Penny earned is a penny spent...

[The Cinderella Man]

Victor was rather reluctant to part from his money. Not because he was a stingy bastard though. No, it was because when you were a washed out boxer and a vagabond, coins were hard to come by. Most of the bouts he fought, he lost, and the battle organizers were seldom generous when it came to the loser’s purse. So what he currently had in his money pouch, he had because he diligently worked on collecting them, spending no more then he ought to. Which, in turn, was a rather difficult task because Victor was never good with money. He liked to think that the money existed to be spent, not stowed away in some dark corner and kept there forever and a day, so when he had some, he never hold to it for too long.

Today was definitely a day to let some of it go. He was out of rations, out of bullets for his revolver, out of pretty much anything that he needed for survival. Unlike all the adventurers that plagued Corone, Victor couldn’t hunt if his life depended on it and chances were that if he foraged, he would pluck something poisonous and die a very horrible death. So he had to rely on his sack o’ stuff and its contents and right now they were running low. Especially in the ammunition department. His ability to shoot his revolver was novice at best meaning that for every bullet that struck the target, at least three went whizzing past it. And when you were a homeless wanderer, you got into a lot of troubles, which meant a lot of targets, which ultimately meant even more bullets.

On top of those necessities, he had a peculiar thing that he thought valuable. During his incredible adventure with Eris the Cute Pirate Captain, he managed to acquire a large chunk of what once was the skin of a gigantic sea serpent. Victor didn’t know how much such a thing would worth or was it actually valuable, but it looked rather sparkly in its aqua color and all, so he reckoned it wouldn’t hurt to ask. Come coin was better then no coin at all.

But first things first, he had to get some provisions for his travels. The general store that dealt with what looked like food and usual sundry wasn’t a remarkable place, but the merchant behind the counter seemed honest. Honest enough not to sell dog meat or something akin to it. The moment Victor walked into the store, the scent of dried meat and yeast struck him, arousing his stomach and reminding him that he hasn’t eaten for ages. Still, despite his hunger, he approached the counter slowly.

“Good day. I’m in need of some rations. Something that would last for several weeks on the road without spoiling,” he said, and then found it appropriate to add. “Preferably something that didn’t taste like a sole of a shoe.”

[AdventWings]

"That's a shame, good sir." Anthony chuckled at his prospective customer. "Our store's Shoe Sole Meat is the best-selling long term food supply for travelers available. Even though it does taste like leather." The store owner finished with a sly wink.

After watching the rugged customer's reaction, he could not help but let out a comical laugh. "I kid, good sir. I believe we have just what you require for your traveling needs."

Anthony made his way around the corner of his cashier counter, ushering the wandering boxer to browse the wares on his shelves and let him choose what he really needed. His experience told him that when it comes to food, it was best that the customer choose by themselves than him taking it to them. Having food pass other people's hands right in front of your eyes was something Anthony was willing to bet would cause a lot of people to avert their gaze and simply choose something else.

"So, sir. Here we have a whole section for dried goods and another for pickled vegetables. I recommend our beef jerky, a specialty of ours called Shoe Sole Jerky." Anthony waved a hand over the bundles of deep brown beef jerky, each set of five strips wrapped together with a pair of undyed cotton yarns. "Yes, I know it sounds strange, but I assure you it's very delicious albiet a bit tough to chew on. It can also be used as a soup base as well. Just drop one strip into a kettle of boiling water and keep on stirring the brew. It's quite tasty, you have my word." The man assured Victor, holding his right hand over his heart.

"And over here are the pickled greens. I believe you would want some of them less chewy stuff to go with the meat, so I recommend a jar of pickles or, perhaps, lettuce in vinegar? They really cut down the buttery taste of our Shoe Sole Jerky."

Walking over to another table, he grinned proudly before introducing his wares.

"Have some fruits in your diet. It's good at keeping those monks away for a good while, I would say so myself." The table was filled with wooden barrels, each filled with prunes, raisins and even dehydrated persimmon fruits. "I would gesture you towards the fresh produce aisle, but you would need to eat them fairly early in your trip so I'm not gonna go into that."

Walking to another shelf, he pointed out a few stacks of bread, some soft and fluffy while others looked like they were overstuffed side pillows.

