Return of the Emblem Chapter Eight: Affairs of the World

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

Nadya saw one of the other staff users...the short one, browsing wares nearby and decided to get her opinion to solve this dilemma. "So...do ya think I should consider getting a tome? I've never tried using offensive magic before, but it can't be too hard. Of course I've got terrible aim, so that could end up being an issue...for other people," she said, laughing a little.

Veronika

"Hmm, I thought everyone collected their payment from the uh, Siv mission already," Veronika interjected to John and Bert, avoiding mention of the Fallen for the moment. "But if you didn't get your share yet, now would be a good a time as any. Things did get hectic back at the estate."

Selene

"Sounds like work for Ursian's spies to me...not my area of expertise. I would prefer a straightforward fight myself, but an invasion of Neviskotia just isn't plausible at the moment. Maybe the rebels will cause enough problems that we will eventually have an opening- I've heard eastern Neviskotia is quite an unfriendly place for anyone supporting the empire," she mused aloud to Capaberra.

[Snowy_One]

With the sparring session over Robin gave a quick nod to Bert before returning to her room. She would meet him later as they went out if he held true to his word anyways. Truthfully, she didn't even want a knife made of iron for herself, she was simply trying to provoke the dream into reacting come the following night. However, as she put her quiver and bow down and looked to the drying clothes, a feeling of overwhelming dread came over her. Her fingers touched upon the simple deerhide and ran across the basic designs that she had woven in herself. Simple clothes made by a simple woman for a simple purpose. She wasn't as grand as anyone else here for certain, she hardly knew what was even going on beyond her simple choice to protect Raquel. Now she was caught up in a city surrounded by a magical sandstorm after escorting in a mythical figure of legend. So many people of great importance and power swirling about her with all of their own agendas. Things she couldn't hope to understand happening just out of her sight.

She lifted the drying clothes up, holding it to her as she unwittingly gripped her obsidian knife. She wasn't made for this. She was a relic of the past, a person who didn't belong. Weapons made of crude implements and stone, clothes made from the land, things of no value to anyone here. Why was she even here in the first place? To protect a woman she had barely had two conversations with? A pang of loneliness shot through her body. She missed the simple life of her homelands. She wished she could return there now. A world where she could relax, be happy, and be herself.

Herself... A woman of the land, not someone mixed up in the politics of magic and gods. It was like having a bad dream with things that should be fantastic suddenly shooting by uncontrolled and forgotten. How could she be herself here? What was herself to begin with? What did it mean to be Robin in the first place?

Robin collapsed onto the bed with a soft whimper. She almost wished she could just click her heels together and be home again. All because of jitters over a knife too.

[Phoenix]

Raquel

"You shouldn't have any less than four thousand. I can't believe people are still having money troubles after the two jobs we did for Weyland." Raquel replied, a bit dumbfounded, but she soon factored in a couple of sad truths, like the fact that she hadn't done much to ensure they went and collected their share, and the fact that they were attacked before they planned on setting out and ended up on a mission to rescue her. "Well anyway, you should have plenty for the jerkin at any rate."

"I heard 'four thousand'. Indeed, you can afford that fine vestment, sir." Paz chimed in in full pitching tune. "Thirty gold pieces will cover the cost, I believe."

Cappy

"Perhaps. If nothing else, that rebellion of theirs would divide their attentions. Tis a shame that Ursium will be inheriting those lawless hooligan dragon slavers once the country is repatriated. I foresee decades of fighting even following our victory over the Neviskotian emperor. Speaking of which, there is a meeting I should be getting to. Remus is out on the front, but several other generals are here and we plan to go over some of the recent events and try to learn from the mistakes that led to Neviskotia's conquest at Urcenter ... for the fifth time." Capaberra replied, becoming a bit discouraged when he pointed out the number of times that region had changed hands. This may have happened over the course of several hundred years, but it was still a mark of shame in his eyes.

