Chapter 81 Random But Interesting.
“Welcome to Tanner's Leatherworking, how may I-” Thadd Tanner said while he finished hanging up a leather pouch on a display rack. He had cut himself off when he looked over his shoulder to see Isaac and Lenna. “Hi, how is the armor holding up?” He asked Isaac and gave Lenna a nod in greeting.
“Great.” Isaac replied. “It managed to mostly survive a real battle which was all I could ever ask for.”
Thadd’s easy smile fell at Isaac’s words. “Mostly?” He asked with barely suppressed horror in his voice.
“Yeah.” Isaac said and walked over to the Tanner’s clerk counter. Isaac covered the counter in shadows and reached inside to withdraw his armor one piece at a time. Once it was all on the table he let the shadows fade away. The black paint that Isaac had added to his armor had chipped off in a few places revealing the glimmering blue scales of a certain blue lightning dragon.
“Oh. Oh!” Thadd exclaimed as soon as he noticed the snapped strap. “This strap was enchanted.” He said more to himself in shock than to anyone else. “How, no, what did this?” He asked and looked up from the armor.
“I got blown up, a lot, there was a lot of magic and explosions. We were fighting what amounted to an undead archmage who really liked shockwaves and explosions.” Isaac explained. “So, is it something you can fix?”
“Me?” Thadd asked and then gulped. “I, I don’t know if this is something I should be trying to do alone.”
“Alone?” Isaac questioned. “Where’s Hank?”
“Sick.” Thadd said with a sigh. “Nothing serious, he said it wasn’t worth going to or calling someone from the church to come by.”
“Does he have a fever?” Lenna asked.
Thadd shrugged. “If he did it wasn’t bad enough for mom to start worrying so I’m sure he’ll be fine. Don’t worry, mom wouldn’t let anything happen to him, especially when there is a church a dozen blocks away.” He explained to the duo. “But it does mean that you’ll either need someone else to do it or to wait for my old man to get better.”
“Each piece is individually enchanted, right?” Isaac asked. “Could you just give me a replacement strap and then let me know when this one is repaired?”
Thadd nodded. “Yeah, I think I can do that.” He told the mage. “Just give me a few minutes to make a replacement and switch them out. I’m glad that dad designed it to be easy to replace each piece individually, otherwise this wouldn’t be possible.”
“That isn’t why it broke in the first place is it?” Isaac asked the Tanner.
Thadd shook his head. “No.” He replied and then pointed at the broken strap. “It snapped in the middle because the reinforcements around the button holes were stronger than the strap itself. This kind of break isn’t uncommon with adventurers. You guys always seem to put your gear through more than any gear should. It is also a mark of a good piece of gear. If it was a bad design or improperly made then it would have broken at the attachment point instead of in the middle.”
Isaac nodded in understanding. “Thanks for the lesson.” He told Thadd. “Do you think a week is enough time for Hank to be up and about and to have the strap fixed?”
Thadd shrugged. “I hope so. Trying to run this place by myself is awful.” He replied honestly. “There is a reason I usually keep to myself when customers show up, dad says I’m not professional.”
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Isaac chuckled. “He’s right.” He told the younger man. “But that’s fine when it’s repeat customers who are also usually casual.”
Thadd nodded in understanding and then immediately got to work. A dozen minutes later the duo were off again with the promise of a new strap in the near future. After that, they left to see Edward who had offered to try and find them a sword.
“Well, I have good news and bad news.” Edward replied to Isaac’s inquiry about the sword. “The good news is that there is a paladin family on the surface that literally gives them away. I was hoping that they might also be selling them.”
“Which leads to the bad news.” Isaac surmised.
“Yes.” Edward confirmed. “They do not sell them. The only way to get one is to win their annual tournament which isn’t for a few months.”
“I see.” Lenna said. “Thank you for looking into it.”
Edward gave her a nod in acknowledgement. “The Heidenburgs have always been at odds with the Sasstons and now, because of my sister, the Arbencrofts. It was fun imagining their reactions to an honest inquiry from a Sasston, not as a political rival but as a Guild Master looking out for one of their strongest adventurers.”
