Sitting outside of the mages on the nearby bench I read the piece of paper that the Wizard Amulius gave me, it was a date and a location within the guild for an entrance examination of my skills. But the very first thing I noticed about the location and date was that it wasn’t for the same place where I and then Gaelin went, instead it was somewhere else for tomorrow.
‘I am not familiar with this place, room fifty seven sounds far deeper within the guilds lower levels than I thought they even had. They should probably have a map or something so people can know just how deep they need to go for something.’
I didn’t stay seated for long as I needed to find a tavern or an inn to stay in for the night, I also needed some actual clothes and a coat to keep myself warm.
‘I can get a room to sleep in later in the day, that would make finding some nice clothes a higher priority at the moment. The tailor that Georgius took me for some better clothes should be open for several more hours, and since he is nice I should be able to get something decent looking and durable for a few silver coins.’
With that I started making my way towards the eastern district where all the workshops and production of goods were being made, I easily recalled the quickest way and started jogging slightly to get there in good time.
*******
“What do you have to report about the young mage?” A voice asked the Wizard Amulius as he was seated in his chair at his desk, the voice originated from his communication orb.
“He didn’t lie about any of the questions I asked him and he shows no support for the Empire, but he doesn’t show much support for the kingdom either. That may change in the future when he joins the mages guild, but for now he may at most be just a normal citizen.” Amulius spoke with great respect and civility that he didn’t really show Arthur.
The voice on the other end sighed deeply before he spoke again. “That is unfortunate, but you are right. We may need to invest some time into training someone like him to get loyalty and access to anything he might produce. What type of magic was it that he was most interested in? If we know we might be able to offer him something nice and receive his loyalty in exchange.”
“He said he was most interested in enchanting and golemancy. I have a few contacts that I might be able to get to teach him something, but not without a favor or two in exchange.”
“That is fine, I will compensate you for any expense you take. Just be certain that you don’t accidentally let it slip of what our plans with this young mage are, otherwise my foolish brother will try and get involved and mess things up for his damned elven daughter.”
With a deep bow to his master Amulius ended the call and started up another with someone else that owed him a favor or two.
********
The door to a tailor shop in the western district opened and a small bell connected with a string dinged allowing for the owner of the store who was just behind the front counter to know there was a new customer. The old man who was both the owner and sole tailor in the store looked to the new customer, it was a young human man no older than 25 wearing plate armor and a chainmail hood over his head leaving his face open.
“Good afternoon young man, how might I help you on this fine day?” The tailor asked in an upbeat tone hoping to help the customer be calm and more willing to spend his coin.
“I need some proper clothing. Something a bit more durable than what I currently have.” The young human who was in actuality was Arthur.
“Of course I can help you with that, but I must ask beforehand what your budget is. That way I can keep it perfectly affordable for my customers.”
Arthur nodded before counting out five silver coins from inside his bag and holding them in his hand. “I have at most five silver coins I am willing to spend on one set of clothing.”
The tailor's eyes lit up at the sight of the five coins, it was far more than most people would be willing to spend on only one set of clothes. The average commoner might at most spend around 10 or at most 15 copper coins for a set of clothes, and even then it wouldn’t usually be all at once.
“I think I have a few sets that you would be very interested in, it will of course require some adjustments to fit you perfectly, but I think you will like what I have to offer.” The tailor excitedly rushed Arthur over to the dressing area while he rushed into the storage area for his most valuable sets of clothes.
He made two trips from the storage room to the dressing area each time carrying two mannequins wearing very fine clothes, nothing was quite on the level that a king would wear them, but they were better than what Arthur had worn at even the best of times.
The first set was a pair of thick and durable brown trousers and boots, a fine white shirt, and an overcoat similar to what he bought from this very store when he came by with Georgius as his apprentice. When Arthur touched the clothes he noticed that even though they looked alike from a distance these clothes were far thicker and would even offer a degree of protection as they were made from excellent leather.
‘This one is a lot like what I used to wear, just a little higher in quality and perhaps offering some actual protection on its own. I will consider buying this one.’
Looking at the price Arthur noticed that the set would cost him three silver coins, not wanting to make his decision at that very moment he moved onto the next set.
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The second set was less like an alchemist’s attire and more akin to something a wealthy merchant would buy, Arthur didn’t even bother looking at the price for it as he had no intention of walking around looking like a merchant.
The third set however did catch Arthur's attention as it was very much different from everything else he had seen. It was a set of black leather clothes that covered the full body, the black boots extended up all the way to the shin and stopped just before the knee. The leather gloves were also black and didn’t cover the fingers which confused Arthur a little but he didn’t pay much attention to it. The set also included a cloak with a hood that went down to about his knees which would be good in rain.
Looking at the price Arthur noted that it would cost him 4 silver and 10 copper coins.
‘I do like this set, but the leather shirt is more akin to a thick coat, I would likely need to buy a proper shirt to wear underneath to prevent the leather from rubbing against my bare skin.’
