Roll With It Short Stories

Day Ten

Day Ten

Word Count 7: 700

Prompt 2: You packed up and moved to the biggest Magical City in the world. Competition is fierce but you feel your particular wares will give you an edge.

"What's the one thing this city needs, Tristan?" Harris asked.

"Laws against Civil Forfeiture, social reform against dark magic in politics, or any number of things that you aren't about to say."

"You're right, because what I've come up with is something the average person never could. A problem that has, until my arrival, been unsolvable." Harris was a mage with great skill in the magic arts, and greater skill in the art of being smug. Tristan was his apprentice, even if he was only two years his junior. He watched with vague interest as the mage retrieved something from behind the counter. If he hadn't known Harris for so long the lack of business experience might have raised objections, but if there was one thing that Harris was better at than being an impulsive idiot, it was being brilliant.

"It had better be the discovery of the century, this is Rigor, Harris. Largest magical market in the world, only thing bigger is the amount of people who go bankrupt trying to compete here."

"Not an issue we'll have to worry about, T. The one thing that installments of Rigor new and old don't have is our product." Harris ripped the dark cloth off the object he had set before him to reveal a giant spinning eye. Its violet iris rotated around the room, curious of its surroundings. "Oh don't make that face."

"What is that?"

"This is the Harris Emporium's one of a kind delivery system. One of the greatest disadvantages of those who sell potions or other perishables in Rigor is that the surrounding areas have been cleaned out of available in ingredients. Meaning vendors have to travel much farther to obtain their wares thus limiting the freshness of their product. With this we'll be able to obtain those same ingredients without leaving the comforts of our shop."

"You don't mean?" Tristan felt his face pale as his mentor's smile widened.

"Vale Beans from the Stallion Forest." Harris recited clearly, the eye stopped moving. The iris began to grow until the violet color consumed the surface of the eye entirely. Once it was completely solid in color it became flat and two dimensional, Harris then reached his hand through. Instead of completely disappearing, as Tristan had expected, it became translucent like water and he could see it reach and grasp. The man pulled out a handful of pale white beans. The eye then slowly returned to it's previous form. "These are some of the most expensive beans in the land. They perish quickly but are known for their potency in a number of elixirs. We can create products that last longer or sell this handful to our new neighbors for a nice profit."

"How did you find something like this?" Tristan dared himself closer, observing the eye and flinched as it turned to observe him.

"It was simpler than I thought it would be, obtaining the vessel was the hardest part. The theory is just a reverse of teleportation magic, most wizards on a good day can't teleport more than once. It creates fatigue or the chance of landing yourself in unplesant circumstance. How many times have you heard of a wizard teleporting himself into the middle of a hurricane? There's too much risk and the number of those who can do it is very small. Now this little guy can observe the situation for me, if he suspects any danger he won't let my hand through. I can't get fatigued and neither does he. People have tried this kind of thing in the past with mirrors or other such nonsense but the magic degrades objects over time. It's a spell meant for the living after all."

"Fine but that still doesn't explain where you got that thing. I'm afraid to ask who that eye belongs to."

"Tristan, you can asks question or you can get rich." Tristan made a face. "Oh fine, it's an eye of an immortal king. Are you happy? Don't you ever get tired of ruining the mysteries of life with all your excessive questions?"

"No, because they always lead to more with you."

"Well I'm not answering anymore for today, it looks like we have customers."