Deep within the Castle District, lay the Afthonia Bazaar, the jewel of Sularia. It created a cacophony of sound, color, and smell, with its brightly patterned stalls and mosaic-tiled floor, its cheerful clamor of voices buying and selling, and the mixing scents of exotic perfumes unique to the Rosenites and the food vendors that made one's mouth water just to pass it by. Mydrei knew the Bazaar like the back of her hand, having walked its twisted pathways many times with her sister Imrei, long ago. It'd been one of her sister's favorite places in Arri, and today it filled Mydrei with a strong sense of nostalgia.

Coin passed like water here; a coin here brought an apple to her waiting palm, a coin there joined thousands of others in the mother-and-child fountain, shimmering in its depths like silver fish scales, obscuring the bottom. Though Mydrei was low on funds after crossing the harsh desert, she was in no mood to be tight with her purse. One stall in particular caught her eye - literally, in this case - as the sun reflected off of metal to glint onto her cheek. She wandered over to it, and discovered that it was a weapons stall, though its ware were intended for more decorative uses than practical ones, pretty things with silk-wrapped hilts and jewels scattered over the blades. Mydrei took a bite from her apple as she looked over them, and passed by spears and halberds meant for framing doors, disregarded the scimitars that were beautiful, but obviously off-balance with a careful look, and settled on a pair of sais that were gorgeous on their velvet pillows. With the apple in one hand, she asked to hold one of the lovingly-crafted blades, marveling at its craft. What was a beauty like this doing in a shop meant for ornamentation?

It had been a while since he had been away on a task without his Elvish partner and interest on his side. Honestly, the days without her next to him, heckling whatever popped up unlike her noble blood felt a little odd, but it was still a task he felt like he needed to take care of, and since she had business elsewhere, the two planned on splitting up just for the moment, letting each other take care of whatever business that lingered upon them, and meet back together on a later date. On his end, it involved a lot of asking around, catching ear of talk before he finally found himself within the midst the the blazing desert of Sularia. More specially, the Afthonia Bazaar in the middle of the Castle District.

Inside the stall that the Rosenite was examining were three people: a woman at the front maintaining the sales while two in the back were deep in discussion. "SO… what you are telling me is that Karma sent you good quality ore to craft decorative pieces?"

"What?!" the owner replied, more than likely the actual owner of the stand, "No, no. He sent decent ore so we can practice our craft. Make many decorative pieces while we try to get a hold of actual smithing."

"Right… and you saw you smelt the ore yourself?" The other gave a nod to the silver-haired man before he let off a sigh. "Of course he would cut corners in terms of a buyer to ensure he could get the most profit… Look, that Karma man, he ripped you off, just as he did me. This quality of ore is not meant for decorative blades." As he talked, magic sparked upon his finger tips as he traced upon the earth, creating a crest before a hole opened up in  the ground. Reaching down inside, he pulled out a spear. "They are meant to help protect those on the roads from bandits and beasts. Go to war if that ever occurred… If you need some ore to practice with, I can find you a vein. I jsut don't want all this good material to go to waste…"

Mydrei had been preoccupied with admiring the blade in her hand when the conversation of the two men behind the stall counter caught her attention. Though they were partially obscured by a rich red curtain, they certainly weren't keeping their volume down, and she listened while she finished off her apple. How interesting…..so, if she gathered it right (and it was possible that she didn't, since she didn't hear all of the conversation), then this blade right here wasn't meant to be as high a quality as it was. Which was surprising, to be incredibly honest - it was made well, with not a fault to its name, and it wasn't only the quality of ore that lent to its value. A happy mistake, maybe?

The question occurred, of course, as to why this Karma fellow would intentionally give out high quality ore at the price of middling level ore, and what he'd stood to gain from the mistake. And why would the high quality ore be so preciously minded, that he would want to recall the weapons made? For surely that's what he implied. He mentioned war….. Her gaze flickered to the silver haired foreigner who called up a spear from the earth, and she mused thoughtfully. Now, this would be a challenge.

She didn't have enough for the sais, that much was clear. With how well-crafted they were and the decorative gold designs in the hilt, they should've gone for a hundred silver, and she didn't have anything close to that amount. She had to haggle for them, which would be difficult. So she eyed the girl at the counter, charmingly asking her over to talk in low tones over the wares, eyeing one shoddily made piece after the other, asking her about their prices, which were incredibly low, given their level of craftsmanship. then she brought her over to the sais, asking offhandedly about their price, and when she offered a price following the line of the others, Mydrei moved into it, charming her into lowering the price into something she could afford.

"So, sixty silver for these? Excellent - they'll look beautiful above my mantle." She said with a curling smile. The girl smiled back, happy to make a sale for the shop owner, and beckoned her over to the counter with the two weapons safely tucked in the crook of her arm while Mydrei counted out her coins.

(ooc: I hope this is alright and I didn't misinterpret anything. <: )

A sigh left him as he left the back of the tent, holding his arm out as the sun darted right for his eyes, attempting to blind him with the sudden brightness spike. "A ripoff artist and a terrible salesperson… I bet his family was so proud of him…" Still, thinking back on his curse the fae family placed upon him, it would be interesting to see if they even thought of him ever again. After all, the conditions of his curse meant if he pushed any aggression, those close to him would forget his existence. I would hate to be that man's wife right now if he had one.

As he stepped out, though, he did see a young girl making a deal with the shop he was just in. He probably never really noticed because he was so focused with trying to talk some sense with the man. Still, it seemed the young lady had her eye on a pair of sais, which all things considered, looked in pretty usable condition for a decorative piece. Who knows, maybe it was a son's secret project with his father finding out? Probably a bit rude to ask after she just bought them, but that would now matter on the new holder.

Then again, what do I know? After all, this man was not a trained soldier or a man of a thousand arms. He was an explorer: a man who's job was to get lost in the world and find new treasures and hidden secrets. If anything, his experience would come from his travels and what he has seen. Let's see… I think last I saw them were in… Ataiyo? Its been a couple years, for sure.