Chapter 5: Good Hunt (3)
3.
Liam the third son of Baron Markus and Cain the grandson of Liam's caretaker Portus walked the stone-paved roads of the city of Ursanidearis called Navaragus which could be considered the heart of Baron Markus's domain named after the first Baron of Ursanidea, Aragus Nav Ursandra.
The roads were paved with flat smooth flat stones and had sidewalks that were rarely used. Apart from the transport carriages that often travel these roads to their destinations, the warehouses, there wasn't any traffic. You would occasionally find people with horses but they were the valets in charge of taking the horses to the public stables.
The bustling vendor smelling business called out the two men dressed in formal clothing who politely refused their offers and headed towards a building with sparkling armors and weapons on the glass display.
"Cling," With the sound of a bell chime the door of an Arms & Weapon's merchant shop opened grabbing the attention of the shopkeeper.
"Welcome," the shopkeeper greeted the two formally dressed patrons of his with a business smile.
Liam knew that man but did not know his name, he was a good friend of the person Liam had trouble talking to. The shopkeeper has an appearance of someone who often indulged in gluttony evident by his girthy body.
"How can I help you, young Lord?" The shopkeeper spoke with a professional smile indicating that he was expecting his arrival.
"I would like to buy a new sword," Liam informed the shopkeeper at which he signaled the present employee.
"Please have a seat." The shopkeeper offered.
Contrasting the workshops in the Kindling village that Liam was accustomed to this building did not have any products in the front shop but instead had a lavishly decorated room. The room looked more like a nobles living room rather than a shop that sells weapons. There were many weapons and armors inside the room but most of them were impractical and heavily decorated.
After taking the seat in the leather couch with Liam Cain moved his eyes to the swords that hung on the wall but even after glancing through all the swords, his trained eyes were able to identify all the flaws that you will never see in a real sword. These swords were beautiful indeed but no one in their right mind would use them in actual combat unless they wanted to suicide.
"May I inquire why does Young Lord needs a brand new sword?" The shopkeeper asked with a sly smile.
Considering he was expecting Liam he must have already aware of Liam's reasoning to buy a new sword but he still decided to ask. His intentions were not to fill the time until the arrival of the sword.
"I am leaving for an expedition and for that, I have been granted some funds to buy a new sword," Liam replied.
"Is that so?" The shopkeeper stated he did not expect Liam to reply as normally as he did.
"Tea?" A maid asked with a soft smile. She held a tray upon which is a ceramic teapot accompanied with similarly decorated teacups. These tea sets are only used for the guests of high nobility and using it for Liam and Cain meant that they accepted them as valued guests.
"Sure," Liam accepted her offer without thinking that there might be some ill intentions behind their generous action.
After Liam took a cup of tea the maid turned to Cain.
"I will pass on that offer." He refused while holding his hand up.
"I will also have a cup, thank you." The shopkeeper informed the maid.
As they were silently drinking tea the previous employee came back with a crate filled with swords. the employee unloaded the crate and neatly placed the swords on the counter.
"Shall we look at the swords now?" The shopkeeper asked.
"Sure." Liam hastily finished his tea and head towards the counter followed by Cain.
The swords placed on the counter were of perfect length for Liam and except for two longswords which had heavily decorated golden hilt. Cain used his sword expertise to conclude that the swords were placed from the cheapest to the most expensive. Looking at the swords from this new perspective the longer swords with golden hilt were at the end of the expensive side of the spectrum.
"These are the sword that is of your size I presume." The shopkeeper said with a sly smile. His intentions to overwhelm Liam using the knowledge that he gathered from his close friend turned out to be useless as Liam was unaffected by it.
Liam randomly picked a sword from the middle of the spectrum and unsheathed it revealing the blade. The shimmering surface of the blade indicated that this sword had not been used since it was forged. After studying the sword and performing a few swings he sheathed the sword and then placed it back on the table.
He moved his hand towards the cheaper side of the spectrum and again randomly picked a sword from the organized pile. He unsheathed the sword but the blade resisted itself. After applying enough force the blade came out from his sheath revealing the thick layer of corrosion that has accumulated over time. Liam did not inquire any further and place it back on the table.
The shopkeeper had a belittling smile on his face. His face emitted the aura of superiority he felt after mocking the young child.
"I am sure you have been informed that Lord was going to pick a sword for a dangerous expedition." Cain barked at the Shopkeeper.
"That was an honest mistake. " the shopkeeper said with a genuinely fake smile. "My employee has done something rude please let me replace those swords if you would like I can also dismiss the employee from my establishment." He continued.
"What would have you done if Lord had picked it by mistake and got injured on the battlefield." Cain confronted the shopkeeper who still smiled professionally.
"Please forgive my employee's mistake I hope we can mend it in some way." The shopkeeper mocked. Cain turned and looked at the employee who was also trying to hold his laughter.
Even if Liam demanded that the shopkeeper fire the employee he can rehire him after Liam and Cain leave the building.
"Look you..." Before Cain could complete his threat Liam intervened
"Stop!" Liam called, "I am sorry that my retainer has shown you some rude behavior." Liam calmly apologized.
"That's fine it was only because of a mistake of my employee." The Shopkeeper stated.
Cain calmed himself after noticing Liam's glare. Liam then grabbed the most expensive sword on the table and the moment he grabbed its hilt the sword shrunk itself into a perfect height for Liam.
