The Extra Sense
by: Kayla Beebe
She sat the crate full of her finest silk garmets on her work bench close to the new hand blades she just made the following night. Viskra layed out todays pick of freshly polished swords and jeweled daggers, hung up her extra silk material and sat back relaxing waiting for her first customer of the day to come along, which wouldn't be long. Viskra was the most known woman in all of Glymera, not only for her mother, Phury, and her skills as a seamstress and black-smith, but also for her merciless fighting skills, which surpassed her mothers. And for those reasons, she was the most feared woman in the land. No one stole from her unless they wanted to lose their reputation to a woman or even worse, their life.
"Hello, demara-Viskra." a deep scratchy voice spoke up behind me.
She turns around to see her old and trusted comrade and friend, Canon the Orc, hobbling up to her shops outside display booth. He was three hundred and seventy-six but still had the bite of a killer acid-spider. He told her of his experience when she was just a sappling and everyone of them had caught her interest.
He always greeted her as demara-Viskra, no matter how many times she told him not to. In these lands, when someone was respected highly, they would earn the title demara-. It was the highest sign of respect and for my past deeds, and for her past deeds, the people bestowed it upon Viskra, dispite her protest and denial. Through the entire feast the town made for her, she was uneasy and uncomfortable, but as always, Canon was right there cheering her on, helping her through it with his familiarity.
"Good morning, Canon. and how are you this fine morning?" she smiled softly at her big friend and set the last of todays sale on the display table.
"Adroitly wonderous! My headstrong wife finally gave me some extra curns to buy to buy one of your exqusive daggers! And you know her day of birth is comiong up so I thought i would buy her a nice gift and what better place than yours!" his bulky teeth, which matched he build, poked out of his mouth as he grinned. his wife , Samara, was a tough woman as small as she was, even for a dwarf. and yes, if you think about it, it did seem sort of akward in a sense.
"Good, good! What sort of dagger are you looking for? Anything specific?" Viskra moved down the bench to stop in front of her short weaponry set, leaning on the edge of the bench lining. She herself admired her work, the glint that beamed of the tip of the blades, even the bloodswords, and the light weights varing to the heavy. Her work signiture was cut into the stone of every blade andweapon hilt.
The orc followed, hobbling to a stop, a little ways past her in front of her custome made blades, and as she observed, he eyed a black tipped dagger the length of seven adult female human hands with a dark grey handle and a bloodstone embedded in the butt of it as well as her work signiture. Viskra smiled as he fingered the hilt and brushed his finger tips over the blade edge, as if careful picking a poison. That blade she favored especially, it had taken her five days just to forge it and then another to add the jewel, she turned a dull chunk of metal and turned it into a master-piece of great value.
"Actually, I had layn my eyes on it a few days back while you were informing a customer of its unavaliblity. I was, and still am, wondering what was your reasoning for turning down the great sum of curns that he had offered you for it?" his curiosity amused her and she picked it up off the table and twirled it with impossible ease.
"The young human was not capable of possessing the rare item. The lad wasn't even able to pick it up with out grunting in effort from its weight and length. I will not sell to a man nor woman who will use my works as toys either." she laid it down in front of him. "Besides, I was saving it for someone else, someone who is worthy of its making."
Canons eyes widen as she lets it sit there in front of him and says. "You up to the challenge of taking this finly tuned instument?"
He grins,"Why on earth would you ask that when you already know the answer, my dear Viskra?" he stops and thinks, obviously about its price and winces. She shakes her head,"For you Canon, my friend, its only twenty-six curns." At that, he sucks in a breath and his eyes widen into large ovals.
"But thats not even a third of its original price!" he tried to hand it back to her but she pushed it away from her, refusing to take it back. She went over to her silk garmets and grabbed the light blue scarf Samara had been eyeing everytime she came to market for the past week, folding it into a neat sqaure to fit in the small box she was to give him for his dagger. "The scarf is only three curns and don't over pay me this time like you did last time, because I will stalk down to your house and make you take it back." Canon smiled at that and then started to protest about the price being too low but she held up her hand to silence him."For you and Samara, it will not cost you no more than a days eating. Now hurry up and take it off my hands, I'm having way too many offers for it and every time they offer they are taking my time from my other customers."
Canon nodded and pulled the payment out of his pocket, placing it into her hand and then clasped his callosal hand on her shoulder. "Thank you,Viskra. Now I can treat her to a good dinner and give her this gift." She smiles and dips her head down a smidge,"Of course." He begins to walk away when he stops and turns back around. "Why not come and stay for dinner? Samara would love to see you again, and the twins, they miss their favorite mentor!" That made Viskra chuckle. The thought of the two toddlers grieving over the absence of her incredulous training scedule and disiplinary ways were nice dream but unrealistic. Canon sees her raised brow and laughs himself. "Okay maybe not the drills you put them through but they are fond of you."
Viskra sighs,"I would if I could, but I do have work I have to do this night. Maybe some other time."
Understandingly he nodded and picked up the box, "Well, don't work yourself to death, demara-Viskra, okay?" he waits for her to nod, "I best be going. Have a stress free day now and please Viskra, no fights this week." She laughs and waves it off. "Yes, yes, of course, no fights no trouble. I'll try my best Canon.", butViskras mischevious grin said differently. Canon sighs and waves, hobbling off into the less populated part of town.