"White bread, whole wheat, baguette and sour dough! All the kinds of bread you need to go with the beef jerky and pickled greens! If you think you might have to be stuck in the middle of nowhere for a long while, I recommend you stock up on our pretzels, crackers and sourdough. Keep them dry and they will go a long way."

Returning to the frint of the counter, Anthony leaned his stocky, muscular build against the flat oak board. "So, sir. Go ahead and use those paper bags to fill up your supplies. The beef jerky costs five gold a bundle, the pickled greens twelve gold a jar and the bread and dried fruits... Well, they're priced differently but range from five to fifteen gold a piece. As our store motto says, We only sell the best."

[The Cinderella Man]

“Five gold a bundle? A bit pricey...” For five gold pieces he could get a decent hot meal in most of the shoddy taverns in Corone. True, they maybe don’t taste like much, but unlike the jerky, it was warm. But then again, taverns and inns and long treks through wilderness seldom went hand in hand. He picked one of the bundles, took one of the strips of beef meat out of it and gave it a sniff before he bit into it. At first the taste really was like leather, but after a couple of chews, the seasonings started to mix with his saliva, producing a rather satisfactory taste. It was enough for the boxer to stuff half-a-dozen of bundles – the one he took a bite of included – into the paper bag.

The greens weren’t something he was terribly fond of, but he had enough brains to know that his body needed the stuff in all the damned vegetables. Between lettuce and pickles he opted for pickles, taking two jars and placing them in the paper bag. For bread he picked three packs of crackers that looked as hard as stone, but he knew that would only make them more durable on his travels. Ultimately, he took one rather large pack of mixed dried fruits. It would all cost him a pretty penny, he knew, but it was better to be prepared then to walk around with a growling stomach.

“Well, that’s all the food I’ll need in a while, I think,” he said, placing the bag on the counter and before the merchant. He did the calculation in his head, counted the appropriate amount from his pouch, and placed it on the counter. The goods he stuffed into his sack o’ stuff before he swung it on his back. “Nice doing business with you.”

With that said, he left the shop, munching slowly on the strip of beef jerky.

***

His second stop was the exotic weapons shop. There wasn’t much in the display window, but once Victor entered, he could see weapons he didn’t even know how to use. Sickles on the ends of long chains, curved blades with jagged edges, tridents with fishhook tips, and most importantly, firearms. Those, however, were kept safely behind the counter, in glass cases constantly watched by a pair of guards that made the muscular boxer look puny. Victor greeted the proprietor.

“Greetings. I’m in need of some ammunition for this thing here,” he said, pulling out his revolver. The guards flinched, seemingly ready to tear him apart. “Whoa, whoa, easy boys. It’s empty. I just don’t know what kind of bullets go into it, so I reckoned I better show it.” He slid the revolver on the counter to the merchant. “So, do you happen to have bullets for that thing and how much would they cost?”

“A fortune.” he was certain, given the rarity of firearms in Corone.

[AdventWings]

Anthony tallied up the cost in his head, making note of each product the man touched and each one that went into the paper bag.

"OK, then... That's 30 pieces for the jerky, 24 for the pickles, 16 for the crackers and 10 total for them fruit mix. That's 80 pieces in total, sir. Have a nice day."

Anthony grinned as the boxer walked out the door, knowing he could well throw in some extra bundles of beef jerky but before he could offer it his customer was already out the door. With a nonchalant shrug, Anthony walked around his shop and replaced the stock on his shelves and tables. A smart merchant always keeps his wares well stocked and looking good, ready for the next wave of customers.

***

"So, you're looking for bullets for your gun?" The pug-face store clerk glanced up from the firearm on the table, eyeing Victor suspiciously. Nodding his head sagely, he continued. "Well, boy. I think you're talking to the wrong person, then."

Turning around and heading for the backroom, Jeff flung the door open and yelled into the maze of shelves and aisles. "Lisa, you're needed out front! A customer needs ammo for his pea shooter!"

"That's six shooter, Uncle Jeff!" A light-hearted, childish voice returned his gruff call and within a second a young girl skipped out from the room, freckles scattered across her smiling face peeking out from dirty auburn locks.

