Spring Cleaning

[Bloodrose]

Arms and armor shops were a dime a dozen in Radasanth's Bazaar - carbon copies of one another that catered to the same clientele and stocked the same goods as everyone else. Most of the time Teric avoided such plain shops, opting for the more bizarre and exotically varied shops of the many side streets that veered off the main causeway, but today he wasn't really looking for anything exotic. Truth be told, he wasn't really looking for anything as all - besides someone willing to buy his spare bits of junk from him.

"One steel vambrace, a battle-worn steel breastplate, and the sword section of a steel swordcane." The mercenary intoned to the third merchant he'd come to today. This one's shop actually looked the part of a 'used goods' variety store, whereas the previous two had dealt only in new equipment. "We don't buy used arms and armor." They would say, dismissing the old veteran like he was some senile campaigner looking to unload his old garb for a few coins.

I just want rid of some of this stuff. Teric would think as he lugged his old gear from their shops. I don't need the money, I just don't have a use for the stuff.

"Assuming you'll actually buy it off me, how much will you give me for the lot?" Teric asked.

[AdventWings]

Jirou eyed each of the wares thoughtfully, calculating the worth of resale and reforge for each items so as to glean some profit while not entirely ripping off the man before him.

It was an odd deal for the blacksmith, really - not many people openly sell their old equipments like they were a dime a dozen. To him, the sword is the heart of a man - the worth of his soul and a lifetime companion.

Apparently, only true to a southern Akashiman.

"...Well, I guess I can take them off of you if you're really in need of money." Jirou nodded. "I'll give you a hundred and fifty for all three items. Is that a fair price?"

[Bloodrose]

One hundred and fifty? Teric was a little disappointed in the offer, considering he'd paid more than that for the swordcane alone all those years ago. The mercenary couldn't really blame the merchant though - not many people were stepping up at all to buy a beat up breastplate, 1 half of a set of vambraces, and a swordcane missing the broken "cane" section. At least this guy made an offer.

"Deal." Teric replied simply; glad to be rid of clutter he'd likely never miss. The swordcane he might miss slightly, if only because he thought it was a neat little weapon, but the novelty of such an item wears off after a while...

Since he was there, Teric glanced around the shop interestedly to see if there was anything that caught his interest. It was a pretty average store, with steel weapons ranging from axes to spears, knives to maces. There were a few interesting looking items of obviously Akashiman origin, but nothing really caught Teric's eye enough to make him want it. Afterall, he was here to slim down his inventory, not add new toys to it.

[AdventWings]

The blacksmith saw hesitation in the man's eyes after having completed the sales. Even still, it would be rude to just ask his customer outright about what he wanted to buy. If anything, the old mercenary looked ready for a retirement from the "slaying of beasts" business. Or perhaps the retirement was already long overdue.

The nagging feeling remained, however, and Jirou silently apologized to the Great Heron God of the Akashiman for his bad manners.

"Umm, may I ask if you have anything in mind that you would like to look at?"

Might as well strike up a conversation, thought the blacksmith. Maybe there was something he could do besides buying off the old man's equipments.

[Bloodrose]

Anything I'd like to look at, huh? Teric had already spent a moment glancing around the merchant's shop to see if anything caught his eye, but there really wasn't anything out in the open that attracted his attention. Swords and knives were prevalent everywhere, but he already had the finest sword a man could ask for, and a trust-worthy dirk as well. Of axes and maces and hammers there were plenty as well, but Teric thought of himself more as a finesse fighter than a brawler; heavy weapons didn't interest him.

Plenty of armor around...

Armor was something that usually slipped Teric's mind, mostly because he didn't rely on it overly much. He had his chain shirt to protect his vital organs, and vlince clothing to spare himself minor cuts, but other than that he was pretty much unprotected as far as armor went. No greaves, no gauntlets, no coif, no helmet... None of those sort of things attracted the veteran either. Finesse, speed - I don't need to be dragged down by armor...

"I'm not sure if there is anything here that catches my interest, I'm afraid." Teric said simply, as politely as he could. "I'm fairly well set with arms and armor, so I've already got the basics covered."

After a second long pause for thought, Teric added: "Probably the only thing I'm looking for right now would be someone to enchant my boots so that they maintain traction on any surface." The mercenary laughed as the idea came to him. "Pretty off-the-cuff request, huh?"

[AdventWings]

"Off the cuffs, indeed." The blacksmith laughed heartily, guessing the man was about to say something along those lines.

Business was starting to become harder everyday for the metalworkers in the Bazaar, the majority of buyers looking to attain some sort of magical enhancement rather than the brute force of pure steel. He can't blame it on anyone, really. It was just the way the world turns.

"Well, while the best I can offer you here are a few metal studs for your boots, I think the magic shop down the road should have what you need." The blacksmith gave in to the battle of trying to sell his wares, knowing the man would like it more than just metal spikes on boots. "It's called the Cockatiel and you shouldn't miss it if you take the main road."

