"The bo would be more familiar, but is it enough?" Chandra paced a little. "Maybe if you have a bo with metal reinforcements at each end... you know, to give it more weight?" She directed the first question at Airedella, and the second at the blacksmith.

The grizzled veteran grunted, stroked his chin a moment, the sound of sandpaper issuing from his stubbly jaw, then finally nodded. "Yes, I do have something that would do. 'Twas going to be a horseman's flail, but I never got to adding the ring and flail-chains to it. The garrison that was stationed here scaled back and there was no need to finish it. Hold one..." He ambled back to the rear of his store, and emerged with the weapon a short time later.

"Ironwood pole, about the same length as a bo, but top and bottom braced with Falconian Steel. I was holding onto it because I thought, maybe someday some knight'd come in asking for a top notch horseman's flail and I'd say, I can have it for you in a day. Never happened o' course. But t'was too heavy for any of the skinny mages to use as a staff, and I don't rightly remember the last time a real monk has set foot in this neck of the woods, so it stayed. As a horseman's flail it would have brought me near a hundred crowns, but I can't see charging that much, seein' as you're not getting the complete weapon. Way I figure, you're doing me a favor taking it. So... thirty-five crowns it is. That's more than fair, as it is only five crowns above my cost for making it." He rambled a bit, all the while he was demonstrating its use. It was amazing how light that staff seemed in his hands.

"Well... I can't ask you to go under your cost..." Chandra looked over at Airedella expectantly, obviously fairly in love with the weapon, but she wasn't going to volunteer money that wasn't her own.