The Orb of Wrath (The Merchant's Destiny Book 1) (15 page)

Then she got up, put the other bottles that the woman had given her on the belt, and fastened it on the breeches. She thanked her and left the room, followed by Erion.

“Close the door on the way out,” requested the old woman, stirring the huge cauldron.

Samar and Erion returned to the narrow, dark alley.

“That bag you gave the old woman seemed very full,” said Erion.

“Yes,” admitted the elf. “Luckily, the rest of the gear should be much cheaper. Let's go now to the Blacksmiths' Round,” she added.

They came back again to the Walk of the Gem and walked for about ten minutes on different streets of the shopping district. Finally, they reached a steep, cracked, cobbled street. As they walked, Erion could feel the heat coming out of the stores. Sweaty blacksmiths pounded steel parts with their hammers steel in incandescence, threw shovels of coal into boilers or cooled the leaves on which they were working on in large basins filled with water.

After reaching almost the end of the round, Samar went into a large room with large quantities of all kinds of goods stacked from the door, and even outside of it. Shields, helmets, boots, belts, arrows, swords, axes, spears, maces, daggers, arrows, ropes, backpacks, sleeping bags, of all sizes, types and colors were heaped all over the place, limiting the speed at which one could walk. Erion looked at the sign hanging on the door before entering behind the elf:
"The Bold Adventurer".

A man dressed in a garish red shirt came when he saw them enter. He came smiling and making a great show.

“But look who's here! My favorite client! How are you, dear Samar? How have you been? What a stupid question. I see you're great, as always! And now you come accompanied by this handsome young man! Excellent! Everyone is welcome at The Bold Adventurer. Here is ab-so-lu-tely everything any adventurer could need. We adapt to all budgets and all tastes. No matter what you want, you just have to name it and you'll have it in front of you in a heartbeat. And if given the bizarre fact that right at this moment we don't have the item you want, no problem. We'd order it and deliver it to you in record time. What if you've bought more things that you can load on your horse? Not a problem either. For a small fee, we'll transport all your purchases and deliver them anywhere in Ekunon and its surroundings. In The Bold Adventurer we are delighted to serve our customers,” said the man, at enormous speed and barely stopping to breathe.

“Thanks, Maroq. This is Erion,” said the elf, introducing her companion.

“Pleased to meet you, Erion,” said the man as he shook hands and bowed. “We are delighted to have you here. I see you're wearing fantastic boots, although we see they have traveled a lot.  Ha ha ha! Perhaps you might consider renewing them. You could also take a look at our leather armor and our belts. I'm sure you could find something that would match the boots. With an outfit like this and that manly manner and you'd have all the girls from the city chasing you!”

The man was surprising. Really, he seemed to not need to breathe to talk. Erion believed he didn't recall having seen anyone speak so fast in his life. The young man thought whether Maroq was like this with all customers, and how much energy he had to spend every day.

“We'll need these things,” Samar said as she handed the man a small paper.

“Yes, of course! No problem. But, come in, come in. You don't have to stay here. Follow me... Here, here, please sit,” he said, while indicating two comfortable chairs at the back of the store. “I won't take long. I'll be right with you soon,” he added.

The seller disappeared through the door into the back room of the premises. He returned a few minutes later, carrying a lot of different objects that he placed on a table in front of them. Then he began to move at a high speed through the store and took some additional goods from different places. A few minutes later, he had everything stacked on the table.

“Let's see,” the salesman began, “we have two regular travel backpacks, a hundred boxwood arrows of top quality, two small bags with flint and steel, forty standard quality arrows, two braided ropes twenty steps long, two hooks, three canteens, two new sleeping bags, climbing equipment and ten torches of medium duration. You gave me the freedom of bringing some options that you may choose. For example, what do you think of these backpacks that just arrived from the capital? They are a new design with more pockets and, mind you, they have reinforcement on the inside for durability, and also...”

“Maroq,” began Samar.

“Oh yes, I know, I know. Once you have decided on a particular model for particular merchandise you prefer to not review other options. But I thought that the gentleman may want to consider these possibilities. These backpacks are a tad expensive but definitely worth it. They're all the rage. They are selling fast.”

“Keep me out of it. Everything that Samar chooses seems fine with me,” clarified Erion.

“Oh, of course, of course. I just thought that maybe you wanted to see these new things, well...”

“Give me ten small flasks as well,” interrupted the elf.

“Coming right up. While I go look for them, you can take a look at these ropes of silk. They are just as strong but much lighter and take up less space, you see. Also I have this oil lantern with a cap. You can turn it on and keep it that way, but anytime you can put down the cap, and its dark again. Ideal to surprise your enemies if you're in a cave or something like that. With torches people will see you coming a mile away, and I wouldn't want anything to happen to my favorite customers. Anyway, I leave everything here for you to take a look. I'll get the flasks. I'll be right back. And don't go anywhere!” Maroq said as he turned to go out the door of the back room.

Samar and Erion were checking the goods that the talkative salesman had brought, and decided that they were of reasonable quality. They also took a look at some other options but ultimately decided not to change anything. Maroq returned shortly and put the flasks with the rest of the gear.

“Here you go. I think that's everything. Samar, dear, let me ask. How are your funds? In the special section I have several things that will surely interest you. In addition...”

Samar always interrupted Maroq when he wanted to say something. Otherwise it was almost impossible for her to talk.

“I wish, Maroq. I'd love to have a look. But I fear that we can't spend a lot,” said the elf as she stood up. “I'll get one of the horses to carry all this. Erion, I will bring it through one of the back streets to avoid crossing the shopping district with him; I don't want to have problems with the militia. I have to make a detour, so it will take a while,” she added

“No problem. Take all the time you need. Anyway, if you want we can send all this to the mansion. You'll have it there tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest...”

