With the parasitic hitchhiker bulging out of my forehead, Darya started keeping distance. I could understand her unease, and at least she hadn’t run for the hills. And she was nice enough to bring back a small healing potion which I used to heal the blasted parasite. She also gave me an orange headband that I could use to hide Bob, and he wasn’t happy about it. Not at all.
Come to think of it, people would assume it anyway, given the headband. Still, this was the better option until I could get a helmet. Which was the first item on the menu for this morning. Afterwards, I meant to visit the potion shop, the wand shop, and to peruse some skill tomes. I also wanted to purchase some enchanted gear. The [t2] boss at the Mineral Springs had dropped a rare enchanted amulet, giving me a taste of possible upgrades.
* [Enchanted] Onyx Amulet
* +7 to Constitution
* 3% Increased Will
According to Darya, the number of blessings on the item and their potency increased based on the Enchanter’s skill and especially the value of the crafting materials. The best enchanted items went for a pile of gold. Whereas this amulet had just about the lowest number of blessings and meager attribute values at that.
Bob ignored my question, and I felt his eyeball moving around under the headband for a time, as if he was testing something out.
I wasn’t entirely sure what he did to his sight, but having someone with x-ray vision might come in handy. That’s if he would be nice enough to share such useful information with me. So far, we haven’t gotten off to a good start. I had in mind to buy some larger items, and his Void Pocket may be exactly what I needed to transport them.
While Darya decided to get more sleep, and then sell items from the village to purchase planting seeds, I left the inn without breakfast. Outside, a chill wind whistled down the street. I would have pulled the hood of my cloak over my head, if not for the damned horns. Just like at Rosedale, the townsfolk here had smaller horns, barely a hindrance for hats.
I was eager to get a helmet instead of a headband. Wearing it made me incredibly self-conscious. It gave people another reason to gawk at me. But then I realized something -- with it being cold outside, most everyone was wearing a cap, hat, or a hood over their heads which included covering most of their forehead. So maybe wearing a headband wasn’t that big of a deal?
Finding the market square wasn’t difficult, thanks to [Cartography], and a few simple directions from Darya. Even at this early hour, the place was bustling with activity. Vendors were unloading their wares from laden carts, while shopkeepers arranged their displays with care, arranging colorful textiles and gleaming trinkets to catch the eye. Children darted between stalls, while guards patrolled the perimeter, keeping a watchful eye. Yet everyone of them stopped and stared at me before moving on, whispering among themselves.
I groaned to myself, and continued following the clatter of blacksmiths' hammers echoing off stone walls in the market square. The armorsmith was in the north corner of the market square, along with a number of other shops that I intended to visit. Along the way I had to periodically stop and let Bob take in the sight.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I found out, when I bought a skewer of meat, that he could smell and taste what I could. And he was absolutely delighted with his newfound experiences. Bob was incredibly intelligent and curious, and yet at the same time, absolutely clueless about many things. He was a Keeper of the Void, and apparently, that’s all he knew. He bombarded me with endless questions, such as which ones tasted the best and how to capture the small ones.
The armorsmith shop had a sturdy wooden door adorned with intricate metalwork designs. A bell above the entrance chimed softly as I entered. The interior was lit by the flickering glow of oil lamps casting shadows that danced across the walls. Rows of armor lined the walls, gleaming in the faint light with a polished sheen. Suits of plate mail, chainmail hauberks, and leather cuirasses stood proudly with shields of various sizes and shapes adorning the walls.
Toward the back of the shop, anvils rang with the rhythmic pounding of hammers. Sparks flew as metal was shaped and molded into intricate patterns, the heat of the flames warming the air and filling the room with the smell of burning coal and hot metal.
Behind a counter stood the shopkeeper. Charts and diagrams adorned the walls next to him, detailing the various types of armor available and their respective strengths and weaknesses. I went straight for the helmet section of the shop, and of course everything being sold wouldn’t fit a head with horns my size. My frustration grew by the moment, and soon, the shopkeeper must have sensed my need for help.
“Not finding what you’re looking for?” An old man in a ragged apron asked me with a pleasant smile.
I pointed to my horns. “Afraid not.”
“Well, I have just the helmet for your kind.”
“Alright, let’s see it.”
I followed him back to the counter, and he went inside a storage room before coming out holding a helmet in his hands.
“We don’t normally make helmets like this, but it was a custom order. Unfortunately, the buyer never returned to pick it up.”
The man handed me a mean looking helmet made of steel. It had beautiful flowing lines, and a grill at the front with vertical slats. The horns made it quite tricky to put on, but the removable plate at the front made it possible. Otherwise there’d be no way of getting my two horns through the two holes. The fit was a little snug, but otherwise perfect, as if it had been made for me.
“Well, what’cha think?” he asked me.
“How much?”
“It cost us a great deal of time and effort to put something like this together, as you may imagine. I wouldn’t part with something of this quality for anything less than ten gold.”
I may have been ‘born’ here a few days ago, but it didn’t mean I was clueless. Ten gold was asking too much, and I didn’t need Bob’s help to figure that out. I knew I’d have to haggle him for a fair price. The only question that remained was whether I wanted to use a bit of intimidation, or charm to lower the price.
I decided on a third approach. “And who would you sell it to, huh?” I asked the shopkeeper while taking off the helmet. “I didn’t see too many of my kind walking around town when I got here.”
“Well, I’m certain I could find someone here wanting to buy such a fine helmet.”
“Really? And what good is a helmet for anyone here with two giant holes where it’s supposed to protect you, eh?” I raise my hand, showing five fingers. “I’ll give you five, and you’ll be happy to finally get rid of something you keep in the back of the storage room collecting dust instead of on display.”
The shopkeeper frowned, but quickly regained his composure. “Perhaps I could also interest you in other armor to go along with your new helmet. I see that your, uhm … breastplate?” He examined it without holding back even the slightest bit of disdain for it. “Could use an upgrade. We also sell gauntlets, pauldrons, leg plates and greaves to fit someone of your incredible size.”
Flattery was going to get him nowhere with me, if anything, it made me feel even more suspicious about his prices. I motioned for him to show me what he had, and then followed after him. I trusted Karl better than this group, and I was certain I could get fair prices from Karl too, but I didn’t like taking advantage of people. If anything, I had to keep in mind to pay him extra as it looked like he was willing to work at cost. Besides, he’d probably be busy helping rebuild the village and would rather not deal with making custom armor for me.
The shopkeeper led me around the place and I picked out all the gear that I needed. A new breastplate to go over a new padded vest, steel greaves, pauldrons, bracers, leg plates and gauntlets. Together with the helmet, it came out to 2,700 silver. I poured the grains of gold on to a scale, and he weighed them until they reached the weight of 27 gold coins.
Did I trust him to use properly calibrated weights? No, but it seemed close enough that I didn’t make any fuss about it. From his end, I hoped he didn’t want to cheat a monster like me who could rip him in half. At least I had that going for me.
“With all that gold, you should see an enchanter next door to get some blessings on all this new armor of yours,” the shopkeeper told me.
Out the door to the market, I went right back into another.