Going shopping

day: 10 A new Convoy

I spent the day packing, organizing, checking supplies, shopping. It was a few day journey and I wouldn’t be back to Aeris in quite some time. I gathered a few local wares, some new parchment made from the rugged Ironbark trees, would have cost me an arm and a leg back home, here just a few coins. Then I made my way to the mercenary guilds showroom.

The floor was large, with cubicles that surrounded the perimeter, each belonging to some small company of mercenaries that worked together, usually under a boss that controlled the flow of money in and out the guild. The more members the better the pay, the happier the customer. In the middle of the room were stages where the guilds could show off their prowess to potential customers, it was early the floor was empty, except for a pair sparring off in the corner. I walked around, perused the stalls, most were Buster gangs, mercs that didn’t use Affa directly, but rather imbued the powder into weapons to enhance their properties. Make swords sharper, clubs heavier, bows shoot straighter, that sort of thing. Some stalls though had some Dusters, though they looked fresh out of school, the real costly, hardened ones were sought after by the more regal guilds and usually on their payroll.

This brought me around to the two sparring in the corner. The woman, an Ikari native I presumed by the Branda around her neck, the man, tall and slender looked to be from the Mindara Mountains, they grew them extra tall over there. The man, covered from fingertip to shoulders in black soot, launched a small pebble at the girl, it stopped an inch from her face and dropped to the ground.She snapped her fingers, hand covered in bright fuchsia powder, the man started laughing, then crying, the dropped to the floor, and cackled. She went to help him up, before she got there he snapped he is fingers, the ground around him sunk, then shot him into the air. They laughed, dusted off their hands and walked back to their stall.

We talked for a bit, they were new to the mercenary game. Both fresh out of a job with a merchant guild that had hired them to help cross the Waatu Desert in search of Dolomite and glass. Their first one. They seemed nice, their price was nicer. It fit the budget, we shook hands and made arrangements to meet each other at the Soaken Oak tomorrow midday. Esta and Rolin would be my new companions. I do hope we get along…