[Mercakete]

There was a lot to be surprised about. At Veronika's reply, he'd just figured she hadn't known that he'd owed Raquel durring the "Siv mission" and thus hadn't recieved pay for it -- working for free until he'd payed off his debt and collected his maces. But then the next words out of Raquel's mouth completely stunned the pegasus rider. He stared with wide eyes and a blank expression as she ellaborated. For a moment he couldn't think, but the information was neatly filed away in his mind as he began recovering from the initial blow. F-four...thou...sand...? Four...thousand...? His mind was beginning to flicker back to life. Four thousand? Beginning to. Fou--? ... I...never... Four thousand? Four...thousand. Four thousand? ... I...never expected to... I have that much money? That much? That means... Great Mercy, I'm financially secure! I can afford to eat regularly now! And I can pay for repairs...no, not just repairs, I can afford a couple extra sets of clothes! No, not even that... I'm still thinking small-time. I don't think I can handle much more than that for now, though. Waaaaait wait wait... Careful, Norbert. You don't know how long this will last. Better be careful not to let all this extra money get to your head. Conservation. Right. Just take from your share when you need it, like for food or weapons maintenance or to pay Nadya or Ranyin for mending your clothes. Mercenary work isn't exactly a good source of regular income. So take it easy. Handle one purchase at a time... Wait a minute.

"How did you know what I was going to buy?" Norbert asked Raquel, recovering from his shock. Merz, is she a mind-reader, too? She hid that she's a mage before, after all. he thought with some frustration before suddenly becoming a little flustered at the thought. Wait, does that mean she could read my thoughts just now?! Does that mean she's reading them right now?! Raquel, if you're listening, stop it!! I don't say things out loud because I don't want them to be heard! Satisfied that if she had been reading his thoughts she would desist now, he resumed talking to himself in his head. It could be that she could just guess. I might've mentioned wanting armor at some point before and she was here before me, so she might've seen what was in the room I came out of. It wouldn't be hard to guess if she knew that.

As for how the Rexian knew what he was talking about, he guessed that any and all jerkins were probably set at that price. "I'll take it, then," he didn't really aim the statement at either merchant in particular but rather to both of them since he wasn't sure who to adress for that part, "I don't have the gold with me, though." Then an idea hit him.

"Could I make a request of your leatherworkers?" he asked Paz, "I apparently have the gold, so I don't see why I wouldn't be able to request it... Do you think you could customize Rizen's -- my pegasus -- armor to match the jerkin?" Why not? He could easily remove the armor from Riz and hand it over. It probably wouldn't cost much to just customize it either. Presently, Rizen's armor matched the color of the jerkin, but it was a tad scrappy and plain. The leatherwork would make them look more respectable. "While they do that I could go get the gold to pay for the jerkin and the leatherwork."

[Snike]

After a while, Blake found his way to the armory only to find several others, including Bert and John, there ahead of him. Carefully evading them, the swordsman began to meander through the armory, especially with regards to the armor. On his way down to the warehouse the man had made the decision as to not salvage the mantle. It and the leather armor had not been doing their jobs well enough for his liking, and, especially after that defeat, he felt that he needed a better piece of armor. Up and down and up and down the man went as he browsed the gear with feigned disinterest. In the third row, however, something caught his interest. There was a black jacket up on a hook, a bit of an oddity compared to the various sets of shining steel mail around. The swordsman lifted the jacket, and felt the material. It felt slightly harder than his own leather armor, but considerably lighter. This could be a winner.

Blake replaced the jacket on its' hook, unstrapped his leather chestplate, placed it on the ground, retrieved the new garment, and donned it. It was a bit loose, and it could not close, but it was lighter than the chestplate while covering more of his body, and he could already tell he could move faster than if he was wearing the bulky leather guard. Furthermore, there was what seemed to be a sword sheath stitched into the inside of the jacket, which meant he could get rid of his sheath and not have to worry about carrying his bare blade around. Though, if he were to sell it, he had may as well sell his sword, as its' enchantment had not been useful at all. Despite the jacket's Rexian origins, it could be worth a trial. With that, Blake placed his sword and sheath on top of his leather padding, and moved towards where Raquel, Bert, and the Rexian were waiting. On his way towards him, the man also grabbed a rather accurate-looking longsword, to act as a replacement for his enchanted blade.

The good pegasus rider was busy bargaining, so Blake stood patiently a few feet away with the coat and sword in a bundle under his left arm, and his old gear under his right arm.

