Casting Such A Thin Shadow

[Slayer of the Rot]

This day saw a sual purpose for the slayer's trip to Corone's Bazaar. Mainly, with rumors of increased vampiric activity in Raiaera, he wanted to stock up on his personal arsenal (as well as rid himself of a few needless extras), but it also served to pick up a few supplies to disguise himself...as he was finding out, even after three years, time did not heal certain wounds, specifically the kind that were opened in a madman's rampage. The slayer was swaddled in traditional Fallien sand walker attire; a ragged, tan cloak, and a turban wound about his head and mouth, to keep the skin from becoming irritated during sandstorms. With the passage of the broiling summer months into the crisp, chilly fall, not many gave him even a first or second glance as he passed by, as they were bundled up in the same manner. In one hand, he carried a titanium dirk, not used even once since he'd bought it.

Breaking off from the stream of today's shopping crowd, Ren entered one of his favorite armories. As he approached the counter, he picked up a few things that caught his eye; a halberd, it's crowning blade replaced by a long, wicked spike, a set of wooden stakes, a plain looking broadsword, a few bottles of hair dye and bleach, and a buster sword. He set these all upon the counter (leaning the heavier of the items against it), and produced the dirk from the confines of his cloak. "I've got something that's pretty hard to find, especially outside of Alerar." With a flick of his thumb, a naked inch of the blade was revealed; a brushed gray surface that could at first be mistaken for steel or damascus -- "Titanium. And I came here especially to strike a deal, and pick up a few things that have been on my list for a while now."

((Shopping List:Plynt/Nihon Spike Halberd
Damascus Broadsword
Three Rywan Stakes
Four bottles of hair dye and bleach
Delyn Buster Sword))

[AdventWings]

A Fallien... Sand Walker...?

That was the one thing Jeffrey could think of when the customer walked in, shrouded from head to toe in rags with just a faint smell of dry sand. He could spot one of them Fallien travelers anywhere, even in the midst of similarly attired men and women who sought solace from the chilly Autumn wind. Still, a customer is a customer and a shrewd merchant should not be so picky.

"Alright, sir. Before you present your part of the deal, let's see how these weapons will cost for you to buy." The weathered blacksmith and store keeper straightened himself to his unimpressive height of five-foot-eight, visibly dwarfed by the rather tall Sand Walker before him.

"Plynt halberd with a Nihon shaft... 1,000 gold pieces." He said, inspecting the well-balanced and fine human-crafted blade.

"Broadsword... Damascus... 1,000 gold pieces. A fine blade, sir." Running his fingers along the ripples on the blade, his eyes fell on the remainder of the wares.

"Delyn Great Sword... 1,900 pieces... four bottles of dye... 40 pieces total... and... Rywan Stakes... 60 pieces."

Glancing knowingly up at the shrouded customer, Jeffrey raised a curious eyebrow before tallying up the prices. "Out hunting them Night Walkers, yes? Anyway, these will come to a total of 4,000 gold pieces. Now... Let's see that titanium dagger of yours."

[Slayer of the Rot]

"If no one did, we'd be overrun by the leeches. Unfortunately for us, the Wilmhearst are all too zealous to do that, and they're not so discriminatory to hold back and spare a human life." The slayer drew the rest of the dirk, and set it gently into Jeffrey's waiting hands for inspection, his own vanishing back into his cloak. "Besides, I'm a little more qualified to fight against them than any usual person with a sword enchanted with sunlight. I can match them in strength, at least." To accentuate the point, he lifted up the buster sword, tossing it effortlessly into the air, and caught it in the crook of his lone index finger, lifting it over his head. A small display of strength couldn't hurt, especially after three years in recluse, and the shop was mostly empty, anyways. "And while you're looking over that dirk, might as well put an eye to this, as well. I don't use it much, and that broadsword is essentially taking it's place." Again, his arm emerged from the folds of his cloak, holding what appeared to be an oddly bladed titanium jitte. In a space of a second, it's blades grew several feet, becoming a souba.

