Jensen never really understood why people were so happy with celebrating their birth. What exactly did it accomplish other than reminding one that death was just getting closer, or in his case, never going to come. And who in the name of the horsemen thought that it was necessary, a social obligation, to buy presents for the birthday boy or girl? Jensen was riddled with questions in his mind, and he looked to Stephanie as she walked next to Azza, smiling as they both looked at hats and dresses.
He smiled to his little girl, noticing she was getting older each day, and not in that sage like way of wisdom, but actually getting a bit taller, and though she did an excellent job of hiding it, she was getting stronger. A constant reminder that he knew so little of the girl he called daughter.
But that wasn't why they all perused the bazaar today. Azza's birthday wasn't for a while, and neither was Stephanie's. Jensen would have killed anyone if they knew the day he was born, as the immortal chucked that aspect of humanity aside a long, long time ago. So who did the immortal shop for on his day off?
Adolph Gretzel, his comrade from the Knights of Apocalypse.
Of course, Jensen refused to participate, but the whining complaints and threats from Stephanie persuaded the immortal to move onwards as they both looked for a present to get a man Jensen was quite frankly at odds with. Adolph had, after stressful circumstances, decided to come out of the closet and ask Stephanie to be with him.
That was okay with the immortal, the guy had seen a lot of death that would make any mortal gain the courage they once lacked, but what he wasn't so keen on was the way Adolph made it sound like the enigmatic immortal was no good for Stephanie. He tried to convince his girlfriend that the man she loved was a bigot, a fool, and only wasting her time on fairy tails that will never come true. He let that slight pass, only for the insane pressure the knight was under, but that still made Jensen wary around him.
Stephanie, however, ignored the comments, filing his feelings into the drawer that nobody looks in. She pretended the event never happened and actively went out of her way to try and make sure Adolph was okay, which annoyed the immortal. Wasn't she just making it worse? Still, it wasn't his life to live, it was hers, and he had to love the good and tolerate the bad. So he reluctantly agreed to this little play date and now he looked at a weapons shop window and pointed to the sign.
"They do enchantments, they do custom designs, and they do inscribing." Stephanie looked to the window sign and nodded to her lover, leaning forward and kissing his shoulder as Azza held her hand. Jensen ruffled his daughter's hair under her straw hat, smiling as he dropped a few gold coins into her skirt pocket.
"Don't want you in here, kiddo. To many sharp objects. Go buy us some ice cream and wait at the parlor. I'll take chocolate." Azza smiled to her father and waved to her mother goodbye before walking off. She was old enough to be int he shop, he knew, but that didn't make him worry any less.
The lovers walked into the store and a small bell trickled off the frame signaling a customer had entered. The shopkeeper eyed them and smiled, waving hello but making no immediate move to start the annoying process of talking to a shopkeeper. The two looked at the weapons and the designs and stopped before a small counter where custom orders could be made. They looked at prices, nodded to each other as they figured it would be okay.
"Hello," Stephanie said lightly to the keeper, waving him over in a very polite manner to indicate she was ready to begin the purchase. As the shopkeeper walked over she pointed to Jensen who cleared his throat and began talking.
"Buddy of ours is getting a promotion, going to be some kind of spiritual leader for the Ixian Knights, and we want to get him a birthday present that is practical and also signifies his status as the Chaplain of the Ixian Knights."
"We are thinking of getting a dehlar shaft, one to two handed, maul, leather grip dyed a crimson red. The mace head is to be designed in the shape of a heraldic cross, like most Paladin knights wear to battle, and bronzed if possible," Stephanie said placing a page of the Tome of War upon the desk. "Gold inscriptions from this paper wrapping around the cross as well please. The material can be of any quality that allows for the following enchantments," Stephanie said as she reached into Jensen's coat and pulled out a piece of paper.
"We'd like it to, upon the activation of a rune or word of power (whichever is cheaper) grant the force of the blows dealt at a minimum of three times the strength of the average human soldier. Can you also give us a quote for four times and fives the strength as well?" Stephanie added.
They both let the information sink in, dropping all their paperwork on the details of what they wanted and letting the shopkeeper look at the designs.
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