826 Retrieval of Artifact Ⅱ

They had been chatting for some time when the door to the chamber swings open without even a polite knock at the door. There standing in the doorway is an elderly female goblin council member with rather pointed ears. Wulm sniffs loudly and sweeps into the room, before slamming the door loudly behind her in a dramatic fashion. "I do not like being disturbed without warning," Wulm grumbled carrying a sealed box under one arm.

Ragnok's lips twitch with resignation while Rowan ignores the elderly goblin's side remarks. With a loud grunt, Wulm deposits the small box onto the table, before roughly sliding it across the table towards Rowan. The box lets out a soft screech before sliding to an awkward halt in front of Rowan.

Rowan refrains from making a comment that lay on the tip of her tongue and instead wisely bites her tongue. She straightens the box in front of her with great care. Carefully, she opens the box and unconsciously holds her breath as she peers inside. There lying neatly in the middle of the box is round, thin, golden rimmed spectacles. She might not have chosen the color, but it was tasteful, a toned down golden color nor was the frame bulky with thick rims. The spectacles would do nicely since she would be stuck with them for the rest of her life.

Rowan let out a breath of relief that she did not know she had been holding in. She raises her gaze to the elderly master crafter and says, "You have my sincere praises and gratitude, Master Crafter Wulm."

"I do not produce trash, Miss Prince," Wulm loftily said with a smug expression. "Now if that is all that is wanted, this old bag of bones has things to do!" Without even waiting for a response, the elderly goblin moves nimbly across the room which should be impossible considering her age. The door opens and slams loudly after Wulm leaving the two behind her staring at the door.

Ragnok sighs and resists the urge to rub his face. "My apologies, Miss Prince, for Master Wulm's rudeness," he said with a thin smile. "But what can I say, artists, are very much a temperamental sort."

"There is no need to apologize for Master Wulm's temperament, Ragnok," Rowan said. "Now if I may have a moment's time alone. I wish to appreciate the masterpiece before me."

"Of course!" Ragnok hastily said in understanding. He clambered to his feet with the bank ledger in hand. "I shall be just outside the door should you need anything, Miss Prince."

Rowan merely nods her head at him and watches Ragnok hurriedly leave the room and close the door shut behind him. She lets out a tired sigh and closes her eyes for a moment, before opening them again. Her left eye had been throbbing since last night and it had only worsened after her Prefect duties on the Hogwarts Express and conversing with her grandfather. The artifact's retrieval could not have come at a better time.

With care, Rowan removes the round, golden-rimmed spectacles. The spectacles were thin enough to be flexible nor were they heavy or soft enough that a fall would break them. Upon closer inspection of the clear lenses, she could see rune marks on the inner frame side of the lenses and on the inside of the golden frames. According to what she had paid for, the runes would ensure that the lens and frames would be impervious to theft, destruction, damage, and more.

Most importantly the left lens would be adjusted to maintain the illusion of having the same colored eyes and to seal her sight of magic in her left eye. The seal on the left eye could be removed and the artifact would channel the excess magic to protect her sight and permit her to see without damage to her left eye. However, she would not attempt such a thing any time soon. Magic or no magic, she knew that her left eye was extremely sensitive and strained right now. Seeing any glimpse of magic right now would only serve to damage her eye permanently. She would have to wait until her left eye healed properly.

Rowan carefully places the spectacles on her face and a small smile appears on her face. She could not feel the spectacles on her face or any discomfort despite wearing them. Truly, Master Wulm was a master crafter.

Closing both eyes, Rowan takes a deep breath before removing the spell on her left eye. A surge of magic and agony begins to sweep through her that just abruptly and utterly vanishes having been neutralized by the spectacles. Hunched over she waits and feels nothing, before slowly opening her eyes to find that she can see normally without any twinge of pain from her left eye.

Rowan feels a hint of moisture in her eyes at the relief from pain, before blinking them away. She had not realized how much she had been in pain until the pain was now gone. It felt as though a weight had at long last been taken off her shoulders.

Glancing at the box again, Rowan finds a small piece of paper at the bottom of the box. Frowning, she reaches inside and removes the note that reads, "Prince, there are four magical instructions that the glasses are capable of. 'Unseal,' will remove the protection of the left lenses to view magic all while the crafted enchantments remain in place. 'Seal' will once more return the existing sealing protections. In the case, that you wish to remove the charm to hide thine left eye 'Reveal' will remove the charm and 'Return' will reactivate the former charm. The enchantments may be verbally or wordlessly invoked."

There is a pause as if Wulm the Master Crafter had just recalled a last-minute detail. "Prince, you can't sleep with the spectacles on. The enchantment may be verbally or wordlessly invoked, 'minutus,' and the artifact will shrink itself to an earing size and clamp itself to your ear as a piece of jewelry or simply tap on it twice with your finger. As long as the artifact is connected to your person, the sealing effects of the artifact will work should there be any need to remove them, but still have the artifact's effects to work. Please note to receive the full benefits of the artifact it must be worn as created for all intents and purposes!"

Rowan nods her head in wordless thanks. It had not even occurred to her that she would have to remove the artifact to sleep. In this manner, she would be able to maintain the seal in place keeping her mental wellbeing safe. Otherwise, she would go mad from the agony and lack of sleep. There is only so much the body can take before the body and mind begin to break down. That and thing's like showering or bathing…well, suffice to say it would be useful to have an artifact to automatically transform and attach itself to her ear as an earring.

A loud knock at the door brings Rowan out of her stupor as the figure of Ragnok can clearly be seen standing in the open doorway. "Miss Prince, I see that you are wearing the artifact," he said with great courtesy. "The Goblin King is ready to see you, if you would be kind enough to follow me that would be greatly appreciated."

"Thank you," Rowan said as she stood up, before recalling the need to destroy the sliver of parchment. She quickly mutters something under her breath turning the small piece of paper into ash. "What about the box?" She stopped to point at the box.

"It will return on its own to Master Wulm," Ragnok replied causing Rowan to stare with suspicion at the small box that still remained on the table.

Nothing happened to Rowan's embarrassment. She pointedly left the room, but the moment that Ragnok shut the door, the box snapped closed shut on its own, before vanishing. Whether it returned to Wulm or simply vanished out of existence only Wulm knew.