Try Try Try Again

IN the down town where there is a lot of people walking around going out there everyday lives. On the corner of the street is a shop. A descent size shop called "Jinkx's Shop" here like the sign said is Jinkx Aboddon's shop where he sells his potions and inventions.
   The shop was about 2 stories tall where on one floor was all the potions he sells, like potions that help heal wounds, potions that increased human strength for short about of time. On the top floor is where Jinkx sold his inventions that he made.
    Jinkx was on the first floor with his potions trying to make a potions that would help increase human sight to see far like an eagle would see its pray from a far. "lets see if i add some of this to this...'' Jinkx said as he mixed to chemicals together, as he did the to changed colors "Yes, that right..." he then but it on a bunsen burner to heat it up so the vapors would mix with another solution. As the chemicals started to heat it Jinkx turned his back to get his notes and BOOM! the chemicals that Jinkx just heat exploded.
    Jinkc closed his eyes and turned around and open one eye to see how bad was the explosion to find that the container was broken and there was glass around the area he was working. Jinkx sighed and put his papers on the desk and hung his head.

Melanie was scouting around in the shops in Jenar. She commonly searched for rare materials that she would later sell for a profit to shop owners such as blacksmiths, armorsmiths, and potions shops. It wasn't an easy job; often taking her into unappealing climates, near dangerous wildlife, or requiring her to trespass on other race's territories. But, it made her a pretty penny. It kept her her fed and with a roof over her head.

As she browsed around, she heard something explode from inside the potion's shop a couple stores down. Curiosity and worry got the best of her as she ran over to the door and entered; just in time to see the cringing shop owner gaze upon his broken experiment. Glass was everywhere along with unidentifiable liquids.

"Hey, are you alright? What just happened?" She stepped in to examine the damage a little closer. "You know you could probably blow up your entire shop with this stuff if you're not careful," she warned as she picked up an intact beaker of chemicals nearby, carefully. "Not that I would know, though." she admitted, placing it back down. "Just tell me how we should clean this up in the least hazardous manner and I'll help you out. My name's Melanie, by the way." Finally realizing he seemed, for the most part, uninjured, she began to smile, humored by his accident.

She began thinking... maybe she could do some business with him after this was all done. Perhaps there was some material he was looking for that traders and salesmen didn't happen to carry all too often. Either way, even if she couldn't turn this into a business deal, she knew he'd appreciate the help regardless. And, if that's all that came of it, she was okay with that.

Jinkx looked up and smiled "Aw welcome" he said. Jinkx went to reach for his burner. Jinkx grabbed the flame like it was something he can hold. This was his way from turning off the flame before killing the gas.
"Well since you would like to help there is a broom in that closet behind you, if you can pull that out with the dusk pan so I can picking up the smaller glass." Jinkx walked to his back room to reach for some saw dust he had. In a few min Jinkx came back with a small bucket with saw dust and covered the floor with it so its easy to pick up Jinkx failed potion.

Melanie observed him go into the back room and retrieve the sawdust; sprinkling it on the floor to soak up the chemicals. "That's ingenious really," she admired. "I get a feeling this happens fairly often..." she deduced as she followed instructions and gathered the broom and dustpan.

"That trick with the fire was pretty cool too," she mentioned presenting the broom and dustpan, closing the closet door behind her with her left foot. "What kind of potions do you sell here anyway? Do you make them all?"

Jinlx smiled "Thank you, and yes small explosions like this happens a lot" when just finished he but the put on the side of the work table. Jinkx grabbed the broom and dust pan, "Thank you" and stared sweeping the glass and saw dust on the floor.
When jinkx had everything in a pile he looked up "Oh and yes i do make everything you see in my shop, upstairs and down stairs." Jinkx then went back to sweeping everything up.
When Jinkx was done he dusted off his hands and then put his right hand out "Hello I'm Jinkx, and welcome to my little shop."

She found him charming in a way. A tad awkward or maybe it was just that his field of expertise and her's differed so greatly. At any rate, he interested her. "There's an upstairs too?" she asked surprised. She took a moment to take in the interior of his shop and finally noticed the stairwell she had somehow missed up until this point. "I rushed in here so quickly I hadn't even noticed. That's a lot of potions, two floors worth of them. That's incredible."

