We Can't Go Back

[Slayer of the Rot]

Dan Lagh'ratham's black-suit clad form cut easily through this day's Bazaar rabble. Even if he was able to change his appearance on a whim these days, the people still recognized his presence, or at least, the feeling of something...off about him. Perhaps it was the way he walked, or his eyes -- or maybe it was just the enormous black blade he was carrying on his back. He had business with the merchants and the sword on this day, and thankfully for his short fused temper and the people within a mile radius, no one got in his way.

As he entered one of the innumerable armories in the district, the Saraelian grunted and hitched the sling off his shoulder. With it came the Bhidyate, all two hundred and fifty pounds of it. Despite it's considerable girth and length, hanging from one upturned hand, the man carried it without any considerable effort.

Truth be told, he wanted to be rid of the thing. He was sure they had gotten the point -- they being the slain and defeated at his feet, the ones who ran their mouths with rumors in the taverns -- that he was strong. Monstrously so. Bhidyate had been a great tool; if any of his strokes had connected, it was sure to be fatal or otherwise cripple. However, the application of the sword had been simple. Admittedly, he felt dimwitted when swinging it. He supposed it was what a mouth breathing troll experienced when swinging it's big knobby club. The Saraelian was afraid if he used it any longer, his form with the sword would degenerate into chop-chop-smash.

"Hi. I'd like to sell a sword and commission a new one today." Dan settled Bhidyate carefully on the ground leaned it against the counter, which creaked at the new weight. A cigarette appeared in hand and a streak of flame ignited it, though any trace of the match or lighter was gone in what could have been misconstrued as sleight of hand.

[Bazaar Proprietor]

George B. Sellings was somewhat surprised that someone like Dan Lagh'ratham could saunter into the bazaar, given the notoriety that the the warrior had achieved received recently. However, since the powerful warrior seemed to be interested in selling a weapon, Sellings was very interested in buying it back. He knew there was a certain price for a weapon of delyn, and there was another price if that weapon had at one time been owned by Dan Lagh'ratham.

What Mr. Sellings did not know, of course, was whether or not Dan would understand the distinction. He knew very few warriors understood the system of supply and demand that underpinned Althanas. In fact, it was those warriors that made up the majority of his profit margin.

"Well," Mr. Sellings began, inspecting the sword, pretending as if he cared more about the awesome weapon's quality than its reputation. "How long have you had this, a weapon like this could get damaged pretty easily. I'll be happy to take a comission from you, but I'd imagine you'd like to know how much your weapon is worth first."

(Could you give me a link to Bhidyate?)

[Slayer of the Rot]

"How long have a I had it? You're testing my memory, now. I rarely have to remember things like this. Well, I had it maybe a year after I took leave to Fallien...so I'd say now, about three years." Dan wrapped a hand around the sword's hilt and drew it out of the sling, then held it across the counter, so Sellings could inspect it's wide blade.

"As you can see, it has a few hairline cracks. I had to sharpen it only a few times though. It's definitely got it's problems, but hell, what sword resold at the Bazaar doesn't? The thing is in better condition than it should be simply for the fact that it's so dense. I'd have shattered a lesser sword." The Saraelian flipped the massive blade over so the merchant could inspect the other side. Twisting his fingers around, he gripped the pommel and held the blade up in a surprising display of balance, staring at the sword as he spoke instead of Sellings.

"If you tell your customer that the sword belonged to me, maybe the weight of the name attached to it would help add a bit to the price, eh? And hell, if you don't end up reselling it, it is about two hundred and fifty pounds of delyn. You could make a few new swords or such out of the scrap metal." As Dan tapped away the lingering ash from his cigarette, it vanished before it even could think of tasting Selling's floor. Over the many years on Althanas, the merchants had bought from him and armed him without a single instance of complaint. They were one of the few beings that warranted his respect -- if that could be said to be worth than anything. There was still no doubt that if the opportunity arose, he wouldn't stab Sellings and rob him blind.

Still, Dan remained in his typical stone faced business posture, smoking and waiting for Sellings to finish inspecting the sword.

[Bazaar Proprietor]

Sellings was somewhat surprised by the quality condition of the weapon. From reputation, he known Dam Lagh'ratham to be a brute, and not the kind of person who paid attention to the quality of his weapons. "This is worth about 1450 pieces of gold as is," Sellings lied, knowing that in truth it was worth far more. With a little bit of repair, he anticipated gaining a net profit of 100,000 gold off the weapon between the resale value and the prestige that owning Bhidyate would give his shop.

However, there was something about the blade that a less discerning eye might have failed to notice, and that was that the weapon was enchanted. Sellings debated being silent about that, but he realized that he could ill afford to do that if he wanted to understand how the weapon actually worked.

After a quick cost benefit calculation, Sellings asked Dan the question. "This is enchanted, is it not?" he asked. "I sense holy in it, but I would like to know its potency better."

