It was the morning of the fourth day that the three of them had been in the town when a young boy ran up to them just as they were about to enter the Adventurer’s Guild.
“Hey!” he shouted, “You order a dress from big bro Brent?”
“A robe, yes,” Brian nodded, “Is it ready?”
“He says it’s ready for you,” the boy nodded, about to turn away before Brian tossed something to him, the kid staring at the copper coin in amazement, “What’s this for?”
“For delivering the message,” Brian shrugged, smiling kindly at the child, “You have to tip your messengers, don’t you?”
“Thanks, creepy Mage guy!” the child shouted as he ran off grinning, Brian letting out a loud sigh.
“Creepy Mage guy?” he muttered dejectedly, “Really?”
“Your garb and equipment are rather…macabre, to say the least,” Karen chuckled as Grisha tried to hide her own laughter, “But never mind that, let us go see if the brat’s new clothing truly is finished.”
“Right,” Brian sighed as they headed towards the magic shop.
“You’re here!” Brent said excitedly as they opened the door, Brian noticing the dark circles under his eyes as he seemed to sway slightly on his feet, “I’ve finally finished the robe for you! Only took three nights of work!”
“Have you slept at all in the last three days?” Brian groaned, the teen looking at him in mild confusion for a moment.
“No? I’m fine, I’ll sleep tonight!”
“You had better,” Brian nodded, “Now, the robe?”
“Right here!” Brent said excitedly as he walked over to a covered mannequin, pulling the sheet away dramatically, “I have to say, it’s probably my best work to date!”
“It is definitely something,” Karen hummed, looking over the piece for a moment, “I suppose it is suitable for the brat, after all.”
“I…” Grisha gasped as she stared at the midnight blue robe, golden stars sown into it in an intricate pattern, making up the design for the enchantments, “I love it! It’s so pretty!”
“O-oh!” Brent suddenly blushed as the girl started to fawn over the outfit, “Thanks?”
“No,” Brian sighed as he noticed the look the tired boy was giving the gushing girl, “We’re leaving here soon, so it would never work out.”
“You are?” Brent blinked tiredly, “Oh.”
“Breaking hearts again?” Karen laughed at Brian, making him glare at her, “Shame on you, Mage. They won’t taste as delicious if you always do that.”
“Taste as delicious…?” Brent said slowly, staring at the three of them in confusion, “Uhm…what does that mean?”
“Nothing,” Brian just sighed again, still glaring at Karen, “Anyway, thank you for the robe, do you have a place for Grisha to change, or should we go back to our inn?”
“She can use the back room?” Brent said eagerly, suddenly blushing as he realised how weird that must have sounded, “Sorry. I just would like to see it being worn.”
“Okay,” Brian muttered, looking over at Grisha, “Go and put it on. I’ll make sure nobody peeks.”
“Okay!” the girl said happily, grabbing the robe from the mannequin and rushing through the door into the back room, Brian watching Brent closely.
“I-I would never, Sir Mage!” the teen sputtered, “E-especially her!”
“Oh? And why is that?” Karen suddenly purred, leaning over the counter towards Brent, the teen swallowing as he could see down the neck of her own robe, “Do you, perchance, respect her too much?”
“Stop it, Karen,” Brian groaned, shaking his head, “He’s just a kid.”
“But they are so tasty to play with,” the woman hummed, standing back up as Brent stared at her in awe, somehow both pale and heavily blushing at the same time.
“I said stop it,” Brian repeated, looking up as Grisha stepped nervously out of the back room, a bright but shy smile on her face.
“How do I look?” she asked, turning slowly to show off the robe, its large hood hanging off her shoulders.
“Like a real Wizard,” Brian smiled, making the girl smile brightly back, Brent looking between the two as he seemed to deflate slightly, “Anyway, we should go see if Karen’s gear is done being made now as well, that smith also said three days, right?”
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“Oh…yeah,” Grisha muttered, looking away in mild disappointment.
“Then let us see if it is worthy to grace my body,” the older woman said, “If it is not, I shall slaughter the smith and burn her pitiful shop to the ground.”
“No, you will not,” Brian growled as they left, leaving Brent standing alone.
After a moment, he let out a loud sniff, wiping the tears from his eyes.
“Need some sleep,” he muttered to himself, walking into the back of the shop again.
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“Yep, it’s done,” the smith said as she led them into the back of the shop, “Finished it yesterday. Was going to send a message to your inn to come pick it up once you were done for the day, but you’re here now, so that doesn’t matter.”
Brian just nodded as the smith led them to the mannequin, showing off the well-crafted set of light armour. It shone in the light of the lamps that lit up the forge, a set of three black spears resting on a weapon wrack beside it. The armour itself was made of polished steel, an image of a dragon embossed onto the chest piece, the rest made of small, carefully overlaid plates, making it look like scales.
“Hmmph,” Karen grunted as she inspected the armour and weapons, “I suppose this shall do. You have saved your own life and livelihood, Smith.”
“Uhm…thanks?” the woman chuckled, “It took a while with all those scales, but I think it’s pretty damn good.”
