With a loaf in hand and one in her mouth, the Steppe Archer would pay and exit without needing to be told that eating and leaving crumbs all over a bakery was bad manners. In a way she looked like a dog with a bone, holding her long piece of bread between her teeth at the middle. With an eager delight she would tear apart her bread, crouching down to "sit" on the street, delighted at the taste of some nice soft, warm, delicious bread filling her mouth. Judging from the happy little noises she made as she ate, she was hiding her hunger. Better at it than Druid Girl at least it seemed.

In no time at all the girl would devour her makeshift meal of carbs and carbs with a side of carbs, swallowing and contently patting her stomach. She would rise to her full height once more, eyes closed in contentment as she savored the last bits of bread crumbs clinging to her tongue. "Mmm...best bread..." she droned, letting her body process the food while she swayed back and forth, very, very happy to an unreasonable degree with that bread in her stomach.

Once she was a little less loopy the archer would say: "So, are we heading to the river again this time?" They needed a bath badly, and free running water was better than paying for it.

Joining her two comrades as they lefgt, Druid Girl would continue to happily nibble on her first loaf of bread. After they found a reasonably nice enough place to plop their butts down on, her nibbles turned into carnivore-like scarfing, and the first loaf vanished in a messy display of crumbs flying all over. Her second piece of bread was a darker, more chewy variety as opposed to the first, which had been a more traditional fluffy white bread. Nontheless, the second loaf stood no chance either, and was devoured by the hungering druid within a comedically short span of time. The last piece of her purchase was a baguette-like morsel, which faired no better than the two previous of its brethren.

After her snarfing and chewing and biting and munching was done, the caramel-skinned girl let out a content 'Aahn~'-noise, patting her - somehow still - flat stomach and smiling brightly as the sun. Upon hearing the Steppe Archer's comment about going to the river for a bath, she momentarily scratched an index-finger against her own cheek before replying.

"I'll need to go to my room at the inn and grab a fresh set of clothes first... These ones are in need of some good washing." She gestured to both her bandeau and the half-skirt-curtain around her hip, both which has stains and remnants of dried blood on them. "I'll catch up with you, so don't feel like you need to wait on me." She added, before rising, brushing herself off and then starting to lightly jog back towards the place she and Steppe Archer has stayed earlier.

It was a little after noon, but the weather was still very nice, with a shining sun and only some lazy, wispy clouds sailing around in the sky. Palsiade Town's streets were littered with townsfolk going to and fro, with street vendors and peformers trying to catch the attention of anyone who passed them by. The guards were out and about as well, half-heartedly patrolling and half-lazily stopping at food stalls to buy snacks or sweet drinks to take with them on their shift. No major drama or scenes were taking place, and all seemed peaceful and right witht he world.

Druid Girl would arrive at the inn fairly swiftly. Upon entering, she was immediately stopped by the inn keep, who charged her for not having thrown out her stuff while she was away. When she argued that she'd already paid for a week's stay in advance though, the portly fellow argued that such an agreement only held valid if she actually spent each night in the room. After much back and forth, the inn keeper eventually caved and gave up his little scheme of trying to squeeze the girl for more money. Triumphant, the nature-mage returned to her room, grabbed her spare set of clothes, shoved them into a bag, slung it over her shoulder and then headed bakc out.

She imagined that Big Red and Steppe Archer would go to the same spot as before, the one out of the east gate and then south a bit. So, that was the way she headed. Hoping to reunite with her compatriots at the riverbank, she whistled a merry tune as she gingerly half-skipped along the forest-path down to the river.

Big Red watched the two eat with a single raised brow. They were voracious, acting like a couple of wolf pups tearing into their food with unwarranted savagery. He'd have to test some time how they'd react to someone pulling food away. Would they bite the hand? Shaking his head he calmly pulled apart the buns he had bought and ate each piece surprisingly civil despite his jaws clearly not being designed to chew food.

They were done before him, unsurprisingly from how savagely they tore into the flour based product. The pair talked about bathing, which he really needed since he was still covered in goblin and blood of several beings. The blood would stain his gear, but it was all leather and hide anyway except for the knee and shin guards. Druid Girl mentioned needing to get another set of clothes, which made him tilt his head. "Why not wash while you bathe?" He asked before she zipped off to the inn.

Shrugging he went off with Archer to the spot they had gone to the previous time. It was secluded, near the town, and they were already a little familiar with it. Also since it was brighter than the last time it was easier to find wood for a fire so the girls and their clothes could dry off. Fire was made, circle of stones from the river, the reptile undressed and went into the water with his scrubby brush.

The water flowing lazily past him was quickly dyed red as he scrubbed vigorously. He had essentially taken a blood shower when he pulled apart that goblin, arterial spray was a bitch. He'd be at it for a while since the blood had had time to dry on himself.

