When I first saw the alloy bow, I was attracted to its soft, smooth shape. It is a metal shortbow with a very broad back and narrow, slender arms with an exaggerated curve the further you look at the edges. I think it was forged from refined black iron mixed with other metals, it resembled a curved moon and the whole bow was polished to a fine sand pattern giving the whole bow an extraordinarily dark appearance and not reflective, for an assassin lurking in the dark it was important that there were no reflective points on the whole bow.
The alloy bow had a simple magic pattern engraved on its body, I had never seen such an odd structure of magic patterns in the old kuru's parchment scrolls, and Kurtz was looking on in awe, the alloy bow was maintained as if it was brand new and it was a magic weapon with a magic pattern.
As Kurtz took it from Old Man Su and held it carefully in his hand, I could clearly see the odd magic pattern glowing faintly green as Kurtz held his hand over the bow, and then it disappeared with a crisp "chomp". I was surprised to see that no one around me, including Kiger, seemed to notice anything unusual and seemed to be waiting for Kurtz to test the arrow. Kurtz, however, seemed to notice something and looked suspiciously at his left hand, then looked up at me.
I winked at him very subtly, a little tacit understanding we still had. A smile filled his eyes for a moment, knowing that the wonderful state he had just felt was not mistaken, not an illusion. Old Man Su didn't rush to hand Kurtz the feathered arrow, but introduced it to us, "This bow is actually considered a magical weapon, but it's a bit special, I've never found it to be and different from other alloy bows, although it has a magical spell pattern inscribed on the back of the bow."
Old man Su, perhaps because both of his previous bows had been seen by us, took out this one and then told us the truth about the flaws of this alloy bow so as not to make us think that he was being less than honest. I was a bit surprised that old man Su couldn't see it, as it was clear that the magic spell of this bow had just been activated by Kuz.
"So the price of this alloy bow, I will calculate it to you at the price of a normal alloy bow." Old man Su sighed softly, and I could see that he really had some reluctance to part with it. He pulled a feathered arrow out of his quiver and handed it to Kurtz before turning to stand aside. Kurtz shot the arrow with a very standard stance and was accurate enough to hit the bullseye with ease.
He could easily draw this alloy bow, and the power and range of the bow was even better than that of the ironwood bow, which I don't think Kurtz would have been able to draw with such ease. Seeing Kurtz's expression of great enjoyment, I said to Katrina without moving a muscle, "Katrina, you try it too!"
Katrina took the alloy bow from Kurtz and looked at me blankly with her pretty red eyes, not understanding what I was trying to do but still picking up a feathered arrow as I had told her, and then said, somewhat embarrassed, "I've never used a bow before, I don't know if I can pull it off."
In fact, I didn't need to pull it open at all. When the alloy bow was transferred to Katrina's hand, the magic array on top of the alloy bow didn't react in any way, as if Katrina was holding an ordinary alloy bow, I was a bit curious and took it.
But the others were still looking at me obliviously, not noticing the bright glow the alloy bow had just emitted, not even Kurtz. I was a little confused by the nervous ducking back after I took the bow. It was at this point that Kiger looked at me a little suspiciously, but of course I couldn't explain to her here what I had encountered. With the alloy bow in my hand I actually found that it didn't feel as heavy as I thought it would, it was very light and there was a strength in the alloy bow itself that supported me and I felt more powerful than usual.
It suddenly occurred to me that this was supposed to be the power of magic, or to be precise, it should be the power triggered into the inside of the magic pattern spell.
I didn't try to shoot it because I didn't think I could pull it off yet.
I looked up and asked Old Man Su, "How much is this bow selling for?"
Old man Su didn't expect me to be the one who finally decided to buy the bow, he had expected it to be Kuz or the red-haired beauty next to him. I suspect that the magic markings may have been damaged and could be repaired if a skilled inscriber could be found. My father once told me about the power of this spell: speed stimulation, which increases the speed of archery. At least the metal plate on which the spell is sealed on this bow is of russet, so I am pricing it at three gold coins."
Three gold coins was obviously not expensive for a magical weapon, but for Old Man Su, this bow was more like an ordinary weapon with rare magical metal plates inlaid on it, so simply based on the value of the magical materials plus the ordinary bow itself, that was a bit inflated.
In fact, I actually wanted to say yes immediately and buy it.
Kurtz was a little hesitant, after all, if it took three gold to buy this bow back, then it would be worth twenty times more than a normal Neti bow. The little orc, who had probably never spent so much money before, gave me a somewhat hesitant look.
I hesitated, but in the end, I didn't kill the price ruthlessly, and just thought for half a day before saying to Old Man Su, "Plus three bowstrings made of thunder rhinoceros tendons and a pot of finely forged conehead feather arrows."
Old man Su's eyes flickered for a moment, and it seemed that this also caused him a lot of heartache, but he still said, "Alright."
As he said this, I felt the old man instantly pile up, that essence in his body completely dissipated, and he sent the orc maiden Sukamio downstairs to fetch the bowstring and the pot of arrows, while he himself sat in his chair in a daze, rubbing the three gold coins in his hand with an indescribable pallor.
Kurtz stood beside me beautifully wrapping the alloy bow in a tarpaulin, but refused to ask for the bulky wooden case anymore, just carried it behind his back very lovingly, put his arm around me looking a little excited and said, "Ja, an alloy bow, I actually have an alloy bow!"
