View Full Version : A "Bazaar" Experience
It was a reasonably profitable day in the shop. Customers came and went, most werre buying things, some were not. Oh well, few stores ever sold to 100% of their customers, 100% of the time. However, that changed when a woman entered the shop, not that women in general ended profits, but this one seemed to mark the beginning of a bad rest of the day. Her face was printed, and her clothes were somewhat torn. A rusty old mace was strapped to her back. She carried a doll, and a bundle of rags as though they contained a baby.
"It okay baby." The young woman said to the bundle of rags. It was easy to say most people who were a little diffrent were crazy, but there was something about this frightened child, in the way she walked, in her eyes, in the way she talked to a doll and a bundle of rags as though they were real people, that seemed to indicate that this woman wasn't just diffrent, she really was insane.
She seemed to twitch, and her entire Demeanor changed. Her ragbaby hung by a strap holding her doll. The Doll looked like an old english knight.
With a smile she set the knight doll on an empty counterspace.
"You behave yourself Edward." She said. She looked at the doll.
"No you may not." She said to it a moment later, as though it asked her something.
She turned and spied the shopkeeper.
"AUNT GEORGIE!" The young woman yelled excitedly, even though the shopkeeper really wasn't her aunt Georgie, if she efen had one.
She ran and embraced the shopkeeper tightly, her hair moved aside, to reveal a strange glowing jewel on her forehead.
She backed off a pace or two.
"Can I get a new Mace? Oh can I? Oh can I? Oh can I? Oh can I? PLEASE???" She asked while jumping up and down enthusiasticly.
A twitch later...
the young woman kneeled on the floor, and set her old rusty worn almost ready to break mace on the floor.
"This one's rusted." She said breaking into tears.
"I tried to take care of it, but you know Grandfather Elttil never lets me have nice things. It was his fault, he rusted it. I'm sorry Uncle Bob, really I am." She said sobbing.
She grabbed her bundle of rags.
"Shh, quiet baby." She said, she began humming a lullaby to the bundle of rags.
The poor woman, one could only imagine what she went through to turn her into this. By the way she held the bundle of rags, it was obvious she at least had a child at one time.
AdventWings
07-08-07, 10:13 AM
Jirou the Blacksmith nearly jumped out of his skin even before the strange-looking girl dressed in ragged Akashiman-style dress tackle-hugged him. Seeing the strange behaviours of his newly-entered customer, the Akashiman was barely at a loss for words. Still, the large man managed a cough before falling into his usual spiel.
"Uhm, well, yes, ma'am. I'll see what I can get you."
Taking his time to walk to the "bludgeoning weapons" rack, the blacksmith took down a few close by and piled them on the service counter. The assortment of iron and steel clubs, some with inch-long spikes and knobs pointing out from the head, clattered noisily as they rocked into each other.
As much as he did not want the young lady, obviously mentally broken to a greater degree than he would like to admit, but he could not deny service to paying customers. Even if they were this badly messed up.
"Take a look at some of these, ma'am. I'm sure... uh... you'll find something that suits you."
Of all things, The Doll she had set on the counter jumped down and began examining them. There was no appearent outside source of control for the doll.
The doll looked them over as though it were an expert in weaponry. Perhaps if it had been a real knight, but this was a Doll. What did a Doll know of Weaponry.
The doll selected a one that closely resmbled the one she came in with. It was all shiny and new, and had a good sturdy handle of Oak.
"Is that so Edward?" She asked the doll. She put the others away quickly and deftly.
She picked it up and looked at it closely, as though she herself knew what she was doing.
"Yes, like uncle Wrath always says, Oak never lets you down. Of course, Cousin Lust never really agreed, but he was always too busy with other things." She said while setting the new weapon and her doll on the counter.
AdventWings
07-10-07, 03:30 AM
Of all the things he had seen and experience in Akashima, from the Great Crystal Spires that could animate toys with lightning and tales of the mischievous silver fox god Gingitsu, he had never seen a doll move on its own.
Well, there was that one time near the Crystal Spires... His train of thought began, but abruptly ended when the weird lady put down her order with unnerving calm.
Eyeing the piece of weaponry, he could tell it was neither extravagant nor of low quality. It would do well in its primary job of beating the senses out of thugs and errant hoods, but not too dangerous that a well-defended piece of armor would not be sufficient.
"Uh... erm, yes." Sweat dripped down the side of his face as he put the other bludgeoning tool well away from her reach. "That mace will cost you... uh... 105 gold pieces."
He was not sure whether to ask her if she wanted ones with spiked heads or not, fearing that it would do more harm than good. Even if she was a customer, a merchant's concern was also his greatest downfall.
She looked down at her robes.
She now had an almost normal persona right now.
"I understand that a dressmaker, you are not, but I am also new to this area, do you have some fine silk thread I can buy to patch my robes? Also, even though Silk is stronger than steel and thus provides superior protection, it also has the downfall of being flexible, and even an arrow or Katana with a fine enough point like that of a needle can peirce it. Do you have something sturdy and solid I can use to reinforce the silk, yet flexible enough to not hamper my movement, such as say, some thin wood?" She asked.
She looked at Edward her doll.
"What? What do you mean steel Glass is better? If you keep up like that Ed people are going to think your crazy. What? Speak up man your mumbling. Thin sheets of metal? Well, possibly, but metal armor gets to be quite expensive." She said conversing with her silent doll.
Steel Glass, what?
OOC: Silk really is stronger than steel. The Steel Glass referred to, is better known as Plastic, but I doubt any exists yet in Althanas. If I can get my hands on something solid like wood or thin quater inch thick sheets of Metal, even scrap metal, then I can sew up her Kimono and weave the Metal in, giving her Strong Armor that will last her quite awhile. Its like Samurai Armor, but thinner, lighter, and not as strong, or as layered.
AdventWings
07-12-07, 12:55 PM
((OOC: If you're referring to Lamellar Armor, it's not too hard to get at this store. As for the rest, let's see how this plays out.))
Steel glass? Is she referring to one of those weird Fallien glass stuff?
Jirou raised his eyebrows curiously, but quickly dismissed the thought. He needed to get to his customer's needs before his own curiosity.
"Well, I wouldn't entirely be sure if wood is enough if you need protection. Chain mail, on the other hand, might be what you're looking for. I could custom-make for you a dress of steel chain mail, if you want. Not too heavy and you won't lose much mobility in comparison to plate mail or leaf mail. You have my word."
A light-weight chain mail was possible to craft, but it would not be as strong as a good suit of armor nor a craftily-layered wooden chest plate of Nihon. But he only knew the art of Metalworks, a craft he excelled in and one he was confident in.
"You could wear the chain mail under your..." He paused, choosing his words carefully. "...dress. And I assure you, metal armor of this type is not that expensive."
Not until you start going into Delyn or Titanium, of course. He silently noted to himself.
"Well, I can get 500 GP worth of items total, and we've already established that this mace is 105 GP, and I really do need a bobbin of silk thread. Probably shouldn't be THAT much, maybe 5 gp at the most, just to even things out. This leaves me with 390 GP to obtain the best armor I possibly can. Ideas?" Aiko asked
AdventWings
07-12-07, 02:07 PM
In stark contrast to the emotionally disturbing ordeal moments before, Jirou could barely adapt to the sudden change in demeanor he was almost thrown off his rocker. Figuratively, of course.
"Well, if you chose to go with a full-body steel-link chain mail, that would run you only around 340 GP. IF you wanted something a bit stronger, like Damascus, that would run you over 700 pieces, something beyond your price range. If you want it only in iron, it would only be 205 pieces but it would be quite a bit of weight to lug around. Your pick, miss."
"Steel sounds like the best plan. It will afford me good armor, while still leaving me enough to get some Silk thread." She said.
She looked sharply at her doll. "What?!" she screeched.
"I will not strip right here and now for measuring. If you ever speak to me in such a dirty unsociable manner again I will knock your head off." She said admonishing her doll.
"You'll have to forgive him, he has a dirty mind and a quick tongue." She said.
