Complete Eastern Brisshal Mystic Oriental Love Consultation

[Alcea]

"Of course miss, the price for fortune telling is 15 gold. Please give me a moment while I prepare the ritual."

Once more, Sumire got out a new bowl of water and purified it. It looked clean before, but it was always good practice to make sure. When she moved to move aside the old bowl of water, her own reflection gave her a wink and a shushing gesture. Startled, Sumire almost dropped the bowl of water before recovering. Giving a little nervous laugh, she said,

"Pardon me, I thought I saw something odd but it was just my imagination."

There was absolutely no way anyone would believe her, but she hoped that everyone else would leave it alone. She managed to replace the bowl of water without any complications this time, and begun to channel her power into the mirror of water. The sensation was long familiar now, and she let the words pour out of her like a waterfall. Looking directly into @Kamala Graham's eyes, she stated,

"This world takes as easily as it gives away. Countless others have staked their lives searching the land for something. Fame, fortune, thrills, closure. I ask of you, what are you looking for in this land?"

 

[Kamala Graham]

Kamala wasted no time in paying, quickly fishing out the required amount from her wallet. It was less of a mechanical task with the interface's assistance, but she liked taking to it as such. Everything good has to come out of using one's hands! She believed in hard work and physical labor, and that showed in whatever task she was performing. It helped that Kamala has never been any good with most new technology. Even in this game, I'm learning things slowly. Faster than in the other world, but still slower than most, I think.

She waited patiently for the fortune teller to make her preparations, trying her best to catch glimpses of what she was doing. Not to steal her things, of course, or to copy them. Mostly just to satiate her wonder and curiosity. Kamala had no delusions that she could do something like this, nothing that involved smarter people, so she was just happy being mystified by the so-called wonders of the universe. Even in this game, these things look so cool!

"Was it something good?" Kamala couldn't help but ask, her curiosity in overdrive. Whatever the other woman had seen, it seemed to unnerve her. At least from that laugh, Kamala thought it was the case. If she was wrong, however, she was wrong. Nothing but assumptions from her at this point.

When their eyes met, Kamala's grew wider. She felt the fortune teller doing something new, even if most of that feeling was simply imagined. Kamala absorbed each and every single word imparted to her, as if they contained the mysteries of the universe, the secrets of her existence. The question, however, confused her. Not because it was confusing in itself. But mostly because Kamala wasn't quite sure of her answer.

"What am I looking for in this land?" She repeated out loud as she scrambled for anything resembling an answer from her slow and tiny brain. There were many things that came to her mind, of course, but she wasn't quite sure what she was truly looking for in this world. Peace? A new beginning? Salvation for her friends? What am I looking for And then something came to her mind that she couldn't ignore, the words already parting her lips to be heard. "A good life...full of happiness and prosperity!"

@Sumire

 

[Alcea]

Peace, prosperity, happiness. Things that were in short supply in TerraSphere. Sumire came to the surface of the water. She felt for the girl, and would not taint her day with her own dark thoughts. She would have done that once upon a time, and going even further back she would have been in Kamala's place. She had a feeling that the girl was a Traveler, just going by mannerisms. She'd been wrong before, but had a pretty good feel for determining who were Landers and who weren't. A gift, from being trapped inside the game for four, long years.

"The world is cruel at even the best of times. Those who with little will fall quickly, yet those with many have that much further to fall. A prosperous, peaceful, happy life is something that most can only dream of... A lone Traveler", she put emphasis into the word, "is nothing but prey for the dangers that haunt this land. A group of Travelers, can change the fate of a nation as they did years ago. I see that your fate will be intertwined with others. Keep your allies close, and you may yet achieve what others may see as a fleeting dream."

Seeing was easy, believing is much harder. Sumire doubted that the girl would be able to find a good life in here of all places, yet she earnestly wished for the girl to prove her wrong. If it was possible for the other girl... She shook her head, she must have been getting real tired if she was getting distracted that easy. Still, readings for Travelers were a lot more difficult than what she was used to. Most people came in with specific questions, and divining the fate of those who could shape it was rough at the best of times.

"Well, miss, I that's all I could see for now. It was much more vague than normal, though such readings are common with those who are liable to seek their fate with others. If you would have it, I would like to offer you this charm." Sumire picked one out from the pile at her side and infused just a bit of spiritual energy into it. Just enough to make it warm to the touch. "To drive away evil spirits. I wish you good luck on your journey, miss."

@Kamala Graham

 

[Toko]

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"Give me a moment and I'll be riiight back~"

As the line slowly disippated while the lepus kept an eye on her turn, although she did her best not to catch snippets of the fortunes from the others, she excused herself from her elven friend for a moment before approaching the set up area and the magia that was running the services.

"Sumimasen! I was hoping to buy a charm or two...?" A part of her was intrigued by the fortunes as well, but seeing as how Toko couldn't really think of something specific to ask right now the lepus was less sure about asking for that service... it looked like the magia girl needed to do quite a bit of preparation between each one too, and the lepus was almost sure she looked a bit paler than before too. "They remind me a lot of the ones back home, in my real world that is, would you have some for protection by any chance?

@Sumire @Solaria

 

[Kamala Graham]

Kamala listened intently and patiently at the fortune teller's words, her eyes wide with wonder and awe. The first part was worded in a way that made her feel the gravity of their meaning, even the truth had always been there for her, just a touch away, a turn of the head, in the world she came from. Cruelty and loss... She's had that, a lot of that, from her place of origin. It was, perhaps, even swimming in them, drowning more like it.

