A Hard Sell [Finished]

[lauto]

"I guarantee you sir that you will regret it!" called out the friendly and charismatic voice of the dressed-up Zora as a human traveler continued their way up the mountain trail toward Goron City. "Blue Fire is the best way to stay cool in hot places like this!"

As the man disappeared up the trail Lauto took off his ghat and wiped his forehead with a small handkerchief. It was indeed hot thanks to one of Death Mountain's many small eruptions. Still he would fight the urge to use the refreshing flame on himself. Rupees were at stake and the man was bounce to crack under the heat and come crawling back.

Replacing his hat Lauto moved to start collecting his various wares, bottles of fish arrows, etc, from the small white sheet-covered table in front of him and placing them back into his large many-pocketed coat. He'd taken a gamble coming up this way but it was unlikely there would be more travelers on Death Mountain Trail. He shouldn't fall too far behind his latest mark.

[Erik]

Dekthorn was wandering up Death Mountain Trail. It was unlikely the last deku he saw would trace the steps all the way up the mountain.

Dammit. Had to be right there when I didn't need him to be. Oh well, time to lay low. Dekethorn peeked from behind a rock to see a traveler packing up his wares.

Immediately evil thoughts spawned in Dekethorn's mind. What to do to the hot traveler, the value of his goods. It was all so beautiful. Dekethorn decided to stalk the man for a while, see what might occur, wait for a good moment to strike.

"Yes, tire out. Continue traveling. Distract yourself from the predator." He cackled softly, barely containing his excitement.

[lauto]

Lauto was about to begin the process of folding up his portable stand again, which was much more tiresome than its spring-loaded unfolding thank you very much, when his highly trained salesman instincts sent a shock through his system. His gloved hands froze, his shaded eyes opened wide, his fake mustached face tightened.

A potential customer was nearby!

Quickly replacing his wares from the pockets of his coat with lightning-fast hands the Zora then grabbed the ends of his stand and lifted it up, positioning it so the shop now faced toward the way back down the mountain. Putting on his best smile Lauto stood tall with his arms crossed.

"Come one, come all, but come fast! Lauto's Adventurer Shop is never in one place for too long!" he called, hoping anyone with Rupees nearby would hear him.

[Erik]

Dekethorn wasn't sure if he had been spotted. This man was clearly on high alert, but looking for consumers, not attackers. Perhaps he needed a cover. He decided to go with his old, lesser known identity, that he seldom used, except for social interactions such as these.

Emerging from his rocks carefully, he worked his way towards the Zora, appearing nonchalant. A bright look was upon his face, hiding his sinister nature. The only thing indicating malcontent would be the thorns on his head.

He gave a quick wave to the salesman and examined the wares. "Good day, Lauto's Adventurer Shop. I guess that makes you Lauto. I'm Dekma, traveler, looking for a few items to help me on my way."

[lauto]

"Then the right place has come to you!" Lauto answered, pointing both fingers at "Dekma" as he gave his shop's signature catch phrase. The Zora business man then spread his arms over the displayed wares of arrows, nuts and bottles of fish.

"As a Deku you are no doubt more familiar with Deku Nuts than most of my customers," he proceeded to venture, smiling in a disarming way. Lauto was quite pleased that his Salesman-Sense was still as sharp as ever in detecting customers. "Well I would strongly recommend you try out the newest nut craze, good man! The Deccu Nut!"

With that Lauto reached into his coat and produced a handful of three small brown nuts. Similar but smaller and harder-looking than Deku Nuts and without their telltale yellow core.

"Try these out and you'll want to sell your own Deku Nuts just to buy more of these, guaranteed! Only 20 Rupees for a set of three!"
[/color]

[Erik]

Dekethorn examined the Deccu nuts closely, tossing one up into the air before shooting it with a nut of his own. Unsurprisingly, the Deccu nut was largely unaffected, as was his own. A seemingly similar nut in function. He gave back the used Deccu nut and frowned a Deku frown.

"I produce infinite nuts for free. What else you got?"