Well, at least it was doing some good to business around these parts, even if it was not his own.

[Bloodrose]

Not surprising. Teric pondered as he and the merchant concluded their business over his arms and armor. A used good shop certainly isn't the kind of place to be looking for enchantments. The merchant counted out his money and stowed Teric's old goods behind the counter, and the veteran accepted the modest sum in gold gratefully.

"The Cockatiel, you said?" The mercenary asked, almost reflexively despite already knowing the answer. "I'll keep my eye open for it."

With that Teric turned and left the store, turning right and heading up the main thoroughfare through the Bazaar. Sure enough, just a little ways down the street was a brightly painted sign with the iconic bird strutting above the doorway. The Cockatiel was certainly hard to miss if you were looking for it, but like the merchant indicated it would be.

For a moment, Teric contemplated just walking past the enchantment vendor and continuing on his way. Doing so would be in accordance with his original plan, which was to leave the Bazaar with more money than he had entered with. He'd come to sell off some stuff he wasn't going to need anymore, to clean out his inventory a little...

But I don't have to lug around an enchantment the same way I lug around spare armor...

That thought was the caveat that steered the old veteran into through the Cockatiel[i]'s front door. Inside the warrior was overwhelmed by the potent aroma of spices and other unfamiliar odors. The air inside was almost overpowering, cloying, and heavily intoxicated with the scent of spell components and reagents. It was a veritable wizard's paradise almost, with a rack of staves on one side of the room, several hat hooks adorned with various flopping wizard-hats, and a huge array of drawers and shelves at the back.

Stepping up to the counter, Teric rang the small bell on the smooth oaken surface. Surprisingly, the sound of a bell ringing did not come from the little silver device on the counter, but could be heard echoing somewhere in a back room behind the drawers.

[i]Magic users... Teric grumbled, always a little wary of powers he didn't understand.

[AdventWings]

"Don't look too surprised, sir. After all, this is a Magic Shop."

Shortly after the voice died down, a small girl dressed in dark appeared from the shadowy corner of the magic shop. Hidden under the large witch's hat, the only thing visible was her matching dark hair and a mischievous smile upon her lips.

If anything, her short stature meant she could be no more than a young teen. But look can be deceiving.

"How may I be of service to you today? Perhaps an enchantment upon your equipments...?"

[Bloodrose]

The appearance of the young lady, materializing as if made of the shadows themselves, unnerved Teric even more than the creepy little bell. While he possessed some skill in minor parlor tricks and cantrips, the veteran was never one for more of the heady or theoretical realms of magic...

"Yes, actually, that is why I'm here." Teric replied politely, always careful not to try and upset or insult magic-types. "I was wondering if I could get an enchantment placed on my boots." The veteran pounded the heel of his iron-shod left boot on the floor for emphasis. "I'd like the enchantment to give the boots traction on any surface, like being able to run and stop on ice as though it was dirt."

"Any idea how much such an enchantment would cost me?" Teric added interestedly.

[AdventWings]

Agatha had suspected as much, but she struck a thoughtful pose as if she had not been thinking about what could possibly be done.

"...Well, that's a strange request." She began, summoning a tome from the nearby shelf with a wave of her hand. The leatherbound book floated as if a light feather and stopped in front of her, the pages flipping as if they were alive. "Oh, here it is. It's not that complicated, so it seems... A bit of bat's ear, a pinch of spider's webs, yada yada yada..."

Closing the book abruptly with her hands produced an astounding Clap to echo within the store, a candle flickered momentarily from the gust created.

"Right. Two hundred gold and your boots. I'll have the ritual done in no time."

Agatha said with a smile, although one hinting at a sly disposition than an innocent one.

[Bloodrose]

Cheaper than I imagined it'd be. Teric was pleasantly surprised for once, because his preconceived notions regarding enchantments and magical items was that such things were prohibitively expensive. Reaching around behind him into the satchel slung over his shoulder, the veteran retrieved a simple cloth bag full of heavy gold pieces. He had several such pouches, and he'd long possessed the habit of compulsively counting out one hundred coins into each. It made it easier to count out larger sums of money, and considering how often he blew through his earnings, Teric was a professional bean-counter.

"That's one hundred." Teric tossed the small cloth bag onto the counter, the ball of closely packed metal coins jingling with the melody of wealth as they landed on the wooden surface. Lifting first his right foot, and then his left, Teric carefully unlaced each of the knee-high boots and pulled them off. The once supple leather was a little worn and cracked in places, along with the usual signs of wear and tear that accompany travelling over hundreds of miles on foot. He placed the boots on the counter next to the coins, wriggling his toes on the wooden floor at the same time. "You'll get the second hundred when it's done and I've tested out the boots. I'm sure if you can enchant boots, then you can probably magic up some ice for me to skid across, right?"

