Never Ending Tale

Chapter 8

Ari rode along as the sun sank in the sky, keeping her eyes open for Enforcers, when she heard something she didn't expect. As she came around a bend in the road she saw a mountain of a man singing while tending a pot hung over a fire on the side of the road. She slowed Mira and tried to evaluate any threat the man may pose. She then noticed a merchant's wagon and two aurochs not too far behind the man. Could this man really be a merchant, and if he was did he have anything of use to her?

The man looked up and smiled at her. "Hallo!" he called happily with a thick accent of the lands to the south. It was then his most distinctive feature was revealed. The left side of his face had been burned some time ago leaving a scarred mess of flesh behind. Thick brown hair fell in an unkempt tangle, and a coarse beard grew where it could. His shirt and trousers were marked with several small holes caused by burns. "Join me?" He offered, pointing to the pot of bubbling soup.

Cautiously Ari eased off of Mira and moved closer to the man on foot. "Who are you?" She asked trying and failing to not look at the scarred side of his face. She could tell his left eye sat useless in it's socket. It might be a useful weakness to exploit if he was some how working with the Enforcers.

"I am called Barlow. I am an inventor and sometimes merchant," he replied stirring the pot. As she got closer she could see that it wasn't just his face that was scarred. His hands and arms  boasted several nicks, and burns as well. Barlow stood and wiped his hands on his shirt before asking, "Would you like to see what I have for sell?"

Ari nodded and followed him over to the wagon. Barlow went inside and unlatched the side panel allowing the wagon to open into a stall where he began laying out several devices and wares. After inquiring about the use of some of the objects one thing became clear to Ari. Everything in the cart was designed to explode in one way or another. She picked up a bottle with a bit of cloth stuffed in the mouth and was about to ask the price when she was interrupted by the sound of surging hoofbeats.

Two Enforcers road up and drew their swords. "Barlow Burclay, you are under arrest for the manufacture and distribution of illegal weapons," one hissed, "Step out of the wagon and come peacefully, and your punishment will be painless."

Barlow produced a blunderbuss from the wagon and pointed it at them in response. An explosion thundered from the gun and the Enforcer that had spoken slumped and fell to the ground while his companion was bucked off it's horse.

Ari jumped on the dazed Enforcer and stabbed him with his own sword. After making sure they were both dead she turned to Barlow and said, "So they're after you too?"

"Aye. I may have accidentally blown up a market square," he said picking the swords and armor off the fallen Enforcers. "Nobody was seriously harmed... I think. Anyway it might be a good idea for us to find a different spot to conduct our business." He packed up his camp while Ari checked on Mira who had ran a few yards away from the gunshot.

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So a few notes about Barlow. He has a thing about taking metal for scrap so he can build with it and load his blunderbuss with it. He's also doesn't really have people skills. Basically if he was a d&d character his charisma would be the lowest but his endurance and intelligence would be insanely high.

Ydocnagol