Norfolk ... Pt 4

The training continued for about a week. At the end of the week Dustin had learned how to handle a sword and was ready to use the sword his father left him. His Father's sword was the only thing other than some supplies that he kept in his saddle bag. He still was no where near being an expert with a sword, but Draven had taught him well. Although old habits die hard and it was his axe that he still preferred. The time for travelling was near though and he would rely on his axe more than his sword.

Draven, Dustin and Galen had trained hard and had given the small militia in Norfolk a good head start. Tomorrow the three would be off. Their quest to Colodia would resume and Norfolk would be just a distant memory. Never the less, Dustin couldn't shake the feeling that the world had moved on with out him. Was he ready for the trip to Pespid? For that matter was he ready to continue on to Colodia?

"Dustin I hope you will be ready to leave in the morning. We have been waiting for the messenger from Pespid to continue. He should make it in to town later today." Galen continued, "He will be bringing some news from Pespid and then joining us for the trip to Pespid. Make sure that you have everything you need before he gets here."

"Will we need a lot of supplies for the journey to Pespid? I know that it's a few days journey but what else will I need other than some preserves for the trip?" Dustin asked.

"You will need enough preserves for at least four days. You should be able to find everything in the market" Galen replied.

Dustin and Galen parted for the moment. The market in Norfolk wasn't very big at all. It was about the size of the centre of town in Maldor. For a village of about 200 people the market was quite busy. There were multiple stands selling food preserves as well as fresh fruits and vegetables. A clothing stand was the only thing that really seemed to be out of the norm for this market, but it was what was hidden behind the clothing stand that caught Dustin's attention.

He had only been here once and that was just to buy some fresh food from one of the vendors at the market last time he was here. The armoury was neatly hidden behind a clothing stand and this time Dustin noticed it. Dustin slipped quietly behind the clothing stand and walked in the open door of the armoury. Inside were two men, one obviously the owner of the shop and the other was a hired hand that had been training with the rest of the militia. He didn't know the guard's name, but he did notice that his armour was a little stronger than his own.

Inside there were quite a few different types of swords, axes and some different types of armour. There was a couple of different pieces of armour that was hanging on the wall that Dustin was interested in. They looked stronger than the armour he currently was wearing.

Dustin approached the small counter at the back of the shop. The old man who was the proprietor of the shop turned to look at him. "Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm interested in trying some of your armour." Dustin said, pointing at some of the plated leather armour on the wall.

"Ah, that is one of our finer pieces of armour. Pricey but an excellent choice." The old man said walking over to the armour on the wall.

"Just how much are you talking about?" Dustin asked, as he checked to make sure that his money bag was still tied to his waist. Usually when he was looking for new armour the cost was only about four or five pieces of gold. He normally carried much more than that but still four or five pieces of gold was expensive.

"This particular piece is ten pieces of gold." The old man said. "But seeing as you are one of the messengers training our little militia, I can give it to you for eight."

"That is a little pricey, how about six pieces of gold?" Dustin said, trying to haggle with the old man.

"I can't let this fine piece of armour go for only six pieces of gold." The old man said, "Maybe for seven?"

"I don't usually pay more than five pieces of gold for armour, but since this is finest piece I've seen so far, I will throw in the armour I have now and give you six pieces of gold" Dustin replied to the old mans second offer.

"You drive a hard bargain. I'll take your offer, even though your current armour really won't fetch more than a gold coin." The old man was hesitant to hand over the armour, but he did hand it over after Dustin had removed his armour. "I thank you for purchasing this fine piece of armour. Can I offer you something else, maybe a nice broad sword or a strong battle axe?" The old man asked, trying to get more from Dustin.

"No, you've dipped into my money pouch further than I had hoped." Dustin replied. He put his new armour on and left the armoury.

To Be continued....

Part 4 will be continued on February 23, 2008 come on back for more!

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