By the time that Big Red had the fire in place, the nomad archer was already neatly washing her clothes, using a bristle brush she usually used to groom her horse to scrub the bits of blood out as best she could. After all, medieval washing was only so good....and as such, little rusty brown splotches would remain. Not like it mattered that much to the girl though. After hanging her clothes to dry she would dive into the river without hesitation. She would shiver, of course, but you got used to the shock of cold water after a moment. With her silvery hair pooling around her, she looked less like a girl and more like a strange hairy monster that was in the middle of devouring a girl...or a wet alpaca. Either or, really, same difference.

Once she was duly cleaned and emerged with her sopping wet hair, the archer would take a seat by the fire and warm herself along with her washings, smiling in idle contentment. In spite of the cold water that clung to her skin, she felt warm because of her companions. She hoped the girl they found could, somehow, come back to a normal life, and held hope that nobody would suffer a fate like that. ...But, that was all it was, was hope. Nothing substantial enough to change the world. Warming her hands by the fire, the girl found herself lost staring at the embers. How long had that girl been there? What exactly did they do to her?

...And why did nobody ever tell her goblins were so...evil?

The trek back to the little riverside bank was largely uneventful for the druid. Apart from spotting a playful squirrel dancing about along some tree branches and a few birds flying overhead and singing from their perches, there really wasn't much to note. Upon arriving, she found that her two companions were already at it. Cleaning themselves, that is. Not something else. Of course, it'd be totally okay if they were, it's just it'd been a bit awkward to walk in on a giant, red-scaled lizardman and a petite but athletic nomad girl bumping uglies down by the river...

... Aaaaanyway, enough of that!

It seemed her fellow female was already done bathing though, having huddled up next to the little campfire. Honestly, she still found it a bit unpleasant to strip down to her unmentionables and bathe right infront of a man. A lizard, but a man nontheless. She would do it back home, sure, but those were the village boys she grew up with and knew. And while she didn't have any misgivings or thoughts of Big Red being supsiscious, the fact was that they still really hadn't known one another for very long... Heck! She didn't even know where he came from or anything about his favorite foods, drinks, hobbies or pastimes! But, maybe this brief period of respite was a good opportunity for them all to bond. After all, most of the good quests were all but taken, so they likely wouldn't go on anything dangerous or meaningful for the rest of the day.

With the optmistic thought in her mindspace, she gingerly scurried on over to a bush, where she proceeded to strip down and out of her dirty clothes. She'd left the bundle of clean ones over by the fire, so as to keep them away from the water. She did bring her dirty clothhes with her though, once nekkid that is, and quickly jumped in the far too cool river. A sensation of alarm spread through her body as tahe chilly water assaulted her nerves and senses, and a shiver went up and down her spine.

"... I really need to give that bath house a try..." She murmured wistfully as her body slowly adjusted to the temperature of the wilderness water. After which, she got to cleaning her dirty clothes - as best as she could - using small stones, branches and repeated dunking in order to get the worst out. Luckioly, her minimalistic garb had been spared most of the filth that her allies had suffered. Some dirt, some grime, and some specks of blood, but nothing too serious or difficult to wring out.

She glanced around while submerged to her shoulders, looking over at Big Red as he scrubbed away at his manly bod' with reckless abandon... Scrubbing that hard on human skin would not be pleasant, no sirrie! After a bit of washing and taking care of her own, curvy figure, she swam about a bit, though never out of sight of her party. After this mild bit of refreshing leisurely excersise, she emerged - and used her wet, newly washed garments - to shield as much of herself as she could from potential prying eyes.

Joining Steppe Archer by the fire, she sat down next to the other girl. Stretching her arms skywards, she straightened her back and heaved her...bosom... as she let out a content, peaceful 'hmmmmmn~' noise.

"You'd think more people would come to a spot like this." She then said, looking over her shoulder and at the edges of the nearby woods. "It's not far from the town and it's a lot cheaper than having to visit the bath house... Then again, most people probably just go out to one of the wells, fill up a bucket and dunk it over themselves to wash up." A bit of a laugh escaped her, as she recalled how they'd used to do that back in her home village. "So, tell me. Now that you've been on a few of your own, how do you like adventuring? Is it what you expected it to be?" The Druid asked softly and with a friendly smile, looking at her companion sideways. She wouldä've asked Big Red as well, but the big oaf was still soaking out in the river... She'd ask him once he got his scaly butt over and joined them.

Big Red's bathing took more time than both girls combined. He had kept an eye on them when they were in the water, not to ogle but to make sure nothing happened to them. Archer Girl obviously didn't have much mess on her, Druid Girl had a bit more but it was mostly goblin gunk on her clothes because of the vegetated girl. Although it still amused him Druid Girl was still so shy about her body around him. It seemed to be a human and elf thing judging by what he has seen so far.

