Shadar Smash!!!

[Shadar]

The sun rose over the Radasanth bazaar to find the usual sights. Tiled roofs, bland colors ranging from dirty blue to dung brown, lined the sides of the street. For this brief moment of the day, that street was nearly deserted. The day's shoppers and thieves were now just waking up, and the refuse of the black market had shrunk back from the coming dawn like cockroaches.

The few people that walked the well-trodden dirt street were either shop owners, vigilant to accept coin at any hour, or that rare person with no sense of decency or respect for those with proper sleeping habits. There were about four of those people over the whole street, each distinct as they stalked from one building to another and wondered why they weren’t being served. Two more of that type sat, back to back, upon a brown slanted roof. They weren’t the oblivious type that wandered down below. They knew there wouldn’t be smiles or discounts for them. But, they didn’t sleep, and they abhorred crowds. So, this was their preferred hour to shop, despite the disgruntled salesmen.

The sun rose higher as they waited, causing the shadow the building afforded them to lessen. The burning orb was almost visible over the top of the forge wall behind them, its smokeless stake not helping in the least to block the glare. Fortunately, they were perched upon the low roof at the west side of the building. It was a comparatively squat structure, a simple adjoining room for business and display. After all, shoppers were much less receptive when their eyes were full of smoke and their body fat dwindling through evaporation.

“I wonder,” Shadar mused as he held a black glove high, “Would I gain a smith’s constitution if I absorbed one?” He was dressed, even by Radasanth standards, oddly. Some might think he had stolen his clothing from a punk harlequin on their way to a formal party.

“You would need their permission,” said the naked, busty redhead of a harpy leaning against him. Brigitte’s voice sounded unusually dull, as if she had been drifting upon stray thoughts. “I’m sure Jackal could depress one into agreeing,” she chirped, her tone suddenly a bit livelier, and a lot more venomous.

Stupid bird bitch, growled a voice from deep within Shadar’s mind.

You disagree? he teased lazily.

Well, I could soften one up for you. But, you’re too much of a pansy to ever go through with it.

Shadar bit his tongue despite the fact that it had no use in their mental dialogue. When the bait was that obvious, he knew to avoid it and save himself an argument.

The quiet morning air carried up to them the sound of a door creaking. Leaning toward the street, Shadar watched as a lone shopper left the building they waited upon. “I guess it’s as good a time as any,” he said with a hint of regret. “Wait here for me?”

“Of course,” Brigitte said dryly, once again lost in thought.

Shadar slowly shuffled away from her. Then, he put a hand to the tiles below him. A pulse spread through them, rendering the roof as fluid and immaterial as water. Like a ghost, he phased through.

He let himself fall for only a moment before he flipped in the air and landed gently on the wooden floor. A freestanding display of lances was directly to his side, pointing upward in such a way that his landing could have been disastrous if not for luck. With an amused chuckle, he started to wind his way around the tables and displays, most still shrouded in dawn’s gloom, until he reached the counter where a lone shop minder stood.

“A chunk of Delyn, about this big,” he said curtly, raising his hands as if holding an invisible bowling ball. “Please,” he added somewhat reluctantly upon seeing that this particular saleswoman seemed even more disgruntled than the early hour would account for.

((Intended for Moonlit Raven))

[Moonlit Raven]

I scowled at the door the previous customer had just exited. What a waste of time. All of those stupid questions and then the jerk didn’t bother buying anything. For a moment I wished I could chase after the man to give him a piece of my mind. I smoothed out a wrinkle in the red silk I wore much like a bird would preen to smooth out ruffled feathers.

The appearance of the man startled me. I found myself one the verge of calling for the smith, Haldis. Or my personal guardians, as annoying as they were they were useful. Eyeing the ceiling the man had dropped through I found no openings. Arching a brow at the man I snorted lightly, letting him know silently that I was not impressed. A few inches to one side and the result would have been hilarious. I thought uncharitably.

“Good morning sir.’ I greeted as I brushed back a lock of black and red hair. I attempted to look more approachable when the man actually said ‘please’. ‘Mmm, the size you indicated that would be about what, six to seven pounds? A block of unworked Delyn will be 400 gold.” I wondered if this guy had come from a circus or something, the clothing was a little outlandish. I figured that someone who dressed in such an ridiculous fashion could afford the price I quoted.

[Shadar]

Shadar closed his eyes for a second as he projected his will into an inner space. There, along with every other possession of his, was his modest sum of coins. He quickly sorted 400 off, only to find that the resulting hoard was depressingly small.

His eyes narrowed as he came back to the outside world and met the shop keeper's gaze. Her day's about to get worse if she's going to try fleecing me, he thought remorselessly. "Now, hold on a second," he said with a raised hand. His voice didn't carry the spitefulness of his thoughts, but it was thick with a condescending, teacher-like tone. "I would pay that if the material actually needed some work done to it. But, I'm making it easy on you. Just go grab a chunk of it from the forge, and I'll give you a fair price. Nothing above 300."

The fake kindness he had worn earlier was long forgotten. She didn't deserve it. What kind of person wouldn't even crack a smile at his delightful magic trick of an entrance?

[Moonlit Raven]

The patronizing tone didn't set well with me, I could feel the pleasant smile I had forced into being disappear faster then ice cream in the middle of a dessert.

