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| Setting Up Shop | |
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| Topic Started: Sep 8 2009, 05:39 PM (226 Views) | |
| Braetek | Sep 8 2009, 05:39 PM Post #1 |
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The port was bustling, even early in the morning. People moved through the market, haggling vendors and paying precious coins for precious goods. There were sailors and soldiers, fishermen and farmers. Women led children to the food vendors, while the men spent their time looking through the weapons and trinkets for wives near and lovers afar. Through it all, one stall had yet to open for business. Inside, a giant of flesh and muscle and sinew and bone sat comically perched on a small stool carefully arranging the last of the small carvings and giving a critical eye to the rest of his inventory. Lounging nearby was a thin, handsome man wearing perfectly polished green armor, smoking a pipe, and looking thouroughly bored. "Brae, brother, it's fine. Open the shop already." The mountainous man continued, oblivious to his partners plea. Each wooden carving sat exactly one inch on all sides from the other. They were arranged in six rows of eight. He was beginning to think that the setup might look too intimidating to the customer. They may not want to pick them up and admire them if they were so perfectly arranged. "Honestly Braetek, you look rediculous. Let's get on with it. We have money to make." The giant, Braetek, sighed and stood. He had to stoop to keep from brushing the seven foot high ceiling of the tent. "Very well." He walked to the front of the tent and swept the walls aside, tying them to the support posts. Light poured inside and he saw that Destin had arranged the rest of the wares perfectly. Along the rear wall were the weapons, shields, armor, and clothing. Most were imported from Jotungaard, some had belonged to the armies of Coldwynd. Above them hung a sign advertising the repair and maintenance of any weapon or armor. On the left wall were the imported package goods. Furs of all shapes and sizes, exotic tobaccos, herbs and spices, maps, salt, casks of ale and rum, gunpowder, hookahs, and a few oddities like a jeweled vampire's skull, a scroll written in blood. rings adorned with runes, and more. The right wall contained what Destin referred to as "the trinkets". Jade pendants, Saphire rings, chains of gold and silver, whale bone goblets, and of course, Braetek's carvings. Each wooden figure was carefully coaxed from a single piece of wood. He'd carved nearly one every three days throughout the war. There were hawks taking flight, bears in mid roar, wolves quietly stalking. But spread among them were darker visions, from darker days; men with bare skulls, ruined buildings, a curiously familiar giant man with nearly a dozen wooden scalps dangling from his oaken hand. Braetek decided it would be best if he stayed back in the tent. People tended to get nervous around him. He could hardly blame them. He stood nearly seven feet tall, and almost four feet wide. There was not an ounce of fat on him, muscles rode on muscles across his frame. Looking at him, one would thing the man could fell a redwood with a single blow from one of his massive arms. His skin told the story of war in a criss-crossing language of scars. The buckskin pants and vest he wore did little to hide this story. His long black hair, with the exception of a single dreadlock on the right side of his head, was tied with a simple leather strap and adorned with beads of wood and jade, and two feathers; one tipped blue and the other red. The dreadlock, however, was dressed in what looked like nine gold wedding rings and three beads of bone. So he stood in a back corner and waited, eager for their first customer to arrive. |
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| Firenze | Sep 11 2009, 11:11 PM Post #2 |
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Moving at a smooth gait the saddlebred tossed its mane, spooking slightly by a pair of angrily chattering squirrels darted across the worn dirt road ahead of it. Keeping the horse from spooking fully and taking off at a gallop, Kat remained in control of the hoofed beast. Kat swept her right hand through her long raven locks, letting it cascade to rest upon her back and drape over her shoulder. The black tie she had used early to pull it back was securely wrapped around her wrist. Riding tall in the saddle like she'd been taught during her childhood, her eyes scanned the surrounding fields and small wooded areas as they made their way toward the port city. Only half listening to Stormy complain, she kept the chestnut mare a safe distance from the bay mare Stormy was seated upon. Smirking occasionally as Stormy continued her rant, as usually it started up after Kat got them transportation. "I didn't hear you complain back when I first acquired the horses. Wasn't is you that bitched about how sore your feet were? Here I help you out and my thanks is listening you whine even more." Stormy pulled the reins, turning her horse as she halted it. Smiling with a