"It's the best place! I always come here to service my revolvers when I can. Adventurers in this city avoid the fancy-looking stores because they are for the tourists who want a shiny blade or an ornate gun. If you want something practical for combat, this is the place to come!"
This will be my first opportunity to evaluate Kaelin properly. If she has really brought me to a great place to buy equipment, I will be able to view her favourably.
She pushes open the door, and I follow her inside. The store is small and cramped, but it is exactly the kind of place I want to see.
The store is filled with rows upon rows of weapons and armour. On the left side of the store, there is a stone wall lined with small metal pegs, and hanging off them are numerous black powder weapons. Rifles, revolvers, flintlock pistols, and handcannons. From my game knowledge, pretty much any kind of handheld black powder weapon is available in this store.
On the right side of the store is the melee section. The same pegs play host to a variety of swords, shields, spears, maces, and knives. Again, a full selection of possibilities awaits me here, and I couldn't be more excited!
In a line in the centre of the room, there are two rows of mannequins covered with various types of armour sets. There are plain steel breastplates, magically reinforced gauntlets, a few sets of light armour, and even a set of full plate made from some kind of crimson metal.
Directly opposite the entrance is a large glass countertop with internal displays full of jewelry. I imagine they are most likely accessories and magical artifacts, and the like.
Behind the counter is yet another wall with pegs, where some of the better weapons, I imagine, are kept. A mixture of blades and guns, which are of a discernibly higher quality than the others available in the store, can be seen
Very few items in this store could be considered ornate. Just as Kaelin said, the pieces here appear to be very functional and muted in style, but I can tell just by looking that the quality of these pieces is exquisite.
"Pops! Pops, it's Kaelin, are you here?" My beautiful foxkin companion calls out for who I imagine to be the person running the store.
I hear a voice coming from behind a curtain, which is located against the wall behind the counter. "Yeah, yeah, I am coming! What happened, Kaelin? Did you pistol whip something in the dungeon again?"
The curtain ruffles, and out walks the most stereotypical dwarven blacksmith I have ever seen. Pops is around 4 feet tall, but weighs twice as much as I do. He has a large, bushy beard and a huge torso of thick muscle. He is dressed in a plain tunic and trousers, with an artisan's apron.
"I only did that once years ago! Stop bringing that up, please! Actually, I brought you a customer, this is Leon."
"She brought you here? Really? She never brings folks here unless she .... Kaelin, what did he give you?"
"He took me for lunch at the Gourmet's Bounty, so I figured I could bring him here without a problem."
"I see, I see. Well, Kaelen seems to trust you, so if you've got the coin, I don't mind sellin to ya! What are you after?"
The dwarf is obviously someone who she greatly respects. I feel kind of touched that she has judged that I can meet this person, when normally she would not introduce someone. The selection he has is impressive, so I am sure I can find what I am looking for.
"I am looking for armour and weapons which are light and of good quality. I don't need anything fancy looking; function is far more important than form. I need to be able to deal with dungeon monsters and pirates boarding my ship, so something that is light, but durable."
"Hummmm, ok I know what you mean. Well if you are looking for something of good quality that doesn't stand out too much, I can make a few recommendations, what sort of budget are we working with?"
"Ideally, I would like to keep it under 2500 gp."
At the mention of this quantity of money, Kaelen starts fidgeting in place, and his features flicker slightly. Based on the price of the meal we enjoyed earlier, I wouldn't be surprised if 1 gp here was similar to 1 dollar from my world, so as long as the items fit my requirements, he should make a decent profit.
"Are you thinking melee or firearms for weapons?"
That's a good question. I played airsoft a few times and fired my buddy's gun once or twice, but I honestly can't see myself wanting to deal with reloading guns and carrying around ammunition during combat. Also, swords are about 10 times cooler than guns in my opinion.
"Melee, preferably some kind of versatile one-handed blade that has some heft to it. I imagine myself using force more than using finesse."
He nods his head approvingly at me. I guess he likes my thought process. Maybe being more specific, and my budget, has given him the chance he needs to sell something of good quality.
"Do you like the colour black?"
"My favourite colour."
"Then come with me, I might have just the thing for you."