"I've been looking into picking up some armor, also...do you have any full plate? Maybe something in delyn, damascus, or simple steel." The slayer sat the double bladed sword down on the counter for Jeffrey to examine at his leisure, and then wandered off to look at the presented armors. Of half plate and full plate, Ren examined a number of fine examples, but found himself wanting. Most that were on show were best suited for perhaps cavalry, or foot soldiers who required mobility but still needed a sturdy defense. However, behind the jointed, wooden modelling dummies, Ren found a jumbled pile of delyn that would best suit his needs. He would have perhaps grunted, had he not had such strength that he had as he lifted the breastplate and attached shoulderplates, brushing off a small film of duust. It was indeed heavier, more so than the models presented, and Ren imagined that it's weight drove most customers away, deeming it cumbersome, but to him, it would present little difficulty in movement. "How about this suit?" The slayer presented it to Jeffrey, holding it easily with one hand despite it's weight. How much do you think you could let this go for?"

((Link (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=2954) for the jitte/souba and the dirk))

[AdventWings]

"Wilmhearst, eh?" Jeffrey scoffed, shaking his head in disdain at the mention of the name. He had heard only rumors of how they operated - all of them detailing something along the lines of mass murders and indiscriminate slaying. The merchant glanced casually from the dirk to the shrouded slayer, smirking amusingly at the display of strength his customer had put on for show. Then came the pronged stick which turned out to be a sword with two parallel blades, a design the man was quite unaccustomed to.

Musing over the strange weapons and their monetary value, including the cost of manufacturing and retail price, his ears picked up on the requested armor.

Jeffrey kept a watchful eye on his customer, somewhat wary of any mischief the stranger may be hiding under the thick cloak of his. A person of incredible strength was also another risk that Jeffrey had to keep in mind - he had no guards in the store precisely for the reason that there were times when shady, heavy-pocketed customers would drop by for a few choice wares. Having guards around would cause them to simply head out to other places. That and the fact he had no money to hire any.

"Sir, that armor will run you 2,400 pieces. As for your... trade-ins..." The merchant emphasized the last word, reminding the Sand Walker about the wares at the counter that would be exchanged to gold pieces after the transaction. "I'll take them for 3,200 store credits."

Writing a few numbers busily on a parchment, the merchant tallied up the prices and announced his deal.

"So, that's 6,400 gold pieces for the Plynt and Nihon Halberd, Damascus Broadsword, Delyn Greatsword, Rywan stakes, 4 bottles of Dye and that Delyn Heavy Armor. In exchange, you have 3,200 store credits for the trade-ins of a titanium dirk and this... uh, titanium prong weapon that can turn into a two-bladed sword. So, that leaves you with... 3,200 gold pieces."

Stretching himself to his full height once more, in a vain attempt to make himself look more authoritative, the merchant continued.

"Does that sound fine to you, sir?"

[Slayer of the Rot]

"Yes, that sounds good," the slayer said absently, hearing only bits and peices of what the merchant said, but catching the general jist of it. His eyes were focused mainly on a rack of steel swords; useless to him, as he'd probably break it within the first swing. However, it wasn't the weapon he was interested in; it was the etchings. They were mocks of dwarven runes, near perfect in their form, set in black enamel. It was just for show, of course, and they didn't do anything in particular, but still, they intrigued him as they spoke of a talent in this shop. "Hmmm...do you happen to be able to do any elemental enchanting, sir? Maybe, like enchanting a sword with the element of ice, or the element of fire?" The slayer spun around abruptly, taking long legged strides over to the counter to pick up the broadsword. "If you could manage, do you think you could enchant this with a bit of fire and ice? It can have those charges I've heard about, but the idea is interesting to me. How much do you think that would cost? And would the price be any different from it to enchant the buster sword with a touch of Holy?"

Even as he staged the question, his words trailed off and his eyes began to wander, and he set the sword down, walking over to a section of polearms. He fished a pike loose from it's grasp, retrieved the halberd, and glanced either of them over, thinking of what he'd use either weapon for. Both were made of the same materials, but ehy both served greater usage in one aspect or another. In the end, he placed the halberd in the spot where the pike would have been, and set the pike against the counter, leaning against it as well. "So, did you come up with a figure for those enchantments?"

