Supplies and so forth

[Sahale]

Sahale's entrance triggered the ring of a small bell. After taking a few steps in he paused, letting the door close behind him sounding the bell a second time. Sahale looked around the room for a moment, trying to find the items he hoped to purchase. The walls were packed full of merchandise, more than they could hold. Even the ceiling was masked by objects hanging from strings, hooks and odd contraptions that, judging by the damage on the floor, had failed more than once in the past.

"This is ludicrous, where is the shop keep? For that matter where is the front desk?" Sahale thought to himself.

He began to navigate his way the past mountains of cloths, walls of books and pillars of back packs that shaped the obstacle course that ran through the shop. When he finally stood in front of the desk, much to Sahale's chagrin, the other side was empty. The whole town left him feeling unsettled, this shop only served to further disturb him. The general feel of being in town was off. Nothing at all like the peaceful presence of mother nature and her forests, fields and wondrous flora.

"Where is that shop keeper?" Sahale thought worriedly.

[AdventWings]

"I am sorry to keep you waiting..."

A small hunched figure appeared from behind a shelf laden with odd pouches of mineral, just a few feet behind the unwitting druid. The old merchant practically dragged himself on two aged feet and an equally old cane as he made his way to the service desk, pausing only once to pull out a dust-covered stool. Placing himself down on the furniture, he let out a few hacking coughs before resuming his nonchalant drawl.

"...It has but been a while since a customer come along these days... How may I help you...?"

[Sahale]

"Uh, yes..." said Sahale slowly.

He tried to think of the words to describe what he needed, but his mind was greatly distracted by the massive assortment of cluttered merchandise all around him.

"...I need to stock up on supplies, vials actually. Well, more than that but I do need some vials." As Sahale spoke he gestured with his right hand, a width between his thumb and index finger, as though he had an invisible vial in it.

"And a cloak. A warm one, it doesn't have to be too fancy but it needs to function well in the wilderness. One that has enough inside pockets or compartments to hold a couple dozen of the vials... ok, what else."

Sahale paused for a moment to think, then proceeded to carefully take out his iron dagger. He flicked his thumb over the blade a few times, then placed it on the desk between him and the clerk.

"If you could, I would also like to have this sharpened please. I've had it a while so please be careful with it." Sahale went silent and took a moment to look around the room. "I think that's it."

Sahale went over everything in his head while he continued to survey more shelves to his left.

"Ok, vials, warm cloak with lots of inside pockets, sharpen knife, and..." at that moment Sahale saw a pair of boots reaching out the top of an old watering can. "...Sandals! Right it's been months since my old ones broke."

The shop keeper was about to speak when Sahale stopped him.

"I apologize, I would also like some good sturdy sandals. Something with a good liberating feel on the feet, but that still provide my souls with good protection."

Sahale and the shop keeper exchange stares for a few seconds. The musty air of the shop finally got to Sahale. That or the clerks motionless gaze was beginning to make him feel uncomfortable. He raised a hand to his mouth and cleared his throat before realizing what the old man was waiting for.

"Oh, that will be all thank you."

[AdventWings]

The old man nodded his head slowly, as if nodding off to sleep. But just as a customer would think about leaving to look for another shop with an active owner, the merchant drawled as if breathing a yawn.

"Cer...tainly, young sir..."

At the pace of a snail, he dismounted the shopkeeper's throne and proceeded down the aisles. Collecting the items without batting an eye, he returned with the vials, a cloak and a pair of sandals. He also retrieved a whet stone and produced a small bowl of water after returning to the table. Gently taking the dagger between his fingers, the old man calmly sharpened the customer's blade until it shone from the new-found edge.

Placing the dagger down on the table, the old man paused almost sleepily for a full minute before announcing his price.

"...One hundred and sixty... Gold pieces... Total."

At the end of his sentence, the old man merely sat quietly and stared at the customer.

[Sahale]

"One hundred and sixty gold pieces you say?" said Sahale inquisitively. "Well, let me just look everything over first and then we shall see."

Sahale began to check the items the merchant had laid out on the table in front of him. He took each vial and inspected it for cracks and chips and made sure to count them as he went, to ensure the old man acquired the full two dozen.

"Very good." said Sahale as he placed the last one down.