"You have a nice eye for swords," The shopkeeper said with a mocking smile. He knew that Liam could never afford something as expensive as this sword. "It is a magical sword that adjusts its length according to its wielder. It can be quite useful for a young boy who still hasn't grown to his fullest height."
"This is indeed a good sword. I would like to know its price." Liam asked.
"It is 10,000,000 nars." The shopkeeper smiled in his heart knowing full well that Liam would not be able to afford it. He wanted to see Liam's expressions when he said its price but instead, he was disappointed.
"Since young master is the son of a baron I shall give a special discount of 2,000,000 nars." The shopkeeper lowered the swords price knowing that even with a discount of 20% Liam still couldn't afford it.
The shopkeeper watched closely at Liam's face expecting some sort of reaction but Liam's face remained unchanged which made him frustrated.
Liam placed down the sword and picked the previous rusted sword from the neatly organized pile.
"Milord that is the..." Before Cain could warn him Liam already started speaking.
"I will be taking this sword." he announced, "Send the bill and the sword to the mansion. My mother will be waiting there with the money for it."
Both the shopkeeper and Cain were confused at Liam's decision. Why would Liam choose a sword that is useless? Why would a swordsman pick a poor sword over other better options? Unanswered questions started to flood in their minds.
"We shall be taking our leave," Liam announced and left the shop with its wondering shopkeeper.
A while after Liam and Cain left, it dawn on the shopkeeper.
"I can't be." the shopkeeper instinctive spoke.
It had not occurred to him previously but now that he was alone with his thoughts he realized that he has just now sold a defective sword to the son of Baron, knowing full well that he was going into a battle. Since the transaction did not happen inside the shop but will happen at the mansion the shopkeeper will be held fully responsible if the sword were to fail in the middle of the battle.
If he were to change the sword in some way Liam can accuse him of changing the product on delivery. Not only will it hurt his reputation but he can also lose his business inside the Navaragus city.
"That was your plan wasn't it." He cursed now that he knew the real reason why Liam chose that specific sword.
"Should I pack the sword?" Asked the employee.
The shopkeeper snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the sword held by the employee.
"No!" He said. Which confused the employee.
"Pardon?"
"I said we cannot send that sword to the lord's mansion." He then stared at the pile of swords and noticed the sword with a golden hilt. The sword in which he offered a 20% discount to Liam.
"I will have to take some losses." The shopkeeper said to himself. He then grabbed the sword and handed it to his employee. "Send this to the Baron's mansion as soon as possible. Use the fastest horse, I want this sword to be delivered to the Baron's door right now. Tell the deliverer that this is a gift from me to the young Lord of the mansion."
"But sir..."
"Do it." He barked. "That damn boy," He spoke while biting his nails in frustration.
...
....
The sun was a few inches away from the horizon when Liam and Cain started heading back to the mansion. They rode their horses which had been kept in a public stable till now.
Cain who was still confused about the sword that Liam picked could not hold back his curiosity and ask, "My Lord why did you picked that sword back then wouldn't it be better to pick a nicer sword for the mission?"
Liam who was confused at Cain's question thought to himself, "Did I do something wrong by picking that sword?"
Liam did not have any money when he went inside the weapon shop so when he heard that the swords were at the range of 10,000,000 he had instinctively picked one from the pile and told the shopkeeper that they deliver it to his home. This way he can prevent himself from being humiliated inside the shop. If one were to find that he entered a shop without having enough money to spend on that shop he would not be able to live with such embarrassment.
"You will understand it when they deliver the sword to the mansion for now let's continue to head back." Liam successfully managed to speak a convincing lie.
...
...
As Liam and Cain approach the mansion they saw many carriages leaving from that direction. Most of which were there to deliver the goods he bought for the expedition.
Normally they would see the servants portering the good but this time they saw Catherine and Portus who seemed to be waiting for their return.
"Welcome back." Catherine greeted Liam.
"Thank you for receiving me," Liam replied while halting his ride and descended from his horse.
"Did you buy everything that you need?" Catherine asked like a worried mother.
"Yes,"
"Well, this is something that came from the weapon's shop." On her signal, Portus brought out a sword that was wrapped in linen fabric.
"They said it was a gift for you." Catherine confusingly wondered. She clearly remembered the delivery boy who brought it to her, the boy seemed to be in a hurry and instantly left after delivering the sword
Liam unwrapped the linen and revealed a sword of course, not the sword he picked but instead a sword that was finely forged and decorated.
Liam did not notice it the last time but this time he did. the sword had a golden sun-shaped pummel and a reinforced golden crossguard on its handle. The blade was brightly polished and its edge was thin and uniform.
The leatherwork and gold work on its sheat was something that could be called a piece of art. Liam grabbed the sword and gave it a swing. His hands firmly held the handle and its weight felt comfortable in his arms.
"That is a good sword." Portus praised after seeing Liam swung it a few times, "I still don't understand why did a merchant gift it to you."
"I don't know maybe he wanted me to like him." Liam had a confused look on his face but his grin overshadowed his confusion. Cain stared at Liam with a mixture of fear and fascination. He still could not believe what he has seen today.
"Now that you've got everything for the hunt." She said refusing to say the words 'monster extermination', "All that is left is a carriage for you and Cain to leave, which I have already prepared" Catherine added.
"Thank you, mother." Liam had a wide smile on his face.
"How about we have dinner, and Cain would you like to join us?" Catherine asked the young man.
Upon being questioned he looked at his grandfather and when Portus approved Cain replied, "It would be an honor."
...
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