[AdventWings]

"Ah, yes... One cannot hunt the cunning undead without a few choice enchantments..." Jeffrey chuckled, though shaking his head in disdain. "I'm afraid that's an area that I cannot help you with. I specialize mostly in weapons, sir, not enchantments. For those, you can buy my wares and have them enchanted by the warlock a few doors away. The shop's name is Cold Flame and is fairly small, though you should have no problem missing the blue flame signpost in front of his shop. He doesn't get many visitors, but I can guarantee that his enchantments are quite reliable."

Seeing the Sand Walker exchange his halberd for a pike, the merchant immediately went to work on a new price list.

"Either way, that Plynt pike with the Nihon shaft will cost you 900 pieces. That will bring your total payment to 3,100 pieces after deducting the store credits. So, sir? Is this alright or do you have any more wares to trade in?"

Jeffrey was a shrewd merchant, but he was not in the business for the money alone. Having a few "exotic" wares added to his collection was also a hobby the man felt good doing. In the end, he could always sell the designs and capitalize on it, making more money to supply his stocks and keep his price competitively low and affordable. Making small profits frequently was the way to go for sustaining business in comparison to mega influx of gold that came far and few in between.

[Slayer of the Rot]

"I see." Though his face was masked, one could see the disappontment in his eyes, though it was fleeting. To save Jeffrey or any others the trouble, the slayer pushed aside the display models to gather up the peices of the suit he'd been eyeing, lugging them up to the counter. "Well, now that you mention it...these pieces aren't particularly handy to me now that I have a full suit." His hand extended from his cloak, and from beneath it appeared the breast of his chestplate, as well as a pair of grieves next to them. Again, they were made of titanium, something the slayer seemed to have a surplus of. "In addition, since I possess a stronger sword at the moment..." He trailed off, and then lifted his hand, his zanbatou appearing there. It was only steel, and as it was, it stood a greater chance of snapping in two than the delyn buster sword. "The shop that I bought it from was not able to sell it easily. I hope you'll have greater luck with it," he said, leaning it against the counter as his hand vanished and emerged again holding his coin wallet.

((Zanbatou (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=2948)
Armor (http://www.althanas.com/world/showthread.php?t=2954)))

[AdventWings]

Staring oddly at the titanium pieces of armor and gigantic steel sword under the rather dim interior lighting, Jeffrey slowly glanced up to meet that of his customer's.

"So, you want to trade these in as well? Oh, I can give you..." He mumbled, cupping a hand to his mouth to keep himself from breaking into a smile. "... 5,500 for them."

So many titanium items. He thought to himself, a part of him marveling at his luck for running into someone so willing to sell them away. The sword, he would have to put up with and find a way to resell quickly. The armor, graves, dirk and the dual-bladed curve sword, on the other hand, would make him a rich man. So why not be a bit generous?

"So, that will bring your store credit to 8,700 pieces. Your purchase so far includes the wares I mentioned earlier, which cost only 6,300 pieces total. That leaves you with 2,400 excess, of which I can change into gold if you want."

His eyes met briefly with the Sand Walker before averting them to the other wares around the room. Judging by the items the customer had chosen, Jeffrey was unsure what else he would need for whatever his vampire-slaying adventures to be successful. Well, that aside from the enchantments of which the merchant could not provide.

"I'll tell you what." Jeffrey finally spoke up, scribbling hastily on a piece of parchment and handing it to the Fallien warrior. "I'll give you this voucher for enchantments instead. Take this note to Cold Flame and tell Henri that Jeffrey gave it to you. I'm sure he can help enchant them swords and stakes of yours with whatever properties you might need. The voucher might not cover all the cost, but it should provide you with just enough to help you on your way."

True, Jeffrey could just as well give the nomad the 2,400 gold pieces back, but giving him the voucher instead would ensure some business for his fellow neighbors. As the little idiom goes around the place, "Two birds with one stone." The Fallien would get his enchantments. Henri will get a customer. And Jeffrey will keep most of his gold.He would make sure to cover his magey neighbor with the appropriate payment, sans the "middle man's fee" of course.

