Star Glass

[Kalypso]

☸104th of Ashan 721☸

Finding her way to beach was much needed in releasing the burden of the day. It was twilight, above the cold ocean the sun and the moon danced intricately together. Shewatched their courting like a spectator at a ballet. Today she had on her outdoor clothes and had even brought her staff, which rested beside her on the ground. There were piles of cold seaweed washed up on the bank with the receding tide along with an increasing number of people. This jarred her from her musings enough when she realized that there were tents and fires down the shore. Standing up she stretched and wiped the sand from her bottom while keeping her gaze firmly on the moon. The sky had a pink and purple hue as the sun signaled its last goodbyes, but faded into a blue at the surface of the water. It was there she thought she saw a comet, but it could have been a trick of the light.

She drew near the gathering, which seemed to be held by Biqaj. There were drums and dreadlocks everywhere and the air smelled like exotic spices. A few vendors had set up selling food and it looked like a bunch of people came to freelance sell their wares on easily collapsible tents. It wasn't a rowdy party but she could see people with drinks in their hands and as she made her way towards the big tent a line seemed to be headed in with a bouncer. She looked around from the party goers for any familiar faces but recognized no one. It was immediately then she felt unamused and nervous, spinning on her heel to leave. It could have been a swift maneuver had the butt of her staff not ram into someone standing behind her. It was a tattooed man with broad shoulders and long stringy golden hair. Kalypso apologized and he grunted, watching as she turned and fled. Finding her way out of the throng and back on the beach. After catching her breath she considered if she was going to back in.

Standing with her hands on her hips and the staff on a sarong strapped to her back she regarded the small festival. It could be worth it to find a food stand and maybe buy a drink. These types of gatherings had good ale with lime and lemons in them, she enjoyed something fruity from time to time. It seemed to always loosen her up to, her facade was not so veiled and sometimes she let her guard down to speak her mind. That was why, after getting a drink she drifted over to the barker and listened to what he had to say.

"Step right up and hear all about it! They say comets have been coming out to sea, beautiful eh! Keep watching the horizon and you'll see em flash across the sky, arh! We come from all over the world looking to bring you trinkets like this. Take a step inside the tent and behold the Star Glass!"

Kalypso was unimpressed with his performance. She had heard the rumors of the comets landing in Scalvoris waters but doubted that they were anything other than rumor. These conmen came a few times an arc with a new "strange artifact" to show off which usually ended up as some sort of terrible taxidermy experiment. The Star Glass sounded innocuous enough but paying door price for that?
"Absolute rat shit!"
She said to the person beside her.
"It's probably nothing more than a rock they found on the beach of some deserted island they anchored to."
Shaking her head in disgust she asked the person again,
"What do you think? Should I go in there? I have nothing else better to do than listen to him spout, I suppose I could take a peek?"

[Roya Anderton]

It had been a long trial filled with baking followed by a visit to Roya’s mom. It was hard to say which wore her out more. She needed a break. Anything that would distract her so she could get back to things with a clear head tomorrow.

It was dark and cool. She wore a white dress with long sleeves to cover her arms. A red matte lipstick stained her lips and her long brown hair hung loosely at her back, adding to the warmth there.

Yesterday, three Biqaj run ships arrived at the docks with goods from everywhere and they’d been in party mode ever since they arrived. Roya was always looking for interesting ingredients to add to her baked goods recipes. Tonight, some fun was also on the menu.

She stood at the docks, eyeing the crowd. As cold as it was, it was beautiful. It was like the entire city had come together on the beaches. Everyone dancing and singing and having a good time. It lifted her heart. But as happy as it made her inside, her aching body had nothing left to give and after a few half-hearted shakes of her hips to the music, she knew the night would be shorter than she hoped.

Roya headed back to the stalls. She wanted to at least find something that inspired her. Weaving through the crowd, she headed to the first stall. The woman behind the table smiled with a mouth full of crooked teeth. “Anything you like? It’s all for sale.”

Roya eyed the fruit on the table. It was quite a spread, but nothing out of the ordinary. She could have picked these up from any shop in the city. The white flesh of the fruit was bruised as well. She reached out and squeezed it. The fruit squished between her long fingers, taking her hopes of a fresh find along with it. She sighed and put the fruit back down on the table. Roya shook her head at the woman. “Not tonight.”

She backed away from the stall and the woman’s piercing gaze, heading to the other tables. Looking for something special. But each table was a rehash of the first. None of them held anything promising or made her want to part with her nels.

She sighed. Maybe it wasn’t her night.

As she made her way through the final group of tables, she stumbled onto a tent, surrounded by a crowd. The man at the tent said, "Step right up and hear all about it! They say comets have been coming out to sea, beautiful eh! Keep watching the horizon and you'll see em flash across the sky, arh! We come from all over the world looking to bring you trinkets like this. Take a step inside the tent and behold the Star Glass!"

A dark-haired woman in the crowd cursed as the man finished talking.

Roya didn’t understand why the woman was so upset. What was Star Glass? And why didn’t the woman believe they really had it?

It sounded interesting to her. Even though it probably wasn’t something she could use in her recipes. She’d come to the docks looking for something unique. Something special. This could be it.

She stopped outside of the tent and pegged the woman with her stare. “Why are you so sure it’s fake?”

But a trill later, her outburst was over and even she seemed to warm up to the possibility that there was something more inside.

Roya decided to find out for herself. She headed into the tent.

[Kalypso]

☸☸☸

The woman beside her was dressed well in a matching outfit that Kalypso thought looked quite nice. Kalypso preferred female company over male. Less expectations and she could more easily let her guard down. It wasn't often Kalypso got out and surprised herself with speaking her mind so bluntly. Perhaps those trips to the Scholar's Nooks HAD brought her farther out of her shell? To her question Kalypso replied,
"Snake oil! These things never pan out."
Without saying anything else, the woman headed inside the tent. Kalypso shrugged and followed after, deciding to tag along. After all, she had nothing else better to do and the day was at its end. She would take a gander at the biqaj oddities.

Once inside it was a large room with tables and stands lining the walls, there were a few other people gazing at some of the oddities. Looking around the room Kalypso saw the unusual freak show taxidermy, wet specimens, and large shells. Along with some cabinets marked as dangerous with a lock on the doors, some rare looking roots and herbs in bowls, strange jewelry, and finally in a glass case with a torch behind it she saw the Star Glass. It was a deep blue marble resting on top of a wooden circular base, it looked like a fortune teller's crystal ball. She tugged on her new acquaintance's sleeve and pointed, keeping a respectful tone.
"It's over there. I'm going to go take a closer look."

Inspecting it up close Kalypso could appreciate the beauty of the piece, it was like nothing she had seen before. For a second she had the crazy idea that she could steal it somehow, maybe keep it in her home for future experiment. In fact, breaking it off into chunks could make for nice decorations on her books-- it seemed to be a large glass marble. It was as big as her two fists combined and with the torch light playing behind it there were sparkles and iridescent inclusions clearly noticable in the glass. Transfixed, she stayed there for a few moments studying it before looking around for her acquaintance, maybe she would have something to say about this glass?
"It's nice craftsmanship, I can say that. Not what I expected. It makes me think of my own craft. I make books. Imagine if you could put something like that on the cover of a journal or a really nice historical book..."
She drifted off, just trying to make small talk.
"What do you think? Worth it?"