[Great Bazaar] Battle Ready?

by **Wanda Endust** on March 20th, 2014, 2:11 am

The Great Bazaar
6 Spring 514 AV
11th Bell

In all honesty, Wanda had no idea what she was doing. And the best place to look when you didn't know what you were looking for? The Great Bazaar, of course.

It'd been a while, though. The crowds were denser and sweatier than she'd remembered, and Wanda frowned as she inched her way around crowds and through cramped makeshift "corridors". Too many people, Wanda resigned to herself. Of course, she was used to the crowds by now. They were only natural. The problem came from the fact that plenty of people meant plenty of buyers, and plenty of buyers meant that vendors wouldn't have too hard a time selling their goods at whatever price they felt was necessary.

Fortunately, the teen was feeling very focused today. A good night's sleep and simple motivation that this task had to be completed as quickly and efficiently as possible were fantastic motivators. For one of the few times in her life, Wanda found herself not being distracted and drawn away by every little thing that caught her meandering eye.

Weapons, weapons, weapons. Eterous Page (she was still uncertain whether or not she was supposed to simply refer to him as Eterous or Mr. Page) had insisted she would need a weapon on this upcoming journey and, as incredulous as she was, she felt compelled to follow his advice. After all, he gave the distinct impression that he knew what he was talking about, and it didn't take too much thinking to figure out he'd done his fair share of traveling across the wildlands.

So Wanda was here for a weapon, and that was all she really knew. She might have stopped by one of the city's weapon forges, but she wasn't at all familiar with them and anything she might request to have made would likely be on too-short notice.

But what kind of weapon was she after, anyway? That was the real question, one that she couldn't even begin answering. It all depended on what she was going to be using it for, but the thought of actually having to use it, whatever it was, made her stomach churn. Fighting. Killing. Maiming. Injuring. Crippling. All were things that people did with weapons, and all were things that Wanda had never wanted to do. Ever.

But, again, Mr. Page's foreboding instruction echoed in her mind, giving her the impression that if she reneged on this task, she would find herself regretting it.

by **Wanda Endust** on March 24th, 2014, 12:04 am

Despite her trepidation, it wasn't long before Wanda found herself in front of a fairly large booth of just the variety she'd been searching for. It was almost as if the flow of the crowd had brought her directly to this shop -- and, in a way, it had. It was Spring, and hunters were gearing up once more for the full swing of the season. The booth was unbelievably busy, so much so that it had to be manned by three different workers at once, rather than other booths that perhaps had only one or two at a single time.

At least the extra manpower meant that they were whittling down the flock of customers at a more rapid pace, and the crowd swept Wanda forward before she could decide to try a smaller booth. Chimes, words, and mizas passed in a whirlwind, and not much time had passed at all before the blonde was shuffling her way absentmindedly to the edge of the table.

From here, Wanda glimpsed a wide array of both bladed and blunt objects spread across the wooden counter. They were scattered in a way that hinted that the place had once been tidy, but any hopes of keeping the work space organized had been abandoned bells ago. Anything that didn't require two hands to wield had been strewn across the tabletop, ranging from tiny pick-like knives to menacing double-bladed hand axes. As her eyes flicked from one tool of destruction to another, Wanda began to feel a bit... detached from the situation. She couldn't really be here. This wasn't who she was. She had no need for weapons. They were bad. Just breathe. Relax.

"Hiya, hello, greetin's, what can I do for ya?" The words poured forth from the clerk's mouth, rehearsed, as he fumbled around with something beneath the table. His eyes were hidden under a layer of thick brown hair as he stooped, and he seemed quite taken by surprise when Wanda's airy feminine voice carried across to him.

"I... need a weapon." Duh. Wanda felt the words leave her lips, but it took a tick for them to register in her mind. She mentally buried her face on her hands, but flashed a sheepish grin and a shrug across the table. The man flailed a bit, the girl's voice coming unexpectedly after serving so many men in rapid succession. Admittedly, he took more care with this female customer than he had with his previous ones, even going so far as to return the friendly grin for a split moment before getting to business.

"Well ma'am, we sell a number o' high-quality blades and blunts I'm sure you might fine suitable to yer needs," he began, fingers floundering around the counter to grasp at the closest item. "Anythin' you were lookin' for in particular?"

