Legend of Ransera

The spider was a curious thing.

A creature that flitted in her space like all the others, but was certainly worth more than anything else. She watched it scuttle over her fingers as she walked to through the market. If this were any usual sort of venture to buy something, she would stop at the stalls. But her feet carried her beyond the rickety wooden shacks and draped cloths. To where the places of brick and stone stood. The tiny container of spider silk in her purse didn’t quite feel like it would burn through, but the knowledge of it might as well have.

How long had she been storing the silk? Perhaps several seasons, but there’d been quite the accumulation. She’d only taken a small portion from the creature’s webbing while cleaning her own, the strands curling around one another. Practically melting into one. An interesting process to behold, really. Several of her eyes kept a watch for the forge she’d been informed about from a client. A boastful ork that seemed more interested in comparing hunting trophies than anything else. Which, she had not minded, but she couldn’t exactly share hers. Too much of the history of it would have made the ork pale. If that were possible.

Her eyes turned up as she reached her destination, an air of excitement about her. She hadn’t much thought of what the thread could be used for — but the shard. Its clink was silenced by the threads wrapped around it in the tiny bottle. Borrowed, and maybe returned later. Stepping over the threshold, she looked around the interior, brows raised.
She would certainly give her approval on the layout of wares. Mannequins sporting both armor and jewelry; a fine showcase of skill. Tasteful, to boot. Her eyes lingered on the jewels, some interest in them. But — she had something mind already. Somethings, maybe.

The fae spotted someone who must have worked there, a small smile on her lips as she approached. “Who do I speak to get something made?”

The man before her was orkhan, and somehow stood two feet below her. She had to take a step back to get a good look at him as she approached. She knew it was common for most to be taller than her, but was it really that common among the races? Whatever; she wouldn’t dwell on it past the need to arrange her stance in a way that she could still see him if she came close. He expressed a need for specification on what she wanted, and what her options were.

Her mind had been made up since before she’d stepped foot into the store, but there was always room to be swayed. But, no. He claimed himself no weaponsmith. Her eyes followed his hands to the display of jewelry, interest piqued. She looked over what had been offered to her, considered the possibility of adding a new piece of glittering finery to her collection. But — that was not why she was here.

Tearing her gaze away from the display, she looked down at Galius. “Galius, the Seventh Son.” She echoed the words with interest, rolled them over her tongue. Thus far, he showed a fair amount of professionalism. It made sense that he would be one of the specialists within the store. Or very good at posturing as though he were one. The jewelry in the case could very well have been crafted by someone else But a place of such refute wouldn’t allow someone inside that might think of conning customers. Would they? City-dwelling creatures were their own strange breed.

“Well, Galius, I don’t suppose you would be...displeased with the idea of working something like this into a simple ring design.” Simple, to test him. She couldn’t very well waste all of the precious silk and dragonshard her little pet had given her. She produced the little vial of silk and shard, clasped between two claws as her lower set of arms crossed under her chest. “Nothing too flashy, of course. A statement, but not a gaudy one, if you will.”

She must have looked confused by his question, because he was gracious enough to explain the difference. As a spiderling, she had seen jewelry only at a distance and as a nuisance to remove from corpses when it came time to cook them. The fae had not then taken the time to distinguish design and type the way she could now, when hunting for a different sort of prey. Nnerka listened, all eyes trained on the orc as he explained the differences. Even handed her some examples of his wares to further examine.

As she handed them back and he’d finished speaking, she sighed. She hadn’t thought much of the particulars. But that was merely the ignorance of what went into jewelry making. “I think I’ll have it embedded.” Galius had said it would take longer, but she could patient. She’d learned as much as a child on hunts. That was what made a good predator, after all.

“Would it be difficult to incorporate into the ring? I had hoped that it would be part of it.” A pause. “The silk is very special, you see.” Her Common was beginning to fail her. The conversation was steering into words that were...more specialized than she was used to using. Her brows furrowed a moment. Letting loose a soft chittering, the tiny spider hiding within her hair came forth.

“This little one made it, but she is also special. Mm, I know not the words one would use in Common for it, but — magic? The silk is much the same.” She shrugged, running a finger along the creature’s back. “That would surely change the way it could be used, yes? Spider silk is already quite strong.” There was an air of pride to her accented words, a musical giggle to follow it up.

As much as she rather liked jewelry, Nnerka did not know much of the process that went into it. Which was why she could only nod in feigned understanding as Galius spoke. Her gaze drifted to the wares on display once more. Her little spider chittered on her shoulder, pleased to be acknowledged before scurrying back to the crook of her neck.

“Talon?” Maybe she perked up at the name. The spider had heard the name before. In passing, not really in too much detail. There was quite a lot being said about this Talon, especially after the last season. What had happened then, was mostly dispersed and vague, as if speaking it would call the authorities down on them. A curious thing, the way information traveled among the people of cities. “What’s a prince doing running a business and not his fair...whatever this is?”

She trailed after him as he descended to his workshop, curious to see what the space looked like. She watched him put away what was at his station, before looking to the others as he retrieved paper and writing implements. “Is it just you and Talon you take on most of the work? How does this whole process...process?” While she was curious, she wasn’t curious. Not in any dire way.

She rested leaned against the bench, head tipped to the side as she considered his question. “What would you recommend? I think I trust your expertise on the matter, and I could always order another, right?” Another moment of wandering eyes. “How long have you been in this trade?”

Nnerka could not see herself taking up anything aside from hunting for very long, but then again — her current employment had been one she held for some time. Perhaps it was a matter of what he’d wished to pursue.