18 Chapter 18 It Takes Time (2/2)
”It's mighty dangerous that way. Ye have the magical forest yet to get through, and then tricky elves. Beyond that there's lizardmen and orcs. Ye best let the lad get the axe if ye can afford it. He's right in thinking he's going to have to grow up right fast.”
”How much do we have already?” asked Gia looking at the stuffed bags.
”Just over 48 gold,” said the dwarf. ”That axe is only 10 gold.”
”Do you have any longbows?” asked Vonn, looking around.
”I have a crossbow, and a composite longbow. The crossbow is 35 gold and the composite longbow is 100 gold. I'll throw in 10 bolts or arrows if ye buy one.”
”I could use a new axe myself, and the crossbow will be easy enough for even your mother to use,” said Vonn, looking down at Gia.
”So, two axes and a crossbow will be 55 gold, making our total be 103 gold?” she asked, looking over at the dwarf.
”I'll make it an even hundred, just because I like to make it easier on young lads getting their first weapon,” he said, nodding and smiling at Mikey.
”Alright,” she said, stepping forward and pulling out the pouch from inside her shirt.
Counting out the ten platinum coins, she felt a pang of pain as each one clinked onto the counter. This was more money than she had ever had in her entire life, and now she was having to part with it.
”This looks like the king's money!” whistled the dwarf, picking up one of the platinum coins and studying it. ”How did you come across some of these coins?”
”I stopped a thief from escaping from the guards after she had stolen two small casks of mead,” said Gia, panic fluttering in her belly.
”Ah, that sounds about right. The Khag clan has been stealing all o' the mead in the whole city. They're determined t' make their point, even if it brings the whole family down,” he grumbled, shaking his head.
Thanking him, they gathered up their bags stuffed full of things, and with Mikey proudly strapping on his new weapon, he led the way back to the inn. Dwarves watching him go, could tell he had just gotten the axe and chuckled as they watched him pass. Gia was surprised by how many of them looked at him approvingly. She could only imagine the fuss her mom would make when she found out.
Bob was too busy, as they entered the inn, to notice them, so they went ahead and went up the stairs to show her parents what they had gotten. Her mother noticed the battleaxe the moment they entered the door, but Mikey jumped forward before she could say anything.
”Mom! Look what I got! It's a real battleaxe! The dwarf shop owner let me have it for 7 gold instead of 10 gold because it was my very first weapon! Now I can help protect you if Vonn is gone hunting or getting wood!”
”I got one too, Carla,” said Vonn, setting down his bag on the nearest bed and showing her the small axe. ”As well as a crossbow. It will be easier to use than a longbow.”
”You could even use it, if you needed to!” piped in Mikey, still excited that he could be considered old enough to have his very own weapon.
”Well,” Carla managed to get out, before Tom spoke up.
”Let me see your new weapon, Mikey,” Tom said setting his knife down next to the wood that was starting to take on the shape of a pony.
Mikey carefully handed him the axe, making sure the sharp blade wasn't going to cut his father. Tom ran his fingers along the entire weapon, checking the sharp blade and the strength of the handle before motioning for Mikey to come closer.
”Look here, on the underside of the blade, near the handle. Do you see that little mark?”
”The one that looks kind of like a hammer?” asked Mikey squinting at the mark his dad had found.
”That's called a maker's mark. The dwarf who made this axe left the mark of a hammer on the blade, to show that he was the one who made it,” explained Tom patiently.
”But why would he do that?” asked Mikey.
”So that if it ever breaks, someone knows who to blame?” guessed Carla.
”No, so that if someone sees how good it works, they know who to buy from again,” laughed Tom.
”Do you leave maker's marks on your wood carvings?” asked Mikey.
”I do, see here?” Tom said, holding up the pony.
”That's the letter T!” Mikey said. ”Because your name starts with a T!”
”Well, it does, yes. The main reason I use the letter T, is because it reminds me to take my time.”
”Take your time?” asked Mikey, confused.
”Someday you'll understand,” Tom laughed.
”I think you just made that up,” grumbled Mikey.