“That beast was already on its way to the grave. Haymi’s blow just brought it a few moments quicker. Honestly, Apramor, without you, we’d have been forced to retreat… or worse. You deserve every bit of that recognition. Besides, you saved Haymi’s life. We’re not even close to equal.”
“T-thanks,” Vir replied, finding himself unable to look Tia in the eye.
When the cheers finally died, the Executor continued.
“The contract claimed the lives of ten Brotherhood mercenaries. They will be remembered.” He paused for a moment of silence before continuing. “Each of you has emerged stronger than before. Continue to proudly serve the organization.”
With those parting words, the veiled Executor left, and the crowd began to disperse.
“Well, now that we’re all rich, what do you say we get drunk at a good bar?” Vason said with a grin that stretched across his entire face.
“Without Haymi? That seems rather rude, don’t you think? I have a better idea,” Tia replied, smiling impishly. “All that coin must be weighing you down, eh Apramor? How about we go lighten your pockets on some new gear?”
“So, first off, we gotta get you some armor. And uh, I hope you’re not too attached to that iron katar?” Tia said, appraising Vir.
“Not at all,” he replied. The soft iron had given him a lot of trouble in the mine, as he’d had to baby it to prevent it from breaking or chipping. The sooner he upgraded, the better.
They stood within the largest arms market in Avi, and large was the word for it. The building stood four stories tall, and every inch was filled with weapons and armor. They started at mundane iron and low-grade steel on the ground floor, which became progressively more expensive the higher up one went.
Of course, they were on the fourth floor. Vir’s wealth now amounted to one hundred and nine silvers—the most he had ever owned. He walked into the store feeling like a Sawai.
Yet by the time he ascended to the fourth floor, he felt like a pauper. Vir wondered whether it was just him or if Fate was playing a game. The more money he earned, the more expensive items became.
Take the brigandine cuirass, for example. Mundane varieties sold for ten silvers, and even the most highly crafted ones went for only twenty.
But the cuirasses engraved with magical conduits? Those were in another league entirely. The brigs boasting a single orb slot started at thirty silvers, and the ones that had two went for forty-five.
Those were regular steel examples. Vir didn’t even want to look at the prices of the seric ones. Those were priced in seric coins, not silvers.
Even the slotted seric katars they had gone for a hundred silvers—or one seric coin. He could afford it… barely.
“So, I think for now, we’ll want a cuirass and a katar,” said Tia, perusing the wares as if she were looking over vegetables at a market, and not exquisite gear.
“Tia,” Vir said in a low voice, ensuring to keep the store attendant out of earshot. “This is a little embarrassing for me, but… can we look at some of the stuff on the lower floors? I don’t really need gear this good.”
Rather, he couldn’t afford it, but he couldn’t quite bring himself to admit that.
Tia frowned. “I’m sorry, Apramor, but that’s not going to work for me. If you’re gonna be in our party, we need you to equip magic gear. Trust me, once you use this stuff, you’ll never want to go back.”
“I understand that, it’s just…”
“I know, it’s expensive. But you don’t need to worry about any of that. Just pick out the gear you like, and we’ll figure it out. Okay?” Tia said with a wink.
She’s planning on bargaining hard, then? But even with steep discounts, Vir doubted he could afford both a cuirass and a katar.
In the end, he settled on a simple steel cuirass with two magical slots—Tia insisted one simply wasn’t enough. Even if Haymi only powered a single orb at a time, having the option to switch from Slashing Protection to Piercing Protection could very well determine the outcome of a battle. Or so she said.
The cuirass retailed for forty-three silvers.
The katar was a more agonizing decision. He’d never even laid eyes on a seric katar before. The weapon locked inside the glass case was more a work of art than a weapon—though its blade was as devastating as it was beautiful.
No matter how much he forced himself to consider the mundane steel katars, his eyes kept drifting back to that seric one.
“How much for this one?” he asked the attendant at length.
“An exquisite item, isn’t it?” the impeccably dressed man said. “Pure Seric steel, and a magical slot to boot. Capable of accepting orbs up to B Grade. This piece is on sale for 120 silvers.”
Vir blanched. Over a seric coin for that blade. There was simply no way.
“We’re interested in both the cuirass and this blade,” Tia said before Vir could respond.
“Tia!” Vir hissed. “I can’t afford that.”
“No worries! Just watch,” Tia said, winking.
“Give us your best offer,” she said.
“Milady, I’m happy to negotiate on pieces on lower floors, but the items you see here are all exquisite. I’m afraid there’s little room for—!”
Tia did… something, but Vir wasn’t quite sure what. She’d reached into a pocket and flashed an item at the attendant, but by the time he noticed, the item was already back in her pouch.
“You said your name was…”
“Tia,” she replied with a sly grin. “Just Tia.”
“Tia…” The man’s eyes went wide for the briefest instant before he regained his composure. “Of course, of course.”
From that moment on, his mannerisms changed entirely. He kept bowing his head and averting eye contact.
That’s the second time this has happened, Vir thought, regarding his party leader. First, when they’d arrived at Avi, Tia had been taken away by someone who very clearly looked Sawai. That man had treated her with deference.
It all but confirmed that Tia was secretly a Sawai of some sort. And if Vir was right, a high-ranking one.
“Miss Tia, for you, we could do a hundred silvers for both the cuirass and the katar combined. Would that be acceptable?”
Vir thought he’d heard incorrectly. A hundred silvers? That was still an incredible amount, but considering the katar and the cuirass together would’ve cost 163 silvers, it was a steep discount. And with practically no haggling, too.
“Ninety. Surely, you recognize the benefits of making this sale.”
The man fell silent.
Tia cleared her throat. “Fine, I can do ninety-five, but throw in that set of steel chakris on the wall over there.”
While Vir had replaced his chakrams in Zorin with good steel ones, he’d never regained his chakris, and he’d missed them dearly.
Tia winked at him again. He’d mentioned this only once to her, back when they’d first met.
To think she remembered…
“Done,” the man said.
Before Vir could object, the deal had been settled. There was just one problem.
Vir pulled the freckled blonde aside. “Tia, I can’t afford this! I’m sorry. That’s nearly all I have!” Admitting that fact made him flush with embarrassment, despite owning more than he’d ever had in his life.
Tia gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Remember I said we weren’t even? That I still owed you for saving Haymi? The katar and the cuirass are on me.”
“What? No!” Vir responded. He’d die of shame if he allowed Tia to pay for his gear. “No way. I can’t let you do that, Tia.”
The girl sighed. “I figured you’d resist. But c’mon, do you really want to start a scene? Look at how that gentleman’s looking at us.”