[Slayer of the Rot]

"Oh, hell, I keep forgetting about that enchantment." Dan lifted the Bhidyate back and cast a sour glance past the sword towards Sellings. He'd been to the Bazaar numerous times over the years, enough times that he was known as a golden customer with his big bulk orders. And with as much as he'd sold, he had at least enough cursory knowledge to estimate the costs of his things. The price seemed awfully low for a sword like his, but he brushed it aside for the moment.

"Just recently I engaged one of Xem'Zund's chosen in Raiaera. I fought her with my best, but she seemed invulnerable. I could have dropped a house on her and she would have dusted off her shoulders like nothing had happened. At first, cutting her with this sword didn't do anything but get it dirty. But I remembered the enchantment and invoked it. The holy power managed to burn the Necromancer's chosen severely and stunt her regenerative abilities. If it can do something like that that such powerful and feared black magic is aiding, vampires, zombies, and many of the other undead stand little chance against it." Dan smirked. Killing Cydonia had felt great, and he knew it had to have put him in the Black's good graces.

"Now, this blade has killed a lot of soldiers. A lot of potential heroes, a lot of potential threats to the world. Hell, I've even put it up against my brother. The sword's got history. So are you really trying to tell me something like this, a collector's item too, mind you, is worth only a paltry fourteen fifty pieces? Come on, old man." The counter creaked as Dan leaned into it, his eyes flat and humorless, his smile with all the good will of the Bhidyate's edge.

"We both know quality when we see it, huh? Don't insult me."

[Bazaar Proprietor]

"We both know quality, that is correct Mr. Lagh'ratham," Sellings agreed. "Let me tell you this though, I am the only one between us that understands market forces. However, what is the issue of a good five hundred gold pieces among friends. 1950, perhaps?"

Sellings concealed a smug expression. It was very fortunate being, by far, the smartest merchant in the bazaar. Anyone else would have seen a large chunk of delyn that they could have melted down. If Dan had been around, he would find that the prices he was receiving were quite generous in comparison. If he needed to go comparison shop, Sellings was certain he'd be back.

"And that price, is considering the high quality of the holy enchantments," Sellings said. "The price, of course, is more than fair... at, for a brave warrior, an even 2000?"

[Slayer of the Rot]

"That sounds much better...ah. I never caught your name. Yeah, though, your a man with an eye on you. You know the good stuff when you see it."

'That's about how much I paid for it, too. Not exact, but it's a better deal than that fourteen hundred crock of shit.' Dan took another drag off his cigarette and when he glanced towards Bhidyate, it was gone, now behind Sellings, in his possession. Yawning, the Saraelian twisted around so he could look out the door while he dug through the pockets of his suit.

"Now, about the sword...I think I'd be here all day, if I were to stand here and try to remember everything from memory. So, while I was in Alerar on business, I found some paper and a fountain pen and draw this up." Turning back, Dan unfolded a square of paper and smoothed it out on the counter. Detailed on it was a basic design of a two handed great sword, in the simple cruciform shape common around the world. However, it was designed to be all one complete piece. Up the hilt and across the crossguards were a few scribbled designs that showed just how lacking the Saraelian was in the arts. They managed to give the impression of the design, though. A quarter of the blade had wide, wicked serrations upon it, and the remainder was a symmetrically undulating length that flared at the tip. The dimensions of the weapon were written neatly close by -- or as neat as he had the patience to write. It was designed to be considerably lighter than the Bhidyate; while possessing it's same length, it was more balanced and had a great deal less bulk than the delyn sword.

"I'm looking to get this in damascus, if I can," Dan said, leaning over the information. "I was hoping for either masterwork or excellent quality on this weapon. You seem like a capable man. I'm sure you have the resources for it."

[Bazaar Proprietor]

"George B. Sellings," Sellings replied. "I'm the proprietor of this establishment." His answer was somewhat distant, as his mind was already beginning to imagine the number of hours his dwarf slaves would have to work to make the weapon that Dan Lagh'ratham wanted. In fact, it was the kind of request with just so much vanity that had it been a lesser customer, Sellings might have been inclined to overcharge preposterously.

Once Sellings had calculated the time and materials involved in a damascus deal, he frowned. He didn't like the idea of Dan leaving with money, even if he was getting the Bhidyate out of the deal. "Your sword in damascus would be 1364 or 1591, depending on the effort you wanted my craftsmen to put into it," Sellings began. "But wouldn't you prefer mythril at 2100 or 2450 for the same quality of work?"

[Slayer of the Rot]

"Mythril? Err...I don't know. Sure, it's stronger than damascus. But the delyn was stronger than the damascus. I was always just neurotically worried about running Bhidyate against something in Prevalida. You know how it's prone to just shatter like glass, Sellings, I know you do. The pro-blem is the weight, I guess." Dan jerked his head hard to the right, to the left, and then up, painfully stretching the muscles before bringing his cigarette to his lips.

"My fighting style relies on a sword with a good heft to it, for the most part, for mid-range combat. If the sword is too light, I run the risk of overextending with my slashes. The heft provides a sort of balance. I'll tell you what. If you can manage to keep it's weight despite a mythril construction, I'll buy it as a mythril masterwork. If you can't, I'll buy it in damascus masterwork, as I'd intended with the design." The Saraelian loosened his grip on the spent cigarette between his fingers, and the litter vanished.

