The acquisition of Claws

by **Brandon Blackwing** on March 21st, 2014, 10:23 pm

The 30th of Spring 514AV

More often than not, the bat could be found wandering about the city, with or without a clear goal or purpose guiding his steps. Usually it was just one of his habits interfering with his actions, but depending on the situation he was in, and the state of fullness his of pouch, he was doing business, or just having fun by climbing stuff and hurrying away across the rooftops. He loved the rooftops, it was calm there, uncrowded and the view was great. Also they were a very nice way to get where you wanted to be faster.

Today, the first of the three possibilities was the one that was happening, the habit of going on a stroll through the crystalline beauty of the Diamond of Kalea. At first it had been to gawk at the magnificent towers, skyglass structures and get comfortable with the streets, get to know them. However, he’d never quit, even though he would be able to find his way blindfolded. Of course, it would be rather impossible to put the figure of speech to the test, there was no way he could, but without his mind present, and thus seeing but not processing the images, it was possible. Yet he still needed his eyes, navigating was quite hard without sight.

An absent mind he had today too, walking with his thoughts elsewhere, just walking. No purpose, no goal, no place he wanted to visit, no person he wanted to rendezvous with. Just walking, walking for the sake of walking. He still didn’t know why exactly he was still going on these strolls. They were a great way to clear his mind and think for a while, lost within his mind. Just let the thoughts drift past, some vague, others clearer. Some containing things he needed to do, little troubles for sustaining his life, while others brought up matters that nibbled at the edges of his consciousness. Matters that were on his mind a lot, worrying things, such as the snowstorm that chilled the city, few days prior. It was Spring, almost halfway through it already, and still there was snow spilling from the clouds. Hopefully this was the first and last one of the season.

Other things to fret over were of course the hot breath of the Shinya in his neck, when the right time to leave would come and finding a legal job. That last part might come as a surprise to some, but depending on stolen money only was not the smartest thing to do. Especially so with the Shinya gaining on him, there were times he just couldn’t make himself leave the house out of fear to get caught. And to think that he’d liked that fear in the early days of his coming here, ha, what a fool of a bat he had been. All of the three great problems were linked, one was the outcome of another and the root was his criminal activity. Or was it the time of leaving that just didn’t seem to present itself? One of those two anyways.

Basically the situation he was in is as follows: originally Brandon had come to Lhavit as a means of checkpoint, a place to rest and regain strength before continuing his journey. However, therefore he had to make expenses and he’d had no money. Unskilled in any craft, but quick of finger, he’d resorted to thievery, also because it seemed quite thrilling. However, as time passed, but the right one didn’t, the Shinya grew wary and were probably closing in on him, omnipresent in his raging mind. As such, there were times when going out for a break in was nearly impossible, or rather the act of breaking in was. Too much guards lingering about, making his job harder. The thief suspected that there would be times, soon, when he’d have to lay low for a while, but with no other means of income, that would be times of hunger. Well, he could always hunt at night, and sleep by day, like his cousins did, and he would survive. However, by doing so he’d lose contact with some of the people he could call friends, he would disappear, indeed, but entirely. No one would see him for Tanroa knew how long.

That being out of the question, his loneliness would become only greater, he had to use other means. One being a legal job, one he could earn money with easily and without danger, and if he wanted he could still go on his criminal raptures. The only problem was how to find one. Surely there was more work in the crystal city than he alone could handle, but as stated before, Brandon hadn’t had any skill in craftsmanship, and still hadn’t. So a job where none was required had to be found. Finding such one wasn’t hard, no it was hardly worthy of calling it easy, once you started looking you were flooded by the many people who wanted someone to do their chores for them. No, finding one that would prove interesting was the challenge.

For now though, he should worry about other matters, preparation for when he’d continue his travels, forced or no. When that would be he didn’t know, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared. Now he still had that opportunity and privilege, but when he’d be cast out or imprisoned, he could forget about it. What he needed to do was figuring out where to go next, how to get there, prepare his means of travel if he needed to and ………. buy some weapons. Eh? How did that fit in the row of things to do? Sure, he needed some, but he had actually forgotten about it, after all he deemed his body to be a weapon already, so a second one was not top priority. A glance to the left showed that he was just about to pass ‘A touch of fire’, the smithy shop here in Lhavit. Oh, that’s how things were, good job subconscious!