She then reached out and shook his hand with a bright smile. "Melanie Havnos. It's a pretty shop with a great location. Do a lot of business? What kind of potions do you sell? How expensive are your cheapest potions? Do you use your own potions? How long do they last before they expire? Or do they never expire? I don't know how these things work, honestly. But I'm very curious!" she admitted with an innocent enthusiasm that matched a child with a brand new toy. "I'm sorry for bombarding you with questions." she laughed in realization after a moment.

Jinkx smiled "Please to meet you" After hearing all the questions that Melanie was asking jinkx took a deep breath and said "Bottom floor is all my potions, top is where i sell my invention yes i do get a lot business I sell just about any kind of potions from healing to making bold heads grow hair depending on the potions is how long they last anywhere minutes to day and these work with some science behind them yet still have magic..." Jinkx tried to get that in one breath, then he began to laugh, "Yeah you are more then welcome to look around ask as many questions as you like"

He was rather tolerant of her excitement. Even so, she took a long deep breath to calm down. "Inventions, huh? I'd love to see a few." She began looking along the shelves of potions displayed; reading the labels and prices. "Do these potions work on every race? Or just Mages and maybe Humans?" She might even be interested in purchasing a few of his wares herself. That was probably bad business practice if she planned to make business arrangements, but what could it hurt, right?

"What would happen if one drank a potion past its expiration? Would it simply have a weakened effect or none at all? Or could it also have an unintended effect from the chemicals sitting too long?" Her fingers glided over the cool glass of one of the potions on display. The red liquid captured her interest. It reminded her of blood. She glanced away from it awkwardly and removed her hand; hoping he hadn't noticed. She had a growing desire to feed; that was a little warning. She'd make feeding her next priority after this shop.

"Any chance you have any rare materials you find it hard to obtain? Be it for inventions or potions? I gather rare materials no trader or salesman wants to venture to get; usually due to it's dangerous location. You mention it, I'll get it for you. We work out a price and I'll sell it to you. That's how I make my living," she informed him casually. "So is there anything you'd like me to get for you?"

"Well for right now these potions only work on humans and mages, I never had others come in my shop, if I did I can make some the work for them." Jinkx stopes and crossed his arms "Yeah more business which means more funds for my reasearch." Then Jinkx tunrend back to his work table and gathered up some his papers.
"Now some pations do have an extraction date on them like that potions there ur next to." Jinkx pointed to a small bottle, it was triangler in shape that has a label called 'Awareness' that read 'Drink this one 8oz when needed increased hearing of your surroundings for 24 hours' "That bottle there expires today, so I'll have to make another batch of that some time soon, but there are potions that don't expire those are an oil based potions so can last for year like that one there that is pink." Jinkx pointed to a dome shape bottle that read 'Slash No More, rub on cut wounds to heal ther faster then normal'
When Jinkx heared Melanie ask about rare materials Jinkx eyes widen "Yes... I am see I'm really can't leave my shop for that long so getting anything from the differnt kingsdoms is quite hard for me, I've been trying to hunt to this crystal umm..." Jinkx started to look around his desk "I know I have this paper about it" Jinkx strared looking thought his reseach papers "HA! Here it is." Jinkx handed a paper to Melanie, on it was hand written notes and a drawing of what the crystal he was looking for. "It's called a light stone, and it's something I've been trying to find for one of my inventions."

Melanie got excited with news that Jinkx might need a rare item afterall. A 'Light Stone', sounded rather powerful, potentially.

"Any other information you have on this Light Stone? If not, I can still track it down just fine. I've had people ask me to retrieve things giving me only a picture to go on and no name or a name but no idea of how big it was or what it looked like. Those are always an interesting challenge, she laughed recalling some of her past customers and how little information they gave her on what they were searching for.

