A couple weeks more had passed, and Siv's time with Quentin was quickly approaching a full month. Taln was not around much, disappearing for days at a time. Sometimes he'd return covered in blood, other times reeking of cheap beer.
Siv had continued to pack on weight, and his consumption of Quentin's food had not slowed a bit. He had explored the city a bit, after receiving a seal for his Mark from Taln so as not to attract attention. While he was enjoying his life of lazing about and eating, he found himself growing bored. Quentin entertained him best he could, but there was only so much to do in the dingy shop.
Today, Siv was exploring around the nooks of the curio shop. He hadn't paid much attention to the wares, as they all seemed like random junk to him. He was examining some of the ancient tomes on the wall.
"You're welcome to read them, if you like." Quentin was looking over to the boy. Siv shook his head.
"I can't read." Siv replied. Quentin looked troubled.
"A shame. I'd offer to teach you myself, but... I think Taln is about ready to begin with you." Siv looked at Quentin. It was about time. Taln had all but ignored the boy in the past weeks.
As if on cue, Taln walked in to the shop, specks of blood littering his tunic. "Boy. Come."
Siv followed the man to the clothing rack. He took the leather jerkin handed to him and donned it, as Taln changed his own bloodied shirt.
They left the curio shop after, Siv following a few paces behind the muscular man. They walked down the road, eventually reaching the street market which was closer to the outskirts than Quentin's shop of curios. The most reputable vendors owned property for storefronts closer to the Keep. This street market was for more... dubiously sourced wares. Vendors called out their prices, hoping to catch a customer from the crowd. There was a rich scent of pastries in the air, as well as a myriad of other scents. The market sold food, silks, clothes, and all sorts of other paraphernalia. Siv looked around. He had explored here often, wondering at the sights and sounds. He hadn't had any coin to spend, however. He did manage to swipe a sweet roll or two on his previous escapades.
Taln led him through the bustling market, towards a less crowded area that continued down a side alley. The shopkeepers here did not announce their wares, but merely glanced at the men passing by. It seemed people who came here already knew what they were looking for.
Taln stopped at a stall near the end. The first things to catch Siv's eyes were the myriad of weapons- he saw longswords, hammers, and countless other implements of killing. A woman sat amidst them, gazing at Taln with steady eyes. She was completely hairless, with a bald head and eyebrows to match. She wore flowy trousers and a chest wrap that left her shoulders and stomach bare.
As she flashed the boy a smile, Siv noted that they were the whitest teeth he'd ever seen.
"I need a weapon, for the boy." Taln said gruffly. The woman looked at Siv with renewed interest.
"The Shrike, babysitting a boy? My, how unexpected!" The woman seemed to know Taln. Her eyes were locked on Siv now, seemingly penetrating deep into him. He shifted uncomfortably.
"Please, Nalana. I won't bandy words with you. Just get the boy a weapon." Taln walked away, leaving Siv alone with the woman.
A slight smile was on the woman's face. She was kneeling with a straight back amidst her wares, hands in her lap. "What is your name?" Siv swallowed.
"Siv- er, Sivilan." He said. The woman's smile grew.
"My, what a noble name! Well, young Sivilan, what weapon would you like? A net and trident, perhaps? A dagger, to kill your enemies in the night? Or do you take after Taln, and wish to learn the way of the chain?" Her eyes blazed.
Siv shivered at the thought of Taln's chains. He figured something like that would be as likely to kill him as his enemies. He cast his eyes at the blades, eventually settling his gaze on a large double headed waraxe. "How about that one?" He said, pointing.
Nalana's eyes did not even leave his face as she laughed. "No, young Sivilan. Such a weapon is for brutes with more muscle than brain. I know little of your brain, but it is doubtful that your brawn would match such a tool." Siv scowled. He thought he could handle it.
"Mm, let me see your hands, young Sivilan." Siv warily placed his own hands into Nalana's. Her hands were smooth as silk, and they touched his own without leaving a spot untouched. She felt his callouses, looked at his fading scars. After a moment, she let his hands drop and studied his face. "Interesting hands, young Sivilan. You are of Suffering. Your kind often have such a painful way to fight, trading mortal wounds with your enemies. Of course, they cannot weather it quite as well as you can." Her brilliant smile flashed again. "Chains would fit you quite well." She laughed as Siv scowled. She then stood, and went back into the tent.
When she came out a moment later, she held a wooden box in her hands. "This is quite a special implement." She kneeled again, and Siv squatted down as she placed the box in front of him. She removed the lid, placing it to the side.
Siv wasn't quite sure what to expect. There were two wicked looking hooks inside, curved downwards with barbs on the inside edge. They were connected by a long chain. The chain was ordinary- none of the pitch black menace of Taln's--but Siv still shivered at the sight of it. The barbs hummed with a cruel promise of pain on the way in, and worse on the way out.
"Twin hooked chain blades. A weapon used in the far east many centuries ago. You will not see such a weapon often. Mastered by few, but feared by all. It is near as likely to maim the user as it is to maim the opponent." Siv reached in and touched the chains. "With your talents, your foes will learn to fear you." She grinned. "There is hardly another weapon as unpredictable. Masters of old used a flowing acrobatic style that incorporated cartwheels and flips. Entirely too flamboyant, young Sivilan. Taln will teach you the ways of Suffering well."
Siv slowly grabbed the chain, and held up the wicked hook. Each hook was about the length of his forearm, curved like the fang of some great basilisk. The metal sapped his heat, and was heavier than it looked. It was a far cry from the common longsword of a soldier, the kind he had often dreamed of wielding. It was brutal, cruel. Beautiful.
Nalana looked at him with a glint in her eyes as he wrapped the chains round his forearms. The metal bit into them with a cruel hunger. "They will make you bleed, young Sivilan. But every drop of your blood will reap a thousand from the world." Her bone white teeth glinted in the shade of the alley.
Siv unwrapped the chains from his arms and placed the twin hooks back in the box. Heavy footsteps came from behind him. Glancing back, Siv saw Taln with a bottle in his hand.
Taln, looking at the box, frowned at Siv's new armament, but said nothing. He nodded to Nalana, and gestured for the boy to follow.
"You aren't going to pay her?" Siv asked, walking alongside the man.
"It's your weapon, boy. Nalana will take her price when you are able to pay it." he replied.