A souvenir of sorts

[Karuka]

Today was Karuka Tida's last day in Corone. She was on her way to strange and wonderful places that she'd never heard of before, and that was fine by her. She was actually rather excited to be going...save for the inevitable part of the trip that was to take place by boat. But since she didn't have a choice but to go, she might as well look forward to the strange new places her dharma was going to take her.

She'd even made a new friend the last time she'd been on a boat. Then again, she'd also been beaten, sliced, attacked, captured, and almost sold as a slave. Over all, she and boats didn't get along.

But she wasn't walking the Bazaar in order to deliberate the pros and cons of riding in boats. She was walking in the Bazaar for...

Actually, she didn't really know what. But she knew she needed something, or she wouldn't have turned into the place at all. Or maybe she would have. There were many pretty colors and shiny objects.

Karuka actually had a fond memory of this little street. Here, she'd finally been able to purchase a set of sturdy vlince clothes and her first pair of shoes since she was little, and she'd met a new friend immediately afterward.

Maybe she was going back to say hi to the shopkeeper she'd seen the last time? She wasn't really sure. There was so much stuff and it all looked so pretty. There was warm bread for sale, and pretty little pieces of cloth, and jewelry -- maybe she needed a new bellybutton ring. She'd had the same bellybutton ring since she was little. But she didn't feel any particular call toward the jewelry, and so she passed it on.

She was actually about to head away and maybe get a bread bowl full of hot soup when she saw a shop and knew that it was the reason she was there. She didn't even know why it was, but without a doubt, her intuition told her, that WAS her reason. The red-head shrugged. She needed something from this shop, and so who was she to argue with that?

Pushing aside the big door, Karuka stepped into the small but spacious shop. Lining the walls were staves of various lengths, girths, and woods, and immediately her eyes were drawn to a section of staves about her height, although she couldn't tell all the types of woods, and she didn't know what, exactly, would be right for her.

[AdventWings]

"Welcome to the Hidden Dragon."

The merchant greeted, gently putting away an armful of oak staves as he saw the young redhead enter his shop. Moving briskly to the counter, Lenon wasted no time going to work.

"What can I do for you today? If you're looking for staves, we have a fine selection of oak, rowan and even a few choice cedar if you're interested."

Motioning a hand at the far wall lined with staves of various designs, he gave the customer a cheerful grin.

"Feel free to try them out. If you find anything you like, bring it right over here and I'll appraise it for you."

[Karuka]

"Oak...a fine strong wood, 'tis. Attracts lightnin'. And Cedar, sweet smellin', good fer incense and moths dinna like i'. An' Rowan...ay red flowers an' good fruits. A medicinal wood...an' good fer keepin' away th' evil spirits."

Karuka was speaking mostly on the mythologies she'd learned as a little girl and letting her hands trail along the various woods.

"I'm lookin' fer somethin'...somethin' tha' willna break easy. Somethin' sturdy."

"Oak is a fine, strong wood. Attracts lightning. And cedar...smells sweet. Good for incense and moths don't like it. And rowan has red flowers and good fruits. A medicinal wood...and good for keeping away evil spirits."

"I'm looking for something...something that won't break easily. Something sturdy."

[AdventWings]

Lenon nearly reached for his head as the stream of foreign words spouted from his customer's lips, the merchant catching his act and chose to nod affirmatively instead.

"Well, a good staff that'll not break easily..." Lenon scratched his chin thoughtfully before heading off to the wall lined with staves himself.

"Then I would recommend ones of white oak. Very durable, solid and not at all too heavy." Gingerly plucking one from the wall, the skilled seller gave the whitish-grey staff a twirl before returning it to the ground. "They barely splinter at all if struck too hard."

Taking another staff into his hand, this one as plain as the white quarterstaff he was holding, he merrily presented his wares to the cute lady.

"And this here white ash is just as light and strong. You can't go wrong if you'll be using them for fighting. But~..."

Stowing the two staves back where they belonged, Lenon took a few steps towards another set of staves and produced a smooth, crimson quarterstaff. Turning the object in his hands, the merchant glanced thoughtfully at his potential buyer.

"Nihon. Very strong, very beautiful, very rare." Taking it with him, he gently placed it on the counter and looked back at the young lady inquiring for an appropriate buy. "Very expensive, I might add, but I think you might find it exceedingly useful in the long run."

[Karuka]

White oak and white ash...both very good, sturdy woods, in Karuka's opinion. Oak would probably the one she'd pick out of the two, if only because of the closeness of the tree to her god.

But the red-head's reflections on the various innate mystical properties of wood stopped when she saw the beautiful red staff the merchant held up. She'd never seen a wood quite like that, but it seemed to call to her.

Stepping up to the counter, Karuka gently ran her hands over the hard, smooth wood and then picked it up, feeling its weight and balance in her hands and through her arms.

"How expensive?"

[AdventWings]

"Good choice, milady."

Casually flipping through his tome, Lenon only spared a glance at the price list before turning to address the sale.

"Four hundred and fifty, for the five-feet-long ones. Another fifty for the ones six feet long and made of the same material. if you can afford it, of course."

