Chapter 78 Eccentricities
The first thing that Isaac and Lenna did once they had money in hand, and in the bank, after their payout for saving Safeharbor, again, was to swing by Adventurous Tastes. Once the pair had entered the building, which was larger on the inside than the outside, they immediately felt someone or something watching them. They looked around until a sudden bit of movement drew their gazes in the dim artificial sunlight. A pair of large yellow-green eyes blinked behind black furred eyelids. A pure black cat eyed them with a mix of disinterest and disdain for ringing the doorbell.
“Wasn’t it a crow last time?” Isaac asked aloud.
“Definitely.” Lenna agreed.
“It’s Eliza’s isn’t it?” Isaac wondered.
“I think so, yes.” Lenna replied.
Isaac nodded sagely. “That makes sense. Is Clayton around, familiar of Eliza Thane?” Isaac questioned the cat. It’s tail flicked down the aisle that it’s top-shelf nest was nestled in. “That way?” The cat just closed its eyes and settled back in. “I will take that as a yes.” Isaac sighed and did as he was directed.
After walking down an aisle for at least the entire length of the building’s exterior wall, Isaac and Lenna found Clayton reorganizing a shelf of crystals with runic enchantments infused into them. Clayton saw them coming and smiled. “Hello.” He greeted them. “I did not expect to see you here so soon. I take it this is not about the magic theory we talked about.”
Isaac shook his head. “No.” He confirmed. “Lenna really needs a sword. I know we talked about Eliza maybe making a sword for her but the results from that conversation were…”
“Inconclusive.” Lenna finished for him. “Even if he can’t make a sword for me, I need something.”
“He still hasn’t even looked at your inquiry. He is very much a one task man.” Clayton explained. “What are your minimum requirements? I might be able to find something that will suffice in the short term.”
“It needs to cut cleanly and hold its edge against unenchanted steel at the very least.” Lenna explained. “It also needs to be around this size.” She said and pulled her scabbard out of her Bottomless Bag. She handed the scabbard to Clayton when he reached out for it.
Clayton turned it over in his hand and then frowned. “Would you be alright with a conjured sword?” He asked her. “Something entirely made of magic that won’t even use a scabbard. You would still have to figure out how to carry the hilt and crossguard but it should be lighter at least.”
Lenna frowned. “Conjured swords are mana intensive and unreliable.” She told him directly. “I would prefer a real one.”
“What’s unreliable about them?” Isaac wondered.
“They can be dispelled.” Lenna explained.
“Oh.” Isaac replied. “I see.” He shrugged. “They sound cool though.”
Lenna sighed. “Fine, but only if we also buy a real sword too.” She acquiesced.
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Clayton nodded and handed Lenna back her scabbard. “This way.” He directed and started off down the maze of shelves and aisles that somehow got more confusing the further they went into them. The oddest part was that it always felt like they were walking in a straight line but when they looked back they wouldn’t be able to see the end. After a minute or so Clayton stopped at an entire section of shelving that was nothing but weapons. Most of them were weird like an ax made entirely out of wood, the same kind of wood that Isaac’s old armor was made of, or a spear that looked like an oddly detailed throwing spike about six inches long. There was an arrow that was made entirely out of ice and it gave off a gentle mist. Right next to the arrow was a buckler that was made out of sand that was constantly flowing over itself without losing shape.
“He really is a mad genius when it comes to enchanting isn’t he.” Isaac commented in awe at the spread of ridiculousness laid out before them.
Clayton coughed into his hand. “Yes. That is certainly one way to put it.” He replied.
“So which one did you have in mind for me?” Lenna questioned the wizard.
“Oh, ah, it’s around here somewhere.” Clayton jolted and looked around the shelves and racks for a few seconds. “Ah ha!” He exclaimed and grabbed a hilt that had been suspended in the air with magic. The hilt was hanging upside down with a pair of flat and thin razor-like blades that outlined where a blade should have been. After two and a half feet they connected to an actual blade tip.
“What in the nine hells is that?” Lenna questioned incredulously.
“A retractable sword.” Clayton said with a hint of pride. He pressed his thumb onto the end of the pommel and flicked his wrist. The razorblades twisted and pulled in on themselves before they were pulled into the hilt. They didn’t stop until the two inches of actual sword at the bottom clicked into place right against the crossguard. “There.” Clayton said and handed it to Lenna.
The entire thing was shining steel that was no doubt covered in silver or platinum engravings. Eliza picked a good pair of materials to hide his designs if that was what he was going for. “This is a deathtrap.” Lenna said while she held the hilt limply in her hand an arm’s length away from her.
Clayton chuckled and took the sword back. “Just hold it like this.” He explained and gripped the hilt right up against the crossguard. “Then channel mana into it and swing.” Right after he said it he did as he directed. With one quick swing the sword exploded out to its full length. A shimmering plane of reality magic formed between the two thin ribbons of steel. It was almost perfectly see through. “Once you stop channeling mana into it, the pane of reality will fade away and you can fold it back up.” He explained.
“As… ‘cool’… as that is, I would like something that is less…” Lenna’s voice trailed off as she tried to find the right way to put it.
“Over engineered.” Isaac finished for her. “It is amazing and I love it.” Isaac told the wizard. “Unfortunately, it just feels more like an armory decoration that can be used in a pinch, or a full length sword that can be smuggled into somewhere it shouldn’t be, instead of a main battle weapon.”
Clayton’s shoulders slumped slightly and he put the sword back. “Yes, you are right, of course, it has always been my favorite of the eccentricities filed away back here.” He explained. “Perhaps this one is more your style?” He asked Lenna and handed her a hilt and crossguard that had nothing attached to it at all. The black iron was covered entirely in platinum engravings.
Lenna took the hilt and examined it. “How does it work?” She questioned the wizard.
“It has to attune to you, unlike the retractable sword, but once it is done you can simply feed mana into it. The durability of the blade is directly related to how much mana you feed it which means that it is also exactly as difficult to dispel as you can make it.” Clayton explained. “The blade’s shape, color, and elemental alignment are based on the environment as far as we are aware but it might act strangely with your specific… mana related difficulties.”
Lenna nodded in understanding. “So, if I feed it everything I have, it will be able to slice through a block of solid crystal.” She surmised.
“Well, assuming you can force the quarter of an inch spine into the space that was just cut, yes.” Clayton replied. “The blade’s sharpness is also based on your quality of mana. Based on your adventurer tags alone I can assure you that it is at least as sharp as one of Stan Ironeye’s swords.”
Lenna looked over the simple hilt, crossguard, and pommel that were all perfectly square to make enchanting it easier. The top half of the hilt had rounded edges to give it a comfortable grip at least but it was a case study in function over fashion. Its rugged look was then completely blown away by the enchantments covering every fraction of an inch of the magical item. “How much?” Lenna wondered.
“Twenty seven thousand gold.” Clayton replied. “If anything strange happens when you use it I can probably cut the price back to twenty four thousand, but no lower, under the condition that we can record some information on it and your mana.”
“We’ll take it.” Isaac said. “Even if Lenna doesn’t want it, or doesn’t want to keep it once she gets a real sword, I would like to see if I can cut through stone like butter and block Edward’s quickdraw.”
“Oh!” Clayton perked up. “If you use it I am sure we will get an interesting result. So far it has always been a black reality blade in general conditions. We managed to turn it red and cause it to give off heat but otherwise creating conditions capable of changing its alignment were unfeasible.”
“Twenty four now and if nothing interesting happens we will pay you back the other three thousand.” Isaac offered.
“Deal.” Clayton replied and offered Isaac his hand.