HonestyMystery

Honesty or mystery?
Tell me I'm not scared anymore
I got no secret purpose
I don't seem obvious
Do I?

Black-Edged Claw

Apparel

A decorative claw extension.

200

The big, scarred Guardian growled. Mystery's usual charming smile vanished from her face.

"This is garbage. I'd take it for scrap at thirty per cent of that."

Mystery looked him over. He was a scruffy creature; the few pieces of metal he wore were mismatched, rusted and dented. The rest was patched, cracked leather. He didn't look like he knew what he was buying. She picked up the gleaming pauldron and held it up so that it caught the light. It was one of a matching pair: she'd polished them up to a fine shine only the previous morning. Sure, she'd had to get Circle to straighten out a few minor dents, but they were secondhand, it was to be expected. "My scavengers discovered these only three days past, buried deep in a forgotten vault in the foothills of the Cloudscape Crags. I can assure you, sir, the Icewarden and his followers don't keep garbage in their vaults. Only true treasures -"

"Listen, little lady," he sneered, orange eyes narrowed. "You've never been to the Cloudscape Crags. Those idiots hoard anything and everything. This" - he rapped a dirty claw against the shiny surface of the pauldron- "could have been made last week. Just 'cause something's shiny don't mean it's treasure, honey!"

Oh, she thought, he's one of those males. You got his type from time to time in her trade. They did not like someone smaller and weaker than them telling them left from right. Especially a female.

Stupid. Really stupid. Half of the fiercest fighters in her clan were female. Three of them were looking at the big dragon right now with expressions of distaste. Mystery caught the eye of the nearest, a stocky Snapper, and gave a single shake of her head. Bite gave the others a one-shouldered shrug and ambled off.

Mystery refocused on her irate customer. She put the pauldron down and changed tactics. "If you're not interested in those, sir, perhaps you'd like to browse -"

"I'm not buying from you. If you're not stupid, then you're a con merchant!" He growled again and leaned towards her, over the table she used to count money, flaring the stiff fins on his cheeks and jowls. Mystery's crests almost itched with the instinct to respond in kind, but she kept herself outwardly calm. She might not be a great fighter herself, but she had been collecting and trading since she left her parents' clan. She knew the difference between a quality piece from the heart of the Great Furnace and mass-produced rubbish. Yet this oversized cretin had the nerve to call her a liar - to insult her intelligence - to threaten her!

She put her sweetest smile back on, and to his obvious suprise she rose up on her hind legs and stretched out towards him, resting one front foot on her table, until her face was inches from his bared teeth. She reached out and ran a claw - the one with the elegant metal extension - up his throat. It snagged and slipped under a scale just beside the crest on his cheek, and the edge of the ornamental claw scratched his skin a little. Her smile widened just a tiny bit.

"I can assure you, sir," she cooed into his ear. "I am intimately familiar with every piece you see before you. I know its provenance, I know its worth, and most of all, I know its purpose!"

She leaned back, the sweet smile turning a little smug. The Guardian waggled his fins and snorted. "Are you threatening me? A little thing like you? Don't tell me you think you could beat me in c- c- chhkkk -" His words trailed off into a strange, strangled sound. His eyes widened.

Mystery's smile stayed right where it was. "Oh, you poor thing," she cooed. "Choked on your tongue? You know, it really doesn't matter whether or not I could beat you in single combat. Because I don't have to!"

The big Guardian's breath came in short, rasping gasps. He half-fell backwards, scratching at his rapidly swelling throat, and stumbled into an even larger, very handsome Imperial. He looked down on the Guardian with a slight frown, then said calmly, "Bite said you might need me". The Guardian responded with a gagging noise: Mystery just giggled.

KeyChange twisted his long body around the choking Guardian, restraining him. He produced a small green bottle from somewhere, tipped the Guardian's head back and forced the contents down his rapidly-closing throat. He held the Guardian still untill his breathing began to clear, and then uncoiled quickly, sending the Guardian staggering away.

"Oh, KeyChange, whatever would we do without you?" Mystery cooed, batting her eyelids and flicking out her tongue at the Imperial.

"Lose a few more of our customers, I'm sure," he grumbled, walking away past the small crowd of dragons who had gathered to watch the drama unfold.

"Not as though that's a problem for you, is it?" Mystery muttered under her breath. Then her smile re-appeared. She beamed at the gathered dragons.

"Well, hello there, ladies and gentlemen! What can I do for you today? We have some delightful new pieces in! Oh, yes, sir, do take a look. Have you ever seen such exquisite filigree work? It could almost be from the Flamecaller's own vaults! Not only will the cobalt keep you protected, it brings out those eyes! Your accent... you must be from the border, near the Zephyr Steppes, if I'm not mistaken? The Plateau is beautiful at this time of year, isn't it? Have you ever been to Starwind Bay? Hahaha, yes, it depends which side of the border you come from, of course..."

She closed up at the end of the day with a tidy profit, as usual, and she'd managed to make some excellent trades. The latest batch of armour that the scavengers had collected had been well worth the effort of restoring.

After all, with a heavily-applied hammer from a sparky Imperial who didn't really know her own strength, plus some intensive polishing, you could "accidentally" take out most maker's marks. Especially the shallow, generic stamps reading "Made in Blacksand Annex". Mystery might know the difference between tat and treasure, but how many of her customers truly did?

Ebony Filigree Helmet

Apparel

This ebony plate is etched with a decorative filigree. The armor symbolizes a commitment to secrecy.

2000