shake of her head, she sighed as she let the reins fall slack for a moment. "Fine, thanks for the horse, Kat. Thanks for stealing them, thanks for nearly knocking me into that manure pile and thanks for smacking the horse after I hopped on making it run into that cobweb! I'm still finding webbing and that was nearly an hour ago. Oh, and thanks so much for being so kind as to return that freakishly huge spider to its web....while I was wearing it!" Kat laughed at her cousin, unable to help herself as she watched her expression. She too had brought her horse around to a stop. Stormy took the break from moving to run her hands through her hair again for the dozenth time trying to rid it of the spider web. "I was just having some fun. Besides we needed the horses. If you're so worried about it we can return them on the way back or shot them or something." Her sky blues caught movement topping the hill ahead of them approaching, she watched as the shape grow closer. Tensing, prepared to lash out, she only relaxed when the shape was revealed to be an elderly gentleman on an old bicycle loaded down with bags of his recent visit to the port. The man nodded as he passed, gaining a quick greeting from Stormy. Kat brought her horse to a canter, making a loop around Stormy as she got the hint and followed suit. Stormy watched Kat for a bit, glad to see that the taller woman was in a good mood for once. But she knew that would be short lived the moment they where within eyesight of the port. Kat hated crowds, hated people. It had taken a lot to convince her to they needed supplies. Prepared for the sudden mood swing, Stormy did her best to keep Kat talking and joking with her, even if it was at her expense more often then not. She was right, the closer town loomed the more Kat's expression began to darken. Ignoring it, she continued chatting, commenting on anything and everything. Until her cousin, pulled her horse up short and dismounted. Doing the same, Stormy removed her pack from the saddle as they tied the reins to a hitch near the blacksmith's shop. Smiling as people passed by, Stormy was enjoying the rustle of activity, excited start browsing the mix of vendor shops. Looking over at Kat, who had grown quiet, "Busy place as always. You ready? Or are you just going to keep the horses company the whole time?" "I'm ready...I like a challenge." "You are not going to ruin my shopping." Stormy frowned briefly as Kat smirked, seeing her eye quickly scope out the visible wares. Kat moved toward a booth of necklaces, running her fingertips over the precious gems set in gold and silver. The shopkeeper had greeted her politely, but headed off to assist a friendlier customer, though he kept watching her from the corner of his eye. Kat was tempted to pocket a teardrop pearl pendant, but feeling a jab to the ribs, she thought better of it, leaving the temptation. Glaring at Stormy through narrowed slits, snarling at her, she headed to another shop, accepting the fact that Stormy was going to be her shadow. Moving past a few beggars near an alley, Kat grimaced in disgust. "Looks like decay of society is out. Pathetic. You'd think this place would keep them out before they foul it more with their body odor." Following Kat's glare, Stormy nodded politely at the beggars, flipping a few coins their direction. "They might not be able to help whatever situation got them there in the first place, besides you are technically homeless yourself." "Yeah, but I never let myself carry the muck of the world upon my clothes, nor did I smell like I rolled in an onion filled pig sty." Shaking her head, Stormy let the topic drop. It wasn't the first and not the last that they've had a similar discussion. Stepping inside an open tent, grateful that Kat followed behind her and didn't try to loot anything for once. Stormy smiled at the giant off to the corner, "did you make all these? They are well detailed. Must have taken a lot of time to finish." She swept a gaze over him, amused by his rough appearance. Kat never acknowledged the man, for now she acted like he didn't exist as she picked up one of the carvings, flipping the wolf around as Stormy spoke. Setting it down with a thud, she scooped up another, one of a man with a bare skull. Running her finger over the surface, she silently agreed with Stormy about the amount of detail they had. Still ignoring the man's presence, she set that figure down more carefully repeating the same with the roaring bear, before standing empty handed near the tent's entrance waiting for Stormy to finish. |
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| Braetek | Sep 12 2009, 05:15 PM Post #3 |
