Xander’s teammates were quite impressed with his achievement. Graffus pulled him into a hug and slapped him on the back, making a comment about how good it was to see him out of his armor again. Atrax wanted to know if this had been the reason that Xander had needed diagrams of the human body, impressed with the accuracy of the facsimile. He noted that it could use a couple of wrinkles in the face and on the hands for some extra authenticity, but it was otherwise quite hard to tell anything was off. Frazay, who was indeed in her room, inspecting the drake eggs, likewise enthused over Xander’s transformation back to something more human. She’d spent several minutes poking and prodding Xander’s face, and having him make different expressions.
It turns out that it was past dinner time when Xander had finished on that fourth day. The rest of his team was preparing to go to bed. Xander realized that he had no idea what they had all been pursuing so far during their break. Sliding into bed, the first time he’d done so since he’d begun working on his new body, and wearing his tan undershirt and a pair of boxers, he decided to change that. He turned to Gabrelle and asked, “What have you been up to since I locked myself away?”
Gabrelle, for her part, was still readjusting to Xander’s new form. Before, when he’d been a steel figure armored in carbon fiber, there had been a slight physical disconnect. But now, he looked, and felt, human again, and she was not used to that anymore. So she was on her own side of the bed still when she answered. “Mm, I haven’t done much. A little shopping. Pursuing some medicines I could prepare and store in case we need them.” She paused. “Xander?” She asked.
“Hmm?” Xander replied.
“Do you… do you think it’s more awkward if we cuddle now?”
Xander cocked his head as he thought his answer over. “Not for me,” he finally answered. “Is it for you?”
“Uhm… maybe? I don’t really know. It just, well, it feels a little different. Before, it was, Gods, I hate to say it this way, please don’t be offended, but before, when you were all… metal-y, it was easier to feel a little bit of a disconnect. You’re the only person I’ve ever done anything like this with, Xander… So, it was easier to feel less awkward about it when you were… well, less human seeming. But now, it’s going to be like actually cuddling someone, and that’s still new to me. And new is… scary sometimes.”
“Ahhh, I think I get it. And don’t worry about me being offended. I can see where you’re coming from, I think. I personally don’t feel like it’s any less awkward than before, just more comfortable for you now that you don’t have to contend with an entire suit of armor in your bed. But, uhm, if you’re feeling uncomfortable, we absolutely don’t have to do this. I can get my own room easily.”
Gabrelle seemed to shrink in on herself slightly and she said quietly, with a slight pout, “I didn’t say I wanted to stop…”
Xander nodded in understanding. “Just need some time to adjust, then? That’s okay. I’ll be here if you feel like it, just like I’ll still be here if you don’t. Don’t feel like you need to rush yourself.” He gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder as he laid back, mimicking sleep. About thirty minutes later, Gabrelle scootched closer and he wrapped an arm around her as she settled in next to him.
“I was cold,” she murmured in explanation.
Laying there quietly, Gabrelle wrapped in one of his arms, he finally opened his status sheet. He’d felt that familiar tingle of something changing within it, but he’d been too busy celebrating to feel like dealing with it at the time.
---You have created runic arrays---
---[Rune Lord] leveled to 8---
---[Rune Lord] level 8 skills---
[Miniaturization] – Your rune engraving abilities may now create smaller runes.
Huh, well that would have been nice to have, Xander thought to himself as he stared at the status message floating in front of him. Was it just coincidence, or could one influence what skills they received on their status sheet by pursuing certain things? Considering that there were rewards for titles, and one could potentially gain a class by doing something specific, Xander didn’t consider it too far-fetched to think that some of one’s skills might be influenced by previous achievements or training. Still, there had to be some randomness involved. Otherwise, how would he have gotten skills like [Earthworks]? He hadn’t exactly spent much time digging trenches in this world.
That morning, Xander resolved to go get himself new clothes. He wanted to own something other than the same four camouflage uniforms he had in his possession. Gabrelle had agreed to go with him. He wanted to get a nice pair of boots, too. The tan suede leather boots he’d brought with him from Earth were no longer with him after he’d lost them along with his body, so he was stuck wearing his armored greaves for the time being. He’d spent time during breakfast catching up with the rest of the team, and apologized for not speaking with them for four days. It turned out that none of them were up to much, considering that it had been less than a week since they’d turned in the drake contract. Atrax was still trying to find buyers for the potential drake hatchlings, and Graffus had sent a letter to his cousin Kreglin to ask him to put out some feelers as well. Frazay was spending much of her time in the library that Xander had visited, researching drakes and dragons to ensure that she could properly care for one and that they hadn’t missed anything about incubating the eggs. Unfortunately, while anatomical descriptions of the various kinds of dragons existed, there was precious little about their life as animals, and even less on their reproductive cycles.
