Dawn- An age of Darkness

The owner was busy sorting his stuff. It didn't take him long to get me an armor. It was black in color and looked scaly.

"This is my toughest piece in your price range. It's a Dragon mail made from black iron and a small amount of dragon scales: the lowest quality."

Aren't dragons supposed to be boss-like? I'd played enough video games to understand dragons and their value. But the guy did say the lowest value, so maybe it was plausible.

Some part of me didn't want to believe I'd be getting such good quality armor but as the owner said that, I could understand that even if that armor was made from dragon scales, there would be a very little amount of it. No wonder he said it was the lowest quality.

"Try it on in the back; don't worry, you can use the innerwear there because I restocked them today. I'll fetch a good sword in the meantime and get this to the smith." The owner took my knife and walked behind the counter again.

Wait, you're not the smith? It only made sense. If he was the smith then who was running the smithy?

I went to the dressing room. Should I really use these? The underwear here weren't the ones I was used to. These were made from rough cloths and didn't seem comfortable. I tried them anyway. When I picked up the armor, I could tell it was dense. But when I wore it, I really felt that it was dense: oh yes, I really, really felt that. I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. Life was tough. And to no one's surprise, the underwear wasn't wearable.

I came outside with a heavy heart. "This armor is too heavy!"

"But I'm afraid that's the best in the price range." The owner was back and giving me that look of pity again.

"Defense is pointless if you can't move around in the first place." I made my point. I couldn't even breathe in that let alone move around.

"Sigh* I'll get some leather armor… Pick your poison." The owner didn't have any enthusiasm in his voice. Maybe he really liked this armor?

There were three armors in front of me. All three looked like they were made from monster skins. One of the three drew my attention. It was the middle one.

The middle one had a coating of fur and looked sturdier than the others. It was rather black though.

It looks a bit heavy but mobility shouldn't be an issue with this. I took and tried it on, inside the dressing room. Of course this time with my own underwear: I'd be sure to give it a thorough wash soon. It was a perfect fit and not even close to the weight of the previous one.

"I'll take this one." Although a hasty decision, I bought it.

"It's one of the cheap ones, so you'll not get much protection but you'll get maximum mobility from it."

"That's fine and all, but shouldn't you show me a sword already?" I was actually getting impatient.

"What do you think I'm doing?" The owner brought out a sword. As the armor was relatively cheap, my budget for the sword had increased dramatically. "This is my strongest sword. Use it wisely," Meaning I'd pretty much be getting a nicer sword.

I bet you say that about all your products! But this one does look seriously heavy though! I stood erect with a dull look. I picked it up and found myself surprised. "WOW! It's much lighter than I expected. This is usable!"

"What do you mean usable! That's my best piece!" For the first time the owner got a bit grumpy. He might have really liked that sword.

Yeah right! I was skeptical hearing that. But the sword was no doubt of good quality.

"This one has some holy coating, so expect it to deal some damage to the undead. And it also has blood sealing. So it shouldn't end up like your other buddy sword anytime soon. And it's ranked- a solid C. "

"Holy coating? Blood sealing? What the hell are you talking about? Rank C?"

"I don't know, so don't ask me… I know it's called that, and that's it! Just don't expect it to be too effective…" The owner wasn't much help either. Frankly, I didn't care. All I wanted was to get out of this world and survive.

So this knife has that same coating? The knife was actually pretty good stuff. And Lianne had given it to me for free too. "Anyway, how much do I owe you?"

The owner rudely stared at me. "You're not going to buy helmets or boots? What about shin guards?"

More armor? No thank you! "They're unnecessary. But give me your cheapest set of boots." My feet were killing me. So the least I could do was buy boots. At least I wouldn't have to do with all the bug bites.

He dropped some rough looking shoes on the counter. "Here you go! Let's see…. the armor is six silver… the boot is 20 bronze… and the sword is…37 silver…"

I tried them on and they fit. How the hell did he get my size right, again? I sighed. That's over budget! Guess I need to exercise my bargaining skills once in a while!

This world didn't have the concept of using socks for commoners. Unless you were a noble you couldn't really buy them either. It felt really weird to wear boots without socks though. So I was more annoyed then satisfied. "Are you done counting?"

The owner brought out an abacus. "Wait a few minutes…"

"It's 43 silver and 20 bronze!" I said in annoyance.

"WOW! You counted so fast. You must really love eating mat. Anyway that's the price, so pay up."

Was he excited to know I could count fast or that he'd get loads of money? Probably the latter.

"It's math." I stared at him. "I suppose we can tone it down a bit… I was thinking like 40 silvers and 50 bronze."

"That's a no go… I am already giving you a massive discount with the sword!" He was rather stiff. Maybe he dealt with customers like me a lot.

You got to be kidding me! I like this sword! "How about 41 silver?" I proposed.

"42 silver and 70 bronze!" But the owner wasn't yielding.

But I didn't want to give up either. "Let's both win and keep it at 42 sliver and 40 bronze?"

He sighed. "Alright, you win kid. You got yourself a deal."

Finally the owner gave in and I got myself a good deal. He was actually rather nice. I got the impression he liked me, that's why he didn't come too aggressively. Maybe I was being a bit too self-conscious.

If I play it right, I may be able to sell these needles and live a quiet life here for a few days… The thought reassured me and I felt relaxed for the first time. "When do I come back to pick up the sword?"

The owner put his hands on his head. "Holy shit! I forgot about that! I need two more silvers!" Oh boy, I almost got out of it too.

"The deal's done. There's nothing you can do now." A very wide grin swiped across my face.

"Noo!"

Although he was reluctant to admit it, it was his fault for forgetting. But I still paid him an extra silver to ease his mind.

"Come back tomorrow. I'll try my best."

"Okay. "After paying the owner I left the shop and was aimless.

There wasn't much I needed to do.. I couldn't come up with any answers. "Oh no! I forgot about the ID!"

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