[Acacia Sgt]

<Heh, so he never figured we were being paid already huh.> John thought. It was slightly amusing. <Good thing I already took mine before departing from the manor. Hopefully for Bert a certain nomad didn't take his idling share already. Otherwise he won't be able to pay for this, heh.>

Well, enough distractions, time to get to the point. ''And I'd like to buy this lance.'' He said towards Paz, raising the lance once more. ''I can offer something other than gold in return.'' He now rose his current lance with his other hand. <I'm certain it won't be enough. Well, I can pay the difference in gold so no problems there.>

-----

Sophia turned to face whoever had spoken to her. It was one of the other healers, asking about tomes. ''A tome? Well, it wouldn't be a bad idea.'' Sophia answered. ''We can't be protected all the time during battle after all, so even if it's just for self-defense, it would still be better than complete defenselessness. And... I guess with practice your aim could get better.'' She looked back at the tomes. It is a good point; though, I'd rather not harm anyone at all. I guess there is no other way around it. Well, it won't be be with these if I do get one. I can't read Rexian after all.

Edited February 26, 2012 by Acacia Sgt

[Phoenix]

Raquel and Paz

Bert seemed so shocked by the news that Raquel mentally braced herself just in case he thought himself 'justified' in chewing her out about it. When he asked how she knew, she immediately shook her head. "My best guess. You've already got your maces, so there are only one or two other things you could possibly need to help you out in combat. Your regular clothes probably aren't cutting it either." she explained. "I'm not sure I can see you lugging around a shield or a big armor, either. That would just weigh down your pegasus." she added, thinking on it, more. It came a bit more naturally to her than she expected.

With the question answered, she took another look at the inventory list, though it was brief, as she noticed John standing by with two lances. Bert meanwhile asked Paz about customization work. The rexian smiled. "I do not think that would be so difficult, but you will most definitely want to retrieve the armor, first, yes?"

Customizing it to match? You know I could probably do that, myself. It would take a really long time though if it's anything other than fabric decoration. I made my shirt and cloak after all, so I'm sure I could handle it. I'm not sure if I should say anything though .... Raquel mused, looking as if she wasn't sure about something on the surface. Around that time, Blake arrived with an interesting looking jacket, and John made his request known as well. An exchange attempt.

"Let me see ... hmm, it won't completely pay for that particular lance, but the difference is rather small." he explained.

Gabriella

Gabbie had finished eating and was in a perpetually good mood thanks to the orange sharbat she'd ordered. She thought to take the rexians up on their offer and head down to the armory to see about getting a newer lance, but she wasn't sure if Mireille was alright. That and she didn't want to leave Aneda behind if she still wanted to go somewhere. The waiter himself and a couple of others seemed to be staying by her side, though, so Gabbie turned to Aneda and in upbeat fashion asked "So, wanna check out this armory of theirs?"

Rexian Dudes

On Lulu's orders, the operatives prepared to leave the fortress. Of course Fizza got bored waiting for Haythem to retrieve Isis and strolled on over toward the armory. Amon and Malik intercepted her in very short order. <"Where do you think you're going?"> Malik questioned.

<"Sorry, just wanted to see what kind of weapons you Sancturans have. I've even got some money so if no one minds I wouldn't mind buying something for myself. Hmm, that sounded a little self incriminating, didn't it?"> she realized. <"I like weapons."> she added, vindicating herself a bit.

<"Stupid, woman. You can't be armed while you're here.">

<"Well of course not. One of you two can hold onto my things for me until I leave. What's the big deal?">

<"Err ..."> Amon couldn't quite find the words.

<"Just stay put and wait for Haythem to get back. Sheesh."> Malik demanded with a big huff afterward.

<"Goodness, the myths about Sancturan men sure are a load of crap. Best I've seen so far is blond and quiet over there."> she murmured.

Eventually Haythem came back, leading over Isis and annoying everyone nearby. Isis was a big girl, and her tail had a habit of wandering and threatening to whack or knock over things at random. Annoying, indeed. <"Okay, ready to go!"> Haythem cheerfully announced on arrival.

<"Oh and him. He's nice too. You know I take back what I said. You Sancturans aren't so bad, it's mostly just you."> Fizza concluded, gesturing toward Malik.

<"I'm a trained agent. Feminine wiles are useless, so be quiet and get on the wyvern.">

<"Feminine wiles work on me."> Haythem chimed in for some reason with a big jolly smile. Fizza replied with a similar smile, and Amon just stood there looking uncomfortable. Come to think of it, he wanted to see what the others were doing at the armory, but Lulu had ordered them back to the palace. What bad timing, he thought.