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

by **Brandon Blackwing** on March 22nd, 2014, 7:14 pm

The door swung open and a small chime sent its noise through the room, alerting the shopkeepers of a potential customer. The room he entered was actually a showroom, weapons and tools of all kinds and sizes displayed here, some in display cases, others hanging from the ceiling. Whether those were tools fit for using the bat didn’t know for sure, but he guessed not. They were just for show, right? It would be fairly stupid to have your masterpieces displayed with no one around to watch out for thieves or other thugs. True enough, Lhavit was relatively safe, the likes of him were almost nonexistent. So perhaps …

A guy wearing a leather apron and a shirt that didn’t sport sleeves entered the room, his legs hidden behind the counter. The moment he came in, the sound of hammers crashing down on steel or other kinds of metal grew louder and the smell of burning wood was enhanced too. As a matter of fact it clung to the bulky assistant who wiped the sweat from his brow, and greeted the bat, voice low of pitch and rough due to the smoke.
“Good day, sir. What can I help you with?” The way he said it made it come across as if he’d wished that no one had had the audacity to come in, customer or no. His eyes told of annoyance with this task, probably he’d rather hammer away in the back room instead of handling customers.

Brandon ceased his observation of the man’s attitude to get his thoughts in order, and answered with a standard reply: “Good day to you as well. I am looking for a weapon…” The assistant seemed to sigh internally, his shoulders dropping quite a bit, his hope of ending this fast crumbled away. But “Certainly, what kind of weapon do you have in mind?” was all that left his lips. What kind? The bat had no idea, he hadn’t spent time thinking about that yet. “Something ranged?” It was more a question than a statement, and the assistant rolled his eyeballs in their sockets. The rest of his face stayed blank though.

”If you are looking for a bow, you’re in the wrong shop. This ain’t a fletcher’s, this is a blacksmith’s shop, we craft metal objects, tools, weapons. Not bows.” Deeply insulted and annoyed he looked, not taking this unknowing customer kindly. “Ah… Then, do you have something that can be used for both ranged and close combat?” the thief asked, a little frustrated about the man’s unwelcoming attitude and demeanor. “We have something that would meet your criteria, yes. What do you think of…” The guy had started to walk from behind the counter, heading towards a shelf where he carefully grabbed a small weapon. “A dagger?”

A dagger, hmmmm… Was that ranged? Oh, wait, you could throw it and if you were skilled enough, with deadly precision. Maybe it didn’t have the same range as weapons meant for long distance fighting, such as a crossbow, but this was a versatile one. Throwing, stabbing, cutting…. Yes, he could use a thing like this. The problem was that whenever he’d throw it he’d have to retrieve it before he could use it in close combat. There was an easy solution for that though. “I want six of them.” Surprised, the assistant blinked and repeated the number he’d named, watching the bat nod in confirmation. “Okay,” he voiced while placing the dagger back on its shelf and walking towards the counter where he grabbed a notebook, a quill and inkpot.

“So,” he spoke while dipping the point of the quill in the black liquid, “You, mister …?”
“Blackwing.”
“want six daggers, correct?” the man asked again for confirmation while writing the name, the weapons and the amount down in the notebook.
“That is correct.”
“Any specialties you want us to take in account when crafting?”
“Err… I’ll be using them for throwing as well as the regular use, so, um.. something with balance?”
“Special attention to balance, okay, noted. Anything else?”
“No, that’s it.”
“And when would you like us to complete your order? When do you want to have them ready?”
“Hmm… The forthy-ninth? Or is that too little time?”
“That’s fine, we have had tighter deadlines.”
“The forty-ninth it is then.”

