Spitting Venom

[Slayer of the Rot]

While the sound of a boot thumping on the floorboards of any armory in the bazaar was such a common sound, the one that seemed to echo throughout The Warrior's Edge seemed to carry some special quality. Though no tremor was felt, what customers were gathered in the store seemed to shiver, shuddering and hunching their shoulders as a small handful turned to the door to look at the newcomer. He was a curious thing, such an odd sight to see in a crowded city like Radasanth, skin browned, hair turned wavy by a desert's sun, face masked with a winding covering of dirty bandages. The closest to the entrance seemed to shrink as the dark skinned man swung his head and glanced about the armory, before silently closing the door and advancing towards the merchant.

The qualities of this being was just as curious as the essence of his first footstep. As he moved, his body seemed to sink, until his posture was hunched, much as a beast. There was a certain unnameable aspect of fierceness in his eyes, something completely unseen in civilization, much like the eyes of a child raised in the wild. He grunted as he reached the counter, one hand fishing around in the depths of the heavy, high collared coat he wore. "I require a large axe." The tone of his voice dripped with hostility, curt, offering no invitation for small talk. "Something heavy, sturdy, with a blade sharp enough to hew a man in two. Since I have a tendency to splinter wood with little trouble, there is no issue in replacing the haft with a metal rod. As for the material the weapon is made for, I require something something reliable, that won't snap in two during a conflict."

[AdventWings]

Lorenzo had never seen anyone like him before. In fact, the seasoned merchant nearly tripped over backwards when he saw the deadly eyes even before the first ominous footfall came into the store. Still, a customer was a customer and the nervous Radasanthian was not about to waver in his duty.

"Uh, ah, yes. One moment, please..."

The merchant hastily flipped through a tome behind the counter, taking wary glances at his customers and the solitary figure just inches from his head. He could already see a few prospective buyers quietly snuck away, noticably unnerved and possibly already wetting their pants. Another time, another sale.

After thumbing feverishly through the list of wares he had in store, the man realized there were very few options for the warrior to choose from.

Where could the man had come from... I wonder...

Deciding that it was simply not the time to ponder over such things, Lorenzo huffed and looked up to address his ominous buyer.

"Y-Yes... I believe we have a few items that would suit your need... Can you... Please wait one moment...?"

The merchant disappeared into a small stockroom just to the side and slowly brought out the weaponry. One by one, the behemoths laid themselves across the counter until there were four in all.

"Yes, ah... Here are the finest and strongest of axes we have in stock at the moment. There's the Full Steel, Double-headed Axe with steel haft... Ah... There are two Great Axes over there and one Giant Axe right over there..."

The Steel Double-headed Axe was nothing overly impressive, thought the sweating merchant as he looked over all of them at the moment. The dwarven-forged steel blades were definitely strong - possibly almost as strong as a low-quality dehlar blade without the malleability inherent with that metal. Its three-feet blades curved dangerously towards each other, resembling two gigantic cresent moons backing each other while the steel haft was forged right into the blades, tipped with a spike the size of the merchant's own thumb. He reckoned it would weigh a fifty pounds just from lifting it onto the counter, the poor man nearly throwing his back out in the process. It may be too much, but who knows? There had always been warriors ten times as strong as he.

The Great Axes were another story. Made with a core of Delyn and its outer mythril blades sharpened to a deadly edge, these beasts could most certainly tear any fool dimwitted enough to stand in its way in two. One was just as large as the double-bladed axe - a great deal heavier, though, and Lorenzo nearly had to drag it by the haft just to get it to the front counter. The other had a slimmer blade, though just as large, and weight just a bit heavier than the double-axe.

Then, there was the Giant Axe that Lorenzo had the most problem with.

A blade nearly as large as the merchant himself, it was made entirely of Delyn with a wicked cresent curve rounding the edge. The steel haft ran through the back of the blade where a few gaps allowed for the wielder to grip directly behind the head to add more precision to a strike. The rather flat, solid top of the blade hooked upward, producing a nasty spike nearly four inches long - sharp and long enough to stab clean through a Coronian footsoldier on any given day.

Lorenzo wiped a sweat from his brows and thought things over, wondering why on Althanas anyone would want these kinds of warbeasts. Unless...

[Slayer of the Rot]

Civilization softened the psyche, as was apparent by the patrons and owner of the shop. Dan gave only a minute glance over his shoulder as the merchant shuffled through his catalogue, scowling at the one's that called themselves warriors in his presence. A few looked young, in their teens, and were visibly unnerved by his presence. They'd dressed themselves as something fierce; wild hairstyles accentuated with unnatural color, metal piercings, leather. The demon gave only a grunt as the merchant spoke up, telling him what he'd found, and swung his eyes back to him.

