Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy-One - Stop, Drop, and Shop

Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy-One - Stop, Drop, and Shop

Chapter Three Hundred and Seventy-One - Stop, Drop, and Shop

I cant believe it, Willowbud said. Then he frowned. Actually, I take it back, I can believe it quite easily.

Tharval huffed mightily. Now, dont get uppity with me, elf, he said.

Pointing out your mistakes doesnt make me uppity, Willowbud said. Now, if you want me to be uppity, I can show you what thats like, and trust me, neither of us will forget that experience.

I raised my hand. Lets not fight, please, I said. Um, I dont know why youre being angry with Mister Tharval, Mister Willowbud.

Willowbud straightened. Im not angry, Miss Bunch, merely... exasperated. Tharval seems to have brought us down here under false pretences. He didnt bring you here because you would find help here, but rather to show off whatever hes been tinkering on lately.

"Now don't go slandering my name," Tharval groused, "I didn't ... well, I didn't only bring them down here to see this stuff! I really thought we could get some help from these tinkerers!"

"Hey, don't go blaming us for your inability to think things through," chided one of the aforementioned tinkerers.

Tharval huffed, hands on his hips. "It was just a slip-up, I ain't gone senile yet."

"True," Willowbud nodded his head. "You've been slipping up as long as I've known you, it has nothing to do with age."

The dwarf rolled his eyes.

Willowbud nodded to himself. "Well, I suppose we can afford to lose some time inspecting whatever greasy thing youve put together now.

Tharval chuckled. Theres always time for that!

And so we were given a tour of the shop. Tharval pointed to all sorts of neat gizmos and inventions, many of which turned out to not work as intended or to be wildly impractical, but he seemed no less proud of those.

Invention is about discovering things that work, and part of that is discovering what doesnt, Tharval proclaimed.

Soon, he and Awen became enmeshed in an increasingly complex and technical discussion that I tried to follow but soon lost track of. It was clear that while Awen was holding her own, the old dwarfs own knowledge dwarfed hers.

I had to hold back an inappropriate spout of giggles as I realized the pun Id just thought up.

The tinkerers, of course, returned to their tinkering, and I suspected that they were working with some extra pep since their sorta-boss was right there in the room with them.

Eventually the tour ended though, and we were all left near the elevators while Tharval looked a little contrite. So, Bud, how are we gonna find that Baron for these brats, hmm?

Willowbud looked unamused. You are the brat here, he said. Now... ah, no, this isnt so simple a thing that I can just snap my fingers and fix it. The guild might be able to assist though. We have a number of people with... certain talents when it comes to the gathering of information.

I gasped. Spies? I asked.

I think theyd usually rather avoid that label, he replied.

But its so cool! I said.

Regardless, he said after a moment. How about you all come back to the guild tomorrow... actually, how long have you been searching through the Storm Tower for the baron?

The nice reception elf pointed us towards the shopping centre, which happened to not be all that far from the guild. It was just on the other side of the interior train station, which did require that we leave the guild, go down a floor, then back up one on the other side.

The interior of the Storm Tower was essentially a maze of warrens, alleys, little side-passages, stairwells, and then the occasional cavernous room. It wasnt organised in any way that I could decipher, and no one had bothered putting up helpful maps for lost tourists.

Basically, it was a great place for exploring and adventuring because it was so easy to get lost in!

Of course, since we were looking for something specific and not for a fun adventure, I ended up asking some nice locals for directions... several times.

We found the shopping area eventually. A long row of stores and shops, all squeezed in next to each other on one side of a long corridor. On the other there were benches and thick windows looking out towards the industrial area and cliffs below the tower.

Oh, where do we start? I asked as I spun around. Should we do every place in order? Or run around back and forth, or just ask around and go exactly where we need to? Do you think they have ice cream?

Lets do things in order, Amaryllis said. That seems like the simplest way to go about things. And the best way to keep us from getting separated and lost.

I clapped my hands. Right! If anyone gets separated then, uh... lets all meet up at that place right there. I pointed.

Broccoli, thats a food stand, Amaryllis said.

Yeah, that way you wont go hungry while waiting, I said. It looked like they were selling sausages and beer, which felt a little strange for a foodstand to sell, but it was run by a dwarf.

The first shop right on the corner was a discount and used armour store. It was called the Half-Elfs Half-Off Emporium, and it was filled from front to back with mannequins along the walls, each wearing full or partial sets of armour.

The place had so much stuff and so little room that my friends and I basically filled the shop to capacity.

It was fun though, we poked at various armours (most were for elves, unsurprisingly) and got into a giggle fit when we discovered some sets had very pronounced codpieces.

Nothing looked like it would fit any of us, elves having very long legs and tall chests, in general, though a few pieces looked more human-sized. The proprietor was a younger gentleman, a bit shorter than I was and quite stocky, but with the long ears Id expect from elves and very fine features, including a nice pointy chin.

I got to talking to him and he said that there was a growing population of half-elf half-dwarves in the Storm Tower. For all that the two races had some pretty big cultural differences, it didnt mean that love couldnt flourish between them.

The next shop was a general store that sold mostly tools and crafting supplies. I would have skipped it, but Awens eyes lit up when she saw it. Gnome Depot didnt have much that we needed, but Awen still walked out of there with a few bags full of supplies for the Beaver and for her own projects.

After Gnome Depot, we ran to a little shop called Arrow Smiths, where the owner, a grumpy dwarf, fussed over Awen and Calamitys bows. He ended up giving Awens the thumbs-up of approval, but Calamity didnt get off so easily.

Ive had this thing for years, he said.

Oh, and its a fantastic piece, the dwarf said. Clearly hand-made, but well done even if it wasnt made by a true professional. Well-maintained too.

Well, I made it myself, Calamity said a little sheepishly.

Oh-hoh. Well, you did alright. I imagine youre not a professional though. We have bows here thatll improve your aim tenfold and will have each arrow hitting like a lightning bolt! He started to show off his wares and it didnt take long for Calamity to be won over by the idea of something shiny and new.

We ended up spending a few gold on a much nicer bow, one with a wheel and cam system that was made of metal and wood and seemed a whole lot more complicated to use and maintain, but Awen said that she didnt mind helping Calamity.

Grinning, we left the shop and continued on our rather expensive outing!

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