Selan waited as Arycian mulled the prospect over, contemplating the offered bracelet as well as the heavily etched ring in his own hand. After a long moment he nodded solemnly, and the exchange was made.
One down, four to go. His Ambassadors and Councilors really needed to stop leaving pieces of their jewelry in strange places. Eventually, this method of retrieval was going to cease working and he was going to have to find a new way of restoring the objects to their proper owners.
"This one?" Arycian asked, holding up an elaborate garnet necklace. Selan winced inwardly. One of Lady Hubres' favorites. That was really going to cost him.
"Hmm, what about..." He cast about for an appropriate trade, well aware that what most people would consider an equal value was frequently not what Arycian felt it was worth. "Three sweet-cakes," he tried.
"Had sweetcakes last week," Arycian pointed out, rubbing at one of the larger stones comprising the necklace for a moment before looking back up at Selan. "Maybe, umm..." Silver eyes turned up toward the ceiling in thought, dropping back down a moment later with a smile that Selan could only describe as devious. "New pond," he stated confidently.
Oh dear. "And just what are you going to put in it?" Selan asked, amused despite himself.
"Ducks!" Arycian announced gleefully, eyes practically shining. "Red ones and green ones and lemon ones and blue ones!"
For a moment Selan could only blink in astonishment, then he quietly leaned forward as he was consumed by helpless giggles. Leave it to Arycian to come up with the most unpredictable idea ever, and then be so incredibly enthusiastic about the idea.
"Pond?" Arycian asked hopefully, getting down on his hands and knees to crawl underneath the fall of Selan's hair so as to meet Selan's eyes.
"Yes," Selan managed, still fighting helpless mirth. "You can have your pond." He'd get back Lady Hubres' necklace and Arycian would be happy, but by far the best part of the deal was imagining the looks on his people's faces when confronted with rainbow colored waterfowl.
Random Green Planet Insanity
Selan waited as Arycian mulled the prospect over, contemplating the offered bracelet as well as the heavily etched ring in his own hand. After a long moment he nodded solemnly, and the exchange was made.
One down, four to go. His Ambassadors and Councilors really needed to stop leaving pieces of their jewelry in strange places. Eventually, this method of retrieval was going to cease working and he was going to have to find a new way of restoring the objects to their proper owners.
"This one?" Arycian asked, holding up an elaborate garnet necklace. Selan winced inwardly. One of Lady Hubres' favorites. That was really going to cost him.
"Hmm, what about..." He cast about for an appropriate trade, well aware that what most people would consider an equal value was frequently not what Arycian felt it was worth. "Three sweet-cakes," he tried.
"Had sweetcakes last week," Arycian pointed out, rubbing at one of the larger stones comprising the necklace for a moment before looking back up at Selan. "Maybe, umm..." Silver eyes turned up toward the ceiling in thought, dropping back down a moment later with a smile that Selan could only describe as devious. "New pond," he stated confidently.
Oh dear. "And just what are you going to put in it?" Selan asked, amused despite himself.
"Ducks!" Arycian announced gleefully, eyes practically shining. "Red ones and green ones and lemon ones and blue ones!"
For a moment Selan could only blink in astonishment, then he quietly leaned forward as he was consumed by helpless giggles. Leave it to Arycian to come up with the most unpredictable idea ever, and then be so incredibly enthusiastic about the idea.
"Pond?" Arycian asked hopefully, getting down on his hands and knees to crawl underneath the fall of Selan's hair so as to meet Selan's eyes.
"Yes," Selan managed, still fighting helpless mirth. "You can have your pond." He'd get back Lady Hubres' necklace and Arycian would be happy, but by far the best part of the deal was imagining the looks on his people's faces when confronted with rainbow colored waterfowl.
He could hardly wait.