Legend Land: Tale of the Nameless God

Chapter 4.2: The Routine

She slams dishes down. "I'm older than you!"

I stop at the entrance, door half open, looking back; she can't see my smile. "No, you're definitely not."

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"C'mon man, it was your cheap-ass weapons that broke. Why should I have to pay for the replacements when it wasn't even my fault?" The small man looks up at me from underneath his thick eyebrows, copper beard twitching as he smiles. Baerus is always smiling, even when he's conning you out of your hard earned money. A man after my own heart.

"And what were you doing with those 'cheap-ass weapons,' mate?"

I fidget, brushing my hand across the back of my head. "You know, uh, stuff."

Baerus lets out a bark of laughter, climbing the rolling ladder deftly, despite his stocky bulk.

"Stuff! You're always doing 'stuff', Namonai. Besides," He pulls out a well-wrapped brown box from one of the top shelves, climbing down and setting it down on the counter. "I have durable weapons. You just never buy them."

"Like I can afford your prices."

"Nobody can." He says with a wink, bringing out a locked metal box. This is our dance. I try to get weapons for free, he gets me the usual. Then the box comes out. Always the box. He whispers softly to it, and the top clicks open with a barely audible hiss. All of Baerus' regulars know the ritual, and just have to deal with it. "Two kusarigama, stock material. Rush order, as usual. That'll be five coins, two tiks."

I sigh, bringing up my pouch, counting out the money. Malor is one of the few countries in this world with a standardized money system. You have tiks, small square pieces of gold barely larger than your thumbnail. Five tiks for a coin. Fifty tiks for a medallion—a half circle about the size of half a palm; one hundred tiks for a bar—a thin rectangle of gold the size of a hand. Of course, you also have ingots. But nobody is rich enough to use ingots.

"How's business going man?" I pull out three coins, plopping them down. I hope I can find a couple more coins; I hate plopping a handful of tiks down to pay. People always look at you like you're cheap. Which, if you're paying entirely in tiks, you probably are.

"Can't complain. Had an influx of foreigners after trouble began in the Kingdom. Can you believe what they're saying, about ghouls and plagues? It's ridiculous." I keep quiet, setting another coin down. "Queens with light powers, shadow controlling mass murderers. This world's going to the dogs, I tell ya. But all them little scared pups are good for business. Everybody wants weapons." He chuckles, eyeing my pouch while I scrounge for another coin. Come on, just one more. Just one more. "Akath's been giving me a bit of trouble though."

My eyebrows arch behind my mask, as I set down seven tiks on the table. "Oh?"

"The usual. More money, or he'll burn my place down, I should be lucky he's 'protecting' me. The same ol' shit he's been saying for years."

"Then what's the problem?" I ask. Baerus swipes the gold into his box, clicking it shut and tucking it away.

"He brought out his girls this time." I suck in a breath. Damn.

"Well, you know, everybody's on edge more these days. What with the queen holding up in her castle, and just letting Inari's agents run loose. People are talking now. I'm sure Akath's just making sure you know what's what." I reason.

"I'm sure you're right." Baerus unwraps the box, giving me the two shoddily crafted kusarigama. Oh baby, I missed you. Come to daddy. I slip their familiar weight through my hands, fastening them to my belt.

"Thanks Baerus!" I wave to the little man, the shop bell tinkling as I leave. Time to get Naiomi her money.

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Inspired by: "Country Song" by Seether

More character interactions here! And some backstory here on Namonai, finally. We finally get to see he kind of cares about other people. Plus, a tie in to the original Legend Land novel in the last section of this chapter. I'm moving on May 1st, so I'll do my best to get a new chapter written, but if I miss next week, that's why. Hope you enjoyed!

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Beta Readers/Editors:

Alyssa Clark

Elizabeth Foran

Mandy Barfield

Jordan Thacker

Raiden Jackson