I asked Old Man Sue, "Do you have any wind wolf fangs here, we want to make two more wind wolf tooth arrows."
Old man Su glanced behind Kuzi and finally sighed and shook his head, "In winter the sheep in the wilderness have to hide in the valleys of the mountains at the northern foot of the plateau for the winter, only in spring will they come to the wilderness to graze, those demon wolves will also follow the demon antelope to migrate to the mountains, the teeth of the wind demon wolves are there that easy to get, I see that you guys are of extraordinary status, to say something that should not be said, go out I think you're all in a position to say something you shouldn't, but remember not to show your money or weapons after you go out.
Kurtz and I both looked at each other with a sense of awe and understanding.
I asked Old Man Su if he had a crossbow, but he said with a bitter smile on his face, "It's even more expensive, I can't even get an alloy bow here, so I don't know how to get it. If you're lucky, you might be able to come across them."
By the time we left the bow shop, it was getting late.
When we passed the well on the west side of town, the orc women who had been washing clothes at the well at midday had disappeared, and instead there were half-grown children collecting water from the well, working together to bring it up. So there were usually two children standing at the well, alternating between each other, pulling the ropes, while the others played with stones and watched curiously as we walked past.
I squinted against the setting sun in the west and saw an old man sitting hunched over a rock at the camp gate. In the setting sun, in the flying yellow sand, his figure looked particularly thin.
The southeastern trade winds of spring had brought with them a great deal of moisture from the Endless Sea, and the cumulonimbus clouds in the sky and the dust on the dry surface of the wilderness at the northern foot of the Pai plateau were stirred together by the gusts of wind, leaving the whole sky a chaotic mess, except for the earth beneath his feet, which was dull and yellow, and the sun hanging in the west like an egg yolk. The wind was blowing in your face and you could clearly feel the fine gravel hitting your face. The dust was blown into the collar and cuffs of the sleeves and mixed with the sweat on the body to form a trail of mud and dirt.
Kig and Katrina were obviously scared to see old Kulu and separated from us outside the camp to meet the caravan alone.
Kurtz and I headed straight for the old kuru.
This was the reason I had stayed with the caravan, to have the person I knew best, who would bring me warmth and security, an old orc man who people liked to call Old Kulu. When Old Kulu saw me and Kurtz return safely, his dry, cloudy face finally came to life and it was only when we got closer that he got up from the stone and walked back with his hands behind his back, and we both hurried to follow, the wind and sand so strong that you could barely speak. Everyone in the caravan hid in their tents, only the night watchman on guard wrapped himself up like a mummy and then, after draping himself in a thick blanket, crouched in one of the camp's several watchtowers.
Walking into the old kuru's tent, the old kuru sat down next to the puffing hot clay stove, covered in so much dust that it seemed like a handful of it would fall off his body if he moved.
"I heard the men from the camp bring back word that you two had a run-in with that group of noble boys from the Prosperity Adventurers, and that the youngest child stabbed one of them and ran off in the confusion. I was worried that those men would ambush you outside the camp and block you, so I waited for you there. It didn't seem like they had any intention of making a big deal out of it, this is orc territory after all. But it is not a good thing to hold a grudge against an adventuring group before entering the wilderness." The old kuru added to the leather shawl draped over him, shaking the sand off his body and looking up at me with wise eyes.
Kurtz bravely stepped forward and said stubbornly, "We didn't start this."
I took a step forward and looked up at the old Kuru who was growing older before me. I realised that the closer he got to home the faster he aged, the wrinkles on his forehead were already deeper than the gullies of the loess plateau. I hung my head and sighed and said, "I was the one who stabbed the boy who messed with me with a dagger, some trouble cannot be avoided even if you want to, I will take care of it."
Old Kuru slowly lowered his eyes and said, "I heard from Leipas that tomorrow the Prosperity Adventurers planned to leave the caravan and go hunting alone in the Northern Foothills, but postponed their plans for a day because a member was injured. I think they may not be honest about hunting in the wilderness, those children are spoiled and as soon as the seed of hatred is planted in their hearts, that seed will keep taking root in their minds and they will do whatever it takes. I just want to remind you two that if you meet them narrowly on the moor, it is not a disgrace to run away, and if I were you today, Ja, I would have stabbed the dagger in when I finally let him go, and since there is no dissolving the hatred, the least thing to do is to just cut it off."
I thought the old kuru would scold me for fighting; when I was little I used to be scolded by my parents for fighting, saying that I was disobedient and causing trouble all the time, that I was causing trouble in the house and that my father needed to go around and apologise for me, always teaching me how to get along with other children, to be polite and humble to the younger ones and respect the older ones. I was bullied by the older children all the time, and I had to let the younger ones get the better of me, so what was the point of doing that? Was just being called a bear by the neighbours my greatest achievement? When I grew up, I read a story about wolves and sheep, and I thought that I was a sheep who only knew how to eat grass and milk wool. So who is the wolf?
And here suddenly I found my outlook on life completely turned upside down, old Kulu was actually thinking that I wasn't ruthless enough and had left myself open to the possibility of trouble for the trip to the moors a few days later. Why can't you be like a wolf and bite your prey to death when you set your sights on them. I looked at Old Kulu with wide eyes, thinking that there was some truth in what he was saying to me.
After a long while, Old Kulu asked me, "How do you feel about the Beast Tribe after your visit to the free market in Yemen Town today?"
"..." I didn't know how to answer for a while.
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