She leaned back in her chair with a smug smile on her face while balancing a dagger on her finger tip. Though she was a black-smith and burnt her hands occassionaly and stuck herself when stiching together her fabric, she had surprisingly soft hands and sharp nails. She wasn't a delicate thing as most has thought when she first arrived in Glymera. In the main city, Incubus, they had thought her incompatent, for she didn't speak when spoken to and amusing, for she wore armor and carried weapons. They thought that she was unable to protect herself and slow...they were wrong and they found it out the hard way as soon as they jumped her and accussed her of adultry, now they feared her greatly for what she is capable of. Silvreth, the current town she is living in, on the other hand, some how knew better than to judge, they stayed clear of her and had very little to do with her other than to order from her. As soon as she arrived in her warriors garb, their minds instantly imprinted 'Dangerous' upon her, and though she had been living there for two and a half years she is treated with the exact same fear but with respect as well.
A sudden sound of a rap againt the wood of her bench awoke Viskra from her mind and caused her to glance up. A man about six foot two with jet black hair and a sneer attached to his facwe stood before her, his knuckles still touching her table. He wore mostly black with armor that looked as if it started to rust not too long agoand hand twin blades strung across his back and several knives strapped against his waist. A black stubble started to grow from lack of shaving and it suited him, made him appear dangerous and hard to approach, which Viskra could relate to. He had tan skin, his ears didn't come to a point, he had fingers, not claws and he had a mysterious aura about him. He was possibly human and at first she thought he was but then she saw his eyes. His emerald green eyes gave off a sort of hypnotic gleam that reminded her of the fierce green flames she had once had to escape in a battle against a Tauren Shaman, the iris of both eyes were in the shape of a dragons.
"Oh! My apologys, how may I serve you this day?" she got up out of her chair to stand.
"Are you Viskra Danrith?" he asked distastfuly. Unsure if he was a palace guard coming to collect taxes or someone who had a devils bone to pick with her, she looked for the Alterbridge badge. He did not have one. She watched his demeanor to make sure he wasn't going to reach for any of his weapons. His arms were tense but not ratiating it. But he wasn't a normal customer either.
"Shes out at the moment. Who shall I tell her came by to see her? And is there a message you wish to leave her?" she picks up a sword and runs a peice of cloth across its surface, polishing it. She peered up at him through her eyelashs as he crossed his arms and the black cloak shifted. Her breath caught in her throat as she spotted the Palace arms tattooed on his shoulder and she cast her eyes back down, her mind racing with various thoughts.
The corner of his mouth twitched and he cursed under his breath,"She was supposed to have gotten a letter!" to himself. He shakes his head,"Balthasar Vhinstri and no, I'll tell her myself, if you would just inform me of her living quarters." He didn't ask, he continued to polish the blade in her hands and sets it down slowly, only to pick up another and repeat her previous action.
Balthasar shifted on his feet, growing impatient. He didn't like how she stared at him, assessing him, as if he were a theif and he was about to steal something. He wanted out of there and most of all he didn't want to be there. To be asking a woman to accompany him in a war, and probably the greatest war of all and still to come, was the worse shame of them all... but he was to ask her for his king. He was told she was the fiercest warrior to be seen in action and though he disagrees immensly, he shall bring her with him back to the palace.
She finally put the shining blade down and peered up at him, her head held high. "She will meet you. She does not smile upon people coming into her home uninvited." she took a knife and etched a seires of directions into a piece of wood and handed it to him. "Follow this and she'll meet with you around evening time."
Balthasar examined it and looked down at her with mistrust, but stuffed it into his pocket nodded a farewell and headed deeper into the crowd till he vanished out of sight which was quickly and stealthily. Viskra watched him go with narrowed eyes,"Theres something not right about that man." She threw her rag down and ducked into her shop, mummering to herself as she rummaged in the pile of papers that had stacked up on the large brown bench she crafted to hold all her unread letters. Papers went flying as she dug in to find a particular branding. The royal seal. And finally when she came across it she ripped it open, not caring for the carefully stamped seal and yanked the letter out with a sneer as she read its contents.
She was to make an appearence at the palace for several evenings and nights as the king proposed his propostion to her and she was to decide what it was she was to do.
Jumping out of the squating position she was in, swearing, she ran back out of her shop next door to the fish market, calling,"Josak! Josak I need you to do me a favor!" She slid into his shop and dodged several customers buying large blue toothed elees and swirved around the old cranky shaman who only smiled when someone was in pain, other than himself that was.
"What, what! Can't you see I'm busy Danrith? I have hungry customers that are getting cranky becuase I'm not selling to them!" She raises her eyebrows and lets a chuckle escape. Of all the people she knew, only Canon, his family, and Josak could make her laugh. Viskra swept her hand in the direction of his shops entrance where his customers where all but running from the shop, and his cranky meter disolved a fraction but the sneer stayed and he threw his four arms up in frustration.
"Well, they were! But you came in and they all ran. It's every time Viskra, you come in and my customers go off running before they even purchase anything. Can't you pick a time after I close my store to come scaring off my customers and asking for something?" he sits down with little trouble and exhales.
She takes the spot in front of him,"Of course not. You've lstf by then and avoid me at all cost like the sneaky old man you are." He shrugged at that, using his cracked un-trimmed nails to pop open a clear bottle filled with black shark blood. "Now, will you listen to the favor I wish to ask you?" she waits for him to grunt in acceptance. "Will you close my shop for me? I need to leave imediatly and I don't have a second to spare." He spits the liquid out and she has to move to the side in order to aviod being drenched.
"You want me to do what? I will do no such thing! I have my own shop I need to man and I don't have time to close up yours as well as watch over mine!" he shoots out of his chair, almost falling over but she caught him without problem and set him up right. He nodded his head slightly in a thank you and went back to throwing a hissy fit. "Why would I close up your shop for you?" he crosses all four of his arms over his chest.
Viskra smiles at him,"I will give you two gold pieces.