"Yeah, whatever. I'm gonna go oil the Kusarigama. Holler when you're gone, girl." Jeff muttered grumpily and disappeared into the back room.

As soon as the girl skipped up to the front desk, her eyes immediately fell upon Victor's revolver and began inspecting it thoroughly, from the chambers to the barrel.

"Mmm... Point five caliber, single action with- Ooh~! A titanium barrel!" She exclaimed, checking the empty chambers before giving it a playful twirl on her finger. "Good balance, sturdy grip... I have just the stuff for you, sir!"

Gently placing the gun back on the counter - the barrel pointing towards the empty wall - she flipped open a metal crate and produced a box of lead-tipped bullets, staring menacingly at the boxer who was intending on buying them.

"These babies are what you're looking for, sir. It's hard to come by these days, though, ever since our usual supplier in Alerar went silent a few months ago." Lisa ran her soft, delicate fingers over the smooth, shiny bullet heads as she mulled over the thought. "Anyway, good sir, these cost quite a lot. That will be 90 pieces of gold for each set of six rounds, sir."

The freckled lass beamed, silently giggling to herself as to the thoughts that might be running through the mind of her customer. It was not everyday, anyway, that a young skippy girl got to be in charge of firearms. Lisa was not a normal skippy girl, but she was not about to let other people know that unless it was about guns.

"So, how many sets would you like, sir?"

[The Cinderella Man]

The wandering pistoleer was both skeptic and flabbergasted when the aged merchant was replaced by a diminutive girl. The young lass had to sit on the counter to conduct business properly and Victor didn’t think it was terribly safe for her to fiddle around with something as deadly as a revolver. However, when her tiny hands picked up the gun and started to handle it with substantially more prowess that its owner, Vic couldn’t deny that he was impressed. The girl probably wasn’t a day over twelve – and that was a rather generous approximation – and yet she seemed to know more about guns then Victor ever wanted to know.

As fast as she inspected the weapon, the tyke provided a box of bullets that seemed to the prizefighter as the kind he previously loaded into the cylinder. He inspected the ammo, noticing that the girl kept each and every bullet in a better state then he kept his gun. “Yeah, these will do,” he said, loading one of them into the gun and spinning the cylinder just to see if it turned smoothly enough. “Ninety for the six of them, you say? That’s...” he divided the number in his head with slight difficulty. “Fifteen gold pieces per shot. Makes me wish I was a better shot with this thing.”

He smiled briefly, retrieving the bullet from the revolver and setting it down. “I’ll take two dozen of them. But I’ll also be needing something special as well. You see, I ran into some guys with armor. Now, I’m talking steel this thick...” he gestured the thickness with his fingers, exaggerating about half an inch. “...and these bullets with lead tips bounced off the armor as if they were fireflies. You don’t happen to have some with pointed steel tips that could maybe go through such plates of armor?”

“Oh, also, before I forget, I also need one of them belts, the kind with little holes all around to put the bullets in with a holster for this thing. I’m a bit tired of carrying it in my pocket, if you know what I mean,” he added with a smirk, remembering how many times he nearly shot his leg off.

[AdventWings]

Lisa giggled childishly when Vic confessed if his shooting skills and watched intently as the cylinders clicked smoothly with the six rounds loaded into their respective chambers. She had always loved the sound they make, spinning so carefree like little wheels, and she even liked them more when the click was accompanied by a bang.

The lass counted up the gold in her head, but was stopped in the middle of her thought at the mention of "something special" needed by the customer. Her curious gaze followed Victor's fingers like a kitty following a ball of yarn, her head craning as his fingers moved apart.

Wow, half an inch thick? Hmm... The red hair girl glanced slyly at one of the guards, tapping thoughtfully against her thin pale lips. She knew what the man needed, but it needed to be tested first. Just in case.

"Alrighty, sir!" She chirped, responding to the customer's request. "A gun belt with holster. That'll cost 27 for the leather belt and 3 for the holster, coming to a total of 30 pieces to hold your revolver. As for the lead heads, those will be 360 gold pieces. sir. I'll have the store hands pack them up for you. In the mean while..."

Lisa hopped down from the counter, the Widowmaker in hand and looked up at one of the guards hired to guard the store front.