“Very well, I shall don this armour,” Karen said, immediately starting to pull off the robe she was wearing, Brian groaning as he turned to leave.
“What is the matter, Mage?” the Dragon chuckled, “Do you not wish to see this one’s perfect form?”
“It’s rude to watch someone else change, Karen,” Brian muttered as he walked back through the door, “Just hurry up.”
“Rude?” the woman hummed happily, “Very well, if it makes you so uncomfortable as to force you to flee, I shall not do so in your presence.”
“Bloody psycho,” Brian groaned as he returned to the shopfront, looking around at the other weapons for a bit before the door opened again, Grisha and Karen walking out, the latter now in her armour as the smith followed them.
“Looks good,” Brian nodded as he inspected the armour on the older woman, seeing the way she could still easily move in it, even if she seemed annoyed by having to wear it at all, “How much do I owe you?”
“After the deposit?” the smith hummed, “Custom work is expensive, but let’s call it three hundred gold.”
“Right,” Brian nodded as he pulled the three gold plates from his bracer, handing them over, “Pleasure doing business with you.”
“I think that’s my line,” the smith laughed as she stared at the plates, “Anyway, you lot had better get moving, or all the good Quests will be taken by the time you get to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“That’s fine, we were mostly waiting for the gear we ordered to be made, so we’ll be leaving soon,” Brian shrugged, “We should probably go to the Guild building anyway just to tell them we’re moving on, though.”
“That’s a good idea,” Grisha nodded, “Also to show off my new robes!”
“We still need to get you a better staff, though,” Brian chuckled at the excited girl, who lit up even more at the mention of more gear, “Though, if we were going to get one made, we probably should have done that earlier. Dammit.”
“Nah, no places around here could do that,” the smith shook her head, “You’ll do better to head to the capital for something like that.”
“Ah,” Brian nodded, glancing at Grisha as the girl paled slightly, “It’s fine, we just came from there. We’re heading in the other direction.”
“Oh?” the smith hummed, “Heading to the mountains? Trying to get into the Dwarf Lands?”
“Something like that,” Brian nodded, “Anyway, thank you for the armour, we’ll be off now.”
“Come by anytime you’re in the area,” the smith nodded, grinning at the three of them as they left the shop, “I’ll fix up your gear for cheap, seeing as you are a valuable customer.”
------
“So, you’re leaving?” the Guild Master asked, the party of three nodding, “Right, well you’ll need permission to enter the Dwarf Lands properly, so maybe I can help with that.”
“Why are you being so nice to us all of a sudden?” Brian asked, narrowing his eyes, “You’ve been using us to clean up the most dangerous and difficult Quests in the area for the last few days, so why now?”
“Just that, you’ve handled all the most pressing dangers to the town, so I’m being nice,” the Guild Master nodded, smiling back at them before handing Brian a sealed letter, “Anyway, here, a letter of passage into the Dwarven Lands. Best of luck to you three.”
“Thanks,” Brian sighed as he took the folded paper, half tempted to just open it right there to see what was written inside, before slipping it into his bracer, “Well, we’ll be off then.”
“Goodbye, and safe journey,” the other man nodded as they left, smiling to himself as the door swung shut behind them.
“He’s definitely up to something,” Brian sighed as they headed down the stairs into the main foyer of the Guild building, the other Adventurer’s waving at them as they left, “I don’t fully trust him.”
“As it should be with any mortal,” Karen nodded, “Your kind are always scheming in some way.”
“And yours doesn’t?” Brian laughed as they headed towards the eastern gate of the town, “I would have thought you would have been just as wily as us?”
“Oh, we are so much more than that,” Karen huffed, “Your schemes are child’s play in comparison to the work of decades, or even centuries.”
“Fair enough,” the man shrugged, the group falling into a comfortable silence as they approached the gate, being waved through easily by the guards.
“With any luck, this leg of our journey shall be rather uneventful,” Grisha hummed, looking at Brian in confusion as he let out a loud groan, “What is it?”
“I’m pretty sure you just jinxed it,” Brian sighed, shaking his head, “Anyway, let’s get moving, we don’t have all day.”
------
“You let them go pretty easily,” the desk clerk said as she placed the stack of papers down on the Guild Master’s desk, “Why?”
“Because,” he hummed, “They are too strong for this little town. In time they would attract unwanted attention.”
“Unwanted attention?” the clerk asked, looking at the Guild Master in surprise, “What do you mean, sir?”
“Nothing,” the man sighed, taking the first of the documents and scanning over it, before quickly signing, “Anyway, anything else pressing to be taken care of?”
“Not particularly,” the clerk shook her head, “Just a troop of the kingdoms soldiers recently arrived at the gates. Apparently, they are searching for the false Heroes.”
“The false Heroes?” the man sighed, shaking his head as he continued to work, “Well, if they come to the Adventurer’s Guild, we will assist them as best we can. Within reason, of course.”
“Of course,” the clerk nodded, “I will inform the others.”
“Thank you,” the Guild Master nodded as the clerk left the room, before sitting back in his chair and staring at the green Dragon head above the door, “This is all becoming very interesting, is it not old friend? I wonder what will happen next?”