"Damn, Jim! Never do that again!"
Jim, slowly catching his breath, looked at the old man behind the counter, who looked as startled as himself. Then he noticed that the old man was wearing some kind of fancy bathrobe. He shrugged. Well, why not. It's his shop after all. But wait a sec...
"Hey, how do you know my name?"
"Why because I'm a wizard," the man drawled, spreading his hands.
"Uhu," Jim frowned, "Of course."
"Well, now what can I do for you?" the wizard asked. "Are you by chance looking for something for your girl-friend Sharon?"
Again Jim hesitated. That old tart sure knew something. He wondered if one of his pals, Rick maybe has already been here and set all this up. Anyway, he decided to play along.
"Yes," he answered, smiling. "Exactly. I wanted to surprise her with a piece of jewelry. I'm in to spend up to 200 bucks. So do you have something... magical?"
The old man noticed the way Scott italized the last word and frowned. He nearly decided to sell him something else than what he had in mind at first. But on the other hand, if Jim was willing to spend that much for his girl, she'll probably deserve it. So he raised his finger, signaling Jim to hold on a moment, went into the back of his store and came back with a small box. He put it on the counter and opened it, revealing...
Sun Sep 26 11:29:56 1999