Jervis had grown much more busy now. He whispered a small prayer to Izurdin thanking him for forging the events prior to cause things happen this way. He had several swords to sharpen, a few cooking implements to mend which he'd tried to explain would not be great work because of his lack of supplies and proper forge but the women had insisted, indeed waiting patiently in the rough line that had started to form.
They all seemed to be waiting for something but he couldn't determine what it was. He knew his skills weren't good enough to garner this kind of attention. Still with a growing pile of work he set to complete his tasks with money in his eyes. He never hid the fact that he was a merchant here to deliver a service, Save through the veneer of the faithful slave obeying orders.
by the time he'd finished with all the sword sharpening that he'd been given he nearly worn through one of his whetstones but it was an old one he'd been trying to get used up anyway. He'd been using only a brand new whetstone on Kaie's to keep them in perfect condition for her.
He tended to the three pots and the women who had brought them next. two had broken handles and one needed to fix a rusted hole in the bottom.
It was like they were bring him anything that the could find for some reason. He took the time to glance at his line which had only grown, even people without items had joined the line forming a clustered throng. He decided to speak up as he couldn't keep track of who he'd helped ad had not anymore.
"Kind Masters and Mistresses, I know it is not my place to speak unless to provide labour for you. I have no problems fulfilling my Mistress's wish and helping all you people with your needs however I am one humble slave and have not the skills to keep up to my growing labours. So I plead with you, would any of you I have finished with please stand off to the left. I'll take seven items at a time working diligently for you people as if you were my own mistress, I just want to please you all as her but need your noble help."Jervis spoke to the crowd his bumps, bruises and attitude had laid the foundation for this charade to work but the last part he thought to demand and eloquently worded for a slave. He decided to cover with humility playing on there natural arrogance in most humans hoping to deflect the situation.
"I know I have no right to ask anything of any of you all. I am a selfish and lowly thing only trying to obey my mistress out of fear for my own skin. I beg you to please allow me to do my work in an organized manner as not to slow my mistress, she'll only beat me perhaps even kill me."He'd cast his head down at this point in simulated fear and despair. He force his arms to tremble a little in fear though he knew this was verging on the level of overacting. Better to provide a show and tell a lie they want to believe, strengthened by fear of the unknown to make them want to believe it.
The humans looked at him with bewilderment and amusement mostly. One man complained leaving grumbling though he was unsure what his complaint had been it'd been to mumbled, Difficult to understand over the noise of the crowd. Still he had plenty of work so he let him go without a word. The human barbarians followed his request like sheep the tended ones moving to where he requested timidly. Luckily these were serfs one and all, little above his own rank of slave, guessing from the clothing they had been wearing. The mother of the little girl had been more high classed he could tell from her and her child's dresses. It was a small part of the reason he'd been so kind knowing that doting on the rich often caused them to return.
Still serfs were more his people really. He had more respect for them and the hard lives they had lived than some rich woman in a posh home. She had a soft life and was likely a soft person, though handy for the coin they threw around he saw not much use to people like that. Hard humans, Forged by their lives and will is what he had come out here to see and he had a bounty in front of him. It was to bad he had no time to look, He thought setting back to his task. It was seven bells now and the crowd had only grown for some reason. Every one of his clients had stayed with their items he'd repaired for them. The chatted excited and merrily like attending so social gathering of some sort.
Jervis set down the item he was repairing. It was a sword with a broken blade he'd only repaired because the man had been so insistent that anything he could do to help would be fine. He took a moment to probe the crowd with his natural empathy, they were excited he could tell. There was something else underneath it, he almost smacked himself of the head when he realized what it was. They wanted to see a fight. The threat he'd used on the bully must have spread quickly and now they all wanted to see Kaie beat someone.
This could be bad. He hadn't wanted to attract unwanted eyes but needed the money. He should have thought better, had better control over his natural darkness. He cursed himself mentally and decided to share half of the profits with Kaie for any inconvenience he caused hoping gold would help increase his worth in the fierce woman's eyes. Not that it hadn't gotten much better than the first few days but he found himself wanting the respect of the fierce warrior more and more during their journey. Still she didn't have what he would call respect for him, merely tolerance, he hoped to change that.
He had two items left after this. Simple blade sharpening's on a dagger and sword so wouldn't take long. He'd refused politely any more request telling them that his master would be returning soon he hoped and she wouldn't appreciate tardiness.
He finished with sword and held it up to inspect his work. it looked natural enough and was sharp now where it hadn't been before, at least it looked a weapon. However as much as he tried to convince himself it true, he knew in his heart it was not. Without a proper forge the break would quickly reappear in the stress of combat. Jervis tried not to worry about it but felt it shabby repair work.
"Master Rand, Your sword is repaired, please come forth with payment." Jervis called out over the din of the crowd. When he'd appeared Jervis handed him his sword. He repeated his prior warnings quietly about it's brittleness without proper tools quietly to the man stating he'd only guarantee it for two hits against metal armor. He warned the man to use it as more of a threat than a weapon as he'd hate to see him lose his life over a poor repair like this.
That being said he set about finishing the last two items with zeal. They were finished quickly and he called to his clients to pick up their wares. They joined the group and continued talking. A few had wandered away presumably for dinner but he the group had only shrank a tiny bit. He took down his sign that turned to begin packing his things onto Marble. He'd finished packing all of his things save his new stall when he heard a rough voice call out.
