Chapter 184 (2/2)

Some of the magic of the Market Day had rubbed off after Daital had to come here to help out with business, but it was still a wild place filled with powerful warriors and powerful weapons and armor. This was a place where everyone was looking for an overlooked masterpiece. Which was of course unlikely, but Daital still found himself scanning racks of spears for one that would catch his eye.

And slowly but surely, they moved forward in the line. A fellow merchant friend of Daital’s father had told them that something strange was happening over here, at this stall. A man was selling some amazing food, in a convenient and portable form that set the whole of Qtal’s merchant population on fire. The Merchant Association had even tried to shut it down and steal the secret of it, but the workers had casually rebuffed the strongwomen sent over to ease the transition.

And then the stall had continued doing business like nothing happened. Whereas the convenience and simplicity of the food had captured the attention of the merchants, the casualness of the strength displayed by this action earned the respect of all of the spear-users in Qtal, Daital included. His heart beat fast and he stood on his tiptoes, struggling to get a view of this strange stall.

“Ah! Claptrap,” His father said good naturedly, gesturing for Daital to stay in line as he stepped out and went to the stall next to the food stall. Daital’s eyes swept over the messy set up of this stall, where only a few average looking pieces remained on the display area.

Daital had to restrain his sneer. It seemed that this merchant was quite down on his luck, despite his happy expression.

“Kaitan! Wonderful to see you. How have you been? Did you see the prices the caravans were charging for dyes Monday-”

“It’s price gouging. Ever since the Merchant Association agreed to those concessions with the Trade Guilds-”

“You’d think that big Styles would protest their monopoly, but nooooo, it’s always the customer facing sellers that get shit on-”

“Holy Fuck! These are Engraved!” Daital’s father gasped, his previous conversation with Claptrap derailed as he finally took a speculative glance at Claptrap’s wares.

Even Daital blinked and looked back over. Claptrap’s smile was a little bit smug now. “Yes. It’s very dangerous, and I don’t think I’ll be selling them for much longer, but I made a reliable connection. The profits-”

Daital’s father’s eyes swiftly became calculating. “The cost per unit?”

“Minimal.” Claptrap lowered his tone and looked guilty, but couldn’t help but gloat a little.”About a 20% markup of the cost of an Unengraved piece of armor at retail. And I charge 50% more. That 30%-”

“I heard that,” A frosty, female voice said. Daital blinked, and turned to step forward, because the line had moved some while he hadn’t been paying attention. The most beautiful woman stood there, at the food stand, scowling over at Claptrap, who was coughing into his hand.

“Just a misunderstanding-”

“Oh, Claptrap,” Daital’s father said. “You know the owners of this stand? They are making quite a stir. I don’t suppose they would be willing to come work-”

“Fuck off~” The beautiful woman said sweetly, showing her teeth to Daital’s father, who took a step back, surprised by the aura of violence that the woman abruptly produced. Daital’s heart began to pound faster and faster.

This… was this love…?

Then the woman turned and greeted the next customer in the food line with a beautiful smile. Daital’s father and Claptrap moved to the far side of Claptrap’s stall and began to whisper fearfully to each other, glancing over at the beautiful woman.

When it finally came time for Daital to step up to the counter, he gulped, barely able to breath. But to his disappointment, as he stepped forward, a man with sharp eyebrows and a showy face stepped forward. “This talented one shall take your order. What are your desires?”

The beautiful woman turned away, to speak with the man who was working over the fire, creating the food.

As his heartbeat continued to rise, Daital pulled out all of the allowance he had been given for a month and slammed it on the counter. “The best money can buy!”

Daital was extremely gratified when the woman turned and looked at him, her eyebrow raised.