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[center][h1][color=black]𝕬 𝖓 𝖙 𝖆 𝖊 𝖚 𝖘[/color][/h1]
[img]https://i.imgur.com/b1nhSeq.png[/img]
[h3][i]Barthen's Bartered Goods[/i][/h3]
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Antaeus's excitement soon died, and his cheeks began to flush with shame as Barthen rebuked his proposal. But the storekeeper was right. Antaeus knew first hand how much work it took to find good quality ore, and how much labor it took afterwards to dig that ore, polish it, process it, and transport it. He could only imagine that just as much work went into smithing that ore into tools or weaponry, and that the things not made out of metal must have had their own process that could be just as difficult. He had often seen farmers at work during the harvest season, and wondered if the bales of hay they loaded on their carts and hauled on their backs were just as heavy as the carts full of rock and metal he pushed around. Barthen spoke the truth--if he gave Antaeus a discount, he'd be saying Antaeus's work was worth more than those efforts. And Antaeus hadn't even accomplished anything yet.

[i]"Don't come cryin' to me, boy. These ain't your little school friends, these are men. Working men. Or women, in the Boss's case, but you might as well count her as a man too. You want 'em to stop laughin' at your screwups? You want their respect? Then stop fucking up, put your back in, and earn it!"[/i]

He winced at the memory just like he had winced the first time his father said it. But he shook free of his thoughts as Barthen let the Hunting Trap clang onto the counter. The storekeeper would grant him just one boon--he would let him use the trap to try and capture his quarry. Which no longer seemed to be just a plain deer or boar. A White Stag? But...stories of hunters seeking the white stag were the stuff of fireside tales and folk hero stories. Not to say impossible or fictional, but to Antaeus that seemed more along the lines of an actual, real Quest--if he were able to do that, he might even be as home-town famous as the Redchaser!

"That's...that's good enough for me, sir! You're right, about what you said before...I'm sorry I got big for my britches." He rubbed the back of his neck bashfully, before picking up the Hunting Trap. Then he began to look around for the rest of the gear he might need. He wanted to be fairly well prepared, if he was going to be traipsing around the wilds, and to keep it simple he tried to focus on the bare necessities...Supplies for survival and convenience would probably need to come first, then the actual weapons to do the job with.

"Ah, by the way, sir...would you happen to know where I might find the Redchaser?" he asked as he searched the shelves and stands. "I've never really hunted before, so I'm sure her advice would be helpful."

He moved carefully among the items, knowing his bulk sometimes caused him to knock things over accidentally. Barthen really did have just about everything one could need here, and Antaeus wondered if he shipped any of this out to other settlements. Maybe he would need a guard or a deliverer for something like that eventually. With that thought Antaeus also recalled what he had been hearing for a few days now--Barthen would pay a gold piece for every pound of medicinal herbs someone could bring him. In addition to making a list of supplies, Antaeus used his small coal stick to write that down in his quest book.

Equipment wouldn't be any good without something to carry it in--he already had both shoulders and one arm busy with his mining gear. So the first item would probably need to be a backpack. He picked one that looked well made and sturdy--not that Barthen would have sold anything of poor quality, but not all of the packs looked like they were designed to be used for outdoor roughing. Next Antaeus decided on a waterskin--he probably wasn't going to camp overnight in the forest, but he knew that water, food, and medicine were the kinds of things a lot of people skipped over when they told the adventuring tales. And he never understood that, because he liked to eat and he didn't like getting sick, so he figured if you didn't make sure you had those things you'd be in for a rough time. He could get food from his house, provided mother hadn't used everything in the larder, but he couldn't always stop and take a drink out in the wilderness. Then he picked up a tinderbox. If he [i]did[/i] by some chance end up camping overnight in the forest, he would need to make fire. He might also need to make a torch at some point, and Barthen had those, but the boy decided if he really needed one he could make it from tree branches and brush out in the field. The important thing was to have a method of starting the fire. 

His arms were full at this point, so he hoped Barthen wouldn't mind him going ahead and putting his stuff into the backpack for the moment. But he wasn't finished yet. He also grabbed a weighty coil of hempen rope. He had been thinking he could make a trap of some kind with his block and tackle, since it included a cable and hook, but a rope might be needed for other traps. Or to help haul the prey after he caught it. But now, if his math was right, he found himself sitting a little over the halfway point of his limited funds. Did he really want to spend everything he had in his pouch? What if this didn't work out? What if he couldn't make it as an adventurer? His father might tan his hide already for quitting his job at the mines. What would he say if he found out Antaeus had spend all this money and then had nothing to show for it?

Then again, what other option did he have? He wanted to be an adventurer in the first place because...because nothing was changing for him. His father still seemed to hate him, his mother couldn't do anything but coddle him, and if he didn't do something soon his sister would probably take more and more after his father. He had been thinking that it was [i]him[/i], that [i]he[/i] needed to do something to get out of this...this rut. And to do that he had to take risks. No more point in overthinking it.

He found two javelins and added them to his bag. Then he found some smaller, lighter, but still deadly looking darts--certainly not the kind one would play at the taverns, but ones that could probably reach a man's heart through his shirt. With what little he had left he picked out a handful of them, then took the whole bundle to Barthen.

[hider=Inventory]
1 Quest Book - 5 lb
1 Shovel - 5 lb
1 Miner's Pick - 5 lb
1 Block and Tackle Set - 5 lb
--Pulleys
--Cable
--Hook
1 Climber's Kit - 12 lb
--Pitons
--Boot tips
--Gloves
--Harness
1 Set of Clothes, Common - 3 lb
--Roughspun Tunic
--Roughspun Pants
--Ragged Boots
1 Belt Pouch - 5 GP spent out of 5 GP
<NEW>
Hunting Trap - Free - 12 lb
1 Backpack - 2 GP - 5 lb - Holds 30 lb
1 Waterskin - 2 SP - 5 lb (full) - holds 4 pints
1 Tinderbox - 5 SP - 1 lb
1 Hempen Rope - 1 GP - 10 lb - 50 ft
2 Javelins - 5 SP Each - 2 lb Each
6 Darts - 5 CP Each - .25 lb Each

Total Cost: 5 GP
New Total GP: 0/0
Total Encumberance: 71.5/240 lb (Light)
[/hider]
[hider=Quest Log]
+Bookie has agreed to write a letter to Captain Ork at the Garrison. I should kill an animal in the forest and take it to Captain Ork to prove I'm adventuring material.
--The animal can be anything from the Forest. Bookie suggested a deer or a boar.

+Barthen has requested me to hunt a White Stag in the Forest, and has given me a free hunting trap for this purpose. If I don't succeed I should probably bring the trap back.
--I should try to find the Redchaser, she might be able to help me.

+Barthen is paying 1 GP per pound of Medicinal Herbs from the forest.
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