Besides, he wasn't about to be caught out like that again. Getting attacked was one thing, but to have to face that sort of attack without being able to return the 'favor' in turn was troublesome. He now knew that he wouldn't be able count on being able to run away or fight as he always had. These Runes were dangerous, and he wanted to keep his hide intact.
But that didn't exactly mean that he was rolling in money. His reason for being well fed and clothed was the 'kindness' of the women they'd met, and his 'payments of thanks' had been of the sort that had gotten him in trouble many times. That meant that he had to work around things sometimes, and Runes could get expensive. Plus... he had a tendency to try to sneak around things if he could.
It was why he was in a dank room that had seen better days with a man old enough to be his grandfather. Not that the elderly man seemed to be needing a walker any time soon, as his stiff, and somewhat bent, form seemed to be very solid as well. His nationality was questionable as well, as he looked like he was Mediterranean, but his accent was vague, and his style of dress was... odd, to say the least, as if they'd been patched from half a dozen places. And then there was the tattoo that wound up his neck and came around one eye.
The old man raised a brow gave him a predatory smile. "You are the one who seeks a Rune of his own?"
"Yes, I do," Genma admitted, wondering what to make of this seller. "I heard that you sold Runes here."
"Perhaps. Do you have the funds?"
"Do you have a Rune for me?"
"Could be. I have many Runes, but I'm a business man. You pay, and you get what you ask for."
"Really? Then show it to me."
"Pay first. Then you get it."
"You'll give it to me?"
"Only with payment!"
Scowling, the portly man whipped out the wad of cash that he'd pulled together. "What do you think of this?"
"For your Rune?"
"Of course! What else could I use it for?"
"Hmmm..." the seller murmured, and snatched the money out of the younger man's hand. He flipped through the bills with a measuring air, and then smiled. "I think that we can do business."
"We can?"
"Yes. And I do not run out on my customers. You get what you give money for."
"So?"
"Here."
Taking the orb that the old man had just pulled from under his orbs, Genma held it in his hands and looked at it in awe.
"It is all yours. Take it and do as you will. I have been paid."
"I know that you have."
"Then go take the Rune elsewhere. It is yours now," the seller told him with a cackle.
Confused for a moment, Genma scowled at the man, but quickly shrugged it off. He had what he'd come for, and as soon as he saw the glow pass from the orb to him, he knew that he'd gotten what he'd wanted. Now he only had to find out which Rune he'd gotten, as he didn't know that he'd gotten a Rune that was:
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(Posted Sat, 06 Aug 2005 01:56)
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