22nd of Summer, 508
It was a glorious day on West Street. The sun shone brightly on the posh neighbourhood, highlighting the smartly lain stone streets and the immaculately maintained buildings. Theo had spent his entire morning drifting along the street, allowing the ebb and flow of a bustling crowd to pull him along contentedly. Atypically for the young Svefra, he had started his day with a project but--true to form--he had managed to become distracted. It started with a sampling of the myriad of perfumes at "The Essence of Time" that ended up lasting nearly half an hour. The young man had still not managed to grow accustomed to the disorienting array of scents that each bottle seemed to present, and had invented a little game for himself where he tried to identify the aroma. He wasn't particularly good at his own game.
His next stop was Bohrnn & GoldWoerth where he again wasted the better part of an hour fiddling with some of their smaller artifacts and taking a self-guided tour of one of their workshops. He hadn't noticed an invitation to take the tour anywhere, but the frantic young students who had been bustling about seemed to buy his story about being a delivery person. And in this fashion, so went Theo's morning, wasted away winding in and out of a glass shop, taverns, a tailors and other fancy establishments.
It wasn't until nearly noon that a grumbling stomach reminded him that he was, in fact, on a mission. Theo had grown tired of the rusted old "hand-me-down" sword that his father had given him to wear while on board the barge that had ferried him to the city. The Svefra had taken it upon himself to get his father's old Gladius repaired as a replacement. He would not miss the poorly balanced and badly dinged hunk of salvage the other men had leant him and, so charitably, labeled a "cutlass" as a placeholder. In truth, in the instance of a pirate raid Theo would have been better off with a stick, at least it *might* hold an edge.
One of his classmates had informed Theo about a capable steel-smith that was looking to sell off a decent share of his remaining goods and move on from Zeltiva. The young Svefra had decided that was as good a place to start as any. As he pushed open the door to the shop it felt like he was entering another world. The shop itself was very dark and it took the young man a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the poor lighting. It was with some dismay that Theo noted that the store had been largely picked over.
"Excuse me, I was hoping to have you repair an old gladius for me. I don't suppose you have the time?" He shouted his inquiry into the back of the shop with an uncharacteristic sheepishness. His query was met with an immediate flurry of activity. From the back of the shop a short, stout, brown haired human trotted out with a deep frown. The man was nearly a foot shorter than Theo but was almost exactly as wide. Theo wouldn't say it allowed, but the thick build of the man gave him a passing resemblance to a square cut sail. The smith grumbled something angrily about trying to move merchandise and snatched the blade greedily.
"I'll give you 35 gold mizas to make the repair." Theo said, sizing the man up. To be honest, Theo had no idea about the going rate of a repair and was mostly just hazarding a guess.
"Pah! You'll practically need a new blade. This Gladius is also longer than standard...to accommodate your freakish size, I would suspect. I can't go below 80 mizas." The man had a stubborn tone, but Theo could feel a bit of flexibility."
"40? The steel is good, and I'm sure you'd love to have some real work. It can't be fun wasting your day bickering like an old woman with every Svefra that strides into your shop."
"65. You dirty Svefra are all the same. At this price why don't you just steal yourself a weapon?" The older man rebutted.
"I can do 50 mizas, and not a penny more. I'll tell you what though, to sweeten the pot I'll also buy one of those fancy throwing axes. That way you're still moving some merchandise." Theo knew to hold firm on the amount, and after a few more lazy attempts at bickering the man relented. His purchase made, Theo took the receipt and promised to return the next week for his sword. He slung his new throwing axe onto his belt and strode out onto the street with a wide grin.
Stepping onto the street was a blinding experience. He instinctively threw a hand up above his eyes to help shade himself slightly before, clumsily, stepping out onto the street and directly into a young woman. "Ugh, I'm very sorry miss. I didn't see you there."
It was a glorious day on West Street. The sun shone brightly on the posh neighbourhood, highlighting the smartly lain stone streets and the immaculately maintained buildings. Theo had spent his entire morning drifting along the street, allowing the ebb and flow of a bustling crowd to pull him along contentedly. Atypically for the young Svefra, he had started his day with a project but--true to form--he had managed to become distracted. It started with a sampling of the myriad of perfumes at "The Essence of Time" that ended up lasting nearly half an hour. The young man had still not managed to grow accustomed to the disorienting array of scents that each bottle seemed to present, and had invented a little game for himself where he tried to identify the aroma. He wasn't particularly good at his own game.
His next stop was Bohrnn & GoldWoerth where he again wasted the better part of an hour fiddling with some of their smaller artifacts and taking a self-guided tour of one of their workshops. He hadn't noticed an invitation to take the tour anywhere, but the frantic young students who had been bustling about seemed to buy his story about being a delivery person. And in this fashion, so went Theo's morning, wasted away winding in and out of a glass shop, taverns, a tailors and other fancy establishments.
It wasn't until nearly noon that a grumbling stomach reminded him that he was, in fact, on a mission. Theo had grown tired of the rusted old "hand-me-down" sword that his father had given him to wear while on board the barge that had ferried him to the city. The Svefra had taken it upon himself to get his father's old Gladius repaired as a replacement. He would not miss the poorly balanced and badly dinged hunk of salvage the other men had leant him and, so charitably, labeled a "cutlass" as a placeholder. In truth, in the instance of a pirate raid Theo would have been better off with a stick, at least it *might* hold an edge.
One of his classmates had informed Theo about a capable steel-smith that was looking to sell off a decent share of his remaining goods and move on from Zeltiva. The young Svefra had decided that was as good a place to start as any. As he pushed open the door to the shop it felt like he was entering another world. The shop itself was very dark and it took the young man a few moments for his eyes to adjust to the poor lighting. It was with some dismay that Theo noted that the store had been largely picked over.
"Excuse me, I was hoping to have you repair an old gladius for me. I don't suppose you have the time?" He shouted his inquiry into the back of the shop with an uncharacteristic sheepishness. His query was met with an immediate flurry of activity. From the back of the shop a short, stout, brown haired human trotted out with a deep frown. The man was nearly a foot shorter than Theo but was almost exactly as wide. Theo wouldn't say it allowed, but the thick build of the man gave him a passing resemblance to a square cut sail. The smith grumbled something angrily about trying to move merchandise and snatched the blade greedily.
"I'll give you 35 gold mizas to make the repair." Theo said, sizing the man up. To be honest, Theo had no idea about the going rate of a repair and was mostly just hazarding a guess.
"Pah! You'll practically need a new blade. This Gladius is also longer than standard...to accommodate your freakish size, I would suspect. I can't go below 80 mizas." The man had a stubborn tone, but Theo could feel a bit of flexibility."
"40? The steel is good, and I'm sure you'd love to have some real work. It can't be fun wasting your day bickering like an old woman with every Svefra that strides into your shop."
"65. You dirty Svefra are all the same. At this price why don't you just steal yourself a weapon?" The older man rebutted.
"I can do 50 mizas, and not a penny more. I'll tell you what though, to sweeten the pot I'll also buy one of those fancy throwing axes. That way you're still moving some merchandise." Theo knew to hold firm on the amount, and after a few more lazy attempts at bickering the man relented. His purchase made, Theo took the receipt and promised to return the next week for his sword. He slung his new throwing axe onto his belt and strode out onto the street with a wide grin.
Stepping onto the street was a blinding experience. He instinctively threw a hand up above his eyes to help shade himself slightly before, clumsily, stepping out onto the street and directly into a young woman. "Ugh, I'm very sorry miss. I didn't see you there."