“Ready to go?” Gabrelle called to Xander as she came down the stairs. She’d opted for a warm looking doublet and similarly thick looking pants. The pants were a cream color, while the doublet was a leafy green color. Over top of it, she wore brown, utilitarian looking cloak. Xander thought she might be a bit overdressed for the cold, but he had noticed that Gabrelle seemed to absolutely hate feeling cold, so he chalked it up to that.
Stepping out of the inn for the first time in his new body, Xander looked around. No one was staring at him this time, the few people out on the side street the inn was located on quickly bustling about their business as their breath fogged the air. A small spot of tension eased in his mind. He looked right, then left, and asked Gabrelle, “Which way?”
“Mm, I supposed that depends on what kind of clothes you’re looking for. Do you have any ideas at all?”
“Uhm, well, I like simple. I don’t want to dress up like the nobles we saw in Anlet. They looked like some kind of tropical bird. Greens, browns, dark reds, black and grey. Those were the colors I often found myself wearing back home. Earthy tones for the most part, I suppose. Sturdy, would be a plus, too. I don’t hate how these fit,” he said, gesturing to his uniform, “but I’m getting a little bit tired of the pattern. I’m not exactly trying to blend into the woods here, and I feel like it makes me stand out having a pattern like this in a city.”
Gabrelle nodded, thoughtfully. “Hmm. I think I know a shop. Frazay’s been there before, and I’ve bought a couple of things myself. They cater to mercenaries, woodsmen, soldiers, the kind of people who tend to like the sturdy, utilitarian clothes you described. It’s this way,” she said, indicating her right, and began walking.
Xander trotted to catch up, and followed along, looking at the various shops and shop windows they passed. There were a surprising amount of shops in the city, but he supposed that made sense considering the amount of goods and, presumably, people that flowed through the town due to its positioning on land and sea trading routes. They passed smiths of all sorts, from shops ranging from cutlery to battle axes and all the way back down to delicate jewelry. Clothing stores, tailors, and seamstresses abounded, displaying bolts of cloth and outfits proudly in their windows. He took note of a few alchemy shops as well; they might have interesting products he could look into after he got some outfits. Gabrelle led him to a shop that had a stone ground floor and then two wooden floors on top of it. A sign hanging out from the stone wall read Brakk’s Clothier Shop: High Skill, High Level.
“This is it,” she said to Xander. She gestured towards the door for him to enter first, and followed behind him.
Inside, the building was paneled with well worn wood, matching the well-trod wooden floors. Shelves contained various bolts of cloth, and there were many different pieces of clothing hanging from the walls or on their own stands. A few were even dangling from the beams of the ceiling. A tall, reserved looking man greeted them from behind a counter.
“Welcome, my guests, to Brakk’s Clothier Shop. I am, of course, Brakk. May I help you select any items today?”
“Uhm, hi,” Xander said back to the man, still staring around the shop and standing near the door. “Ah, I think I’ll browse a bit first. I’m not exactly sure what I’m wanting yet.”
“Of course, of course, take your time, and don’t hesitate to ask for any information about a piece.” Brakk replied.
Xander and Gabrelle moved further into the shop, circling the different shelves and displays on the floor. Looking at the pieces on the wall, Xander spied on that caught his eye. It was a cloth jerkin that was dyed dark green. Diagonal stripes of lighter green met in the center of the shirt to form a small sunburst. He rubbed the fabric between his fingers, and found it to be quite soft, belying the sturdy appearance of the thick cloth. In the end, he settled on three outfits, so that he could vary his appearance somewhat. One was the green jerkin that he had spotted as the first item of interest, and with it went a pair of black trousers. Underneath the jerkin, he would wear a white linen shirt with long sleeves. The second outfit was a maroon doublet, that would be fitted snugly to his torso and arms. The pants were a loose set of grey pants. The fasteners for the doublet and the pants were polished brass, which Xander liked. The final outfit consisted of a light green jacket, trimmed in black, which would be worn with another white shirt underneath it, which had polished onyx buttons on display, as the jacket was intended to be worn either open or only partially closed. The pants were the tightest of the three, being designed to be skin tight, but only just. They were black as well, and down the side of each leg ran a decorative set of polished green buttons of the same color as the jacket. This would be his set of more formal clothes, should he ever need to dress up a little more than usual. Gabrelle gave her approval for each outfit, ooing and aahing at the appropriate intervals as Xander held them up for her to view.
