36 Meeting Mr. Monocle

Vy thanked Old Potto for his help and went to look for the man named Monocle. True to his words, it was not difficult to find this man. She politely tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hi. Old Potto from the pawnshop told me that you are an appraiser, Mr Monocle?"

Monocle was a stout fellow in a jet black suit. He squinted his eyes as he looked at Vyrena from top to bottom.

"My apologies, I forgot to introduce myself," Vyrena put out her hand for a handshake, "My name is Vyrena, Vyrena Blackfire."

Monocle raised an eyebrow, he was intrigued. "Vyrena? Oh, you're the girl helping Carole, aren't you?"

"Yes, the very one," Vy replied.

Monocle smiled, "Well a friend of Carole is a friend of mine, what do you need Miss Vyrena?"

Vy took out the two pieces of jewellery and explained that she would like to know the value of these items. Monocle picked up the brooch first. He took out a loupe, a mini magnifying glass, and took a closer look.

After a few minutes, he invited Vy back to his shop so that he could use better equipment to evaluate the value of the item.

"You have a shop?" Vy asked. out of curiosity.

"Yes, I have a shop in some of the popular towns in the area. I spend a good few years of my life here in Timbretune when I was younger. You could say I'm attached to this place. Nowadays my children run the other shops, so I spend most of my time here."

"I see, in that case, who runs the store when you're not around?"

Monocle held the door open and let Vy walked in.

"I have two employees working full time," Monocle turned and called out into the store, "I'm back!"

Within seconds, a man and a woman came running out to meet them. The man was tall and skinny, he wore a buttoned-down shirt and a pair of suspenders. He wore a pair of black-rimmed glasses that were perched on his sharp nose and had a head full of brown hair.

The woman was about the same height as the man, but her hair was much longer and curled. She wore a simple dress, a common outfit worn by most of the residents in Timbretune. But over her dress, she wore a half apron around her waist.

"Jack, Marianne, I would like you to meet Miss Vyrena. She's a friend," Monocle introduced.

Vy shook hands with both of them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Vyrena! You are that girl who was involved in that kidnapping case, right," Marianne asked enthusiastically.

"Miss Marianne! That's terribly rude of you to ask. Please accept my apologies on behalf of her Miss Vyrena. She's still young and doesn't know her manners," Jack apologized profusely.

"It's not rude," Marianne pouted as she folded her arms.

Vy smiles awkwardly, "It's quite alright. Yes, I wasn't one of the kidnappers, no worries about that. I merely witnessed what happened so they brought me in for questioning."

Marianne's brown eyes lit up and she clearly wanted to ask Vy more questions but Monocle cleared his throat. He explained the reason why he had brought Vy to the store. Vy handed the jewellery over to Jack and they began to use different equipment to test the items.

Monocle left the work to his trusted assistants. He went to the back of the store and came out with some tea and a few small slices of lemon cake. Vy thanked him for his hospitality as she waited for the appraisal to be complete.

As Jack worked on the brooch, Marianne watched him intently from the side. It might have been just a hunch but Vy noticed the way she was looking at the brooch.

-Dotty?-

\u003cYes Vy?\u003e

-Does Marianne know that the brooch had been imbued with magic?-

\u003cHmmm…\u003e

Dotty flew forward and circled around Marianne. Before long, it flew back to Vy's side.

\u003cShe has an affinity for magic, that's for sure! But she doesn't know what's unique about it.\u003e

After some time and a conversation with Monocle, the items were appraised and returned to Vy. When she received it, she realised that both items have also been repaired.

"These items you have are amazing, Miss Vyrena," Marriane exclaimed.

Jack cleared his throat, "Yes, Miss Marriane's observation is accurate."

Jack went on to explain the value of each item. He accurately identified the gold ring's origins, just as detailed as Dotty's analysis. But for the emerald, it was a little different.

"The brooch's gemstone is in fact a genuine semi-precious stone. In short, it's an emerald. But After restoring its shine, I realised that the cut of this emerald is very unique and intricate. The way it sparkles is hard to find in these regions."

Monocle took a closer look at the emerald, examining it carefully.

"Could it be a Dwarven Emerald," Monocle suggested.

"That was what I had assumed originally. But the craftsmanship seems to be more unique than that," Jack replied.

Marianne continued to look at the emerald intently as if she has something to say.

"Marianne, what do you think?"