Sylvia's Weapon

It was a cloudy and cold day, the sun could hardly penetrate the gray clouds. There was a moist chill in the air, threatening to rain, but was holding back. Marcus had been up for a couple hours already, he'd been in the courtyard exercising and practicing with his warhammer. It was now time for breakfast, Sylvia had just gotten ready for the day, so he joined her in the dining hall to eat. Normally he wouldn't eat with her, just stand at the side guarding her, but since they were in her family's villa things were much more lax.

They ate a hearty breakfast of eggs, sausage, and a thick gravy. Sylvia didn't finish her plate, but Marcus enjoyed three helpings of the delicious meal. After they finished, the maids cleared their places and brought them some tea. Then Sylvia discussed her plans for the day with Marcus.

They would take a carriage to near the shopping district, from there they would walk around and just explore. This was the first time Sylvia had ever been to Rosevalley, so the whole thing was just one big adventure. The reason she came to Rosevalley was to go out and observe the wildlife, but she was willing to wait on that in order to have a little fun beforehand. Sylvia decided that it would just be Marcus and her, minus the carriage driver. She didn't want to disrupt people too much as she walked around.

Now that they had a plan in place they made their way to the carriage. Luckily for Marcus her family kept a large carriage in the stables for when they held parties, they would use it to transport guests back and forth. This allowed him to actually be comfortable while riding into the city. While riding, Marcus was across from Sylvia, he couldn't help but ask about what she intended to do about Riley.

"Do you think that if I just ignore him, he'll go away on his own?" She asked back with a sour expression on her face.

"That's one way to deal with it, although it might not be the best way." Marcus said with a chuckle.

"Then what do you think I should do? I just can't tell him to leave me alone, that would be considered rude and may harm my father's reputation."

"Just write to your father. He's a smart man, I'm sure he can take care of it for you."

"Yes, I could do that, but I don't want to bother him with such a small issue. It's not like Riley's been overbearing, just annoying. Haaa, well, let's worry about this later, we'll enjoy today and see what tomorrow brings." Sylvia said with a sigh.

She then looked at Marcus with a smile, Marcus just nodded and smiled back. They then talked about small things all the way to the shopping district. The ride wasn't long, only about fifteen minutes or so. The carriage came to a stop just outside a small park. The park was just a small square with grass and flowers planted in an interesting pattern. It had a few benches for people to rest and enjoy the flowers. Across from the park was where the shopping district began, it was like a huge outdoor shopping mall that covered many square blocks.

You could find anything that you desired here, since it was so close to the Frontier, many exotic things were for sale. From rare herbs to magical beasts, you could buy it. Along with all the brick and mortar stores, there were also many stalls set up as well. They were mainly selling food, but it was still early in the day so they were in the process of making the food and were not open yet.

Marcus exited the carriage first, and after a cursory look around, helped Sylvia get down as well. The carriage driver pulled away to find a place to secure the carriage and horse. Marcus then gestured towards Sylvia to lead the way, to his surprise Sylvia grasped his hand in hers. The size between the two was quite drastic, like a child's and an adults. Sylvia didn't look at Marcus, but kept looking forward as she walked, holding his hand.

"Just so we won't get separated." She exclaimed, a little forcefully.

Marcus didn't really know what to think, he wanted to think what she said was true; he couldn't see her face, but could see that her neck was turning red. He didn't try to extricate his hand, he just let her do as she pleased. He figured it wouldn't hurt anything just to indulge her for the day.

Marcus and Sylvia drew a sharp contrast; Marcus was tall and imposing in his steel and leather armor, while Sylvia was like a delicate flower, small and beautiful in her baby blue dress. The entrance to the shopping district was a wide road with a beautiful arch over it. The arch was painted in bold colors of yellows and reds, and had 'Rosevalley Shopping District' carved into the thick wood. Trees and bushes lined the road, making it very aesthetically pleasing. There were already many people walking haphazardly along the road, some even bumping into each other.

The amount of people gave Sylvia an excuse to move even closer to Marcus, she was practically on top of him. They continued on like this for a little ways until they came across a store that Sylvia was interested in going into. Luckily for Marcus, it wasn't a clothes shop, it was actually a weapons dealer. Marcus paused before entering the shop, he turned to Sylvia.

"Why do you want to go in here? I haven't seen you even hold a knife, let alone a real weapon."

"Well, if I'm going to be in the wilderness, I figured I would need something to at least defend myself. Come on, you can help me pick something out!" Sylvia said as she hurriedly pulled him into the shop.

