Gypsy wares

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GYPSY WARES

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MOB
a dark-eyed Gypsy woman
Festooned with brightly coloured scarves, a dark-eyed Gypsy woman is here with a basket of charms.
This woman, with her swarthy skin and dark, knowing eyes, is difficult to place in terms of age. She has long, curly hair which is as black as pitch, held back from her face by a bright violet bandana. She wears traditional Gypsy clothes, and over those she is decorated with brightly coloured scarves and glittering gold jewellery. She holds a basket of charms for sale.

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a charm for strength
A carved bone charm has fallen here.
Rough and masculine in appearance, this charm is about the size of a gold sovereign, carved from unpolished bone. Around the edge of the disc are deeply engraved runes, and in the center is an image of a hammer. Black dye has been rubbed into the engravings to make them stand out, but this charm is otherwise undecorated, a small hole in the top allowing a leather cord to be looped through so that the charm may be worn about the neck.


a charm for fertility
A round eggshell charm is here.
This charm has been cut from some kind of thick, blue-green eggshell which is so sturdy that it almost matches bone or seashell in hardness. It is a little bigger than a gold sovereign, and has been carved with runes and the image of a nest which brims with its own eggs. The eggshell has been polished to a shine, bringing up the natural colouration and contrast between it and the white of the layer beneath. A small hole in the top allows a leather cord to be strung through so that the charm may be hung about the neck.

a maiden's charm
A silver maiden's charm glimmers here.
This charm is small, a disc of silver barely bigger than a thumbnail hanging on a thin chain. Unidentifiable runes have been etched into the edges, and the image of a bird in flight adorns the front, its tiny wings cut in careful detail. If worn by a young woman, it's said that one of these charms will prevent her from becoming pregnant, no matter what dalliances she may entertain.

a charm for luck
A black and red charm has been left here.
Lightweight and disc shaped, this charm seems to have been carved from some form of ivory. It is perhaps half again as wide as a gold sovereign, and has been polished to a shine. Around the edge of the charm, a border has been etched and enameled with a pattern of red and black like that of a roulette wheel~; in the center, a pair of dice are depicted frozen in the act of tumbling, their enamel a bright red. A small hole has been bored through the top of the charm, allowing a thin leather thong to be looped through and used to wear the piece about the neck.

a charm for wealth
A polished green charm lies here.
This charm is disc shaped, and about twice the diameter of a gold sovereign. It has been crafted from the shell of an encrustacean, the crab's stony back having been polished and smoothed to reveal a lime green gem marbled through with veins of gold. Mysterious runes have been etched into the disc all around the circumference, black ink having been rubbed into them to make them stand out against the bright background. In the center of the disc is carved the image of a pair of hands, palms up as if waiting for something to drop into them, and at the top is a small hole, through which is looped a leather thong so that the charm can be worn about the neck.