Gold Burns Holes

[Herald]

After striking out to seek his fortune with his brother, Gabriel Fisher discovered he was not nearly as well-prepared as he originally thought. So it was with clarity of purpose that he sauntered through the Bazaar, Raphael at his side. It was easy to be distracted by all the oddities an trinkets for sale, but Gabe had something a bit more specific in mind. Finding a likely looking little shop, he began to walk inside, but was stopped by a gentle hand on his shoulder.


"Gabe? I'll just wait outside...I don't need anything."

Gabriel nodded before turning back to the shop. An old battered sign in front of the store proclaimed "Arms & Armour" in faded paint, and that was exactly what he was looking for. If he was going to continue risking his life in dangerous situations, it was best he have more to fight back with than one throwing dagger and a sword. I'd rather have two swords, he thought sarcastically.

He started browsing the various wares, but soon became overwhelmed by all the attractive options. There was a much more direct way to deal with that. Still staring at the shelves, he practically walked into the counter that he assumed the shopkeep would be behind. Entranced by some shiny bauble or other, he didn't look at the shopkeep as he spoke.

"Erm, g'day. Listen, I'm looking for a bunch of things today, and I was hoping you could help me. I'd be interested in a cutlass, though I'm not sure which metal would suit me best. Also, I'd like to know the prices for a crossbow. Actually, a hand-crosbow. Actually, a gauntlet-mounted hand-crossbow, if'n y'please. Also, a pair of leather gloves. Actually, a pair of gloves that could spring a small blade from hiding, if'n you'd have such a thing. Y'know, for emergencies and such. Also, a small complement of throwing daggers wouldn't go amiss. Actually, throwing daggers on a bandolier would be great. Wow, a mithril shirt would be amazing, but I probably can't afford it. Le'see, spears, axes, javelins, hammers...nah. Shields? Hmm, what do you have in the way of shields? Wait a second, magic items...prob'ly can't afford any, so never mind, actually. Erm, I'm sorry, ah, I'm being rude...I was distracted, and, uh, kinda mumbling there. Did you, well, happen to...catch any of that?"

Gabriel blushed a little as he glanced towards the shopkeep, ashamed of his child-like behavior.

[Moonlit Raven]

Erin watched the young man as he browsed through her shop. The sheer over flow of words surprised Erin and set her laughing. It took several moments for the laughter to subside.

"Easy there. A good day to yourself, the name's Erin." Erin looked down at a indigant mew from near her ankles. "The little ball of orange fur is New cat. I have two others hiding somewhere in the shop." Erin chuckled and scooped up the small orange kitten. Cuddling the fuzzy little creature for a moment she set the kitten on the counter.

"Now, about the items you were speaking of. A gauntlet mounted crossbow, that would be 165 gold pieces. Myself, I wouldn't trust a crossbow of the size. The power of it would compromised. The bolts for the crossbow are 3 gp each. A pair of plain leather gloves are 30, a set that contains a blade hidden in one of them is 90 gold. As for the shirt made of mythirl it's 420." Erin looked glanced up at the youth, the corners of her bright blue eyes crinkling as she smiled. Abandoning the kitten, Erin beckoned the boy to follow her, she led the way over to her shields.

"Did you know what type of shield you wanted? I carry kite shields, tower shields, they can be plain, spiked, cover in designed, or spelled. All vary in cost and what I don't carry I can have the black smith make in a day or so."

[Herald]

Gabe's blush deepened as he set the shopkeep laughing, though her soothing and understanding quickly took away the embarassment and allowed Gabe to relax a little.

He let the prices soak in as he mentally tried to calculate how much everything would cost against how much he actually had to spend...there was no way he could afford everything he wanted.

The mythril shirt is out...at least until I can win a fortune and come back for it. Too bad.

The gauntlet-mounted crossbow and blade-springing gloves, however, were well within his price range, and he felt a small adrenaline rush as he realized the extent of his buying power.

I'm definitely going to have some new toys to play with...

Following Erin to her impressive selection of shields, he was subjected once again to the overwhelming bewilderment that accompanied such a vast selection of options.