He could not help but shake his head at the price, if only because the material itself was so difficult to come by - let alone the skills needed to carve and sand down the extremely resilient wood. Now, he hoped it would find a master who could use it well.

[Karuka]

Five hundred for a six-foot stick. It seemed rather ridiculous when she could pick up a six-foot stick just about anywhere.

But something about the staff in her hands just felt right. It wouldn't leave her wondering whether she should have gone for a more traditional rowan instead of Odin's oak, or vice versa, or ash instead of either. And the red-headed diviner had learned that when something felt right, it probably was.

Quickly she counted out coins of varying denominations worth five hundred of the local currency.

"I'd like a six-foot 'un, please."

[AdventWings]

Wow, a deep-pocket girl. Lenon smiled as he brought the six-foot Nihon staff to her. Why aren't there more of these customers nowdays?

"Here you are, milady." He handed the staff to the young lady whilst one hand carefully checked through the pile of coins.

After making sure that the payment was completed, the merchant cleared his throat once before continuing his duty. As long as there's a customer, he could not do otherwise.

"So. Anything else you feel interested in?"

[Karuka]

Karuka felt the strange heft of her new staff in her hands, heavier and surer than the old mops and sticks she'd picked up, used, and broken along her travels. She'd never thought that she'd actually have a weapon of her own when she left Ireland, and if she had, she'd have thought it would be a sword like the brittle bronze one her father had given her. But swords never felt right, and even when she'd had the choice of taking a fallen man's sword and grabbing a mop to fight with, she'd grabbed the mop. No more of that now, though.

She looked up at the man as he asked her if she'd be interested in anything else, and she grinned.

"Actually...how much fer a wee twig each of oak and rowan...nae big, maybe a hand-span long an' maybe about as thick as a little finger."

She grinned wider, knowing that anyone on Althanas would be wondering what the heck she needed twigs of those woods for.

"They're just wee talismans. Oak is th' wood o' th' god I worship, an' rowan keeps away evil."

Yay for being odd!

[AdventWings]

And Lenon thought the young lady's language was the only strange thing about her!

"Err... Pardon? Oak and rowan twigs...?" He raised his eyebrow curiously, holding up his pinky as if to demonstrate how large the girl needed. Throwing his eyes towards the ceiling, the storekeeper huffed a sigh before turning back to the young customer.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I have that in stock." He wanted to grin so wide his ears would fall off, but manners dictated that he kept a straight face. So he did.

"However," The man cupped his mouth to stop himself from stifling too hard. "I, ah, believe I can get some for you. I'll throw them in for free."

The man disappeared out the door of the Hidden Dragon for a few minutes as he made his way around to the side, plucking the choicest and sturdiest of twigs from the red oak and rowan. Completed was the unusual endeavor and Lenon returned to his post, carefully placing the twigs on the counter for his customer to obtain.

"Here you are, milady." He chimed, grinning coyly at the red-hair girl. "Anything else you need?"

[Karuka]

Karuka thought and thought hard, twirling the oak twig between her fingers. Did she need anything else?

She had a staff...why would she need another one? Unless there was more to owning a staff. She knew that swords needed polished and sharpened and such, but staves?

Leaning on her new stick, Karuka looked at the merchant.

"Well, why dinna y' tell me? I'm a wee bit new t' ownin' a staff. What d'y' need t' keep i' in good condition, an' repair i' if i' gets damaged?"

"Well, why don't you tell me? I'm a little new to owning a staff. What do you need to keep it in good condition, and repair it if it gets damaged?"

...long bazaar thread. If there's nothing, then just send me out on my way and take my monies, lol.

[AdventWings]

Mentally scratching his head as the foreign-sounding words came forth, he managed to decipher most of the message.

"Aye, you won't need to do much taking care of Nihon staffs. Just keep 'em clean and dry and that should pretty much help a lot. You probably won't need to worry about getting it repaired - Nihon hardly ever breaks. And as with most wooden staves, you just buy a new one if it does."

Still, there was something he could do.

"But if you're still keen on keeping it in working condition if it breaks, bring it to me and I'll see how best to fix it."

He was sure he could fix it one way or another, but only if the price was right.

[Karuka]

"All righ'. Gods be with y', an' thanks."

Picking up the other twig, she took her new staff and walked to the door, where she waved jauntily to the salesman and then was gone. After all...she had a boat to catch.

She shuddered at the thought. But there was no helping going on a boat this time. She was on her way toward Dhethain via Alerar, doubtless for more trouble, excitement, and adventure.

At least she was armed this time.

[AdventWings]

Smiling cheerfully as the young strange-tongue lady walked away, brandishing her newly-bought ware around as if it was a trophy. Shaking his head with a laugh, he returned his attention to the other customers starting to pour into the store.

What a strange girl that young'un be.

((Transaction Complete.

Karuka Tida loses 500 GP in exchange for the 6-feet-long Nihon quarterstaff, an oak twig and a Rowan twig. Karuka Tida receives 100 EXP for good IC interaction.))