By this point, we’d collected quite a crowd. Something about hurling lightning bolts around attracts attention, apparently.
“Okay,” I said, “next is the shield, but this one needs a bit of explanation.”
Sigrid thwipped the spear away into her set inventory. “Let’s hear it.”
“Elda’s shield was broken when she took the hit that killed her, completely split in two. So I remade it.”
“Of course you did,” Jane said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes.
It actually took two mini-quests to retrieve both halves, but they don’t need to know that.
“But I didn’t just remake it as it was, I added something special: the Gorgon’s head, minus the eyes, of course. Those were already used, and now that I know her socially I didn’t feel comfortable asking if I could decapitate her for a project. And voila, the Aegis Shield.”
“Like in the Greek myth,” Morgan said. “Hephaestus took Medusa’s head and made a shield out of it for Athena.”
“Did everybody study these myths except me?” Jane said.
“Yes,” Sigrid said. “Now hush.”
“It’s probably better you didn’t use the eyes,” Morgan said. “A shield loses tactical efficacy if it indiscriminately turns anyone who looks at it to stone.”
“Unless all your allies are blind,” Arthur said.
“Shhhh!” Sigrid hissed at the siblings, then snapped back to me. “Gimme.”
The shield appeared on my arm. It was a large circle of mithril polished to a mirror-like sheen. A depiction of the Gorgon’s beautiful face was embossed on it, snakes and all. As the light shifted across it the snakes appeared to writhe disconcertingly.
“I present to you Sigrid Sorrensen’s Aegis Shield,” I said as I handed it to its new owner.
> Sigrid Sorrensen’s Aegis Shield
> This unique shield was made for the Shield Maiden herself from the remade Elda Wildflower’s Mithril Shield to help her protect her allies and punish her foes. It is part of the Winds Of Change unique item set, along with her sword, crystal heart, armor, and spear.
>
> Powers:
> Fear Me – Weaken enemies who see it; Cooldown 1 minute
> Not A Scratch On It - Unbreakable
> Thwap - Equip from or stow into pocket dimension
>
> Set Powers:
> I’m There – Teleport short distances in the defense of an ally; Cooldown 30 seconds; Requires 3 of 5 set items
> All Charged Up - Transform owner into living lightning; Requires Expert Air Affinity; Requires 5 of 5 set items
“That is unsettling,” Morgan said, “seeing myself reflected with snakes around my head.”
“Could you blind enemies if a bright light shined on it?” Arthur said.
“I’m glad you asked,” I said.
I took a few steps back then copied Jane’s power to emit light to turn myself into a bright human lantern. The light reflected off the shield making it hard to look at without squinting.
“Hey, that’s my Glow Worm power,” Jane said.
“It is?” Nina said. “I’ve never seen you use it.”
“Yeah, well, it’s still mine.”
“Nice,” Arthur said, shielding his eyes. “What if it’s a more focused beam?”
I switched off Glow Worm and used Affinity Control to create a narrow shaft of light and shone it on the shield.
“Turn it off! Turn it off!” Morgan said, turning her face away. I turned it off. “Frig knockers, that was bright. But it does have some strategic potential.”
“That’s my power too!” Jane said, pointing at the shield’s floating Status window. “That I’m There power, that’s the same as mine.”
“Yes, but also no,” I said. “On the shield it only works if the purpose of the bamf is to defend someone,” I said. “Plus there’s the cooldown time before it can be used again.”
“I guess that’s alright then,” Jane said.
“I saw those cooldowns, what’s that about?” Sigrid said, thwapping the shield into storage.
“It’s not easy putting all these powers onto something,” I said. “The only way I found to do it was to bake in some limitations like cooldown times and special requirements. That’s why the user has to have a certain affinity to use some of the abilities. The mana and power mastery level I would have needed to make these without those restrictions, well, there’s just no way.”
“I saw one I can’t use because it needs Expert in Air,” Sigrid said, “and I’m only at Adept.”
“Better work on improving your affinity mastery, then,” I said. “Haven’t I told you to use your affinity more?”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“So back to those cooldowns,” Jane said. “That means once she uses it, she has to wait to use it again?”
“You got ‘er otter,” I said.
“You don’t sound quite like yourself, Daniel. Are you feeling okay?” Sam said.
“Not remotely,” I said with a manic grin. “So that’s the sword, spear, and shield. Now it’s time for the armor.”
“Let me go get it,” Sigrid said.
“Um,” I said, “no need. I have it here. I kind of borrowed it last night when you weren’t looking.”
“You snuck into my room at night?” Sigrid said, hand fluttering in front of her face as though fanning herself. “Why Daniel, you cad.”
