Return of the Fallen Volume 2 Chapter 65
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Author: Blue_Rat
ch65
The Armored Bear was a normal shop full of the usual suspects. Mercenaries, Adventurers, Hunters, etc. The men and women here told stories of battle or great hunts of monstrous beasts. Others discussed the equipment nearby, who forged it and so on and so forth.
Walking to the counter, there were two men and two women standing behind taking care of business.
“Can I help you sir?”
A young woman with red hair asked.
Kazuki looked around at the wears and started to run off a list he had thought of for a while.
“I need 9 sets of leather armor 7 steel swords 1 war hammer…”
Kazuki began to run it down but the lady behind the counter quickly got left in the dust and called out.
“Dear customer please hold up a bit, you’re losing me.”
Kazuki paused for a moment while the lady scrummaged through a drawer and pulled out a pen and paper. With a snap of her fingers, a necklace she wore glowed and the pen and paper began to float. She courteously asked.
“Sir if you don’t mind will you repeat yourself for me?”
Kazuki again ran through some of the supplies he needed. Though it wasn’t just for him but for everyone else as well. After leaving the city of Tresta in a hurry and then trecking through a forest for nearly 2 months, the equipment they had, had suffered.
Kazuki no longer had a sword and had borrowed Danny’s on a few occasions but then broke his during his fight with the Mangshi. Right now, the only person who still had an actual weapon was Asuna but even her two daggers had become worn and chipped. They could be repaired but Kazuki would prefer to just throw them out and buy new ones since he currently had the funds.
Thinking back on the previous battles If they had staffs that produce better results then their rings, the power they could have wielded may have significantly reduced battle times and saved more energy for the tougher fights.
Shields were another issue. If they all had steel shields, the fights with the Mangshi would have been drastically different. Hell, even if only Kazuki and Sam had been set with a shield, the battles would have turned tides like the flip of a coin. With the two’s strength, they could have adequately defended while Nunully brought them down with ice.
Kazuki though was a little worried. None of them were trained with a shield. Many think using a shield is simple but in reality, there are many layers besides just sitting around holding it. Kazuki had to think about if it was worth it to equip some or all with shields. If one were to use a full shield, the movement and agility are changed significantly.
Besides shields, everyone needed a storage item. No the Armored Bear didn’t carry them but it was still something that was needed. If they had them, even if they couldn’t have taken all of the Mangshi black feathers, they still could have taken some. Possibly enough for a full set of armor, who knows or sure.
As Kazuki continued, Mei couldn’t help but look in every direction. All of the shiny armor and weapons as well as all the different characters that populated this shop and told interesting stories. This place was truly a special place. Mei’s feet ended up wondering without her notice until she stood right underneath a group of large warriors. A woman was describing her fight with a creature Mei had never heard of. This bound Mei in place and stole her full attention.
“After I tore the jaws apart from the little one, the big bastard tackled me and we both plummeted off a cliff. I tell ya this, I and that bastard fought every single foot down. As we came closer and closer to the ground I’ll admit my heart was racing as I felt the breath of death on the back of my neck. That’s when I saw an opening and I smashed my head into that damn ape’s stomach. That’s when I broke free from its vice-like grip and with a powerful thrust, my blade stabbed a hole into the side of a cliff and I caught my self from the fall.”
A nearby man snorted.
“Hmpf, this can’t be true. There’s not even a single scratch on you. You actually expect us to believe you went toe to toe with a pack of Red Apes and came out completely unharmed, tell your tales someplace else woman.”
The woman in question didn’t become angry and instead pulled at her waist.
*Clank*
The armor around part of her waist and all the way down her left leg fell to the ground with a loud crash. This drew the attention of everyone in the shop.
Once they looked over, they were horrified by the sight that filled their eyes. From the woman’s waist, all the way down the side of her thigh and finally finishing at the back of her lower calf were the distinct scars of claw marks. The wounds had been inflicted probably years ago but the image they left was disturbing. 4 claw marks ran down her body. Each one deep and one each one missing several chunks of flesh.
The man who had claimed she was lying, lowered his head in shame.
“I…I’m sorry I didn’t mean…”
The woman though was not upset. Instead, she held her head high and wore an expression of pride.
Kazuki looked over as well and couldn’t help but sigh.
Not because of the story but rather because he spotted Mei, about to do something stupid.
Mei had approached without the others noticing and with one stroke she rubbed the woman’s leg in curiosity.