[Slayer of the Rot]

The slayer took the slip of paper held out to him, glancing it over briefly befrore he folded it in half and pushed it into his wallet. "You know, I would hate to have to find out that you're fleecing me, in some way, boy. We Sand Walkers kill the Arta and the marauding harpies; and I'm something of a special case. I could turn your store to rubble in a matter of minutes," he said, a hint of venom slipping into his voice. Reaching out, he wrapped a hand around the buster sword's hilt, and no more had his grip settled than it vanished. He did this in turn with all the weapons he had picked up while he had made his rounds around the store, as well as the armor, though the bottles of hair dye and bleach slipped into his cloak. With all of his new possessions safely stored away, he stepped back from the counter, the wood of the floor creaking grievously beneath his feet. "Well then, thank you. It was pleasant doing business with you today. I may return in the end; I'm never quite satisfied with the weapons I get."

Pulling the stained cloak around himself, Ren stepped out into the daily grind again, pausing to glance upwards at the signposts that decorated the shops, and did indeed see the blue hued wooden flame that Jeffrey had mentioned. Smiling a bit under the cloths he'd masked himself with, the slayer lurched forward, his pace quickening in a few moments, eager to get this Bazaar excursion over and done with.

Indeed, when the young merchant had mentioned that the shop was smile, he hadn't been lying. Immediately, he felt cramped, though the proximity of the walls from his sides was at least enough to spread his arms out comfortably. It was dim, the curtains pulled shut tight against the afternoon sun and perhaps unwanted eyes, and the gloom made him nearly trip on a few things scattered about the bare, hardwood floor, which was decorated here and there with mismatched rugs, some threadbare, some perhaps new, only a few day's having passed since their birth at the loom. On top of magically shaped stone pillars, beneath belled glass cases, where a few objects, frozen permanently in time to display the enchanter's prowess; an emerald pendant, surrounded with a cherry glow and flower petals that went from life to death as quickly as they were birthed from the stone; a gauntlet that shifted from an average size to larger than any human hand, a knife that continually burned with flickering flames.

The enchanter's back was turned to him as he approached the cluttered counter, but that didn't stop Ren from speaking up. "I was told to tell you that a Jeffrey sent me, and to give you this voucher to help cover the costs." He extended a hand from his cloak, and first summoned up the damascus broadsword, which he laid on the counter, then the delyn buster sword, which he leaned against it, not precisely trusting it to hold up to the weight. "I'm looking to get this one enchanted with the elements of fire and ice," he began, pointing to the smaller of the swords, "And this one with the element of holy," he continued, pointing to the buster sword. "How much will that cost?"

[AdventWings]

"Enchantments for your weapons, sir?"

The warlock slowly turned from his vain attempt at arranging the store shelves, resolving to leave the jumble of odd-looking jars and flasks where they were and attend to his customer. He did not get many visits nowadays, so even a referred customer was a blessing.

Taking the voucher from the Sand Walker's hand, Ilyana scrutinized the handwriting with the aide of the lit candles behind him, which hovered over on two pairs of reddish bat wings. Recognizing the scribbles almost immediately, the aging man glanced up at Ren from under his odd-looking spectacles.

"Mmm... Yes, I believe the voucher should cover much of the cost in enchanting... So, sir... Would you require a permanent enchantment or an activated enchantment? They both have their uses and disadvantages, so I shall list them for you."

With a quick flick of his wrist, Ilyana summoned a large tome from a nearby shelf and started thumbing through them, wordlessly listing the ingredients and notes of each types of enchantment. Because he had kept a wide range of ingredients for all kinds of spells, he needed something to make sure he would not cause an error in the conjuration.

"Alright, sir..." The grey-hair old magician murmured after he finished the tome, setting it down on the lower counter top behind the one Ren's weapons were rested against. "With the 2,400 gold pieces on that voucher, I can create two types of enchantments for you.

"The first type is a permanent enchantment. It is a very time-consuming conjuration and involves many complicated rituals as well as rare ingredients. Fortunately, I do have a few of them in stock for the fire, ice and holy elements. The complexity does not bode well, though, and for 2,400 pieces you can afford, perhaps, a holy enchantment on your giant sword... but the effect is moderate at best."