Whatever, he was as clean as the water, soaking, and brush, would get him without actual soap. Plodding out of the river, the water cascading from his body, he flicked the water from his brush and tossed it on his pile of equipment and stuff. Lots of stuff. They'd have to hit the shops after drying off. The two girls were chatting as he approached and plopped down near the fire. His eyes closed while he rested, letting the heat sink into his body while soft wisps of evaporating water rose from his body. He absorbed heat better than the two girls did. Retaining it though was a different matter.

(still recovering from sickness)

The druid girl's question left Steppe Archer thinking for a moment. "...Before I came here, I was actually looking into mercenary work. Like, army work. I always figured I'd be pretty good at it, since I can shoot a bow as good as any man in my tribe...but I guess some laws or something else meant that I couldn't. Adventuring was my second option," the nomad girl said, getting that off her chest, a small smile on her lips as she observed the fire.

"...Adventuring hurts a lot more than I thought it would. Seeing people get ruined...like that girl and her friends, nothing ever happened like that back home." The girl's posture shifted, pulling her warmed up knees to her chest as she wrapped her hands around to keep them close to her heart. "I like it now. Mainly because...well, you're both really fun to be around!" As she spoke more and more, the druid girl could feel as if the warmth of the nomad girl was competing with the fire, as her trademark winning smile emerged once again. "I'll adventure so long as I have a party like you guys."

Now that Big Red was at their side once more, the archer would stand up, grabbing her now dry small clothes and putting them on, boldly pointing to the sky and saying: "From now on, I'm an adventurer for real! Oh yeah, before I get all pumped up...how're you both liking adventuring?"

(Finals are done, and the Tree is Free!)

The druid sat quiet next to the fire, carefully having placed her newly wasahed clothes far enough away so they wouldn't accidentally catch embers and be set ablaze, but close enough to still slowly dry from the heat provided. She assumed a seated position that allowed her to keep her ... lower region... modestly concealed, while using her arms to shield her, as the drunk man had said: huge knockers, from prying eyes. As comfortable as one can get on dirt and grass, she listened to her lion-haired companion reply to the question she had posed.

Fun, huh?

Not exactly the word that she herself would have used. And while she did like the Steppe Archer, she wasn't sure she found Big Red to be particularly... Fun... to be around... He could laugh, sure, but his overly pragmatic and logical thinking could be... grating... at times. Still, he was undeniably both helpful and beneficial to keep around, and he had been a great force and ally so far. The archer herself was also a great boon, being a very skilled marksman and tracker. They were indeed a well-rounded party, but ... Fun?

The thought of the nomad girl being a mercenary or in the military was a bit of a laugh though. Druid Girl had to stifle a snorting chuckle at the thought of seeing the their little archer in a far too large and baggy military uniform, doing goose marching and saluting people at random. It was a cute, and hilarious, mental image to be sure. Albeit, it was quickly replaced by the thoughts, scenery and feelings about and around that poor red-headed adventurer, and her dead compatriots... A rather somber and depressing sensation.

Still, the perky and plucky nomad managed to bring the mood up again, declaring her apparent dedication to the her new life-path, and then returning the quesiton. Druid Girl smiled and scratched her own cheek with an index-finger, pondering for a bit before answering.

"I became an adventurer so I could travel and see new places, as well as help others. Those parts I do enjoy." She said, with a certain fond and gentle voice. "I'm not too thrilled about the violence though... And some adventurers tend to only think steel can resolve a problem or situation. I've had ... run-ins... with some of our peers who've got that mindset." She smiled, but it was a more forced one now. "Still, as long as we do good, help people and see new places, I'll be happy and enjoy myself enough. Nothing's ever perfect, as pa' used to say, and this sure beats plowing fields and feeding pigs if nothing else." She finished, with a small ginger laugh, remembering her days back at the farmstead, doing all those brain-dead chores day in and day out.

"What about you?" She turned to the lizard warrior. "You've not really told us why you became an adventurer, apart from earning money. But from what I've seen of you, you could've easily landed a job as some rich noble's retainer or bodyguard, or become a top-grade mercenary. Why'd you specifically pick adventuring, if you don't mind
me asking?"

It was a fair question though. From having seen Big Red in action numerous times, not only was he physically strong, but it was clear that he was well-versed in combat and fighting-techniques. He wasn't a fresh-faced, outta-the-rural-village farm boy who'd brought along a hatchet, or a freshly trained, out-of-the-academy novice who thought they were a master swordsman. He was skilled and experienced, and could easily be mistaken for a Steel-rank or perhaps even higher tagged adventurer, so him being the same rank as little old her, a porcelain-tag, was sort of bemusing... Of course, the druid had no doubt that the lizardman would rise through the ranks quickly.