“We’ll have to keep that in mind for the future.” Isaac said. “The sword Stan is making for Lenna right now is an expensive stop-gap measure, not a permanent replacement. What can you tell me about their swords?”
“A lot and nothing at the same time.” Edward replied with an apologetic smile. “They like to experiment with new and different aura related enchantments. Dawn Capacitors are standard for their people but for auxiliaries and tournament winners they can’t exactly make those ahead of time. I remember a paladin from another country won an invisible sword that masks the user’s aura. That was a decade ago at least.”
“So random but interesting.” Isaac summarized.
“Yes.” Edward replied.
“Interesting indeed.” Lenna agreed. “If you don’t think my presence would cause an… event, I would like to participate as well.”
Edward chuckled and shook his head. “Honestly, they are a bunch of battle junkies backed by the crown. Over the generations they have gotten a sense of royal honor beaten into them, but who knows how that will mesh with the paladins that have been killed by the drow over the centuries.” Edward replied. “They might accept you with open arms and try to make you an auxiliary or they might try to crucify you. I have no way of knowing. Hells, each member might treat you differently.”
“That is more helpful than it might seem but still not that helpful.” Isaac retorted. “Thanks for the information and the effort. We’ll have to check them out once we have everything in the city settled.”
“Settled?” Edward asked. “Are you planning on leaving?”
“I figure that once we have the wedding, it would be a good time to go on a trip and explore some of the surface. If anything happens you can always have Alexander of Jala go get us.” Isaac explained.
Lenna raised an eyebrow in question. This was the first she was hearing of Isaac’s preferred timeline. “Before any of that though, we have some things to take care of like, maybe, inviting the Guild Master to our wedding directly.” She offered.
“Oh, yes, that.” Isaac stammered. “Well, Edward Sasston, you are officially invited to our wedding at your sister’s primary residence in exactly two months' time.”
Edward gave them both a warm smile. “I would be honored to attend. What about the twins? I am sure that they would be heartbroken to be unable to attend.” He informed them.
“You can close down the Guild for a few hours right?” Isaac asked.
Edward’s brow furrowed in thought as he swirled his drink. “Not exactly.” He replied. “Technically the Guild never closes. There is another clerk who naps at the girl’s desk until morning. He is only there in case of an emergency. I might have to request a spare receptionist from Sapphirestone for a few hours but I’ll figure something out, don’t worry, I’ll make sure that all three of us are there. Two months from today right?”
“Two months from today.” Isaac echoed in affirmation.
—
“What if James and I wore disguises?” Lenny offered. “We could definitely sneak into the venue.”
“Onto the duke’s property?” James questioned. “With your teacher runnin’ about?”
“There is no way that she would rat us out if we weren’t causing any trouble.” Lenny argued.
“Why don’t you ask Marie herself if it would be possible?” Isaac offered the boys. “We actually wanted to invite you two but there was no way to do it openly. If Marie can work something out, and she thinks that it is actually worth attempting, then I will approve of your plan to sneak into the wedding. Only under those conditions.” Isaac decreed. “If she doesn’t think it is a safe plan, then the best I can do is sneak you some food the day after.”
“Deal.” Lenny jumped at the opportunity they were given.
“Have you ever stopped to think before you just jump in face first?” His brother demanded. James sighed. “But yeah, I’ll go along if the boss’s conditions are met.”
“Keep out of trouble boys.” Isaac told the brothers as the duo went to leave. “And remember, only if Marie thinks it’s a safe and doable plan.”
“Understood, boss.” Lenny replied and gave him a salute.
Lenna shook her head at the chaos that was Isaac, James, and Lenny in the same room. It always seemed to her like the boys all got dumber the more of them there were in one place. Especially younger boys. Now, Isaac, James, and Lenny, were not children and James was around thirty years old but the point still stood. “It makes me wonder how the militaries of the world even function.” She thought aloud under her breath.
Isaac smirked when he heard her. He knew that the brothers hadn’t so he waited until they were gone to reply: “They don’t unless there is a task to complete. At that point they shift from idiocy to practiced training, discipline, and resolve.”