Chapter 6 Own Personal Library

Isaac unloaded all of his scales into two wicker baskets. He had almost all of Kahtesh’s scales. The only ones that were missing were the ones he had sold in Outpost Charles and a few from around Kahtesh’s neck, that were too damaged to be used on the chimera, from his beheading. The two men went over armor design after armor design for well over an hour. Lenna occasionally commented on the ones that were simply not practical but otherwise simply watched and stood guard.

By the time Isaac and Lenna left, a final decision had been reached and a price tag had been put on the project. The armor would be a vest with attached flaps that would cover the front and back of Isaac’s thighs. There would also be a set of greaves, bracers, and pauldrons. All of the armor would be as small and light as possible while still providing good coverage. Isaac didn’t need full coverage as he was usually invisible while fighting so maneuverability and surface area were the two most important factors. There weren’t enough scales for a helmet which Isaac didn’t really mind but Lenna very much did.

The whole set was going to cost him three hundred gold to have made as he already had the most expensive pieces. The reason for the cost was because each scale needed to be sewn onto a light, flexible, and resilient leather. Ironically enough, the leather Mr. Tanner decided to use was from a falling shadow. His leather was treated and the stony surface removed so in the end it looked nothing like the monster’s skin but still had the acid resistance and was even more resilient than the monster had been. The leather would help against heat and cold but not as well due to the stony, temperature resistant, surface being removed but it was worth it for the decreased weight and increased flexibility.

The real cost would be getting it enchanted. Mr. Tanner often worked with an enchanter who lived in Sapphire Stone. Thankfully Sapphire Stone was the closest city to Safeharbor so it would only be a three day trip by caravan. The route was mostly safe as it was the only route to or from Safeharbor. Mr. Tanner had agreed to get in contact with the enchanter and get a quote for Isaac on getting a full suite of enchantments put on the armor but in the meantime he would begin crafting the blue scaled masterpiece.

“We need more gold.” Isaac told Lenna on their way back to the Guild Hall.

“Agreed.” Lenna replied.

“Somewhere between ten and twenty thousand.” Isaac said almost in disbelief.

“Enchanting a set like that? It’ll be worth it.” She assured him.

“The problem is that he’s right, I can’t skimp on any of the enchantments. It’ll need hardened, pressure distribution, and heat protection. I need to be able to be caught in your fire spells on occasion.” He explained.

“I hope you won’t be.” Lenna replied.

Isaac nodded. He hoped he wouldn’t be as well but it was better to be prepared. “The metal cleats to direct incoming lighting down into the ground was a good idea if I do say so myself.” Isaac complimented himself. He was very humble after all.

Lenna rolled her eyes but agreed. “Yes. Otherwise the lightning would arc across the scales into your face.”

Isaac winced. “Yeah… I’m glad you brought that up.” He thanked her. “Thadd’s idea to connect each piece to the other with copper was a good idea too.” Thadd was Mr. Tanner’s son who had jumped in towards the end more out of fascination than a desire to help but had ended up helping anyway.

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Isaac and Lenna continued to talk about the armor and how Isaac was probably going to paint over the pretty blue scales to match his cloak and magic until they reached the Guild Hall. “Alice! I’m gonna use the back room to change.” He told her with a wave as they walked in.

Alice sighed. “You aren’t the Guild Master you know. The back rooms are for staff, not adventurers.” She replied.

Isaac shrugged. “Noted,” He replied. ‘and ignored.’ He finished in his head as he did just that.

A few minutes later Isaac walked out in his new magical armor. The leather plates and pads were studded with iron to help prevent some attacks from punching through the leather or slicing it open. The round studs also caused many attacks to simply ricochet off of them. Much to Lenna’s annoyance, the set lacked a helmet.

“I don’t understand why humans hate helmets so much.” Lenna complained.

“They make it harder to see and hear. Also, they are hot.” Isaac explained.

“They also don’t usually look cool.” Alice added. “None of the heroes in paintings have their helmets on.”

Isaac nodded in agreement. “That too.”

Lenna sighed. “It’s a wonder there are any of you still alive.” She grumbled.

“So?” Isaac asked. “What do you think?”

“You don’t look poor anymore.” Alice commented.

Lenna nodded. “It should hold up a lot better than your last set.”

Isaac shrugged. “Good enough I guess.”

“Are you here to take a job or just to treat the Guild Hall like it’s your house?” Alice asked.

“To treat the Guild Hall as my own personal library and mess hall.” Isaac replied. “We’re supposed to have tea with Sera tomorrow so I want to try to stay out of trouble until then.”

“Sera?” Alice asked.

“Duchess Arbencroft.” Lenna answered.

Alice’s eyes went wide. “You are close with the duchess?” She questioned with stars in her eyes.

“Not yet.” Isaac replied. He got the feeling Alice looked up to the woman for some reason. “That is kind of the point of talking over tea isn’t it?”

Alice deflated a little. “Oh, okay.” She replied.

“Why?” Isaac asked. “You want us to deliver a message?”

Alice shook her head. “No, nothing like that. She was the person who tried to have a clinic maintained downtown and she had two orphanages built. One of them my sister and I were at for a while. There are a lot of us who owe her a lot.” She explained somewhat solemnly.

Isaac gave her a smile. “I’ll let her know. I’m sure she will appreciate it.”

Alice smiled back. “Thank you.”

Isaac and Lenna spent the rest of the day reading and running errands. They tried their best to stay out of trouble and for once they managed to do so. That evening found the pair back in their room, reading in the dark as neither of them needed light to see, letting their hair dry from their after spar baths.

“I’ll finally get to see you in that dress.” Isaac commented.

Lenna sighed. “Unfortunately.”

Isaac raised an eyebrow. “You don’t think Gio would be bold enough to attack us on our way to or from the duke’s manor do you?”

She shrugged. “Who knows. If he is sure he can kill us both, he might.”

“But that’s not the reason you don’t want to wear the dress?” Isaac asked but in all honestly it was more of an observation.

Lenna shook her head. “It is… a lot.” Isaac let the silence fill the room until Lenna felt like continuing. “Of exposure, I mean.” Slice again filled the room. Unlike Isaac who would just blurt out whatever he was feeling most of the time, Lenna had to work through what words she needed to express herself, no doubt partially due to her upbringing.

“You’re concerned about people’s reactions?” Isaac prodded after Lenna had been silent for the better part of a minute.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” She confessed. “The entire thing just makes me feel uneasy.”

“Is there any part of it that you can put a finger on?” Isaac asked. He wanted to make sure it was just her head getting the better of her and not her instincts telling her something that his weren’t.

Lenna shook her head. “No. It’s probably nothing.”

“We’ll keep our guard up anyway. If something weird is going on I would rather be expecting the unexpected than be caught in a daydream.” Isaac told her.

Lenna gave him a rare, honest, smile. “Thank you.”