HP: Spirit Talker

A boy of about thirteen or fourteen was sitting on the veranda overlooking the sea, unable to tear himself away from the pebble in his hands. A small piece of dark blue had captured the boy's attention. He turned it this way and that, often lifting it to look at the light, admiring the unusual shimmer and reflections of the raw stone of blue-green color.

The smile never left his face, but sometimes it seemed to freeze and the boy's gaze would become slightly glassy, but that would quickly pass and the smile would blossom again. The adults sitting in the room and the girl, who was a little younger than the boy, drank tea and ate cake, silently watching their daughter's fiancé.

The conversation that had taken place had affected the boy very much, and it was clearly visible. And if the girl did not care, the adults were thinking about the joy of the future son-in-law — he was too serious, grown up beyond his years.

Therefore, such open joy could not be caused by the usual childish love for everything unusual or bright.

The adults decided not to pressure him, but to keep an eye on his actions, for there must be a reason, and they owed it to their suzerain to find it. The boy, or rather a teenager judging by his rapid growth, was completely lost in his thoughts, ignoring his favorite strawberry jam sandwich.

***

— Sapphire. — Goro-san replied confidently after ten minutes of examination.

Mayuri-san was unable to identify the stone when I showed it to her with serious thought. Her eyes showed that she had some suspicions, but she didn't voice them, saying that her husband was a good alchemist and potionist, so he was well versed in everything related to it. Once home, the husband agreed to identify the stone and gave his verdict. The version of the sapphire's location is simple: there are several springs on the mountainsides, and even some mineral springs that the locals have turned into onsen. So I said that I found the stone in one of the streams when I was resting and picking pebbles in the stream. The answer didn't surprise the adults, and their daughter showed only a slight expression of interest when her parents gave more detailed information.

— We do live on a volcanic island. I think you already know that. — I nodded and listened to the man. — Well, for some time it was thought that the volcano was extinct, but hot springs do not appear where there is no seismic activity. But that's just a preface. On the back side of the island there is a big fissure with a quartz vein, and it is available for open mining, and we use this rose quartz for our own needs, without putting it up for sale. — The man looked at me expectantly.

— I see. — I nodded slowly. — The alchemical resource will be in demand anyway, — I spoke slowly, catching up with the situation. — And you can sell it, but you have and will have your own needs, so it's more profitable to keep this resource for your own needs.

— Right. — Mayuri-san smiled contentedly, as did her husband. — It is in the best interest of the clan to have such resources, and one should always look ahead.

— Rose quartz is used to stabilize and regulate reactions in alchemy and potions. There is also an outcropping of a vein of gold in that crevice, though a rather poor one. It is deeper, though, and many people have died trying to mine it. The thing is, there are a lot of cracks and failures, mining operations cause new displacements and failures, and working there is not only dangerous, but deadly dangerous even with modern technology, even if someone would let that technology on the island. In short, even the most stupid people have realized by now that the gold mine is inaccessible, and we have stopped mining quartz.

— Hmmm... — I said quietly, trying to figure out how I could get my hands on that "despicable" metal.

— About your sapphire. From time to time people find gems of various sizes and values, so your case is not unique. Although, I have to admit, you got lucky.

— In what way? — I don't have to pretend to be interested. It's there.

— Your stone has good color and clarity, and it's large. If you cut it, it could sell for a lot of money, not only in the magical world, but also among ordinary people.

— But I have a feeling that cutting it won't be cheap... — I said thoughtfully.

— That's right, but cutting the stone reveals not only its beauty, but also its magical potential, so it's better not to sell it uncut. That's my advice.

— Thank you. — I gave the man a serious nod, for it was good advice. — What other stones did you find? And have you tried to mine the streams?

— They have been mined, privately, by ordinary people, and we have not stopped them. Why not? Because we bought the stones ourselves. Even the size of your stone was very small, and everything is described in detail. — The man was silent for a while, sipped his tea and continued. — We found mostly sapphires and topazes, a few small rubies, as well as apatite, garnet, quartz, cordierite, tourmaline, zircon, spinel, epidote. All different colors.

— What a rich mountain. — I exhaled in admiration, unable to contain myself. A comparison to a fairy tale I'd seen as a child came to mind.

— Yes, — the man nodded contentedly. — The stones here are varied, and the rubies and sapphires are as good as the most famous deposits in the world.

— Do you mind if I stay on the mountain a little longer than usual? — No, really, I couldn't help it.

The man just grinned, friendly, his wife — too, but added.

— Just be careful, you can easily break something in the dark, so dusk is the deadline. — said the woman seriously, not taking her eyes off me.

— I understand. — I nod again, lowering my eyes in a kind of submission and understanding.

— Well, if so...

And then I went to the veranda and thought about my plans for the rest of the time. Well, since it's SUCH a big deal, I can cut back on the training, and I can cut back on some things, and I can continue with my studies. I don't know what happened to me, but as soon as I picked up that dark stone, I wished it was not just one, but full handfuls, even more.

 I don't know what I need them for — I don't know, honestly, I just want them, and there is no desire to resist. So I need to make a work plan and figure out how to get more stones out instead of chasing spiders with one stone every time...