It seemed to be a typical night for Zou as it seemed to Rikaru. The clouds were made of melted gold, the moon was shining a brilliant purplish hue, and the walls were imprinted with the visage of clowns. Seeing this wondrous sight was none other than Rikaru, stumbling through a rapidly darkening alley guided only by the pretty lights dotting over the landscape of his vision.
He floundered awkwardly over the brick tiles, using his staff as a walking stick to keep himself upright. The pitch black landscape flitted between golden and charcoal color as the alcohol and various drugs made themselves felt in messing with his senses. All was silent for a moment before his stomach heaved and Rikaru found himself holding down his lunch after dropping his staff.
Silently, he cursed to himself while sessions of heaving and trying to re-steady himself again "Heh heh. Remind me never to do that again... never again."
That was when his body finally started to lose the high that had been built up throughout the night. He panted heavily, leaning against the wall as the world dipped down from shining to its usual dullish gray. The layout around him became clear once again and all the buildings stopped shaking in his eyes.
He was in a dark alley sitting against the wall right across from a very typical-looking shop. The architecture and design were nothing special, styled in Zou empire colors of red and gold windows with hanging paper lanterns draping over the receding entrance. On the outside, nothing appeared to be amiss with this place, but then Rikaru's sobering mind cleared up the last of the haze in his brain and he was able to peek closer. It started as a glimpse of light, but then he pushed his face up against the glass
Hidden behind the display was a elegant longsword of the purest silver and gold. The pommel was ruby and clearly set in a silver lining along the handle. He was no swordsman, but he knew well the worth of gold.
He pushed open the door and quickly found his way over to where the sword was propped up for all to see. He stared at it for a moment, marveling at how much pure gold must have gone into the forging... until he looked at the price tag set at the bottom.
1,ooo,ooo Huang.
Quite fittingly, that was when the store owner decided to waltz over to him. He was a man of moderate bulk, though still wider than Rikaru. He was an elderly squint-eyed individual and wore a gray smock. He said not a word as he held out an outstretched palm.
Understanding immediately, Rikaru raised his palms in an innocent play of defense, "Sorry sir... I'm not really here to buy it this time."
The man retracted his hand then said in a very monotone voice, "Leave then. Customers here only. No browsers."
The man quickly shooed him out of the shop with a large broom, leaving Rikaru little room for protest. He once again found himself staring at the large golden sword from outside-in.
"I absolutely need to have that blade... Hmm." Rikaru puzzled with a pondering expression.
He turned around and studied the shop's look once again, taking in as many details as he could. After a few seconds, his mind put together the blueprints of a plan. He was going to steal the blade... and he knew exactly what he could use to make it work... just not the how. He walked behind the shop and noted some of structural peculiarities of the store. It shared an alley with several other places in the vicinity and was noticeably connected to another place via a backdoor.
Those weren't the details he was looking at though. No, another detail struck him and when he realized it, he filed it into the back of his memory before happily strutting off into the night.
He floundered awkwardly over the brick tiles, using his staff as a walking stick to keep himself upright. The pitch black landscape flitted between golden and charcoal color as the alcohol and various drugs made themselves felt in messing with his senses. All was silent for a moment before his stomach heaved and Rikaru found himself holding down his lunch after dropping his staff.
Silently, he cursed to himself while sessions of heaving and trying to re-steady himself again "Heh heh. Remind me never to do that again... never again."
That was when his body finally started to lose the high that had been built up throughout the night. He panted heavily, leaning against the wall as the world dipped down from shining to its usual dullish gray. The layout around him became clear once again and all the buildings stopped shaking in his eyes.
He was in a dark alley sitting against the wall right across from a very typical-looking shop. The architecture and design were nothing special, styled in Zou empire colors of red and gold windows with hanging paper lanterns draping over the receding entrance. On the outside, nothing appeared to be amiss with this place, but then Rikaru's sobering mind cleared up the last of the haze in his brain and he was able to peek closer. It started as a glimpse of light, but then he pushed his face up against the glass
Hidden behind the display was a elegant longsword of the purest silver and gold. The pommel was ruby and clearly set in a silver lining along the handle. He was no swordsman, but he knew well the worth of gold.
He pushed open the door and quickly found his way over to where the sword was propped up for all to see. He stared at it for a moment, marveling at how much pure gold must have gone into the forging... until he looked at the price tag set at the bottom.
1,ooo,ooo Huang.
Quite fittingly, that was when the store owner decided to waltz over to him. He was a man of moderate bulk, though still wider than Rikaru. He was an elderly squint-eyed individual and wore a gray smock. He said not a word as he held out an outstretched palm.
Understanding immediately, Rikaru raised his palms in an innocent play of defense, "Sorry sir... I'm not really here to buy it this time."
The man retracted his hand then said in a very monotone voice, "Leave then. Customers here only. No browsers."
The man quickly shooed him out of the shop with a large broom, leaving Rikaru little room for protest. He once again found himself staring at the large golden sword from outside-in.
"I absolutely need to have that blade... Hmm." Rikaru puzzled with a pondering expression.
He turned around and studied the shop's look once again, taking in as many details as he could. After a few seconds, his mind put together the blueprints of a plan. He was going to steal the blade... and he knew exactly what he could use to make it work... just not the how. He walked behind the shop and noted some of structural peculiarities of the store. It shared an alley with several other places in the vicinity and was noticeably connected to another place via a backdoor.
Those weren't the details he was looking at though. No, another detail struck him and when he realized it, he filed it into the back of his memory before happily strutting off into the night.