It took some time, but Fin and Brando eventually found what they were looking for. They opened the door of a small shop with a picture of a helmet on the sign instead of actual words. A makeshift bell above the door alerted their entrance with a single, non-melodic thud.

A young dwarf rounded the corner and startled at the sight of the two humans. "Loden's boots, you surprised me! You don't see too many long leggers in here. I mean, uh, what can I do for you today?"

Fin smiled at the dwarf's discomfort. "We are looking for some armor that will stop a crossbow bolt."

The dwarf considered for a moment and then shook his head. "I don't think we have anything that would fit you, but Master Olhoff has done some work for humans before. I'll get him."

The dwarf left before Fin could protest, so he took the time to look around. Suits of armor lined the walls on racks. Shelves holding various helmets stood over crates of gauntlets, boot covers, and other undiscernible pieces. In the room's focal point hung a complete set of armor that would make the wearer look like a wolf. It was all fascinating to look at. Only everything around was made to fit a dwarf, not a human.

"Hello, hello," an old voice walked into the room and, despite having been clearly told about the stature of the new customers, gave a less-than-subtle third, "Hello."

"I am Master Olhoff, at your service, and this is my apprentice, Tory." The old dwarf had a thick grey beard that he kept around the back of his shoulder like a scarf. A glass monocle stayed wedged in his left eye despite the surprised look on his face. He adjusted it before asking how he could help.

"We are looking for some armor that can stop a crossbow bolt," Fin said, resisting the urge to unstow said crossbow. "One for each of us."

"You're looking for some thick steel then," Master Olhoff considered. "When would you need it by?"

Fin looked to Brando, who said with uncertainty, "One week?"

Olhoff's monocle fell out.

"One week?" he snorted. "I can't put my pants on that fast! I could maybe do it in a month if it was a rush job. If my mother's life depended on it, I could maybe, maybe, do it in two weeks, but that's just for my mother and just for armor for one of you."

"It doesn't need to be pretty," Brando offered, holding up his hands in defense. "It just needs to stop a bolt from impaling my chest, that's all."

Tory cleared his throat. "May I offer a solution?"

Olhoff held his hands in a way that indicated, "You have the floor."

"There might be some pieces we have already made that they can use. Their arms might be longer, but now that I'm looking at them, they are about the same width. If one of them lets me build their armor, I can do it in three weeks. It will also help me complete the certification for my journeyman." Tory sped up his speech before he lost anyone's attention. "He said it himself; they aren't looking for anything pretty. The crude design they probably want cuts at least a week off of the time. I can have it done in less than three weeks. That is if that's okay with them?"

Olhoff glared at Fin.

"Three weeks?" Fin repeated. "We can do that. We'll need that time to dig up the funds for this anyway."

"What do you mean, 'dig up the funds?'" Olhoff interrogated. "I'm not dumping hours of my life on hopes and promises into a shoddy-looking project that I won't be able to sell to anyone else. For this job, I'll need at least half up front."

"For now," Fin reached into his shirt and unstowed his two remaining gems, "All I have are these."

"And that's how you're planning on paying?" Olhoff asked, "With gems?"

Fin and Brando both nodded in unison.

"I don't know anything about gems," Olhoff sighed. "Apprentice, go get my brother."

Tory ran out of the building like his livelihood depended on it. The men left in the room stared silently, uneager to break the silence. When Tory returned, he was followed by a dwarf similar in every way to Olhoff, except cleaner looking.

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"Olhoff," the dwarf greeted his brother.

"Kertchel," he greeted back, holding out the two gems. "Can you look at these for me and tell me what they're worth?"

Kertchel took the stones without ceremony and inspected them. "It's got a good weight. I am unsure about the clarity or how well they will cut. Topaz?" He looked around for an answer.

Fin nodded. "They're both topaz."

"That's unexpected," He resumed his inspection. "This blue one could be anywhere from three gold to thirty. And that's based on my limited knowledge of blue topaz. This other one," He whistled. "If it's clear..."

"If it's clear?" Olhoff nearly shouted.

"Two or three hundred, and that's just selling to a merchant." Kertchel looked up from the gems. "Where did you get these?"

"It's a long story," Brando waved the question away and addressed Olhoff. "Will those be good enough for you to start?"

Tory and Olhoff responded with a "Yes" and "No" simultaneously. Everyone looked to Olhoff.

"I don't want to take payment of uncut gems when I don't even know if they'll be worth anything," Olhoff explained. "If I'm going to spend the next three weeks hammering armor that is too ugly to sell, I want assurances."