"I'll accept no less than 350." I kept my tone clipped and even. I saw no reason to become nasty about it.

"If you find this shops prices disagreeable then you can feel free to look for another open shop. I'm sure you'll have only a hour's wait until the nearest smithy opens."

[Shadar]

Shadar turned and glanced out the shop's windows. The traffic had already increased marginally. In an hour, it would be far too crowded, not for himself, but for Brigitte. As a creature purely of thought, the conflicting wills of a throng of shoppers had as much affect on her as if they were physically crashing into her. She had already experienced that on one shopping trip, and that was enough to learn the lesson.

Bitterly, Shadar looked back at the woman. He could still feel the sun's rays behind him, flooding through the windows and pushing away, ever so slowly, the shadowy shroud of dawn. "Fine," he said angrily as he slapped a palm down on the counter. After a second, he lifted it to reveal an impressive collection of coins. It was clear that the pile was larger than his whole hand. He made no effort to explain that magic trick, nor did he expect any applause.

[Moonlit Raven]

I sniffed at the parlor trick, too annoyed by the man's petty behavior to be impressed. Quickly counting the coins I slid them across the counter into a pouch and laid the pouch aside.

"I'll return in just a moment with your Delyn, sir." I thought about hurrying off but on a second thought I decided to irritate the man as much as he had irritated me. I took my time retrieving the Delyn. I went as far as to stop and talk to Haldis about ordering the next shipment of metals and weapons.

I was nearing twenty minutes later that I finally reached the counter once more. Heaving the heavy block up onto the counter I waved at it.

"Here you go sir." I said, interjecting a false cheer into my words.

[Shadar]

At the ten minute mark, the grinding of Shadar's teeth was audible. Something heavy had better have fallen on her, he thought with so much acid that objects should have melted under his gaze.

The blacksmith?

Shadar spent the next ten minutes staring out at the street and counting bodies. It wasn't because he was concerned about the crowds anymore. No, he had bigger concerns, like distracting himself from the images that Jackal was flooding his head with. Each was an interesting, and often disturbing, perspective on a scene of the woman under the greasy, herculean body of a blacksmith straight from the ninth level. The only acknowledgment that Shadar gave to Jackal was a bitter internal muttering of, He shouldn't have two of those. Before the demon could launch into another frenzy of pictorial torture, now involving the blacksmith's she-male cousin and a horse, the woman appeared with his purchase.

Shadar was thankful for all of two seconds. Then, he had nothing but seething anger in his eyes. He could have gotten away from here and found something to distract the mental demon of she hadn't taken half the morning. "Thanks," he said, a gossamer shroud of politeness over a steaming pile of hate. Like a doctor preparing for a rather unpleasant examination, he raised one gloved hand and flexed the fingers. Iridescent prevalida veins rose to the surface, making his elbow-length glove look organic and powerful, like something pulled from a demon's body. With a quick thrust, he buried his hand in the chunk of delyn like it was putty. It rippled around his hand in an almost fluid state before forming a wrecking ball of a fist.

Shadar glanced upward at the woman, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "I hope you don't mind if I test it," he said darkly. Then, he immediately heaved the fist upward and pounded it down upon the counter top. The finished wood splintered and popped like so many twigs, leaving a crater framed by slivery, jagged teeth. Shadar whistled appreciatively.

Jackal made a strange sound in the back of his head, perhaps too surprised to form an appropriate admonishment.

I'll fix it, so don't go thinking I've lost all common sense, Shadar interjected before the demon could find his words. In a quick sequence of events that defied the laws of physics, he absorbed the delyn into the inky void of his gloves and took the shattered pieces of wood with it. As they entered, his glove began to beat hot and red. I'm doing this for her, rude as she is, he thought to sooth the burning, caused by the physical and emotional unity of everything that made up the shop. In an instant, the wood expanded from his hand to form a perfectly smooth and finished layer where it had once been ruined. Shadar wore a smug smile as he pulled his hand away. That section of the counter would probably survive after the rest of the wood had been worn down to rough grains.

[Moonlit Raven]

I could feel my mouth drop open as the man shoved his hand into the metal. For a long moment, I was speechless. Nice parlor trick. Ignored the snide little thought, jumping back when he brought the delyn encased hand down on the counter.

I could feel the stares from Illianiel and Serraphiel as they looked out from the back room. Just as I waved them forward the man reformed a seemingly repaired counter.

"Displays of violence are unwanted in the bazaar and especially in this shop. Ladies, take this man outside, now." I could feel a vicious grin pulled at my lips as the twin naked Moontae warriors came around the counter and grabbed the man by a arm each. The sight of sharp talons the Moontae normally hid under harmless human looking nails digging into the man's arms brought me some satisfaction.

"Do come back if you need anything. I'll be happy to serve you." I called happily as the woman forcibly threw the man out the door then slammed it shut. I shook my head noticing completely for the first time that the two were naked.

“Where is the clothing I gave you guys? If you’re going to lurk and help me out I need you to wear the clothing or at least use illusion to cover the girly bits and pieces.” Serraphiel snorted and stalked towards the back room. A moment later Illianiel followed her sister, she shot me an indignant look before she fully disappeared. Somedays its just not worth it to opening this shop.


Transaction complete. Shadar loses 350 gold and gains 100 EXP for goo IC interactions.