“Whoa, this is amazing.”
The woman grabbed Mei up by the collar and roared in her face.
“Little brat, who told you, you could touch?”
Mei wasn’t scared in the least and tilted her head quizzically.
“Big sis, why didn’t you get some medicine for this?”
Seeing Mei’s genuine concern and lack of fear, the woman felt a little disarmed. She sighed and lowered Mei. She felt a little dissatisfied with herself. She had been an adventurer, a veteran for so many years and yet she had lost her cool over a child.
“Little girl, you should learn to keep your hands to yourself.”
Mei ignored that answer and asked again.
“But why didn’t you heal yourself.”
The woman reequipped her armor and sighed.
*Haa*
“Little girl, your curiosity is gonna get you killed someday.”
Mei just smiled at that.
“A poison was left behind by the Red Ape’s leader. I have to continuously have the poison removed as it builds up. This costs a great deal already. If I wanted to get the full poison removed it would cost me a small fortune. So until I strike it rich, these scars are here to stay, unfortunately.”
“Mei!”
Tsura was still recovering and was late to interfere but she still came over and apologized.
“I’m sorry my daughter is curious and rude. Please forgive her.”
The woman looked at the pair of mother and daughter and smiled.
“It’s fine but you should really teach her about talking to strangers. Little girl, what would you have done if I was a big bad Scron wolf in disguise? You would have been eaten up in no time at all.”
Mei shook her head in denial.
“Big bro will save me and we’ll fly away together.”
“Mei!”
Tsura pulled Mei away and stood by Kazuki’s side. The other warriors and the woman all began to laugh at her childish statement. All the while Mei kept trying to explain until Kazuki gave her a look and she zipped her lip.
Afterward, Kazuki placed a hefty order and paid. The goods were to be delivered to the Half Hog Inn when it was ready.
Afterward, Tilly wanted another drink but Kazuki still ad more things to do, so they split there and headed their separate ways.
2 horses, a cart to match them, plenty of food for traveling. Kazuki was gathering all the items they would need for a long journey. Eventually, he even went back and bought several storage items from old Sid. At first, Sid wasn’t pleased to see Kazuki back only an hour later but once he saw the Zeni Kazuki offered, a greedy smile stretched across his face.
Buying some red fluffy clouds aka cotton candy from the same vendor the day before. Tsura and Mei devoured the sweet treat with delight.
Mei’s cheeks would puff up for a moment as she stuffed her mouth only for her cheeks to shrink down with the melting of the sugary snack. To her this was bliss.
Kazuki had even bought one for himself but found it way too sweet and simply gave the rest to a hyper enthused Mei. Mei was enjoying her cotton candy and skipping down the road. A little too much at one point as her strength caused her to leap nearly 10 feet in the air. Tsura jumped up and pulled her down, surprising herself with her newfound power. Kazuki decided to hold onto both of them until they got back.
Walking into the Inn, Betra stomped over and grabbed Kazuki by the collar.
“I don’t care how much money you’ve got, you destroy another wall and were gonna have some problems, got it?”
Kazuki knew he was in the wrong and felt bad about losing control over his emotions due to a bad dream and being talked down to by Danny and Shin. So he understood Betra’s anger and nodded.
Betra then took some money and shoved it into Kazuki’s hand.
“This is?”
Betra snorted.
“Hmpf, that 8 Zeni and 37 copper pieces, the wall did not cost nearly as much, so this is the change.”
“I could have sworn I told Seta to keep the tip.”
Betra nodded.
“She did say that but this much money is far too much for a young girl her age. What do you expect in return, giving her this kind of money?”
Kazuki felt there was some kind of underlying accusation in there and felt insulted. Taking the gold Zeni, Kazuki crushed the coins together in his hand and dropped it on the ground in front of Betra.
*Clang*
“Take the money or don’t but don’t push your oddities upon me woman. I simply gave the money to Seta because I felt like it and that was that. Now excuse me.”
Kazuki walked up to his room and Tsura and Mei followed after him. Before she left though Mei stuck out her tongue at Betra. She didn’t know why Kazuki was upset but she felt she was defending him somehow by doing this.
Betra kind of just stood there not understanding what just happened. A moment later though a customer walked by and so the lump of gold on the floor. Reaching down for it, Betra slapped his hand away.
“That belongs to me.”
The customer felt wronged but there was nothing he could do. Betra on the other hand just stared off into the distance, wondering if she may have gone too far.
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