"Mister Diego, please tell my Uncle that I'm taking a customer out back. I won't be gone long, so no touchy." She waved a warning finger, causing the other bear of a man to snicker audibly at his partner.

"This way, Mister Customer! I think I can find a way around that problem for you." She said to him with a big, toothy grin and opened a small door in the side, leading him towards the shop's own shooting range.

On a normal day at the Bazaar, the bustling crowd and glaring sun would make anyone feel a bit faint. Today, there was a nice little overcast that had drifted in a little after midday and provided many of the bargain seekers a nice respite from the heat. Away from the easily startled shoppers, Lisa led the boxer out to the shooting range where a muscular guard stood at the ready, keeping his eyes peeled over the small range where some idiots had been known to sneak in over the opened roof.

Lisa walked right to an empty stall and, with a short burst of command to an errand boy about her own age, had the stage set up for the test.

"This, here, sir..." She produced a rounded, brass-colored bullet from a small ammo box the errand boy brought to her. "Is what we call a Full Metal. It's just like your average lead head, only with a thin jacket of gilded metal on the tip and side." Loading it into one of the chamber, Lisa glanced at the thick plate of steel at the end of the 10-yard firing range and leveled its sight at it.

"And here, is how badass this baby is."

Crack!

The Widowmaker rocked upwards slightly as the little girl's hand recoiled upwards, though still keeping a firm hold on the grip. At the other end of the range, the half-inch thick sheet of metal was left with a hole a little off to the right of the center.

"Oh~! I missed!" She sighed in disappointment, placing the revolver down on the shooting stall before turning to face her customer.

"So, sir? Is this good enough for you? These will cost you a great deal more than the traditoinal lead heads at 100 per six rounds. "

[The Cinderella Man]

The good impression that the lass left with her knowledge of firearms was only further enhanced by her display in the shooting range. Despite weighing less then half then the boxer, despite having small hands and skinny arms, the girl wielded and fired the revolver better then Vic ever did since he acquired it. And that was a feat worthy of awe, because the pistol kicked like a rabid donkey after a shot was fired. Despite the powerful recoil, however, the tiny girl sent the Full Metal bullet straight into the distant target. She was a bit disappointed for some reason – Victor reckoned because she didn’t hit the dead center – but it was still a shot that Victor could seldom make. He preferred to wait for his target to come at a point blank range, so he was certain that none of the ammo went to waste.

An errand boy scuttled from the stall and towards the heavy metal plate, lumbering it back to the girl and her customer. On its dented surface was a brand new hole, big enough for Victor to put his finger through it. “Oh yeah, that’s exactly what I’m talking about,” he said, lowering the target plate with a smirk. That was the last time he would be clubbed by people wearing metal cans. “I think I’ll take two dozen of these as well.”

“Say, how come you know so much about them guns?” he inquired as they walked back to the interior of the shop. “I mean, aren’t you a bit young for such deadly things?” The boxer didn’t want to sound disrespectful, but the question bugged him ever since he saw the lass handle the gun as if she was a seasoned veteran.

Back in the shop, his belt and bullets seemed ready to go. Store hands made the effort to put the lead-tipped bullets into the appropriate spaces on the belt. However, there were still more then enough left for the Full Metal ones. Leaving the merchant girl to handle his order and count the bullets, Victor did a little counting of his own, reaching deep into his relatively shallow coin pouch and taking out the appropriate amount. It was a hefty sum, hard money earned by the blood and sweat of the boxing arena, but he had a notion that he was spending it well. For the amount he paid for the bullets, he could maybe get a rather nice sword, maybe a plate of armor as well. But why bother with that apparel – which he didn’t know how to wield anyways – when one shot from his Widowmaker could bypass all the hassle effectively?

Of course, he had to learn how to actually hit the target first.

[AdventWings]

"Oh, that~..." Lisa nodded eagerly as they made their way back to the store, grumpy old Jeff casting a bored glance their way before disappearing back into the store room, mumbling something about sharpening the kukris in the back.

"My cousin Sienna taught me everything I know about guns, sir." She continued her story when the two of them got back to the counter, the tiny girl counting out 24 rounds and having an errand boy pack them into the ammo boxes along with the lead heads Victor had already ordered earlier. "She's a deputy in Willowtown. A keeper of the law, she says. Also, guns are not that dangerous, sir." She spoke in a matter-of-fact tone, placing the leather gun belt on the table while tallying up the gold pieces for his wares. "It's the shooter that hurts other people, sir, not the gun."