The assistant guy nodded and drew a clean line under the order after writing down the date and faced the customer. “There we go. That will be twelve Kina.” While the bat paid for his purchase reluctantly, he continued: “Come back the forthy-ninth and your order will be waiting for you. Until next time.” With that he returned to the back room, welcomed by the hissing of steam and the smell of black smoke. Brandon too, turned away, heading out of the door and diving back into the open air, way fresher than the smoky smithy shop.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

by **Brandon Blackwing** on March 25th, 2014, 8:58 pm

The 49th of Spring 514AV

The day that his weapons were supposed to be ready had been knocking on his front door and windows, peeking inside with Syna’s bright rays, through the small gap the curtains left and couldn’t close. He’d slept well for a change, no insomnia, no nightmares about shimmering women in white dresses trying to kill him. Just a good half a night, half a day of sleep, dreamless he called it, but the reason for that was because he couldn’t remember them. Of course he’d been visited by the images, but no doubt they had been pleasant ones.

The bat’s body felt refreshed and awake, wild awake, and hungry, thirsty too and a bit blinded since the stripe of light Syna casted through the window travelled right over his eyes. Dark orbs that were shielded by a thin barrier of flesh when he couldn’t take it, white turning to black and instantly turning to red. But that too was still not enough and a hand made its way to the face, covering the means of sight with the back, palm taking the shape of a bowl, filling up with the light when he raised his upper body into a sitting position.

No more brightness torturing his meant-for-the-dark eyes, yet multicoloured shapes still darted over his vision, afterimages of … something, caused by the sunlight. They disappeared soon though, one by one, fading and then not existing any more, restoring his sight to normal as if nothing like that had ever happened. A huge yawn escaped the thief’s gaping mouth, arms stretching above his head, hands clawing and clenching into fists. Muscles trembled and shook off the stiffness that came with long rests, suppleness returning quickly. His gaze met a kettle, copper coloured and round, and before he realised, he was directly in front of it, bringing relatively fresh water to his lips. Wondering how he did not, grateful as he was for the relief it brought his slimy speaking hole and desert-dried leather tongue.

Wiping off his lips with the back of his hand, the bat took a moment to look around, even more awake than before, truly awake now, and understood he’d only thought he’d been wild awake. In fact, he had been until the moment had come to get out of the bedroll, then he’d become sleepy again all of a sudden. Clothes clung to his body, shirt and pants, boots standing at the door, vest hanging over a chair. They were still his winter clothes, since Spring wasn’t quite warm yet, certainly not up here, high in the mountains. A long lasting, growling noise filled the room, its source being the thief’s stomach protesting since he hadn’t given it the attention it deserved yet. However, no food seemed to be present as of now, and therefore he had no choice but to ignore and do what he had to do. He could eat later and the empty feeling would ebb away after a while anyway.

* * *

Through the Azure his path took him, and since the weather today was quite nice, sunny and clear though cold, a lot of people crowded the market place, filling the small streets with their wriggling bodies, moving slow, like an ant army crawling through the city of skyglass. It was very much like that, but then with people, and Brandon was in the middle of it. He was being pushed forward by the masses when he tried to get out, stumbling instead of walking and then it stopped as his legs hit a hard obstacle, his gaze turning in front of him, looking down and seeing all kinds of leather wares displayed. There were bags, pouches, belts and even weapon sheathes. Some long, others short, but quality seemed to be what they were. For sure he knew not.

A strange assembly of belts attracted his attention and when his hands carefully picked it up, he saw that it was supposed to fit around something, belts almost creating a circle. Two more leather strips extended from that belt, going up and back to the same belt, a loop. Even stranger were the sheath-like shapes that clung to it, three under each loop. Curious he held it differently, hoping to find the right angle so he could make out what it was supposed to be. Taking the sheaths into account he could guess that it was a multi-sheath or something, but how did you wear it? Was there no-one around to explain?

