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Post by eleri tredegar . on Oct 11, 2012 20:35:15 GMT -8
 She did not need a new bow. She did not need it. She did not. She would repeat this mantra every time she passed by a beautiful weapon. Elle longed for it, but dared not allow her sights to linger on it for too long lest she crack, even if she knew not the price. Price did not matter. Gold was so hard to come by. Even in her line of work, she was having a hard time. And either way, it was no secret that the thieves’ guild was losing its hold. Therefore, she refused to pine. Besides, she already had a good bow. She didn’t need a new one. Oh, but she wanted one. That was a never ending struggle; balancing what she needed with what she wanted. Saving was tedious, and looking at the things she longed to have, but could not, made it all the more difficult.
This time, it happened in Dragon's Bridge. Eleri had stopped there on her way to Solitude. Sure the ride was relatively not much further from her stop, but the girl was tired. Travel often did make her weary. She awoke from her slumber in Four Shields Tavern, and emerged, ready to finish her journey to the capital. However, as she prepared to mount the horse she had acquired, the Bosmer's attention was shifted, diverted onto a fine piece of weaponry.
Walking away from the horse, she reached the object of her attention. She picked up the bow, examining it in a delicate manner, holding it in her hands, getting a feel for it. It was a more comfortable feel than her current bow. And, aside from that, it was beautiful. Though that was not the primary concern, it helped considerably. What she cared about was how well made it was. El could tell, the weapon was expertly crafted. Noting these details, she scolded herself. This was a bad idea. A horrible idea. Quickly, she dropped the bow back down onto the spot which it originally rested. Why did she torture herself in such a manner? It was not fair! With a heavy and defeated sigh, she walked away, only to turn back in a manner that was far too quick for someone who was not known to be fickle.
Perhaps she could grant herself the one luxury. She looked at it again. Could she get one cheaper from a fence? Perhaps, yes. However, there was no mistaking the quality. One could never be sure of the quality there was to chose from when a fence was selling you something. Besides, maybe the price wasn't too bad. And if it were, maybe she could barter it down.
She nodded. At the very least, she could ask about the price. After all, she had handled it for a bit showing interest in it. Looking at the girl to whom the wares belong, she smiled. "Excuse me, miss, would you mine telling me the price?" El could only hope that it was so far out of her range that no amount of bartering would do good.
tagged; pond/rosella
words; 518
notes; late night writing = bad idea. sorry this is so bad! also, irrelevant title is irrelevant.
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Post by ROSELLA DURANTE . on Oct 13, 2012 10:29:22 GMT -8
hard to my face and cold on my shoulder .
Every time that Ella made her way to Solitude, she felt guilty selling her wares in the same town as her former master. She knew that he would consider the quality of her work to be a positive reflection upon himself, but she still felt guilty taking business away form him. Dragon's Bridge was as close to Solitude as she was really comfortable selling. Any closer to the capitol and they might as well have visited the Fletcher there. He was always willing to buy enough of her wares, or trade her enough supplies to make the trip wroth her while. He had more contacts in the mines than she did for supplies having been at their trade longer than Rose. She was hardly willing to take business from him after all the kindness he had shown her as she had grown up. Dragon's Bridge was her last stop this round. In a day or two she would head up to Solitude to visit her former master for a few day's before heading back out on to road. She wanted to discuss the possibility of mammoth's tusk for arrow heads.
It had been a relatively uneventful day. She had sold more arrows than anything else, but only a few of those. Several people had picked up her bows as if interested, then decided against them. The one that the dark haired bosmer picked up was an elven style bow, made of moonstone and quicksilver. Though most eleven bows were made of a two to one ratio of metals, she found that a little extra moonstone made the bows sturdier. They were a bit harder to pull back, true, but the power that they got was really unmatched. It was perfectly weighted. Like most other elven bows, the details were avian in origin, but the design was softer, more subtle. She had spent a good deal of time on the bow. She had personally killed the deer who's hide went in to the grip. The bow string, like all of her bows, was hand made. It was hardly a wonder that the girl was attracted to it.
"I would normally would not let it go for anything less than five hundred." She said, inspecting the other girl. They were both bosmers, roughly the same age. Clearly the girl had a fine taste in bows, out of all the ones she had out, this one was her favorite. "It's a sturdy moonstone bow, deer hide handle, good pull. Exceptional quality and craftsmanship." As if she would sell anything that was subpar in any way. "Bosmer made. None of that Altmer stuff, they couldn't make a bow to save their grandmothers. Bosmer's always make the best bows, always have." That may or may not have been true. She was clearly biased and had no real proof to support her claim, but would a fellow wood elf really argue with her on this? She sincerely doubted it. "But you clearly have good taste. For you, I'd be willing to let it go for four hundred eighty."
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Post by eleri tredegar . on Oct 14, 2012 18:40:37 GMT -8
Five hundred septims. The price was hefty. However, the girl thought it was an appropriate one. The bow was beautiful, and surely took many tiring hours to create. Eleri knew herself how tiresome creating even the simplest weapons could be. She could only imagine the labor that went into something so beautiful. That was part of the reason she never went anywhere with it. That and she was completely horrid at the trade. No. The bosmer found stealing her gold was much easier, and much more fun. In fact, had the seller been distracted, she likely would have made off with the elven styled weapon. However, that would have been difficult with how little business she had gotten today. She thought about the for a moment, taking off without paying. The bow was already in her hand. Had she not already asked the price she would have. Doing such a thing implied she intended on paying.
She pulled back on the string. It was harder to pull than her current one, though she knew the power that would come with it. And, with a bit of use and practice, it would become much easier to draw. Knowing the damage that came from releasing it without an arrow, she unbent her elbow, returning it to it's original position. The grip was comfortable, more so than that of her current one. Perhaps her current one was comfortable in one way, but it was wearing thin. The more she held this one, the more she found flaws in the one she currently used. This was not good. She shook her head, her curls bouncing. She tried desperately to shake the negativity that was surrounding her current weapon. No. She didn't need the new bow, even if it was better than the one she used.
Eleri listened to the qualities of the bow she had picked. It was all as she had expected. "Well, it's gorgeous." The other girls' comment about Altmer weapons elicited a slight chuckle. El liked this girl. "A truer statement has never been spoken my dear." A smile crept onto her face. Altmers thought themselves so high and mighty, with their magical abilities. Everything they touched turned to gold in their minds. Yet when was the last time an Altmer actually used a bow? When did they ever need one? The bow and arrow might as well have been the very symbol for Valenwood in the thiefs' mind. Granted, she was never a fan of the other elves, nor could she make a decent bow herself. Those however, were entirely different stories.
The comment on her taste pleased her. Of course she had good taste. She made a living of stealing things. And one often had to be picky when raiding a home. Sure, sodding off with all the goods was fun, and effective. However, that was a burden, and a heavily laden thief was not a very nimble thief. No. El was much more likely to ransack a place, find one or two quality items and get them to a fence with plenty of time to spare. But, she would not boast about these things. "Well, you are obviously great at your craft."
Four hundred and eighty. That was a much better price. Still hefty though. El wondered if she had the money on her for it. "Could you give me a second?" Eleri turned away, to count her gold. In the end, she found she had plenty of gold. But did she really want to spend that much money on a bow? She was willing to bet that she could find one of just as good quality to steal somewhere else. The girl bit the inside of her cheek, mulling it over for a second. Suddenly, a story came to her. It was a lie, of course, but Eleri did fancy herself the queen of deception. She was more likely to give someone a reason to trust her than to just steal straight off. It may have seemed odd, but she found business easier that way. In that manner, she was able to get information about the location of an object, or someone who would have made a good target for her or the guild, or someone who wanted something stolen in general. If she could do that, surely she could get this girl to lower the price further. Fooling a merchant was much easier than a thane anyway. Or at least, in her experience it was. This, she decided, would be a cinch.
She turned back, a worried expression in her features, a teary glaze in her eyes. "We may have a slight problem." her voice rose at the word slight. "I don't have four hundred septims. I don't suppose you could lower it a bit more?" She frowned. "You see, barely any of our crops came in this year, so we're already short on money because we haven't been able to sell anything. And, to make things worse, my baby brother is going off to fight in the war soon, and I wanted to get him a decent bow before he left. He doesn't stand a chance with the one he has. Mama's already hysterical. I can't imagine how much worse she'll be if he doesn't come home." She shuddered a bit. "I don't thing she'd make it." Her eyes were swelling with tears. She put the bow under her arm, using her free hand to wipe them away. "Please." Her voice cracked as she spoke. A tear started to roll down her face. "I don't think I could stand it if I lose the rest of my family." She spoke with a shaky voice, her eyes shut tightly to 'prevent' the tears from falling. The emotions conveyed as she spoke were more than true. Having already lost her parents, she could only imagine the grief that would come if she lost her brother and only remaining family. She had been lucky enough to hear from him frequently since she had sent him to live with their aunt and uncle.
The end was a bit selfish sounding, sure. El was perfectly capable of admitting it. However, her sob story was much better than any of the tales she had spun as of late. She hoped desperately it would work. However, just in case, she allowed a few extra tears to fall, and threw in a loud sob for extra measure. "Please?"
tagged; pond/rosella
words; 1075
notes; sorry for all the rambling!
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Post by ROSELLA DURANTE . on Oct 14, 2012 22:14:47 GMT -8
hard to my face and cold on my shoulder .
Five hundred septims was honestly a generous price. They may not have been in Riften, but Ella was hardly letting her guard down just because Dragon's Bridge was fairly safe. The Imperial soldiers frequented here, as well as Solitude's guards. Then there was the glass bow that was rarely out of reach. She was almost as accurate with a bow as she was skilled in making them. She was pleased that at least the girl had enough sense not to dry fire the bow. Amateurs irritated her with their need to release the string of her bows with no arrows on them. It was as if they liked the noise that it made, despite the fact that it was hard on her bows. The bows that she was trying to sell to make her living, the bows that would one day be the only thing between a hunter and a bear or an adventurer and a draugr. It was like they wanted to cause her problems.
Of course the bow was gorgeous, she had made it herself, lovingly carving each detail of the bow. She'd selected the materials carefully as she did for all of her bows and crafted them with the skills she had been practicing since she was seven years old. She was great at her craft it was true. But as the girl holding her bow complimented her, Rosella's guard went up. She knew before she started her sob story that she was going to try to talk her down in price. The girl turned to count her gold, and Ella glanced to her bow. If the girl bolted with her good, Ella was certain she'd be able to hit her leg before she could really get far. But, that would make the girl a lousy thief. Calling attention to the object you were stealing was hardly a decent tactic. Not that Ella practice stealing tactics. She was no thief. All of her gold was earned honestly. She placed her hands on her hips watching the girl closely.
It was a rare occasion that someone had the proper number of septims the first time they were asked. Rosella set her prices at what she deemed fair or better on her bows and the arrows especially for another bosmer. She frowned a little at the girl's story. She was good. She was very, very good. Rosella had heard everything. She fabricated stories often enough herself. Though the twinge of doubt crept in to the back of her mind, Ella almost wanted to believe her. The emotion was clearly there. She did not doubt that the girl had suffered a loss of some sort. But there were parts she knew were false. For one, the girl was not a farmer. Her hands were not those of one who worked in the soil. The girl clearly knew enough about bows to not release the string with no arrows. And how she held the bow told Ella it was not for anyone else. She knew the look that the girl used. She always felt the same way when picking up her own bow. An archer could tell when they found the right fit. The girl had it written all over her face. This bow belonged to her.
But wanting to make sure that bows found their appropriate owners did not put bread in her pack, nor did it secure lodging on her travels or drinks at the inns. Not that she often partook in the popular pastime of mead and spirits, but on occasion it was not all that bad. It would do her little good to take pity on whatever portions of the girl's story was true if she could not afford the things she needed. "This year has been difficult." It was true for most cases. With the rumors of dragons and a civil war breaking out, things had never looked bleaker in Skyrim. Not that she could remember at any rate. "But I cannot lower the price below four hundred sixty. I can however, give you twenty five eleven arrows to match it. I'm sure that your brother will appreciate a good starting set of arrows as well." Rosella was hardly fooled. She may have been unsure which parts of the girls story were true and fiction, but one thing she did know for certain the bow was not for her brother. It was for her.
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word count - 744 . tag - eleri . sorry is so much shorter . [/style][/style] |
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Post by eleri tredegar . on Oct 14, 2012 23:10:35 GMT -8
The scrutiny was unbearable. El could not stand how closely the other girl watched her. Surely, if the thief were going to take it, she would have done it by now. And she was not so much a fool to draw attention to the item she was trying to take. That was one of the first things she learned. When stealing from a public place, one was much better off blending in with the crowd, not drawing attention to themselves, and especially not to what they were doing. And a good distraction always helped. But none of those things were in Eleri's favors today.
She increased the pleading look in her eyes. If the story didn't work, and they almost always did, usually the sad eyes would do the trick. But the other girl wasn't fooled for a second. She could see the doubt in her eyes. She could hear a quality in her tone that insinuated that she was lying. It frustrated El. Self proclaimed queens of deception did not fail. They just didn't. Rarely did she ever get caught in a lie. Eleri wasn't about to let this fletcher get the better of her. She fooled thanes and bandits all the time. Why could she not get past this girl? El could feel the determination flash through her eyes, as she swiftly looked down, wiping away one of her forced tears. She would have to try hard to keep her frustration, her determination from showing. Breaking character was not an option. She would also have to try harder to get the price down. She was stubborn enough to keep it up.
She tried to find ways to back up her story, covering the holes she knew were there. "Indeed. Goss had the most rubbish luck getting anything to grow. I would have helped, though when I was younger I never had much luck. And anyway, I was always trying to sell what extra stuff we did get in. Not that it was much. Nor was it decent looking. And scrawny produce never sells very well." She knew that well enough. El hadn't seen anyone go near the food that looked horrible. Only the fullest, best looking stuff got bought, from what she had seen, and what she had personally taken. Food was something few people pressed charges against. Who really missed a measly apple, or a single potato? And if they did, desperation was easy enough to fake. She had been there, before she got recruited. Then, she thought, the of the return of those blasted dragons, setting everything ablaze. It frightened her. Ever since the fire that destroyed her home, Eleri had the most horrible fear of flames. Besides that, she feared for other people. How many others would be put in her position because of them? Then there was the war, ripping families and towns apart. She positively hated it. She never understood the reasoning for war. But really, what was she to do about it? It wasn't like a thief could stop two people from fighting.
The tone used against her angered the girl she was portraying. "Why must you mock my pain?" she cried, her chest heaving with an audible sob. She wanted to add, that it would be completely pathetic to sob so horrendously just to get a lower price on something for themselves. But that, she figured, would only kill her cover story. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself, and her character down a bit. "I'm sure he would. It'd would make a fine going away gift." There was an obviously longing in her voice. For a moment, she actually thought about how her brother would have loved the weapon. He too, had an appreciation for a beautiful bow. She started to regret not giving him anything to protect himself with on the journey from Skyrim to their natural home. How horrible a sister was she? Her tears then, stopped being as fake, and were a bit more real. Hopefully, they were a bit more convincing.
She turned back again, recounting her gold, acting as if she were trying to see if she had anymore than she originally counted. "It looks as if I was wrong. Guess I miscounted. Either way, I'm afraid I cannot go much higher than four hundred." Starting low. That was the way to do it.
tagged; pond/rosella
words; 731
notes; don't be. that was an unusually lengthy post for me.
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Post by ROSELLA DURANTE . on Nov 5, 2012 21:55:46 GMT -8
hard to my face and cold on my shoulder .
She was altogether unamused. Had the girl been any race but Bosmer she would have collected back her wares and told her to move along or she would call the guards. But they shared a heritage and some blood between them. She could never really turn another Bosmer over to the guards on the suspect that they were a thief, not unless they actually stole something. Rosella had spent enough time in Riften to recognise a thief when she saw one, lied often enough about her own story to know when she was being lied to. “I do not mock your pain.” Rosella frowned. “But I also have to keep bread on a the table, and make a profit.” She could tell that the girl was thinking about something that really did trouble her, but she could not just give in. She was not saving for anything specific, but if she did not at least make a profit on anything, then she would be taking away from her savings. Some day she might meet a nice sort of man who would want to have a home with her, in the future.
“I cannot go any lower than four hundred fifty, so it seems we are at an impasse.” She frowned. She did not like the idea that she was going to have to tell this girl no. But four hundred was simply unreasonable for the bow in question. She liked the girl, for the most part, even with her suspicions that the coin the girl had was not earned legally. “Though I also take goods on trade, if you have anything of value.” There was not a particularly subtle way for her to add that she did not mind if the goods were stolen. She would just have to hope that the girl understood her meaning. Rosella could sell anything, stolen goods included. True the thieves guild had their normal fences, but she did not know if the girl was a guild thief or just the average kind. And Rosella could not name any of the fences on this side of Skyrim if there even were some.
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word count - 357. tag - eleri . sorry about the short . [/style][/style] |
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