Lisa paused momentarily as she scanned through the numbers, making sure that she had not miscalculated anything.

"Alrighty, sir, that will be 790 pieces total..."

A small spark shot through her young mind, causing her to pause again before looking back at Victor, grinning sheepishly with a deal in her mind.

"Well~ Your revolver looked a bit worn down and it appears you haven't been taking good care of it..." She checked the chambers again, making sure they were empty before peering through the barrel and peep down the little cranny behind the firing pin. "I can do some basic maintenance for you and make sure it doesn't break in the middle of a gunfight. That's the last thing you need when you're in a tight spot. It'll only be 10 gold pieces for my service, sir."

She knew how to properly clean a gun, as the lass was taught that by her gunslinger cousin herself. Still, Lisa was as good a maintenance girl as she was a sharp shooter - she was always a little off, but not by far.

[The Cinderella Man]

Victor had a cousin as well, and she was a female too. Only unlike Sienna, Mariah was a cold cruel bitch that seduced him only to set him up to take the fall for her crime. The fall included the eventual death of the boxer, of course, and it was nothing but dumb luck that helped Vic to get out of that ordeal with his life. In the process of getting out with his life, he acquired the revolver, and though at first he was rather suspicious about the firearm, he soon found it an essential part of his inventory. Unlike all the heroes and hero wannabes who wielded swords and maces and spears, Victor had no such skills, nothing but his mitts, so a ranged weapon was more then a welcome addition.

The girl was right though; he really maintained it rather badly. But given the sheer number of pickles through which the revolver got him through, it wasn’t completely surprising that the gun wasn’t in the best of shapes. Ten gold pieces for fixing it up wasn’t a high price, especially since Victor like round numbers. Seven-ninety was not a round number. Eight hundred was. It was also a high number, but the boxer could stomach it.

“Alright, sounds good. It could use some tending to,” he said, handing over the jingling currency and his revolver and picking up his belt. While the tyke worked on his firearm, Victor spent the time placing the remainder of the bullets on his belt, and then donning the belt around his waist. Only after an intervention from the shopkeeper he loosened it so it was slanted, lowering the holster in the range of his right hand. So when the girl finally returned the six-shooter to him – her upkeep giving a vibrant glitter to the weapon – he stuffed it into a holster. All he was missing was one of them hats and a horse.

But Victor was no cowboy. No, he was still a pugilist and the revolver was only there to keep him alive between bouts. “I’ll be damned! It looks brand new. Thanks a lot. I guess I’ll be seeing you once I squander this batch of bullets,” he said with a smile and a wink. Picking up his gym bag, he threw it over his shoulder. “Farewell.”

***

Even though he spent a grand total of half of his money so far, Victor still had one final stop to make. During his incredible adventure with Eris, he acquired a rather impressive piece of hide that fell of a sea leviathan. Of course, to Victor it was only impressive in looks, what with its glittery aquamarine color and undeniable sturdiness. Chances were he could get a pretty penny for it, and if not that, maybe the forgers could turn it into a shirt of armor or something. The boxer wasn’t big on wearing armor, but he had swords launched at him enough times to feel the need for some protection.

Of course, there was a chance that the scales were worthless. In that case, at least he wouldn’t be spending any more money.

The forgery had an animated sign hanging above the door, a miniature hammer constantly clinking against just as miniature anvil. When Victor opened the door, a wave of heat slapped him like a gauntlet filled with embers, assuring him that, by the time he got out of here, he was sure to break a sweat. Still, it seemed like a fine establishment, so the prizefighter strode forwards, laying his gym bag next to the counter. From it he took out a jagged-edged piece of sea serpent hide, placing it on the counter.

“Hello, there,” he greeted the proprietor. “I wonder if you could help me. You see, I stumbled across this piece of scaly hide here and I was wondering was it worth anything? And if not, could you maybe make something of it? Maybe a shirt of armor?”

((The sea serpent hide awarded here ( http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?p=41929#post41929)))

[AdventWings]

((RECAP: 880 gold pieces spent after the first two shops. 920 left to spend.))