Note to self: The nuts aren't worth a damn. Leave them, they don't matter. Suspect man of being a charlatan, but we'll see. He eagerly awaited the next piece of merch on display, but was wary of frauds and worthlessness, leaving the whole scam worthless to Dekethorn.

[lauto]

"What?" Lauto asked, seeming to be genuinely perplexed by Dekethorne's decision. He took the Deccu Nuts back and looked at them in his hand.

"I was guaranteed no one could tell the quality of nuts better than a Deku. I'd better have a talk with my supplier. the Zora muttered to himself as he stuffed the items back into his coat. As he turned back toward the potential sale, however, he was all charm again. "Well then, I won't waste your time with what you already have. Instead let us talk about what is it that you don't have. I understand that Deku Nuts don't have a lot of, shall we say... penetrating power?"

Lauto's circular movements of his hands a she spoke and the way he turned his head slightly to look at "Dekma" from the corners of his eyes suggested he was trying to lead the smaller of the two toward a certain conclusion.

[Erik]

Dekethorn grimaced as he insulted the power of his nuts. He had ways to get around that, but that wasn't the point now. He was supposed to be examining wares, not defending his people. Besides, he didn't even want to defend his people. He oppressed them for years.

So instead he looked inquisitive as he responded to the zora. "Sure, let's go with that. I assume you have an answer to this little conundrum, salesman." In all fairness, he was a bit intrigued. Heavy armor was a bit of an issue, and if the salesman had a genuine way of getting around that, maybe Dekethorn would steal it.

[lauto]

"Call this a personal curiosity," Lauto admitted, hands open before him in self-defence. Dekus weren't common customers for him and he wanted to use this "Dekma" to learn more about them and how to sell to them, after all.

The travelling salesman reached over to the bundle of arrows on his stand and pulled one from its kind. With gloved hands he inspected it's wood and metal head, testing the point, before looking back down to his would-be customer.

"Have you or the Deku ever tried spitting these?" he asked, quite curious on the matter. Lauto had heard the firing power of the Deku rivaled that of even crossbows. If that were true then maybe there was a market there for selling projectiles that were actually sharp and not just hard?

[Erik]

Dekethorn quickly snatched the arrows from Lauto and examined them.

Arrows. Decent quality, metal head, effective point. Perhaps worth pilfering, selling to an archer later for cheap.[/color]

Dekethorn carefully placed the arrow in his snout, tip facing out. "No, I haven't. But I'll try." Dekethorn aimed the arrow right between Lauto's eyes as he prepared to fire. However, he couldn't get any pressure behind it and the arrow fell flat. He slammed the arrow back on Lauto's table and sneered, obviously quite upset.

"I can't get any juice on the shot. Pull out something else or I'll take my rupees elsewhere." His patience was starting to wear thin. This man was next to worthless, but perhaps with a little intimidation he could bring out the good stuff, if he had any.

[lauto]

"My, how interesting," Lauto said with sincerity as he was returned his merchandise. So selling arrows to the Dekus in Faron Woods was a dead end after all. Well, it was always worth a shot. You couldn't be the first one to discover an untapped market if you never did any tapping, after all. At least it saved him a trip to Faron Province for now. He'd wind up there eventually though. He went everywhere, after all.

"Well, consider my curiosity satisfied, friend. I've learned something new about my customers already. I should thank you somehow. Perhaps with something a little more... rare? More valuable?"

Lauto layered on the enticement of his voice as he started slowly reaching into his coat pockets again.

[Erik]

Dekethorn's eyes lit up at the mention of value, his mind flooded with bad ideas. But for now he must play it cool. He was still Dekma, regular deku, nothing special. He needed to coax out the valuable items so that he may pilfer them.

Well then, Lauto, your thanks is appreciated. But let us not waste time. You are a busy man and I must be getting back on the road." Dekethorn tried to steal a peek at the insides of the man's coat, but had no such luck. This man was shrewd, not to be taken lightly. Not your ordinary blubbering Deku merchant, that's for sure.

[lauto]

"Ah, yes. I understand," Lauto answered, his voice disappointed. The Zora's hand came back out empty as he prepared his displayed wares for re-packing. You couldn't win them all, right? Or maybe it was that some people liked to play hard to get. Either way modesty in a salesman usually revealed true intentions in customers.