[Snowy_One]

Robin sighed as she stood up from her bed. She wasn't sure what she could do really. Replace her arrows? She didn't have anything of lethality equal to her obsidian tips and, even if she was willing to change her entire shooting style, she wasn't sure she would like it. Her bow was handmade by her and it was her tool. It felt like giving up a part of her arm to even think of giving it up. Still... At the lest she needed replacement arrows after blunting her own for practice... She might as well head on down to the armory. With some luck attaching new arrowheads would let her take her mind of the depression and obsolete feeling she was having.

After asking for directions she headed down to the armory, arriving as Bert was talking to Raquel about something. Probably something far more pressing than simple arrow shaft replacement to be sure. Entering in quietly she opted to wait respectfully as Bert shopped. Leaning up against a wall, she looked down as she vapidly listened for some sort of que that they might be done.

[Acacia Sgt]

<I knew it.> ''Very well,'' he put the lances away for a bit, grabbing then a small bag and start to take out coins. ''How much would it be then?''

[Mercakete]

Well, yes, Raquel's explanation made a lot of sense. Though he knew it was just logic, he wasn't sure whether to think of it as a compliment or an insult. On one hand, he was well-equipt for the mostpart so she was able to boil down what he needed pretty easily. On the other hand, it was a fair reminder that he was usually far from unscathed by the end of combat. In the end, it was simply the truth of how things were. The Rexian's news that the customization would be easily handled was good, too.

"Yeah, I'll go get it," he replied to Paz before swiftly retrieving the jerkin and gloves. He knew where it was so it didn't take long at all, though the sight was a bit comical since his pegasus followed him both to and fro. He needed his hands free to start undoing Rizen's tack, though, so he handed the jerkin and gloves over to Paz before starting his quick work of separating Rizen's armor from her regular tack. It only took a few minutes before he was handing that over, too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, her pistol was clean and loaded now: all set for the next time she'd need it. There wasn't really anything in the armory that Gytha felt like she needed or really even wanted. She'd looked around and that was that. So, she headed out of the building to take a walk in the city. It was better than standing around doing nothing.

When the mariner saw them, she stopped. Was she imagining it? No, her imagination wouldn't include the two among them she didn't recognize: a Rexian woman with purple hair and a Rexian man with red hair. That was all the pause that part of the world was going to get.

"YER BACK!!!" Gytha hollared joyously as she dashed over to the group of Rexians plus a wyvern. In an instant, she had Amon caught in a powerful hug, probably accidentally crushing his ribcage and forcing the air out of him. "I was worried! Harr, ye've no idea how happy I am that yer a'right!" He probably wasn't, but Gytha couldn't tell at the moment.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Mercakete

[Phoenix]

Raquel and Paz

Before Bert handed him the gear to be worked with, he replied to John. "Thirty gold should cover it, I believe." A few assistants were heading over seeing the foreigners running around, and Paz decided to take advantage of the opportunity that presented. Since there were some other people that might be purchasing things soon, it wouldn't be a good idea for him to leave just then. He still wanted to finish the work on Bert's mount armor quickly, though, so he gave both the gear and instructions to one of the assistants after waving them over.

Amon and Rexians

<"One decent Sancturan down ... one remaining."> Fizza commented while witnessing Amon's crushing reunion.

"Hey, hey, be careful, his chest's not made of iron!" Haythem pleaded with Gytha.

<"I'm not sure iron would do so well either. Look at those arms."> Fizza joked. Amon couldn't say anything until Gytha finished hugging him, and even then, he could only moan in pain.

<"Could you hurry this up, Amon? The High Priestess still wants us back at the palace."> Malik cut in impatiently.

[Acacia Sgt]

John took out the necessary money. ''Here,'' he said, handing over both the coins and lance. Well, that was finally out of the way. He looked over at his new lance. <Much better.> He thought. <Hopefully this would make me fare better at blocking attacks.>

So now what? <Hmm, I guess I can still take a look around here.> He pondered.

[Mercakete]

"Once I know how much the customization job costs, I'll go get the payment," Norbert informed Paz as he mounted up onto Rizen before asking Raquel, "It's in the wagon, right?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh! Sorry!" Gytha appologized as she let Amon out of her vicegrip hug, though still held onto his arms in case he collapsed. Feeling the need to explain, that's what she did next. "When I heard ye were on a dangerous mission I got pretty worried. I'm sorry I couldn't get t' ye while ye were still on yer mission, but th' priestess was treatin' it like it was illegal n' threatened t' jail me, so I had t' wait fer ye t' come back." Her brow creaced in confusion as she continued, seeming a bit hurt. "Why didn't ye tell me ye were goin' on a mission? We're teammates; ye know I would've gone with ye. Besides, I know yer good at fightin', but I don't know about th' people ye went with. Never seen 'em in action fer meself, ye know."