AdventWings
07-13-07, 03:04 PM
The blacksmith did not know what kind of face to make at the words relayed by the strange-looking lady to the rest of the people within the Akashiman. One thing was certain - she was driving away some customers who felt things were going a little too strange.
"Uh- Ah, there's no need to do that here, miss!" Jirou quickly interjected, "You should have your measurements taken at... at the Leatherworks Shop across the street. Tell the leather worker there that the Akashiman sent you over for measurements. The owner there knows what to do."
He was certainly not going to take her measurements, anyway. That would be too... inappropriate.
"Oh, but just so you know," Jirou spoke up. "It may take me about four days to complete the chain mail dress. Here, take this order slip and return here in four days. I will have the item ready for you."
Custom-made items always took time. The larger they were, the longer it took. Such was the way of the blacksmith's life.
Aiko paid the man with a 300 gp voucher and the rest in normal currency.
She followed her doll accross the way to leather shop.
"The Akashiman sent me over for measurements." Aiko said as though she were battle hardened and ready to tackle the world.
"Also, do you have a bobbin of fine silk thread I can buy, or know where I can get one?" she asked, speaking like an empty headed twit with daddy's company credit card.
Her order slip for her chainmail was in a pocket, her new mace strapped to her back.
AdventWings
07-16-07, 07:26 AM
"Oh? Jirou sent you over?"
Miri looked up from her work table, seeing the strange lady enter with a strange aura about her. Something seemed a bit off, but she was also a customer. As long as nothing happened, it should be all right.
"Oh, yes. I'll get to preparing a room for you. As for silk, I believe you would need to go to the Silk Road about three doors down. They have the finest quality silk in this area. After your measuring, you can go straight down to that store and I'll take care of delivering the measurements to the Akashiman myself."
It took some time for the leatherworker to finish taking measurements of the strange lady, a wary eye always trained on the small doll accompanying her side. She somehow did not quite trust it, but she would just have to deal with it.
"Alright, thank you for your patience." Miri sighed as she ushered the lady from the measuring room, fully clothed the same way she came in. "I'll take this to the Akashiman and you can pick up the item there. Thank you for using our services."
"Thanks!" Aiko said.
The doll waved at her as they left.
At The Silk Road....
Aiko looked around the shop at all the fine silks, admiring them.
Maybe eventually she would come back and get lots of silk and make herself a new Kimono.
Then she accidentally bumbed into the shopkeeper.
"Oh, pardon. I was just admiring all the pretty silk. Can I get a Bobbin of your finest silk, as you can see, My robes need patching. I can do it myself, I just need the thread." Aiko said.
AdventWings
07-22-07, 10:41 AM
"Oh, excuse me!"
Edna jumped when the two of them collided, pulling away the white wedding dress she was holding from the collision just in time.
"Oh, a spool of silk? Hmm... Well, normally we don't have that here. You'll have to get it at the silk plantation a few miles west of here. However, you're in luck."
Moving swiftly, the spectacled girl gave the wedding dress to an assisstant while she moved to the backroom, returning to the counter a few minutes later. Planting the threads of silk wrapped around a bone bobbin, she smiled back after flipping through the pages of supplies.
"This should serve you well enough to make a full dress. Oh, that will be 400 gold pieces, ma'am." Edna announced, closing the book and leaned casually against the counter. Four hundred for a bobbin of silk might seemed preposterous, but it was silk after all. But there were no such thing as cheap stuff that did not suck. So could there be expensive stuff that would not be worth its weight in gold?
"Ahh, unfortunatly, I do not have that much on me." Aiko said.
She looked at her doll.
"Why that's a very good idea Edward." She said.
"Do you have any suggustions as to something else I might be able to use to patch up my dress? Maybe, regular Cloth thread?" She asked.
AdventWings
07-22-07, 11:51 AM
"Oh? Well, I think that cloth would certainly do, although I think it might not be as... Well..."
Edna eyed the lady curiously, wondering what on earth she was talking to a doll for. An odd-looking doll at that.
