gloriouslygood | Open RP Post

The glass bottle that found its way to Gilmore's door was unassuming at best: pretty, seafoam-green and gold with the stopper wax sealed shut. It looked like half an hourglass with sand swirling around in the bottom, but the moment the wax cracked and there was the slightest opening--

Sooraya stood up slowly, body reforming from sand that had spilled out of the glass with much more force than should have been possible. She looked delicate enough in the many layers of clothing, gold bangles stacked up her wrists and jingling musically as she shook her curls out of her face.

"...Where is this?"

"The backroom of Gilmore's Glorious Goods," Shaun said with some amusement. He considered the bottle again which he had identified as a vessel that held things. Not quite a bag of holding but something similar. Apparently... it held spirits.

He set the bottle down on his workbench and made a sweeping gesture with a hand. "This is the finest magical item shop in Emon, my dear. You were brought to me by a lovely group of adventurers who didn't know what they had. Which is probably for the best. They're fantastically heroic and yet... rather silly."

He would have to tell Vox Machina about this but in time.

"Emon," she repeats. "Wonders never cease. Last I knew I was in Ank'Harel," Sooraya says lightly, looking around the room; it had indeed been a while since she'dbeen let out of that damn bottle.

"So. Do you intend to make me grant you wishes?" she asks, eyes flashing a bright golden-brown as she flicks her hair back, mouth firming. It's rare to meet a dinn at all, but one in captivity, as it were, is even more rare; the bangles on Sooraya's wrists hide the bands that keep her tethered to that bottle.

"There's not much I would wish for. And what I want is too cruel to ask," he said with a little smile. "So, I have no intention of using your powers for my own gain. My question for you, miss, is can you be freed?"

Shaun's knowledge of djinn was rather limited. He vaguely remembered that some Djinn were bound to their bottles until their death or that freeing them of the bottle would kill them. Something like that.

A little research might be necessary.

Sooraya cocked her head at him for asking that question seriously. "I can, yes. But what did you want, anyway?" she asked, though a little guarded. People who asked that question were, on the whole, not interested in actualy freeing her; she gestured at the bottle behind her.

"It's Sooraya," she added. "Are you Gilmore?"

Shaun tapped his temple with a finger. "That's for me only, little one." He didn't want to speak it just in case. It was a wish that couldn't be granted without incredible consequences. Too many complications. Too much pain.

He bowed to her with a flourishing roll of his hand. "Yes, I am the Gilmore of Gilmore's Glorious Goods."

When he rose he winked at her. "My friends brought you here because they were unsure of what you were."

Now that got a faintly surprised look, but Sooraya smiled at the wink. He was charming, and attractive, and neither of those things were...unpleasant. She could give him time, if nothing else.

"I am a djinn," she said, bowing from the waist up; from about mid-thigh down there was no real form to her, no detail at all, merely a wisp of dust forming a skinny tail trailing into that bottle she'd appeared from. "Though I must say I'm significantly less fond of telling people that while they can see the thing that imprisons me. The bottle can be broken, but then...then I am not beholden to anyone, nor must I grant any wishes." Not a popular option to most people.

"Your friends...did not open my glass?" she asked. She could at least ascertain how long she'd been there by asking, because she remembered the last people she'd been owned by.

Shaun took a seat at his workbench and listened politely to Sooraya explain herself. Nothing she said was entirely a revelation to him. He was familiar with the concept of djinns.

"They've opened cursed objects before and it's made them wary. You were apparently in the possession of a very bad person." Shaun had gotten some of the story from them when they visited but not the whole thing. He imagined the full story would come in bits and pieces when they spent time together.

For the curiosity of it Shaun pushed the bottle off his workbench to see if it would break on the stone floor of his workshop or if there was magic that kept the bottle from being broken.

Sooraya watched him tip the bottle off onto the floor, and watched impassively as the glass shattered on impact: it only stayed that way for a moment, humming with magic, before it reformed and settled upright again, rocking from inertia.

"If only it were that easy," she said lightly, and as if in demonstration that it really wasn't going to break, picked up the bottle and swung it at the wall, where it repeated the shattering and coming back together. "Unfortunately the man who trapped me that glass was not interested in my having the ability to escape." But since she was satisfied--for now--that he wasn't going to turn her over to someone else and stuff her back into the green and gold glass, she pulled the veil off her face and hair, tossing her head.

