He laughed, good-natured, but there was a dark undercurrent to it--as though he were thinking over secrets none others knew. "Well, you may, my dear. But one must keep some trade secrets, hmm..?"

He held the pendant up again, slowly spinning on its chain, catching the light and gleaming with its sinister eyes. "As for your stone, well. Anything worthwhile is worth the wait, hm? So..." The other hand delved into his cloak, and withdrew a rolled-up parchment; this he shook once, sharply, and it unfurled to hang from between clasping claws. He turned and laid it down on the ground before her: a document full of scrawled text, an empty space for a hoof-print at the bottom.

"This pendant for your stone--once, of course, you have perished. Do we have a deal...?"

@Edeltraud

Edeltraud's smile withered into a frown with the non-answer. She would not be learning how he acquired her stone post death. Not right now, at least. But no matter. "I suppose that's fair." Edeltraud said with a slow roll of the head. "Fair enough for this necklace at least. Freda, glassy eyed, landed on her head, the rainbow spinner cocking an eye at the glinting pendant. Edeltraud cooed. "Freda, you approve of it too? That settles it!"

Edeltraud bent down her head to blink doe eyes at the parchment, serving the collector a suspicious glance. Incomprehensible squiggles covered the paper, much as the sign in Canis. Edeltraud hummed to herself. " You've given me an irresistible offer for me and mine. For my sweet dolls, I am willing to sacrifice anything."

Edeltraud put forward her left hoof, pressing it into the parchment. She had been expecting a repeat of the sign, yet no words were spoken into her head. As she scraped her hoof against the ground, she began to speak an absentminded thought. "Say, you wouldn't happen to have a copy of this paper to go with the necklace would you...? I'd dearly love to learn what it says."

The parchment hissed with smoke as the hoofprint burned black into its surface. "The contract is sealed." There was a strong, smug ring to the words as the Collector tucked the parchment away.

"Ahh, but you have no hands..." The Collector attempted to unclasp the necklace, hook it around Edeltraud's neck, and close it. (How very kind of him.) If Edeltraud allowed it, it would feel, somehow, like taking on a dozen quietly-whispering, watching souls--though there were no audible sounds.

"As for a copy of the contract--of course, my woolly friend." A second contract was withdrawn, seemingly a copy of the first; and with it a little fountain pen, with which he wrote in elegant script where the hoofprint would normally be. He offered this out with a flourish, though how Edeltraud would carry it--without hands, nor the ability to direct the Lessers (past making them non-aggressive, at least)--would remain to be seen.

---

The spell Familiar Forge can be used by Edeltraud so long as she wears the talisman, with the addition of the Curse added below. Should she lose it or remove it in the long term, a GM should be tagged so that the spell can be removed.

Identified Item!

Edeltraud has received an identified item from The Collector!

4★ Beastmaster's Talisman A silver crow skull amulet on a thin chain. Enchanted with Familiar Forge. Cursed.

OWNER: Edeltraud Beastmaster's Talisman A silver crow skull amulet on a thin chain. Its eyes glow with soft arcane magic, and wearing it feels like carrying a hundred watching souls. Wearing the talisman grants access to the spell Familiar Forge, and its wearer can forge as many Lesser Gembound as they like. However, the Forge link goes through the talisman: parting from it for more than half an hour, or entering the chrysalis, will sever all Forged links. ELEMENT: MAGIC LEVEL: 70 DURABILITY: 50 SPECIAL: Enchanted: Familiar Forge MATERIAL: Silver ATTACK: 0 DEFENSE: 0 WEIGHT: 1 EQUIP: Necklace ADDED: Cursed. Each familiar forged through this amulet takes an increasing (additive) magical toll on the bearer, drawing on their stone and magic; after the fourth familiar, each further successful Forge should be rolled for, with a failure returning the wearer to the chrysalis. A familiar forged through this amulet will spontaneously break away, gaining sentience, after four to six cycles of being forged--leaving its bearer weakened. Its behavior (aggressive, fearful, helpful) after breaking the link will depend upon how it was treated by the amulet's wearer beforehand. Currently owned by: Edeltraud image credit

@Edeltraud

Edeltraud tried to stop the shaking, the urge to jump away, as the Collector's clawed hands crept towards her. He was only going to put the talisman around her neck. It was so immodest, so embarrassing for her to shake; she was being offered a gift! As those claws hooked the necklace around her throat some sheep instinct took over, and she stood still as a stone, whale eyes staring at nothing. She was dragged her from her stupor at last as the Collector proffered the contract.

