FSE

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11

Verward can't keep his eyes off of them. He brought the set home two days ago, and the amount of detail impresses him. The silver background shines whenever light from his lamp hits it just right and the black swords appear to jump out. Even his servant seems to like them. The sergal smiles. General Baas may disapprove and he doesn't care, but today he'll order a set for the loup. It's the least he can do for all of the hard work she does. The pagka seems to have a thing for flowers, so that's what he'll purchase.

The sergal studies the design and nods. It wouldn't hurt have something similar made to hang on the front door, and he knows just the place to go. Supporting a business that treats non-sergals with respect may upset General Baas, but he won't allow that to stop him from seeing what the place has to offer. Verward puts on a light jacket, sticks a small bowl in a bag and leaves.

He's near the store when he spots a mutum and kahu push a strange thing up the street. A large sheet covers it. Verward frowns when they stop near 'Lelei's Fancy Décor'. He had no idea they had the right to pull crap like that. Where's an officer when he needs one? Verward is about to complain to another sergal when the mutum pulls off the sheet. What he uncovers causes the crowd to gasp and stop in their tracks.

Verward watches the pair fold and place the sheet in a box. The sergal uses the time to study what they have on. The mutum wears a dark green tunic and black leather shoes, and the kahu has on a dark brown kilt and sandals. The young man pushes down on a foot pedal, and within seconds music comes from the contraption. Verward smiles and nods. It sounds nice. For once he hopes General Baas doesn't put an end to it. He would hate for the sergal to ruin a pleasant moment. Seeing the kahu place a metal cup in front of the contraption doesn't bother him.

The sergal pulls a five piece fathom out of his front pocket, and drops it into the cup. He has no idea who made it, but the fact it's capable of creating sensational music is more than enough to give them money. Verward hears other resident follow his example. It's a good thing they're not in Berg, or they would be executed on the spot. The sergal enters the store and finds a light yellow and white female with a wide smile behind the counter.

"And to think he made that by himself," the sergal mumbles.

"Pardon, but who made what?" Verward walks up to the counter.

"Don't you hear it? The young man that's playing it made it."

"That is impressive. Hopefully General Baas-"

"We don't have to worry about him. You see that sergal in the black trousers?" the sergal points. "That's General Oro, and he'll prevent a certain you know who from saying a word. And before I help you, it's best you never mention that name in here again. Now, what can I do for you?"

"I would like this design," Verward pulls the bowl out of the bag and points to the two swords, "on a plaque."

"Let me see," the sergal examines the design. "Yes, this is possible, and it shall not take him long to cast this."

"That's nice. Will it be completed today?"

"No it won't, I'm afraid. The caster who makes the plaques, and other items you see on that shelf, is off for the day, and he happens to be standing up front."

"Wait, that's Triest? I keep hearing he's a simithe, but he looks nothing like one."

"Yes, at times it can be hard to understand him and he's a bit slow in certain areas, but he's far from being a simithe. I've yet to see any of our kind make what he makes."

"What about the kahu?"

"I don't know him," the female sergal shakes her head. "So what kind of metals do you want?"

"You have any samples?"

The owner places several ingots on the counter. "There you are."

Verward quietly sucks on his tongue as he places ingots of different kinds next to and on top of each other. "I'm liking how gold looks on top of the aluminum."

"That is a popular choice for plaques. What shape do you want the plaque to be?"

"A shield. Anything else would look odd with swords."

"True," the female sergal writes down the information. "Right, just need your name, and you'll pay when you'll pick it up. It should be done sometime this week."

The sergal mentions his name, accepts his copy of the order and studies it as he leaves. Ninety fathoms isn't bad. He sticks the piece of paper into his pocket, and listens to Triest play his contraption for a couple of seconds before heading towards another shop. It shouldn't take him too long unlike last time since he knows what to do. Verward looks at the sky with a frown. His co-worker wants to take him on another kind of hunt, but this one takes place in the woods and it can occur at any time of the day.

Verward meets his coworker, and follows her towards the outskirts of town. He doesn't want to be here, but he doesn't have much of a choice. What happens tomorrow will depend on what he does tonight. The fact they're in the woods doesn't help. If he were to say or do anything, what'll stop Vil from killing him?

They arrive by dusk. There are six others present. Verward has no idea why this sort of thing is popular amongst his kind. His eyes fall on a male heiser with blue eyes. The expression the pagka has brings up way too many memories. The sergal glances at the others. He doesn't care what they say or do, he's done with this crap after tonight, and tomorrow he'll quit his job so he can avoid her. His eyes fall onto Vil he speaks.

The dark grey sergal cuts the rope from the heiser's wrists with a dagger and points to the woods. "Run. We chase. You die."

Verward frowns. They barely give the heiser a chance to run before chasing after him. He doesn't follow. The sergal closes his eyes when he hears several shouts and gun fire. There's a good chance Vil and his pals had plans to toy with the pagka before killing him. That sort of thing isn't new. Verward opens his eyes when he hears a series of bird like calls and sees the heiser run into view. Three sergals are right behind. Verward wants to put himself between the pagka and the trio, but isn't sure how without putting his own life in danger. A gun goes off. The heiser falls forward with a bullet wound in his back.

What he witnesses next turns his stomach. Not only does Vil shoot the heiser a couple of more times, but the dark grey sergal take things further by beheading the pagka. Verward struggles to keep the contents in his stomach down. Vil holds the head in the palm of his band and mocks it. The black sergal can't take it anymore. He turns and leaves. Verward doubts he'll catch any shut eye, not after what he just saw.