"Don't get too drunk before I get there," he said, and their gaze lingered a second.
After Katissa left and Killum rejoined his friends, Fergus shook his head. "That ork girl is going to break you in half tonight."
"I can only hope," he said.
Tiana made a disgusted sound and headed up the street, leading one of the mules. Fergus had the other mule, so followed her. Rand came up grinning.
"Ask her if she has a friend for me."
Tiana stopped and looked back and forth between Killum and Rand. "I swear, you boys can't look at a girl without getting a boner. Grow up."
"Why is liking girls a bad thing?" Rand asked. "I like you, and you're a pretty girl."
"She's probably a sixty year old guy playing a girl," Fergus muttered just loud enough to carry. He grinned at Killum. "Just saying."
Killum wasn't sure if Fergus meant Tiana, or Katissa. Either way, he didn't like it. It was a problem he worried about.
Tiana made another disgusted sound, before continuing up the street. Killum and Rand followed up to the intersection. Tiana turned onto Armory Alley, at which point all four of them began asking others on the street where they could sell their loot.
"Yasolf's Battlefield Pawn is the most often mentioned," Fergus said. He pointed his chin down the street. "It's right there. Shall we?"
The pawn shop was huge. It included a walled yard to one side for larger weapons and things like wagons. The floor was hard-packed dirt, with heavy-duty shelving creating row upon row of used arms and armor. Workers in plain gray tunics moved about polishing and oiling the iron and steel pieces. Killum noticed the shelves up close to the front carried the more battered, cheaper pieces.
The owner, Yasolf, was a seven foot tall half-minotaur, and more than a little on the chubby side. His horns were short and blunted, and he was covered with a fine light gray fur. His face was the most human looking Killum had seen on a half-minotaur, and a long bovine tail twitched behind him. He wore fine black linen robes with white trim and looked very successful.
Yasolf. Half-minotaur human trader (Lvl 46). Neutral.
Killum liked it when merchants were aligned anyway but Dark. Despite having a blended bovine/human face, he looked like a friendly guy. Though, he still found it odd finding players in such mundane, sedentary roles.
Killum stepped forward and took over. "Greetings, Yasolf. We're interested in buying, selling, and trading today."
"Welcome, Killum," he replied. Yasolf gave Tiana an appreciative look, before his dark eyes turned to the heavily laden mules. "I'm always eager to make deals with victorious warriors."
With four workers, Yasolf quickly unloaded the mules and had everything spread out. After they haggled over every weapon, he led them around the shop. Yasolf had both mundane and enchanted arms and armor. Everyone spent roughly the same amount.
Killum asked, "Do you have anything to store our extra weapons and gear?"
"Not at the moment," he said with a shrug. "I had an enchanted satchel with a dozen slots, but sold it yesterday. I suggest you look for something over on the Street of Charms, but be prepared to pay a small fortune."
In the end, Killum replaced his Knight's Sword with a Power Sword that had an enchantment that made his thrusts and strikes X10 normal. Fergus bought a matched pair of Bound silver rings. One ring turned into a powerful bow, while its companion provided endless arrows. Yeah, the elven ranger was giddy with delight, despite costing almost all of his money. Rand purchased a Bound set of enchanted armor and helmet that helped repulse swords, knives, and arrows, while selling Yasolf the armor he bought in Oxenbluff. Tiana bought a ring that gave her short bursts of speed.
They debated on whether to sell one or both mules while heading over to the Street of Charms. They finally found a shop to sell the Staff of Calling, after five shops refused to allow them inside with the powerful Dark Object. Ernest the Enchanted Reseller eagerly bought it, and paid far more than Killum anticipated. He also bought the Bracer of Subjugation and its accompanying collars.
The battle-mage found a shop of spells and charms to spend his money. A witch named Miss Ellie owned the shop, and she had a family of pixies flying around and causing mischief. The youngest members of the pixie family fluttered around Tiana, who squealed with delight. Rand and Fergus watched the giggling, laughing pixies with distrust, both holding their purses tightly.
Miss Ellie was a half-elf human witch, but a NPC. And she was quite the enchanting beauty, too, distracting Killum, Rand, and even Fergus. The battle-mage found it hard to concentrate on all of the spells, charms, and potions she showed him. In the end, he bought more healing and mana restoring potions, and a single spell. A spell he hadn't seen before.
After reading the Spell of Magical Sight, the paper evaporated. When he looked around the room, every enchanted item had a faint glow. Some glowed white, others blue, green, purple, and red.
"Do the colors mean anything?" he asked. In some games, color could indicate level and power.
"Yes. Different kinds of spells glow different colors, but it's not an indication of the magic's strength. Color doesn't hold the importance it does in other games."
He nodded. Color hadn’t held any mystique in the previous realm, either.
"Best money I've spent in this realm," he said to her pleasure.
Truth was, he was pretty sure she charmed him into spending more than it was worth. It was still a good deal in his mind. And he still had most of his money.
"It's getting late. Let's head back down to the gate and wait for Asha," he said. "Once she arrives, we can decide whether to leave right away or spend the night."
"Raging Bull Inn?" Rand asked with a smirk.
Chapter 23
They emerged from the woods to a bright, cloudless day. Asha walked between Coop and Joss. Her mind was calm as she gazed upon the town she'd left just hours before.
"Enjoy the view, sweetie," Joss said. "We're going to shop you two pointy-eared beauties to local cathouses. You'll probably never leave that building until some customer beats you just a little too much, and kills you."
The sorceress accepted that without thought or concern. Joss stared at her face a long moment, before showing her frustration.
"That's the problem with these stupid subjugation collars. The slaves don't care about a damned thing," Joss muttered. She scowled at Asha, and then at Deidra. "I want to see these two prima donnas' fear and dread, but all I get is blank eyes."
"Once we sell them and remove our collars, these two will go crazy," Krakus said. "That's always my favorite part."
"Also, you'll get one third cut of at least ten silver shekels," Coop said.
"Oh, that reminds me," Joss said. "Asha, what spells do you have?"