[Phoenix]

Transactions

Paz accepted the money but quickly handed off the defending lance to another assistant. "Yeah, it's the crate close to the front--the front as in the driver's side. There are two bags in the crate with the payment from the jobs we did. I didn't know myself until I started checking inventory during the long trip here." Raquel replied to Bert.

Transgressions

"Well, it wouldn't have been 'legal' for you to come if Lady Aisha or Lulu forbid it, but things still didn't go so well." Amon replied, dropping his gaze toward the ground.

"That is true. I saved all three of them from a clever liar~" Fizza commented.

<"I still don't trust you."> Malik interjected with a glare.

<"Well okay, but I wouldn't waste my energy on suspicion like you do. You don't have to trust me, but try to be less in my face about it, would you?">

Amon quit paying attention after that remark. "Well I didn't really get a chance to tell you guys ... though Raquel knew, at least. It was a matter of city security and we had to leave right away." he explained to Gytha.

[Snowy_One]

Robin perked up as she saw Bert starting to head outside to get whatever he had purchased. She hadn't been there long enough to figure out just what it was, but she assumed it was some armor or a new saddle.

"I am sorry if I am interrupting." she said, her voice noticeably lower and glummer than it had been just a short while ago when she had won. "But I need some new arrow shafts for my bow Raquel. I blunted most of mine so I would not seriously wound anyone during the sparring, so I need replacements. I would prefer there to be no heads on them if possible as I saved the ones I crafted."

[Mercakete]

Norbert nodded to Raquel before asking Paz, "How much will I owe you for the customization job?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gytha didn't look content with the answers she got, the half-frown remaining on her face as she stood there with her arms crossed and her eyes studying Amon, as though she was looking for something and not finding it -- something she'd expected to be there. After a long moment, her eyes flickered over to Fizza, Malik and Haythem before returning to Amon. "Guess ye need t' go report," she finally said, sounding a bit disheartened. Then she paused, her resolve returning.

"Can I trust ye?" the question was aimed at Amon. Although her tone was innocent, her gaze was hard and it was obvious she was pretty serious about the question. Her eyes darted over to Haythem with a sort of "you're next" look before returning to her teammate.

[-Cynthia-]

Nadya

"Well..that settles it then," Nadya said, grabbing a light tome and heading over towards the quartermaster. "So, how much you want for this?" she asked Paz, sighing a bit. Parting with money was always a sad moment, but being able to defend herself was probably a good investment in the long run.

Selene

"The fact that the war has gone on so long may say that neither side has really learned from their mistakes...I have duties I must attend to as well, good fortune in your duties general," she said to Capaberra, giving him a small bow before leaving the cathedral and heading back to the barracks. There was much to plan for after all...

[ReformBlade]

"I can't really think of anything else I'd rather do immediately, so yeah, let's check this armory OUT!" Standing up and downing her drink like a mad woman, she felt better than ever as she stretched. "Lord knows my lance could use a nice sharpening at the very least, maybe they've got some whetstones I can borrow? Who knows, I'll bet they do, so let's go go go!" Well that was a bit too cheery... Oh well~ I blame the drink, safe bet!

[Phoenix]

Raquel and Paz

"One sun and-oh right, foreigners. You probably wouldn't carry those. Eh, another ten gold would do." Paz corrected himself. Raquel became a little curious.

"Sun?" Paz immediately flashed a rather large golden coin with a sun symbol on one side and an image of a long haired woman on the other. "Pretty ..."

"This is worth ten of your 'gold coins'. Have lots of these, and have less to carry around. And yes, they're quite beautiful, especially our lovely queen on the back. Reminds us that she is always with us in some form or other."

Amon and Rexians

"'Trust me'?" Amon echoed. This was either bad or really bad. People never asked questions like that unless they didn't trust you fully, at least as far as he was concerned. "Did I ... do something?"

"Clearly." Fizza interjected with her arms crossed. She couldn't go to the armory, so other forms of entertainment would be had ... like watching this whole trust issue unfold.