"Hm...?" She said, not quite there, before her brain caught up with her ears. She tossed her head, shaking the prey fear from her body. She started at the necklace, the whispers as well as some new knowledge that settled into the base of her skull.

"My, I'm sorry. I'm not quite sure what came over me. Thank you dear Collector. I am not one to quickly forget a gift such as this. Ah, I suppose it is not quite a gift...but no matter." She took the rolled up contract between dental pad and teeth delicately, tucking it into her satchel. "Here, a gift for our transaction. I've found these quite tasty when I happen across them while forage."

Edeltraud touched her snout to the ground, a couple of small boletus sprouting from the ground, weak from the lack of nutrients. Without meaning to be quite so dramatic, Edeltraud found herself leaping backwards from the mushrooms(and mostly the Collector). "My! I apologize. Please, take these mushrooms. I doubt they'll survive for long on this soil, I recommend eating them quickly. As for my lovely dolls..." She turned her head halfway towards Bly, keeping one eye on the spider and her mandibles, one on the Collector. A soft smile graced her lips. "My, I feel our relationship is about to blossom ever further!"

He swept into a graceful kneel, clawed hands reaching out to ever-so-delicately pluck the... well, delicacies. "My deepest thanks, my dear," he crooned, and then--carefully withdrawing a piece of parchment paper, like a spare contract perhaps--wrapped the fungi up, then tucked them all away. They seemed to vanish into his robe.

After a moment's fishing about here and there behind its hem, he withdrew a gift in turn. "But a gift for a gift--as ever; all exchanges must be fair, hmm? I do not know about your own hoof-care regimen, but I may recommend this. Though--you may require one of your companions to apply it for you," and here he set, before Edeltraud, a small plastic tub perhaps three inches across.

It was white, with red markings, all faded; should Edeltraud find someone who could read, at least parts of it were a title (something something's Hoof Balm, the first part worn by time and use) and then an extensive ingredients list. It promised to be all-natural, and to offer quick healing of livestock lameness, foot rot, abscesses and infections, among other things; it also noted that it was "breathable," whatever that might mean.

Inside was a pale green-white oily balm--untouched--that could be applied to Edeltraud's hooves to help keep them healthy (if the brand was to be believed), and at the very least, shiny and smelling of sharp, strong chemicals and herbs.

"Until we meet again: ta ta," said the Collector, and vanished with a puff of smoke.

@Edeltraud

"Oh my, I wasn't expecting a gift in return! Thank you Collector." Edeltraud said, ducking her head once more in a bow, another soft smile on her lips. What a polite fellow. One after her own heart. If only he didn't want her stone. She did not approach the hoof balm, not yet at least. She kept her polite smile on until the Collector vanished. Then the sheep let out a breath, striking her hooves against the dirt as if to force her nerves from her body.

"Well, it seems to be just us once more. I cant help but be relieved, hm? He was kind enough but my...he was terrifying. I can't say I'm too enthused about the idea of giving my stone to him. Lets check out this hoof care thing he left us at least, hm? Oh, I can imagine my hooves shining so brightly, like black crystals!"

Edeltraud sniffed the tiny container curiously. Strong! Yet it reminded her of those plants she occasionaly ate by accident that made her breath smell lovely. They were rather bitter, but she wasn't opposed to having such a nice scent on her, rather than stuck on her tongue. Despite already realizing it wouldnt fit, Edeltraud tried to dip a hoof into the tiny tub. "Ah, how silly of me. Oh, I suppose its time to try this talisman out now! Perhaps one of you could assist?"

Edeltraud looked to Freda. Yes, with her large legs she'd be perfect for the role. Edeltraud tried to will the magic of the talisman to bind Freda to her, but the magic was still new to her. The magic dissipated, wasted. "Ah, disappointing. It seems I'm not experienced enough with it. I need more work, my dolls. Lets find a nice place to practice. We will be even more bonded than before after this, I am sure!" Edeltraud placed the little tub into her satchel, tucked safely next to her contract. Full of excitement Edeltraud trotted off, a literal bounce in her step. Her dolls trailed her loyally as she hunted for a nice little corner to practice her newfound magic in.

;exit