Chapter 40 Cool Magic Toys.
“Why do I feel like a kid sneaking back in after a night out?” Isaac asked Lenna in a whisper. The shadows woven through her armor made her just as silent as he was.
“Celeste has decent soundproofing.” Lenna commented. “I doubt we have to be this quiet.”
Isaac grinned. “It’s fun though.”
Lenna chuckled quietly. “I love you.” She told him. Isaac giggled warmly at her comment and Lenna had to resist pulling him in for a kiss right there in the middle of the hallway.
“I love you too.” He replied and quietly unlocked their door. The two of them slinked inside and Isaac closed the door behind them. He turned around to face her and grinned. He had been enjoying himself. Lenna was already taking off her armor. He didn’t blame her. They had hardly spent any time not geared up for battle. It was good to be home. Lenna threw him a suggestive look. “It is really good to be home.”
—
“How was your trip?” Celeste asked the duo when they arrived at her bar for breakfast.
“Eventful.” Lenna replied.
“Boring.” Isaac said at the same time.
Celeste laughed. “Well? Which was it?” She questioned.
Isaac and Lenna shared a look before they both nodded. “Both.” The duo said in unison.
Celeste laughed and set her elbows on the bar as she leaned in. “It sounds like you have a story for me.” She said and the duo began their recounting the adventures of the past five days. Everything from the raid on Mr. Nobody to the Tunnel Horrors that really seemed to like Isaac. By the time the duo had finished it the beginning of the lunch rush was trickling in through the door. “You need to find a good bard to tell all your adventures to. You’d make good money.”
Isaac chuckled but then seemed to really contemplate it. “How much do you think?” He asked.
Celeste shrugged. “Depends on the bard.” She replied honestly. “A few hundred gold I’d say.”
Isaac looked surprised. “That’s more than I thought.” He confessed.
“You just need to find a good one. Preferably an elf. Though there aren’t very many of them in the human territories. Most elvish bards wander between elvish cities where they can build up a good clientele.” Celeste explained.
Isaac nodded along. “On a completely unrelated note; What should we get for Alecia and Alexis’s birthdays?” He questioned.
Celeste chuckled. “They go to you too huh?” She questioned with obvious mirth. “Those two are shameless when it comes to getting gifts.”
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Isaac shrugged with a smile. “I’m not going to spend a fortune on them but they’ve always taken good care of us.” He told her. “I don’t exactly know what girls my age like.” He glanced at Lenna. “And the woman I am closest to is not exactly normal.”
Lenna just shrugged. She knew that even among dark elven women she was not exactly normal. She had stopped pretending otherwise two centuries ago. “Jewelry?” Lenna offered. ‘Other girls like shiny things right?’ She thought to herself. She could admit that the necklace that Isaac had gotten her was pretty but the real reason she liked it was that he had gotten it for her. That and the confession that came along with it.
Celeste just shook her head and looked at the two helpless oddballs in front of her with a warm smile. “Jewelry works. Or something useful. Perfume is a good idea too, something sweet smelling. Try to get something in a pair or set. Those two are glued to each other beyond any other set of twins I have ever seen. I bet if you only got them one of something they would find a way to cut it in half instead of just sharing it between them.” She advised the pair.
“Useful and in a pair or set.” Isaac wondered aloud. “Like sending stones?”
Celeste raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Along those lines.” She agreed. “You can go see if that crazy old artificer has anything that fits.”
Isaac nodded. “My thoughts exactly.”
—
“Clayton.” Isaac greeted the young wizard who met them a moment after they entered the magic item shop. “It’s been a while.”
“Yes it has.” Clayton agreed. “I requested the information regarding colors of mana from the academy. They are going to send a copy of the research notes. There isn’t a living expert I’m afraid.”
“I see.” Isaac replied. “Well, that’s better than nothing. When do you think it’ll arrive?”
“I have no idea.” Clayton replied honestly. “They could send it with Magus Alexander the next time he is in the capital or they could ship it in a bottomless bag overland. I could see it within a week or month from now.”
Isaac shrugged. “I’m not going anywhere. Let me know when it comes in and we can compare the notes to what we can prove. With a solid baseline we can make some inferences about the rest of the colors. I have a much better grasp of my magic now than when I first asked you about it.” He told the young wizard. “But my magic aside, that’s not why we’re here.”
Clayton nodded. “Alright, what can I help you with?”
“Paired magic items.” Isaac explained. “Things that come in a set for two people to use together. Start on the cheaper end if you can.”
Clayton frowned in thought for a moment. “I think I have some ideas.” He told them. He led them down one of the isles and stopped before a shelf full of pairs of rings. “Wearing one of these will make the other feel warm to the touch as long as you are within five miles of the other one.” He gestured at a plain looking pair of silver rings with golden runic engravings on the inside of them. “These are the same but the ring will feel cold. The range is actually increased to seven miles because cooling something with magic is less power intensive than heating it up.” He continued down the line. “If the wearer of one of these is in pain the other ring will start to glow. These are a bit more complex so the range is down to two miles.”
“These all look like wedding rings.” Isaac commented.
Clayton turned to look at him and pushed up his glasses. “Yes.” He agreed.
Isaac glanced at Lenna and she caught his glance. She gave him a questioning look and he cleared his throat. “I think I’ll be ordering something custom when the time comes.” He commented. “This isn’t for us.”
“Oh.” Clayton replied and looked a bit embarrassed. “My apologies.”
Isaac just nodded. “So… other paired items?”
“Ah, yes.” Clayton jolted and led them down a bit further. “What about these?”
“Sending Stones.” Isaac said aloud. “I thought about that already but I’m not entirely sure.”
“Each set is different from the last.” Clayton explained and started going down the list. “These are seventeen times the strength of the base version, they are also seventy times the cost.” He added the last part quietly before moving on. “These plates each have the entire Outerworld Standard alphabet on them. When one letter is pressed on one of the plates the corresponding letter on the other will start to glow. Because the information being transmitted between them is less complex the range is increased to one mile.” He picked up a pair of stone disks the size of his palm. Each disk had a button in the middle the size of a coin. “These are even more minimalistic. When one button is pressed the other button will light up. These have a range of two miles.”
Isaac looked to Lenna for help. “At first I thought Sending Stones would be a bit too pragmatic for a birthday present but…” He let her finish the thought for him.
“You can imagine them talking all day instead of getting work done.” Lenna finished.
Isaac nodded. “The button or the keyboa-” Isaac winced. “The button or the other one?” He asked.
“The other one.” Lenna replied. “Otherwise they would need to come up with a code.”
“We’ll take those.” Isaac told Clayton. “And while we’re here, I have a bunch of money to spend and a tragic lack of cool magic toys.”
Clayton positively beamed at Isaac. “Well, when it comes to ‘toys’ as you put it. I have some recommendations.”