The weapon shop was pretty large, it had a wide selection to choose from hanging on the walls and on shelves. They had shields, swords, bows, crossbows, maces, practically anything you could hope to find. Sylvia pulled him into the center of the shop, then stopped and looked around. Marcus could tell that she was lost and didn't know where to begin.

"So Mark, what kind of weapon do you think would suit me the best?" She asked as she went to go pick up a sword that was laying on a shelf.

She grasped the hilt, then with a fair bit of effort, lifted it up. She held it out in front of her, the sword shaking as she strained to keep it aloft. Marcus started to laugh as he took the sword from her before she could hurt herself.

"Maybe something a little smaller is best for you. There are some daggers over there, let's try those out." Marcus said as he put the sword back on the shelf and pointed over closer to the counter.

The smaller weapons were kept close to the front of the store, probably since they are smaller they are easier to walk out with. Marcus and Sylvia made their way over to look at the polished daggers and short swords. Behind the counter was an older man, with salt and pepper hair and a friendly face.

"Welcome, welcome. How can I be of assistance to you today." The shopkeeper said with a friendly smile.

Sylvia returned an equally friendly smile, Marcus nodded to the man then spoke.

"We're looking for something for the young lady. Something small and easy to use, but does not have to be concealed."

The shopkeeper nodded, then held his hands out wide.

"Well, if you don't need concealment, then you can't go wrong with a shortsword. They're light and easy to use, just poke them with the pointy end." He said, laughing at his own joke.

His comment elicited a giggle from Sylvia, she brought her hand up to her mouth to try and stifle it. Marcus rolled his eyes at the cheesy joke, then continued to ask to be able to see what he had for sale. The shopkeeper quickly brought out four different short swords for Sylvia to try.

The first one was just a plain iron short sword. It was still very high quality, but was on the cheaper end of the scale. It was only two feet long with no decorations or embellishments.

The second sword was the same design, but was made of steel. This fact alone made the price double, but it was worth it.

The third was a steel shortsword with a fancy hand guard. The hand guard was made up to resemble a flower. It was just steel, but with the flower added on made it beautiful to look at. Finally, the fourth sword was made of steel as well, but had gold inlaid in the handle. The handle was just the right size for Sylvia's hand, and the guard was in the shape of a water lily. What really set this sword apart was the fact that it was enchanted.

The shopkeeper said that the sword had the durability enchantment, meaning that it could hold its edge longer and required less maintenance. Marcus thought that that enchantment was perfect for her, since she was new to weapons she needed something that was more forgiving. The only downside was the price, at a whopping forty-five gold coins, the sword was by far more expensive than the other three.

For Sylvia though, the price wasn't even an issue, she quickly took out the gold coins from her storage item and gave them to the old shopkeeper. He was happy to make such a sale, but was even more shocked to see the storage item Sylvia had around her neck. If he had known that Sylvia held such high status he would have brought out his most expensive items. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, the old shopkeeper just thanked them generously and gave Sylvia a free sheath for her new sword.

"Do you think you can teach me how to use this later?" Sylvia asked Marcus as they stepped out of the shop.

"I would, if I actually knew how to use it myself." Marcus said matter of factly.

"It's easy to swing this big thing around, but I don't know the first thing about actual swordplay. Maybe you can ask Nathan when we get back, I'm sure he'd be more than happy to teach you."

"I suppose so, I was just hoping that you could teach me." Sylvia said with a disappointed look on her face.

"Why does it matter who teaches you?" Marcus asked, already guessing at the answer.

"Oh! No reason. Nathan is fine." Sylvia said hurriedly with a red face.

"Ha ha, I thought so. Hey, want to check out that magic store over there?" Marcus asked, changing the subject in order not to tease her too much.

Marcus pointed across the street from where they were standing at a large building. It was two stories tall with double doors for the entrance. What looked like a guard was standing by the doors watching the people as they walked by. That made sense seeing as how expensive everything related to magic was, they needed to look out for thieves.

"Sure, that looks like fun. By the way, what kind of magic can you do Mark? I've never seen you use any." Sylvia said and asked both in a cheerful tone, almost skipping towards the store.

"Well, to tell you the truth, I can't use magic." Marcus admitted.

Sylvia stopped in her tracks, right in the middle of the road, causing some people to bump into them and curse under their breath.

"What? Like, not at all?! I can even make a fireball."

"Nothing at all, but that's why I'm so strong, at least that's what I've been told. But let's just keep this a secret ok? I don't want to spread it around." Marcus told her in a low voice.

"A secret? Of course, a secret between you and me, just the two of us." Sylvia said very enthusiastically and a smile on her face as she resumed skipping towards the store.