Of course there was, a woman with hair as black as a raven’s feathers stood before him with arms crossed, patiently waiting for him to realise. Eye contact was made briefly and the question was transferred through it, an explanation followed immediately. “Ah, this is a bandolier for throwing knives, made from quality leather, and stitched together by yours truly. It’s capable of holding six knives, and should be able to carry three point six kilograms in weight total.” A pretty thorough explanation of the details of the product, but that wasn’t exactly what he’d been wanting to know … Well, it was, but there was more he needed to know. “Can it hold daggers as well as knives? And how exactly do you wear it?”
“Daggers, eh?” She had to think for a moment, grabbing the bandolier and measuring the size of the sheaths with her gaze only. Eventually she spoke again, “Well, I guess it would work. Usually six daggers wouldn’t weigh more then three and a half kilos, and the sheaths are about thirty centimetres long, so … I think it would work. Why, you’re going to use daggers instead? But yes, that’s possible. And the other … It’s quite simple really. You put your arms through the loops and make sure the belt is on your back.” A shrug. The bat nodded in thought, such bandolier would come in handy, but the problem would be the price, probably. With such explanation about the materials, it felt like an excuse to ask a ridiculous sum of Kina for her craftwork. “How much?”
“Twelve Kina.” As expected.
“That’s insane. Five.”
“What!? You want to ruin me? Ten”
“Five and three Topaz.”
“Have you seen this expert crafted leather? That was expensive you know! Eight, but lower I won’t go, this is a bargain.”The cool expression and shade of a smile gave of an odd feel, and even though she acted discontent, the bat was sure she was currently asking the exact price she wanted for her work and that she indeed wouldn’t sell for less. He sighed, well, it was better than Twelve. “That’s your perspective of a bargain, to me this is theft but alright, I’ll buy it.” And he even managed a grimace.

Credit goes to Cylos Marn

by **Brandon Blackwing** on March 27th, 2014, 8:46 pm

x

The door that led into the smithy shop opened as a figure dressed in black entered, the small bell announced his arrival. The bandolier, currently holding no weapons whatsoever was buckled around his chest, the leather bands running around his shoulder feeling strange, tight, not limiting his movements, just drawing his attention towards them all the time, so did the belt that locked them in place. He could imagine what it would feel like if the daggers would be in their sheaths, applying more force on the leather construction and his shoulders. Oh well, at least he could conceal the weapons very well with this coat, and he could reach them very easily too, nifty.

The ‘Touch of Fire’ wasn’t really a place he liked being, mainly because of the smell, the scent of thick black smoke that felt suffocating and was –unfortunately- omnipresent here. The noise too, coming from the chamber in the back of the shop was quite annoying and loud. With the sound entering the showroom and booming in his ears, a large man did so too, in fact he was very tall, he had to bend down a little in order to come in and see who had visited the shop. Strongly developed muscles ornamented his arms, and even though it wasn’t visible due to the clothes he wore as well as the apron, the bat knew that the man before him was not only that muscled at his arms only.

Though intimidating the short thief, the blacksmith didn’t sound threatening at all, on the contrary, he spoke with a certain gentleness, flowing through his deep voice naturally. “Good day, how can I help you? Oh, I am Neslir, one of the many apprentices working here.” A smile formed on his dark blue features, and the bat was put a little more at ease. It was hard not to be taken aback by the impressive mass of blue muscle that stood before him, dwarfing the bat with ease. “Ah…” His gaze still wandered, going upwards to seek the face on top of the body, his neck craning backwards quite a bit. “I ordered some daggers nine days before, six of them to be exact.”
“And what did you say your name was?”
“Blackwing”, he spoke, “Brandon Blackwing.” Usually he’d introduce himself with ‘Of the Black Wings’ , but that didn’t sound quite right when one put ‘mister’ in front of it, or if only the surname was asked, so the name ‘Blackwing’ formed the solution for such problems.

“Ah, I see. You came here the thirtieth, correct?” Neslir read, holding a notebook in his gigantic hand, “Wait a moment, I’ll go get them for you.”.And with that he wriggled himself back through the door, only to return less than a chime later, a bundle of what was probably the bat’s order in his hand. Carefully and with a certain look of affection in his eyes the blue man placed it down on the counter and unwrapped the cloth from the objects. There they were, their blades shimmering sinisterly in the light of Syna shining through the windows, the six daggers displayed themselves, the fingers of the blacksmith gently rearranging them so they didn’t overlap.