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Braetek watched the two women enter and look at the wares with only the slightest bit of apprehension. These were his first potential customers, and despite his high hopes, he had no idea what to do now. Give him ten men to take on a batallion, and he could determine in moments the best way to win. He'd unflinchingly faced down and dismembered an ogre on his own. But this was foreign territory to him. He took a moment to glance at his companion, and found him asleep in his chair. Had he been awake, Destin would have already been on his feet, offering his "help" to these two. One of the customers spoke to him, and he was caught off guard. It took him a full ten seconds to process the comment. 'Great', he thought to himself, 'on top of being a poor salesman, I look simple as well.' "I did." he responded aloud. "One every two days for --" he flinched slightly when the second woman slammed the wolf figurine down. That one had been finished after his third victory as a commander in Jotungaard's army. He gave the offending woman the same empty gaze he always did, but had she looked in his eyes she would have seen a quiet annoyance only barely betrayed. "One every two days for the duration of the Jotungaard - Coldwynd war." He swept a tree-trunk arm in an arc, indicating all the wares in his tent. "In fact, most of what we sell here is either spoils from the war itself, gains from the hunts afterward, or imported from the two nations. Feel free to browse as you wish, I doubt you'll find better prices or finer quality. Those carvings there, for instance, sell for a pennance of two silver coins each." He hoped that his speech, the longest he'd given in the entirety of his 29 years, was the right one to give while he berated himself mentally for being nervous in the first place. But everything he had he sunk into this shop. Noticing an empty spot on the table next to the carvings, he bowed his head slightly to excuse himself and unpacked three carved wooden flutes from a felt bag, carefully placing them on their stands as well, before moving back to his position in the corner. |
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| Firenze | Sep 15 2009, 12:32 AM Post #4 |
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Frowning, at Kat's not-so-gentle handling of the merchandise, Stormy focused on what the man was saying, as she browsed and examined each piece that was different. She glanced at Kat while the man spoke, hoping her cousin wouldn't suddenly vanish and cause trouble elsewhere. It was a knack she had that often became a headache for Stormy, she hoped today would be different. Smiling once more as the man finished, "I would have guessed such workmanship would have taken longer. Did you do the animals from memory or sketch them out on paper to carve into wood later? Which wood do you like to work with the most?" Stormy asked the latter question as she noticed the difference in grain on some of the pieces. Art was a favorite subject of hers, but she was trying not to bombard the merchant with too many questions as he seemed a bit nervous at dealing with them and she wasn't one to try and get someone out of their comfort-zone, well with the exception of Kat. Taking another quick glance as Kat quickly moved toward the tent entrance and stopped, Stormy continued checking out the eagle figure already in her hands. Kat narrowed her eyes at Stormy, as she glimpsed her way. She didn't mind Stormy's company, but hated having her favorite 'hobby' monitored. The port was a perfect hot spot, all kinds of high end goods were on display. Everything from jewelry to weapons to fine art to large sums of money. It was all within easy grasp and she was not prepared to leave the port city without having some fun. She shifted her weight as she stared out the entrance, watching the activity of the market beyond. Liking her lips as she tried to pick out a target, she was interrupted by Stormy. "What do you think of the carvings?" Kat knew she was only being asked her opinion, because Stormy was hoping to distract her, to keep her in sight longer. Curling her lip as she regarded the giant of a man before her, seeing the deer hide pants and the beads that adorned his hair, she judged him to be beneath her, not worthy of being in her presence. She knew Stormy would have lectured her on judging so quickly, but that's how she had came to survive. Judge first, react and live. Kat locked her icy stare onto his eyes as she spoke, "They are good, if you like that sort of useless junk. What good's a figurine? Just sits around collecting dust, it's pointless to even waste time making such garbage. The time and talent that you put into these trinkets, would have served better making weapons or furniture. Things people can actually use." Kat never broke her stare, glaring intently as if drilling a hole clean through the merchant's skull. She could see Stormy grimace in regret for asking her opinion, she smirked as Stormy tried to apologize for her remarks. Casting Kat a glare equal to the one she gave the shop keeper. Stormy raised a hand to her forehead, sighing, she shook her head as she looked back at the merchant. "I apologize, sir. If I'd known that would be her response I wouldn't never had asked for her opinion. She's having sort of a bad...week. Aside from what she says, they are nicely done and show how much dedication you place into you craft. When did you start carving?" Stormy smiled politely hoping the negativity Kat seemed to generate would be countered. Edited by Firenze, Sep 15 2009, 12:40 AM.
