Gallus: “Let’s wait together and see if we can make a deal.”
Gallus didn’t have to wait long, but Yona seemed to already be bored and impatient. He convinced Starlight that they would be better off dealing with whoever owned this market honestly. He heard sounds like metal on stone outside before the statue watching them stepped to the side. Several other griffon statues were standing in the street outside.
From behind the statues, a large dark gray griffon stepped into the tent. He had a streak of silver running down his back and the tips of his wings and crest glistened in what looked like real gold. He wore many rings with precious stones on his front talons, but those were nothing compared to the magnificent golden chain around his neck that led to a signet in the center of an amulet. Massive gems of all sorts were set into the edges of the amulet. He reminded Gallus of the images of the old griffon kings.
He looked them all over with an appraising eye as shrewd as any griffon merchant Gallus had seen. He set down the small bag he was carrying and gave a small bow of politeness.
“Welcome guests! I am Grandeur, and this is my bazaar. Make yourself comfortable. You all look like you could use a little refreshment. Tell me all about how you found yourselves here. It has been ages since I’ve been able to make any deals with anyone in Equestria.”
Grandeur opened up his little sack. It was made of a very fine and sturdy black canvas cloth with silver buttons. The griffon pulled out fresh salads and gave them to Yona and Starlight. He poured out some cups of fancy fizzing drinks from bottles. He offered a roasted rabbit to Gallus. The food seemed to come from nowhere, but it looked like it belonged in the fanciest restaurants. The plates and silverware alone would cost a fortune.
(Yona gains 1 stamina)
Gallus wasn’t one to pass up such an amazing meal, and it had been forever since he had any meat besides fish. He felt a brief twinge of guilt over what Fluttershy might think, but he pushed that away. She wasn’t here to judge him, and rabbit had always been one of his favorite things to catch outside of Griffonstone as a kid. He had often been too poor to buy a meal or too proud to rely on charity too often.
Grandeur nibbled on a few smaller snacks and sipped his drink as they told him about how they found themselves in his marketplace.
“You have my condolences. You’ve all been through a lot. For that, I’m willing to ignore the price of the potion you used to help Starlight. But only if we can come to some other agreement. I’m a griffon of business, and it always helps to be kind. It was a rare panacea potion. It can cure any illness or injury, but it’s not quite the right thing to keep the magic contained. For that, you’ll need something a little more costly and a little stronger. And I think you could use a few other things to help you here in Limbo if you are to find you friends. I have many useful things from many lands. Items from the common to the impossibly rare. I’m sure we can make a deal.”
“So that potion wasn’t enough?” Starlight asked. “I feel okay for now.”
Grandeur shook his head. “It can cure almost anything. It cures the damage and side effects of so much magic, but it can’t remove the magic that is tied to you. You’d have to take a new dose about every hour, and that would quickly add up. It would be far cheaper to buy a nice magical stabilizer.”
He reached into his bag and pulled out a necklace with a series of glowing white crystals. Starlight’s eyes widened.
“Or for even more, I could give you an amulet that would let you tap into all that power. That won’t be cheap, though. It’s rare to find more than one or two items like this any world.”
Starlight gasped as Grandeur pulled out a large platinum amulet. A massive purple gem etched with runes filled the center of it.
“How do you have all this? Not even Twilight… probably not even Celestia have magical artifacts like this.”
Gallus frowned. This merchant was being a little too friendly for a griffon.
“Why are you showing us all this?” Gallus asked. “You barely know us.”
Grandeur smiled and placed his front foot on Gallus’s shoulder.
“Because I love Griffonstone and Equestria. It’s unfortunate that Celestia barred me from doing business in Equus after a few customers misused a few items they obtained from me. In fact, you’re probably something like my great, great grandson, many times removed of course. I’m sure most griffons alive are related to me in some way. You’re like family.”
Gallus raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You don’t look that old.”
Grandeur’s booming laugh filled the tent. “A good merchant can buy anything, even immortality. Another reason Celestia doesn’t trust me is because I’m older than she is.”
“Wait? So you’re The Grandeur? Like the one in the old stories I used to hear as a kid?”
“Yes. I think my legend still lives on, even if it’s in legends and fairytales. But let’s get back to our business. I can see you’re clearly interested in what I offer. After all the sacrifices and work I put in, I need some way of recovering the cost of such valuable items. Since you’re family, I’ll give you a deal, but we’ll still need to make a trade of some sort. I’d gladly take some of that magic that’s protecting you. I haven’t seen any magic quite like it. Or we could arrange a contract for you to do some work to repay me. I think you’ll find my offers very generous.”
Grandeur went over various options. Starlight seemed content to accept the deals as is, but Gallus tried to bargain with Grandeur. He couldn’t seem to charm the griffon to lower prices, but then he decided to play off what the griffon mentioned earlier.
“It means a lot to know I have some family somewhere,” Gallus said. “I’ve been an orphan for a long time.”
“The best of my descendants have been great merchants and leaders. Sometimes even kings. I can see you have the potential to be like them. Maybe you could even renegotiate with Celestia on my behalf. But that’s a lot to ask of a young griffon. I’d have to see you prove yourself first, and I’m willing to give you a chance to do that. I have many little jobs around here that you could do for me as part of payment for the help I’m giving you and your friends. I’d love to give a griffon like you a chance for greatness.”
After the long discussion, Gallus looked around.
“Hey, where’s Yona?”
Grandeur pointed outside. “She didn’t have much patience for our negotiations. She wanted to go look for your other friends. But don’t worry. I’ll deliver a package to help her as part of our deal. But it’s up to you what that deal is.”
Grandeur had the solution to Starlight’s immediate problem, so Gallus wasn’t going to leave without taking one of the deals. And once that was done, he could try to catch up with Yona.