Each one was different, the only thing that was the same was the type of weapon they were. Not even the colour was, well most of the blades had the same metallic colour steel tended to have, but one was as black as the night, and another seemed to shine a shade of silver, though it was certain that the metal used wasn’t. Even another one produced a bluish gleam, what seemed truly unreal to the thief. With one hand he reached out for one of the blades, only to stop and look up for approval, which was given with a nod.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on April 8th, 2014, 8:00 pm

x

The dagger his hands carefully picked up, only using the thumb and index finger of either hand and touching only the tip of the blade and the hilt, was one that showed great signs of excellent craftsmanship, not only due to the magnificently decorated hilt, but also the blade, which shimmered and glistered like the frozen surface of a small lake in the Misty Peaks. That was not the only special thing about it, not at all. The blade meandered slightly, like a snake slithering away, the snake element came back in the hilt, which was actually the intertwined bodies of two snakes, their heads looking to opposing sides, with bared fangs, creating two quillons. Just below the snakes were three small spikes on each side, and the tips of the snakes’ tails travelled further into the blade itself, so that the blade fitted around it. A horned crown adorned the top of the hilt. Brandon found it to have something macabre about it, it evoked some sort sense of … nervousness when he laid eyes on it, and placed it down quick when he was done studying it.

“Quite something, isn’t it?” remarked the blacksmith’s apprentice, who seemed to have noticed the slight anxiety the bat had felt, “It is said that masterfully skilled blacksmiths are able to put a certain feeling in their work, and even though I never thought of her as such, I must say that this dagger is indeed quite capable of inducing a certain primal fear within me. Whether it’s the wicked looking blade or just the snakes, I do not know.” He smiled, echoing some of the thoughts the thief had noticed galloping through his mind. After a small break of silence and a question regarding the throwability of the weapon, Neslir went ahead and started to give some details. “Ah yes, you did ask to make the daggers balanced so they would stay stable when in flight if thrown. Well, rest assured, although some of these sport a hilt that looks rather heavy, I can assure you that the weight is nicely divided over the whole weapon, so it should not compromise the balance.” Another smile.

The bat did not respond but turned his gaze back to the cloth with the daggers when the giant parted his lips and showed his teeth in a friendly smile. The contrast of the black-bluish skin with the pale white of the man’s teeth was a bit too great, and the angle his neck had to assume started hurting too.

Next came a weapon that was not as special as the one prior to this one, but was as beautiful in the bat’s eyes. Indeed, it didn’t have a fancy hilt, but that was not that important, no instead it had a really elegant looking slender blade that ended in a tip that seemed to sting the air itself by just lying there. The handle was simple too, but Brandon liked simple things just as well as or even better than fancy stuff. It was coated in threads of grey fabric, with a thicker winded over them. A pumpkin shaped orb was perched at the top of the handle, and two smaller ones were the ends of the quillons, which were nothing more than bent small staves. This one the bat did hold, his fingers curling around the hilt and clenched it in his fist, the top of the handle sticking out at the side of his thumb, the blade pointed downwards. “That’s not an effective way to hold it, actually,” Neslir commented, “Though you can use it like that but not to fight, only to stab it down in a table or something. You are currently holding it backwards, you need to switch…, yes.” As soon as the bat had heard that he was holding it backwards he had flipped it by using his fingers of the hand he held it with only. Things like that were quite easy for the thief, his profession required quick and supple, trained fingers and those he had. One he had even made a coin roll over his knuckles, and not by using it as a wheel.

“Don’t you know how to wield a dagger?” Brandon had to confess that he had never before held a dagger, but even if, the way to hold it was not hard to find, he hadn’t actually planned on wielding it like he had held it before, it just looked more epic. “Ah, I see. Well, it is indeed not that hard, you can use it for stabbing and slashing both. Yet, the difficulty in using daggers as a melee weapon is located in the limited range. They are fast and swift of slash, but small. Wounds won’t be as deep like those inflicted by a sword, but they are still quite painful. The weak spots are what you should aim for. The real damage and deadly wounds come from the stabbing attacks they deliver. That however is true for any weapon that can be used for thrusting. But, a dagger also comes in handy to slip through gaps in armour whereas other blades cannot. And then there is of course the usage of it as a throwing weapon, the ease of hiding it under clothes and the lightness, but I already mentioned that, didn’t I? All those qualities together make for a very versatile weapon.”