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| Braetek | Sep 17 2009, 05:31 PM Post #5 |
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Braetek was beginning to get the feeling that the woman at the tent entrance was bad news, though he wasn't yet sure why. Something about the way the other one kept glancing her way, coupled with the way she was acting made him think that she was the type to probably be up to something. His right hand made the barest twitch toward his left hip before he remembered he was no longer at war, and therefore no longer carried the long, thin-bladed sword on his belt. His obsidian-bladed tomahawk was similarly absent. He started making a mental catalouge of the weapons on racks and tables directly to his right, trying to determine which would be best for the unknown threat when he caught himself again. 'Fool," he thought 'at worst she is likely a thief. And here you are ready to go for her throat. Perhaps you are not as cut out for peace as you thought.' He banished the thought from his mind, and concentrated on his customers again. "I carved each from memory. They are all scenes I saw with my own eyes. I never use sketches, because I cannot seem to capture the proper essence with them, and it clouds my memories to try." He glanced for a moment at Destin, wondering briefly if he should wake him. He quickly determined that his brother would be more of an annoyance than a salesmen, where women were involved. "I try to work with cherry, when I can. However, pine and oak are abundant where I was, and cherry something of rarity." Braetek took notice of the shopper caressing the wood lightly with her fingertips, and knew this was probably the time to say something to guarentee the sale, but nothing came to mind. 'Damn my heavy tounge.' he sighed mentally. The woman then turned to her companion, asking her opinion, and Braetek could almost feel her gaze. He returned it with his own, the steady, expressionless, stone gaze of a man who's lifetime's smiles could be counted on two hands. The feeling of some sort of challenge was behind her stare, but he simply could not place what that may be. Was she daring him to speak against her words? Daring him not to? "Furniture is not readily carried, nor particularly useful, on the battlefield. As for weapons," he glanced at the collection to his right, then set his gaze firmly back on the woman at the entrance "there were plenty." Her friend apologized and quickly changed the subject, but Braetek kept his eyes on the other woman. He did, however, hold up a hand at the woman's apology, as though telling her to stop. "You should never apologize for someone else's actions, or you will soon find yourself drowning under the consequences of later actions." He folded his giant arms across his broad chest, sure that the action made him look smug at his comment, but he had to keep his hand from reaching for his belt somehow. For the first time, he was trying to answer a challenge without violence and it was difficult to keep it up. "I began carving when I was a young boy. I helped my father carve totems for the members of my tribe, training for the day I would take over for him." That particular memory was still a painful one, despite the years, and the shame of his actions still haunted him, though he fought to keep that from his face. |
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| Firenze | Sep 20 2009, 09:49 PM Post #6 |
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Stormy nodded as the man spoke of his craft, impressed by what he was saying. "By memory? Really? Wow, I've been painting for a long time, but I have to have my sketches to go by. I get distracted and usually can't remember as much of the detail as I should in order to create what I'm trying for." She sighed, casting a smile to Kat, whom had already slipped into her dark world. Maybe it wasn't such as good idea to bring her along this time. Stormy thought as she picked up a bear, bringing it up close to view the smaller detail that wasn't apparent from it's placement on the table. The looked as if it was oak and from the weight difference of it compared to the lighter colored wood, she assumed it was. "Oak? She held the piece up for the man to confirm her assumption, before cradling the piece again in her hand. "How did you manage to carve oak? It's such a hard wood to even cut. I bet your hands ached a bit afterward with the extra strength it had to take." Kat kept her gaze focused on the man's, only ever so quickly glimpsing at Stormy the instant the man's stare broke. Though he seemed quick to keep it locked on her. She had noticed his hand twitch as if reaching for an unseen weapon. She curled her lip ever so slight as he spoke of his weapons. "Ha, mere peasant weapons of poor quality. They'll probably shatter in the slightest wind. Cheap and worthless, that's all I see here." She finally broke her glare as she turned toward Stormy, "Are you through yet? I would like to leave before this man's lice decides to spread." "I'm still looking. Just be patient." Stormy almost apologized for her cousins behavior but stopped herself. The man had told her not to bother just moments earlier, it was difficult for her not to, after all she'd been doing the apologizing for some time now. Kat rolled her eyes as she glanced out the tent, wanting the two to get distracted so she could do her own 'shopping'. "Just hurry..." She drew out the last word just a bit as she quickly fastened her eyes back to her staring contest. "You probably don't make much on a junk shop as this." Stormy frowned again at Kat, but smiled just as quick at the shopkeeper. "I've been drawing from an early age as well. I find it relaxing, a way to shed the stress and turn it into something wonderful. Have you had this shop long?" Edited by Firenze, Sep 21 2009, 06:16 AM.
