The formerly tiger-Archer wanders into the shop, looking for a series of items, and concerned with the lack of GP he has remaining to purchase things.

He nods at the other customers inside and goes over his mental lists as he looks over the shelves.

I don't see what I'm looking for. He comments to his mental companion. I might have to look elsewhere.

Where else is there to look if it's not here? The tiger-AI responded.

Well, there's other players looking for trades, I might be able to get things I'm looking for from them. Asai answered, looking sadly at his gold pouch. Though that might go better if I had some GP to trade with.

He trailed off as his eye caught on something on one of the store shelves. "Hey, they have the Longbow at the least." Forgetting himself and crying out. "Oop, sorry about that." He said to the other customers who were fixing him with strange looks for his outburst.

Leaving the line of waiting players to retrieve the Topaz Longbow from the shelves, he found and added the Steel Cap to his stack before returning to the end of the line.

That takes care of those two items, should the Spear of Spell or the Fossil Bracer be that hard to find in trade? The mental companion asked.

Maybe, maybe not, depends mostly on what I have left to trade I suppose. He answered, mentally going over the lists while he waited.

An apparently tired Nizam slumped a bit against the counter and yawned out a price for the items picked out. "That'll be 5,200 GP for the bow and the Steel Cap."

Arcion sighed, 5,200 well out of the price range. He set the two items down on the counter along with his depleted bag of a measly 700 GP.

"Don't have the actual GP for that much, but maybe trade things in to add up to it?" He started emptying his inventory of items while he spoke.

Looks like you tried to over-step yourself this time. The AI taunted. Might have to choose between them now and pick up the other later, and probably completely forget about trading for the other things.

Looks like. Asai sighed back.

When the bag was empied, there were lots of various sizes and colors of potion bottles and several scrolls alongside the GP on the counter.

"I'd like to hold on to the scrolls if I could, but how far do the potions work on balancing out the total?"

There's a couple of redundant bows in here as well. Arcion supplied helpfully.

I'd like to keep ahold of those if I could, but if it's neccessary. He mentally sighed. I really want the bow at least, it's got the first level Earth Elemental arrow. The cap I don't really need, I was firing full swing at that Minotaur and still had plenty of SP around, saving 10 SP for a healing really is just more of a collector's issue.

"I probably shouldn't ask, seeing which side of the scale I'm on, but you wouldn't happen to have Fossil Bracers as well?"

(OOC:
Items
-1 Hunter's Bloods
-6 Knight's Bloods
-4 Warrior's Bloods
-5 Antidote
-4 Restorative
-2 Resurrect
-4 Health Drink
-1 Ice Strike
-2 Raining Rocks

Also have a Steel Dragon Bow and a Dark Forest Bow I'd like to keep around, but they're up for trade if they'd help balance things.)

Nizam looked it all over and shook his head. "You're still 2,700 GP short with your potions and scrolls. That's with the offered 700 GP on the table as well. As for the Fossil Bracers, we don't have any with us, but I can get some ordered. It would be 1,830 GP for it if you waited a week or 2,440 if you wanted it right now...though I'm going to assume you don't."

With a a sigh, Arcion came to a decision and sent an instruction to his mental companion. Give me the Dark Forest Bow.

"If I add this to the stack, would it be enough to place a Spear of Spell on backorder as well?"

The Steel Dragon Bow held more sentimental value, it being the first Archer weapon, and the alteration he'd been able to set up for it. The Dark Forest Bow had a greater 'return value' most likely, since it was two levels higher as well.

Don't get too greedy with that backorder thing. Arcion warned.

I'm not. I figure if I come back in a week for one thing, I might as well see if I can have another item in the store to come around for as well, since I can't find it elsewhere either.

"Your total, including the Topaz Longbow, the Steel Cap, the Fossil Bracer and the Spear of Spell...and keeping in mind all you've traded in...you're still short 3,230 GP. This is also assuming you'll wait the week for both the Fossil Bracer and the Spear of Spell." Nizam leaned back and waited.

Wait, trading in a level 17 bow and adding a level 7 spear to the purchase 'adds' to the total we're paying? Asai questioned.

"Not that I don't trust the calculation, but something doesn't sound right about that. Could we write this all down, just so that we're both clear about how things are adding together for this?"

