As Alix kept on walking around the 7th Ring, it soon became apparent that the Merchant District wasn’t just home to shopfronts. Every business in Galdea had a presence on the ring. There were workshops of all kinds; academies, banking houses, lumber mills, printmakers, bath houses. Everything the population of the city needed was within its walls. Above the bustling sound of the morning crowds was the hammering of the blacksmiths.
Alix assumed the Armourers and sellers of swords and other weapons would be near the blacksmiths, if not the same businesses, so he followed the sounds until he found what he was looking for. Most of the West Gate quadrant seemed to be dedicated to the manufacturing and sale of weapons and armour so he had plenty of options to choose from. The shops were easy to identify, the armourers displaying a hanging sign adorned with a shield, while the weapons shops used crossed swords.
At seeing the rows of fantastical weapons shops lined up before him, he suddenly felt like a kid in a candy store. Alix almost jumped into the first shop, eager to see what they had to offer. The first shop seemed to focus on plain, practical swords such as shortswords, broadswords and longswords, the kind of early game weapons he would expect to find in any typical RPG. There was also some simple warhammers, axes and knives. Their prices were lower than he had been expecting. He could have traded a few vials of antidotes for almost any weapon in the shop.
The second shop he checked out, mostly for the flaming sword emblem hanging beside the door, carried a much more interesting variety of weapons. It felt weird seeing such high level weapons being sold so close to low level weapons, when he would have expected to have to travel half way across the map to upgrade his gear so drastically, but such logic only made sense in games, and he had come to terms with the fact that this was no game.
The shop was named after the style it specialised in; Flamberge. The walls were adorned with blades the ring helpfully identified as Zweihänder, Flammenschwert, Kris Dagger, and Claidheamh Mór, the last one of which he didn’t need help identifying. He easily recognised the sloped quillons with quatrefoil terminations of a Claymore. Everything he saw told him that people from many different cultures had come to Babyl throughout the years, bringing with them the weapons of their time, but the last one sent a tingling down his spine.
A Highlander was here…
Suddenly he was filled with a longing for home, not the city he had been taken from, but the Highlands he had grown up in. He wondered if the Gàidhealtachd had been a Darknight or a Solknight?
Alix had to stop himself from purchasing the Claymore right then and there. It was significantly more expensive than the swords in the previous shop had been, but cheaper than the fancier and more elaborate Zweihänder. He made a note of the shops name though, and vowed to return another day to ask the proprietor about the history of the sword. As it was, the day was wearing on and he had no time to waste. There was no guarantee that the two men he was looking for were still where Brant had said they were.
Turning to leave, Alix suddenly realised he had every reason to buy the Claymore. It would be the perfect weapon for Brant, only as a loan of course, so that he could have it for himself after they were finished. He could easily forge him a new sword once they were back at the castle.
“Excuse me, I’ll take this Claymore please,” Alix said to the shopkeeper, a stout man named Hastur.
“What?” Hastur asked as if he hadn’t heard him properly.
“Sorry, I meant the Claidheamh Mór.” Alix put down the asking price of one hundred gold, more than he wanted to spend but this was one purchase he didn’t mind paying full price for. He could always get more gold, but he didn’t know the next time he would get a chance to buy a piece of his homeland. “What can you tell me about the history of this sword style?” Alix asked as Hastur went about finding the swords sheath.
“Not much to tell really. It’s an ancient design, not very popular these days. Everyone’s grown too soft for them if you ask me. Most of those that come in here calling themselves Tanks, asking for the biggest sword I’ve got, can’t even lift it. Takes a real man to wield one of these beasts,” Hastur said, easily lifting the Claymore despite it almost being taller than he was. “No offense lad, but you don’t look like you’ve got the muscle for it. It’s a real weapon of war, not something for prancing around with.”
“You don’t need to worry about me, it’s for a friend.”
Hastur handed him the blade, sheathed in a belted shoulder scabbard for easy access. The scabbard was simply wrapped in black leather with silver accents. The weight of it almost dragged Alix to the ground, but he managed to take hold of it and carry it out of the shop before he embarrassed himself. Once out of sight, he stuck the Claymore in his inventory.
Alix made one more stop in another weapons shop, to get a better idea of just what was available out there. The third shop fell solidly in the middle of the previous, selling a jarringly wide range of swords. He spotted Gladius, Katana, Falchions, Sabers, Estocs, Dadaos, and even a locked box on a high shelf named Durendal. He had yet to see a shop selling bows or polearms. He had no interest in spears or halberds, but a bow would have been a cool thing to have, especially living in a castle. What was the point in having all those murder holes if he didn’t have a weapon to take advantage of them? He was fairly certain he had seen reference to a bow in one of the woodworking books so maybe he would be able to craft one himself.
It was finally time to move on to an Armourers after taking stock of all the prices. The first one he passed was too crowded while the second seemed to sell nothing other than full suits of medieval plate armour for knights and their horses. If he was planning on going after slavers, he didn’t want to be making that sort of noise. The third was more to his taste, one that looked like it catered to serious adventurers instead of professional soldiers.
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The gear inside the aptly named Questers, looked like it catered to every imaginable job class in a typical RPG; wooden shields for the adventurer, light leather armour for rangers, bracers for archers, battle robes for Mages, greatshields for a paladins, various forms of brigandines, chainmail and everything else in between. It was part tailor, part woodworker, part leathercrafter and part blacksmiths.
