A Nascent Kaleidoscope.

"Welcome, welcome!" I heard the shopkeep excitedly shout as I opened the door.

"Greetings." I gave a curt reply. I was getting a bit of a slimy feeling from him. He looked normal enough, nothing inhuman about his appearance. Not that I had anything against non humans….just an observation.

He gave me a once over, I would have assumed he would be displeased by my current state of dress. My clothes were a bit torn and ruffled and perhaps even dirty. But I guess under all of that they were something he hasn't seen before.

Well, might as well play off that. "As you can see, I'm in need of some….supplies." I gestured to my own unkempt appearance.

I had arrived in town last night, having flown away yesterday to avoid any pursuers; everything was basically closed so I just shacked up in the nearby stables to get a few hours of sleep. I saw an Inn…but there were a few guards walking around and I didn't want any potential issues.

"Of course." He laughed happily. "The Riverwood Trader has everything you need, especially for someone who's new to the Skyrim life."

"That obvious, huh?" I gave a good-natured smile, I wondered if he would try to scam me.

"It's practically a right of passage for foreigners. I remember my first time traveling Skyrim before settling down. I was lucky enough to get an old Nord to give me some advice. Once you get the respect of the locals, everything seems to get much smoother, especially for Imperials like you and me."

"Well, I got the coin if you got the supplies." I'm apparently an Imperial? Good to know.

"Wonderful!" He clasped his hands. "I run the best general store in the province, just tell me what you need."

I thought for a moment and my eyes were drawn to a strange golden claw on the counter…. curious looking thing. "Well, some clothes would be appreciated."

He lowered his head under the counter, pulling up two stacks of clothing. "Let's see here, I got some run of the mill tunics, nothing too fancy. And I also have a set of 'finer' clothing if you're interested."

I stepped forward to inspect them. They were about what one would assume considering the technological level of this place. I ran my hand through the higher-end trousers and tunic. The material would be…. acceptable but holding it up to my chest, the design made me want to vomit.

"Is this the fashion around here for the wealthy?"

He just shrugged. "I don't keep up with those trends, that's my sister's department and she convinced me to buy these a few months back."

"They are…not to my tastes." That was the politest way I could say it. "I'll just take the basics for now."

He nodded reaching under the counter again. "You're going to need some good boots as well. The Skyrim terrain is a bit treacherous if you're out exploring."

I felt the material and just nodded. Boots were boots, there wasn't much to say about them. "Lets see…." I rubbed my chin thoughtfully, taking a look at the shelves around us. "What about these?" I picked a red-looking potion off the shelf.

"It's always good to carry a few health potions for an emergency."

I felt my breath hitch at the nonchalant way he described the alchemic creation. Was the mystical side of the world so open here that 'health potions' were something easily acquired by the mundane?

It's not that equivalent couldn't be found in my old world, but the ingredients were hard to come by and almost extinct. Did I hit the jackpot?

"How many do you have in stock?"

"Last I counted, seven potions of minor healing."

"I'll take them all." I didn't even ask the price, I should be quite wealthy if some of the tags I saw around the shop were accurate, apparently the gold coins I acquired are the default currency here. "Do you have any other types of potions?"

"Well….if you asked any town around us they may have said no." He put an elbow on the table, giving me a prideful grin. "It's a good thing you came to me." He hefted a large crate from under the counter, carefully setting them down. "Nord's don't really like anything beyond a simple health potion, so I've been sitting on this stock for the right buyer."

"Well…their loss." I muttered picking up a small red vial, it looked like a health potion….similar properties perhaps?

"A regeneration potion, not as quick as a health potion so many people don't really like them. But they're better for blood loss or a bunch of smaller wounds." He stated, shifted through the various containers. "Let's see here… A strength potion that's always good in a pinch. A Water breathing potion, I doubt anyone would want to swim in these freezing waters but another thing that's nice to have. A few stamina and Magicka potions, they should still be good, though they don't last as long as health potions."

Magicka potions? I quickly grabbed one of the blue containers on the counter he set to the side, inspecting the contents. This was filled with magical energy...is this supposed to restore magical energy to someone? If so….I could make so much money selling these back home.

Not everyone is like me, able to pull on the Kaleidoscope to refill my reserves. These would require testing, but if nothing else they might have some interesting concepts I could steal.

There were some other miscellaneous ones, like cure poison or cure disease. But frankly….. "I'll take them all."

