Infernal Implements

[Visla Eraclaire]

The walk back to Radasanth had been arduous and more than anything Visla wanted to fall into the bed that was waiting for her at her small loft apartment. Refusing the request of the woman she had almost given her life to bring back, however, was more than she was capable of.

"It's right this way, Mistress," Aelva said, pacing hastily down a Radasanthian causeway in her human guise with little heed for the hobbling steps of her companion.

"One, if I have to tell you to stop calling me that again, I may just banish you back to the Abyss. Two, if I'm your mistress, why are you leading me around?" Visla sighed, plodding along with her cane in hand.

"I'm fairly certain you cannot banish me. Nonetheless, I will endeavor to remember, Visla. As for why I am leading, I know the way," she quipped and turned down a blind alley.

The shadowy corridor between two shops was filled with echoing noises. Visla wondered if this was the sort of unease people felt when she had wreathed them in darkness. Little matter, for those days were dead and gone. She felt Aelva grasp her hand and pull her toward a door she could not make out in the gloom.

The interior was lit by balefire torches, far from the typical stall at the Bazaar. Rows of bookshelves brimming with grimoires and gruesome looking weapons of every sort decorated walls of the shoppe. Visla looked incredulously at her sometimes-servant.

"This was where you wanted to go? I thought true demons wouldn't go in for this sort of gaudy tripe. More fitting for the desperate cultist, if you ask me," she gumbled.

"The aesthetic is a bit much, but the selection is ample, the craftsmanship fine, and the prices unbeatable, at least on this sad husk of a plane," Aelva replied confidently, leaning across a vacant counter.

With a flash of flame and a cloud of brimstone smoke, a tiefling materialized across the counter with an insidious grin.

"How nice of you to say, Madam. How might we serve you today?"

Aelva paused and looked back at Visla for approval. The power-robbed former arcanist gave a resigned nod and pulled out her coinpurse. She had promised her companion that she would find her suitable equipment, and she was not about to go back on her word already, not if the demon was ever to feel... well, nevermind that.

"I'd like a purchase a bone composite bow, good sir," Aelva said, revealing the elegant demonic horns beneath her flowing black hair.

[Logan]

The shopkeeper's assistant smiled simply as she nodded, "And what wood should, Madam, wish to have the bone composited with? I believe I have some Yew and Bone composite bows in the back, but I'd have to check. Better yet, would Madam be interested in recurve for a tighter draw?"

It was coincidental that the shopkeeper's assistant was so vastly knowledgeable about the composite bows, because the shopkeeper was away on a short trip. Not that the lady would know any different, of course, but it didn't change matters any. Here was a fully competent assistant, and her first customer of the day. Or was it night now?

The assistant had lost track of time meddling with a new composite material she'd been trying to work out, and not a few moments before had settled upon a mixture that seemed solid yet flexible enough to match any taste in bows.

"Or perhaps Madam would be interested in something...new," the tiefling said with a slight wicked grin behind the flame-licked bangs.

[Visla Eraclaire]

"There's nothing new under the sun, but you can tell me if you like," Aelva quipped.

At this point Visla stepped forward and put a hand on her companion's shoulder.

"We only have so much gold, though, so if this 'something new' is particularly pricey, I have no interest in wasting your time," she added.

"You are right, Mist-- Visla. There is something special I would like done to the bow, so we shouldn't spend it all on the item itself," Aelva drew her elegant human hands through her hair before revealing the claws beneath the illusion. "A powerful draw would be ideal. I can pull a bit stronger than one might guess. Once we settle these other matters, I'm sure we can test that?"

She smiled and locked eyes with the shopkeeper's assistant. Visla drew her hand back and folded her arms in disgust. It was all well and good to attempt to get a discount, but decency had some value as well.

"Right then," she interrupted. "Yew and bone is probably fine. Tell her about the new item though, or I will have to her of her disappointed curiosity all day."

[Logan]

With a slight smile at the revelation of the claw the tiefling waved her hands in the air in an ancient motion revealing within their grasp a short composite bow that sparkled in the dim firelight. Her flame-licked lips began to move as she explained the new bow, "You may consider yourselves privvy to one of the most amazing masterpieces ever constructed in the arena of bows. This little delight is a composite of Young Dragon Bone from Haida and Talymer from the deepest recesses of the Raiaerian wood."

The young assistant shopkeeper drew the string back slowly, continuing her explanation of the bow, "There is no finer draw on any bow in all the lands. Not here, not anywhere. The Dragon Bone ensures a smooth pop when released, and the Talymer's strength is what gives it an overkill-like release. I have yet to test it's power, but I am certain based on previous composites that this little beauty could pierce most any reasonable metal from over two-hundred feet or more." She waved her hands once more and the bow disappeared with a puff of smoke.

"However, judging on the sound of the jingle within your purse, this is more just a free show. What I do believe Madam would be most interested in is the composite bow I have over here," the tiefling said with a bit of a sheepish grin as she grabbed another composite bow from beneath the counter. She revealed it's length and handed it to the lady.

"Now, this composite is more, I think, what you are looking for. It is made of the finest Yew and Bear Bone the Elves could find," the tiefling nearly growled at the mention of the Elves from her own tongue, but she continued on nonetheless, "While it's draw isn't as strong or as tight, it's recurve adds far more than any ordinary composite bow."

"And finally, I draw your attention to the hand-grip," she motioned with her hand once more, showing off the work of the hand-grip, "Made of a wolf's fur wrapped numerous times around the center of the bow, then wrapped a final two times in a polar bear hide which gives the hand-grip the nice white hue. I want you to notice how padded this hand-grip is. The bow's draw required an absorption ratio higher than normal, so when we received the bow we padded it extra thick. The wielder should feel no recoil from the bow in that hand."

The eyes of the assistant sparkled as she felt she was nearing a sale. She didn't hesitate on the next bit, "This piece of masterwork is three-hundred seventy-five gold, but a rather large portion of that is the absorption of shipping cost by you, my wonderful customer. After all, the Elves are the best -- ," she paused as she calmed herself down, "workers of composites."

[Visla Eraclaire]

Aleva listened intently to the description of the fine weapons, her eyes glinting with avarice. Her benefactor simply leaned against a wall, staring at the grimoires she could no longer comprehend with a listless expression.

"I think the yew and bone will have to do, but let me ask you something further," Aelva leaned in closer. "I am not one to keep track of such trifles as arrows, and I recall seeing many a fiendish archer wielding a bone composite bow that had something special about it."

Visla wandered to the other end of the shop and began examining a small imp's skull in the light of a blood red candle. It was all very tacky, but there was little else to do while Aelva shopped.

"Many of the less, shall we say sophisticated, demons can barely count much less keep their quivers full. I heard of Lords of the Abyss providing their legions with weapons that replenished their quivers at a cost. If the soldiers were skilled enough, that cost was paid by their enemies. If not, they would have to tithe to the weapon themselves."

For clarity, the mechanic I am imagining is a bow that has a quiver of arrows, a dozen or so, that it will replenish, as long as one of the arrows from the previous set drew blood. If this did not occur, the archer must pour an amount of her own blood into the quiver in order to receive a new allotment. It's nothing particularly powerful, but it's a fun little bit of flavor and it keeps me from having to account for all the arrows I fire.

[Visla Eraclaire]

A capable mod may delete this. The base cost of enchantments is too high to make this transaction reasonable. I will simply write this as a quest.