"Good bye, sir!" Lisa waved as Victor exited the store, putting away the stacks of gold coins and bullets into their respective places.

***

Klink! Klink! Klink!

The sound of hammer against tempered steel rang clear in his ears.

Klink! Klank! Klank!

The chiming melodies sang in the searing heat, announcing the solidity of its red-hot shell to its maker.

Klank! Klank! Klank!

The last of them ended with a solid beat, followed quickly by the sizzling steam and bubbles as the steel sword was doused in an enormous bucket of water, the metal blade shining a solid black in the orange glow of the furnace.

That was one thing Jirou loved about metalworking. The intense heat, the recoil of steel against steel and the battle between humans and metals. It was his love. It was his passion. It was his life.

It was one reason why he had to leave Akashima, his homeland since birth. There was simply not enough demands for weapons of war, nor enough conflict that warranted his profession. That asides from the low abundance of natural veins he could exploit. So, here he was, in the famous crossroads of civilization, hammering weapons and armors for the adventurous individuals either out to conquer the world as their own or to save it from those who tried to conquer.

Hearing his door chime ring mingled in the hissing of steam, Jirou wiped his sweaty, soot-covered hands and stepped out front to greet his customer.

"Hmm... That's a rather beautiful scale indeed..." He mumbled sincerely, his Akashiman heritage keeping him from outright lying about the quality. "I confess I have not much knowledge on beastly hides or scales, though I know someone who can."

Calling an errand boy, he spoke a few short sentences and the boy as off, running off into a nearby shop and returning with a fair, young maiden in tow. Dressed in simple commoner's clothes,she could have been just another Bazaar-browser though the rolled up sleeves and a side pouch filled with needles, strings and scissors was enough to convince anyone otherwise.

"Hi, Jirou. Do you need my help?" She chirped softly, her golden curls bouncing lively when she entered through the door.

"Er, yes. This man here needs to know a few things about this piece of scale here. I hope you can help him somewhat." He cleared his throat shyly before responding, his eyes roaming from the new arrival to the customer and then to the aquamarine scales. "Can you help me, Miri?"

Miri smiled warmly, nodding silently and took the sheet of scales from the errand boy, examining the sheen and toughness with a few taps of her fingers.

"Mmm, this is quite rare here, sir. We don't usually get many sea serpent scales coming through the market lately. Hopefully you did not have to kill the poor beast to get it?" She murmured, taking out a small handkerchief to rub a spot of blemish on its facets.

"H-Here! Use mine!" Jirou stammered, quickly whipping out his ragged old handkerchief for the young lady to use. His face grew red when Miri smiled in return, wordlessly taking the rag and rubbing the speck of blood off the scales' surface.

"This could fetch around... oh... 1200 gold pieces for the total sheet. Are you looking to sell this, sir?"

[The Cinderella Man]

Though rather plain at first sight, the young maiden that walked in was rather easy on the boxer's eyes. Easy enough, in fact, that it made Victor wonder why would someone such as her take up the job of a blacksmith. Big clanking hammers, unbearable heat, burns and blisters, they were all part of what was supposed to be a man's job. Then again, the prizefighter spent quite enough time with a rather unfeminine redhead called Asuka, so the tomboy behavior wasn't strange to him, nor was it unattractive. There was something in bold women that fascinated Victor and he saw the same in the blacksmith maiden.

The price she mentioned caught him by surprise though. Over a thousand gold pieces for a piece of glittery scales that he picked up only because... Well, because it was glittery and he thought it would worth something. And now it seemed that the something was quite a sizable sum, easily covering all expenses of today's shopping. Suffice to say, it was way more then he could hope for prior to entering the shop.

However, while it was a chance to get even - even make somewhat of a profit from the sale - there was another factor that he started to consider. If a simple piece of snake skin is worth that much, it would worth a lot more if it was forged into something usable. Like a shirt of scale mail perhaps. Better yet, such a thing could prove to be rather helpful the next time somebody tried to impale him on something pointy and shiny. Of course, it would probably mean investing more money, but between life and full coffers, even a dumb brute such as Victor opted for life.