“Hope you don’t mind, I had to make some tweaks to make it part of the set.”
“Why would I mind? Think about how many times I’ve snuck into your room while you were asleep.”
“Yeah, but you never took anything when you did,” I said.
“Are you sure about that?” Sigrid said with a sly smile, running her hand up my arm.
“Down girl,” Jane said, pulling her away.
Sigrid laughed. “I’m joking!”
“I’m certain you are,” Jane said, “but nonetheless we will be discussing this later.”
“Like hell we will,” Sigrid said tartly. “What I do with or to Daniel is none of your concern.”
“Meow,” Jane said. “Setting that aside, let’s see the new and improved armor.”
“Right,” I said, not knowing what else to say. “The armor appeared in pieces on the ground in front of us. “So long Pegasus Armor, say hello to Sigrid Sorrensen’s Lightning Armor. Don’t worry, it can still fly.”
It looked mostly the same as before, with the addition of a chest plate with a round depression centered over shaped mounds for her breasts.
> Sigrid Sorrensen’s Lightning Armor
> This unique suit of armor was crafted for the Shield Maiden herself from her mithril Pegasus Armor to help her protect her allies and punish her foes. It is part of the Winds Of Change unique item set, along with her sword, shield, spear, and crystal heart. There is a special spot on the chest where Sigrid Sorrensen’s Electric Heart goes.
>
>
> If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
>
>
> Powers:
> Justice From Above - Fly using the armor’s wings
> Back Off - Flap the armor’s wings to produce a wind barrier
> Sparkle - Electrified affinity armor; Requires Competent level mastery of Air Affinity
> Thwop - Equip from or stow into pocket dimension
>
> Set Powers:
> Shine -Shoot a frickin laser beam; Cooldown 5 minutes; Requires Sigrid Sorrensen’s Electric Heart
> Pew Pew – Fire short-range lightning bolts from the gauntlets; Requires 3 of 5 set items; Requires Adept Air Affinity
> All Charged Up - Transform into living lightning; Requires Expert Air Affinity; Requires 5 of 5 set items
“What’s this electric heart thing?” Sigrid said.
“Ah, that is something that was not part of Elda’s possessions but I had a cool idea so I added it to the set.”
“As one does,” Jane said. “Obviously.”
An oblate spheroid appeared in my hand, like a diamond in the shape of a giant M&M, and I passed it to Sigrid.
> Sigrid Sorrensen’s Electric Heart
> This unique amulet was made for the Shield Maiden herself from the mana crystal of a Light Dragon to help her protect her allies and punish their foes. It is part of the Winds Of Change unique item set, along with her sword, shield, armor, and spear. It fits into a special spot in the armor’s chest.
>
> Powers:
> Charge It Up – Store mana drawn from the environment
> We Need More Power – Owner may use stored mana
>
> Set Powers:
> Shine - Shoot a frickin laser beam; Cooldown 5 minutes; Requires Sigrid Sorrensen’s Lightning Armor; Cooldown 30 seconds; Requires 3 of 5 set items
> All Charged Up - Transform into living lightning; Requires Expert Air Affinity; Requires 5 of 5 set items
“It shoots frickin laser beams!” Jane said.
“Stow your armor, Sigrid, then bring it out again.” The armor vanished, then it reappeared on her body with a thwop.
“This is going to be so handy,” Sigrid said, thwopping it on and off a few times. “Like you wouldn’t believe.”
“Oh I believe,” I said. “Now put the crystal in it.”
Sigrid placed the Electric Heart in the cavity on the armor’s chest. It fit perfectly, settling in with a satisfying click.
“I’m afraid to ask, but where did you get the mana crystal of a light dragon?” Jane said.
“Remember the big crystal in Daedalus’ office in the labyrinth?” I said.
“No,” Jane said.
“I figured better here on Sigrid’s perfect chest than in some museum where nobody gets to see it but me.”
“I couldn’t have said it better myself,” Sigrid said, puffing out said chest.
“Perfect chest?” Jane said, snorting. “Honey, you ain’t seen perfect yet.”
Her face gleamed with satisfaction when she saw me glance down at her bosom. I cursed myself for falling into her trap but the look on Arthur’s face was pretty satisfying for me so I figured I came out even.
“You’re like Iron Man,” Sam said.
“I am, aren’t I?” Sigrid said. “Aw man, I really need to get my affinity up to Expert. I so want to try out that All Charged Up power.”
“Congratulations, Sigrid,” Lancelot said. “I think you just became the tankiest Player on this planet, if you weren’t already. Color me jealous.”
“Talk about overgeared,” Bruce said. “And I mean that in a good way, not like that shitty team.”
“I may have gotten a bit carried away,” I said.