"Hey boy, fix this." The large man called out at him angrily from the other side of his stall. He turned around as the man forcefully into tossed an onto the counter. It did no damage but still infuriated him to see any of his work treated such. They were his tools as well as his items of worship. Still he couldn't afford to make this situation any worse than it was so he took a deep breath to calm himself though it sounded like a sigh of repressed digust, he hadn't been able to help it seeing this rude man demand his services and treat his creation so poorly, even if it was still rough.
"I am sorry kind master. We are closed for the evening. I would be happy to ..."Jervis had time to finish the sentence as the man punched him snapping his fist out quickly, though he could have possibly avoided the blow or at least rolled with it somewhat to soften it he did not determining that this would not help with all the eyes on him. Jervis took the blow on the cheek turning with it to soften the blow.
"First you threaten my boy and now you refuse to recompensate me for your insult. I'll pound some respect into you rock man for the way ye treated me boy." The crowd had already moved around him in a rough semi circle. Trapping him from all ways because of the fence he'd been left standing beside. Marble loaded with her current weight could not jump it he knew.
He wanted to drive the man off with another threat, more so Dark Jervis was feeding on his anger urging him to kill the man. Neither was an option at this point. So he spoke with words again knowing he would get hit more. He firmed his will with the fact that this had been his choice forcing Jervis back as deep as he could, even still anger was slightly etched across his features. "I'll not stike back at you, I'll be killed for it, I know this. I'll also not do as you ask. I am property, not your property. I'll defend myself if you continue further, My mistress instructed me to do that before she left and appolo ..." Jervis took the wildly aimed swing from the man's on his shoulder purposefully wanting to intimidate then man a little as he doubted the man knew much about Isur he'd play into it. The blow landed solidly where he wanted it too, right atop his left shoulder where it was wrapped in the blessings of his faith. He'd still had his cassock on so the man hadn't noticed it was his Isurian arm until to late and Jervis tried to maximize damage from his mistake as he'd been taught by Coli, throwing his weight against the blow to minimize his damage while maximizing the amount the man took.
The man stumbled back clutching his hand. He'd done some damage and spooked the man a little from his expression. He kept his grim expression hoping to add to his threat for the moment however. "Apologize for any perceived insult on my part I did not mean it that way. I'll not stand by and let you warp on of my mistress tools however. Continue on this path and I will show you what she has taught me about how to protect her assets."Jervis continued with his previous words to add salt to the man's wounded pride. He hadn't wanted to but his frustration at the situation was starting to get to him.
He turned to the crowd next wanting them to begin dispersing before Kaie returned. Jervis jumped atop his small stand, looking down at the crowd as he addressed them while keeping an eye on his adversary as he'd grown emboldened by his anger again. He did his best to shake the anger from his face before speaking, though is was still slightly present in the tone for his voice."Noble Masters and Gentle Mistresses, I know you have come here for a fight. I'm afraid I will not provide much of one, I will defend myself but will not strike back. It will be a slave beating you will see and nothing more. I urge you to avert the eyes of any young ones as this will probably not be the clash of titans you had been hoping for." He'd noticed the Queen and the young princess in the crowd and didn't want her to see this sight. It was probably be bad for him and leave him quite bruised with the disadvantages he'd imposed on himself, still though large the man didn't seen overly skilled.
He would defend himself and not rely on Kaie's assistance, this was his fault and his choice. He would deal with the situation, he thought preparing himself for the desperate fight about to begin. The man had already charged towards him reaching out with a obvious grab for his leg to pull him from the table. Jervis watched the grab come trying to leave as little time as possible for the man to react to his intended maneuver. It would be easy as fighting angry opponents were something he understood well. All of his opponent's would get angry with his fighting style eventually, It was how Coli designed it.
As the man's hand was about a foot from his leg, he leapt up and forward slammed down hard to the ground beside the man mere inches away from his body. The man was leaning on the table but it was obvious the man knew he was now dealing with someone out of his league. His positioning and smaller size made it hard to get a decent swing and this man was a brawler he could tell. Being this close he could also tell the man must be half drunk from how he smelled. The man grabbed his shoulder planning to use his height and weight to throw Jervis to the ground. Jervis stopped this immediately by grabbing the wrist that clung to him. He was still in control but his dark side was gaining strength the more they fought, he had to end this now.
"I told you I would not strike back and that I would defend my Mistresses possessions and still you persist. I'll not beat you to a pulp as my mistress would still probably scold me for it." He wrapped his blessed hand tighter than he meant he felt bones start to move and the man drop to his knees in both pain and sudden terror about the fight he'd gotten into.
"As my Mistress would say you are fat and soft. Not a worthy kill. Go home to your child and try to spend half the effort raising him as you do defending these imagined slights"The words and tone didn't make it wound like a threat but his mannerisms covered that it was to the man. As he released the man he stumbled onto his backside. The bully flushed with embarrassment before running off defeated. He wouldn't be back, they never came back if you beat them. The crowd slowly started to disperse as their entrainment they had been waiting for was over far to quickly for there liking. Only on pair of people remained after a few minutes. It was the Queen and the young princess as he'd nick named them earlier.
"Jervis's Speech"--"Jervis's Thoughts"