Big Red's eyes remained closed while he listened to the girls chat about why they became adventurers. Druid Girl just wanted to see new places and help people, very basic desires. Couldn't she have been a wandering healer then? Humans got sick left right and center at the drop of a hat. Maybe she was less keen on being a hedge wizard and more on helping people who do more good than farm or craft? He kept these thoughts to himself.

Archer Girl had initially tried being a mercenary and the military, but hadn't made the cut for some reason. There really wasn't much call for horseback archery from what he had read and witnessed. Archers in the low-lands were actually very static, not needing to move until their infantry and cavalry lines fell. Watching skirmishes between armies, monsters, and adventurers as he made his way here was very educating on how humans tended to fight.

But now the Archer adventured, and it was mainly for fun. Fun with a party like them, which made his brow twitch slightly. He was fun? Such an odd girl. But now Druid Girl was asking why he had become an adventurer instead of a retainer, body-guard, or mercenary.

"I don't have the patience for the rich, I'd be more inclined to rip off his head, take his coffers and jewelry, and leave before subjugating myself to being bossed around by a soft man-child." He rumbled out before his eyes opened to gaze at the pair. "Mercenary work is essentially adventuring but you give all the coin you earn to the head to be split up among the whole group. I don't care to bust my ass while someone else gets lazy and splitting things like that. Nevermind the mercenary pride would get...tiresome." The reptilian continued before looking up at the sky.

"I went Adventurer to learn more and bring the knowledge back to my tribe eventually. Ways to improve our living in the swamps, how to fight better with weapons, and to use that knowledge to either wipe out the other tribes or assimilate them." He finished, unlike humans the lizard-folk in the swamps he resided were very territorial and there was plenty of fighting to go around.

Well, this pow-wow was going well! Everyone was giving details about why they became adventurers, and it seemed like everything was hunky-dory between them. "Y'know, it sounds like your tribe is a lot like how the steppe is. Lotta small tribes that disagree or fight. Though, my home's not as big on wiping other tribes out. Instead, we have a competition to see who leads for a few years," the archer said, thinking that maybe that might be of some use for their Lizard friend to consider. Naturally, she knew nothing of the other tribes that Big Red was speaking of, but she felt like a system like that makes a physically minded group content, since, really, friendly competition means that there's no dispute over a winner.

Stretching her arms to the sky and straightening her back, Steppe Archer beamed, finishing her stretches before turning to look at her companions. "Wanna go see about that sword and some more quests? I'd like to keep it, but I'd need to practice to be any good with a straight sword." Today she hoped would be better than yesterday, far from goblins and the thoughts of how if they were less prepared, the red-haired girl's fate could have been her's.

((Last post before the new year, wooh~))

Well... That was certainly enlightening, and depressing. So Big Red's only reason for travelling and becoming an adventurer was so that he could bring back ways to kill off his fellow lizardmen who didn't belong to the same tribe as him? True enough, humans did the same thing, but with entire kingdoms rather than just local tribes, but it seemed a bit more tragic when lizardmen were already such a minority race in the world. Then again, she wasn't exactly well-versed in how the situation back in their homelands were. Perhaps there was no alternative to fighting for resources? Maybe they had vastly different ideals and/or spiritual beliefs? Who could say, it wasn't her place to judge anyway, so the druid kept her trap shut on the matter. But the thought of Big Red being a 'fun' companion once again came to mind, and was once again sereiously questioned internally by the nature-mage.

Once she was dry enough, the caramel-skinned girl donned her fresh set of clothes, instantly becoming far more relaxed and at ease - having to shield your chest and lower parts from any and every possible angle and direction was annoying, as was always taking care of how and when not to shift or move around. So having clothes back one was a definite relief. At this point, the Steppe Archer had gotten up, stretched and asked about what their next step was, suggesting selling or keeping the sword... Druid Girl didn't care either way, she didn't have any idea of how to properly wield a blade - not like a farmer's family could afford something that fancy. And frankly, dedicating time to studying how to use a sword would eat away at her time to study and learn about nature, so no thanks.

"I'm fine either way. It seemed like a nice sword, so it'd probably fetch a decent price if we sold it. Unless you wanna trade your curved sword instead and keep that new one." The druid suggested-explained-commented. "I don't think there'll be much in the way of quests though. The board was kinda clean-picked when we were there earlier, and they won't post any new ones until tomorrow... Might still be some sewer-crawlers to take though, but I don't really feel like doing one of those after having just bathed and gotten into clean clothes." The druid said, laughing slightly at the absurdity of diving into a place full of, literal, shit and piss right after cleaning herself up.

"What do you think?" She turned to the lizardman. "Should we sell all the things that we found in the cave, or keep some of it? You're at the front of our group, so I wager you'd wanna get some better armor or protection in general, yeah? There're a few blacksmiths over in the commercial district, so why don't we head there first?" She asked and suggested, while rising up and dusting off her legs.

