“All right,” called the quartermaster, “who’s next?”
Malachai stepped forward. “I’d like an amulet of the devout, please,” he said.
The goliath behind the counter gave a booming chuckle. “Wouldn’t we all,” he said. “I don’t have one of those, and if I did it’d be above your pay grade, son.”
“Well then,” asked Malachai, “what about a cloak of protection?”
“That I do have,” replied the quartermaster. He shuffled through some papers. “It’ll cost you 3500 gold.”
“Oh,” said Malachai, clearly disappointed. “What can I get for 1000 gold, that isn’t a weapon?”
“Hmm.” The quartermaster thought for a moment, rubbing his chin. “I have healing potions, but I don’t suppose you need those. Let me go check the bargain bin.” He left for a minute and Malachai could hear him rummaging around somewhere behind the racks of shelves.
The quartermaster returned and placed a small, shiny object on the counter. “I can give this to you for a thousand,” he said.
To Malachai, it looked like a cheap glass gem. “What is it?” he asked.
“I don’t rightly know what it’s called,” said the quartermaster. “Someone picked it up last year. Far as I know, it casts calm emotions once a day.”
“Calm emotions?”
“That's right.”
“Fine,” said Malachai, sounding frustrated. “I’ll take it.” He grabbed a requisition form and scribbled his signature.
Malachai left the office, peering at the gem, shaking it, and holding it to his ear. “Could be useful,” he muttered to himself, “with a half-orc on the squad.”
Actually, the gem is a rhinestone of power, which is like a pearl of power (2024 version) except it only works for spell slots of level 1 or 2.