Ash. The Legends of the Nameless World. Progression Gamelit Story by Kirill Klevanski (essential reading .txt) 📗

the elegance of the wind. “Such horrid pronunciation is worthy of a comedy act.”

“Maybe you could teach me how to speak it better?” Ash said, beaming with enthusiasm.

Blackbeard kicked him in the shin and approached the counter.

“What’re you up to, Rhea?” he asked.

“Attending the queen’s royal tea party. Are you blind, Black? I’m running a business!”

“All right, all right...” Blackbeard raised his hands and smirked. “How’s Ogre?”

The three of them turned to the raven. The bird croaked and sank its beak into a chunk of bloody meat.

“And that’s—”

“—beef,” Rhea snapped.

“Just beef,” Ash mumbled to himself but still took a couple of steps back.

“What do you need, you bearded nuisance?”

“Same as always, you pointy-eared twat.” Taking out a long list, Blackbeard ran his gaze over the crossed-out items and stopped at those that they didn’t dare buy in any human kingdom. “I need... Two ounces of the standard solution, four boxes of twenty vials of Living Water, one and a half-ounce each... Six standards, three-ounce vials of the Traveler’s Potion... And one set of mage potions...” He looked at Ash who was making faces in the mirror. “...make those half an ounce.”

Rhea was swiftly taking the needed items off the shelves and from the storage, packing them neatly into marked boxes and placing them on the counter. The vials he’d summon from the further corners of the shop would annoy Ogre whenever they passed by him, making him flutter his wings.

“Anything else?” Rhea asked, writing down the numbers.

“That’d be all.”

“Five times more than usual... Going far, are you?”

Blackbeard waved his hand.

“You know Mary... Always scheming something...”

“Yeah, yeah... Anything else?”

“Eerm... That’s all for potions... I also need... A detailed map of the Lurka Marshes and the Rezaliks mountain chain. And scrolls with spells against poison... I need... Thirty of those.”

“The little Alice still hasn’t mastered these spells?”

“Never had the time,” Blackbeard replied. “It’d be best to send her to a temple to learn, but Mary is against it.”

“Sounds like her,” Rhea responded with a nod. “I’ll sell you the maps at the regular price, but the scrolls will be one silver a piece.”

“By the Gods! Who says such awful things to their friends? Knock it down twenty coppers and we have a deal.”

“How about twenty-one?” Rhea asked with a sly grin.

“Oh, you little weasel, you know that one silver is twenty-one copper. So, no discount?”

“You have to understand that the roads have eroded and that the supply is limited. Demand is growing, but the supply can’t keep up.”

“Fine fine... A silver each.”

Rhea nodded contentedly, moving the beads on the abacus. “Anything else?”

“Enchanted arrows.”

“You’re still with that blind man you call an archer? One who wouldn’t be able to hit a target even if it was in front of him?” the elf asked with a note of poison in his voice. “He’ll ruin you!”

Blackbeard grinned. “What? Do I detect jealousy in your voice? Still haven’t forgiven him from beating you at the tournament?”

“Ha! He got lucky! Our rangers had too much ale that day!”

“Ha! Like it’s our problem that you ninnies can’t handle booze! Now, we need fifty adamantium-tipped arrows.”

The silence that ensued made Ash turn his head to see if the two were alive. The elf’s ears quivered slightly, a sign of surprise among their kin.

“Are you going after demons? Maybe you could spike their tea, too... Fifty adamantium arrows... I’ll give you a bigger discount than usual since I’m sure that you don’t have enough coin to cover all this...”

Staring at the elf, Blackbeard tossed the purse that Mary had given him onto the counter. Golden coins spilled from the loosely tied strings. Rhea had never seen that many gold coins on his counter before. Such a sum belonged in a bank!

“All right... I’ll give you a discount, as I said. Five gold for the arrows. If you pay now then... Let’s see... Another gold for the potions... Thirty gold here... Seven silver there... Twelve copper...”

“Slow down, you pointy-eared maniac...Do you want to bargain? I’ll show you how to bargain!”

Mimicking the father of the bride-to-be haggling for her dowry, Blackbeard spent almost half an hour bargaining with Rhea. The elf responded with figures and words that Ash didn’t understand, but none of that frightened his friend. In the end, Blackbeard managed to reduce the price by one and half gold. The two sealed the deal with a handshake.

With a wave of his staff, Rhea sent the goods flying to the door and out into the street, whishing the two a smooth road. Blackbeard responded with a traditional elven parting phrase that didn’t have a literal translation, making the elf grimace. In his opinion, the way other people pronounced their language sounded worse than the scream of a dying magpie.

Chapter 29

“H ow are we going to carry all this?” Ash asked, looking at the heavy boxes and long tubes, paying special attention to the iron chest with a big lock in which the arrows were stored. Enchanted arrows with adamantium tips were the dream of any hunter and archer. They could break through heavy armor and demon scales. It was probably the best thing to have on your travel. If you could afford such a luxury, that is. Rare were units, let alone individuals, who could brag about owning such a thing.

“You’re a mage,” Blackbeard responded and mounted his horse. “Think a little.”

Ash stroked his imaginary beard, considered the situation, and struck the cobblestone with his staff. The boxes rose into the air and floated to Blackbeard, stopping a foot away from him.

The shield-bearer, although obviously surprised, said nothing. Even the most experienced mages had issues with such spells and Ash had done it like it was nothing! Blackbeard had lived long enough to know