The fourth and final set was a stereotypical mage attire, it consisted of a light grey robe that covered some simple in design yet good quality grey clothes including gloves, a pair of boots, a thin scarf, and even a small satchel that went over the mannequin's shoulder.
The price for this late set of clothes was 2 silver coins, by far the lowest of the three that Arthur was even considering buying.
‘This one is a lot like a typical mage robe, but I don’t really think I would wear this unless I was short on money or I needed to dress a certain way for an event.’
“So what do you think, do any of these catch your eye?” The tailor asked with a small sparkle in his eyes. He was most eager to satisfy his newest customer.
“This one right here is out of the question.” Arthur said while pointing towards the merchant-like set. “I have no intention of dressing like a merchant.”
The tailor immediately picked up the mannequin and dragged it off to the back room where he had it before, when he was done he was back out in the dressing area like before.
“I don’t think the robes would be suitable for what I intend to do.” Like before the tailor took the mannequin with the grey robes leaving Arthur with just two options.
After looking both over for several seconds Arthur ran his hands down the sides of each to get a feel for them, the biggest thing he was worried about was durability and that was quickly satisfied. Next up was comfortability which Arthur determined the set with the overcoat was better in terms of mostly due to the thick leather not being in direct contact with his skin unlike the other darker set.
“I think I will be taking this set.” Arthur said as he pointed towards the first set. The tailor nodded and quickly removed all the articles of clothing and handed them to Arthur to try on in the nearby changing room. Only a minute later he returned wearing the clothes that were a little large for him, but the tailor quickly got to work and had him stand straight up with his arms out while starting the adjustments.
The tailor worked quickly without a word of complaint even despite his age and in what only felt like a handful of minutes the clothes Arthur bought were a perfect fit. He quickly paid the tailor and left the shop with his new clothes feeling like a brand new man.
‘The clothes make the man.’ Arthur chuckled to himself as he looked down at the high quality boots on his feet. They were by far the best boots he had ever worn.
‘Now I just need to find a room for the night and tomorrow I will need to go back to the guild for that entrance test so I can actually join the guild and get access to the library again. Then I need to start learning some tier three spells for when I mess with the Red Eye cult and the self proclaimed vampire lord Darius. If I can manage to kill him and his blood spawn by myself I could probably get myself some goodwill with the kingdom.’
Arthur smiled to himself as he thought about how to best capitalize on the situation when he sets everything into motion.
While he was thinking he started walking back towards the western district to find a room for the night, specifically a place close enough to the guild so he wouldn’t need to walk very far to take the entrance test.
The first place he tried was the familiar Free Parrot Bar where Lyra had brought everyone to hand out the payment for the work they did. Asking the bartender Arthur was told that there were still a few rooms underground that were available for two copper pieces a night.
Arthur quickly handed over a silver piece which he received the change for and was given a cheap bronze key with the number seven edged into the one end. Walking down the first staircase led Arthur to a large hallway that bent around a few corners containing around twenty or so rooms.
It didn’t take Arthur very long to find room seven where he inserted the key and turned it, a small click indicated that the door was now unlocked and he pushed it open. The inside was decorated sparsely with a bed in the corner, a small dresser just next to the bed, and a table with two chairs and a lone candle on the opposite side of the room.
‘Not quite as nice as the upstairs rooms are they?’ Arthur joked to himself at the very simple accommodations that he found himself in. ‘No wonder it was so cheap.’
Not wanting to make much of a deal about a place he would only be staying for a single night, Arthur locked the door behind himself and sat on the edge of the bed. It was comfortable enough to sleep on for a night, but it wasn’t something that he wanted to make a habit out of given that it was quite stiff and the pillow was a little dusty.
*********
Several hours later I awoke within the dusty and sparse room atop the bed, I felt my mussels were stiff from sleeping on the uncomfortable bed. I still felt like I was half asleep, likely due to the fact that I didn’t sleep very well.
Suddenly my stomach growled in dissatisfaction from the lack of breakfast and dinner and I slowly sat up. I rubbed my temples with both my hands to try and wake myself up some more for around a minute before I felt confident enough to navigate my way towards the door and up the stairs to get something to eat from the tavern.
Reaching the top of the stairs I found a half filled dining area with a handful of waiters and waitresses taking orders and delivering food. I found myself a small and empty table and waited for one of them to come and take my order. While I was waiting I looked around at the other people around me and tried to see what they were eating.
“Good morning sir, what can I get you for today?” A young and petite young woman, likely eighteen or nineteen dressed like the other waitresses, walked up to my table and handed me one of the menus.
I quickly opened it up and looked through, my eyes quickly darted to the few options for soups and settled on the chicken soup. “Can I get a bowl of chicken soup?” I asked while pushing over the three copper coins that was the listed price.
“Of course sir, it will just be a few minutes.” The young waitress smiled and placed the three coins within a small pouch attached to her belt before turning around and walking back to the kitchen behind the bar counter.