“How can I help you?” the shopkeeper said, appearing out of a back room at the sound of the door opening. The text floating above his head read Argyle, Armorer, Lv84. Alix was momentarily taken aback at the mans level, but he was tall and well built, the physical nature of his job increasing his level far beyond that of his youthful appearance.
“I’m looking for some armour,” Alix began, still not sure exactly what style he was after.
“That much was obvious. What kind of armour? Or better yet, what Guild Quest are you on? If I know that, then I can recommend the best armour for the job,” Argyle asked.
“Unfortunately I can’t answer any of those questions. I do know that I am looking for something that is light, quiet, easy to move in, but will easily deflect a blade. Preferably something that isn’t bulky plate armour, or anything too ostentatious.”
“That’s quite the list. I think I have some fereep wool robes that might suit. Popular with assassins and the like,” Argyle replied, staring at Alix as if he was the most annoying customer in the world.
What is fereep? Alix asked the ring.
They are like sheep, but their wool is like steel. A previous Solknight brought them to Babyl. She was a shepherd in her own world and half her flock was accidentally summoned along with her.
That sounds like it could be handy.
It could be, but you don’t want to go around dressed like an assassin. You would be better off getting hold of some of the wool and crafting something better with it yourself. Besides, I can tell this man has something better here.
Oh?
“What do you say?” Argyle asked after Alix was silent for too long.
“That sounds good, but I’m looking for something better,” Alix said.
“Are you sure you can afford it? Fereep is already one of the more expensive materials. If you are looking for better, the price starts to jump drastically.”
Alix was hoping to treat the man as fairly as he could, pay him well for his work with the gold he had procured, but now he was just getting annoyed. He took of his hat and placed it on a nearby rack which held a leather cuirass styled to look like it was covered in scales.
“Bring me the best armour you have in the shop,” Alix said, staring Argyle straight in the face and holding his eye until he saw the man begin to sweat.
“At once boss, my apologies.” Argyle almost sprinted through to the back room and quickly came back with a box about the size of a large briefcase. He opened the box and lifted out a series of armour pieces that looked like they were crafted from some form of black dyed leather, but from the way the whole thing fit inside the box, and the way the pieces flowed, Alix could tell it wasn’t normal leather. Every piece was styled with overlapping plates and scales.
Before Argyle could explain to him what it was, Alix analysed it with the ring. Primal Ruin, Dragonhide Armour Set.
“This is the finest armour I have ever crafted. I was saving it for the right customer, but I would like you to have it boss,” Argyle said, passing over the cuirass. It looked like he could easily pull it on like a t-shirt.
The armour felt hard to the touch, but the way it flowed was almost unnatural, like it was half liquid.
“How much does it cost?” Alix asked, not having to fake his interest in the set. It was glorious.
“That doesn’t matter boss, just take it, please.”
“I refuse to do that, Argyle. I will pay you fairly. What were you going to ask for this set originally?”
“One thousand gold pieces, boss,” Argyle replied, wringing his hands as if he were embarrassed.
Damn, I didn’t expect it to be that expensive…
One thousand gold was almost double the amount he had on him. Considering even the fanciest flame-bladed sword in Flamberge was only fifty gold, he had expected to spend only a few hundred on some armour. He had asked for the best though…
"Tell me more about this armour. It looks very interesting.”
“It is crafted with dragon hide, a very rare and expensive material. I had to bribe a worker from the Imperial Tannery a small fortune to get hold of even this little. It is supposed to have magical properties, but I am no wizard so I have been unable to find out what they might be. It is a full set, but you can wear as much or as little as you like. This is to be worn underneath,” Argyle lifted out another item from the box, this time a shimmering vest of the finest chainmail he had ever seen. “This chainmail fastens to the armour, gives it more rigidity. Its crafted from the scales of sea serpents, by the sirens that live in the lake around Babyl.”
“That sounds very special indeed. I’ll take it.”
Argyle exhaled an overly dramatic sigh of relief. “Thank you boss. Please, allow me,” Argle took back all the pieces and carefully repacked them into the box. “Could I gift wrap it for you?”
Alix couldn’t help a smile from breaking out, and he decided it was time to put his hat back on to try and dampen the effects of Obscene Privilege before Argyle tried to give him his whole shop.
“No thanks, it will be perfect just the way it is. We still need to decide on a price though. Unfortunately I don’t have one thousand gold, but I can offer you five hundred-“
“Of course, that’s more than I deserve-“
“I wasn’t finished Argyle, I don’t expect want you to be that out of pocket. I can offer you five hundred gold, and a case of Greater Antidotes. I’ve heard there’s a problem with a mysterious poison in the city and the stocks of antidote are running low.”
Five hundred gold was more than Alix had been planning on buying, but it turned out good armour was more expensive that he had realised. He didn’t expect to have to replace this one any time soon though and the unknown magical effects were intriguing. He knew Argyle would accept his deal, no matter what he offered, but he wouldn’t have felt good about cheating him out of so much money. With the case of Greater Antidotes, he would be able to get more than the one thousand gold he had been asking.
What he didn’t expect was for Argyle to break down and burst into tears. “You are too kind boss. My family are all struck down with the illness and I haven’t been able to find enough antidotes to help them.”
Alix withdrew the gold and the case of antidotes and deposited them on the counter, then stuck the case with Primal Ruin in his inventory and left the shop while Argyle was blinded by his tears. He was sorely tempted to equip the armour, examine it for its magical properties, but it was bound to draw a lot of attention. Instead he opened his map and looked for the fastest way up to the Military District.