"Hmm... That's certainly a lot of money," he spoke, scratching his two-day beard and remembering that he should have shaved that morning. "I wonder could you make something usable from it though. Like maybe one of those shirts made of scales that can serve as protection? I don't have to tell you how many bastards out there can't wait to skewer you like a boar." Victor finished with a smirk, looking at the blonde and hoping that her craftsmanship wouldn't cost too much.

[AdventWings]

Jirou glowered uneasily at Victor, his mind going off in various directions but many concerning the way the customer looked at Miri the same way he looked at her. He could not help but feel jealous, but it was not like he was about to tell her.

Miri apparently did not see her secret admirer suddenly turn cold, for she was caught up in her business and was simply doing her job - nothing more, nothing less.

"Oh, you want this made into body armor?" She giggled lightly, catching on what the boxer might have thought when he entered Jirou's smithy. "I'm afraid a blacksmith can't help you turn this into that kind of scale mail, sir." She chirped, pointing at one of Jirou's chain-linked scale mail hanging on the wall. "For this kind of sea serpent scale, you would need a leather worker to turn it into body armor. Like me."

Miri gave Victor a small, charming smile before ushering him towards her shop. "Come over to my shop, sir, so I can take your measurements. After that, we can settle on the details of your armor."

Turning to Jirou who had been sulking visibly on his counter, the maiden gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry if I stole your customer, Jirou. I'll stop by a while later for some materials I need."

Miri turned back to her new customer and with a small nod of her head, lead the way to her shop across the street.

When they arrived at Miri's Leatherworks Shop, she immediately went to work. Upon entering the main room, the leatherworker whipped out her trusty measuring string and began stretching it across the man's body, taking mental notes of his height, arm size, shoulder width and his muscular chest. After a few moments of rather awkward silence, Miri skipped across the room and scribbled down a few notes before returning to her customer.

"Alright, sir, thank you for your cooperation. It appears there is just enough to make you a fine shirt of these scales. It will take a while for me to make it, though, so you may want to come back tomorrow. Oh, yes. It will cost you 700 gold pieces to make this with a layer of hardened leather lining and 650 for linen lining. So, what will it be for you, sir?"

[The Cinderella Man]

Given the fact that he didn't usually deal with apparel that most swordsmen considered a must have, it was a small wonder that Victor walked into a wrong shop. The blacksmith couldn't help him, it seemed, the scales not the type of material he could shape, but the light-hearted leatherworker was more then up to the task. The lovely maiden led him through the rush hour and the accompanying bustle and into her shop. The items she had in stock weren't as sparkly and glittery as in the previous establishment - mostly apparel made out of various types of leathers and hides - but Victor didn't mind. Metal cans and sharp swords weren't something he preferred anyways.

The brown-haired lass got to work as soon as they entered the shop, carefully taking his measurements and smiling courteously during the process. It once again made the boxer wonder how did somebody as attractive as she wound up in a place like this, but before he got a chance to ask - maybe even try to charm her with his inept skills - the deed was done and she spoke again.

The price was somewhat of a shock to the prizefighter, though he managed to conceal the emotion behind his studious eyes. Instead of getting over a thousand of gold pieces for the chunk of serpent hide, he was supposed to cash out seven hundred for her to form it into a rather tacky shirt that he probably wouldn't wear half the time. The smart thing would be to sell the hide, Victor knew. But boxers never were the brightest people around and Victor felt rather awkward seeing the pretty woman going through all this effort just so he would say that he didn't want the vest. "I can always sell it afterwards if I'm short on money," he thought, sparing a moment of deliberation before he replied to her question.

"I'd prefer the leather lining. It probably won't make much difference if something sharp goes through the scales, but I reckon some additional protection is better then none at all," the boxer said, dipping into his money pouch and setting three hundred and fifty gold pieces on the counter. "Half the money now, half when it's done," he added with a soft smirk before he left the shop and the lovely leatherworker.

***

He came back to the lass and her shop early in the morning, after a night spent in a sleazy inn whose beds seemed to have more bumps then most of the Corone goat trails. Still, seeing the woman once again drew a less grumpy and more benevolent expression on his face. Approaching the counter, the pugilist greeted the maiden: "Good morning. I'm here about that armor." He paused, remembering that he came rather early in the day. "I...uh... I hope I didn't come too early."