“No, thanks. We'll take it. What do I owe you for this?” asked the elf.

“Well, you bought many things. Let me see. Well, you're my favorite client, so I think we can make an effort. But please do not tell anyone about these prices I'm giving you. I only do this with you. Anyway, I think you can take everything for 270 gold coins,” Maroq concluded.

“I think it's actually 124 gold coins and 4 silver ones,” Samar said precisely.

“Oh, don’t say that, for Oris’ sake! What have I done to you? Anyone would say you want us to close. If I sell it for that price I'm losing everything. I have to feed my four children; and the two that are on the way...”

Maroq continued recounting the many problems and catastrophes that would be triggered if he sold the goods at the price the elf offered. At the same time, the seller knew that Samar had made a precise calculation of the value of each object and knew their market price. It was obvious that she had bought many of these things right there in the past and knew their reasonable price. Maroq still continued to make his speech for a while, until they began to bargain. Samar ended up paying 137 gold coins so she didn't waste any more time on that discussion.

“Wait here with the goods. I'll get my horse to load all this,” Samar said to Erion.

The elf paid Maroq and left. Erion watched her go into the street without understanding very well what was coming. In the half hour it took her to return, Maroq tried to sell new trousers, shirts, boots, armor, daggers, swords, horses, even a farm near the town with pigs and chickens included. Erion had met with vendors of all types, and had very well cataloged the ones that went in the same category as Maroq, but he really didn't ever finding a seller that talkative. Erion made a mental note. Perhaps the man could be useful someday.

When he finally saw Samar by the door, his head was turning because the seller made him dizzy. He wondered whether the elf would have left him there on purpose, instead of sending for the horse. In any case, she was already there.

Within minutes they loaded Samar's horse with all the goods. They said goodbye to Maroq, who was still trying to teach them the benefits of some of his goods, and left.

“What a character!” Erion commented.

“True. But he's harmless and really has everything. Also, if you know what things are worth you can buy for a reasonable price,” reasoned Samar.

“What was that special section?” asked the young man.

“Magical objects. But it takes a lot of gold to buy any goods of that kind,” explained the elf. “Perhaps when the mission is over, if things are going well, we can go back and take a look.”

They returned to the square where they could pick up Erion's horse and, after distributing the load, left to go to Thost's mansion.

*******

Thost helped Dreshpho set the table, despite her protests.

“You focus on the roast,” the knight told her with a serious gesture.

Table for six in the main dining room adjoining the kitchen. Thost soon had everything in place. Dreshpho felt a little strange. Since childhood she had served that house and was used to being another servant in a myriad of them. She was always devoted to the kitchen, while others cleaned, organized, set the table, picked things up, took care of the farm and a long list of all kinds of tasks. Now it was only her and although it was very strange to see her master doing tasks that once only a maid or a footman, she really appreciated the help. It was too big of a house for her to be able to do it all. They all collaborated in one way or another.

Dreshpho put a snack on the table so that the former Count could entertain himself: a small bowl of olives. Thost loved them. Shortly after, the cook explained that the food was ready and asked the knight what she should do. With a gesture Thost told her to wait, as he left the porch to scan the horizon from the top of the hill. Two riders rode over there on Ekunon's road. At that moment he could not guess who they were. He decided to wait for them inside the house.

A while later Samar and Erion come through the door looking a little tired. They sat at the table.

“Have you seen the guys behind you? Do you know anything about them?” Thost asked.

“No, we have not seen them,” said Samar.

“Well, it's clearly past noon, so let's eat. Dreshpho, you can serve the meal. Thank you,” said the knight.

“I hope that everything went well,” Erion said.

“Surely yes,” Thost said.

The cook's roast was really delicious. Everyone ate with joy as Samar and Erion detailed all that had happened during the morning. Thost approved Samar's decisions regarding purchases, despite having spent almost the entire advance that Phoroz had provided. Erion also agreed.

When they finished eating they sat in the main hall. Thost took a long pipe in which he put some tobacco leaves. He asked Erion if he smoked. The young man explained that he had done it once, but not regularly.

“I'll smoke with you when we finish the mission, if we're successful,” he said.

“Done,” Thost said.

Somewhat later, they heard Mithir and Ithelas' horses. The young men entered the house after leaving the mounts in the stables.

“How did it go?” Erion asked curiously.

“We'll tell you later. We're hungry, we haven't eaten anything,” explained Mithir.

“I can eat an ox,” Ithelas added.

They decided to sit with young men as they ate. Both explained all the morning's events one by one, until the final resolution, where they got the Bestiary.

“That has been painstaking research,” Samar said. I'm sure it was worth it.

After they finished eating, they all sat in the living room, where Ithelas read them in detail the chapter about vampires. They all found the information very interesting and were discussing various options and strategies. One of the conclusions they reached was that they should try to be prepared for anything. Because an old vampire could have multiple servants, they might have to face different kinds of enemies. Thost then briefly explained the preparations he had made and, after talking a while longer, they all left the house and went down the hill to the training ground.

Following Thost's plan, they began distance shooting training. Samar reached several targets without apparent effort and then concentrated in guiding the others. She made some minor corrections to Thost, who also shot with a bow, and then Erion, who practiced with two types of crossbow, the hand crossbow and the normal size one. Ithelas fired several shots with a sling to the nearest targets. Mithir did the same with a blowgun first, and then throwing small daggers. Thost and Erion also practiced several times with spears.