“A bit, maybe,” Jane said.
It had been a lot of work, but worth it all if it could prevent Sigrid from getting killed again and help her keep others alive. There were very few active Players who hadn’t died at least once by that time, but now that we knew how Fatality Factors worked we instantly became a lot less nonchalant about the prospect of dying. I had promised myself that I was never going to wait at the teleportation circle wondering if Sigrid was ever going to appear in it again.
“Daniel,” Sigrid said. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you!” The armor thwopped into storage, then she grabbed me and gave me a hug so tight that as tough as I was I had to use Andy’s qi power to boost my stats just to take her squeeze without breaking ribs.
“Suddenly all my stuff feels like crap,” Jane said.
“Well, maybe I can help you feel better,” I said. “I seem to recall a certain someone saying she wished she had a legendary item too.”
Jane’s face lit up. “You made me Jane Anders’ Rapier of Doom?”
“Not quite,” I said. I disentangled myself from Sigrid’s arms and pulled a necklace from my inventory, a short choker made of deep purple velvet with a large cut diamond glittering in the middle.
> The Siren’s Choker
> This unique necklace was made for the Hero from Toronto, Jane Anders. It gives the wearer precise vocal control.
>
> Powers:
> Charge It Up – Siphon and store mana from the environment
> Human Beat Box - Mimic any sound
> The Voice - Compel someone to do things; Cooldown 5 minutes
> We Need More Power – Use stored mana
“I can see you having a lot of fun with that, Jane,” Sigrid said.
“You can thank Flint for that Voice power,” I said. “It might not seem like much but it can be extremely potent, and easily abused, so be careful with it. And as you’ll discover, it zorches up a crap ton of mana, so watch out.”
Jane turned her back to me and lifted her red hair out of the way. I stared at her dumbly until she cleared her throat.
“Oh!” I said, and began fastening the choker around her neck. I had to thank Akari again for teaching me those breathing exercises, without them I would never have been able to keep my hands steady enough to do it.
“It does have a lot of potential,” Jane said.
I tapped her shoulder to indicate I’d finished putting the choker on. She spun around and stood directly in front of me, her long neck craned to show it off. Over her shoulder, I caught Arthur watching along with everyone else. He was the only person not smiling.
“How do I look?” Jane said.
“Just how I imagined,” I said.
“What does that mean?” she pouted.
“Jeez,” I said, “so needy. It looks hot, Jane. Happy?”
“Thank you, was that so hard? But there’s one thing I don’t get. If this necklace was specially made for me, why isn’t it named after me like Sigrid’s stuff?”
“Oh, it is,” I said.
“It is?”
“Morgan, can you please explain to Jane what a siren is while I go find a safe place to hide?”
“Sure,” Morgan laughed. “But first, if mentioning it is all it takes, can I just say I really wish I had a legendary item too?”
“Me too,” Sam said.
“Me too!” came a chorus of other voices.
“Now you’ve done it,” Sigrid said.
“It’s okay,” I said. “I was planning to make stuff for everyone anyway. I just haven’t had time yet.”
Sigrid heaved a sigh. “Of course you were. Always looking for ways to make others stronger. But what about you?”
“What about me?” I said.
“Have you made anything for yourself?”
“A few things.”
“Show us,” Jane said.
“Why?”
“Because I wanna see how much you value yourself.”
“If you insist.”
The next second, I was clad in my Second Skin suit. Jane immediately started laughing.
“What the hell is that getup?” she said.
“It’s how I got through the Void Dungeon without getting eaten.”
I turned on the camouflage ability.
“Hey, where’d you...oh, there you are. Okay, that’s pretty neat.”
I turned Blend In Anywhere off and used Affinity Form with Fire.
“Whoah! Now that’s cool.”
“You’re Mister Fantastic!” Kenji said.
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far,” Jane said.
“It’s a comic character, one of the Fantastic Four,” I said.
“Oh, I saw that movie,” Jane said, scrunching her face. “So you’re what, made of fire now?”
“You’d prefer something else? Maybe Earth?”
I became rock.
“Clayface!” Kenji said.
“A Batman villain,” I said before Jane could say anything. “And if I combine Earth and Fire...”
I became steel.
“Colossus!”
“From X-Men.”
“So, like, you can become anything then,” Sam said. “Wild.”
“I know who you are,” Kenji said. “Metamorpho.”
This time Jane was too quick for me. “Yeah yeah, I know. Some superhero. I get it,” she said. “Did you make any other toys for yourself?”
I switched back to normal clothes.
“Yeah, but you’re just gonna make fun of them too so I’m not showing you.”
“Party pooper,” Jane said, a delighted smile on her face as her fingertips traced along the soft velvet around her neck.