x

credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on April 10th, 2014, 3:27 pm

x

That sounded logical enough, a versatile weapon was exactly what he needed, and therefore he had ordered the daggers. In essence there was no need for the apprentice to sum up all the advantages and disadvantages of using a dagger, but it was quite helpful anyways, as stated before, the bat was not quite familiar with daggers, or any weapon at that. There were things listed that Brandon would have never thought of, such as it being able to slip between two pieces of armour, which could come in handy. Even more so than the previous moments, he stared at the small weapons with admiration in his orbs.

“And how do you throw it? Is there a special technique for that or is it just … you know, simple?” The big blue guy scratched his head in thought, as if trying to recall the answer to that question. He seemed quite knowledgeable when it came to weapons and wielding them, Bran wondered if it was necessary to become a blacksmith or if it was just something Neslir knew or had learned. “For throwing? Eh, let me see… I’m not an expert, but I do know the basic stuff,” his voice boomed as his gigantic fingers grabbed one of the weapons, one which seemed to emit a strange blue glow, yet it was just the colour of the metal. It’s blade was about the same length as the others, but at the base of the hilt it bended inwards, narrowing it before bending outwards and undoing it. The result were two curves that served as a decoration. The hilt was remarkable as well, the top reminded the bat of the ace of spades, and the quillons were shaped in a fang-like fashion, as if it were ready to bite. Heh, appropriate for a dagger.

In Neslir’s big hands, the weapon looked ridiculously small, tiny even, nothing more than a needle used for sewing. Slightly exaggerated, but still. “There are lots of different styles of throws, but this one is basic and quite easy to learn. You hold the blade like this,” he instructed, “Come on, you do it too!”
“Eh?” the bat uttered, slightly confused, but he obeyed and picked up a dagger too, one that looked precisely like the image formed in his mind when he thought ‘dagger’. He imitated the blue man, holding the blade so that the sharpened edges were pointing up- and downwards, as did the quillons. The index finger was placed on what was now the top, trailing the hilt, the pommel pressing in his palm. His thumb did the same but at the side, and the other three fingers angled down, making sure the blade stayed in his grip, but not too tightly. “It makes it easier to release when throwing,” Neslir explained.

“Throwing the dagger is not that hard, once you get the hang of it, you can try all kinds of different angles and throws, most of them can be derived from this one, given that you don’t want to throw with spin. No spin throws can be thrown from any distance, you see, where as throws with spin cannot.” Brandon nodded while listening, focussed on the explanation of the man, but also a little impatient. When would he finally tell him, or show, how to throw? The grip was now known to him, and the details didn’t matter, just the how, not the why.

“The technique to hurl a dagger is simple. You don’t even have to tension your muscles, that will have a negative effect on your timing. Instead you keep them relaxed. So, when you get ready to throw, you bring your hand back, so that your upper arm points upwards, yeah?” While he spoke, the apprentice showed what he was explaining. “And your wrist is cocked back. When you throw, you bring your forearm down, and your hand follows, of course, else you have a problem, hahaha!” The short laugh that followed that comment told the bat that it was supposed to be a joke, but he didn’t find it as funny as Neslir did. In fact, he didn’t find it funny at all, the humour escaped him. Noticing this, Neslir’s outburst of laughter faded and he turned into a professional again, coughing to clear his throat. “Ahem, so while you do that, you flick your wrist and release your grip, but the release I won’t show, I don’t think Aska would enjoy people hurling weapons in her shop.”