"Not... uh, not really," she stated almost automatically. She hadn't thought about it too much -- or, rather, she had thought about it plenty and hadn't come to any actual decisions.

by **Wanda Endust** on March 27th, 2014, 1:14 am

In less than the time it took for Wanda to speak, the young man's hand had already snaked its way over to one of the closest weapons and promptly presented it before her. The motion, though, was far too sudden and Wanda found herself nearly pedaling backwards into the crowd to avoid the blade as it whipped toward her body.

It was sheathed, of course. But still. She shot the fellow a pointed look that she hoped got her point across -- Careful with that thing, harebrain. After all, as far as she was concerned the sole purpose of the blade's creation was to cause harm. She didn't want anyone waving it about.

The clerk's brow knit in sheepish concern, and he hastily withdrew his hand and the sharp object therein, instead opting to place it gingerly back on the table and scoot it towards his customer. "Eh, sorry 'bout that," he started with an apologetic grin. "But I was figuring that a good dagger or knife is a good place to start if you've never had real experience with weapons before. And, no offense, but you don't look or sound like you're quite used to 'em."

"I don't think you'd need eyes to tell that," she quipped hollowly, and he snorted in agreement.

Wanda wiped her hand across her brow, gaze falling to the cold metal thing that had been laid before her. Just a thing. Just a piece of metal. A tool. That's all it was -- nothing to be so wary of. Right? It was safely tucked away, the blade covered by its matching sheath.

The scabbard was unremarkable, a simple brown leather, hardened to a shell. A small chain, intertwined with some spare strip of leather, looped from one side to the other so as to provide a way to attach it to the wielder's person. Slowly, Wanda's eyes slid to the hilt, where the handle was sporting the same leather as a grip. The guard curved smoothly away from the rest of the hilt, fanning out towards the edges. The pommel -- a simple, thick disk -- was crafted in the same modest style.

"Not the fanciest, but she's made well enough and'll get the job done. She's steel, so pretty sturdy." the clerk shrugged. Then, with a touch of pride, "Helped my brother make it m'self."

The way his eager gaze kept skipping between her and the blade made it clear that he was waiting for her to touch it. To pick it up and hold it. In her hands. Her hands?

Now it was Wanda's turn to flick her eyes from the weapon to her own petite fingers and back. A hesitation, then a mental 'Well, go for it,' and then her trained fingers were working their way around the handle, the leather smooth in her palm as she lifted it from the table. Before she could think, her free hand had snaked up to the scabbard and pulled it off in one almost-fluid motion. The bare steel hovered in front of her face, a deadly mirror.

by **Wanda Endust** on April 12th, 2014, 10:21 pm

The muscles in Wanda's hand constricted in a tick of panic, and she couldn't have dropped the dagger if she tried. Thoughts flashed through her mind, some her own, and some echoes from the past. It will hurt. The very purpose of its creation is to hurt. You're supposed to help people, Wanda. This isn't you. This isn't you.

In her mind's eye, Wanda saw the blade fall, felt the cold metal bite into her skin. It was digging, searching for veins and finding success. She could only watch as the tool did its job, fulfilled its duty and clattered to the floor. Blood followed, welling up, red and angry, from the pretty slash down her forearm. The blood flowed out, and the fiery pain flowed in. She could hear herself scream.

"What'cha think?"

Wanda slowly released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, relaxing her grip ever so slightly. Color gently returned to her white knuckles as she shook off the imagined vision. She didn't need to touch a hand to her chest to tell that her heart was hammering away. She shrugged. "I dunno."

It was a weapon, and she needed a weapon. There was very little real decision-making to do on her part. It didn't really matter what kind of weapon it was, did it? After all, she'd be equally as inexperienced with any of them. But this big knife certainly seemed like a more reasonable option than the row of great-swords hanging behind the counter.

The clerk boy seemed a bit dejected at her words, but before he could open his mouth, Wanda answered again. "I mean, I guess it works for me." At that, she carefully (yet hastily) shoved the dagger back into its sheath and laid it on the table. "How much for it?"

The fellow's sudden shift from frowning to beaming was almost dizzying. His face lit up as if Wanda had just turned into a puppy, and he fumbled for a second before finally forming a coherent sentence. "I, uh, you mean you actually want it? That's uh, I mean, that'll be two gold mizas."

