“Cut her some slack, eh? Seen a sturdier blade than that for 35. Who made this one?” Shadul eyed Yama suspiciously. The price was leagues higher than it needed to be. “After all, she’s a guildmate. A better price is more appropriate.”
"I made that knife, thank you very much," Yama said, taking it flipping the knife around to show a three-pronged insignia carved into the guard before pocketing it within a leather sheath that wasn't present on his waist before he left. "And I'll have you know that my beautiful work is worth every dime! Besides, I travel! Need to keep a roof over my head somehow, right?" He was right, but he was also showing off a much fancier piece that he made on commission a long time ago. The noble who requested it died before it was complete, but that was because the dinner party he was murdered at was bumped a day ahead without his knowledge.
"You want a sickle within your budget? Fine." Stretching his right hand towards the entrance, the door suddenly flew open. Something burst from the road in a cloud of gravel and soil before spinning into the blacksmith's grip. Yama placed a polished steel sickle onto the table, its blade shaped like the lower end of a hockey stick and with a stained hardwood handle that was firmly ferruled to it.
"40. take it or leave it."
Myrin let out a little whimper as he tucked the knife away. “I’ll take it!” she cried before she lost her nerve. Digging through her purse, she scrounged up the correct amount of money, although the pieces were grimy with age. She slid the money across the table and held out her hand. “Knife, please.”
Caspian watched in awe as the dragon-man seemed to summon a shiny sickle from outside. However, her expression dimmed when he mentioned the price. "I don't have that much…"
Seeing the money slide across the table took him by surprise. "Wait, really? " Yama asked. "Well, alright then." Taking the sheath off of his waist, he handed both it and the knife to Myrin. "May it serve you well."
Myrin’s eyes widened with excitement as the knife was placed in her grasp. With fluid fingers, she strapped the sheath over her hips and slid out the knife. She tilted it back and forth to let the torchlight ripple across its surface. “Thank you,” she murmured.
Shadul shook her head. “You pay so much for a knife. It’s beautiful, but.. ah. Not my coin, not my weapon.” She put her hands up in defeat. “Well, then. Now that the guild’s here, who wants to choose a quest?”
(We chose the orc raid, right? When should that happen?)
(It could always happen now so they have to jump into action quickly)
(Sweet, alright! Let's do that. I feel like I should mention that Shadul's axe is strapped to her back.)
(Sure fam! Myrin is knifed up and ready to go!)
(Caspian has no weapons but a lot of heart so let's do this)
Caspian had almost forgotten about the whole 'adventuring guild' thing. She was so invested in getting to know these strangers. "Of course, a quest! I don't have much experience, so I'm probably not the one that should choose what we do."
"I saw one up there earlier that looked promising, let's hope it's not been ta-" Shadul's sentence was cut short by the resounding calll of a battle horn. "What the fuck? What's happening?" Her hand leapt to her back, gripping the hilt of her axe.
Myrin sprang to her feet, already preparing to flee. She scooped up her bag and flung it over her shoulder, then adjusted the clasp of her cloak. She paused, however, when it looked like no one else was doing the same.
"Stay back here for a second. I'm checking it out." Shadul stood up, slipping her large axe out of its holster. She patted Myrin's shoulder reassuringly as she slipped outside for a few moments. When she returned, her face had paled. "Alright, good news and bad news- bad news, it's an orc raid. Good news… I don't have any. That was a lie."
“Raid? Time to go, then.” Myrin started to make her way towards the Fat King’s rear exit, cautiously gripping the handle of her new knife. She took a deep breath, then opened the door to run, but slammed the door shut and pivoted on her heel. “Nope. That’s not good.”
Caspian had read about orcs before in her books. They weren't good news. Still, she tried her best to stay positive as she stood up, her chair making an awful squeaking sound. "Well, I guess this can be our first quest! A test of our bravery."
"At least you're optimistic. These assholes are nothing but trouble. Why are they even here?" Shadul white-knuckled her axe, peeking outside. "Look- if we're gonna go out, we may as well go now."
"Alright, let's go stop some orcs! It's adventure guild team building time!" Caspian exclaimed, standing proudly with determination in her eyes. She wasn't entirely sure how she would stop the orcs, but she was going to try.
Shadul made her way outside, letting the door open and close behind her. The swamp air felt thick with anticipation as she stared at the horde of orcs. “..Gods help us.”
"Don't worry, I'm sure the Great Mother is on our side," Caspian said confidently as she stepped up beside Shadul. She was running a list of the spells she knew through her head, trying to think of which would be best against a group of orcs.
Divine looked over the scene and shifted away their disguise, their eyes flashing with a malicious glee. "Well, I haven't had any fun in years." They purred, their voice coming out in a strange hiss, Divine's snake like tounge flicking out as they spoke.
"Wait, woah, raid?! What the fuck?" Yama cried. He handed the sickle to Caspian, "Here, keep it for now. See how you like it."
Blasting out of the front door, Yama reached down for another weapon, two to be specific. From the dirt came two absolutely massive pistols, long like old-world muskets, but with enough build and mechanics to look like revolvers. Ignis had a dragonbone ivory handle and Damascus steel components, while Agni's handle was stained red and had gemstones planted in various hinge assemblies and on the pommel. They were both folded in half to save space, and Yama unfolded the both of them to a satisfying mechanical ching!
Looking out over the town, he saw orc raiders cresting the hillside on their mounts.
"Let's rock!"
Caspian took the sickle, giving the dragon-man a thankful smile. It had been a while since she had used a proper weapon before, so hopefully, she would be able to remember how to use a sickle.
"I was going to ask what your strategy is, but I feel you don't have one." Divine muttered with a shake of their head, hands shifting into sharp claws as they stretched their neck.
