50: Shopping

Before we left the inn, I remembered to quickly check my notifications from the day before. There were 52 more since yesterday, but it wasn’t enough to push me over a level. I was, however, getting close to that level 20 mark—and I’d get a new skill!

Name: Trevor

Class: Arcane Chef

Rarity: Rare

Level: 19

Experience: 12834/14924

Hit points: 290/290

Mana: 530/530

Stamina: 160/290

Strength: 13

Dexterity: 29

Endurance: 29

Intelligence: 53

Wisdom: 27

Charisma: 10

Willpower: 12

Perception: 8

Luck: 6

Unspent: 2

As we left the inn, I felt excited for the day ahead. The study hadn’t been as bad as I’d expected, but this—this was what I was looking forward to!

“So, where to first?” I asked curiously.

“Clothes and some light armour,” Jen said confidently. I noticed Liane just nodded along beside her.

“Armour?” I asked, genuinely surprised. I didn’t see that as necessary; I wasn’t getting into combat.

“Of course. Just because you won’t be fighting doesn’t mean you’ll avoid danger. Might I remind you—you’ve already been shot by an arrow and nearly killed by a Galvonson?” Jen listed off my near-death experiences.

Truthfully, I had mostly forgotten the arrow. That whole event had been buried deep and only resurfaced now to torment me in my sleep.

“It’ll just be light armour anyway,” Liane added helpfully, “something to protect you from stray fire. A bit like the stuff I wear. It won’t hinder your movement at all, just provides extra protection in vital areas.”

I nodded. It made sense when they put it like that.

“After clothes, could we find a place to buy a cooking pan and an enchanted knife?” I asked hopefully. Jen nodded and kept leading the way.

The first store we came to was a tailor’s. In the windows, there were both regular tunics and trousers, but also robes similar in style to what Milo wore—and dresses. I’d only ever seen those in the city itself.

Before entering, Crisplet had reverted to its orb; we didn’t want a repeat of the paper shop incident with clothes this time.

Inside, however, the store was vastly different from what I expected. I thought I’d see racks of clothes scattered around, but instead there were rolls and rolls of fabric, a counter in the middle, and several wooden statues at the back of the room.

“Greetings, ladies, sir,” an elderly woman said, noticing us come through the door. “What can I help you with today? Perhaps a couple of lovely dresses?” She approached from behind the counter with a beaming smile.

Jen took the lead as Liane looked visibly uncomfortable at the idea of a dress.

“Actually, I was hoping to get a couple of outfits for our young teammate here. As I’m sure you can tell, his are a little worse for wear, and we can’t have him bringing the rest of us down,” Jen said with a chuckle, clearly playing into the lady’s jovial nature.

“Oh, absolutely! I can already see that torn shirt and those pants won’t do at all. Yes, yes, we can make something for him. Come here, my boy, let’s get your measurements,” she said, motioning me forward. I passed the fire orb to Jen, who just stood there smirking.

“Do you have in mind what you’re after?” the lady asked, wrapping a piece of string around my waist, arms, chest, and legs.

“Uh…” I started, before Jen stepped in and saved me again.

“We need him to have something tough but comfortable. We’ll be going on long journeys through some very dangerous places, so it needs to withstand the wear of armour and hide the stains of action,” Jen explained. The lady nodded in full understanding, and after that, she directed all further questions to Jen.

“Quantity?” she asked.

“At least four, but we’re on a deadline. They’ll need to be done before the week is out,” Jen replied.

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“Yes, yes, dear. I’m a professional, not a sham. I can have these done by tomorrow morning—three silvers each,” the lady said.

We agreed on the price, I handed over the money, and left the store. The whole experience was easier than I had expected, and twelve silvers wasn’t too bad.

That left me with four gold, thirty-eight silver, and a small handful of copper if I needed it. Next on the shopping list was armour, specifically leather, and for that, we were heading back to the guild. By this stage, Crisplet had returned to my shoulder. It took all of about four steps from leaving the shop before he burst out of the orb.

As we entered the guild and made our way to the top floor, I decided then and there that I was going to try the roast meat on our way out—it smelled incredible.

Heading upstairs, I was surprised to see Liane actually take charge, leading us to a rough-looking shop. Hides of beasts lined the walls, and several mannequins were dressed in various sets of armour. Behind the counter stood a lithe-looking man, who came around as soon as we entered.

“Ah, a rogue and an archer, I see. How may I assist you all today?” he said, bowing slightly.

“We’re looking to get a set of basic armour for our support member here. It’s important he has full movement, but that it protects the vitals,” Liane said in an almost cold tone. It actually surprised me a little; this wasn’t the Liane I normally saw.

“Yes, of course. What’s his fighting style?” the man asked, looking between Liane and me.

“Not important—treat it almost like a pugilist,” Liane responded. This time, I was certain; this was a completely different tone than I was used to. Jen didn’t react at all, but Crisplet must have been thinking the same as me. I couldn’t help but notice that his usual bright-orange, candle-like flame had changed into something more intense—resembling a roaring smith’s forge.