gloriouslygood | Open RP Post

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?"

"Most wizards are in my experience." Shaun chuckled to himself before sipping at his tea. "Oh, don't worry, you probably won't even be the biggest distraction in my life."

Vox Machina were always the biggest distraction. They would come and go taking what they needed and selling what they didn't. It's how they are.

"Not Allura. She doesn't do much adventuring these days. Her wife does though." Shaun made himself comfortable in a chair, carefully arraigning his robes. "Vox Machina are the ones that rescued you and brought you here. They're an eccentric group of adventurers and incredibly dear friends."

"Vox Machina?" she echoed, brows creased for a moment. "Voice...machine?"

It sounded interesting enough, and Sooraya settled comfortably on a floor cushion, bare feet tucked under her as she drank her tea. "I should send them my thanks for that when I see them. Or I should go find them." She sighed gently. "It doesn't feel like there are going to be any deserts near here, are there?"

Emon was not, from what she could feel of the atmosphere and the smell, near anything so dry or arid as where she and Gilmore called home. "It smells like the sea. With which I have not had...the best experiences."

"Yes, that's what they call themselves." He chuckled fondly as he thinks of the group. "And they are a noisy bunch."

He always knew when they were in his shop especially if Scanlan was with them. Though, they'd settled down some in their later years. Not adventuring as much as they used to. Missing one of their number...

Shaun sipped at his tea again and pushed the dark thoughts away. "I can help you contact them. They don't spend much time in Emon these days. And the nearest desert is in Marquet, another continent. I'm sorry, you're stuck on the coast."

And while he liked Sooraya he wasn't going to share his teleportation circle back home with her. That was... very special.

She huffed out a little laugh, mouth curving as he confirmed that she was by the water. "I should get used to it," Sooraya murmured. "Water is life. And I'm not on a boat currently."

She would very much enjoy not being seasick, though as she watched his face she cocked her head, not sure of what exactly she'd seen flicker over his expression. "You're not entirely happy when you speak about them. Are they that bad?"

"No, and you're rather far from the docks of the city as well. We can take a walk around later." The city was still recovering from Thordak even after all this time. Magic sped the rebuilding up but there were parts with obvious scars. It would be... interesting to walk around and show her the sights.

He chuckled. "I love them all very dearly but we don't meet as often as we used to. It makes an old man nostalgic."

For the old days though he wouldn't begrudge Vex and Percy their happiness and their children. Nor Keyleth the strength she had found in herself. His own longings and regrets were simply his.

"I'd like that," she answered, setting the teacup on her lap and watching his face as he spoke. But his reference to his age made her chuckle, a soft but happy enough sound. "You are not an old man," Sooraya answered. "Not older than me, I don't think."

"You are a spirit. Much longer lived than a simple human. I wouldn't dare try to guess how long you've been around." Though Shaun wouldn't mind talking to an ancient djinn just to hear the stories of times long gone and maybe even magics lost.

And it was rude to guess a woman's age anyway.

"Though, if you're willing to share how you came to be captured that might help me undo the shackles of magic that hold you." He twirled his wrist and after a moment parchment, a quill, and ink floated into the room to land neatly next to him. So he could take notes.

Open RP Post

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