Liquid Liabilities (npc shiji)

The booth was anything but unassuming. It was, in fact, VERY assuming. The dilapadated booth with it's hastily scrawled sign set off a hint of warning... but curiosity killed the cat, not the Shiji-long, and so she made her way over with the burning inquizitiveness of any soon-to-be-dead cat. 
"If you get something good, I'll reward you." came the hissing voice from a shadowy being. She practically leaped a foot in the air, tensing with the shock and surprise.
"Oh my goodness!" she gasped, clutching her hand to her breast as if her pearls were due to be snatched at any moment. "Why, I didn't even see you there! Pardon me, but... I.. Your booth is... Intriguing? And... mildly intimidating.."The ingredients laid out all seemed to be fantastic in nature--why, she'd never even heard of any of these!  Curiosity bloomed into excitement, and excitement flowered into anticipation.  Without much thought put into her actions, she hastily--and wthout much grace--  grabbed several ingredients before actually peering into the cauldron. The concoction within roiled and bubbled, the 'fire burn and cauldrom bubble' of the old rhyme immediately shooting to the forefront of her mind.  
Hesitance creeped into her expression then, a bit of apprehension as she lifted her eyes back to the shady shopkeep. She could swear she heard a hissing snicker from beneath those heavy shadows.
But no. She would not be deterred, not by a long shot.   With a brand new detemmie--er, determination, she picked up the first ingredient. A mushroom of some sort. She didn't know what it was called, but now that she had it in her hands, it was... fascinating. The colors were so vidvid, she swore it had a light, pulsating glow when tucked into the shadows. Eventually, she tore her attention away, and dropped the first ingredient into the cauldron with a comically tiny 'plip'. Almost immediately, the cauldron responded in kind, belching out a plume of gaseous steam that seemed to her like it was retaliation. 

"Okay, lets pick the next one." 

Some sort of...scroll? No, it was tree bark! Tied almost delicately with a red ribbon, rolled coils of tree flesh that smelled weirdly to her like..dragonsblood? She brought it to her nose and sniffed again. Cinnamon, maybe? She paid no thought to the fact that she was standing here at this shady stall, sniffing things out in the open air.  Well, perhaps this would get a better response from the cauldron, and so she dropped it in as well--after removiing the ribbon, and tying it into a bow on the bar of the stand. There, it could use a little decoration! Perhaps it would be a little more inviting now.
The cauldron sat still for a moment, the rolling boil coming to a simmer befoe exploding once again in a vibrant new color, bubbles rising to the surface and popping with hints of spiced smoke. It smelled...good? She leaned over the cauldron and wafted the air into her nose, inhaling deep-and then proceeding to fall into a fit of coughing, as she'd suddenly gotten a whiff of those mushrooms again.
She quickly regained her compsure, and patted her chest to wheeze out the last cough before picking up a third and final ingredient. A beautiful flower, a bloom which she was unfamiliar with. The petals were nearly unnatural in their hue, and even the scent was otherworldly in a way she couldn't place.
Over and over, she twirled the bloom in her fingers, watchin as a tiny plume of glowing pollen drifted down onto her hands. Oh, how delightful! A touch of glitter never hurt anybody.
But she suddenly got the feeling that she shouldn't admire it too long--what if it wilted in her hands? And so, with a sigh and a flourish, she dropped it into the cauldron.
Whatever happened next would be up to fate, chance, or destiny.