X Zavior steps into X marks the spot garment shop, and the bright silk walls seem to catch the desert light and throw it back in color. The market outside hums, but inside, every hanging bolt feels held in suspense.
Princess Shiva waits among the racks, hands folded tight at her waist, her gaze moving over the fabric like she is searching for a door hidden in it.
Princess Shiva
You are X Zavior, yes? I need a garment that does more than please the court.
By the doorway stands Liza Honeycrumb, stoic and unmoving, one hand resting on her blade. She watches X Zavior with the stillness of a locked gate.
Liza Honeycrumb
If he is clever, he will understand the warning without needing it spoken.
Shiva lifts a sleeve of deep blue silk, then lets it fall. Her fingers hesitate near the embroidered hem, as if the stitchwork might answer a question she cannot voice aloud.
Princess Shiva
The wedding draws near, and I need something suitable, something that can carry a message without speaking it.
X Zavior
The bodyguard is here to measure every word.
Liza’s eyes flick to the hidden ledger’s usual place, then back to X Zavior’s face. The shop feels very small all at once.
Liza Honeycrumb
Choose your answer carefully, merchant. Can your cloth serve the princess, or should I call this a wasted visit?
✓ Quest Accepted
Secure Princess Shiva’s commission
“The reputation of my shop proceeds me. Otherwise you would not be here. I assure you the outfit we choose will only be outshine by your own beauty.”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled -2)
X Zavior
The reputation of my shop speaks for me. You would not be here otherwise. And the outfit we choose will only be outshone by your own beauty.
Shiva’s shoulders loosen by a fraction. Her gaze lifts from the silk to X Zavior’s face, weighing him anew as if he has finally proven the door is real.
Princess Shiva
Then I have found the right merchant. I need something elegant, but not loud, with a hidden pocket or seam for a folded note.
Liza’s jaw tightens at the word note, but she does not interrupt. Her hand leaves the blade and settles instead on the doorway, as though guarding the promise now.
Princess Shiva
Choose the cut yourself, X Zavior. If your house can keep a secret, let the cloth prove it.
The princess sets the blue silk across both forearms, already imagining the drape. A costly sheen clings to the fabric where his compliment lands, like a small coin spent and willingly accepted.
Liza Honeycrumb
If the garment serves the princess and no one else, I will allow this meeting to continue.
“Moves over to an area where a warm tea kettle sits and pours a couple cups. Offering them to Liza and Shiva”
SUCCESS (Legendary Persuasion, rolled +1)
X Zavior glides to the warm kettle and the lacquered cups, silk sleeves whispering over the counter. Steam curls up between the bolts of cloth as he pours, the little ritual turning the shop quieter than before.
He sets one cup within Shiva’s reach and another toward Liza, making the offer plain without a flourish. The fragrance of spice and leaf rises with the steam, softening the air between them.
Princess Shiva
You think of everything, merchant. Tea is a kinder kind of armor than steel.
Liza Honeycrumb
I do not trust easy charm, but I trust hot tea less than I trust a man who offers it openly.
Shiva accepts the cup first, then glances at the hem of the blue silk as if imagining hidden stitching beneath it. Her fingers tap once against the rim, thoughtful and growing steadier.
Princess Shiva
If you are willing to hide words in cloth, then hide them elegantly. A secret should feel like part of the design, not a wound in it.
Liza keeps her cup in both hands, watching X Zavior over the steam, but the edge in her posture eases. Shiva leans in with a small, decisive nod, waiting for him to begin.
Quest Complete
Secure Princess Shiva’s commission
New Gift: Royal Couturier