Xander also purchased a fourth set of clothes, but it was not for everyday wear nor for formal events. It was a thin, cloth gambeson and matching pants that he could wear under his armor so that his normal clothes weren’t damaged in a fight. They were both a dark green, darker even than the jerkin he had also chosen. He brought all four sets of clothes up to the counter, where Brakk looked them over with a critical eye.
“Mmm,” he said, holding up the green jerkin and looking back and forth between it and Xander. “A good choice. The green will wear well on you, as will the maroon. The pants are all complementary to the outfits as well.” He turned his head to Gabrelle, “Will there be anything for the lady?”
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
“Oh no, we’re just here for him today,” she replied.
“Very well, then. Come, step to the side here and let me measure you so that I can ensure the outfits will fit properly.”
Xander complied, and dutifully held his arms up for Brakk to begin measuring. The man chuckled at the sight. “What are you doing? I’ve long since surpassed the need to physically measure a client. Just let me get a good look at you and my skills will do the rest.”
Xander dropped his arms, embarrassed, and Brakk circled him a few times, eying him more intently than a bird of prey. He retrieved a notebook and charcoal pencil from a pocket of his pants and began to scribble down numbers. “There,” he said. “All done. If you’d like to wait here in the shop, I can have these ready for you forthright. If not, you are welcome to pick the outfits up at any point in the day. Of course, there is the matter of payment to be made before I begin to fit the clothes to your measurements.”
“Oh, um, of course. How much will it cost?”
“Mm, well, sir, you seem to have quite an eye for good fabrics. Between that, and the fact that all my outfits are improved by my skills as a [Tailor] – water resistance, or blood in the case of your gambeson, stain proof, harder to rip or pop a button than a piece from a less skilled tailor, that sort of thing, you see – and I only explain as I seem to sense that shopping at a clothier of a caliber such as mine,” he said with a hint of pride in his voice, “might be a bit of a new experience for you. Ah, but where was I? Ah yes, the cost. For the four outfits, you are looking at fifty gold.”
Xander raised his new eyebrows. That seemed like quite a bit of money. Hell, he’d negotiated the price down to one hundred gold for Freyja, plus a little side work. He looked over to Gabrelle who nodded encouragingly at Xander.
“He’s worth it, trust me. I’ve seen Frazay fall in mud and come away without a spot on her clothes before.”
Xander nodded, slowly. “Alright then… fifty gold it is.” He counted out fifty gold from the proceeds of their sale of the drake parts and placed them on the counter. It’s not like he was spending much on anything else, anyway.
“Excellent,” Brakk replied. “Now, will you be waiting here, or will you be picking the pieces up later?”
“Oooh, can we watch?” Gabrelle asked, excitedly. “Frazay never wants to, and I do so love to see a good tailor work.”
“Sure, we can watch.” Xander replied.
Brakk wasted no time getting to work on the clothes and he laid his notebook containing Xander’s measurements on the counter. From out of sight underneath the counter, he procured a needle and spools of thread of various colors, as well as a very small knife. Xander watched in awe as the man deftly cut the seams that needed to be adjusted on the various pieces of clothing with inhuman speed and precision. His needlework was no less magical. In fact, it was literally magical. Rather than sewing by hand, the man’s skills allowed him to manipulate the needle in the air, and it passed rapidly back and forth through fabric as he held pieces of fabric in the proper positions. In less than twenty minutes, all four sets of clothing had been altered to fit Xander’s proportions. They were lovingly bundled together and placed in a small cloth bag that Brakk told him came complementary with his purchase. They both thanked the [Tailor] and made their way back outside.
Standing out in the brisk air with his bundle of outfits, Xander felt good. He hadn’t just gone out and shopped for himself in… he wasn’t sure how long it had been. Had he ever done that in this world? Every purchase he could remember making had been for the purposes of better equipping himself to for supplies for a journey. Looking over to Gabrelle, who was raising her hood to shield her from the slight wind that was blowing, he asked, “Boots?”
“Hmm? Oh, yes, I suppose you do need a pair of boots or two. Probably two, I’d say. One for your everyday and one to wear with that nicer outfit.”