Just to make sure he would remember and to imprint the handling in his muscle memory, the bat practiced the movements a couple of times, making sure not to lose grip. Facing an angry shopkeeper was not something he wanted, and the apprentice wasn’t one he’d like to have as an opponent either. “Ah, that’s right, I forgot to tell you. What you are doing now –practicing the throwing motion and drawing you hand back to get it back into position- is a great way to practice. You have to keep your wrist supple and relaxed, so that is something you have to do every time when you practice your daggers, you have to make it a habit.” And again the bat nodded, his neck was getting stiff from doing that all the time today.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

by **Brandon Blackwing** on April 11th, 2014, 8:09 pm

x

“So, you are quite satisfied with your order, I take it? Well then, let’s discuss the payment!” Neslir clapped his hands once and placed them on the counter, bending over it slightly, and lowering himself just a bit. At the same time the word ‘payment’ had reached the bat’s keen ears, alarm bells had started ringing inside his head, and his eyes had slightly narrowed. Payment? Paying for his order? Hadn’t he done that already the day he had placed his order? Or had he imagined things? No, there was no way he would form images in his mind about him paying, unless he wanted to torture himself psychologically… And he never forgot when he’d paid for something, at least not for the time that it mattered. Something else was going on here, and it wasn’t something the bat liked, yet he did not let it show, his bewilderment was hidden within the boundary that was his flesh and blood, the muscles in his face adopted a neutral expression. One who knew Brandon well enough would have noticed something was amiss, neutral expressions were meant to hide emotions with, mostly negative ones.

The giant of a blacksmith’s apprentice however did not and as such failed to sense that wrongness and started the reasoning behind the prices, taking the customer’s silence as a sign that he could continue. “As you have seen and still can see, most of these daggers have elaborate designs worked into the hilt, and some have some special alloy they have been crafted with, or have undergone a special treatment, and as such the prices vary.”

A muscle in the region of the left corner of the bat’s mouth twitched, seemingly wanting to drag them in the expression that was the true face of the thief’s current emotions. From what he could discern having listened to this short explanation, or excuse, he guessed he’d have to pay more than the regular price. And for what reason? Because they had gone and had fun while crafting, resulting in an extra amount of kina needed to pay. Not that he didn’t like the weapons, in hindsight he was happy they were all different, works of art they could be called. But art was expensive, and while he had initially dismissed the thought of one of the daggers been made by using silver, he now suspected that this had been the truth, why else would the assistant state something like ‘special alloy’? “…regular one, so that one is two kina….” he heard the black-bluish man say while a long finger pointed at one of the daggers.

Two kina? Ah, that’s right, that was the sum that the apprentice that had been here when he’d ordered the daggers had asked for one. So that was the regular price, huh? So that made twelve kina that he had paid, but actually hadn’t, conclusion: he had been ripped off, stolen from. He had been conned, deceived, tricked and robbed in his ignorance of the system that was handled here. In hindsight it was obvious, one could not pay for what was not wished for, and if he were to pay the regular price up front and the blacksmiths made a dagger from one or other fancy metal that was way more expensive than steel, that would not suffice, and he’d have to pay extra afterwards. And it should be recorded as well, otherwise people could lie and cheat about having paid up front, which would result in a loss of funds. “….a process called bluing, which protects the steel and gives this two their colour. Two times two kina and five topaz….”

Neslir wrote his calculations all down in a notebook, a ledger of sorts, one that he had seen before … The memory returned with a flash, illuminating the inside of his skull for a moment, this notebook had been used to write all the details about his order down in, and the man dwarfing the bat had used it to know what order Bran had come for. Meaning that any payment should and would be written down in there too, probably, but that hadn’t happened with his order. How come he hadn’t noticed? It should have been obvious, everything was to be written down in the ledger, so why hadn’t he noticed when the man hadn’t done so with his money? It had happened while he was petching staring at the culprit stealing his kina, Godsdamnit! Unforgivable! Stealing from him and making a fool out of him at the same time? He would pay for that, oh he could count on it! And it would take more than twelve kina to settle the score, oh no, just getting his money back would not suffice for the thief. Revenge was in order and just for that purpose he would become a bloodhound and chase the man to the ends of the world if necessary! No one mocked Brandon Of The Black Wings! No one! A smile filled with malice crept up his lips, and the coals that were his eyes caught flame, blazing with a fury greater than any rage the bat had ever succumbed to before.