Ilyana paused momentarily to gauge his customer's reaction. Even still, the warlock knew the warrior would be less than content.

"And there is also the Charged Effects enchantment. I can enchant both of your weapons with your desired elemental effects and remain within your desired 2,400 gold pieces budget. For your broadsword, I can enchant it with the spell of fire and ice. The fire charge will engulf your sword in flame for up to five minutes which will continue to heat the blade even after the flames die out. As for the ice charge, it will give your blade that extra bite of frostburn for up to five minutes as well, though switching from the fire charge immeditely to ice is something I will not recommend."

Ilyana paused to take a breath, eyeing the gigantic sword with a stern gaze.

"As for your delyn great sword... Yes, I believe it can be done as well..." He muttered to himself before elaborating on his deal. "I can enchant it with a moderately powerful Holy effect with three charges, each lasting around three minutes. Once the charges are used up, you can come back here and add more charges to them. They will cost you 150 gold pieces per each charge of fire and ice on your damascus sword, both of them charged separately, and 300 gold pieces per charge of Holy on your delyn great sword."

The mage casually glanced at his customer through the spectacles, waiting to see if the price was right.

"So, is that well enough for you, sir?"

[Slayer of the Rot]

'Damn,' he though, gritting his teeth beneath his disguise, 'Nothing is simple anymore. Not that it matters, everyone seems to be able to find the ability to do something if you flash enough money at them. The charges that the elderly wizard was telling him sounded bothersome. Each time they were used up, he had to lug himself all the way back here and have them recharged personally by the enchanter. Ren recalled Jeffrey mentioning that the Cold Flame didn't get many customers, and he had a feeling this was the man's way of assuring his previous customer's business. "I'd like to get something permanent. Preferably, a permanent fire enchantment on the broadsword, much like that knife on display over there," he said, jabbing a thumb over his shoulder to the the mentioned weapon, it's blade still wreathed with flames. The buster sword, on the other hand...he glanced at it, the dim candle light dancing across it's dual edges. The enchantment on it was little more than a bit of added insurance. With his strength, what damage would be dealt with each blow would make up for the enchantment if it should run out in the middle of a battle. "The enchantment on the buster sword is fine."

He paused for a moment, thinking to himself. When he could come up with nothing else he would need, he retreived his wallet from his cloak again, sure that the permanent enchantment would go over the voucher's limit. "That's all I need, though. Do you want me to put the buster sword somewhere specific so you can enchant it? No offense to you, but I think you'd throw your back out trying to lift it."

[AdventWings]

Permanent enchantments seemed to be what everyone was looking for nowadays. It also meant that it was a diminishing market for the Bazaar warlock who was finding it hard to actually draw in customers even without the other's referral services.

"Mmm, yes. I can change the enchantments of fire on your damascus blade to permanent. For that, it will cost you 1,200 gold pieces total. As for the three charges of Holy elemental bursts on your great sword, they will cost... 900 gold pieces. Of course, there is enough left in your voucher for one more charge of Holy and I will add that in as well."

Ilyana sighed in defeat, knowing that he would only end up selling his services into the red some day. Magical artifacts needed to create permanent enchantments were rare and hard to come by every day, especially if it had to do with artifacts left from the War of the Tap. He even might have to travel the continents again to gather just enough to reopen his shop.

Seeing his customer somewhat still unsatisfied but ready to pay, Ilyana gave him a wrinkled smile and lifted his hand up, indicating that he needed no help.

"Thank you, sir, but you are my customer. Please stop by in a few hours while you wait for your enchantments. I should have them ready by the time the Great Orb lowers itself halfway to the fields."

The gray old mage mumbled a short, incoherent spell and whipped his hands into an arc, accompanied by a short gust of wind moving through the shop which sent the flames dancing on the fiery knife. Shortly afterwards, the gigantic buster sword levitated off the ground, seemingly weighing no more than a feather, and drifted idly after the warlock as he did the same to the broadsword on the table and disappeared into his arcane workshop.

