Chapter 78 The Fragment
A few minutes after leaving Lacey’s stall, she arrived at the end of the stalls and the start of shops, but she decided to go down the next street to the left for more stalls before she checked out the stores.
She found the next street over was the start of the sword section, which took up almost a third of the entire weapon section of the festival. She skipped over the first few stalls filled with okay quality long and short swords, but nothing that drew her attention until she spotted a different type of booth.
As many people who have seen a lot of anime, she gravitated towards a stall stocked with Japanese-looking swords. Evernya’s eyes scanned over the many beautiful curved swords and daggers meticulously laid out on the table as she approached. After a few minutes of browsing the table, the Asian-looking man with a stern expression who appeared to be in his 40s finally greeted her while futzing with his sword layout in an almost OCD fashion. “Welcome to Swords from the East’s stall.” The man greeted without paying much attention to her.
“Hello, I would like to try a Katana and a wakizashi.” Evernya requested, hoping her automatic translator conveyed her request accurately.
“Can you afford to buy the swords if you damage them, young lady?” The man inquired in a tone that stated he didn’t think highly of her.
“Easily, but I highly doubt I will damage them,” Evernya replied in barely concealed irritation.
“I would like proof of that claim. I’ve had many kids like you damage my swords.” The man commented in the same condescending tone.
“Look, all I wanted to do is take a few swings to see how they feel in my hands, but it seems like you don’t want that to happen. The other stalls I visited have been respectful to me, even though I am young.” Evernya shot back, flashing her platinum card while displaying her wristband, before turning around with a flick of her tail as she strutted off.
The man’s eyes widened when they landed on the card, but Evernya disappeared into the growing crowd before he could apologize.
I’m sure I can find another stall or store if I want to try a Katana. I don’t want to give any money to someone as rude as him. I understand his need for assurance that I can pay for any damaged stock, but that’s no excuse for being rude. Evernya fumed, unconsciously releasing a hint of her mana aura, causing a crowd to part.
Evernya wandered around the stalls, ignoring the gigantic swords almost as tall as her or the thrusting swords like rapiers. She soon found another shop with Japanese-like swords manned by an Asian woman of similar age to the man from before. She wiggled her way through the crowd to the stall, which was already quite busy, before taking her place at the back of a small line leading up to the booth.
After almost ten minutes, it was finally her turn. “Hello, I would like to try out a Katana and a Wakizashi,” Evernya requested.
Unlike the previous stall, the lady politely responded, “Certainly, young lady, which ones would you like to try? I have many options.”
“How about the pair with the black sheaths and handles? By the way, you are much easier to deal with than the rude man down the street.” Evernya responded, pointing to the pair of swords on the left side of the table while complimenting the woman.
“The Swords from the East stall?” The woman inquired with a curious expression.
“Yeah, I asked to try out his swords as I did with you, but all he did was talk down to me rudely, so I left,” Evernya ranted, still a little peeved a half-hour later.
A satisfied smile bloomed on the woman’s face as she revealed, “That sounds like him. He’s my ex-husband. However, I don’t know why he would act rude towards you when it’s obvious you have some money with that platinum wristband of yours.”
“He didn’t even bother looking at it. He just instantly assumed I would damage his swords. So I flashed my platinum card and wristband and walked away. Even if his swords are amazing, I don’t want to buy from such a rude guy.” Evernya fumed.
The woman’s smile widened in glee as she said, “Oh, his swords are high quality, probably better than mine, but his attitude drives away a lot of potential buyers. I tried for many years to change him, but he is stuck in his ways, so I left to start my own business. Just for giving me this juicy information to rub in his face, I’ll give you a five percent discount on any of my swords.”
“Thank you. I don’t know for sure if these swords are right for me, but at least you are letting me find out.” Evernya thanked as she received the swords.
Evernya first levitated the Wakizashi off to the side of her before carefully unsheathing the katana. The woman gasped at the casual display of magic but otherwise remains silent. The surrounding crowd watched Evernya as she took a few test swings before speeding up, but soon stopped and shook her head. She re-sheathed the katana and replaced it with the Wakizashi. She did the same swings but again stopped, re-sheathing it before setting both on the table, contemplating them.