"I assure you should we meet again that I'll have more Deku-friendly wares in stock, Dekma. It was a pleasure having you at Lauto's Adventurer Shop," the socializing salesman finished, the full friendliness of his original greeting now returned to his voice.

[Erik]

Dekethorn, realizing the man was about to leave, stopped him., a rushed expression and motion suggesting the merchant not leave.

"No no no, you misunderstand. I was suggesting we not beat around the bush. I do wish to see your rare items, but I misspoke. I did a little oopsie, as it were. Please, continue with your demonstration." Dekethorn was eagerly awaiting the revealing of this rare item. He began to hop quickly up and down, showing off some deku agility, or dekugility, as it were.

[lauto]

"Ho ho ho! Well then I can't be much of a salesman if I can't even read my own customers, can I?" the Zora said with continued merriment. He spoke as though he were surprised but the man certainly hadn't missed any beats in getting back to business. "Well then, I'll get straight to the point."

Reaching into his coat Lauto removed a single glass bottle. It seemed like it might contain a Fairy at first by the glow, but as he held it down to Dekethorne it would become apparent that it was not. Inside the bottle was a flame, one burning completely on its own without any apparent fuel and a pleasing bright blue in color. What's more, no ehat radiated from he container at all.

"Have you ever seen anything like this, my friend?"

[Erik]

At first when he saw the bottle up close he flinched and jumped back slightly, but re-approached as he noticed the fire wasn't dangerous. In fact, it was quite cool. He turned his head to the side and examined closely.

"Hmm. A fire that doesn't burn. Fascinating. Good party trick and all, but I fail to see the practical use of such an item. Tell me more."

Fire. Doesn't burn. Cool to the touch. Possibly valuable, see what you can get for it on the market. Try to ascertain details about the item for resale.[/color] Dekethorn had hoped for something a bit more useful, maybe valuable gold or precious gems. But cool blue fire may have its uses in the end.

[lauto]

"Well one thing that I am certain about when it comes to my Deku customers, Dekma, is that fire is a rather bothersome obstacle for them. I serve travelers and you have come here to Death Mountain," Lauto began to explain, leaning back up and taking the bottle out of Dekethorn's reach again. "So surely you know that its reputation poses considerable risk to you."

Lauto looked back down with a rather distasteful look in his eyes.

"Those troublesome Bulblins and their flaming arrows aren't exactly safe for anyone either," he said, explaining his change in expression. Surely a man like Lauto had needed to deal with their kind on a few occasions. Still he quickly lit back up as he held the Blue Fire close to his heart.

"Blue Fire is the opposite of natural fire, you see. If you've started to burn just pour this baby out and let its refreshing flames consume all the heat. It's so effective that it's even known to refresh your magic and stamina as well! Plain old water won't do that, no sir. Quite the handy item to have when caught between a rock and a hot place, you see."

[Erik]

Dekethorn took in his explanation of the blue fire. His initial thought was scam, but even if it was, it's not like he'd pay for it anyway.

"Flaming arrows are hardly an issue for me. I'm a better shot than any bulblin bow. Still, I see where you're coming from. I'll take it!" He hopped up onto the stand with his agility and held his hand out to accept the blue fire from Lauto. It was about time he began his scheme. Really, it was less of a scheme, and more of petty theft, but Dekethorn didn't need to know any of that.

[lauto]

"Absolutely," Lauto said with cheer as his own free hand opened up before the Deku rather than placing the item as his chest into Dekethorn's waiting hands. He wasn't the take-before-you-buy type, not with his clientele.

"It's my last bottle right now so I'll give you a good deal since I can't offer a bundle. 300 Rupees for 1 bottle."

Lauto smiled.

[Erik]

Dekethorn face started to form an evil smile, as much as a deku's face could.

"No no, my good sir, again you misunderstand me. I'll take it." At that moment, Dekethorn fired a deku bubble at Lauto and quickly jumped up to wrench the bottle from Lauto's occupied hand. He knew he couldn't keep the charade up any longer, so he had to act quickly. Didn't want any other "travelers" coming along, now did he.