Two ethereal guards immediately sprung up near the curtain entry way to guard the shop while their master worked on the weapons, making sure no one tries to steal the wares as well as keeping the magical items from spontaneously reacting with each other.

The weapons would be ready by the time the Fallien man would return, with old Ilyana's melancholic smile and his two blue guards by the door.

[Slayer of the Rot]

"Only that much?" The slayer was surprised; the enchantments on his gloves and on his dagger, Animosity, had cost twice to three times that much. That very fact made the slayer grit his teeth even harder, cursing himself for not remember the face of the merchant that unmistakably swindled him. He sighed as the warlock turned down his aid, and turned to leave...but paused as he saw the crestfallen look on the man's face. It was a look that he'd often seen on his own adoptive father's face when he was looking at him back at his long lost home. 'I don't know why I'm being so selfish...the kid said that not a lot of people came around the shop. Maybe I can think of something else while I'm off doing my other business.'
_____

As the sunlight began to dwindle to an orange glow, the great star dipping down, fatigued and exhausted of it's expense of power, yet with so much to do yet, a brown haired man joined the receding crowd of the Bazaar. Dann Lagh'ratham, looking a bit nervous, though self assured, walked through gathered mass, in transit and standing to laugh and talk with each other with his hands in the pockets of his recovered Wilmhearst coat, shoulders hunched a bit, his eyes to the ground. The gray garment was buttoned up against the autumn cold, it's collar flipped up to hide some of his face. Once or twice, a group of guards marched past him, but they ignored him. The slayer was amazed at how true it was that sometimes the best place to hide was in plain sight.

Ducking into the cold flame, he ran a hand through his shaggy hair as he walked briskly past the glass bell cases and right to the counter. His attire and appearance had changed since he'd been here hours ago, but hopefully the old man would recognize his eyes and the sound of his voice. He glanced quickly at the phantom guards standing ever silent watch on the shop, large, threatening halberds held in hand. "I'm back, sir," he announced, gently rapping his knuckles on the counter. "I was thinking, too; you've got a few things on display here...do you have any enchanted items for sale that you think would be handy to me? I was never big on the use of magic, but time can pass by a man who isn't prepared, right? Maybe you've even got something for vampire hunting?"

((If it's not too much trouble, could you think of some artifacts or enchanted items or weapons for me? My brain is fried from standing in a Wal-Mart all night, and I'm, having trouble thinking of anything. You can even contact me on MSN and we could brainstorm some stuff, if you wanted.))

[AdventWings]

Ilyana glanced at the "Sand Walker" curiously, the mage clearly remembering the slayer's eyes yet the different outfit gave the him a different mindset on his customer.

"Oh, so you are a vampire hunter, sir?" The old warlock nodded sagely, finally understanding why the man needed so many enchantments on his weapons. Fighting the supernatural creatures required more than just ordinary weapons - Swords and stakes imbued with the holy aura was certainly more effective than a simple long sword with a cross on its blade.

After bringing the slayer's magically imbued weapons to the counter using his magical psychokinesis skills, Ilyana thumbed through his worn out books of magical items and returned his eyes to the brown-hair man.

"Yes, I do believe I have a few things that you may find interesting. Wait one moment, sir."

The grey old man disappeared behind the curtain doors briefly, returning with a plethora of odd artifacts and even a few curious-looking weapons.

"Seeing that you will need to fight these supernatural creatures, you may find this Ring of Vigilance useful. It can detect slight disturbances in magic as well as spotting supernatural creatures within a ten yard radius." Ilyana said as he produced an odd-looking ring from the pile. The ivory ring band was set with a metallic "eye" that glowed a dim orange color from time to time. "Whenever a supernatural being or one with great magical powers step into your boundary, the ring will glow vivid orange. You can simply hide it with your hand, but it grows brighter with the strength of the source of magic."

Shuffling through the pile again, he cleared the counter and produced an axe with a curved, oak handle and a wicked heavy head made of steel. The mage levitated the weapon into the air and explained its ability and limitations.