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| Roze | Sep 24 2009, 09:57 AM Post #7 |
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Fledgling
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She had been working weeks on the stable out west. Though in her eyes, no pride had really sprung from it. Taking care of the horses left there, was something entirely different. Roze found herself padding along in deep, airy thought. She wondered to herself often if fixing up a stable in memory of her best friend was even worth all the hassle. It seemed as if the stable had a mind of its own lately. Once she fixed the frames of the pictures, white washed the walls, dusted every single picture and cobweb from them. It still seemed drab and lifeless, with the exception of the horses moving around in their stalls and every single time she sit foot in the place something would become amiss. After weeks of this she began to feel lifeless and that of a housewife. No one to talk to except for the horses, she had a tiny hope that Bretek would come and visit her, but then again she knew that he had better things to do. There had been a moment in time where they were inseparable, but since her foolish yet successful attempt at death, things weren‘t the same. Though she was sure that if she tried everything would be back to normal. Her slim, black fur jogged the terrain easily, in effort to follow his scent. Where that scent led her was completely unexpected. A shop?? The smell of cloth and wood caught her attention along with the sent of Breatek’s new companion Destin and two other females. Roze rolled her eyes. Destin was such a pig sometimes. Silently, she padded up to the entrance and poked her head in the shop. She was surrounded by wood carvings, carving only Breatek could have made. The hawk carving instantly came to mind, and a calm feeling over came her as she noted were it stood on her desk back at the stable. As conversation, between customers and Breatek started up again she couldn’t help but catch the word lice in a sentence directed toward Breatek. Roze emitted a low dominant growl and gracefully let herself through the threshold. Confidently, padded herself toward Breatek and sat herself next to him. Deep brown eyes of a wolf bore into both the customers with a silent, yet dangerous intelligence. |
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| Braetek | Sep 28 2009, 02:41 PM Post #8 |
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((Whew! Finally made it back to Ramadi. If you've never taken a 6 hour C-130 ride....don't.)) "Strength is not something I have trouble with." Braetek's deep voice was strangely quiet as he said this, and he shifted a bit, but kept his eyes on the second woman. He always hated talking about himself like that. In fact, such boastfullness was Taboo when he was young, among his people. He silently reminded himself that he was of the world now, and should assimilate himself as best he could. It was during these thoughts that two things seemed to happen at once. The first was the infuriating woman insulting the weapons he was selling, and by proxy him. The second was the familliar face of a wolf appearing at the tent's opening. He briefly thought he was hallucinating again, but quickly realized he could pick up her scent as well, and knew this time that it was his Roze. He had taken his eyes off the woman for only a moment, and soon fixed his stare back at her. For a moment, he almost laughed. Had Destin not been blissfully asleep in his leather chair, even he would have choice words for a woman so insolently insulting a Prince. He noted from the corner of his vision that roze was padding over to his side. He let his arms drop back to his sides and bent slightly to run his hand over her head softly when Tuhsa, the native word for Polite that he had taken to calling her in his mind, asked him a question and he turned to her. "We've only just opened today. The product of my brother and I wishing to no longer live at war, and escape the confines that come with being royalty in Jotungaard Palace." Turning back to the second woman, Enyuhto or Rude, and added. "We stand by all our merchandise. If there is a question of quality, we will gladly test anything we sell with a customer, to put their mind at ease." He rather pointedly ignored her comment on his profit, not having earned a thing yet. |
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| Roze | Oct 9 2009, 01:05 PM Post #9 |
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Fledgling
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(Sorry! So much life and not enough time!) Silence over took the little shop that Breatek had set up. Roze glanced up at him and gave him a quizzical expression. What was will all the hate and discontent coming from this stranger? The wolf licked his pant leg before she shrugged (as best as a wolf could) and padded off away from the shop to shift into her human form. Once she recovered Roze gracefully stepped in front of the tall native American, leaned on the counter that was beside her. Pointedly, giving all her attention to Breatek and smiled softly. Instead of her normal work clothes she had made a note to change into something more eloquent. It was a thin slim fitting lavender dress, V-cut so it showed a bit of her cleavage, but not enough to be to scandalous. Every thread flowed with out flaw over her curves and down her ankles. Nervously she wiped the dust and dirt off her bare feet with her legs. Yeah, Roze wasn’t much of a lady but she tried hard when she was in the mood to. Her hair flowed long, wavy and black cut well enough to show her face when she wore it down. “Hey stranger” She said softly. Roze didn’t give any attention to the guests in his shop, nor to Destin (which she never did anyway…) “When are you… She took a look around and smiled again. When’s your break? She asked as she looked at him, fixed on his expression, and waited patiently for a reply. Edited by Roze, Oct 9 2009, 01:08 PM.
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| Braetek | Oct 12 2009, 05:30 PM Post #10 |
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Braetek had to make a concious effort not to call out when Roze left his side. The only thing in the world he wanted at that moment was for her to stay. But he knew that she would have to come back on her own. And he was a businessman now. He patiently waited for his customers to make a decision on their purchase. Shaking his head, he set back to meticulously arranging the carvings again. One in particular caught his eye, and he picked it up. A pine wood carving of a hooded and cloaked figure was being run through by the sword of a burly figure with long hair and several dozen scars. The event that the carving depicted flashed into his head, and he relived it for the thousandth time. A familliar scent, however, pulled him from the thought. Roze. She had reentered his humble tent, brightening it considerably in Braetek's eyes. as she walked toward him he wanted nothing more than to run his finger through her hair, to caress her cheek, kiss her soft lips, hear her speak his name. She did speak, and though it wasn't his name, he was no less happy about it. "I'm sure I can.." he glanced over as the customers decided against making a purchase and left. He found this to be a bit depressing, failing to make his first sale, but at least it left him open. "I think I could use a break now, in fact." |
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4:42 PM Nov 26