A group... She wondered if that meant she had to stick with someone else, a couple of someone elses. She had already made a few friends. Maybe, she thought, they would become the key to her success in this world, the family she'd need to build a community where everyone could find the peace and the bliss that they truly deserved. Allies... Friends. Kamala took that advice to heart, hands pressed against her chest.

"O-oh," she was caught surprised when everything finally came to a close, even though she shouldn't have been. These things don't take four hours. They weren't like two movies back to back. Kamala offered the fortune teller a warm smile, grateful for the time spent with her. If anything, her vigor and hope were both renewed with the potential of being able to pursue her dreams. "T-thank you! I think I got what you meant, what the universe meant."

With a wide grin, she accepted the charm given to her. Her eyes were shimmering with the same wonder and awe from before. After a brief nod and a bow, she expressed her gratitude at the woman and started to leave, not wanting to waste any more of her time. There were others in line. Kamala did not wish to deprive them of their precious seconds. "Thank you again, dear fortune teller! I will keep this charm close to heart."

@Sumire

 

[Alcea]

Nodding as Kamala left, she turned her attention to @Toko. Luckily, the woman wasn't asking for another divination. Sumire really wasn't sure if she had enough for another reliable divination. Maybe she needed to set up appointments or something in the future. Toko was most certainly a traveler from her words, and probably from her place of birth all so long ago. She didn't really know what to feel about it. Part of her wanted to ask the woman if anyone still remembered the old shrine she grew up at. A bigger part would be dreading the answer, and the inevitable questions that would be asked. She shelved that line of thought. Maybe, another day where she wasn't so tired.

"Of course miss, I have a few of that description."

She rifled through a box of charms and brought out a few to display. Spreading them out on the table, she made sure to pick out the ones with the prettiest handwriting. Her calligraphy wasn't the greatest and she wasn't exactly sure they would hold up to real scrutiny, and she refused to cheat with her water manipulation. It would ruin the spirit of things. All she had to go off of was her own fading memories.

"This one is for protection against bad fortune, that one protects against evil spirits. If you have a specific thing you want to safeguard yourself against, I can help you write a personal charm and infuse it with power. The price is 2 gold for one charm, and 5 for three."

 

[Toko]

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There was a pause as Toko looked through the various options that the Magia had presented, admiring the work that had gone into each and every one. It was amazing what some people could create with their hands, and the first charm that Sumire presented quickly caught Toko's attention the most. It was carefully moved over closer to the Lepus, this would certainly be one of her purchases today, before the offer of the shop keeper caused an idea to pop into Toko's head.

"Hontoni? Could I have one then for protection and prosperity? For one's family as well as the person, if possible." She wasn't sure if it might be a tall order, but honestly whatever the shop keeper could manage would be enough for the Lepus. "These are all very pretty, have you been making charms for a long time?"

It was interesting, the more she looked at some of them Toko could almost swore she could recognize the characters... except they seemed slightly different from the ones she was used to seeing at home for some reason. Was it possible this shop keeper was a player instead of a Lander...? Then again maybe Nao was overthinking it, it was just as possible the game devs might've been inspired by Japanese charms when programming their designs into the game.

@Sumire

 

[Alcea]

"Of course, and thank you miss. I've only been making charms for about two or three years now. It's a... good reminder of home."

It's funny. She never was really into shrines or charms or anything before she got trapped inside the game. Somehow though, they were some of her most vivid memories and she used those memories to ground her. She didn't want to forget about her life from the outside. It would be easier to, but it wouldn't be right. The words spilled from her lips before she could stop them.

"If you want miss, I could teach you. It's a bit harder than it looks but I'm sure you could learn with a bit of practice. If you're interested, meet me here after I close the stall. The shrine is a very peaceful place, good to practice and learn. I also have more calligraphy supplies there."

She was inviting yet another person to the shrine, and it was a more committal offer. Strangely, it didn't really feel wrong anymore. Sumire guessed that the old saying about ripping off the bandage really wasn't wrong.

@Toko

 

[Toko]

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It reminded her of home, but she had been doing this for the past two to three years...? Considering the game was new that probably meant this was a Lander, like the many others than inhabited Honeyhome, but then why did this feel off somehow? 'I'm probably overthinking things... must be 'cause of how real this game feels.' Right, that was probably all there was to it and nothing more—maybe the game developers had used omamori as inspiration for this particular part of the game.

"Maji de?! Hai, I'd love to give it a try if you have some time, Ojoosan!"

After all she would love to see the shrines here in this world, with how realistic everything around TerraSphere 2 was Nao couldn't wait to explore and find out more about it all. Would they also have Japanese inspiration to them... or perhaps the game developers had gone a different route entirely when creating the design?

"Ah, shimatta, I have some plans later today... could it wait until tomorrow by any chance?"

@Sumire

 

[Alcea]

"No problems miss. I don't think I'll have the stall open tomorrow, but I'll be around here at this time. It shouldn't be too hard to pick each other out from the crowd. Have a good day miss."

With that, her final customer of the day was finished. She got a lot more business than what she expected, but that was a good thing. Busy, productive days were hard to come by and she'd take them where she could get them. Taking a look at the sun, the shrine maiden stretched - old habits died hard - and decided that it was about time to take a late lunch. If there was one advantage to living here, it would be how fresh the produce was. There was really something magical about taking a bite out of a fruit or vegetable that was harvested just that day.

She'd close up shop, grab something to eat, then had back to the Shrine to rest. She'd need to prepare for a guest tomorrow, and for the first time in a while, she was looking forward to it. Travelers were always a force of change, the magia mused.

@Toko