Shattered Star

Ana leads Mel to a seedier part of town near Underbridge. As they navigate the streets and alleys, Ana does her best to make sure Mel never leaves her sight. Finally, in a back alley off an already pretty small street, the pair comes to a door with a small sign above it reading “Wakan’s Wonderful Wares.” The paint on the sign is poorly applied, and the e in wares is so faded as to almost make the sign say Wars. Inside a large Shoanti man sits behind a barred counter. No wares sit out for casual perusal, lest thieves get the wrong idea.

Anastasia jerks her head in greeting as she leads Meliora inside. "Wakan, long time no see."

Wakan stands up and actually focuses on his visitor for a moment. ”Little Anastasia, it really is you,” he says warmly. ”What could possibly bring you back to a place like this? I thought you had a better future planned, What with joining the church and all.”

"Life happens," Anastasia shrugs. "I'm still with the church, but I'm involved in something and last I checked you still had the best shit at the best prices."

”You flatter me,” Wakan remarks. ”But you know that won’t get you a better price. What do you need?”

"I'm in the market for better protection," Anastasia says, pulling her chain shirt-removed earlier-from her bag and laying it down on Wakan's counter. "Last I had heard, you gladly take weapon and armor runes, no questions asked, and resell."

"I was looking for some more magical protection," Meliora pipes up. "Maybe one of those cloaks?"

Wakan looks to the cloaks hanging from the wall behind him. "Ah, the basic cloak of resistance I assume? An adventuring staple to be sure. They go for 1000 gold, but seeing as you are a friend of Ana's I can give it to you for 900. Consider it a one-time friendly discount."

"Absolutely, that'd be great!" Meliora says excitedly. While counting out the money for the cloak, Meliora adds "Oh, I was also thinking about getting one of those... Um, well I don't know the name, but I've seen it before! It's like a iron bar that has a bunch of small plates and spikes in it, and you can twist it, bend it, or fold it to make any tool you need."

”I presume you are referring to one of these,” Wakan says as he pulls out an anytool from below his counter. ”The traveler’s anytool is the practical traveler’s best friend. 250 gold.”

"Perfect, I'll take it too!" Meliora says with a bright smile.

”Excellent!” Wakan says as he begins transferring the items Ana and Mel asked for and they pay and trade in return. ”I wish you both the best of luck in whatever endeavor you need these for.”

"There was one more thing, Wakan, but it's a little more sensitive." She does a quick check out the window to make sure no one's headed in before leaning in close and speaking in a low voice. "Does Erron Flynt still use your services these days?"

Wakan ponders for a moment. ”You know up until a few months ago he was still quite frequently bringing stuff in to sell. But then he just kind of stopped. Didn’t think much of it at the time. I’ve had suppliers and buyers come and go over the years. I bet there’s more to it if you’re asking me about it though.”

"I'm sure there is," Anastasia grumbles. "Look, can you do me a favor and keep an eye and an ear out for him? He stole from us while we were on the same crew, and we both know that's not acceptable. If you hear anything, I'll pay you for the info."

"Sounds like a deal to me," Naomi agrees, taking the lead.

As Mel and Anastasia walk away from the shop, Anastasia feels a slight but sharp and focused pain under her lower lip. What’s more, she begins to feel her hunger increase to a more unbearable level.

Anastasia winces. Shit, is it that time of the week again? She casts a glance at Meliora, eyes drawn almost subconsciously to her neck. She swallows hard. "Sumner, think you can find your way back home without me? I just remembered I have, uh, something urgent I need to take care of back at the temple."

"Oh, um, probably?" Meliora says. "Where is the temple? We could always walk there together," she offers.

Ali follows Naomi dutifully, making idle chit-chat.

"Uh..." Anastasia racks her brain for an excuse as quickly as possible but between the panic and the low key urge to feed she ends up saying "Sure, yes, that sounds fine." Shit, bad brain.

"Great! Do you mind if I ask, how did you become devoted to Sarenrae?" Meliora asks.

"I reconnected with a childhood friend as a teenager," Anastasia says, power walking as efficiently as possible. "She was an acolyte, I was in a rough place at the time, and she made it her mission to 'save my soul.'"