"Wow...uh, for the shield, I didn't have anything specific in mind, just a peice of wood I could kinda hide behind...heh. Metal would be a better choice, though...How much would a small round shield cost? I didn't consider spikes, but it wouldn't hurt to add them. Or, actually, it would, and I guess that's the point. Ouch. Bad pun, sorry. How much extra for the spikes on it, too, please? Oh, and I almost forgot about the cutlass and daggers...I guess I should just take it one step at a time, huh? You can prob'ly tell I don't come shopping too often."

Despite every survival instinct that told Gabriel not to reveal any information, and especially not to trust a stranger who was obviously looking to make some gold from him, he found himself liking the kindly woman and her cats. His eyes darted around the shop hoping to catch a glimpse of one of the other cats, and he started feeling a little safer, more secure, more comfortable, more at home than he had in long time, and for some reason he was flooded with random memories from his childhood.

Still, he felt just that much safer knowing he could trust his younger brother to be keeping a close lookout in front of the shop. Just in case.

[Moonlit Raven]

Erin smiled at the young man and wondered what her children, if she had ever had any, would be like. Gesturing for the young man to wait a moment Erin hurried off towards a side room. Moments later she returned bearing a tray loaded with a tea pot, cups and a modest assortment of cookies.

"You'll have to excuse the lack of baked goods. I didn't have a much time to bake as much as I normally do. I slept in for some reason this morning, quite odd it was." Erin paused and glanced down that the sudden chorus of begging mewls accompanying a constant brush of fur against her ankles. "I know what you little beggars want." Erin chuckled and set two of the creme filled pastries on saucers and set them on the floor.

"The blue-gray one is Blue cat and the black and white with a crooked tail is Clue cat. They are perfect little horrors they are, but they keep me company. Now you were talking about a shield." Erin leaned against the counter pouring her customer then herself a cup of lavender tea. Pausing to nibble on a piece of shortbread she waved at the assortment of shield in stock.

"A plain, round metal shield is 50 gold to add spikes it's 25 a spike. At the time I don’t have any shields pre made with the spikes but it will take the black smith only a day to alter a shield.”

[Herald]

Gabriel was taken aback by the appearance of amicably-offered food. He wasn't sure if it was usual conduct for a merchant to bake for their customers and share a cup of tea...perhaps it was a tradition here? Not wishing to offer any offense, and genuinely grateful for the exquisite repast before him, Gabriel graciously accepted the proferred cup and sipped on it lightly...now, that was quality tea!

"Oh, thank you so much!" Gariel hastily blurted it out when he realized he had forgotten his manners. Lost in thought over the shield, he was internally debating the finer points of including spikes on his shield. Sure, it would allow him to use his primary defense in an offensive manner, but he wasn't exactly an expert at counter-attacking with a shield, and he was certain the spikes would make it at least a little unwieldy for someone without formal training in it's usage. Besides, that was what his sword was for, wasn't it?

He found himself absently staring at Blue cat while he did his best to sip his tea politely, without slurping it or gulping it down. He felt his lapse into silence could be considered rude, and he was trying his best not to offend the nicest shopkeep he had ever met.

"Hmm, I think I'm going to skip the spikes this time...so if it's fifty for the shield, and, uh, ninety for the nifty gloves, and...one-sixty five for gauntlet crossbow...that's...uh...maybe...carry the one...two-seventy five? No, wait...That's definitely not right...Three-oh-five? I think, anyway...I'll have to remember to buy some bolts, too, but I'll see how much I have left...I think that just leaves me looking for a cutlass and a bandolier of daggers, if I can afford both. What can you tell me about metals for a cutlass, please? I'm afraid I haven't the slightest idea what I should be looking for with that..."

Gabe took another sip of the aromatic tea and couldn't fight the smile off his face. This was definitely a good day, and easily the best time he had ever had shopping, not like the crude market back home.

[Moonlit Raven]

The boys’ reaction to the tea she offered set Erin off laughing. It took her a few moments to stop the giggles the spilled out of her.

"It's just lavender tea, if I thought you would enjoy it this much I would have popped in a bit of cinnamon to give it a little spice. I bet you would really like that." Erin took a sip of her tea to cut off another round of laughter before it started. Her bright blue eyes gleamed with suppressed laughter as she watched him over the rim of her cup.

"You've got it right, dear. It's three oh five right now. Cutlass, oh yes that’s a light sword. For steel it's 100 gold, Damascus is 259, Delyn 370, Mythril is 500 and Damascus is 1800. A bandolier to hold six blades is 30 gold. Did you mean actual daggers or small knives? There is a inch or so difference in size and a dagger is 10 gold while a small knife is 5 gold."

