her vice-grip on a door’s rusted handle.

“You must find something interesting. These are all treasures, floor to ceiling, you must, you must.” Matilda’s eyes grew wide, her painted lips pursed, and she rocked forward on her toes. “Come,” a hand flew between them, grabbed hold of Seven’s wrist, and tugged him down a narrow lane eclipsed by cluttered shelves. If there was desperation in her tone, he could not find it. Matilda seemed to take pleasure in hearing the sound of her own voice; every word was a featherlight lyric. “Come with me. I’ll show you treasures. Come, come.”

The shop was a flutter of gemstones and metal, all burning orange against an evening sun. Matilda managed to coax her limping guest to a gathering of mirrors; tarnished and broken the lot of them. Seven was released. He promptly crossed his arms, tucking his hands safely between the folds of his jacket. It’s junk. It’s all junk. His nostrils flared, and he sighed, crimson gaze skirting from mirror to mirror, unable to focus on the pale and rankled face they held. It was mocking him, daring him to wipe the smug judgment from his countenance.

It was a small wonder his brow did not fix itself in a permanent glower. Seven softened. Fine, have it your way.

“I’ll take this one.” He lifted weighty steel on a carved wooden handle. Its silver coat was tarnished, and his reflection was wrapped in a thousand fingerprints. A careful hand wound the mirror around, and he nearly dropped it. “Gods.” A startlingly grotesque face was carved into its back, with wide, unseeing eyes and a tongue hanging from an open mouth. Seven shook his head, and rolled his eyes. It was ugly, but it was freedom. “How much?”

Ledger :

Steel mirror -10GRM