It Rained Red Upon the Arena (3 page)

Christopher’s weapon shop was simply called “The Bint Blade.” It was a fairly large shop and was renown throughout Vincot and some hailed it as the best weapons of Hentrio. On the walls of the shop were hundreds of steel swords, axes, and daggers masterfully crafted by Christopher. The wood that made up the four walls of the shop were from beck trees, and it gave off the scent similar to that of a fresh lemon fruit all year round. There were four tables in the shop that displayed the simple assortment of weapons, ones that go cheaper for those on a tight budget. The ones displayed on the wall behind the counter were ones that were made only from the finest steel, imported from Genold City. These masterfully crafted weapons could sometimes take months to craft, and they went for a much steeper price.

One day two months after Thomas and Nick’s heroic stand against the attempted rapist, Christopher opened up his shop at sunrise as he did every day. Penelope Wess was the shop assistant. Her duties included cleaning, stocking, and helping with customer transactions. Christopher’s wife Jessica used to hold that position until her sudden and heartbreaking death by illness two years earlier. Penelope usually arrived at the shop a few hours after opening, as normally there were no customers who wished to buy a weapon at such an early hour.

This day started off in an abnormal way. A tall and husky Paplon arrived at the shop minutes after Christopher opened up. The bright red door at the front of the shop sprung open in a violent manner.

The Paplon standing at the door was strong and had a muscular build. He had a long braided beard accompanied by a dark nearly black set of eyes. The way the man looked could have terrified a young child and given them nightmares.

Christopher stopped polishing a blade he had created a day earlier on a workbench counter to the left of the door as the man walked in.

“Hello. What can I do for you today?” inquired Christopher.

The man’s golden yellow teeth showed as he spoke. “I need good steel. I hear you are the best in Vincot. I am traveling to Ralton and I need a few daggers to accompany me.”

“An odd hour for a traveler to come in, but nonetheless, let me show what we have available here,” said Christopher as he rose up from his chair and walked over to a table which had a variety of selections.

The man walked behind Christopher and his boots made a loud thump with each step on his wooden floor. His sheer might and strength could be heard from his foot steps alone. Christopher got to the table with the man, about fifty daggers deep, some curved, some straight, some short, and some long. “Any of these interest you?”

Without hesitation, the man picked up a curved dagger and a smaller one meant for the ease of concealment and shined his yellow teeth with content.
This is all too strange
thought Christopher.

“These blades are fine ones,” said Christopher. An eerie feeling swept over Christopher as he told the man that. “Might I ask what you do for a living? Or what you plan on doing with these daggers?” A moment passed, no reaction from the man. His dark sullen eyes fixated on the sharpness of the blades.

The man slowly looked up away from the blades at Christopher. “I am a hunter, and I plan to kill animals with a bow like I always do, and if need be, a dagger to finish the job. I do not enjoy small talk. How much will it be for these two.”

“Right,” replied Christopher. “It will be ten gold for both daggers, Sir.”

The man fumbled around the pockets of his brown leather pants and presented Christopher with ten gold coins. His hands were dirty and his finger nails long and some broken in half.

Could very well be a hunter on the outskirts of the city
, Christopher tried to assure himself.
Even as peculiar as the man is, and the hour upon which he arrived, he will use the daggers to hunt.

As Christopher collected the coins from the man the two exchanged a quick farewell. The man held the two daggers firmly in his right hand. His curly black hair swayed as he turned and walked out of the shop.

Christopher could not help but feel unsettled as the man walked away.

A few hours later Penelope arrived at the shop ready to work as she did every day. She walked through the fair red door with her vibrant brown hair that moved as a light gust entered the shop and she greeted Christopher with a wide, bright smile.

Christopher looked at Penelope and said, “I had an encounter with a customer today, it was a strange man,” said Christopher. With haste, he proceeded to describe his transaction with the man. “I have never seen a hunter so big with such a sinister look in his eyes. I have only experienced a few buyers who came in at opening, and all of them are residents of Vincot, and those of whom I recognize. Not once has a traveling hunter come in at that hour before.”