"This is one example of a Tomahawk I managed to come across during my travel. Whenever you throw it, the axe will loop back on itself and return to the thrower. Of course, the axe has a tendency to return around twenty yards from the thrower but catching the rotating weapon is a feat that must be carefully timed. I suppose you should have this sharpened somewhat as well - it is rather dull as it is."

Ilyana scanned the pile again and fished out a silvery amulet with an odd decoration that looked like a lion's head.

"Ah, this... Lion's Rage Amulet... This is an item I enchanted myself. Upon activation, your strength will be double of what you have now thanks to the magical enchantment. Sadly, the amulet could only hold five charges at most or else it could break its magical reserves. Each charge lasts around five minutes but that should give you ample time to do whatever you feel necessary. Be warned, though, that you should not use them in quick successions or even try to stack their effects. Some poor stupid soul tried that and he ended up dead... How that managed to happen, I still do not know why..."

The warlock looked through the pile again and wondered what else a vampire hunter would need. Frowning at the pile of weapons and relics from his travel, Ilyana looked up at his towering customer and gave him a wry smile.

"Well, I am not certain what else you will need to fight off the blood-sucking fiends. You may look through these items and find out which ones you feel fits your needs. I will describe their properties to you as well as the prices."

[Slayer of the Rot]

'Double my strength?!' The slayer struggled to stifle a wide, pleased grin as he reached out and took the amulet, holding it up to his eye. "I'll take it," he said, laying it down next to the ring and the tomahawk, then approached the pile of odds and ends the warlock had brought out, and began to slowly pick through them, glancing at a few objects with curiosity, though disinterest, that even his years and years of travel couldn't help him figure out. In time though, he came across another ring; a burgundy in color, made of what felt like bone or something like it. A line was carved around it, broken only once by a triangular pattern. Shrugging, and figuring that he'd inquire about it later, the slayer slipped it onto his thumb, the only extremity the right size to fit the large ring onto.

It was about then that the slayer's head shot up, his eyes wide. "Damn, that bastard sword will end up burning through your counter!" Dann shot up, and lunged towards it, and without thinking, grabbed the burning blade -- and dismissed it immediately, surprised that it hadn't burnt him more than it should have. Mumbling to himself, he returned to the pile, wary of his now injured hand, and began to sift through it again.

The sun sank a little lower before he came up again, clutching a peice of folded paper. Upon it was a diagram of a gauntlet, and another right beside it, though a sword like light was being emitted from it. In his other hand, ther burns oddly enough healed within a few minutes of returning to his scrutiny, was a cloudy white gem. He set the stone, the paper, and the other ring on the counter, summoning up his gauntlet. "How much would these cost, and what do they do? Specifically this picture with the gauntlets...could mine here be enchanted to do that?"

((The Ring
Tooth of Ifrit
The fang of a powerful fire demon, knocked loose by an intrepid hero during a battle in old Haidia. Some fool was either so brilliant or so stupid that he made a ring out of the tooth even. The rings effects are simple: it grants you a slight immunity to fire, reducing damage by a quarter (or halving it, whatever you decide).

The Gem
Gem of Turlin
A stone infused with magic from the School of Turlin in Raiaera, which involves itself in the arts of purifying evil and enhancing that which is good. When it is installed in a weapon or peice of armor (such as a gauntlet), it can unleash blasts of holy light from its hilt. The blasts are only mildly harmful to most organic entities, but to enemies carrying evil within them it is destructive.

The Diagram
Last Resort Sword
A seldom seen enchantment that will enable a glove or gauntlet to emit a blade of energy. The energy cannot burn, and remains under the laws of the physical realm; it still acts as a material sword so it cannot pass through armor to strike the flesh or anything of the like. This enchantment specifically has charges, and starts as a high strength metal (such as delyn), but with each use it lowers in strength, down to iron and steel.))

[AdventWings]

"Mmm, yes... That enchanted sword would burn through my counter already had the counter top not been enchanted to withstand its burning blade." Ilyana could barely contain his amused grin at the slayer's antics, though decided not to further exacerbate the wound already done. Instead, he reached into the back of his mind for the appropriate pricing for each of the items he chose, including the odd gauntlet diagram mixed in the pile.