“That makes sense. Know a good place?”
“We could go to the shop I got my last pair at. They’ve got men’s and women’s boots.”
“Sounds, good! Lead the way.”
The cobbler’s shop that Gabrelle had mentioned was not far from their location, only a few minutes’ walk. It would seem that this area contained a cluster of high-quality shops catering to mercenary clientele. Now that he thought about it, they weren’t very far from the guild hall, so the shop’s location made more sense to him now. Arriving at a shop that proclaimed itself at Dustral’s Cordwainery. A window at the front of the wooden shop showed several pairs of boots on display, from boots for a rugged woodsman to fine, polished leather dress shoes.
This shop was somewhat busier than Brakk’s had been, though that was a low bar. Brakk’s had been empty at the time, and there were only two other people, not counting the shopkeep, in the shop. The store owner was a dwarf, and he wore a leather apron over a simple, sturdy looking linen shirt and plain brown trousers. The most notable piece of clothing he was wearing were a pair of boots which came up past his knees and were covered in small leather cinches, the fine work of his craftsmanship on display.
“Welcome, welcome!” The dwarf called out to them as they entered. He was currently occupied answering questions and making suggestions to the other pair of customers in the shop, so Xander, followed by Gabrelle, took the opportunity to browse.
The left half of the shop appeared to be dedicated to shoes designed for women, from small, decorative shoes that a noble or wealthy merchant might wear to full sized pairs of boots that were suitable to go into battle with. The right half was for men, and ran a similar gamut ranging from decorative to functional. Xander wandered through the rows of shelving containing boots of various sizes, taking note of a few pairs of boots that seemed to look sturdy but comfortable, as well as a set of polished black knee length boots that he thought would look good with his formal outfit. As Xander continued to browse, the dwarven shopkeeper finished with his other set of customers and made his way over to Xander and Gabrelle.
“Is there anything I can help you locate?” He asked politely as he made his way to the two mercenaries.
“Ah, well, I need a new pair of boots,” Xander said, gesturing to the armored pair of greaves he was wearing.
“So I can see,” The dwarf agreed. “Is there a particular style or function you are seeking?”
“Well, I was thinking black for simplicity’s sake, and one pair that comes up roughly to the bottom of the calf for my everyday use and one pair that’s maybe a little longer for more formal events. I liked this pair for the formal idea,” Xander said as he indicated towards the pair of tall boots he’d spied earlier. “I just don’t know how to tell what’s my size.”
The dwarf nodded as he looked at the pair of boots Xander had pointed towards, holding them up for inspection. “Mmm, yes, these would do fine with some formal clothes, if I do say so myself. Pop off one of those greaves of yours and let me take a looksie and eyeball the size. Then I can recommend you an everyday pair as well.”
Xander complied, manually taking off a single armored boot then holding his pantleg up as instructed and the dwarf spent roughly thirty seconds looking back and forth between the boot, holding it at multiple angles, and Xander’s foot and leg. “Hmm… This pair ought to fit well enough. The buckles up the side and over the top of the foot should help ensure a good fit. Now, for the other pair I would recommend…” The dwarf wandered a short distance away, pulling a set of shorter boots off a shelf, “these. They’re the specified height, and they’re sturdy but soft leather. Fully waterproof, too, just like all my boots. As long as you take good care of them – a service I offer as well, by the way – they will take good care of you and your feet.”
Xander looked the boots in the dwarf’s hand over. They were simple black leather boots with laces running up the front of the boot. It reminded him a bit of the combat boots he’d had back home. “I like them,” he said. “I’ll take both.”
Another fifty gold later – Xander was realizing that items from higher leveled crafters came at a premium – he and Gabrelle walked out of the shop. Xander stowed his outfits and two sets of boots in his inventory.
“Anything else on the list for today?” Gabrelle asked him.
“Not really. I just wanted some clothes and some boots. Though, I am a bit interested in stopping by an alchemy shop on the way back to the inn.”
“Oh, what for?”
“Just wanted to see if they had any advice for useful chemicals or reactions that I could maybe use in the future.”
Xander walked into the first alchemy shop they passed on their walk back to the inn, a small establishment with a wizened, grey-haired woman resting on a stool near the counter that was set in the back corner of the store. Various fluids, powders, and fresh and dry herbs sat in jars, vials, and baskets throughout the shop.
“Hello!” Xander called out as he opened the door and made his way inside.