Kertchel stepped in with a reasonable solution: "Go ahead and start work. I'll cut 'em and have an answer for you in a couple of days. I have some new designs I want to work out, and this stone will be perfect for them. I'll only charge a small fee of twenty silver at a family discount."

Brando leaned down and whispered in Fin's ear, "Find out if he's robbing us."

Knowing what Brando wanted him to do, Fin immediately activated Detect Lies and braced himself as the room exploded in light blue colors. The skill's effect had made him uneasy, so he wanted to use the ability as little as possible. However, it wasn't as bad as the last time. Either he had gotten used to the perpetual movement of everything undulating like blue flames, or he wasn't prepared for it the first time. Either way, whatever Olhoff was trying to tell him was clearly honest.

Olhoff was waiting for a response to something, so Fin recounted the conversation. He looked at Kertchel and asked, "You cut gems for a living?"

"No, I'm a scribe," Kertchel's color showed he was being honest. "I cut gems as more of a hobby, but it does help with the finances."

"Are you good?" Fin pressed, observing for signs of the orange glow that would show if he was lying.

"I am confident that I can give you the most value for the gem as any stone cutter," came the honest response.

"Is your family discount really twenty silver?" Fin asked, almost a little too casually.

Kertchel shuffled his feet a little, and when his color started turning orange, Fin held up a hand and asked the other brother.

"He has done some work for me for as little as two silver," Olhoff replied matter of factly.

"But those gems were significantly smaller than this one," Kertchel cut in before amending his price. "I wouldn't charge you any less than six silver for a gem of this magnitude."

Fin withdrew six silver coins and handed them over. "I'm pleased to do business with both of you."

Kertchel frowned but relented, giving his brother the edge to speak first, "Tory, for your journeyman, pick which twiceling you want to make armor for."

Tory walked over to Brando, asked him to move his arms around, and then approached Fin with the same directions. Finally, after glancing between the two much taller people, he pointed at Fin. "I'll take this one. The bigger one seems like he could use the work of a master."

Before Brando could remark about being called "the bigger one," Olhoff had him take a knee and began the arduous measuring process. When all the measurements were taken, Tory brought out pieces of previously smithed plate. Brando instinctively handed Fin the parts that didn't fit.

Fin found an arm harness that he could fit into but was too short. Tory beamed with joy and explained that the fewer original parts of the armor he had to physically make, the better. He marked each piece that fit or was close to fitting with chalk and set them in an empty crate. He was enjoying the process more than Olhoff, whose frown grew deeper and deeper with each failed fitting.

"Do you think you're going to lose weight in the near future, or are you planning to always be this fat?" Olhoff poked at Brando's belly.

"Are you kidding me?" Brando roared. "This is all muscle. Feel it now."

"That's quite alright," Olhoff protested. "I've lived long enough to know what delusions feel like. We're about done anyway."

Fin looked at Tory, who was writing on a pair of nearly-fitting gauntlets. "Can you make it so my fingers are exposed?"

"Are you sure?" Tory asked skeptically. "If you get your fingers chopped off, you'll be as good as dead."

"It's okay," Fin assured the dwarf, considering how effective the crushing grip and talon abilities work together. "My sword has a good finger guard, and I need to be able to use my fingers."

"Does that mean you don't want a shield?" Tory asked, holding a bit of chalk above the gauntlet.

Fin shook his head, and Tory drew a dissecting line across the fingers of the gantlet. He made sure there were no other special requests and then dismissed him. "Check back in periodically for adjustments. This is the first armor I've made for a human, so I want to ensure it goes well for both of us."

Fin thanked Tory and then walked past Olhoff, who was making inflammatory comments about Brando. He decided just to wait outside.

"That was fun," Fin said offhandedly as Brando walked out the door.

"Sure," Brando scowled, "that was really fun. So much fun that I never want to think about it again. Where to next?"

"Let's go find this Dunkle mine," Fin said after some hesitation. "I have no desire to visit the house of requestions or whatever it's called. Besides, if we can get enough gold to hire all the mercenaries, which we can, I don't see why we can't just handle the whole thing ourselves."

"And get all the gems," Brando added greedily.

Fin intended to return the gems to the people who mined them, but something inside him shuddered in pleasure with the thought of owning a mine he could see through. He could amass enough wealth to sleep on an entire bed of gems. He wondered if cut gems were more comfortable than uncut gems. There was only one way to find out.