[Herald]

Gabriel continued to savor the tea as he mentally tried to do more math. Maybe it was just the tea, but numbers weren't making too much sense at the moment.

"Cinnamon in the tea? Really? It's delicious the way it is, I wouldn't want to risk ruining it." He took another sip as if to prove his point, and then enjoyed a cookie for good measure. He wished he could find such food at the inns and taverns he frequented, instead of the second-rate fare he was often served.

"A steel cutlass will serve, certainly. That brings it up to four-oh-five, makes it simple enough."

He paused for another sip of tea. Raphael was certainly going to be sorry he didn't come inside, and Gabe almost felt guilty for leaving him outside standing guard while he was inside enjoying himself. Can't be helped, he thought mischieviously. His grin broadened before he remembered the subject at hand.

"Right! Sorry, the bandolier. I already have one knife, so I'll just take five with it, instead of six. Small knives are fine...I'm not even really looking for throwing knives yet, just a simple blade. So thirty for that, plus, er, twenty-five for the knives, makes it fifty-five...lessee...four-sixty! Ha!" Gabe was a little proud of himself for figuring that out so quickly. Arithmetic was never his best subject, and he had received many bruised knuckles from his tutor for failing to compute similar simple problems.

"So I've still got enough to buy ten bolts for the crossbow, too! Wow, perfect!" Gabe was so excited he started gulping his tea before he remembered himself.

"Er, sorry about that. I almost got carried away there. I'll count out the gold just as soon as I finish my tea, if you don't mind." He fervently hoped she wouldn't. He really wanted to enjoy the rest of that tea before he left to seek his fortune out in the cold, hard streets, and he was enjoying the last bit of warmth he was likely to experience for some time.

[Moonlit Raven]

Erin smiled as she sipped her tea. This young man amused her greatly and it was a pleasure to listen to prattling.

"I'll be right back." Erin hurried off to gather everything while he finished his tea. Making use of the round shield she compressed what would have been two trips into one.

"There we are. Oh, I almost forgot." From a deep loose hidden in her skirt she pulled a small cloth bundle. Gently laying it on the counter she loosened the knot on top until one side fell open enough to reveal a dozen of her cookies nestled inside the cloth.

"These are for you, since you are such a nice young man and you seemed to like the tea and cookies. Take your time and finish your tea, you're welcome to have another cup if you like too."

[Herald]

Wow...she keeps getting more ad more generous! Radasanth certainly is an amazing place, after all...I'll be damned. Gabriel was enjoying himself more and more and sincerely regretted the need to be on his way.

"Wow, thank you so much," Gabe managed to splutter around the last gulps of his rapidly-coolng but still delicious tea. Aside from his pile of newly-purchased toys, he was even more grateful for the dozen extra cookies he would be able to share with his brother. Otherwise, he knew Raphael wouldn't believe him if he told him about the kind shopkeep who could bake as well as Mum.

Gabriel laboriously counted out the required sum of gold, but the smile never left his face, even when he lost track and had to start over. When he finally did finish and was positive he got it right, he smiled regretfully at Erin.

"I do wish I could stay for another cup of tea, but I really should be off. I don't want to keep my brother waiting too much longer. Thank you for the offer, though, and for the cookies. Everything was delicious, and I'll definitely stop by next time I come this way...whenever that might be."

Gabriel began strapping the shield to his back, putting on the gloves and crossbow, adjusting the bandolier, and finding a comfortable spot for his cutlass. With a shy wave, he left to find his brother.

* * * * *
"Well, that took ya long enough," Raphael grinned good-naturedly at his brother as he playfully punched his shoulder.

"Raph, you won't believe this...check it out!" Gabriel displayed each and every one of his new purchases as the brothers wove their way the crowds of the bazaar, heading towards the boundaries of the city to continue on towards wherever the path may lead them...

[Moonlit Raven]

"Dearie that makes 490, I think." Erin laughed and shook her head. "Goodness, now I'm all confused too. Hang on a moment, dear heart." Erin went over everything twice and got different sums each time. Smiling she shrugged.

"Oh well, we'll just call it 490." Erin handed him back the ten coins and waved as he left.

Transaction complete. Herald loses 490 and gains 100 EXP for excellent IC interactions.