"I owe your friends my gratitude, if they took me from the last owner I had."

Shaun would let her throw the bottle as much as she wanted if it helped her release some of her frustrations. He would need to do some research on binding spells and possibly consult Allura as well before he truly started to work on the bottle.

"Don't worry, they've got enough gratitude from many people to last them a few lifetimes," he mused with a little chuckle.

When she seemed done demonstrating the bottle's restorative properties he pulled it back to himself with a little bit of magic and set it on the counter. "Well, I'm not sure what the limitations of your bottle are but you're welcome to stay here until I've broken the enchantments on it. Do you want to work? You could assist Sherri with customers if you want something to do. Otherwise, you can simply lounge around. My rooms upstairs are very comfortable, I assure you."

She shrugged when he asked the limitations: really, short of it not being able to be shattered by non-magical means, and keeping her tethered to it, Sooraya could exist fairly normally. With only a tiny bit of concentration she could appear as whole and solid as any other mortal creature, and her magic was still formidable even if siphoned by the bottle itself. The glass worked as a sort of conduit to whoever owned it, from her. The idea of working, of doing anything other than waiting for a chance to get out, sounded entertaining enough until he mentioned his rooms.

That got a little laugh and her brows lifted. "That must be some kind of record, ten minutes and you're already telling me about your rooms."

It was emphatically not the first time that situation--with increasing amounts of innuendo--had been suggested, no.

"I'm letting you decide if you wish to stay here or if I need to rent you a room at a local in. Or perhaps put you up with friends. They have a lovely keep." Once he explained the situation he was certain Vox Machina would try to protect Sooraya and not exploit her.

They were strange people but they were good people.

"What would you like to do?" Normally, he would flirt back but this spirit had no freedom. He had too much power over her. It would be wrong to flirt with someone when there was that much wrong in their relationship.

That got her to pause for a moment, head cocked just a bit.

"I...have never gotten such a choice. Not since my enslavement." She remembers quite well being wild and free and powerful before that, but it's been everal hundred years. Enough to dim some of those memories a little. "May I see the rooms upstairs?" Sooraya asked politely, considering Gilmore differently now: he was the first man--or woman, or otherwise--to give her a choice, freely, once he'd come into owning her.

"I don't keep slaves," Shaun explained with a small shrug. It was a simple fact. Even though he technically had possession of her he didn't want that. Of course he had wishes. He was human with many desires but the ones a djinn could grant were selfish and cruel.

He still thought about them for a moment.

"Certainly. Follow me." He got up from his stool and called to the front of the store to let Sherri know he was going to be upstairs and Message if she needed him.

There was a back staircase that led up to his personal apartment above the shop. "My bedroom is through there but I have a second smaller room through there." He gestured as he spoke. Everything was rich colors and soft fabrics, designed for comfort and relaxation. It was indulgent, really.

She followed--materialized entirely now--at a less cautious distance, though she had the time to consider his rather magnanimous statement. He didn't keep slaves. Part of her, because she had been imprisoned for many years now, wanted to snap back that he did now that he had her, but Gilmore genuinely didn't seem the type. It was rare.

"Oh," she murmured, faced with the room and the decoration. "This...looks like where I grew up," Sooraya said quietly, mouth curving into a soft smile, softer than she would have shown otherwise. "So many colors."

"Well, I am originally from Marquet," Shaun explained. "I like to keep my residence close to home."

He had power. He had wealth. All of it was gained through his hard work and skill. He didn't need these things and didn't feel them when he thought about controlling another life. The things he would be tempted by were much more... emotional.

"You could have the second room. It's mostly used for storage at the moment but it wouldn't take much to give you a bed and such. Just tell me what you'd like to be comfortable." He gestured again with a hand towards the hall and the second room. "I doubt the bottle is very comfortable."

But who knew? Pocket dimensions could be many things including lavish homes and palaces.

"That...is complicated," she says, to the talk about the bottle she's tethered to. Sure, it's downstairs, but she can still feel it like a chain around her legs.