The shop keep just blinked at me. "I don't want to be rude but can you—"

I turned my hat upside down, a small pile of gold poured out onto the counter. "I have more where that came from.

He clapped his hands. "Well then, what else can I do for you?"

"You also buy here?" I inquired.

"Let me see what you got; I'll tell you if I can take it."

He didn't even bat an eye the first time I used my hat, I guess magic really isn't something uncommon around here. I started to set a few swords on the table, not much just to empty a bit of space.

He picked one up to examine it. "Pretty standard, looks in good shape. I don't deal much in weapons, but I can sell this pretty easily. I'll give you…..30 septims each."

Not quite sure if that's good or not, but they were basically taking up space and hey, I now know the name of this currency. Besides, I still have my cane sword, which is much better than ordinary iron.

"What about this?" I set a large, green emerald on the table. It was the one that I had originally found inside the hat when I bought it.

"Divines….." He whispers, picking it up. "Where did you…" He muttered again, inspecting the jewel.

Yeah, I was guessing that even a couple hundred years ago, the people from earth could sculpt jewels better than anyone here. "Interested?"

"Of course!" He cleared his throat. "I mean, yes, how much would you like for it?"

"Let's knock off the price of the goods first."

"So, an even trade, the stuff for your jewel?" He eyed me

"Oh no, that's just the first step, we still need to talk about how many septims you are paying after that." Nice try, but I could guess this jewel was worth much more than that.

"You want me to tie up all my coin and goods in single jewel?" He frowned, crossing his arms. "What if I get robbed? The best I can do is maybe a few more items added on and a straight trade."

"I don't really need anything else—"

"How about some spell books?" He smiled, and just like that we both knew he had me.

***

I was….not unhappy with my exchange, but I felt like I got played a bit. Did I tilt my hand when I looked confused at the potions? Was that when he knew I was novice in his eyes?

It's not like I needed the gold, I still have a hefty amount it's just….. I like having more.

I was able to finagle some more goods from him, even if he fought me every step of the way. I have no doubt that the jewel would be making him a huge profit I just didn't want to go through the effort of selling it through the proper channels.

Also got some information while I was at it, he gave me a very basic map of Skyrim, along with a heads up that a cart would be coming by tomorrow and I could buy a ride to Riften for a small fee. Not only that, apparently some soldiers came by last night, but the guards drove them away. I don't really understand the political structure of this place but apparently the 'Jarl' that oversees Riverwood is neutral or something and he has enough clout to tell them to bugger off.

So, I had some time to kill I was sitting at a table in the Inn next door. They had some decent drinks, I wasn't expecting much from the Mead here, but damn was I surprised. I would definitely need to grab some before I left this world.

Laid out on the table were the 'spell books' that were mentioned. This world…. they have some interesting ideas on magic, and I could thoroughly reap the benefits of such open learning.

From what I was told, these were mainly just basic spells along with one 'adept' spell.

Lesser ward, a small barrier that blocks attacks. Nothing too crazy, but its application was insane, it was elementally neutral so anyone could use it. The effort in its casting was a bit meh, but I could experiment to make it a worthwhile spell.

Oak Flesh, a strengthening spell that can overlap with my reinforcement, it leans more towards defense, but it does have a physical power application as well. Always good to have additional strengthening abilities. Instead of applying an enhancement through my body, it sort of envelops my body in its effect. A bit mana intensive, but it was something I would enjoy working with.

Frostbite was neat, it basically channels a stream of cold air from your hand, freezing anything, it touches. Well, it could be resisted easily, it wasn't like it was absolute zero temperatures. But still, an interesting spell I would love to dissect it for further study.

There was even a basic healing spell, aptly named 'Healing'. This had been a good find, while the effects were apparently less than a basic regeneration potion, having a healing spell so easily applicable was a huge boon.

The last basic spell book was Telekinesis. A bit of a surprise there, the equivalent in my old home was a guarded secret by several families. Not something unattainable, but it was such a useful spell that those who had it guarded it did so fiercely.

The real gem was the 'adept' spell book, named Distort. From what I understand about the magical system here, so far, it's a spell that falls under the 'illusion' school. Aptly named I suppose, since the spell is a basic physical illusion application.

Basically, I can make illusions that appear real on the surface, though any interference will break them.

A useful spell and I'm quite happy with my purchase. I'll need to find more books like these and add to my repertoire.

With a yawn I picked up another bottle of mead, well I still had some time to kill, and this drink is pretty good at least.