Riding In Style

[Burly Knuckles]

clomp-a-clop clomp-a-clop clomp-a-clop...

The sound of hooves platting over the dusty road echoed behind Paj and his steed. Each step of Iblis' hooves was slightly muted by the layers of sand that laid over the stone street. Despite the traffic, the heavy winds often swept sands through the Fallien bazaar, especially on the far end where the large extravagant shops gave way to smaller tents, some with little more than a hand-painted sign to indicate what was inside. Paj's eyes scanned each, passing by one that specialized in musical instruments, another that was a spicery. He passed an apothecary as well, a small and discreet tent which no doubt housed several more elicit wares. But none of these were of interest to him.

Finally he saw at the end of the row of tarps and canvases bucking against the wind one last very large building: The stables. There were rows of bays and stalls where people were keeping their horses, and a small tie post out in front of the building. Gently steering Iblis slowly to the post, Paj reached down, patting her gently on the side of the neck.

"There, there... easy, girl." He said softly in his native tongue.

The horse shook her head quickly, whipping her mane about in his face. While most of it was covered by his masked turban, some of the hairs had whipped across his eyes, and he rubbed them gingerly to get the itching sensation out. Dismounting, the horse bucked onto her hind legs for a second, but not whinneying as Paj had suspected. Instead, she calmed back down relatively quickly, and let her rider tie her to the post.

Paj pushed open the large oaken door on the front of the building, a sharp gust of warm Fallien winds following him into the shop as a small bell rang over the door. He began surveying the inside for the owner. The stables was one of the last places people shopped at in the bazaar, but it was essential if you have a horse...

[Artifex Felicis]

"There you go girl," the young man said to his horse, brushing the coat carefully. IT was often the stable boy's job to take care of the horses earlier during the day. During the night, or when a customer came in, his boss would end up taking over. Until then though, he only had the horses for company. He didn't mind at all though, the horses provided good company and his mostly bare body was well used to the heat that crept into the darker stable. When the customer entered though, he immediately retrieved his master before going back to work. He only had a couple more minutes anyway until his female coworker came in for work anyway, and after that a hopefully romantic night.

"Yes, what do you want?" an older man replied. He was wide awake, and ready to do whatever needed to gain gold.

[Burly Knuckles]

Paj, having only seen the stable boy when he entered, began strolling across the dusty wooden floorboards of the stables, each creaking a bit as he laid elliptical footprints on them. His eyes scanned the thick wooden walls, seeing various tools and equipment for both equestrian and animal husbandry needs. His fingers ran along a leather bridle, the fingertips tracing along the brass rings at the bit, before entwining his fingers around the leather strap and giving a tug. Smirking to himself, he nodded.

The shop's not much to look at, nor well kept, but at least their craftsmanship is good.

He heard the old man shuffle to the front of the main room, and turned to face him. The storeowner had a voice that struck Paj as gruff only in sound, his eager tone made it seem like he was eager to please. Pulling loose a band of cloth from the front of his turban, he let the scarf-like band of fabric fall to drape over the front of his shoulder. His face exposed as a courtesy, he spoke up in Fallien.

"Barding. Iblis- my horse- she's gotten old enough now that I can buy barding without her outgrowing it in a few months. And there's enough danger out these days, that she needs protection just as much as I do, if not more."

Walking over to the counter, her leaned forward and placed a forearm across the countertop; it stood out as the one place in the store that was very well-kept, without any dust whatsoever on it. Looking at the storekeeper, Paj got a curious look on his face.

"I'm not sure if you'll have what I'm looking for, but I'll try. Firstly, it'll have to be light. I'd prefer it to weight her down as little as possible; I don't want her smothering beneath it in the heat of the desert. But it's still got to be tough, protect her."

His eyes looked up as he thought, as if scanning the air for an invisible answer that hung overhead.

"I imagine metal's going to be out in that case. The lightest metals are outside what I can afford. I'm thinking the bulk of it will have to be leather for the hindquarters and the flank. The part covering the head, chest and neck, though would need to be tougher. Wood might work well... perhaps Elkan?"

Paj shrugged as if unsure.

"Unless you have any 'professional' suggestions of different materials?"

[Artifex Felicis]

"Well, I've found that in Fallien your best bet is simply to keep the horse out of the way, the sand can easily get into eyes if one is not careful, and the horse could buck her rider," The stable master began. He opened a drawer, pulling out a smaller price sheet.

"Though, I have a spell set of eye protechtion for horses which can stop all but the worst sandstorms. Add in leather armor that'll help your horse from some strikes and she would be set for riding in Fallien. Metals wouldn't work so well, since unless your horse is a big girl, she probably couldn't even support them on her back and run quickly too. Leather would do best. Would need her for a while to get measurements, and to adjust as needed when the leather armor itself is complete. It'll probably take a day to finish, and be about 600 gold for everything. Is that okay?"

[Burly Knuckles]

Paj's lips curled into a sneer of disapproval, and not just at the price.

Great, I had to pick the shop that hasn't had business in a while and wants to fleece me by selling me things I don't need.

Leaning back from the counter, he huffed a bit, looking over the old man with an offended look.

