Yay. Shopping.

[Nautilus]

Thankfully, a large portion the Bazaar patrons that day were either seasoned travellers who were accustomed to beings much taller than themselves roaming about, or were too busy to give a crap as the seven foot-tall cloak-enshrouded figure navigated awkwardly through the crowded street. Those who happened to jostle into her were awarded with the unforgiving rigidity of metal against their flesh, but most assumed the being was simply wearing thin armor beneath the patched folds.

In any event, Shadow was not enjoying herself. She had never found this sort of frenetic activity particularly amusing -- she doubted many did -- but the twelve bolts Alex had given her would not suffice. She had entered this forum out of sheer necessity, despite the potential hazards. It took several minutes before she was able to locate a stand advertising the missiles she needed. Shadow eventually reached the counter, impeded as she had been by the writhing throng of squishy bodies, and slapped the coin purse on the wood.

"I wish to exchange these metal disks for an appropriate number of your crude wooden projectiles," she stated tonelessly, green optics glinting at the seller from beneath her hood. The 'troid lifted an arm; the sleeve fell back, revealing a sort of barrel-like structure. With a clicking and buzzing of gears the wooden tiller of a pull lever cross bow emerged from the cavity. The arms had been modified to fold against the stock and straightened automatically. "The projectiles must fit this weapon design," she added, brandishing the mounted bow.

[AdventWings]

Josh jumped back with a look only comprehensible by a mouse facing off against a hawk.

After all, it was not your everyday deal when a patron sticks a crossbow in a merchant's face and demands he load them. Even with payment.

"Whoa, lady. Easy on the pointy-doings with that crossbow. You could hit someone with it."

Ignoring the accidental irony, the arms dealer managed to finish counting the gold coins in the pouch as well as get a good look at the aforementioned threat to his bladder movements. Considering that it was a very large sum (after all, that was a whopping 200 coins worth in gold) he realized the general-purpose steel-capped oak bolts might not be adequate.

...On second thought, he might have just barely enough for this customer's request. How he could sell it to her without having it overflow her quivers... Was another question altogether.

"....Well, with that much you can afford one hundred of the normal bolts. Is that fine with you? I mean..." He waved his hand about, wondering where this one would keep all that ammunition without a visible storage bag. "Do you need extra quivers? That'll cost an extra fifteen."

[Nautilus]

She watched him stonily. After a few nanoseconds of deliberation, the bitroid then withdrew her bow and sent it back into the depths of the cannon chamber, flicking the limb so the cloak folds enveloped it once again. "Thank you for outlining the general ratio of metal disks needed to acquire basic armament. I am unfamiliar with your currency system, as you can see." Her tone sounded decidedly more friendly.

"This...'quiver' might be a useful item. First, could you tell me the payment required for a suitable projectile of higher quality, and the quantity that can be purchased with the disks laid before you?"

[AdventWings]

"...Uh, pardon me. I'll see what I have."

It took most of Josh's patience and understanding of the customer's speech pattern to vaguely understand what she was saying. Well, most of what she was saying, at least.

"Uhh... At three a piece, I recommend Plynt-tipped bolts. You can light them on fire as well, but they won't do well with regards to penetration. For those, you can buy about 60 bolts as well as a quiver or 56 with two quivers instead. I would recommend the latter, since a quiver could hold only 25 bolts without messing up the fletching."

Pausing for a short breath, he continued on with the offer.

"As for the regular, run-of-the-mill bolts you originally asked for, that's a set of one quiver and 92 bolts or a set of three quivers and 77 bolts. Is that fine?"

[Nautilus]

"I will purchase 56 Plynt-tipped bolts with the two quivers," said the mechanical thing understandingly. "They will come in handy," she added with a strange mechanical chuckle that sounded incredibly unnatural.

[AdventWings]

"...Right. 56 Plynt bolts and two quivers it is."

Josh let out a nervous laugh, wondering what kind of creature he was actually dealing with. Sure, the merchant realized it was just a harmless laugh. The inorganic feel to it, however, put him on edge.

After the preparations were complete, he gave the bolts and quivers to his customer.

"That would be one hundred and ninety-eight gold pieces, total."

[Nautilus]

Shadow took the pouch and dumped out all it's contents on the counter, drawing hungry stares from shady faces, and detracted two coins. These she plopped back into the pouch where they chinked together softly. The machine pocketed her coin purse and shoved the small pile forward with a bright "There you are!"

[AdventWings]

Still taken aback by the abrupt movement, Josh reluctantly accepted the strange customer's payment.

"...Er, thank you. Is there anything else you would like to look at?"

The pile of gold was a hassle to handle, he realized once the man found out all his bags were filled. Shrugging to no one in particular, he swept the pile of golden coins into one of the vacated arrow quivers. It would have to do for now.

[Nautilus]

"Negative," said the machine, watching as he brushed the gold into a suitable container. "Although you have been surprisingly helpful Organic. I sincerely commend your assuredly fine vending skills. If ever I were to require another 56 flammable Plynt bolts and two quivers in which they will be stored, I will make a point of returning here. Perhaps...one day. Yes." The flexible metal ridges ringing her 'eyes' arched to the form the impression of an 'amiable' 'smile'.

[AdventWings]

"...Erm, so then. Thank you for doing business."

Josh smiled back, unsure of what to do now. Normally, the customers just walk away without much to say. This one, however, was a rather persistent person. Even if she was just standing around.

((OK, post your outro and I'll close this thread up for a transaction completed. :)))

[Nautilus]

^^

With that the towering machine gathered her newly-acquired supplies, slinging one fully-loaded quiver over each shoulder, and turned and merged herself with the heavy ebb and flow of the busy crowd once again.

[AdventWings]

((Transaction Complete!

Nautilus loses 198 GP and receives the following:

- 56 Plynt crossbow bolts with regular oak shafts.
- 2 bolt quivers
- 100 EXP for good IC interactions

Thank you for using our services! Please visit us again!))