Big Red watched the pair as they talked, stretched, and got clothed in the case of the Druid. "Resources are limited so there's no real talking it out when overpopulation becomes a thing. We could expand beyond the swamps but humans tend to look sourly on another races expansion." He said, having some experience with it. A lot of humans were very xenophobic unless the race had something that could benefit them in some way. All lizard-folk had was might and their shaman magic which was essentially druid magic.

He got up and started putting on his armor and slipping all the weapons back into his belt and loops. The talk of the sword got a shrug from him. "The issue I see with the longsword is that for you it'd have to be two hands. It's balanced but try swinging that repeatedly for two minutes." He rumbled out while dusting off his stained armor. "Granted once you've used one sword you've essentially used them all except for rapiers. More thrust less slash. You'd have to adapt to that swords length, it won't cut as well as a curved sword, and there's several techniques not commonly used with it." He continued on.

He was fairly knowledgeable about weapons considering he was a fighter. Although he seemed to use his hands a lot more than his weapons. "If you really want to keep it, I'll teach you what I know of it. The rest of the gear I'd sell unless either of you have a use for it. Knives, hatchet, battle-axe, and daggers." The warrior said, not mentioning the boots nor the shoulder gear. It wouldn't fit either of them and he felt like it wouldn't mesh well with the way they fought or moved. With all that in mind he swept the fire into the river with his foot. Any embers left were promptly ground out and they could all get moving.

It was a shame that her suggestion wouldn't work out, but the archer felt that she'd be a bad person if she didn't at least try and suggest a peaceful alternative. Though, yeah, if someone wanted her tribe's land, she'd fight back too. There was only so much one could do, after all, and letting one's family die was never an option. She'd do the same in his position, she assumed.

At the actual listing of everything that went into learning the entirety of a new sword's benefits, the girl's usual smile gradually got replaced with a pout. "Nnn...That's way too much. I'm fine with my curvy sword, better for fighting mounted anyways," she said, stowing the sword and putting it on her back. "Besides the arrows, I don't think I'm gonna keep anything of what they have. My gear was worn down, sure, but its still in better shape," The archer said, proudly patting the knife on her hip. "And, no sewers. No," the archer said, making an X with her arms while shaking her head. "I've seen what's down there, and it is NOT pretty. Let's go see that blacksmith though," the nomad said, her feet already finding their way back to town. She hoped they'd find work today after this, but wasn't counting on it. At least they had a decent amount of coinage now though.

For porcelain ranks, at least.

Druid Girl merely listened to Big Red and the Steppe ARcher talk. She didn't exactly have anything to add to the talk about swordplay and such, considering the girl had never really held an actual weapon in all her life. Still, once the two were seemingly done, and they'd all gotten dressed properly and stood themselves up, she was smiling her usual sunny smile. She didn't even need to tell them to put out the fire and clean up after themselves this time! A small thing, but a thing that brought her a bit of joy nontheless.

"Well, let's get going then." She said, beginning to walk back towards the town. "Honestly, I don't think I'll keep this dagger either. It's nice and all, but..." She looked at her hip, where the little stabby instrument was hanging. "... I don't really think a knife like this is soemthing I'd use. I'd rather have somethuing like a utility knife or so, somethign less for fighting and more for just chores and survival." The girl said.

Honestly, a dagger wasn't realy a useful weapon for her. She wasn't fast or agile enough to get in close and stab an opponent with it, nor did she want to. Preferbly, she'd just need her staff to be able to bonk and clonk the big bads from a safe distance, without having to get their guts all over herself. The walk back to town was largely uneventful though, just as the trek to the riverside. There were a bit more clouds in the sky now though, and a bit of time had passed since they came out into the wild. Noon had come and gone it would seem.

The guards at the east gate greeted them lazily, giving them little more than a glance-over as they returned. One of them had a smarmy grin though, and he gave Big Red a few quickly raised and falling eyebrow-wiggles... Apparently insinuating something... Druid Girl didn't notice though. Their feet took them into Palisad Town, to the commercial district. Here, they'd find the stores and artisans of the settlement. The ideal place to pawn off stuff you didn't want, or find things you wanted to get, upgrade or otherwise. General stores, smiths, fletchers, alchemists, there were a fairly large selection of shops to choose from despite the rather small size of the town itself. Then again, any place with an Adventurers' Guild typically had more variety in shopes than most other places.

"You want to go to a smith and sell the weapons?" Druid Girl asked the lizardman. "Or maybe we'd get more for them at a general store? Honestly, I've never sold weaponry or gear like it before, so I wouldn't know where to go for the best price." The girl said, laughing sheepishly and scratching her cheek with her index-finger.