Yet his composure was kept, even though inside his skull, inside his mind a storm was brewing, large thunderclouds that threatened the world below, his fury screamed for action, to start the search now. Giving in was not what he did, however trembling was something he could hardly prevent, and clenching his fists was not enough of a venting hole. Behind his back he dug his nails in the flesh of his other arm while Neslir still continued going over the price of the individual daggers, the pain flooding his mind and pushing the rage out. A lot of it was dispelled by using this method, but not nearly enough, he should focus on something else, distracting his own mind. It appeared that the words spoken with the deep and calming voice of the apprentice served that purpose very well. “…. Cold Iron, so that will make six kina..” Gahhhh!? Six kina?!! Bloody expensive! Was he really going to pay for these?

The next dagger had half that cost, but was composed out of an alloy of silver and steel, with about twenty-five percent of silver and three quarters of steel. The hilt looked as if a pillar of vines was reaching out to the moon, and the blade held the steady silver shine that Leth’s light cast, a blade too beautiful and delicate to use as weapon, but Neslir ensured that it was sturdier than it looked. All in all, the total price was a large sum of eighteen kina and five topaz, which was a ridiculous amount the bat had never spent in one place before. This would be a first, another first, and another unpleasant one at that, but he would pay. The thief would be sure to get his money back after all, but thirty and half a kina wouldn’t be enough to compensate for the act of theft, that was not a price high enough, not in the slightest. Oh, just you wait!

While the money changed pockets, a passing question was asked, in a tone that made it clear that it wasn’t that important, but just something he wanted to know, as if it had just entered his mind. “You wouldn’t have seen a bulky man working here? One who has a strong dislike of serving customers?” The apprentice thought for a moment, arms crossed in front of his chest while Bran proceeded to put his daggers in their sheathes, dangling just below his arms, next to his ribcage. “Hmmm… I can’t say that I have, I am fairly new here you see. I took this job as a way to kill time and maker some money at the same time, two birds with one stone, it’s only temporarily though, until we can travel on.”
“Ah, you haven’t been here long then? No wonder I had never seen one such as you before.”
A brief bellowing roar of laughter. “Indeed, I originate from Riverfall. There there are many ‘such as I’.” He laughed again.
“Riverfall, huh?” The bat vaguely remembered the name, probably having seen in on a map or something, but all other information about the city was unknown to him. Though he guessed it was built near a river. “And where are you travelling to?” “We were headed for Wind Reach, but the ship was caught in a storm and severe damage was done to it. Until it is repaired I will spend my time here, which might be for another while, and new supplies have to be bought too, maybe some substitute members of the crew…” he mused, gaze fixed through the window, watching people pass. “Ah, it might be Dimitri!”
“Huh?”
“The one you spoke of, it might be Dimitri. I heard Aska mumble something about him being a pain in the butt whenever a customer enters. Does he have blonde hair and a bowl-like hairstyle? Might be stained with grime from the furnace and all though..”
“Yes….maybe…” Had the man had blonde hair? He could not remember, but the haircut shaped like a bowl was one hard to forget, there was no doubt that the Dimitri Neslir spoke off was the one Brandon was looking for. But was there a need for the giant to know that? The bat would be asked all kinds of annoying questions such as ‘why did you ask’ or ‘what do you need him for’ or so if he did. Better not to and not raise suspicion of any kind. “No, that’s not the guy I mean. No problem though, it wasn’t that important. Thanks anyway!”

And with that he turned around, allowing a mischievous set-on-revenge smirk to taint his features as he opened the door of the store and placed his foot outside. Now he had a name, the only thing that he was missing was an address. And a plan how to make him feel the thief’s wrath. Okay, two things but that was not important right now, what was was finding the deceiver. But he had time, by not telling Neslir he had also prevented a situation that would alarm Dimitri, so there was no need for a rushed approach. He’d take his time, pinpoint the man’s home location and formulate a plan of attack, sneaky and accurate, the way he liked to work. Lips parted in a grin, just you wait, oh Dimitri, just you wait!

x

credit goes to Euthisa

by **Catastrophe** on April 22nd, 2014, 3:56 pm

e

Brandon Blackwing :

Notes :