LordLeopold
10-20-09, 06:07 PM
It was a general type of store. The wares were various but mundane, the building itself unremarkable and unmemorable. Neither its location nor its clientele recommended it as anything but the most average of stores. But that's why they picked it.
The brothers paused at the door as Leopold gave Anthony a clinking pouch, silencing a breathy objection. "You're better with this kind of thing. I'll keep watch." Leopold said, tapping his cane on the stoop in finality. Anthony shrugged, not bothering to further a futile objection, and stepped inside. Leopold stayed in the doorway, half his body obliterated by the glare of the sunlight while the rest of it stayed in the cool shadow, a fragmentary sentry. His brother moved toward the counter at the back of the store, making his way around piles of parcels and ducking under low-hanging bundles of drying herbs that shed leaves and dust as he passed. As it got darker and darker toward the rear, the doorway became brighter and less distinct, the light spilling out of it consuming his brother's frame until he was just a dark smear.
Reaching the counter, Anthony reached into his vest and withdrew a hastily scribbled note. He opened it and cursed at the smeared ink, but saved his worse profanities: The words were still legible. Resting it on the counter in front of him, he looked at the clerk, bouncing his coin purse in his hand suggestively.
"We've got 1,000 coins and we're in a hurry," he said, "So we want this fast, we want it cheap and we don't want any beating 'round the bush. Don't take that to mean we're so desperate we won't go somewhere else if the prices aren't right. We will. Just so you know." He paused, licked his lips, and pointed to the sheet. "That list is in order of preference. Just go down it and give us whatever is on it until we run out of money. Oh, blast it," he said, focusing on the top of the list. Glancing around the counter top, he reached for a pen, deftly dipped it in an inkwell and began scribbling across the top before the clerk could protest.
"We need knives, don't we, Leo? Leo?" Anthony yelled over his shoulder at the indistinct Duke in the doorway.
"Eh? I don't need anything," Leopold replied. Then, after a beat, "What am I saying, no, no. I need one, too. Whatever you need, Tony!" Anthony rolled his eyes as he scratched across the parchment, the tip squeaking as the ink quickly bled onto the page.
"Alright, there's the list." Anthony said, tossing the pen onto the counter, where its tip sank into the soft wood, leaving it standing crookedly. And the list was:
1. Two hunting knives of good - but not necessarily excellent - quality
2. Two heavy traveling cloaks - preferably not of the latest fashion
3. A canvass rucksack
4. A tent for two
5. A sizable length of heavy twine
6. A large canteen
7. Latest map of Corone
8. Astronomy charts and a sextant
9. A telescope or spy glass of any variety - must be in good condition
The brothers paused at the door as Leopold gave Anthony a clinking pouch, silencing a breathy objection. "You're better with this kind of thing. I'll keep watch." Leopold said, tapping his cane on the stoop in finality. Anthony shrugged, not bothering to further a futile objection, and stepped inside. Leopold stayed in the doorway, half his body obliterated by the glare of the sunlight while the rest of it stayed in the cool shadow, a fragmentary sentry. His brother moved toward the counter at the back of the store, making his way around piles of parcels and ducking under low-hanging bundles of drying herbs that shed leaves and dust as he passed. As it got darker and darker toward the rear, the doorway became brighter and less distinct, the light spilling out of it consuming his brother's frame until he was just a dark smear.
Reaching the counter, Anthony reached into his vest and withdrew a hastily scribbled note. He opened it and cursed at the smeared ink, but saved his worse profanities: The words were still legible. Resting it on the counter in front of him, he looked at the clerk, bouncing his coin purse in his hand suggestively.
"We've got 1,000 coins and we're in a hurry," he said, "So we want this fast, we want it cheap and we don't want any beating 'round the bush. Don't take that to mean we're so desperate we won't go somewhere else if the prices aren't right. We will. Just so you know." He paused, licked his lips, and pointed to the sheet. "That list is in order of preference. Just go down it and give us whatever is on it until we run out of money. Oh, blast it," he said, focusing on the top of the list. Glancing around the counter top, he reached for a pen, deftly dipped it in an inkwell and began scribbling across the top before the clerk could protest.
"We need knives, don't we, Leo? Leo?" Anthony yelled over his shoulder at the indistinct Duke in the doorway.
"Eh? I don't need anything," Leopold replied. Then, after a beat, "What am I saying, no, no. I need one, too. Whatever you need, Tony!" Anthony rolled his eyes as he scratched across the parchment, the tip squeaking as the ink quickly bled onto the page.
"Alright, there's the list." Anthony said, tossing the pen onto the counter, where its tip sank into the soft wood, leaving it standing crookedly. And the list was:
1. Two hunting knives of good - but not necessarily excellent - quality
2. Two heavy traveling cloaks - preferably not of the latest fashion
3. A canvass rucksack
4. A tent for two
5. A sizable length of heavy twine
6. A large canteen
7. Latest map of Corone
8. Astronomy charts and a sextant
9. A telescope or spy glass of any variety - must be in good condition