"Ah, yes. The Ring of Vigilance, The Tomahawk and Lion's Rage will cost 3,500 pieces total, the recharging of Lion's Rage will cost 500 pieces per charge..." He announced their pricing, aware that it may be too much for the customer to afford. "As for the others... The Tooth of Ifrit will protect you from the heat of fire, though only by half of what you will receive in full. I will sell that to you at 1,000 pieces for now... And the Gem of Turlin I can sell to you at 2,200 pieces..."

Taking a quick glance at the parchment with the gauntlet diagram, the warlock smiled and return his gaze to his customer. "But if I were to use it to enchant a gauntlet of yours... it will only be 1,200 gold pieces to have four charges that will last around 10 minutes each. Each time you use a charge, the blade's strength will lessen, first from the strength of Delyn to Damascus, then to Steel and lastly to merely Iron. You can come back and recharge them here at only 200 pieces per charge. The energy blade from your gauntlet will resemble a short sword emerging from the knuckles, somewhat akin in function and design to a simple katar blade."

Counting up all the wares and items the man had expressed interest in, Ilyana cleared his throat before announcing the price.

"The total payment for the Tomahawk, two rings and the amulet comes to 4,500 gold pieces total. As for your Last Resort Blade, that will cost you only 1,200 pieces so the total payment comes to 5,700 gold pieces, sir. Your two enchanted swords are already covered by the voucher that Jeffrey had given you, so I did not add them to the final pricing."

His hand waved about and the wares that were chosen all grouped together while the rest floated into a separate pile, waiting to be returned to their respective shelves and boxes.

"So, is that all, sir?"

[Slayer of the Rot]

"Yes, that will be all," the slayer said, laying a hand across the majority of the items, where they vanished as he retreived his wallet with his free hand. The tomahawk, however, remained, and he nudged it towards Ilyana, giving him an apologetic look. "Thank you for suggesting it, but I'm not sure that I can see myself using the tomahawk a lot. Usually when I throw something that small, and it hits, it gets smashed, and the blade becomes warped beyond disrepair, and that's not something I'd want to do to such a fine weapon." However, a quick grin formed on his face; all he had to do was pay for his items, and he'd finally be done with this trip to the bazaar, something he wasn't particularly eager to repeat again.

"All right, let's see here...carry the one...subtract the cost of the axe...should be about...this much." He pushed a small mountain of gold coins over to the warlock, the two rings and amulet appearing in his hands. He looped the Lion's Rage around his neck and grinned at it, thinking of the amount of ass he was going to kick once he activated it. "Well then, thanks for your patience. I'll be back when I run out of charges on my things, so you'll probably see me soon." With that, he sighed contetedly, slipping hands into his pockets and slipping out the door.

((Just go ahead and subtract whatever it is that the rings, the gauntlet enchantment, and the amulet costs without the tomahawk. Thanks for bearing with me through this whole thing.))

[AdventWings]

"Thank you for using my service, sir." Ilyana gave the slayer a small grin and gave him the enchanted gauntlet the large man had requested earlier. The old mage then claimed his 5,000 pieces for the wares and returned the rest of the items to their respective shelves.

For the day, Ilyana had once again been spared the fate of the Red Numbers, though he will need to pay a visit to Jeffrey for his voucher's worth. It may not be the full 2,400 pieces, but it was at least something to buffer the warlock's services.

((Slayer loses the following:

5,000 GP

Titanium Dirk
Titanium Jitte/Souba
Titanium Chest Plate and Greaves
Steel Zanbatou

and receives the following:

Fire-enchanted Damascus Broadsword
Holy-enchanted Delyn Buster Sword with 3 charges
Plynt Pike with Nihon shaft
3 Rywan Stakes
4 bottle of Hair Dye
A suit of Delyn Full Plate (Chest plate and Pouldrons)
Ring of Vigilance
Ring of Ifrit
Lion's Rage Amulet (5 charges of magical strength-booster)
Last Resort Sword enchantment on one of his gauntlets

51 EXP for role-playing efforts))

<<Transaction Completed>>