"I have no need for your magic gloves- or any magical trinkets- to guard my horse's eyes. She's been raised in these storms, and her rider steers her well to avoid them. I'll have no worry for that."

Rolling his eyes a bit, he leans back, taking a step from the counter.

"So... there would be no need to 'add the armor' to that, since the armor would be the only thing I want. Now, you mentioned leather armor- as I had suspected I would have to use- so I am guessing that would be the only material you have available for the barding."

Clever of him to casually leave out the wood. No doubt he must be unable to get a shipment out here, and chose to leave it out rather than deliver that disappointing news

Reaching a hand to his side, he played gingerly with the pouch of gold at his side, jangling the coins loudly to try to tempt the storeowner.

"So, how much just to get the armor for the horse, without your grand 'magic gloves? I mean... I'm assuming, you can sell just the armor... right? Or was I supposed to take my business to an armorer?"

Sarcastically, he leans back, tapping the index finger of his right hand to his temple while jangling the coins with his left.

"I never can remember these things..."

[Artifex Felicis]

((I meant goggles, but that's just me being an idiot. Sorry.))

The stable man frowned at the customer, who seemed to explode off the handle. He was an older man, and could sense sarcasm often. It was what he used almost daily with his own workers.

"It'll be 550 gold pieces without the goggles," he replied, checking the prices easily enough. "And yes, I can sell just the armor sir. Unless of course you want something like wood, it will be leather. If you really want to know, just imagine thin wooden armor on a horse. Would hardly bend, would splinter anc crack just making the stuff and wouldn't be able to stand up to much more then a single strike. Even then, that same strikes could make the wound worse, with wooden splinters sticking into your horse's neck. I can tell by the sound that you don't have enough for worthwhile wooden armor either."

He smiled at the customer. "Sides, why would you every want to bother with something as cumbersome as wooden armor anyway?"

[Burly Knuckles]

Paj pursed his lips and tapped his chin thoughtfully.

I really should leave. This man may know stabling animals and tending them, but obviously doesn't know much for barding. That or he knows a lot about it and is going for the throat. What kind of person dealing with armor assumes wooden armor is just would rather than wood placed on leather backing? That's probably a sign there...

Going from tapping the chin to scratching it. Cuir bouilli- the kind of leeather traditionally used in these armors- was a bit more than the standard you might see a tanner ply for a cloak or such, but it still seemed overpriced in Paj's mind; not to mention it was out of his budget. Looking thoughtful for a moment, he tapped his foot gently on the dusty floors.

"Alright, and how about just for a partial set? Say we get rid of the parts for the hindquarters and the flanks... just doing the champron, crinet, and peytral (face, neck, and chest)... that should use only about a third of the leather as the full armor and be less work for you to fit to my filly. How much would you look at charging for that?"

Paj looked shrewdly as his hand went back to jingling the coins at his side. He was determined, and his face mirrored it as he leaned aggressively forward, being very concious to get just inside the owner's personal space. Leverage is everything.

[Artifex Felicis]

"Counting the fitting and whatnot, 400 gold for it," the stable hand replied. "Though, I would drop the chest and keep the flanks in my own opinion, as I'll keep the price the same for you."

[Burly Knuckles]

Outrageous. It seems he's decided to get rougher since he saw me haggle, probably feels I'm just some broke vagrant with nothing to offer. This is going to go nowhere.

Paj pulled the cloth of his mask back over his mouth, wrapping the linen fabric gently across his squared jaw from right to left. Smoothly tucking it into the folded portion of his turban above his left ear, it clung tight to him as he looked back with dissatisfaction. He just simply wasn't going to get what he wanted here.

"It would seem one of us has made a gross error, and wasted the other person's valuable time."

He turned sharply on his heels and made the sandpaper sound of dust grinding under his sandals. Without waiting for little more response from the owner, he pushed his way past the door as the little bell overhead clanged once more. While he may have come off as rude, he was simply busy and had a list of things to look into.

Well, my first choice didn't work. I'll have to pass on armoring my mount...

Paj turned to look at the rows of nearby tents. Some were labelled, others held their contents as mystery. The wind whipped around him, sending the folds of his flowing clothes flapping around him. Standing on the steps of the stables, he surveyed the bazaar nearby. While unimpressive in appearance, he was sure one of them would have something on his list. He spotted a tent with a small wooden sign, hand-painted with black paint to read "Homemade Glass".

Let's try the next thing on my list... he thought as he strode across the dusty street, small dust devils stirring around. Pulling aside the leathery flap on the front of the tent, Paj peeked his head inside.

"Hello?"

[Artifex Felicis]

"Yes, be with you in a minute" came the reply after a moment. The owner of the shop huffed, holding a long pole with a bright orange glow on the end of it. He waited a moment, thin muscles rolling and shaping the glowing orange goo. After achieving a long, pointier shape, the man pulled it back a bit, dipping the molten glass into a larger vat of cool water, releasing steam and dropping the glass work from the end of his pole. He leaned the pole away, careful not to let it fall to the side. He went over, sizing up his customer and adopting a more merchant like stance.

"I'm sorry about that, but what do you need?"