Idle hands...

[Kovalai]

Er, oops. I'm rather on the wrong account. Shall we all pretend this never happened? ^^;

[Archaon]

A now familiar sense of excitement was building in Rûn as the streets of Radasanth quickly filled with people rising with the sun. The same feeling had struck him every day since his arrival. There were so many people. It was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. In only the last hour, he was sure he had walked past several times the entire propulation of Nalinah, the hamlet closest to his home. The pavement, pavement, rang beneath his feet, as alien to him as the rest of this place of stone and plaster, of life and lifelessness. The duality of the place strummed a chord in him he hadn't known existed.

The wonder of it all was a little disturbing, but fortunately, Rûn was able to distract himself with the seemingly far to heavy coin purse hanging from his belt. He had never owned so much money, and it left him a little paranoid. Surely, he get rid of some of it, and lighten the burden during his travels. Nodding to himself, he wove his way through the streets that made up the Bazaar.

His path eventually eventually led him to the door of a little shop, that might have been spacious had it not been crowded with all manner of arms and armor. Rûn realized he was a bit out of his depth here, but, a hero needed more than an old sword. Or, at least, in all the stories they had more than a sword. He wasn't sure exactly what was required to be a hero, but he wasn't going to let that stop him. He schooled his expression to its normal friendly confidence, and looked around for someone who might be able to give him a hand.

[Moonlit Raven]

I watched the male that entered my shop for a moment. I knew my shop was crowded. Any shop would be if they had a blacksmith that loves his job as much as Haldis does. Rounding the counter, I headed for the man not sure if I were visible over the shelves. Absently I grumbled to myself about my stature, disliking that most of the world's population was much taller. Oh well, it's not as if I could change it and probably nor would I. In a fight, ducking, I'm a whole lot shorter than most people aim for. Chuckling quietly, I stepped forward to greet the man.

"Hello, what can I help you with today?"

[Archaon]

Rûn spun toward the greeting, and as the woman appeared offered his most charming smile. He had quickly learned in the last few years that he was often considered a shockingly good looking boy, and though, really, he didn't expect that to aid him in this endeavor, he figured it couldn't hurt much. He grinned and gave her a bow that was as graceful as it was unpracticed. "Greetings miss! I would be forever in your debt if you could aid me, I seek equipment for my travels. My name is Rûn." To his own ears, his voice sounded deeper, more confident than normal, but the thought was gone the moment it appeared.

"Though it embarrasses me to say so, I am a hero, and feel I could better experience the world were I less ill-equipped..." His eyes flew around the room distractedly, never staying anywhere long enough to take in any real information. "I was considering, perhaps an additional weapon, but I do favor the sword... and I don't really desire more cumbersome armor. I think the best purchase I could make at this time would be a shield of some sort."

He smiled at Elena again. "Unless, of course, you could make some suggestions?"

[Moonlit Raven]

I arched a brow at the young man and pointed looked him over before shaking my head slightly with a faint grin. How eager and self-confidant the young are. Cute, but I've seen better among the Moontae. I could feel the grin widen slightly. Then again few species could compete with them, sex demons are built for well... I let the thought fade away deliberately.

"I'm Elena, pleased to meet you. For a hero, shields are always a good start. Defense will keep you alive longer than offense will." Beckoning Rûn to follow her she headed for the section that housed all of her shields.

"Have you given thought to the size and type of shield you'd like? Or the metals used. Also, if you think a sword would be a better place to start I carry just about everything you can think of. I myself carry a falchion and a few daggers when I'm not working in the Bazaar." Slightly, self-conscious I brushed at the skirt of the red silk sundress I wore and frowned a little.

"For swords; consider reach, weight, one hand or two hands."

[Archaon]

Rûn followed Elena through the isles, looking at the plethora or merchandise and listening distractedly, until she began talking about swords. His attention snapped back to her, and confusion stole his smile. His hand dropped protectively to the hilt of his sword, unconsciously reassuring himself of its presence. A moment later understanding dawned on him and a laugh escaped his lips. "Miss Elena, you misunderstood me," He smiled apologetically, "I was merely thinking aloud that I already have a sword that I'm quite happy with, and thus probably don't need another weapon.

"I think I should begin with a shield, as you say. I was thinking some sort of kite shield, mayhaps made of oak, or linden if you have it. I doubt I could afford Elkan or anything like that. Could it be rimmed in steel, for increased strength?"

[Moonlit Raven]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Running through the prices of shields I glanced at the pre-made shields and tacked on the price of banding the edges with steel.

"A kite shield in oak is 60 gold. To have the edges reinforced with steel is 30 gold. I know that it would take Haldis a day to get the job done properly. Is 90 gold within your price range Rûn?"

[Archaon]

Rûn smiled weakly at Elena when she named her price. The boy had grown up in a house with two rooms, where spending more than a few gold on anything seemed extravagant. He could afford the shield, but surely he could talk the price down, or at least get something else out of it.

"Uh, I suppose that's the standard price for a shield like that then? If I bought that, I... wouldn't have any money left at all.

"Back home, I would've just slept in the woods; here, I need to spend money in an inn that I wouldn't be able to afford, especially if I have to wait here for an extra day...

"Is... it possible that you could perhaps sell it to me for just a little cheaper? I really need that shield." Rûn grinned at Elena, "See, I promised someone I wouldn't die, and that isn't a promise I want to break."

[Moonlit Raven]

I frowned slightly then pushed away the strained expression, I hated my job occasionally.

"I'm afraid that I quoted the base price. The steel could be down graded to iron that would knock 15 gold off the price." I looked away, quickly glancing at the shields as thought over the different variations of shields and prices.

"You could choose to not add the metal at all." I offered as a after thought.

[Archaon]

I'm really sorry this is so late

Rûn cursed silently to himself. He could've sworn she would've gone for the 'don't want to die' thing. Should he push a little bit more though? He gave Elena a considering look... and decided that she wasn't going to budge. Better to pay and get out of here a bit earlier. Especially if he was going to spend all his money. He'd need to find a place to spend the night again. The brunette from last night probably wouldn't let him stay again. He sighed; if he had known he wasn't leaving today, he could've left a little bit later. Oh well.

Quitting his musings, Rûn smiled at Elena. There was no reason to hold her pricing against her, after all. "I'll take the oak shield with the steel edging, please." He took a moment to collect his money, and offered her the asked-for sum.

[Moonlit Raven]

Nodding, I accpeted the gold and placed it in a pouch hanging from my waist. I took a moment to look over the oak shields avabile and choose the one I thought to be the sturdiest.

"If you'll give me a few mintues I'll have the banding in place and secure." I hurried for the back room where Haldis often worked, forging new weapons and repairing old ones. I waved as he glanced up at me and headed for my own little station in the corner. It took only a moment or three to fit the shield with the steel banding. A dozen strikes later and steel nails were driven through the metal and into the wood. I hesistated for a second before striking the edge where metal met wood and bent the steel into the wood. Warping it just enough to make the metal grip the wood.

Critcially I inspected the shield again to make sure none of the wood had split. Sasitifed that the shield was still sound I hurried to carry the shield out to Rûn.

"Here you go." I gnawed on my lower lip for a moment, thinking. "If you can't return to the Inn where you were staying there is a Inn six doors down. Tell old man Keller I sent you and you won't be charged for the night. It's a little loud at times but they have great food and the rooms are clean."


Transaction complete. Archaon loses 90 GP gains and gains 100 EXP for good IC interactions.