“To buy,” Lydia said. “The kid needs a new weapon.”
Kevin shook the fragments of the broken sword out of the scabbard. “Can you fix this?”
“What d’ya take me for, a miracle-worker?” Grakka lifted the broken blade to the light, squinting along its length. “Piece a’ junk.”
“A count gave it to me!”
“Then his armorer’s been cheating him.” She pulled aside the curtain, yelling into the back of the store, “Elli! Yo, Elli! Wake up, girl, we got customers! Get me the rack of one-handers—Yeah, that’s the one.”
A slightly smaller figure staggered out with an armload of swords, which she dropped on the counter with a clatter. Kevin stared all over again, but this time in appreciation.
Elli was almost certainly Grakka’s daughter, but even though the bardling couldn’t deny she was almost as squat and powerfully built as her mother, she was still as pretty in her own nonhuman way as any girl in Bracklin. Her eyes were big and blue, sparkling with mischief as she looked at him, her nose was pertly upturned, and her long yellow braids curved smoothly down her simple blue tunic and skirt and the curves of her buxom young body in a way that made Kevin swallow hard.
He froze in panic as she swayed that curvy body to his side.
“I’m Elli. But you already know that. What’s your name?”
“I—I—I’m ... uh ... Kevin.”
“Uh-Kevin?” she teased.
“N-no. Just Kevin.”
“That’s a nice name.” She fixed her big blue eyes on his face. “Do you think my name is nice, too?”
“I—”
“Elli!” her mother snapped, “Stop bothering the boy. You, boy, come here.”
Elli flounced away, pouting deliriously. Sheepishly, Kevin went up to the counter. “Here,” Grakka said shortly. “Try this.”
Kevin looked at the sword in dismay. “It’s so ...”
“Plain?” Grakka finished. “Pretty never won battles. Go ahead. Try it out.”
Kevin took a few practice swings, then tried an experimental pass or two. He straightened, smiling. “I like it. It feels ... right.”
“Good. Because from what your warrior buddy here tells me, there’s no time to design a sword specially for you.” She gave him a speculative glance. “Too bad. It’s always a challenge to make a sword that’ll be useful for a reasonable while for you younglings who are still changing build almost every day.” Grakka shrugged. “Ah well, some other time. That’ll be five gold crowns.”
“Five ...”
“Go wait outside,” Lydia murmured to him. “I’ll take care of this.”
Kevin knew that an adventurer as professional as Lydia would know how to bargain much better than someone from a small town. But that didn’t stop him from feeling a surge of annoyance at being sent away like a little boy.
“Hi, Kevin,” a voice purred.
“Uh, hi, Elli.”
She smiled up at him as brightly as a sunny day. “I have to spend all my time in this dull old place. I never get to go anywhere. But an adventurer like you must have seen all kinds of wonderful things.”
“I, uh ... “ Kevin wasn’t about to confess the truth about Bracklin and his drab life to this lovely creature. “Sure. Why don’t we sit down “—he patted a bench along the wall—” and I’ll tell you all about them.”