Big Red just raised an eyebrow when the Archer chose to keep her curved blade and sell the longsword because of the effort involved of learning to use it. Wasn't a bow harder to learn? Eh, she'd use what she wanted to use. Then she nixed the idea of taking on the sewer job because she had been down there once before and it was apparently scary. That got a snort from him, they had just killed a small horde of goblins and fended off a pair of giant boars. What challenge was there in giant bugs and some big rats?

Druid Girl mentioned not keeping the dagger, making him shake his head. "Having a short blade is handy to have in case something is on top of you. A staff can only fend off so much after-all and has a huge dead zone." He said, a dagger would have the proper length to do more than just make something bleed, it'd actually hit vital organs if say a wolf was on top of her. Or another human. Still he couldn't force them to keep gear they didn't want.

Either way they meandered into town, passing by guards with wiggly eyebrows, and into the more business oriented sector. Druid Girl mentioned the two potential shops they could sell the weapons at. "Smith would most likely offer more since it's iron and steel. Even if they're useless the metal can still be reforged into something else." He said as he went towards the smithery. Only the heat, smell of burning coal, and clangs of metal were his guide unless the girls took the lead.

"Smith sounds like a good idea. A general store merchant would probably just turn us away," the nomadic girl would say, crossing her arms. It seemed she'd gotten turned down from selling junk to a general store merchant before, judging by the level of "humph" to her expression. That didn't really matter though, given that they had to sell the goods and a smith was better anyways, since they could use scrap as opposed to a general merchant having to weigh if anybody is going to buy the random crap an adventurer thrusts onto them. After all, who was in the market for slime droppings?

Palisade town wasn't exactly large, so finding the only smithy banging away at his anvil. That and the smoke. While they approached the smith, the girl couldn't help but wonder if she could maybe get her weapon fixed up some. It had seen better days for sure, but she hadn't exactly abused the curved sword. It could probably be fixed up...probably. She just hoped the fair hand of copper she had from their previous two jobs could cover it.

"Excuse me, we have some tools and weapons we found on our last adventure. Would you be willing to buy them? They're not in the best of shape most of them, but I bet they could make for useful metal," the archer explained, hoping she could be heard over the metal clangs.

The smithy that the trio eventually came upon was the spitting image of what you'd picture a stereotypical blacksmith's shop to be. Once inside, they found the dusty locale to be rather poorly maintained, with mostly tools and utilities hanging from the walls and sitting on the shelves. There were weapons and armor, of course, but they were in the clear minority here - which made sense, given Palisade Town's rather limited number of residents who actually needed or used weapons or armor on a daily basis.

Theree was apparently two parts of the building though. The front area where one entered appeared to be the shop, while there also seemed to be a back-area, which was where the clanking and clattering could be heard. Fortunately, it also appeared that the store had a resident smith and a resident vendor, as a fellow was standing behind the counter when the gruop entered... Although, standing might have been a generous term... Rather, he was slouched over and lazily playing with his own wirey, grimy hair.

The man behind the counter was a tall, lanky fellow, wearing a pair of grey burlap pants, a same-colored burlap shirt and a tan-colored, sooty and stained apron. His face was rahter gaunt and his eyes were beady and mean-looking, he cast a cursory glance at three adventurers as they entered, but made noi effort to straighten up or welcome them to the store.

Upon hearing Steppe Archer's recital of possible business though, the man did spare her a look... Only to turn his attention away once he'd heard that the girl was only interested in selling.

"We don't buy shoddy, second-hand gear here. Go visit one of those pawn shops if ya got junk to sell." The man stated, with a raspy and dry voice, as if his throat was made outta sandpaper and he hadn't had a drink of water for a whole day.
"Uhm, excuse me? Don't you want to see the items before you turn away potential customers?" Druid Girl asked, taken aback by the man's genuine disinterest and dismissive attitude towards them. The man shot her an annoyed glance.
"Customers buy things from uthe store." He said grouchly.
"But you don't know if we'll buy anything once we've shown you our items, right?" Druid Girl stated, still somewhat baffled by the man.

The clerk gave the group a once-over, looking them up and down, then gave the most irritating-inducing smirk you'd ever laid oyes on.

"Heh, you lot? Buy something? Look at yerselves. Got no decent armor, no quality weapons... HEck, what're you even trying to sell? Butter knives and yer pappy's old hatchet? A pot lid you use as a shield? C'mon, stop wasting yours, and my, time." The man snorted dismissively.
"Wha- What kind of attitude is that?!" Druid Girl raised her voice, apparently aggrevated.
"Oh? I'm sorry, little girl, did I upset you? " The clerk - voice dripping with sarcasm - apologized mockingly.

"THE HGECK'S ALL THAT NOISE!? BOY, YOU'D BETTER NOT BE ARGUIN' WITH ANY CUSTOMERS AGAIN!"

