“Oh yes, it suits you perfectly!” the mouse exclaimed enthusiastically. Shalina hesitated, turning this way and that, flexing her arms around to test the mobility of the chain shirt she was wearing.
“I dunno, it’s kinda heavy…”
It wasn’t just heavy, it was kind of clumsy. The shirt hanged down past her knees and would probably be difficult to run in, let alone sneak. The mouse frowned.
“Don’t you value your life? This will stop anything. A sword, a dagger, an arrow… anything. This is a dangerous place for a young girl…”
Shalina couldn’t hold back a snort. Young girl? The mouse was probably half her age, barely out of childhood. How he had gotten his paws on a shirt of chain armor was beyond her. It was seriously out of place in his little stand in the bazaar. If he didn’t manage to sell it today it would probably be stolen. There was no way he could defend it. He’d likely be killed over it. She started to feel a little sorry for him.
“Look, I can give you thirty for it…”
He immediately feigned offense.
“Thirty!? Are you trying to ruin me? My wife and six children will starve! A suit of armor this exclusive is worth at least twice that!”
She didn’t really want to haggle. In fact, she didn’t really want to stay in the bazaar much longer or the shop owner down the street would discover his bag of money was missing.
“I can offer forty.”
She counted up the coins on the counter to tempt him.
“Fifty. This is a genuine article from the last crusade. It’s been blessed by the Pope himself.”
She could hear shouting from down the way. Time to negotiate quicker. She picked up a knife.
“So how much for this AND the suit?”
“At least a hundred. That knife is a-”
She quickly put the point of the knife at the mouse’s throat.
“How about 40 coins for the suit and I give you the knife back and don’t stab you?”
A dark spot stained the front of the mouse’s pants and she felt even more sorry for him, but forty coins was way too much for the suit and they both knew it.
“O...okay, 40 it is…”
She put the knife down.
“Take my advice and don’t be caught with any of your wares or money in this town after sunset. Pack up and leave. There is an oasis an hour to the south.”
With that she walked around the corner as casually as one can when wearing a heavy suit of armor, and ducked into an alley. Behind her, cries of “thief” and “alarm” were being raised.