She found the hunt for rare items exciting. She took each as an adventure. Money was riding on the retrieval of these items, so, she was willing to take on a bit of danger for the reward. It was like a treasure hunt. One where the treasure was not what you were hunting, but the reward for finding something a lot less interesting to you personally. In a way, you could think of the rare item like a key, opening the locked chest that is her monetary reward.

"So, lets talk price and when you'd want me to bring it back to you by. Just to give me some sort of deadline to work with. Keep in mind, the sooner you want it, the more effort it will take, the more gold I'll want for my efforts. You're cute and all, but business is business," she winked at him flirtingly.

"True business is business and i cant always buy what i want with a devilish good looks." Jinkx said jokingly with a smile. "Tell you what, wait right here." Jinkx went to his back room to fetch something.
   
After a few moment Jinkx came back with a small sack of Gold coins and put them on the work table "Here is 400G to start if you can find that crystal lets say by the end of the month ill add 600 to that how does that sound?" Jinkx said it in a way that he really wanted that stone. "See I've been trying to find that stone for years now and haven't had any luck finding it." Jinkx walked of to a bookshelf that had rolled up maps and pulled out a map of the world then walked  back to the table.
   
One the map had circles and some of them had 'X's' on them, "Here are coves that i have found the ones with Xs are the ones i have looked but haven't had any luck, you can take this map and my notes about the stone. All i know is that the stone detects human energy so it illuminates blue and green, other then that it turns black like a normal stone. You would think something like would be easy to find but its the coves that make it hard to go into, some only can be entered when the tide is low and you only have a few hours before the tide changes."

Melanie was beaming. An odd reaction to someone informing her something they were trying to look for would be incredibly difficult and a reasonable deadline would be a month. This was no small task she was realizing very quickly. But she found the promise of gold and adventure very exciting. This was the sort of adventure she was always looking for and didn't get as often as she had hoped. She gazed at the map, taking in all the circles and X's as if memorizing every piece of the map even though he said she could take it with her. She collected the information and map before she continued.

"So you've been all over the world searching for this thing? It must be pretty important then. You said it was for an invention of yours. Mind me asking what the invention would do? Don't worry, even if it involves the destruction of the universe, I'm not easily deterred from an Item Hunt. To be honest, I usually don't ask what the customer wants their material for. It could be considered rude. And frankly, I'd do the job no matter the reply. But I'd be lying if I said this hasn't peeked my curiosity," she admitted.

She thought for a moment. "It's unlikely. But to cover all bases, what price would you pay if I brought this crystal back after a month has come and gone? Understandably, I'd lose profit on it. I expect there to be than incentive for me to rush it to you as quickly as possible," she nodded understandingly. "But just so I know where we stand, what if I do find it, but I bring it to you late?"

"Well the crystal will help amp my magic powers but i want to use it slightly different. It may be hard to explain but i think the most easiest way i can is ill be making a forth detention storage." Jinkx scratching his head unsure if that even made any scene out load. Jinkx shock his head to change his train of thought "Well i got a scene that i can trust you so your profit will be reduced in a small amount let say by 50G. If you can rush it to me that would be great." Jinkx looked away then nodded his head and though to himself 'if i get this 6 years of waiting will be finaly over and i can start experimenting.'

Then Jinkx looked back Melanie, "now you asked if potions worked on any races other then Humans and Mages, where there a potion you are looking for yourself?" jinks asked curiously.

This crystal could enhance his own magical powers yet he wants to put it into an invention that would create a forth dimensional storage unit. Someone who cared more for utility than power. It surprised Melanie and she found it refreshing.

Most often she took on a Item Hunt and it was simply her job. Something she had to do to get paid. But here, she also felt a desire to help Jinkx out. Not solely because he was going to pay her well, though she never turned down the money, but because he was one of the most interesting people and kindest people she had encountered.

"Light Stone. Cove. Within a month. 400g up front. 600g later. After a month. Late fee. Linus 50g," she summarized briskly, aloud to make sure they both understood and agreed to the terms. She nodded. It would be a challenged but she had confidence she could do this. And the reward would keep pay the bills for at least a few months while she found her next job. "It's a deal," she reached out to shake his hand while pocketing the map and information with her other hand.