While I like both swords, they don’t feel right. Similar to the staff, my body seems to adjust automatically, as if I’ve had years of practice. Yet another mystery to deal with. At least it doesn’t seem to be a bad quirk. I wonder what other weapons I have a hidden affinity for? Maybe I can find a short sword like the wakizashi but straight bladed allowing for better stabbing.
After a minute of contemplation, Evernya requested, “Do you have a dagger shorter than the Wakizashi with a straight blade?”
“I don’t. What exactly are you looking for?” The woman inquired, leaning closer with keen interest.
Evernya fell silent for a few seconds before responding uncertainly, “I think a single-edged, straight-bladed dagger that is usable one-handed is what I am looking for.”
A saddened expression appeared on the woman’s face as she replied, “Ninjato is what you are looking for, but I don’t have any of those in stock at the moment.”
“Well, that sucks any similar swords you can think of?” Evernya inquired, slightly disappointed.
“I don’t know. Most people prefer double-edged, straight short swords over single-edged. Maybe a falchion, but those different from a Ninjato.” The woman replied after a moment of thought.
“That’s ok, I’ll keep looking. How much for these swords?” Evernya inquired while admiring the beautiful swords in front of her.
“Normally, I would sell that pair for twenty-five hundred, but I’ll drop it to two thousand for you.” The woman stated.
“Still a lot, but I like the feel and look of them, so I’ll buy them.” Evernya decided while hiding a wince at the price.
“Thank you. These swords may be the best on the table, but because of their plain dressing, they get overlooked. I had someone special order them, but they never showed up to pick them up.” The woman revealed as she slid over a tablet for Evernya.
“I don’t think they look plain. I find them beautiful, but as my older sister keeps telling me, I am boring.” Evernya commented after scanning her platinum card on the tablet.
Unlike Lacey, the woman showed no reaction to the platinum card as she said. “I agree they look nice, but most people gravitate to the flashy colors or patterns, thinking those are the better swords.”
After packing the swords up in a beautiful wooden box of a similar gloss black material as the sheaths, the woman handed Evernya the box. Evernya levitated them behind her with her staff before thanking the woman and moving on with her journey. The crowd parted for the small shifter, followed by two large objects.
Unfortunately, nothing stood out to her for the rest of the hundred meter long street, prompting her to move onto the next street over. Unlike the previous street, this one mostly comprised of long swords on display, which didn’t fit with her envisioned combat style. Despite this, she continued on in case something interesting showed up.
Ten minutes later, her persistence paid off as she walks by an otherwise plain stall with various long swords on display made of materials she didn’t recognize. What caught her eye was a dozen black circular bladed spheres about twenty centimeters in diameter each. Practically shaking in excitement, Evernya took her place at the back of the small line leading to a man who appeared to be in his late twenties. The few minutes’ wait felt like an eternity as her eyes drilled into the black spheres on display, mentally vowing to hunt down anyone who dared touch her new toys.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Immediately upon reaching the front of the line, Evernya asked while trying and failing at concealing her excitement, “Hello, sir, could I try out those black spheres?”
To Evernya’s surprise, the man’s demeanor descended into frustration at the mention of the spheres. Without even looking up at Evernya, he said, “Feel free. I have had a hell of a time selling those things off. Someone spent a lot of money to have me specially make them, but even though he paid for them, he never showed up. I waited a year before I put them up for sale, but no one will buy them or even try them out over the last five years.”
Evernya carefully set her other purchases down, then found an empty area off to the right side of the stall, so she didn’t hurt anyone. Despite her nearly overflowing excitement, Evernya mentally commanded each sphere one by one to enter orbit around her. Her mind strained, trying to keep the surprisingly heavy spheres in orbit, but after a minute, they settled in with only mild tugs on her mind.
She spent a few minutes getting used to them before speeding the orbit up. As the speed increased, so did a painful headache, but despite this, an enormous smile grew. She tried to control each independently but quickly found it was beyond her for now, so she slowed them down before stacking them on the table in front of the awe-struck man.