A much deeper, booming voice came from the back-room. The hammering and clanking had stopped, and it seemed whoever was in there had heard - at least partially - the commotion out in the store proper. The clerk's face went slightly pale and his seedy eyes darted over to the doorway... Just in time to see a figure emerge.

This one was an even taller man, with white-grey beard and moustche, bulging and rippling muscles, broad shoulders and a bald-spot atop his head. His hair was tied into a brain at the back and he had a stern, rugged face. He wore a pair of similar pants as the clerk, along with the same apron, but no shirt. He stood not too much shorter than Big Red, and was a veritable mountain of a man.

"H-hey, p-pops!" The clerk said with an apparently nervous tone. "T-these bums rolled on in here and wanted to pawn off some junk they scrounged up on the road, so I-"
"So you started throwin' insults at'em and made a fool outta yerself?"
"Wh- No, I... They... They're trying to sell us junk, da'!"
"And you've actually let them show ya what they're sellin', right?"
"Well, no, but! I... Just look at'em! No way they got anything worthwhile to sell us!"
"YOU DAMN FOOL-BOY!!"

Ker-Beef!

With a fist the size of something very large and very hard, the 'father' slugged his abrasive 'son' in the stomach, sending the boy flying back and into the wall behind the counter. A loud crash, followed by clattering and a bunch of whiney, wheezing moans followed. Slapping his hands togther as if to get rid of some dust, the old man turned to the group lowered his head.

"Sorry 'bout my idiot-boy. No sense in that head of his at all. Welcome to my smithy, how can I help you folks today?"

Druid Girl stood quiet. Her eyes were big as saucers and her mouth hung slightly opened. She was having a bit of trouble processing what had just hap+pened and it seemed the others would have to do the business-dealings... At least for now.

Big Red gave a shrug. "A General Shop would probably want undamaged goods they can immediately put on a shelf. A damaged piece of equipment needs to hit a clothier or a smith for repair." He stated, taking a guess on why Archer Girl was denied money for whatever she had potentially tried to sell. That hmph-ish tone spoke a good bit about her previous experience.

Once they entered the Archer immediately stated what they were intending to do. They could have browsed a bit first to see if there was anything worthwhile. The place seemed under-used despite the Adventurer's Guild in town, and guards. Then again Palisade Town was still pretty new so it wasn't a major hub of activity.

The keeper of the shop didn't look like he was made for this. The lack of proper posture, he was dirty, he didn't have a friendly look, no welcome either, and that dismissive look in his eye when he looked the three over. The words spilling from the smaller mans mouth made the reptilians mans eyes narrow. Druid Girl spoke up but the lanky runt talked back and was being a general ass. "Customers buy and sell, ignorant boy." He growled out, looming over the two girls and the counter. Really the only things keeping him from bitch slapping the arrogant prick.

Hell the boy didn't even have the build for a smith of weapons and armor, he was probably the hammering being in the backs apprentice! Human arrogance. And then the little shit started talking again which got a prehistoric growl to rumble out of the lizardman, his pupils nearly invisible slits. He was three seconds from jumping over the girls and the counter before another male voice joined in. This one yelling and booming which got the potential counter surfers attention. Nervous and not happy attention.

The master of the shop emerged from the back and gave the boy a verbal smack-down before punching him across the shop. Big red's eyes followed the body before turning back to the blacksmith, a rather wide grin on his face. "Good hit, and yes we're here to potentially sell some equipment we got from our last quest." He stated before stepping up to the counter and unloading all the weapons he had minus his massive knife. Several knives and daggers, a hatchet, a battle axe, the pair of quality hunting knives the girls didn't want, his studded club, and the shoulder armor and boots from the deceased swordsman. All of it was clean and what was decent had been sharpened.

"If I had had a grinding wheel I'd have taken off the rotten metal from the blades and made them stilettos, but that's something even I don't want to lug around." He rumbled out with a slight shrug. He wasn't looking for a fortune, just a fair price, and their floofy archer friend could add that longsword to the neatly arrayed items.

Well. Steppe Archer wanted to kill him. A vein was visibly bulging on Steppe Archer's forehead, and through grit teeth she was about to return fire on this pig-smelling metal-polishing badger-eyed beanpole-masquerading-as-a-man-in-pants double burlap'd looking shinier-poop-than-thou looking ass of a storekeep, the thing that just about anyone ever coming in here could have wanted to happen happened. A big 'ol punch straight to his gut.

"I like him!" the archer said, clearly meaning the blacksmith which, despite having DECKED HIS SON, had infinitely more manners than the boy did. And more muscles.

With their lizard companion working on warming the room up with casual conversation and a discussion of goods, the archer would slowly take the sheathed sword off of her back and gently lay it on the countertop. "We also found this, Mr. Blacksmith." The sword wasn't a masterpiece or anything, but it was clear that the steel was of good quality, and the usage was light enough that the smith could resell it real easy.

