A Small Alchemy Store[Closed]

Tayari waited patiently in his alchemy store, thinking for the moment, and planning. He had to do something while he was there, and he couldn't close up shop entirely; the griffins were probably suspicious enough with the store's erratic hours.

It's been a few days since Demetrius began to look more actively for what he needed, saving and getting all the bits he possibly could. Working as a handyman gave him his basic bread and water; he knew how to repair stuff, he was good enough to resolve all sorts of problems and all of this in an acceptable timelaps. And then there was his job at the brothel during weekends that also helped him out; you just had to swing that flank here and there on that pole , know your customers and they would start throwing bits at you like it was raining gold. Most of the clients were griffins, however... though, he managed to swallow his pride a while ago. Griffins were the most fortunate, after all; they didn't seem to realize it, but he was the one holding them by the beaks.

Though, even if he could eat at the soup kitchen to save his small fortune and get his own ingredients for his... contraptions, some of them were still out of reach; not because he didn't had the money, but because he couldn't find them altogether. But hopefully that would soon be fixed. He knew Zebras had all sorts of special ingredients and mixtures... perhaps this one guy his "friends" told him about had what he needed.

Arriving in front of the small hidden store, Demetrius would push the door and poke his head inside.

-Hello?

((Quick OOC Note, it's not really hidden. But it is small.))
On hearing the sound of another voice, Tayari's head shot up, and he realized there was a pony in his store. "Oh! Hello, sir, welcome to Potent Prepared Potions. Is there anything you'd like to purchase? Ingredients or potions, maybe?"

Smirking as he saw the shop keeper, Demetrius pushed the door open completely as he stepped in. The smell of various mixed ingredients filled the air... it was a strong smell. Not the kind of smell you'd get in a spice store, nor one you would get of playing with chemicals either... it was some sort of odd mix between the two. It didn't smelled bad, nor did it smelled good, it was just plain weird.

Eying the various products that filled the shelf, the dark gray pony would then make its way toward the counter, giving the shop keeper his warmest smile which, against his will, looked more sly and flirtatious than anything else. Force of habit.

-We could say that... I've been on the hunt for two specific ingredients for what already seems like an eternity but haven't got any luck on putting my hooves on them.

Pausing as he looked around, making sure no one else was around, he then got closer to him, whispering.

-Would you happen to have grounded fire ruby and dragon scales by any chances?

Tayari frowned slightly. He had only one of those two, in very short supply; he'd been saving it for either a powerful potion or a decent bid by a customer. "Rare ingredients. Quite potent, too. I won't ask what you want with them, it's not my place to wonder. Now, I'm afraid I don't currently have any dragon scales, as much as I wish I did. However, I do have a small supply of ground fire ruby."
His small frown turned into an equally sized smile, somewhere between friendly and greedy, and he asked, "What are you willing to pay for it?"

Hrm, well that was a bit of a problem; he was actually hoping to have, at least, the dragon scales. A fire ruby, in the worst case scenario, would've been still pretty easy to find... he could've just jacked it from some rich griffin or something. Taking him in some dark alley or whatever and knock him unconscious... either that or busting into someone's house late during the night.

But dragon scales? Yikes. The would be tougher. Searching caves out of Manehattan was his only alternative. He did not liked the idea one bit. Shaking his head as he brought himself back to the matter at hooves, an equally as sly smirk, if not worst actually would appear on his face. This merchant was using probably the oldest trick in Equestria. He wouldn't toss a price like that and risk loosing anymore bits than he needed.

-Well it's your shop after all, isn't it? I should be the one asking for prices, right? Just tell me what you had in mind, I'm sure I can cover it... All I need is just a hoof-full, 1/3 of a cup is more than enough.

Gems in general weren't really rare in equestria... but fire rubies were. Though, once grounded, even if used as ingredient, they lost part of their value. In his head he was expecting something around 500 bits. No doubt the zebra would try to make profit on the whole deal however... but still.

"Third of a cup? I should have at least that much. For... well, to be honest, I was probably not going to use it anyway. So, how about 350 bits? Open for negotiation, of course. Hang on, I'll let you think about that while I bring out the ruby."
Tayari moved into a back room of the building quickly, and was back after a minute with a small bag. He opened it to reveal ground fire ruby, and placed it on the counter.
"So, how about it? 350 bits for this?"

Hrm, 350 bits was pretty cheap to be honest. Either he didn't know the real value of the ingredient itself... or maybe he was just trying to scam him. Though, to be honest, he really doubted that could even be a possibility; just the fact of having someone who actually knew about this reactive element would be a dead give-away that he wasn't dealing with some amateur. But still, slightly doubtful, he would pull out a small magnifying glass and inspect the powder, nudging it with his hoof.

-Perfect consistency, rich color, correct volatility and... *sniff*sniff* has that peculiar cinnamon scent I'll never forget.

Looking up at the zebra, he would then give him a smirk as he would the pull out his bag of bits. Pushing it on the side, he would give the shop keeper what he asked for, sliding the heap of money toward him. Most of it were stacked rolls of ten bits, 30 of them to make counting easier, followed by 50 loose bits. He would then pull the string of the powder pouch and stuff it away in his leather hip pocket.

-A pleasure doing business with you, hon! Also, if you don't have any dragon scales yourself, would you happen to know where I could possibly find some?

Tayari nodded. "It's been a pleasure to do business with you, too. And while it may be stating the obvious, the only place I know of to get dragon scales is from a dragon. If I do learn where to find some, I'll... well, I would let you know, if I can find a way to contact you. Tell you what, if I locate some, I'll mix up a glowing red potion and hang it on the outside doorframe. And if you can locate some, let me know, I'm sure we can work out a deal for a trade of any spares. And if the ones you find are still very much part of the dragon, well, I'll supply you with potions and... with potions." He caught himself before he uttered 'poisons', who knew if a griffin might be paying attention?
"It's been a pleasure to meet you... er... I'm sorry, we haven't really introduced ourselves. My name is Tayari, and yours?"

Hrm, well that sure made things a bit harder. Not only he didn't had any of the powder, but also had no other contacts in town that could provide him with the stuff. How quaint. That meant he'd have to go out of town and start looking for those scales... he'd have to study about dragon before he could even dare to go off and away into some smoking caves. Getting shredded into a bloody mess obviously wasn't part of his plan.

-Thanks, but at this point I think my best chances would be to find some on my own. Though, I'll pass here once in a while. If you ever happen to find some, stash it somewhere safe inside your store and we'll discuss things more throughly when I visit.

Then picking on his question and introduction, Black Powder gave him a simple nod of the head as he beamed his usual smile.

-And my name's Demetrius! Nice to know you, Mr. Tay! ... you're quite the intriguing and charming fellow~...

He slurred out as he gave him a wink. Turning around, he would then go for the exist. Just about to push on the door, the dark gray pony would then turn his head around, glaring at the zebra.

-If you come down to that certain... "bar" down the road a few streets from here, I'll be sure to give all the attention you need! Tata~

He finished as he walked out the store, door closing behind him.

Tayari blinked. 'Did he just suggest... Well, that's... huh.'
Choosing to consider that piece of information later rather than sooner, Tayari returned to a state of boredom, leaving his head once more resting on his hooves on the counter, passing the time until the shop closed by thinking of things to prepare for and how to solve them. It was easier now he had some bits, even if it was less than he probably could have received.
Eventually, he shut closed the store's doors for the day, with no other customers.