"If you used cotton, I don't think it would be good for the clothing, ma'am. While the cotton shrinks, it would tear at the silk. I would rather recommend, since you don't really need that much silk to make a dress... I think I can give you enough to sew back your dress."
Edna had seen the tears and holes of the kimono and mentally calculated the length of threads needed. Computing with lightning-fast speed and even quicker hands, it took her only a few minutes to come up with a good compromise.
"Alright, now for enough silk to repair your dress, it would cost only 50 gold pieces. Now, it may not be much to make your dress look like new, but at least it'll fill in some of the places you'd rather not show."
Edna hoped the lady had enough now.
((You have 500 GP, 105 and 340 GP for the mace and chain-mail dress. That's 445 GP spent and 55 GP remaining. ))
(OOC: 55? I thought it was 50, oh well.)
IC:
Aiko took out 50 Gold coins.
"Thank you." Aiko said.
With the thread in hand, she left the shop, and fixed her dress.
Then she ran around the countryside lost because not every persona shared the same memory, and the one she had then was that of a wolf. Inadvertantly joining a pack she spent the next two days with the wolves, and then howled at the moon with them. On the third day she hid in a cave rocking back and forth with her ragbaby. That night she took a bath in a river and washed her clothes. The fourth day she took on the persona of a dog and ran through a field of wild flowers and rolled in them. The Fifth day she remembered she had chainmail to go get and went back to the shop to go get it, smelling delightfully of wildflowers.
"Hi, I'm here for my chainmail?" She said holding out her voucher.
AdventWings
07-22-07, 03:44 PM
Jirou could not have been more surprised.
"Oh, Jirou. Is that the lady you told to come see me?"
Miri looked up from the box of pins in her hands just as Aiko entered the shop. The blacksmith gave her one of his "I suppose she is" look and the leatherworker grinned back in response. Without saying another word, she headed out the door with the box in her hand. Meanwhile, Jirou had returned from the backroom with the dress of steel chain in his hands.
"Here you go, miss." He said, carefully laying the weighty piece of armor onto the counter. "It's a little heavier than I imagined, but I've thrown in a bit of enchantment so you won't feel over-encumbered from it. You can use the dressing room to the right to see if it's fine.
Indeed, the weight issue was a bit underestimated. Originally, it would have weighted around 7-8 pounds - a good deal for such a light little frame such as hers. If he had not known a good (albiet quite underappreciated) mage a few doors down, he would not be able to keep the armor's weight down to less than a pound.
"Come back here after you're done fitting. If it's not too heavy for you, then I guess it's business done."
Having Tried it on she came back out. She was a tad slower, but some exercise and the gaining of a few muscles would easily clear that up.
She came back over to the smith. It was under her patched Kimono.
"Was there something more? It all seems fine to me." She said.
AdventWings
07-22-07, 04:40 PM
The man merely shrugged. His customer seemed to like it well. The money had already been paid. Was there anything else left to do?
"Nope, I think that's all. Money's paid and you've got all your wares-" He paused one moment before remembering something. Reaching down below the counter, he lifted the item and planted it down on the counter.
"Oh, yes. I believe you forgot this the last time you were here."
It was Aiko's rusty old mace, one she had left when she bounced out the door with the new one.
"So, seeing that you already have a new one, I'll buy this off your hands for 30 pieces. Sounds good?"
"Sounds good." Aiko said happily.
After getting the money...
"Have a nice day." She said. She skipped out the door singing a song. She had a lovely singing voice, a fact most people recognised as she skipped down the road and out of the Bazaar.
AdventWings
07-23-07, 09:37 AM
Well, I'll be...
Jirou had heard women were such chaotic beings, glaring coldly at you for one moment and singing as of she was on top of the world in the next. And for this young lady who just skipped out his door, it was merely restating the obvious.
((Transaction Complete.
Aiko loses 420 GP and receives the following:
- Plain Steel Mace with Oak Handle
- Enchanted Steel Chain Mail (weighs less than 1 lb.)
- Some length of silk on bone spool
- 100 EXP for good IC interactions
Have fun!))
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