He then reached over and grabbed the cloak. He pulled it high into the air and began fiddling with it trying to orient it so he could put it on. As he did, Sahale noticed the cloak was very thick and had some good weight to it. It had a tie at the front to help keep it on when worn. It was a deep brown colour and had a nice big hood.

He threw the cloak over his back and pulled it around his body. He tied it at the front and then poked his arms through a pair of holes in the sides. There were no sleeves but there was an extra piece of cloth that extended from the neck around the entire cloak to about half way down Sahale's chest. It covered most his arms to about the elbow and allowed for good mobility.

"I like it. It's thick and has some good weight to it but doesn't restrict movement." said Sahale acceptingly. He turned his head from examining the cloak to the old man and asked. "What is it made of?"

[AdventWings]

The old merchant kept silent for a few seconds before taking a yawn. It almost seemed like the old man had fallen asleep waiting for the young elf to pay his fee, but he merely nodded his head once before replying in a sleepy tone.

"Bear hide, young sir... Quite useful for venturing in the woods..."

[Sahale]

"Bear hide, really?" exclaimed Sahale. He was stunned that he would not have been able to identify that himself.

"Well, it is much heavier and thicker than I would expect from bear hide." he quickly admitted to himself.

Sahale proceeded by pulling open the cloak to inspect the pockets. There were two pockets on each side. Each one divided into six tall holding spaces for vials. Sahale grabbed a couple off the counter and slipped them into their new homes - a perfect fit.

Sahale took the cloak off, tucked the remaining vials into the pockets and then picked up one of the sandals from the table and began to examine it. It had a tough leather sole and a familiar array of soft leather straps.

"Looks quite similar to my last pair." thought Sahale as he put it back on the table and reached for his change pouch.

"Well, everything looks good sir. Thank you very much." he said to the shop keep as he finished counting out the gold. Sahale extended his hand with the money in it out to the merchant.

"Here you are. One hundred sixty gold pieces."

[AdventWings]

A wrinkle, knotted hand extended to receive the customer's pay. Taking the handful of gold coins, he systematically arranged them into a small stack of fifty before nodding to the elf druid.

"Thank you... For your purchase..."

The last few words were barely audible as the old man began to doze off, his head bobbing rhythmically to the silent tune of slumber.

[Sahale]

After staring at the merchant a few moments in bewilderment, Sahale took his new sandals and dropped them on the floor next to his feet. He slipped his right foot into one, bent down and began to buckle it up.

"I wonder how often this man is stolen from." Sahale thought. He looked around the room once more at the jumbled collection items.

"It's not like his entire inventory is worthless trinkets." Sahale stepped his left foot into his other sandal and began to snuggly fasten it.

"Well, alright there is a lot of junk in here. I was completely lost myself when I first entered."

Sahale started to stand up straight. As he did, one of the odd contraptions that hung objects from the ceiling failed somewhere behind him. There was a loud metallic crash as a pair of old gauntlets slammed into the floor. Sahale quickly ducked his head in a startled reaction and slowly wheeled around to investigate the source of the noise. He stood for a moment and stared at the pair of lifeless hulks of steel laying on the floor. His gaze slowly shifted up to the ceiling; to the dozens and dozens of other objects haphazardly floating above him.

"I think that's my queue to leave."

Sahale turned to the desk and grabbed up his cloak and hurriedly threw it on. He took his dagger next and carefully put it away. He made a quick gesture of farewell to the merchant slouched on the other side of the desk and said, "Thanks again sir. Take care."

With that, Sahale maneuvered his way through the maze of a store and towards the front door. Squeezing past narrow spaces between shelves and circling around pillars of cloths and papers. Finally at his destination, he reached out and grasped the handle, pressed the lever with his thumb and opened the door. The gentle chiming of the bell was a misleading warning for the sting of the bright sunlight that burst in.

Squinting Sahale took a few steps outside and released the door. The bell rang one final time before the door shut with a dull thump behind him.

[AdventWings]

((Transaction Complete!

Sahale loses 160 GP and receives 100 EXP.

Sahale receives the following items:

- Bear-hide Cloak of moderate thickness (With 24x slots for small vials)
- 24x Glass Vials
- Sharpened Iron Dagger
- Leather Sandals

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