[AdventWings]

"Oh, not at all!" Miri looked up from her work on a brigandine jacket that a customer had ordered a while after Victor left and skipped around to the back of her counter. "Your sea serpent scale shirt is done."

The young blonde leatherworker pulled out the splendid aquamarine shirt, the serpent scales glimmering dimly in the morning sunlight. The overall design was that of a simple short-sleeve shirt that would fit over the boxer as there were no visible buttons on the front or back. The overlapping scales pointed downwards with the leather lining just barely peeking out from the triangular collar.

Handing the rather stiff shirt to her customer, she smiled patiently as he tested out the item. Miri was sure her customer would be glad with the simple yet effective piece of protection. She believed it would give him more than enough mobility with the good defense against slashing blades. She had some trouble punching holes through the scales themselves in the construction phase, but with Jirou helping with punching the holes in the underlying hide her work was cut down by half.

"I hope your scale shirt turned out the way you wished, sir." She added with a curt smile, her golden hair playing with the morning rays coming in through the store window.

[The Cinderella Man]

The shirt was a bit too vibrant and glittery for Victor’s liking, but it’s not like the leatherworker could do anything about that little detail. What she could so something about, she did with definite prowess. The shirt of scale mail was neither too tight nor too lose, embracing his musculature the way it ought to in order to be efficient in combat. He made a few moves with his arms, mostly pugilistic punches, and noticed that there was almost no loss to his mobility. The lovely maiden did a good job and deserved the other half of the money.

“Yeah, it really did. You did a great job, miss.” Victor said, slipping the scaly item over his head and stuffing it into his duffel bag. Another three hundred and fifty coins were taken out of his pouch and placed on the counter. Usually, separating himself from such a large sum was something he did with significant heartache – especially when he remembered how hard it was to earn it – but seeing that it went to such a pretty individual, the boxer didn’t mind much. It was better to be ripped off by somebody beautiful then somebody that looked like a carriage wreck.

“Well, it was a pleasure doing business with you,” the muscular boxer said, swinging the bag on his shoulder and turning towards the door. He didn’t leave the shop instantly though. Instead he turned around just when he reached the door and looked back towards the girl.

“Shit, what have you got to lose?”

“Say, miss, you wouldn’t be interested in a drink once your shift is done? I know a nice tavern not far from here.” It was a long shot, but when you had nothing, you had nothing to lose.

((Ok, I’m pretty much done. Tally up everything and wrap it up. It doesn’t really matter what answer Miri gives to Victor; I just thought that the offer would be a nice addition. :)))

[AdventWings]

Miri smiled happily as she placed the 350 gold coins into her money pouch at her hip where the other half of the payment had been yesterday.

"It was a pleasure doing business with you as well, sir. We aim to serve."

The customer made a move on her and she could tell it by the way he was carrying himself. A nice drink at a tavern for lunch would sound quite a treat, but...

"I'm sorry, sir, but I must turn down your offer." Miri gave him an apologetic smile, not wanting to sound rude to a possible returning customer. "I already have company for today and I wish not to harm his feelings. Thank you for the offer all the same, though. Please return for your future leatherwork needs."

After seeing her customer off, Miri walked back to her counter and resumed sewing the leather suit of armor. Her mind still wondering why was it she turned down Victor's offer. Then another thought popped up in her head and she immediately left her shop, heading out to the store on the other side of the busy street.

"Hmm, I wonder if Jirou is free this morning..."

((Victor loses a total of 1,580 gold pieces in exchange for the following:

Anthony's Traveler's Wayside Food Store

- 6 pieces of Shoe Sole Jerky
- 2 jars of pickles
- 3 packs of rather hard crackers
- A bag of dried fruit mix.

Kira and Lisa's Weapons of the Outlanders

- 24 common lead-tipped bullets
- 24 Full Metal bullets (esentially Full Metal Jacket bullets covered in gilded metal)
- A leather gun belt with 12 bullet holder rings on the belt
- Basic maintenance on the Widowmaker

Miri's Leatherworks Shop

- A leather shirt covered with Aquamarine-colored Sea Serpent Scales

All ready to go along with 84 EXP for good role-playing efforts. :D))