Selling
- Coin (700)
- Hunter's Blood (1)
- Knight's Blood (6)
- Warrior's Blood (4)
- Antidote (5)
- Restorative (4)
- Resurrect (2)
- Health Drink (4)
- Ice Strike (1)
- Raining Rocks (2)
- Dark Forest Bow (1)

Buying
- Topaz Longbow (1)
- Steel Cap (1)
- Fossil Bracer (1) (Backorder)
- Spear of Spell (1) (Backorder) The mental list came up on a sheet of paper within his mind.

Even without knowing prices, something doesn't seem to be adding up right.

Again, the pawn keeper yawned. "It's correct. You seemed to have misunderstood how I arrived there, but it's correct. My offer remains the same."

Arcion blinked at the bluntness of the responce.

Where.. and why.. and.. What? He stuttered mentally. Did I just get refused a recipt?

"I'm not questinging the total, I'm trying to find where I disconnected. The sign outside your shop does say that we're invited to barter, that's all I'm trying to do." The formerly tiger-avatar returned.

Haven't real world shop-keepers been using recipts for hundreds of years? The AI questioned. I think you'd be better off looking through the trades at this rate.

It would help to have money to do that though. Asai responded, looking sadly at the small sack of GP.

Eyes heavy, Nizam leaned his chin on the support of his open hand. "You have the total. The method to my madness is not necessary to explain. Take it or leave it."

This shopkeeper was trying to hurt his brain worse than the monsters were going to. Actually, it is.. Otherwise you'd just be another non-interactive NPC like the other shops have.

Deciding not to fight over it, he stored the scrolls and the GP back in his inventory and removed the Steel Cap from the pile. "In that case, how do the bows total against each other and how do the potions work to balance that?" He asked, putting the cap back on the shelf where he found it.

Even without knowing the numbers, and supposing that the potions sell for less than 100 GP each, there should be more than enough of them there to cover the three levels of difference between the bows.

Nizam was clearly doing other things - even if they weren't visually present - and most of the player's questions were ignored. "Your new total is 2,410 GP without the Steel Cap."

Arcion returned to the counter and took up a position that mirrored the shopkeepers as he went over the statement, finding nothing to indicate in the statement to indicate whether that was GP he was expected to pay, or whether that was how much the Archer was going to get back from the trade.

Or even if he realized that the backorder items had been removed from the equation as well, everything that was on the counter now was all that he was trading for. And he knew how much the bow cost, that was written on the board on the side of the counter.

After a few moments of sitting with his chin in his hand and elbow resting on the counter, the Archer spoke. "I highly doubt you expect me to believe all this sells for hardly more than 1,500 GP." He said, indicating the multicolored collection of potions along with the bow with his free hand.

Indeed, the shopkeep didn't know the back orders were off the desire list. "I do. I'm awesome that way."

Shifting his hands so that his fingers were stitched together and his chin rested on his back-stretched thumbs, he watched the shopkeep for a moment or two after the reply before standing up and grasping two of the potions.

"Given the sign over there and valuing my items at quarter price gives me an estimate closer to 2,000 GP than what you're proposing." The Archer finally decided to answer while picking up his potions and returning them to their places along his belt. Most games give you at least half-price on sales. He offered, replacing the final potion.

He flipped his bow off the counter and walked away with it in hand. "If you don't wish to barter your prices, I'd recommend changing your sign. He said, using the top of the bow to indicate towards the sign atop the door drawing people in.

He placed the bow across his back before it vanished off of him, before the Archer followed it's example and vanished from the shop into the streets of Mac Anu.

That was a rather unsatisfying end. His AI companion commented.

Yes, but the attempt to steal money from me wasn't appreciated. Asai answered unconcerned. The last people to try that are my bank in the real world, and we're suing them. This guy just lost a sale because of it. I'd say his superiors wouldn't be happy with him, but he seemed to be the one in charge of the Pawn Shop. Arcion made his way to the Chaos Gate, pondering about the differing attitudes he'd encountered between the Pawn Shop shopkeeps he'd encountered.

You know you left the bow you wanted on the counter? The tiger offered.

Arcion sighed. Yea, I figure the shopkeep can put it back on the shelf himself. He had wanted that bow, but he wasn't willing to pay an exorbitant fee for it.

Nizam, contrary to what the player believed, couldn't have cared less about Arcion's sale. To be honest, he wasn't the first - nor would he be the last - to get upset with the shopkeeper. Quite frankly, Nizam preferred people with more patience - and personality - than the Archer that had left possessed.

Good riddance.