Paz Again

"Oh, we'll only require three suns for that tome, Miss." he replied to Nadya. She looked Rexian to him, so ... he assumed she knew what the sun coins were.

Gabbie

Aneda was up for it, so once she finished her drink, the two women were off, heading down to the armory at brisk pace, though Gabbie made a quick run to get her old lance since she might need it for comparison purposes and the like. Even if it wasn't her preferred weapon, she had used it enough to be used to how it felt, and so she would need a similar lance to not have to readjust. She didn't mind having to readjust. She had plenty of time since there was little chance of getting into a battle way out in the desert, but she preferred staying in her comfort zone as far as weapons went ... otherwise losing Gemini wouldn't have bothered her in the slightest.

Once they arrived, Gabbie began taking note of those present, and even spotted Gytha with some rexians off in the distance. One of the rexians looked 'familiar'. Yep, that was Amon. Not important, she felt. To the armory!

Edited February 27, 2012 by Phoenix

[Mercakete]

Norbert nodded, then turned Rizen toward the exit and rode her out at a brisk pace. He didn't feel like flying at the moment, so they travelled aground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Gytha's expression softened a little. "I don't know what ye think. Yer goin' around like nothin' happened, doin' th' job ye used t' have... If ye chose t' stay here n' we left, how do I know ye'd even see us off 'r say 'goodbye?' Ye went off on a mission ye might not've come back from n' I didn't know about it till this mornin' n' by then I wasn't allowed t' go help ye. Yer me friend n' teammate so it's me job t' make sure t' watch yer back. How can I do that when ye don't even talk t' me?" she asked, "Ye said I could trsut ye b'fore. I've been tryin', but ye've been actin' odd since we got here. If ye want t' stay in Sanctuary, tell me. N' tell Raquel, too. ... Ye probabla don't know this, but yer th' first friend I had in a while. Don't leave me guessin'."

From there, Gytha redirected her attention to Haythem. "Hoy, yer his friend, aye? N' ye went with 'im on that mission. That makes ye his teammate when I'm not around, a'right? Ye know what that means?" The mariner asked before unsheathing her sword and allowing a smile to form on her face, "I have t' make sure ye can protect 'im. I trust Amon, but I'm not lettin' meself worry over not bein' able t' look after 'im again!"

That was all the warning she was allowing him. The mariner jumped at Haythem, swinging her sword at him. "Spar me so I can see if yer capable of guarding somone I value!"

[Rothene]

Finishing the hot meal, Mireille immediately drank the fruity beverage she had ordered as reinforcement to her mental strength. It worked...sorta. She was not feeling particularly positive by the end of it, but neither was she feeling wholly uncomfortable. feeling some of her strength flow back into her, Mireille hurriedly made her way to Gabbie and Aneda's sides.

***

Not bothering to watch what became of the knight in white, Ranyin wandered off...and made his way into the armory by luck.

[Phoenix]

Bad Reactions

<"Spar?! Oh shi-"> Haythem replied, slipping into rexian in his surpise. He had just enough time to raise up his gauntlets to block the first blow, but was still forced back violently by the swing and stumbled a bit. Owwwwwww! Goddess! She hits like a soldier! What was that?!

"STOP FOREIGNER!!!" Malik shouted at the top of his lungs, drawing the attention of quite a few guards. He immediately brandished a set of throwing knives and readied himself to hurl the lot of them at Gytha.

"G-Gytha, don't! He's the commander's son, they'll get the wrong idea!" Amon pleaded, quickly forming some kind of seaworthy example in his mind he could present to her. "I-i-t-t's like attacking the son of the captain without permission! They'll think you're trying to kill the captain's child on his own ship!" And that was the best he could come up with as he spotted a dozen guards charging to the rescue from various directions.

Comparisons

Gabbie's first stop in the pseudo weapon shop was the area with all of the lances. She wondered why they would even bother with a lances in a land with such horrible terrain. After some thought, she figured that bad terrain or not, they would actually fare well enough in an urban environment, and Rex-Avaz had some of those. She was in one, after all. Eventually she started touching the lances.

"Hmm ... probably shouldn't get this one. There's a dragon on the back end ... albeit one of those 'five dragons' with the wiskers and weird faces. I could see if Connor can't change the head into somethin' else ... like a wolf. Yeah that'd be noice, and good practice for him~"

"That is one of our Kigense imports, though we typically only acquire those from the trailing end of Central." a wandering assistant noted.

