Re: The Grand Battle S2G1! [Round Two: Sk'va!]
07-16-2010, 01:11 PM
Originally posted on MSPA by Dragon Fogel.
The spirit's answer had been off-putting. Weo was killed because "he was the least likely to be missed"? Arkal almost wished he'd ask who had that lucky distinction now.
Grumbling, he considered the situation. From the mutterings of passerby, he had gathered that the Sk'vans and the Cyk'nlians, or whatever they called themselves, were, if not outright at war, very close to it. A single incident could push things completely out of hand.
Arkal was a little conflicted. On the one hand, such a war would almost certainly see many senseless deaths. On the other hand, a society on the edge of all-out warfare offered great business opportunities to a good weaponsmith.
He walked over to a nearby building, which seemed to be a shop. The Sk'van behined the counter eyed him suspiciously.
"What do you want?" it buzzed.
Arkal put on his biggest grin. It was important to look enthusiastic for a potential client.
"I'm here to do my part to protect Sk'va from those Cyk'nl bastards, of course!" he said.
The shopkeeper looked at him skeptically.
"Arkal of the Silver Anvil, master weaponsmith, at your service," he continued. "See, now, you've got some excellent materials in your shop inventory, and for access to them and a modest fee, I can work wonders."
"Oh, of course. I give a complete stranger money and unrestricted access to everything I'm selling. Yeah, this is a great deal, I can't see why I would pass it up. Get out of my sight."
Arkal continued to grin as he turned around. "All right, sir. I can see you're not interested. I'll just head back out and tell everyone you aren't 110% committed to the war effort..."
This gave the shopkeeper pause.
"You think I have any sympathy for those Cyk'nl bastards?" he shouted.
"I wouldn't dream of saying such a thing, my good man," Arakl replied, still grinning. "I just know that I offered to help, and you refused to let me. I'm sure your customers can figure out why on their own."
The shopkeeper admitted defeat. He had plenty of rivals who wanted his prime retail location. They would be all too happy to help this stranger spread his rumors, as absurd as they were on their face.
But at the same time, he wasn't a complete fool.
"Fine. I accept your generous offer. In fact, I'll close up early and give you free run of the store. I'll be back in a few hours to see how you're doing."
Arkal quickly got to work, as the shopkeeper left. He put down his forge and anvil, and immediately began work on designing a crossbow. He started by grabbing two advanced-looking devices. He had no idea that they were a magnetic paperweight and an automated pencil sharpener, and wouldn't have cared even if he were told.
The shopkeeper, meanwhile, planned to discuss this new development with the town guard.
He also wondered what kind of lunatic thought he could make battle-worthy weapons out of school supplies.
The spirit's answer had been off-putting. Weo was killed because "he was the least likely to be missed"? Arkal almost wished he'd ask who had that lucky distinction now.
Grumbling, he considered the situation. From the mutterings of passerby, he had gathered that the Sk'vans and the Cyk'nlians, or whatever they called themselves, were, if not outright at war, very close to it. A single incident could push things completely out of hand.
Arkal was a little conflicted. On the one hand, such a war would almost certainly see many senseless deaths. On the other hand, a society on the edge of all-out warfare offered great business opportunities to a good weaponsmith.
He walked over to a nearby building, which seemed to be a shop. The Sk'van behined the counter eyed him suspiciously.
"What do you want?" it buzzed.
Arkal put on his biggest grin. It was important to look enthusiastic for a potential client.
"I'm here to do my part to protect Sk'va from those Cyk'nl bastards, of course!" he said.
The shopkeeper looked at him skeptically.
"Arkal of the Silver Anvil, master weaponsmith, at your service," he continued. "See, now, you've got some excellent materials in your shop inventory, and for access to them and a modest fee, I can work wonders."
"Oh, of course. I give a complete stranger money and unrestricted access to everything I'm selling. Yeah, this is a great deal, I can't see why I would pass it up. Get out of my sight."
Arkal continued to grin as he turned around. "All right, sir. I can see you're not interested. I'll just head back out and tell everyone you aren't 110% committed to the war effort..."
This gave the shopkeeper pause.
"You think I have any sympathy for those Cyk'nl bastards?" he shouted.
"I wouldn't dream of saying such a thing, my good man," Arakl replied, still grinning. "I just know that I offered to help, and you refused to let me. I'm sure your customers can figure out why on their own."
The shopkeeper admitted defeat. He had plenty of rivals who wanted his prime retail location. They would be all too happy to help this stranger spread his rumors, as absurd as they were on their face.
But at the same time, he wasn't a complete fool.
"Fine. I accept your generous offer. In fact, I'll close up early and give you free run of the store. I'll be back in a few hours to see how you're doing."
Arkal quickly got to work, as the shopkeeper left. He put down his forge and anvil, and immediately began work on designing a crossbow. He started by grabbing two advanced-looking devices. He had no idea that they were a magnetic paperweight and an automated pencil sharpener, and wouldn't have cared even if he were told.
The shopkeeper, meanwhile, planned to discuss this new development with the town guard.
He also wondered what kind of lunatic thought he could make battle-worthy weapons out of school supplies.
There's no reason for this | Or this | Death is inevitable | You can't challenge fate | The smallest change | I'm overwhelmed
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse