From: Save Address Block Sender Date: Sat, 13 Jun 1998 22:54:44 EDT Subject: on the road again.... Estela sighed. "How much money were you thinking of, Wataru?" "10 gold...per day." *even if I wanted to pay someone, I couldn't pay that!* "Then I guess you're not coming...I can't afford that and I can't possibly bargain it down low enough to." *what's the point of hiring a mercenary if you still lose all your money?* His face fell. "Um...well...we're going the same way anyway...so I'll just come along and charge you later. It'll be something you can pay, anyway." "It'd better be...I have a feeling it's gonna be a while before I get home." Chuin looked from one to the other, confused. "If you wanted to go home, you should just turn around...you're from Alari right?" "Not exactly...that's just where I...ah...came into the world, so to speak. I will explain later, I promise. It makes no sense to turn back to where I started for now...do you two still want to keep going East till we find we should go elsewhere?" Wataru nodded, and Chuin said, "Works for me." "Ok...great. Do you have horses?" "No...." "Me either." "Ok...then you two go get some while I buy supplies. Wataru...I'll pay for the horse and the door you crashed through...but it's coming out of your pay later on." She got up and left them staring after her. Chuin and Wataru walked towards the edge of town, where Drake said they could get horses. They had been discussing Estela for a short while. "How can a nice girl like her be a sorceress??" "I tell you she is! You didn't see that...that, whatever that was she threw at me! She almost killed me!" "I still can't believe that she's a sorceress. It's ridiculous!" Before they had any chance to argue further, they arrived at the barn. A man came out, looking them up and down very carefully. "Can I help you, sirs?" "We're here to buy horses," Wataru told him. "Certainly sirs. What kind of horses? Will you need equipment?" "Riding horses," Chuin replied. "We'll also need saddles, bit and bridal, and saddle blankes." The man smiled, which only make Chuin and Wataru uneasy. He came back a few moments later with two good horses. "These are the only riding horses we have now." The two looked over the horses very carefully. They were satified with what they saw. "They are 100 gold pieces each." "One hundred gold pieces," Chuin and Wataru cried in unison. Wataru added hotly, "That's outrageous!" "These horses are worth no more that 70 gold pieces," Chuin exclaimed. He stepped closer to the man. "And I should know, I am from Toru." He reveled in the shocked look on the man's face. The man stammered, "but how can I make a profit if I sell them at such a cheap price?" "You'll still be making quite a profit at 70," Wataru told him. The man grumbled to himself. He'd obviously mistook the two young men. Toruns were known for their excellent horses and knew quality when they saw it. And the other certainly knew his horses. He wasn't going to be able to hoodwink them easily. He had no choice but sell them for the price they were worth. After much bickering and bartering on the supplies, which was used and showed it, they paid and left. The total that they paid for everything came to be about 76 gold pieces, 12 silver pieces and a couple of copper pieces each. "I was impressed by your knowledge," Chuin told Wataru. "It's good to see another who has such a good eyes when it comes to horses and equipment." Wataru nodded a thanks. " I had a horse before I came here. I noticed the man changed attitudes when you told him where you were from. What was that about?" "Oniisan told me that it was well known that Torun horses were the best horses money could buy and everyone knew that we were good at judging quality in other horses." They went the rest of the way to the Inn in silence. Each having a little more respect for the other. Respect for another man who knew about horses. Chuin and Wataru returned with the horses shortly after she got back from shopping. "Ok, great..pack up and let's get moving." She tossed them each a pair of empty saddlebags, and Wataru enough money to probably cover the horse, and went in to pack up her own stuff. "Are you ready yet?!" Chuin yelled up an hour later. "Yeah, I was just talking to Drake about that door...you two might wanna use the bathroom before we leave...I doubt there's any along the road." "Um, yeah...just hurry up, it's getting late." "ok, ok!" She settled her accounts with Drake while the men made their pit stops, and then they set off. The day's trip down the road was uneventful. A few times Chuin tried to ask about what Wataru had been saying earlier, or Wataru to ask her something about where she'd come from, but Estela had some sort of device over her ears, attached to a small box by a cord. The box had discs she changed a few times, and apparently played music, since she seemed to be singing along with it. *maybe she is a sorceress, if she has a magic box like that!* thought Chuin. Estela wondered why he kept shooting nervous glances at her discman. *I just hope I don't run out of batteries....maybe I'd better turn it off.* She did, and put it away. She remmebered the time she and here friend Kaia had been playing frisbee and gotten to be captains of teams of guys. 'Like having a harem,' Kaia had said. Estela grinned. *guess I have one now too.* "Hey, we should find a campsite, guys. Then I'll explain everything over dinner." "It's kinda early, but there's a cave over there..." "I didn't sleep much because Wataru....*ahem!*... crashed through my door. And I'd rather sleep in there than out here." They set up camp in the cave, and managed to make something resembling dinner. Someone else felt like dinner too...a small pink dragon with a good sense of smell. She poked her head into the outer cavern, provoking a whinny from Moonwind. Estela stuck her head out...and her sword. "Who's there?" "Yabsajubru...want eat food!" "Do you eat horses?" "You eating horses?" "No!" "Then Yabsajubru not need to eat horse. Meat too tough, have to boil all day. And is much too big for Yabsajubru to eat alone. Yep yep, much too big. So not need to put you out if you eating something that is not horse." "Well, do you eat people?" "No eat people. People nice to play with. Yabsajubru always help." "Ok...you can come in." She led the dragon in. * a pink dragon. how cute!* "I am called Estela and this is Chuin, and Wataru." "Yabsajubru pleased meet Estela and Chuin and Wataru." "That's your name?" asked Chuin. "Yasajrbu?" "Yabsajubru." "Jaba's suburu?" suggested Wataru. "Yabsajubru." "Yab jab stab bru?" The attempts went on for a while, by both men. Estela felt like she was watching a tennis match. "um...Yab-sa-ju-bru?" She asked awkwardly. "Is that right?" "It right! Most human no can say, call Yabsajubru Bubbles." "Could we just call you Bubbles then? Yasa- Yabsa-...the other one is hard to say." "Okay." "Chuin, Wataru, Bubbles would like to stay for dinner...and I suppose for the night as well." "We-ell..." said Wataru. *She IS awfully cute* thought Chuin. "I guess she can." "Okay...let's eat!" *A harem....and a zoo!* {{notice to my three pple...I'll be writing her speech shortly....and after that...during that night they can do whatever they please. BUT....three things: no going past the following dawn timewise, no leaving the area...and no one may join or leave the group, until we do the next post with all four of them, when I return from Italy in early July. I'll post the stuff on Joru into the world info site later on too, when I go back and fix the map (probably July). for the site: What precisely is the currency system? does anyone know....and if they do will you have it in my mailbox before I return? Same goes for the world's name...it'd be great to have one. thanks all!}}