“Ahh, greetings. Welcome to my shop,” the woman said, making no attempt to get up from her stool. “What brings you here this morning?”
“Well, I was wondering if you had any components or recipes for… well, interesting reactions, I suppose.”
“Interesting? That’s quite broad, especially as I consider most alchemical interactions to be interesting, young man.”
“Sorry, I suppose that was vague,” Xander said. Gabrelle had wandered off, looking at the shop’s selection of herbs while Xander spoke to the owner. “Uhm, I’m looking for things that might be useful in combat. Explosive reactions, of course. Interesting poisons perhaps? Anything you think might be helpful, I suppose.”
“Mmh. I don’t generally carry things that explode, but I do have some poisons – not on the shop floor of course – that I sell to mercenaries that come through. Let’s see, what else… ah! I’ve a fun one I can sell you. A concoction that is a fast drying, powerful adhesive. Would you like it premixed or are you looking to purchase the knowledge from me?”
“I’d like the recipe, please. And I’ll also want to purchase the required reagents. What kind of poisons do you happen to have?”
After a short discussion on the various toxins the Alchemist carried, Xander settled on a paralytic poison extracted from a local fish. If he ever needed to take someone or something alive, it could come in handy. The poison was cheap compared to the recipe for the adhesive. The old woman had firmly stated that she wouldn’t take less than seventy-five gold for it. Xander was glad he was able to carry all his coin with him, he hadn’t expected to be spending so much today. Still, the idea for another nonlethal method of attack seemed worthwhile. He hoped it would help slow down any enemies that were faster than him. Throw a few jars of glue at them and hope their arms and legs start to get stuck to themselves. The recipe called for the liquid that was squeezed from a fresh milkcap mushroom, sticky spider silk, and the bile of a giant toad. Xander purchased a small amount of all three, analyzing the materials as the vials were handed over. They’d need to be boiled once they were combined, but somehow – Xander hadn’t been great at chemistry, and that certainly carried over to his understanding of Alchemy – the spider silk dissolved into the solution and the entire thing would change color to a light yellow. It would then need to be bottled and removed from air exposure before it began to dry.
---Materials Analyzed---
---Milkcap milk---
---Sticky Spider Silk---
---Giant Toad Bile---
---Spinefin Toxin---
After giving his thanks – and coin – to the [Alchemist], Xander and Gabrelle made their way back to the inn. Xander stepped into the room while Gabrelle politely waited outside so that he could change into one of his outfits. He chose the green jerkin, white linen shirt, and black pants. Once he’d put them and his boots on, he called out to Gabrelle that it was safe to come in.
“What do you think?” Xander asked, holding his arms out to display his outfit.
“It’s nice!” Gabrelle enthused. “You chose well. It’s… distinguished but simple. Just what you were looking for, right?”
“Mmhm!” Xander looked into the mirror he’d created before to look at his body, as it had not yet disintegrated from being out of his presence, and tried out a smile. He dropped it though, after he noticed something. His teeth were still metallic, and he had no tongue. That was probably… off-putting for people. Atrax had also noted that he needed some wrinkles and creases on his hands and around his eyes. Instead of letting it put him in a bad mood, he decided to just go ahead and fix it.
“What are you doing?” Gabrelle asked, looking at him curiously as he peeled his lips back to look at his teeth in the mirror.
“Oh! Uh, giving myself better teeth. I guess I looked a bit odd from an outside perspective.”
“I suppose that make sense.”
“And a tongue. It’s probably weird for people if I open my mouth and they don’t see a tongue in there.”
“Huh. I hadn’t noticed, but you’re probably right.”
The teeth were simple, as Xander simply gave the dragon scale teeth he’d created a light coating of the drake tooth material he’d analyzed before, giving himself a more natural tooth color and texture. The tongue however, he took a bit more time on. He wanted to be able to move it, mostly just so he could stick his tongue out at people. He created a silicone tongue, once again willing the color to change, this this time to the pinkish red of a tongue. Inside were the same beads he’d used to mimic muscles in his face, which would let him move it about. Xander attached the tongue to the inside of his mouth, glad that it did not obscure the runes he had set up for sound, and turned to Gabrelle and stuck his tongue out at her.
Gabrelle chuckled and said, “Well it looks real enough to me!”
Xander let out a sigh of relief at Gabrelle’s passing grade for his modifications and then sat down on the bed. He then asked her a very important question.
“What are we supposed to do for the rest of these two months?”