The Weapon Check

'Lookout duty is a rather boring affair,' Private Piersens frowned in boredom. The private waited at the checkpoint outside of the recently built capital of their growing kingdom. However, the other nations that knew of them had yet to send emissaries to try to form an alliance with the coastal civilization, or armies to attempt to test the Scarrien strength. There weren't even any merchants coming in or out for days!

Piersens was about to write the day off when a horse-drawn carriage approached the checkpoint, driven by a male, redheaded dwarf with a thick nose, a short but full beard, and wearing heavy armor. "Okay, I think we're finally near Muscel, the capital city," the dwarf said, looking back into the wagon. He then turned to the brown-furred, silver-maned mare. "You good?" The horse nodded.

"Halt," Piersens called. "You stand at the gates of Muscel! State your business, dwarf!"

A female, light blue-haired elf popped her head up and looked at the dwarf. "You're seriously looking like that, again?"

"I LIKE to look like this, Shu," the dwarf whispered at her. "And compared to the rest of you guys, I at least look the part." It was at this point, his other compatriots--a female orc with brown skin and green hair in a pair of pigtails, a female elf with black and silver hair in a long ponytail and a pair of golden eyes behind her thick glasses, and a male humanoid with blonde doglike ears poking out of brown hair and a curled tail--poked their heads out.

"He's not wrong," the silver-haired elf replied.

"E-Excuse me," Piersens called, reminding the group of non-humans they had an audience. "State your business."

"Sorry about them, lad," the dwarf replied, getting out of the driver's seat. He then explained as he approached the guard, "You see, we're a group of traveling merchants hoping to sell our wares--and in my case, my services as a smith--to the kingdom for a couple of days before we move on."

"Is that our cover?" the dog man asked.

"Shush," the orc woman chided.

"If that's the case," Piersens asked, looking at the dwarf's back to see the giant weapon that was strapped to it, "what's that warhammer for?"

"Oh, right," the dwarf replied. Pulling the hammer out, he then placed it on the desk. "I take it we're going to be required to check in our weapons before we can do business here?" He then pulled out a scimitar, it joining the hammer. The dwarf then placed a pair of daggers, and a massive crossbow with a full quiver onto the table as well. The dwarf continued with placing an entire bag on the table, this one full of stones. He finished with a pair of brass knuckles and a small metal cylinder. "My advice for that last one: don't press that green button while the open side is pointed in you or an ally's direction."

Piersens stared in awe at the small pile. "What kind of merchant packs this much?"

"The kind who has to defend himself on the road," the dwarf answered. "Now, about entry to Muscel...."

"Wait, that's all that you have?" the blue-haired elf asked, looking unimpressed at the pile. "For shame! I'm carrying WAY more than that!"

"Shu...!" the dwarf complained.

"In that case," Piersens commented, "could you...?"

"Gladly, cutie," Shu replied. She got out of the wagon, wearing a green cape over her sleeveless tunic and long brown leggings. The elf unhooked a quiver full of arrows, placing it on the table, as well as her longbow. She then popped open her cloak, revealing at least a few dozen throwing knives lining the inside of the cloak, and a pair of shortswords hilted onto her wide hips alongside five more throwing knives. All of those found their way onto the table while the elf reached into her boots, pulling an extra dagger from each boot, placing those on the table, before reaching behind her, and with a bit of effort, pulling out a hand crossbow.

"This was not a competition," the dwarf deadpanned.

"You made it one," the dog-man said, coming over and wearing a brown cape with several tears. He opened the cloak, revealing a pair of hand crossbows, almost just as many daggers as the elf, and a pair of gauntlets that had a pair of claw blades. He also pulled an extra pair of brass knuckles and a pair of long daggers from his boots.

"My turn!" the orc woman said, pulling a pair of hand axes from her belt, twirling them before placing them down. She pulled off her own bow and quiver before adding to it several knives from her belt. She then pulled up the sleeves of her green shirt and placed the hidden daggers on the table. She then patted herself down, before snapping her fingers and reaching in her shirt for a set of vials, placing them on the table. "Poison, antidote," she explained, pointing to the left and right respectively.

"Seriously, guys?" Piersens asked. "How heavily armed are you merchants!?"

"Do you have any idea how many bandits and monsters are on the road between here and the forest trail?" the other silver-haired woman replied to the question. She put down her large staff, a heavy-looking grimoire, a small bag of various items Piersens could only guess belonged to a spellcaster, followed by a hand crossbow from somewhere in her ivory and brown dress, as well as the daggers this group seemed to have far too many of. She then reached into her sleeve, and pulled out a full sword that was borderline impossible for her to have concealed so easily, and then placed it on the table, following a set of vials with differently colored liquids inside of them. "None of those are poisons, good knight, but you might wish they were if those were disturbed."

"Okay, I think we're done," the dwarf said with an annoyed glare at his companions. "You ALL have me beat in terms of being a walking armory, and quite possibly traumatized a person doing their job. Happy, now?"

"Oh, I'm satisfied," the blue-haired elf giggled. She then looked at the horse, but the dwarf got in the way of Piersens' view.

"Um, look, we'll just come back for all of this stuff... much, MUCH later," the dwarf assured Piersens. He then placed a pouch of coins on the table as well. "For your trouble."

"Uh... huh...." Piersens commented. "Enjoy our fair city of Muscel."

"We will," the dwarf called out, pushing his companions back towards the wagon.

"But what about--" the orc started, only to be cut off by the dwarf's glare.

"Get. Back. In. The. Cart," he ordered everyone.

The silver-haired elf complained, "But G--"

"NOW!" They all begrudgingly groaned and got in the vehicle. He turned to Piersens, and chuckled, "Have to keep these guys in line."

"Yeah..." Piersens said, looking at the massive pile. "Just... just go." The dwarf got onto the driver's seat and motioned the reigns to go forward, but the mare din't move. The dwarf shot her a fierce glare, and she begrudgingly started to head to the city. With a shake of the head, Piersens moaned, "I'll never get non-human merchants. It's as if the HORSE had something to hide."