BXBX NOVEL Chapter 183: ‘Cudgel’
That caused Henry\'s brow to furrow. Surely the gun could not have been that heavy. The clerk placed the gun in his hands and he understood the strain. The gun was certainly weighty. Far more weighty than a Repeater should have been and that was taking into account Henry\'s current strength stat.
Now that he had the gun in his hands, Elminster\'s brand no longer burned but Henry remembered what the Old man had said about his weapons and the measures he had put in place to ensure he was sought out for regular tune-ups. Increased weight had been one of those measures.
Of course, Henry didn\'t struggle as much as the Clerk had and was able to lift the gun to look it over all sides. The material used to make it was certainly a magical metal just like the sort that had been used to make \'The Hydra\'s Sting\' but most of the weight seemed to come from the gold that gilded the weapon.
"Is the weight the reason you think it\'s junk?" Henry eventually asked, looking away from the gun at the clerk.
"It\'s part of it, I suppose," he said and let out a sigh,
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"I\'ve had that gun for years and my father for even more years before me. He told me he only bought it because it was an \'Original Elminster\'. My father seemed to think that was a big deal. Apparently, there\'s not much of the man\'s works around and they are the best of the best."
The clerk scoffed now before he continued,
"A bunch of bullshit of course. Damn thing has been rusted shut for decades. Can\'t be refilled, can\'t be fired. Can\'t do nothing. Only use anyone could find for it is as a club because of its weight."
The Clerk laughed then and Henry looked confused. The Clerk must have noticed his confusion because he pointed at the gun\'s tail end to show where a word had been etched into it. It appeared like the gun\'s name and was every bit a part of the gun as the black and bronze plating; \'Cudgel\'.
"Ironic isn\'t it?" The Clerk said as though the name explained his laugh, "Almost like that\'s all it was ever going to be good for."
Henry frowned. Whenever he had touched magical guns thus far, the System gave him a description of what magical shots they were capable of but with this one, there was only silence.
But then, he understood and decided this was to be expected. How many decades had the gun been inactive? Elminster\'s measures must have piled and piled and in a world saturated with swords and other \'crude\' weapons, there was probably no one who cared enough to want to wield it that they\'d even attempt to give it a tune-up.
"Henry, you want that?" Louis asked as he and Andor stepped closer after they had watched Henry observe and almost adore the useless weapon for a few minutes now.
Henry nodded almost absentmindedly,
"How much for it?" He asked.
"It\'s not really for sale," the Clerk said, uncomfortable.
Henry had to bite his tongue to keep from saying \'Everything is for sale\' because he had a feeling that\'d be too pompous and also promised that he could surrender far more gold than he could.
Instead, he said,
"I\'m sure we can come to an agreement. I have no intention of leaving here without this."
The Clerk shifted from feet to feet with the look on his face only getting worse. Henry barely noticed. He was thinking if there were any more shops he would pass and have the brand burn.
And then he pulled himself from his thoughts to see the Clerk was still indecisive so he raised a brow impatiently,
"You just said it was a useless piece of junk and you still don\'t want to let it go," Henry hefted the gun and managed the weight quite well as he raised it to firing length.
He aimed it at the Clerk playfully but when the man looked pale he realized how threatening that would look even if the gun was \'useless\' so he pointed it to a wall on the side of the shop and pulled the trigger for a *click* sound followed by nothing.
"It\'ll just hang and waste away on the wall," He said gently, "I, on the other hand, have use for it."
As Henry was speaking he looked back at the Clerk and noticed an expression that told him that was exactly what he was worried about. Part of it anyway.
Sure enough, the Clerk\'s lips separated and he made that worry known,
"Alright then. How about I charge you what I think it\'d be worth when it\'s in working condition then? Just so I\'m not at a loss."
Henry frowned and dropped the gun\'s muzzle,
"It\'s not working now, is it?" He asked.
"But it could?" The Clerk pointed out and while there was still an uncomfortable look on his face, his lips curled into the sly businesslike look Henry had seen many times on other shop owners in his past life.
"But it won\'t if left with you," Henry pointed out.
"We don t know that," the Clerk retorted and then shook his head,
"Besides, what does it matter? It\'s mine and I\'ll sell it for whatever I want."
"How much do you want for it?" Henry asked and he watched the Clerk\'s sly smile get wider right before he called a price so outrageous that Louis hissed behind Henry.
Henry just stared like he was stunned and then his brow furrowed.
Suddenly, there was an urge to just rob the damn thing and a part of his mind was already working on a plan of sorts involving threats and maybe knocking the Clerk out. It was something he\'d done many times in his past life and something he missed doing but a part of his mind told him that\'d be foolish.
This City was too unfamiliar and he wasn\'t sure how well it could facilitate an escape if agents of the law began to chase after him. For he knew they were there. He had spied a few patrols during the walk through the City.
He let out a secret sigh.
"How about reducing the price," he asked, hoping the Clerk could be accommodating.
The Clerk kept that smile,
"If you can\'t pay…" he said in an almost sing-song voice as he stretched a hand for the gun.
As he stared into the Clerk\'s face with that sly smile almost permanently etched into it, Henry understood what was happening.
The most important thing to note when hiking up the price of a sale is gauging the buyer\'s interest and trying to foster it if necessary.
When Henry walked in, the Clerk might really not have thought to sell. He probably just liked having the so-called \'Original Elminster\' on display but as the conversation dragged on, he realized how much Henry wanted it and decided an exorbitant price was in order.
If Henry caved, he\'d get a lot of Gold or maybe it will be paid in stacks of Verlans. If Henry declined, he could keep the weapon mounted on his wall again.
"What a pickle," Henry mumbled but he was smiling. The actions he took next were almost instinctive and felt so right.
With a flex of his wrist, he had \'The Hydra\'s Sting\' in his hold and the weapon glowed an acidic green in response to his readiness to fire.
Instantly, the mood in the shop changed. Even Andor and Louis shared puzzled looks with eyes widened (Louis\' were hardly different) as they wondered what Henry was about to do next.
It looked obvious what he planned to do.
They hoped it wasn\'t.