Wanda forced a smile in return and reached into her coin purse. Her original panic had calmed, but now she simply felt... numb. No, that wasn't quite it. She felt hollow, as if she were not only trading mizas for the blade, but also giving up pieces of herself in the process.

LedgerDagger | -2gm

by **Wanda Endust** on April 13th, 2014, 12:11 am

"Anything else I can do for you?" the clerk offered politely, grinning as he deposited the money into some unseen box behind the counter. Wanda could feel the people waiting behind her getting a bit antsy. And, really, she wanted to be gone just as much as those in line wanted her to be gone. Yet as she clutched her new purchase tightly to her chest, she couldn't help feeling as if there was one more thing she needed to do. Or, rather, something else she needed to buy.

A blade suited her needs just fine, but there was something about the way it worked that just wrenched at her nerves. The way cut open flesh, the way it exposed parts of the body that were better left inside the flesh... It was simply unnatural to her, and as her gaze examined the dagger once again, she wasn't sure if she would be able to use it when she needed to. She wasn't sure if she would have the guts to another living creature's body through that kind of perverse pain.

She needed something that she would not hesitate to use.

"Actually," her voice cracked for a tick and she coughed, continuing, "actually, can I get something else too?"

The clerk coked an eyebrow, still smiling. "Got somethin' in mind now, do ya?"

"I guess so," Wanda shrugged, glancing down at the dagger once more as she lowered it to her side. Then, scanning the contents spilling across the booth, "I was just thinking of something that's not as... cut-y. Like, something that won't make someone bleed, but still works." Gods, she really had no clue what she was doing, did she? She wanted a weapon that would provide the same level of protection as a blade, but wouldn't draw blood. Luckily, an idea seemed to strike the fellow fairly quickly.

"Ah, know just the thing," he nodded, rapping his knuckles against the edge of the counter. He ducked down suddenly and Wanda lost sight of him, though she could hear him rummaging through something.

It took him nearly a chime to find whatever it was he'd been searching for, and he popped back up looking a little disheveled but enthusiastic. "This'll work for ya, I think." He slid the object across to Wanda, who took it in her open hand.

It was wooden, longer than her forearm but relatively lightweight. It was about as thick as her wrist, with one side carved to be flat and the other round. Another, much shorter piece of wood protruded from the flat side, and Wanda could only assume it was supposed to be a handle.

But, as far as she could tell, it was a stick. It certainly wasn't bladed, but she had no clue what it was. As if he could read her mind, the clerk spoke up. "We got it as a trade-in from some old fellow. If I remember right, he said it was a, uh, a ton...fa?" He shrugged, shaking his head slightly. "Tonfa, I'm pretty sure."

"And... how do I use it?"

"Weeell." Wanda offered the tonfa back to him, and he took it. "I'm not too sure on any specifics. None o' us had ever heard of the thing until that fellow dropped it off, but I'm pretty sure this thing here is the handle..." he gripped the smaller stick of wood firmly, letting the longer side of the weapon lay flat against the side of his forearm. It extended to his elbow, with a remaining four inches protruding past his fist. "... and this must be how you hold it. So's I guess you can punch," he did so, jabbing forward with the shorter side that stuck out past his hand, "or block," he held the side of it up to the air, as if protecting himself from a downward strike, "or swing it 'round." He snapped his wrist in a controlled motion. The longest side, which had been lying snugly against his arm, now whipped around to the front in a motion that looked like it probably would've hurt whatever it hit. "Or I guess you can just use the long side and smack some things around. Seems simple 'nough."

Wanda watched each motion carefully. Simple? It seemed like the kind of thing that took some practice to really be able to do enough damage to end a fight, but she supposed that was just the way blunt weapons were. It was easy to just cut someone up. Doing the same amount of damage without a blade would take some extra work -- but it would be worth the effort, as far as Wanda was concerned. And it seemed much more... pure to fight without a blade, as if it were somehow healthier for all parties involved.

"I'll take it."

LedgerTonfa, Wooden | -3gm

by **Radiant** on April 16th, 2014, 8:49 am

Wanda :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Negotiation	+1 XP
Organization	+1 XP

Completed [Great Bazaar] Battle Ready?