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Ulysses
02-25-10, 08:18 AM
Despite the vast assortment of colors, people from different lands, and exotic and exciting merchandise, the thing that struck Ulysses most about the Bazaar were the smells. Here, a delicatessen of foods from Fallien smelled spicy and with a hint almost of cinnamon. There, the fish-market district attracted him with its familiar odors (he had once been a fisherman, after all). And then it was on to some new smell, some new sight, some new strange and wonderful thing to see. He felt like a child who has suddenly been dumped in the most wonderful and curious sweet shop. Everything was new, everything was exciting.

He shook his head. He was here for a purpose, after all, not to just gawk like a tourist. Eventually he found the shop he was looking for—although he almost wished he hadn’t, just to give him an excuse to wander about a bit more.

The shop had no sign or name, but it was obvious enough what it was from the outside. A low, stone building with a shield over the door, and two crossed swords beneath it. The heraldry on the shield showed a hammer and anvil over a blue and red checkered background. Ulysses pushed the door open, and walked into the store.

The inside seemed deserted, except for rows and rows of metal. The shop supplied the needs of warriors from all sorts—he’d heard about it from a man in a local tavern. There were suits of armor of every variety, not to mention the weapons. Anything could be found here: swords, maces, axes, hammers…even more bizarre weapons, like flails and tridents.

The gold pouch on Ulysses’ belt jingled. He had a bit of extra gold, and it would probably be smart to spend it on equipment. Trinkets and fine food might be fun and entertaining, but a new piece of armor could save your life.

He looked around for a bit but didn’t see what he was looking for. The place hardly seemed organized; probably only the shopkeeper knew where everything was. Hesitant to ask for help, but trying to sound like a confident and experienced warrior, Ulysses went up to the shopkeeper and asked.

“Hello,” he said. “I’m, um, looking for an oak shield? Perhaps a wooden buckler? I don’t know if you would have anything like that. I’d like a new sword too, probably an iron one, unless I could afford steel.”

Ulysses rubbed the hilt the sword of his hip, a nervous tic he’d picked up. “Not sure how much any of that would cost, really,” he admitted. He felt stupid. Probably not many adventurers could tell you the market price of trout but not the cost of a new sword.

Taskmienster
02-27-10, 08:34 PM
The shopkeeper, a smartly dressed man with clothes that clung to his bulking muscles far more than necessary, lifted his chiseled jaw to look at the man that had come in. He was young, just old enough to be called a man from what he could see. Gerard smiled and nodded with a toothy grin. Merchants were one thing, a warrior who had spent as much time tending to his muscular appearance that happened to sell wares he would swear by was much different. The man looked into the golden eyes of his newest patron.

"A shield, made of oak? Something small like a buckler would cost ya about 50 gold, with a lining of metal around it to make it stronger - such as iron - we'd be talking about 75 gold. As for the sword, it all depends on what kind of sword yer looking for. You want a short sword, long sword, hand-n-a-half, claymore? The size and quality, as well as what it's made of, creates the difference in the price."

Ulysses
02-27-10, 09:03 PM
Ulysses looked up into the face of the shopkeeper, slightly intimidated by the man's experience with weapons. He wondered if haggling was appropriate in this situation or not--and if the shopkeeper would take his inexperience as a warrior and use that to rip him off.

"Alright," Ulysses said, running the numbers in his head. What kind of shield he got would probably end up depending on how expensive the sword would be. And what kind of sword did he want? Something small enough that he could carry it easily in his left hand would be good. A two-handed sword was obviously out of a question. "How much would a short sword be, please?" he asked, trying to be polite. "And what's the price difference between an iron sword and a steel one?"

Taskmienster
03-06-10, 06:43 AM
"A short sword'll run ya 50 gold for an iron sword, 80 for a steel one." The merchant shuffled behind his desk and pulled out two common swords, one iron and one steel. "They're weighted pretty good, not perfect of course. The handle is wrapped in leather and the flimsy leather sheath comes with it for free."

Ulysses
03-06-10, 07:21 AM
Ulysses nodded confidently. He could afford that no problem, even the steel one would be perfectly fine.

"I'll take the steel short sword, then, and one of those oak bucklers with the iron rim around them you were talking about," he said. He pulled out his pouch of money and counted out 155 gold, then proffered it to the merchant.

Taskmienster
03-06-10, 08:55 AM
The merchant smiled with a sideways, greedy way. It was always good to see the nice little shiny pieces of gold being handed to him. "That looks about right," he commented as he pushed the steel short sword towards the boy and tucked the iron one under the counter. They were so often asked for it was better to have them on hand than hidden away in the back or put on a wall somewhere. "Give me one moment and I'll go find you that shield. It's in the back, somewhere."

The merchant left and returned a minute later. The oak shield was smooth, well rounded, and had a nice clasp of iron around it's ring. He smiled and put it on the table. "The one in the best shape, a little dust from sitting around but no wear or tear on it. Also," he said as he dropped a limp piece of leather, "That'll be the sheath that comes with it. Just loop a belt or a piece of rope through it and you're good to go."



Transaction Complete

Ulysses gains a steel shortsword, a flimsy sheath for it, and an oak shield rimmed with iron.

Ulysses looses 155 gold.

GOLD REMOVED!