Restart Again: Volume 1 by Adam Scott (pocket ebook reader TXT) 📕

The rest of the table was covered in various implements and accessories which made up the bulk of the offered products. Building materials like hinges, nails and brackets, basic tools like hammers and tongs, and sharpened scissors and knives were all scattered haphazardly across the stall. I was annoyed at the lack of organization and was tempted to leave without inspecting the items further, but I had a feeling that this would be the only accessible smith I would meet for a while.

“Excuse me, sir. How much are you asking for the shortswords?” I reached down to the table and picked up one of the weapons, pulling it from the scabbard to inspect the full length of the blade. The man looked down his nose at me with a sneer.

He spoke with a slow, lisping voice that agitated me severely. “That would be ten steins, paid in full.” Although I had little experience with Yorian currency, it seemed a steep price to me. Sherman said one gold would pay for a season’s worth of lodging and food at his in. One shortsword is worth the same as months of room and board? I did my best to hide my distaste. Not for this quality.

I tried to pick the most diplomatic words for my thoughts. “That seems awfully high. I’m sure I could find a blade for less than that price at the pavilion in Yoria.”

“Well, you aren’t in Yoria now, are you?” For someone who was supposedly trying to make a sale, the man seemed determined to infuriate me.

“True, true.” I looked over the stock on the table between us. “Suppose I was to buy both the shortswords, and one of these daggers too. Perhaps you could lower the collective price a bit?”

He stared me down with his cold, lifeless eyes for a while. “An imperium for the lot of it. I’ll even throw in a sheath for the dagger, as a sign of my...generosity.” The man grinned a sarcastic smile, revealing multiple gaps where his teeth had fallen out. Those that remained seemed ready to abandon ship at any moment, all of them yellow and cracked.

I pulled out my coin purse and fished around inside, feeling for the distinctive hole in the small gold coin signifying an imperium. I pulled it out and placed it on the table in front of him with a small grin. Thanks, Sherman. The man looked stunned, perhaps believing I didn’t have the funds for such an offer. He quickly snatched up the coin and held it up to the light, inspecting its features carefully.

After a lengthy inspection he seemed satisfied enough to stash the coin in a strongbox behind him. Opening a crate nearby, he fished out a simple leather sheath and tossed it down on the table. I picked through the pile of daggers for a moment, finding one with the least number of nicks to the cutting edge, and slid it into the sheath. “What are you planning to do with all those?” He watched me through narrowed eyes, clearly suspicious.

“Oh, just practicing swordplay is all, really.” I gave him an innocent smile. “One can never be too prepared, right?” Turning to Lia, who had been doing her best to hide behind me throughout the exchange, I handed her the dagger. “Put this in your bag for me, will you?” With my hands emptied, I took up both of the shortswords in my arms. “Pleasure doing business with you.” He glared silently as we left the stall, walking back the way we had come.

Once we were out of earshot of the smith, Lia gave an exasperated groan. “I told you he was mean.” She turned to look at me as we walked, a scowl on her face. “And what were you doing, paying him a whole imperium for that stuff? What do you even need it all for? Where did you even get that much money in the first place?”

I laughed at her. “Trust me Lia, I know they’re not great. When I was a smith, I could forge better steel than this in my sleep. The money came from the innkeeper I met in Yoria, who tried to steal my things with that thief girl. He was kind enough to teach me the value of your coins here, so I figured taking that imperium was fair repayment for the inconvenience they caused me.”

She thought on the information for a while. We had successfully made it off of the market street, and the crowd was thin enough now that we didn’t have to worry about any guards sneaking up on us. “That still doesn’t explain why you bought them in the first place.”

“You didn’t hear me back there? I wasn’t lying to him.” I took one of the shortswords I was carrying and carefully handed it to Lia. “They’re for practice.”

***

14. PRACTICE

“Hold out your hand. Palm flat, facing the sky, like this.” I held out an upturned hand in demonstration. Lia was across from me sitting on a large barrel with her feet swinging just above the ground. She mirrored my hand movement, putting her small palm out next to mine. Nodding, I reached down the crate behind me and grabbed one of the two newly acquired shortswords. Holding the sheathed weapon by the blade I gently placed the grip into her hand.

“Alright. To hold a sword this size properly, you’ll want to position your hand like this.” Rotating it slightly in her hand I carefully wrapped each of her fingers around the leather grip to the correct positions. “The power of your grip will come from these first two fingers against the meat of your thumb, and the last two fingers will be loose to guide the blade and give you a bit of extra reach and dexterity.” I tapped and squeezed each part of her hand as I spoke to emphasize.

Lia nodded,