Most of her jobs usually had a deadline of a week or two and while they where hard to find, the store owner, themselves hadn't really tried to locate it first-hand. This was most certainly a different sort of job than most and she thrilled on the idea of the challenge and was eager to get started.

Potions. Were there any potions she was interested in? Melanie thought about this carefully. If she wanted any potions he would have to modify them or create them specifically to work with Vampires as right now they only worked for Mages and Humans. This meant she had to reveal she was a Vampire. She wasn't sure how he'd take that. In history, Humans were always quite worried of other races. And Melanie never considered Mages too different. They just used magic. After long consideration, she shook her head. "Maybe when I return." Afterall, she didn't want anything screwing up this business arrangement. After it was all settled and the gold had changed hands, then if things went south, it wouldn't be a disaster. Or at least it would be less of one.

"It was a pleasure meeting you! Do try to be careful with your experiments, I was worried," she replied genuinely. "I'll be back with the Light Stone expecting that 600 gold." She smiled, even winked, sort of flirtingly. She took the pouch of 400 gold and headed for the door.

Jinkx Smiled and waved "Thank you so much for this help." Jinkx watched Melanie as she left his shop. Jinkx then walked over to a chair that was by a window. He kick his feet up and just stared into space for a while.

When Jinkx was sure that he was alone then spoke to himself out loud. "Melanie... Hope you find that stone better then I can." 'You do know what she is right?' a voice come to his head,"Yeah i know now does it bother me? No cause i don't care." he spoke to himself. 'But think of the experiments you can make as her as a test subject' Jinkx sighed and got up and walked into his back room. "No I'm not going to do that, its inhumane." 'That never stopped you before has it.'

Jinkx walked over to a small chest where there where viols of a clear liquid. JInkx pulled out one and pulled the cork off and take the viol. "But that was the past and i must rather keep my past at bay so i have a better future." Jinkx but the empty viol back and closed the chest, the voice Jinkx could hear was no longer speaking to him, and jinkx turned around and closed the door to his back room, and went back into the shop.

Melanie exited Jinkx's shop. She stepped off to the side and pulled out the map Jinkx gave her of the possible locations for Light Stones. 100 gold was at least double her most profitable endeavor. And a month was also twice as long as any previous deadline. She began to wonder if she was in over her head this time. She never declined a job. But, perhaps this time she should've. She shook off her thoughts of doubt and focused on the map before her. No. She would do this. She'd get started right away.

After examining the map it was clear she'd be doing quite a bit of traveling for the next month or so. Time to buy some extra gear. She never liked going in unprepared. Weapons, items, bedroll and blanket, and water canteen. She considered what stores might be best to pick these up at before heading off.

She glanced back to the map. Maybe she should travel with someone on this... might mean she'd have to share the profits. She didn't like that idea at all. But, she knew understanding her own limitations made her stronger in every respect. Maybe this was just too much to handle alone. She had never taken anyone on a quest with her before. This would be her first. But it was the smartest move. Traveling so far from home, it was likely she'd run into dangers she couldn't even predict. Traveling with someone who could watch her back was almost necessary.

Before she located her travel partner, she licked her lips. That red potion inside the shop had reminded her she needed to feed. That would have to take top priority. She put away the map and glanced down to the daggers that lined her belt before heading out of the city in search of fresh blood to satiate her lust...

Jinkx look around his shop and was very silent. "Screw this I'm heading out, i need some fresh air after my little failed potion" Jinked walked over to the door and flipped his little sign that read "Sorry i'm closed today" Jinkx went to the closet and crapped his light trench coat and headed out the door. Jinkx turned around and locked the shop behind him and looked down the street thinking where to go first.

"Well i do need more ink and quills, and a few things for my next research paper." Jinkx rubbed his chin "What else do i need? Im sure i can figure that out when i start walking around, i think I'll head out.

jinkx walked back into his shop, he really didn't everything that he needed but he got a few things. Jinkx then walked to his back room and unlocked the door, there he sat in his chair and relaxed a bit before going back out to his workshop.