Penelope rested her hand on Christopher’s shoulder, and with assurance behind her voice she said, “You’re thinking too much into it. When you over think things, that’s when you’ll go mad. He is not a killer because I know that’s what you’re thinking. He is on his way to Ralton as we speak, just like he said.”

Though not fully convinced, Christopher agreed to drop the subject and proceed with their daily tasks.

It was a busy day in the shop. Men and women of various ages stopped in to have a look at the weaponry. Some looked and others bought. The sun had begun to set and there were less and less customers arriving at the shop. A cold breeze flowed through the window and made a cup fall off of the main counter where the register was. Christopher reached down to pick it up and the red door swung open.

A Refect walked in, his shiny iron plated armor glistening of an orange hue as the sun reflected off of him from the open door. Christopher’s heart started to pound furiously. He already knew why the man had arrived to his shop.

“Christopher Bint, I presume?” inquired the Refect. “Yes,” replied Christopher woefully. The Refect stepped forward to look at the weapons presented in the shop.

“I am undergoing a murder investigation that took place this afternoon in the north residency of Vincot,” said the Refect. “A large Paplon male with dark brown hair and a braided beard was apprehended at the scene. Two Refect had responded to a disturbance call to find the man trying to cut the body apart into pieces. Gruesome, but none the less they were able to apprehend him. When they searched him they found two blood soaked daggers with an emblem on the handle that matches the ones I see here in your shop. Do you remember a man coming in here in the past day or so that matches that description?”

Christopher could not speak for a moment. The over powering and disturbed gut feeling that he had felt earlier that morning had come true. He had sold murder weapons to that man. “Yes, that description matches up perfectly with the first customer I had at sunrise today. He said he was a hunter.”

“Ah, perfect!” the Refect said gleefully. “While he is without a doubt not a hunter, this does confirm he had the intent and planned the murder of that young fellow. Thank you for your cooperation, sir.”

The Refect smiled at Christopher and turned around to walk away.

“That’s it?” said Christopher stopping him in his tracks. “I feel as though I’m responsible for selling him the daggers. If I hadn’t sold them to him the murder would have never happened.”

The Refect turned back around to face Christopher again. He paused for a moment and said, “Don’t be absurd and beat yourself up over it. You had no idea what this man was capable of when you met him this morning. If he didn’t buy the daggers from here, he could have used something else for the weapon. The events would have occurred either way. Just know your cooperation has helped our investigation and this man will be prosecuted, and without a doubt be found guilty for murder. He will meet his end soon enough.”

As the Refect proceeded to walk out of the shop, an abundance of thoughts crowded Christopher’s head. This was a part of his job he never wanted to believe could come true.

Penelope sat quietly behind the counter. She did not say a word while the Refect was present. But she knew the pain Christopher was feeling at that moment. “Go home early, Christopher. I’ll close up shop tonight.”

He grabbed his coat and walked out into the street in front of the shop. The night sky had risen and a crescent moon lit up Vincot. Christopher looked up at the cold dark sky. The moon and stars were a place he could look up to and ponder his place in the world.

Christopher looked up and thought to himself,
I could have stopped it. But he would have killed anyways. Why does my passion and my craft have to be so deadly? Is it time to stop making weapons of death?

***

On the same day Christopher had his altercation with the murderous man, Nick ran into a familiar face on the south bridge of Vincot. He was walking across to meet up with Thomas by the strawberry fields.

He ran into Penny on the bridge. Nick immediately lit up a smile and said, “Hey, Penny. Haven’t seen you in a while. How are you doing?”

“I’m well, thank you, Nick. How are you doing lately?”

“I’m well as well,” said Nick.

Penny laughed at his awkward response and Nick’s face began to mold from pasty white into a fiery red tint. Nick knew in his heart he wanted to ask Penny out on a date. He had wanted it for weeks and now he had the opportunity to do it as long as he found the courage.

“Looks like you got another bad sun burn,” Penny said with a smirk.

“Yea, the sun gets me even more so on these cloudy days, believe it or not,” said Nick.

The two laughed in unison and Nick thought this was the perfect time; there would not be such of a perfect time than right at that moment.

“Penny, I was wondering if you would like to join me for dinner sometime. We can grab a steak over at the Inky Tavern. Get to know each other. If you’re not too busy, that is.”

