"Are you sure you are not trying to swindle me?" Pearl asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No, of course not." The merchant countered, "A respectable tradesman like me could never even fathom such an idea."
"I thought as much," Pearl said with a firm voice, "So I shall ask you to reconsider. How much for the earring?"
"Thirty five silver pieces." The merchant offered, raising the price by five silver pieces more than his previous offer.
"If I am not mistaken," Pearl cleared his throat, "Even an uncut gemstone of this size should be around forty silver pieces worth. Or maybe I am just mistaken. I think I will check the current rates at the Market Overseer's office before making claims like this."
He picked up the earring from the table and turned to walk out of the shop.
"Wait," the merchant protested, "How much do you want?"
"Sixty." Pearl asserted.
"Sixty silver pieces!" the merchant exclaimed, "I will not pay a snippet more than forty."
"I appreciate the offer," Pearl said to him, "But it would be naive of me to not check with other jewellers around here."
"Oh you don't want to go to them," the merchant told, "They aren't as reasonable as I. So how about forty five for that ring?"
Pearl didn't answer and continued walking towards the door.
"Alright!" the merchant yelled, "Fifty! Fifty silver pieces is the farthest I can go."
Pearl stopped and looked back at the merchant, "I'm not entirely satisfied with the price, but since I am in a hurry, I shall take the deal."
He walked back to the table and placed the earring on it. The merchant picked it up and examined it more closely, then placed it in a box on the side of the table.
"Get the silver from the cashier at the display outside." the merchant told Pearl, then shouted something in a Renaari language, probably informing the cashier the amount to prepare.
"Well that went smoothly," Rel noted, "You Nanar are traders through and through."
"This was nothing," Pearl replied, moving out of the store, "My father would have convinced him to actually pay sixty silvers."
The shop that he visited was a decently large one, with a display outside on the streets and a workshop and an office inside the earthen building behind the display. Three workers worked at the display and Pearl assumed the one wearing the sunhat to be the cashier. He was proven correct, as the worker in sunhat counted the silver and handed it to him in five stacks of coins.
Pearl moved to pick up his stuff, which he had placed at the side of the display before going into the shop. But what he saw made his heart leap. The travelling pack was where he had left it but the makana wrapped in the cloth was nowhere to be seen.
"My vessel?!" Rel shrieked.
"Era won't like this," he muttered, then turned to the worker working nearby, "Did you see anyone take anything from here?"
"Yes, I did." the worker replied, "A boy picked up a rolled blanket kept here. It was yours?"
"Yes," Pearl replied, "What did the boy look like? In which direction did he go?"
"He's right there." The worker pointed in the direction behind Pearl, his finger aimed at a short Veshaar boy who was hurrying and walking towards the turn at the end of the street, with the makana heaved over his shoulder.
Pearl picked up his travelling pack and dashed towards the boy.
"Don't let the wretch get away!" Rel growled.
Pearl pushed through the crowd in haste to make his way to the end of the street. This however, earned him several curses and heated comments from the bypassers he had pushed by. It also made people ahead look at the commotion behind and thus, the boy who had stolen the makana also looked behind. On seeing Pearl, the boy seemingly increased his pace, squeezing through the crowd.
Pearl had to enhance his senses through lifesong in order to not lose the sight of the boy, who had left the street via the turning. Pearl hurried behind him, trying his best to avoid running into people.
"Towards your right, there he is," Rel directed Pearl, "I can sense the presence of my vessel, so he cannot get away from us as long as you have the sight of him."
"Understood." Pearl replied, continuing to follow the boy in a heated trail. They came across another turning, then another long and crowded street, and then another turning. This turning, unfortunately, opened into a crossroad that was filled to the brim with crowds of people.
"Can you sense him?" Pearl asked.
"Can you see him?" Rel countered.
The truth was, Pearl couldn't. The boy had blended and disappeared into the moving crowds of the city owing to his short and nimble stature. Getting a sight of him here would be impossible.
"I guess," Pearl sighed, "We are doing this the hard way now."