Previous frustration forgotten, the man exclaimed, “Brilliant! I never thought someone would use them with telekinesis! I think the one who designed planned to shoot them from a cannon of some sort, but what you did is much more terrifying!”
“How much do you want for them?” Evernya inquired, trying but failing miserably at hiding her excitement at her new toys.
“Well, I would give them for free, but the materials alone are worth a ton. I’ll give you them for half off at ten thousand crystals.” The man haggled mentally, hoping the girl bought them.
“Why so much?” Evernya questioned, earning several odd looks from the surrounding crowd.
Scared to offend his potential customer, the man politely explained, “I made them with an expensive Adamantium alloy which makes them nearly indestructible but quite heavy for their small size, as you noticed. Another plus of the alloy is that it takes enchantments extremely well. If I melted them down and made a sword out of the metal, I could charge over twenty thousand. I just couldn’t bring myself to destroy them since I spent so long to create them.”
Upon hearing the possibility of her new toys being destroyed for some stupid sword, Evernya counteroffered. “How about eight thousand? As you said, they had had little interest for years.”
“Nine thousand is the lowest I can go.” The man countered.
After a few seconds of thought, Evernya caved. “Fine, I can deal with that. Do you have a box to put them in? I don’t think I can levitate all twelve long term with my other purchases. The weight isn’t too bad, maybe one hundred fifty kilograms combined, but splitting my mind fourteen ways is a little much for me.” Evernya requested.
“The guy had a box built for storage. Let me grab it for you.” The man replied before he rushed off behind his curtain, coming back a minute later with a large black wooden box with steel reinforcements.
While he carefully set each sphere in their holding spot under the watchful gaze of Evernya, she inquired, “What are these beautiful spheres called?”
With a brief hesitation, the man nervously answered, “Well, they are one of a kind, and I didn’t have a name for them, but after your impressive display, I thought of one. It’s black moons. I know a boring name so if you don’t like it, feel free to call them something else.”
“I probably couldn’t think of anything better. The name fits, so I think I’ll keep it at least until something better comes up.” Evernya said, not really caring as long as she had her new toys.
Evernya paid for her new toy before levitating them, along with her other purchases. Without even saying goodbye, Evernya skittered off to find a place to play with her new toys, leaving the crowd and stall owner in shock at the events.
A few minutes later, Evernya found a quiet bench away from the crowded streets. She set down her purchases and grabbed a smoothie from her backpack. She fished out her phone, hoping to take a picture of her new toys only to find her basic prepaid flip phone didn’t have a camera. Annoyed, she stuffed her cell phone in her pocket for ease of access, along with her card and ID. As she sipped her second smoothie, Evernya stared at the case containing her new toys, deep in thought.
As much as I love these things, they aren’t practical as a primary weapon. There is no way I could control them all independently, along with any other attacks, at least not without a lot of practice. Moving fast is out of the question as well, but they would be awesome if I got surrounded. Maybe when I become better, I can use them more, but for now, I won’t use them in combat situations unless I am desperate.
She rested for a few more minutes before levitating her purchases again, continuing on her adventure. She spent the next thirty minutes wandering the sword area, only finding a few short swords close to what she wanted. Unfortunately, none of them feel quite right because of one reason or another, despite having similar specs.
As she left another booth, disappointed by the feel of the saber that caught her attention, she felt a buzzing from her pocket. Curious, Evernya pulled her cell phone out of its tiny pocket home to find Meira calling her.
She dashed into a narrow alley just barely wide enough to fit her purchases before answering, “Hi, Meira.”
“Hey, I’m just checking up on you. I’m almost done with my shopping, so I’ll be joining you soon. How is everything on your end?” Meira chirped happily.
“Good, I bought a few weapons, one I am really excited about that I will show you in person. Unfortunately, I haven’t found any primary or training weapon candidates. I have an idea about what I might want to give a try as a primary weapon, but I’m not sure,” Evernya replied, mirroring Meira’s tone.
“You sound like you are having fun, I’m glad. So what do you think you want? I may run across it over here.” Meira inquired cheerfully.
“I’m thinking a straight-bladed, single-edged, short sword would be good. It should work well with a fast-paced combat style I will probably employ.” Evernya replied, still uncertain as she hadn’t felt one in her hands.