The first axe, double bladed, was fairly plain, and notably unimpressive. He reached out and snatched the heavy metal axe up by the very bottom of it's shaft, lifting the bulky weapon with no effort, spinning it around as he inspected the seams of the metal, how the blades were attached to the haft. It was unnecessary to ornament a weapon. If a person only remembered your blade for it's looks, you were sub-par in your capabilities. It should be remembered for how the blood looked as it oozed down the metal, how well it could crush, how well it could cut. Golden filigree would not save you if your weapon was not sharp enough to deliver the death stroke. With a sigh, he set the axe aside; it's construction would not hold up well at all in his hands. For any normal man, perhaps, it's heft would allow it to wreak havoc across the battlefield, but the demon had been getting out of hand lately with the sum of his strength. The axe would surely shatter prematurely, with it's steel design.

The Great Axes presented to him offered a much more solid construction, of metal that was far hardier than simple steel. These had only a single blade, and were heavier, though succeeded in not being unyieldy in his hands. He picked both up and hefted them above his head, and slowly brought them down. Oddly enough, the one with the slimmer blade was heavier, and he set down the first of the two. The blade was mythril, sturdy, and would certainly withstand the pressure of his swings, as well as the sudden, jarring stop of the impact. He gave the Giant Axe the merchant presented last only a cursory glance; it would be incredibly useful in his hands, and perhaps the only other being that could use it effectively would some hulking orc. He scowled; now came the difficult decision of which to buy. He had been looking for something more compact than the Giant Axe, but if push came to shove, it's colossal size would prove to be an invaluable ally to mow down a line of soldiers intent on blitzing him. "This axe," he said, presenting the mythril bladed great axe he held, "And the largest one, how much for either of the weapons?"

[AdventWings]

...And why was he not surprised the man did not go with the one made of steel?

Lorenzo let out a dry, nervous cough before thumbing through his list again to check the price listing of the two axes. Truth be told, he could count them right from the top of their heads - when there were only a handful of special items, one tended to remember the details quite well. For this instance, it was more of a diversion for his mind than being absent-mindedness so the merchant would not betray his unease to the frigid stare before him.

"...Ah, yes. Here we go..." Lorenzo muttered nervously, keeping his eyes in the text instead of looking at the customer. "The... The Mythril Great Axe with Delyn core and haft is... 2,000 gold pieces... and... 2,200 pieces for the full Delyn Giant Axe... Uh, sir."

It was not often anyone would buy these, either. The price tag more than sufficiently shooing away many prospective adventurers and heroes-to-be wandering about his shop. Still, he did not care much if any of the two were sold at all. He was too worried about the consequences of this sale.

[Slayer of the Rot]

'Two kay...' Wordlessly, he looked down at the Great Axe he held, turning it over slowly, letting the light play across the gorgeous mythril of the blade. 'Another two thousand funneled into this place, to be poured into the fat pockets of another merchant. Dan's eyes settled on Lorenzo, unmoving, with the sort of feral intent you see in a starving beast, closing in on a crippled rabbit. '[i]The guards would be a nuisance, and in the escape, I might drop the very ware I traveled here to acquire. And oh, how it would feel to butcher each of these...' He sneered as a woman with shaky hands approached, setting a pair of short swords on the counter, and turned her gaze to her boots. '...worms.'

But he had come here on a business of money, and not of blood. With a great, heaving sigh, he dropped a handful of gold coins onto the counter, shifted them apart with one scarred, worn finger, picked several coins away, and slipped them back into his coat. The axe vanished in his grip, off to join the rest of his considerable arsenal. "In time, I may return for the other. But for now, be glad that I have taken a more...diplomatic path." The woman, she retreated from him as he turned, hands dropping to her waist for some unseen weapon in the same reflex that a wolf bares it's teeth when threatened. "I would take you, had I not a long journey ahead of me. Be grateful that I do not have the luxury of fulfilling the basest of urges," he threatened in a soft growl, then slouched out of the shop, pleased with his new purchase.

[AdventWings]

The merchant was not completely sure how to feel, seeing the imposing figure disappear out the door. Was it relief that nothing bad had happened at all and a sale was made? Or should he be more wary of the next time the man came about, bearing a death sentence to the very merchant in this shop?

...For the time being, Lorenzo thought as he stared awkwardly out the door and at the remaining blades on his counter, all was well.

Until that man's return.

((Transaction Completed.

Slayer of the Rot loses 2,000 GP.

In return, he acquires the aforementioned Great Axe with slim blade - one Single-bladed Mythril Great Axe with Delyn Core and haft.

Slayer of the Rot gains 100 EXP for good quality in-character interaction.))