Penny stood there with a smile. “That sounds lovely, Nick. How does tonight sound?”

“Tonight? Ah, yes, tonight. That’s perfect. Yes. What time, Penny?”

“Come pick me up at six at my aunt’s house. You remember which one that is, right?”

Nick nodded in agreement and said; “I’ll see you at six.”

He took off from the bridge and once again he had a huge stupid smile painted on his face that he couldn’t shake off. He had a smile and was nearly skipping the rest of the way to the strawberry fields. Nick was ecstatic to tell Thomas the good news.

Thomas was sitting on a wooden bench across from the strawberry fields. As soon as Nick spotted him he began to run over to Thomas with the huge smile on his face.

“She said yes, Thomas, she said yes to go out with me!”

“Penny is going to go out on a date with you? Man I don’t believe it. That’s crazy! Maybe she really did kiss you on the cheek and it wasn’t your imagination.”

“Haha. Real funny. She said yes and we’re going to the Inky Tavern tonight at six.” Nick started to slap Thomas’ arm uncontrollably out of excitement.

“Hold on, hold on,” said Thomas. “You said you’re going out with her tonight?” Nick nodded in agreement. “Tonight at six? Nick that’s in a few hours. Man, we have to get you home, you have to get cleaned up and looking nice. You smell of poop, dead fish, and body odor.”

Thomas pushed Nick, and the two began to run. They didn’t stop running until they reached Nick’s house. Once they arrived, Nick changed into his most expensive and best-looking outfit. He dressed in a white linen cloak with black accents along the seams. Nick had only worn it a few times. It was a gift from his father years ago, the kind of clothing that only the most wealthy boys got to wear. Nick’s family was not wealthy but they were not poor. They were middle class, thanks to the consistent sales at The Bint Blade. He fixed his hair and sprayed himself of fragrance.

Thomas sat outside of Nick’s house and saw his friend emerge after a little while.

“She’s going to be impressed with how well your ugliness can be redeemed after only a change of hair and clothes,” said Thomas.

“I’ve got one shot to impress her,” replied Nick. He put his hand through his hair once more to fix it. “You better believe it’s going to be a great night.”

With that, Nick began his walk over to pick up Penny from her aunt’s house. That night was filled with laughter and the two bonded over similar interests. They spent countless hours asking each other questions to be better acquainted with one another. They shared a delicious meal near the restaurant’s fireplace. It was a beautiful ambience that Nick could not even foresee. It was a night the two had wished for, but what they got was much more. It was perfect. Nick paid the bill and walked Penny back to her aunt’s house. As the two said their good bye’s Nick went in to hug her. After the embrace with Penny in his arms he looked at her and went in for his first kiss. The two locked lips for a moment and they both smiled. Nick walked away from her house with a smile wide across his face that the world could not defeat. He had the perfect night, the perfect date, the perfect first kiss, and he had found the perfect girl.

Chapter Three

The day after Christopher had his run in with a murderer, he opened up shop and closed it as he did every day. He wanted to clear his head from the thoughts of the day before. He tried but he couldn’t escape it. It was useless to pretend as if it never happened and hope that everything would go back to normal. He needed to vent and explain the burden of emotions placed upon him to someone. So as night began to fall he decided it would be best to spend the rest of the night with the closest person to him, his son.

Christopher had the idea to go to the Cove Tavern, a place in Vincot where the two could enjoy a meal together.

Fresh meats, hand made bread, fresh fruit, and various types of alcohol made the Cove Tavern popular amongst the residents of Vincot. Riders on horseback were known to travel from as far away as the western city Bounch Hill to enjoy the fine fruits Vincot has to offer.

Nick and his father walked into the Cove Tavern and as they walked past the door, they could smell the various foods being cooked in the kitchen. The vivacious smell only added on to an already mighty appetite for the two. They sat at a round wooden table accompanied by four comfortable plush seats in the back corner of The Cove Tavern. The corner was empty; nobody else was sitting in that area. Christopher preferred this spot as he was about to have a sensitive conversation with his son. There were five available tables in the area, and the two sat at one against the corner wall.