“I agree. A short sword would work great. I was thinking something along those lines too. Anything too big, even if its light will get in the way. Daggers may work, but they have little reach. Short swords were what I thought of too, or some weapon of similar size. What made you come up with such a specific type, though?” Meira inquired.
“I tried a Katana and wakizashi, finding they were close, but I didn’t like the feel of the curve despite looking beautiful. The katana was a bit too long, but the wakizashi was near perfect length. I ended up buying them anyway because I still liked them and if I couldn’t find anything better, I would use the swords as a training weapon.” Evernya replied.
Meira responded after a few seconds, “I think I saw a few fitting your criteria. I’ll go back and buy them. If they don’t work, I’ll just keep them to enchant for someone. Anyway, I’ll let you get back to your shopping. It should be another thirty minutes or so before I’m done.”
“Cya later,” Evernya said before hanging up.
After squeezing her phone back into her tiny pocket, Evernya returned to the street purchases in tow to continue her search.
I love how everyone gets out of my way because of my cargo. It makes getting through these crowded streets so much easier. Now, if only I could find a suitable sword. Evernya thought while wandering down the packed street.
Unfortunately, her optimism faltered after twenty minutes of fruitless searching. Why would anyone want a giant bastard sword? If you want reach, get a damn polearm and if you want to whack something hard, get a hammer. Though I am a bit biased, since I doubt I could handle a sword longer than I am tall. Evernya’s ranted mentally, cranky as the strain of carrying her heavy purchases wore on her, forming a mild headache.
Just as she turned down yet another street filled with sword stalls, an unusual mental pull directed her forward. Curious, Evernya followed the pull despite her better judgment. She ignored the passing sword stalls as pull consumed more and more of her concentration the closer she got. Almost like a planet sucked into a black hole, Evernya continued to move forward, whether she liked it or not.
A few minutes later, the cause of the pull became visible. Her gaze ignored the two busy stalls packed with swords fitting her criteria in favor of a decrepit stall. Behind the booth was an ancient-looking man who looked just as old as the weapon remains on display. As she neared the falling apart booth, her eyes landed on a small rusted metal fragment. She eyed the bent and rusted fragment in confusion, but the pull forced her forward.
“Hello, sir, how much for that fragment.” Evernya inquired in a flat, hypnotized tone, unable to take her eyes off the fragment.
“Free as long as you pass its test.” Replied the man in a hoarse voice, matching his ancient appearance.
Momentary clarity prompted Evernya to ask, “What do you mean?”
“It isn’t my place to say touch it if you wish to claim it.” The ancient man replied unheard by Evernya as a compulsion to touch the fragment took hold.
Against her will, her hand shot forward, grabbing hold of the fragment. Immediately upon contacting the fragment, all compulsion ceases, leaving Evernya in confusion.
“Good luck, young lady.” The ancient man croaked out with a broad smile on his wrinkly face.
“What? Nothing is happening.” Evernya questioned.
All she received in response was an almost inhumanly broad smile as the ancient man disappeared along with his stall, leaving her alone in the void he left.
A moment later, a massive suction force assaulted her mana veins, causing her to cry out in surprise. She tried to drop the fragment but found it glued to her palm. In a panic, she attempted to pry the fragment off with her claws, but it refused to budge, only resulting in a bleeding puncture wound. Before she could try anything else, the suction turned painful as mana ripped through her mana veins into the fragment. She let out a scream as her body spasmed and collapsed onto the street along with her purchases.
With numb and trembling hands, Evernya tried to pull out her cellphone to call Meira, but they refused to respond. Unable to handle the pain, Evernya screamed again, attracting a crowd around her. She called for help, but the pain was so overwhelming she couldn’t form a single coherent word between screams. Within minutes, she lost all remaining control of her spasming body. Even her screams die off as energy left her. As the last of her mana drained from her, she lost all feeling in her as her skin shriveled. Her vision dimmed to black, with her last sight being the now hand-sized translucent black metal object with nine curvy legs branching out of an oval central piece. At the center of the oval, running lengthwise, was a raised half-cylinder pulsating blue veins running through it.