Teric had met enough charlatans in his life that he wasn't going to just hand over his money and waltz out of the shop with no guarantee that he'd gotten what he wanted...

[AdventWings]

Agatha bowed her head in response.

Wordlessly taking the boots, she pulled a few odd vials and wooden vessels from the shelves behind her as the young witch began her ritual. The ingredients floated in unison to her chants, delicate fingers weaving ritual circles about the floating footgear as the bat ears, spider webs and yada yada yada intermingled with the very fabric of its form.

The elaborate ritual seemed to last for ages, but all was done even before the resounding gong of the grandfather clock within her store.

"...Enchantment complete."

The boots floated down onto the counter while each of the enchantment's ingredients fluttered back to its holds. Her gigantic hat masked the little girl's eyes as she addressed her customer of the service.

"And as you requested, I will summon a patch of ice for you to test it out."

Holding out one hand, the girl clothed in black began her incantation. Even before it began, a cold breeze swept through the tiny shop as if heeding the girl's subconscious summon.

"Λόρδος του πάγου και του αέρα. Προσέξτε την κλήση μου και σφυρηλατήστε την ασπίδα πάγου σας επάνω σε αυτό το ξύλινο πάτωμα!"

Striking her hand in a swift downward arc, the wooden floorboard blasted itself into a frozen patch no more than a large shield in size. The remaining sound to echo within the shop after the freezing gust of wind swept away was the faint panting of the summoner's lips.

"...Oh, by the way." She let out a tired grin from under the rim of her large black hat. "You might want to wash your boots more often. They're starting to smell."

[Bloodrose]

"Cute." was Teric's response as he tipped one boot, and then the other as if inspecting them for hidden dangers. He half expected a zombie bat or a dimensional worm to come lunging out of the footwear to attack him, but was pleasantly surprised to find that he was mistaken. "But, I'll start worrying about the odor of my boots the day is begins to bother me... no one else."

Dropping the now "enchanted boots" to the floor, Teric kneeled down right there in the shop and eased them onto his feet. The inside of the boots were icy cold, almost super-naturally cold, but they warmed quickly once his feet were inside. He laced them tightly, and spent a couple seconds casually kicking the toes against the counter and pounding the heels on the floor to settle the footwear around his feet.

Without so much as a word, the veteran took a short jump forward onto the patch of ice the shopkeeper had summoned across the floor. It wasn't a large patch of ice, but it was plenty large enough that Teric should have slipped when both feet landed on the smooth, glassy surface...

"Very nice." Teric couldn't repress the pleased smile that spread over his face as he stood upon the ice as easily as he'd stood atop the wooden floor. He tried jumping. He tried scuffing his feet across the ice. He even put one foot on the wooden floor and tried drawing the other foot across the ice. No matter what he did, however, there was never an ounce of slip or give that one comes to expect from ice. The boots did not "stick", but they did not slide either. They merely kept traction, making it as easy to walk across ice as it was to walk across dirt. "Very nice indeed."

Fetching a second pouch of coins from his bag, Teric tossed them on to the counter. He was satisfied, if not openly pleased with his new purchase, even if he hadn't planned on making such a purchase originally. Turning on his heel, the veteran and his enchanted boots strode confidently out of the little magical shop in the Bazaar, turning down the road and putting a comfortable difference between the warrior and the magics he could appreciate, but never understand...

Corner of thirty-four and Gregory Street. Teric noted the location of the shop, locking it away for future reference. Perhaps, if I ever need anything else enchanted, I'll pay that little witch another visit...

[AdventWings]

"Pleased to be of service. We hope to see you again."

Agatha watched the warrior disappear into the world outside before letting out a fit of hacking coughs, a glass of water floating through the air in response to her unspoken request. Two black cats appeared from the shadows, one hopping onto her lap while the other idly pranced about the vacated tabletop.

"You really need to stop showing off in front of your customers, Agatha. You're not that powerful."

The black feline chided as he stared into the witchgirl's eyes, moving to the side as she placed the empty glass down on the table. The other remained silent, allowing the maiden to gently stroke her ears.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Kero. I'll try to be more careful next time."

The cat then stood up on his hind legs and crossed his arms, looking very business-like despite the fact he was merely a cat.

"What in the name of the Great Elementals were you thinking when you solicited the Spirit of Winter to create that pool of ice, anyway? What an overkill."

The witch merely smiled, giving the kitty a pat on the head.

"Well, let's just say I forgot how that incantation goes. Maybe I'll need to start carrying a little pocketbook of spells around more often."

((Transaction Complete!

Bloodrose loses the following:

- 1 Beaten-up Steel Breastplate
- 1 Steel Vambrace (missing its pair)
- 1 Steel Swordcane (minus the cane sheath)
- Net Loss of 50 GP

And receives the following:

- 1 pair of enchanted boots (so he can walk on ice as if it was simple dirt)
- 100 EXP for good IC interactions

See you next time!))