"You people actually import things from Kigen?"

"... in a roundabout way, yes. Kigen exports many weapon types, save for their prized 'wingslayers', but they never reach Rex-Avaz by through direct trade. They will typically be brought to Rexian ports after changing hands several times. Our caravans make certain to acquire the best of what arrives before returning home. We even have a few Neviskotian pieces." he explained.

"Ooo, gimme." she immediately replied.

"Weeell ... most of them are 'heavy' lances. Judging from what you have there, I feel something more light weight and easy to wield would suit you."

"As long as it can go in one end and out the other EVEN if they're wearin' leather or mail, sure." Gabbie replied, already seeing herself skewering a random sword wielding combatant who had a black vest on. The vest read 'EVIL MINION' in big white lettering, and he made the silliest pained expression when she impaled him.

"You want penetrative power, yes? I see ... perhaps something overwhelmingly sharp, but lightweight is best then."

"Indeed." she replied with a nod.

"STOP FOREIGNER!!!" The voice in the distance caught Gabbie's attention, as well as the assistant's.

"Great, what'd Gytha do this toime? ... or is it Robin?" she looked around, but Robin wasn't in that particular room of the armory. After a moment, she lost interest and went back to browsing potential lances with the assistant.

[Mercakete]

Gytha's attention went to Malik at the cry, which confused her momentarily. She didn't see anything wrong with her challenge. Of course, those thoughts only lasted a split second before Amon spoke up. Many reactions were had, though there were too many at once to express. She was surprised, impressed and excited to hear that Haythem was basicly the son of a captain, but she was mostly confused as to why it'd be a bad thing for someone to challenge the captain's son to a spar. Amon's phrasing wasn't talking about sparring, though, so Gytha was able to puzzle that out.

At first, Gytha was obviously confused but when she realized what was actually happening, it was evident on her face and she straightened up from her stance and lowered her sword. "Ye think I was attackin'? 'R they'll think I was actualla tryin' t' hurt 'im?" she asked, correcting herself. Then her expression returned to one of confusion. "Thought I made it clear it's just a spar. I announced it n' everythin'." Children o' captains get some special treatment, but not much. We're expected t' be as tough as any on th' crew. Actualla, haven't met a captain's child who wasn't stronger than most th' crew. 'Sides me, I guess, but that's why I didn't join th' Saltstraumen crew first... Maybe it's different fer ships from other places. From what I've seen I come from a pretty rough port.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As he rode to the palace, Norbert thought he heard a shout back towards the armory. He figured it wasn't important, though, so he ignored it and continued on his way. It didn't take too long to reach the wagon and following Raquel's driections, he was able to retrieve the fourty gold. Having gotten what he came for, the pegasus rider remounted Rizen and began the journey back. Part of him couldn't believe he was about to spend fourty gold. Part of him was a bit giddy at the fact that he could afford to do so. So, the logical conclusion was to force the thoughts to the back of his mind. No use getting worked up over it, after all.

Edited February 28, 2012 by Mercakete

[Acacia Sgt]

So might as well. John left the small group and walked back through the place. He was just gazing at the weapons on display, when he suddenly heard a shout.

Hm? He looked over towards the entrance. <What was that?> Walking the remaining distance, he stepped outside and wandered a bit.

And there it was. Well, that certainly showed clearly 2 things. <Oh, so Amon is back.> He noted. <And looks like she got in trouble... again.>

[ReformBlade]

There wasn't much Aneda wanted down in the armory, but it was certainly a nice time for her to think about her weaponry, surrounded by it and all of that. Perhaps a sword would be nice for going on the offensive... I know my lance is great for defensive purposes, so... huh. Yeah, maybe like... Yeah, one of them double swords! I'd be all woosh and fweeng and sklurch, bam, blood spewing aahahahaaaa! The smile on her face hid her rather vicious thoughts, nevertheless she was quite enjoying herself in the armory when suddenly there was a shout. "Wait, what'd I-" So shocked and surprised was Aneda that she couldn't finish her sentence. Upon seeing no one immediately around her react to what was shouted, namely Gabbie, Aneda sighed and went on her own little train of thought to wondrous worlds, where candy is free and attention is mandatory.

"Man, I wish I could afford something here... Oh the joys of being a mercenary~"

Edited February 28, 2012 by RainbowKitty