"It's not bare--there's furniture, clothes, decorations and such, but as gilded as my cage is it's still a cage." She didn't ask to be made a slave, or to be heaped with gifts she didn't ask for, to supposedly appease her temper. She'd have preferred to be asked, instead of mandated. "I'd like to sleep out here, if that isn't trouble. But I do want to pay you back for it, too."

Sooraya doesn't want to be in anyone's debt.

Shaun stroked his goatee a moment as he thought it over. He had no interest in being paid back in wishes, that was certain. He could have her work the store, earn her keep, but that felt too much like enslaving her to have her work for room and board.

"Well, what skills do you have? I have connections in town and could perhaps help you find a job. You can pay the standard rate for your room once you earn the gold," he offered. "Easy enough to make something so you can carry your bottle with you while keeping your hands free."

There'd be no debt that way and she'd essentially be a boarder. It seemed a fair deal to Shaun.

"I can translate most languages," she says lightly, thoughtful. "I could also work here, I'm familiar with magical goods, and...I have some experience as a metallurgist. But it's been quite some time since I've done that." Not that she dislikes it; she's good at finding the precious materials needed and has an innate talent at crafting the pieces.

"To be honest with you," Shaun said as he started towards the kitchen to make tea. "Having you work for me and stay with me feels too much like taking advantage of your situation. But, if you want to work for me, we could find you boarding elsewhere."

As he set the kettle to boil he pulled down is favorite blend of tea. A lovely black tea blend with a hint of jasmine. "Or if you're good with languages, I could see if my friend Allura has any translation needs. She does more with texts and books than I do."

As a proper wizard she needed books much more than Shaun did. "It really depends on what you'd most like to do."

"You're not taking avantage of me," Sooraya answered him back, shaking her head. "If anything it's...emphatically the opposite. You haven't asked me for anything, even when I offered. And if you're looking into how to break my bottle, then you're doing more for me than anyone else has."

He's also the closest to someone of her home, evidenced again by the smell of the tea. "Jasmine flowers? We used to make it with mint."

"I like jasmine more. But if you'd like mint I can easily make some as well." It took him very little time at all to heat water. He could do it with a snap of his fingers.

"The point, Miss Sooraya, is that it would make me feel like I'm taking advantage of you. You're trapped, unfairly, and the best I can do until that bottle is broken is give you choice." He poured himself a cup of tea and sprinkled in a little bit of sugar.

"So, if you'd like to stay with me I will help you find a job. If you want to work for me, I will help you find a place to stay. Which option do you like more?" He smiled warmly at her as he sipped his tea.

"Jasmine is lovely, thank you. I can find mint tea much easier." She shook her head at the explanation, but if he felt uncomfortable doing both, then the least she could do was agree to the conditions. He was, ostensibly, helping free her.

And while she could handle a job being difficult or irritating, staying, living in a place that inspired those feelings was far less pleasant. "I would like to tay here, if you will let me," she said slowly, only moderately formal. She too was still adjusting to being back out of her bottle, and the addition of Gilmore being...well, himself was taking a few moments to get used to. "I don't take up very much room. I must be in that bottle for four hours each day."

He poured her a second cup and gently offered it to her. "Of course, that's fine. I'll help you find some work around here. I have good friends in the city who would be happy to help. And I trust them."

Shaun wasn't foolish enough to think Allura wouldn't notice what Sooraya was but he trusted the wizard wouldn't take advantage. She was one of the few people Shaun trusted explicitly.

"I will work on your bottle as much as I can without losing business. And, unfortunately, it will probably take awhile. I've never had to break this sort of enchantment before." Because it's certainly more complicated than the usual adventuring trinket.

Sooraya took the cup and held it, letting it warm her fingertips as she shook her head gently. "I will give you as much informationon the spellsas I can, but I don't know as much as I'd like," she said. "The wizard that imprisoned me was unfortuantely secretive."

She could work many types of jobs an would happily do so; metallurgy and translation were simply those she liked the best and found she had an aptitude for. "I understand it will take time, of course, and I don't want you to lose business because of this. I'll happily do what I can to make sure you don't," she said. That said even being in the position of possibly being free was exciting, and showed in the way she smiled brightly. Freedom after so long being kept enslaved was a tantalizing offer. "Who are these friends of yours, though? Are they the same ones that brought me here?"

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