"Hrm...fine blade. Why get rid of it? Can see the rust on your hilt from here, the blacksmith asked, to which the archer raised her arms and said: "My arms are a little too short. And it'd be a pain to have a sword that big with me when I use a bow a lot."

Looking the blade over in addition to the scrap offered, the blacksmith seemed to be running numbers in his head. "Going'ta hafta sharpen the rust off of these, but all together they might have some use. I'll give ya-"

"You aren't SERIOUSLY buying their scraps, are you pops!?" The shopkeep asked, having regained enough breath to go from wheezing to panting, supported by one arm on the counter.

"I'm a blacksmith, ya bleeding fool! We make do, and do it with whatever comes our way. 'Sides, steel like this is just fine for novices. Doesn't take more than a good WHACK to get a rat from the sewers," The smith explained to his son, emphasizing by slamming his fist so hard for the "whack" on the counter that his son's arm slipped, causing him to plant his cheek onto the counter.

"This much for the rusted bits, and this sword...this much," the smith said, detailing the currency they'd gain that the person writing this is too stupid to denominate because medieval currency conversion rates were a bitch and a half. But from what anyone could tell the price was fair...maybe even moreso.

"You lot look like you could use a place to spend that coin. Armor, weapons, repairs, come to me for any of that. That is, if me lout of a boy hasn't soured this store. Again."

"He almost did. Buuut, that was a pretty good punch. And I like your beard. You both okay with the offer?" The archer turned to her companions to see how they felt. It was certainly a good offer as far as anyone could tell, but none of them really had experience with mercantilism. For all anyone knew they were getting lowballed and about to walk out having less money than they could have. This was why scrolls of identify were nice.

The burly blacksmith grinned from ear to ear at the Nomad Archer's compliments. Apparently, he was very fond of both his muscles and his facial hair. And rightfully so! They were both quite impressive after all.

"Hah! Ain't you a sweet-talker, lil' miss. Tell ya what, As an apology for my bratty boy's tongue-lashing, next thing ya'll buy from the shop'll get a discount." The man said, with a rumbling - but short - laugh.
"Pips, you can't be serious!"
"You. Shut yer trap and go back and clean the forge"
"Wha-?!"
"Right now, boy."
"... Mrghlf... Fine!" The beady-eyed youth hised between clenched teeth, before slinking away like a beaten dog with his tail between his legs.

Once the clerk had left the shop, through the same doorway the smith had entered, the blacksmith let out a sigh and put a hand to his balding head, gently rubbing it in a tired manner.

"Kids these'n days have such big dreams... Thinkin' they're meant for grand dreams and destiny... Can't blame 'em I 'spose, wantin' to get outta a one-horse town like this." The older man grumbled to himself, before looking back at his customers. "Anyway, ya folks alright with this deal?" He asked.

Druid Girl wasn't exactly a finanical genius. The most money her family had ever had were just after they'd sold their produce and arvest at market, and then had most of it promprly taken away, either as taxes, by the local lord or because they had to restock and resupply for the future. Sure, they had gone to buy and trade, but it was always her father who did the negotiating, not she, and she hadn't exactly paid much attention to those exchanges either... She'd been to occupied looking at birds or stray cats, or whatever flora and weeds were growing around the area at the time. The bottomline? Druid Girl had no idea if this was a fair deal - but given that the blacksmith seemed far more amiable and forthright than his son, she felt that he was trustworthy. The keyword being 'felt'.

"S-Sure, I guess?" She stated. "Are you sure you want to give us a discount though? You already dealt with your s- err... employee's attitude, so I don't thin-"
"Repeat-customers are worth ten times as much as those who wander in once, buy something and then never come back." The smith replied, waving a hand. "Young adventurers like yerself pop in once a while, spend all their coin and then never show up again. The guards and militia? They ain't never see much fightin', so their stuff rarely needs replacin' or repairin'. And the nobles? Hah! They order all their stuff from them fancy-pants artisans off in the capital or big cities." The man grumbled.

Obviously, making a living in Palisade Town was tough, not just for adventurers who had to deal with risky and low-paying jobs, but apparently anyone else as well. Druid Girl felt a twinge of discomfort as she remembered the fate of the other adventurers in the goblin nest from yesterday... It made her frown somewhat. she quickly shook those thoughts from her head though. At least they'd saved one of them, and were alive to spend their earninsg themselves! Tjat was always positive.

"Well then, I'm good with the deal, if you both are." She finally said, looking at Big Red and Steppe Archer. "I... don't think I need anything right now though..." She added sheepishly.
"Not a problem, lil' missy. Discount stands 'til ya all buy somethin', so come back whenever ya need'n." The man stated proudly.
"Thhank you, sir." Druid Girl repleid with a sunny and genuinely happy smile.