"When should I come pick it up?"

[Bazaar Proprietor]

Sellings thought through Dan's proposition. Weighting the weapon wouldn't be too difficult. It wouldn't be particularly easy, but with masterwork quality craftsmen, nearly anything was possible. For a moment, Sellings thought about jacking up the price a bit, but there already was a bit of overhead built in to the price of the weapon already, so he was willing to take that margin down if it meant that Dan would leave the store both without Bhidyate and having his pockets a bit lighter.

"It can be done, I assure you," the bazaar proprietor said. "Either by weighting the hilt, with enchantments, or using some heavier quality mythril."

He thought about how long the weapon would take. In the old days, it would have taken less than a few minutes, but Sellings had replaced most of the skilled craftsmen in his workshop with underaged fae just to keep prices down. Instead, he would have to send someone teleporting back to the workshop, and then they would have to get one of the few master craftsmen that Sellings still employed to take care of the order. All in all, three days would have been a conservative estimate, but the merchant was sure that for Dan Lagh'ratham, an exception could be made.

"Twenty hours is all I ask for your purchase to be fashioned," the shopkeeper said. "You may leave Bhidyate here now if you wish, or carry it with you when you return. It seems the blade isn't quite nearly as heavy for you as it would be for some of the fools who will try and buy it."

[Slayer of the Rot]

"Very well," Dan muttered as coins began to swell into a small glittering pile in his hand, rising from nowhere. "That's a reasonable enough amount of time. More than reasonable, I suppose. I've heard a lot of shops around here taking up to three days just to produce their wares....it's horseshit. Laziness. Ineffectual new people that simply don't know what they're doing. I used to be able to come here and get my thing immediately or within a day's time, like now. Though I suppose supply and demand has risen considerably, with all these wars."

Straightening his posture, Dan stood away from the counter and set the remainder of the sum upon it. He glanced at Bhidyate while he adjusted his suit, and sighed. "I'll leave it here. The services are paid for, and for some reason, I trust you, to a small degree. Under the dapper exterior, I can sense a cut throat. Not to mention, you remind me of an old, favorite merchant of mine...John G. Merchantman. Good guy. Never could find him again. At any rate, I'll be back tomorrow. Same time."
_____

When the sun had drawn high in the sky on the next day, the beast in the black suit appeared again in Selling's shop, if not a few minutes earlier than the day past. Primarily, it was simply the excitement of picking up the new weapon. It was most certainly his imagination, but his hands had seemed to ache during the wait, yearning to hold the new blade. He paused in the middle of the showroom floor, producing another cigarette from nothing.

"Sellings! I'm back! Where's my sword?"

[Bazaar Proprietor]

Sellings smiled. Dan's timing had been fortuitous, had the warrior arrived but seconds earlier, Sellings would have had to have explained sheepishly that the weapon was not ready. Instead, he had a few children who were paying off stolen pieces of candy polishing the weapon so that its luster was at its finest when Dan came to see it.

"Your sword will be here in seconds," Sellings said, calling to the back before two dwarves came out carrying the weapon. They laid it at Dan's feet for inspection.

"Any issues with it, we will take care of them," Sellings said, certain that Dan Lagh'ratham wouldn't have any. Even if he did, the Bhidyate was hung prominently on a nearby wall, suggesting that if Dan wanted to resort to such measures, he would have been able to steal the weapon back.

[Slayer of the Rot]

Dan held one hand over the finished sword, and if he heard anything that Sellings had said, he didn't show it. The blade rose with a careful pace until the hilt rested against his palm. "Yeah...great work. Better than that lunk of delyn. I probably couldn't bust this thing even if I tried." The Saraelian went about inspecting the weapon, laying it across his arm and checking for any crooked defects down it's straight length. There was nothing though, of course. There was rarely, if ever a flaw, in a masterwork item.

"Incredible work...exactly as I was hoping for." To Dan, the sword was more than just a weapon. For him, it was something of a symbol. The stink of blood on him was so great that animals had begun to avoid him. His hands and the tools that had been guided by them were so stained that by this point, he was irredeemable, save for divine intervention, and really, what god would want to bother himself with a madman?

"It's one of the finest swords I've seen in a long time, but any sword can look and feel good. It requires a test...it needs to take it's first life." The mythril great sword vanished, and a plume of smoke jetted from his clamped lips.

"Payment given, goods received. Pleasure doing business, Sellings..." Dan Lagh'ratham turned slowly and walked out of the shop, leaving Bhidyate behind for good.

[Bazaar Proprietor]

Sellings was pleased. He had gotten the Bhidyate and 450 pieces of gold in exchange for a weapon that while difficult to craft, did not nearly have the lore of a weapon formerly used by Dan Lagh'ratham. Perhaps the new blade one day would be known the way the Bhidyate was, and it would also be known as a weapon procured for Dan by George Sellings. The entire exchange had been a marketing coup. He looked forward to having Bhidyate for the resale.

(Slayer of the rot loses the Bhidyate and 450 GP and gains his mythril custom sword and 100 EXP.)