Vittorio and Gloria followed Dido into the Makers Market, and as they did they finally had a chance to take in the people. It was obvious they were no longer on the western continent, as humans now made up maybe one in four or five people. Everywhere he looked Vittorio saw groups of mikhuq, minotaurs, anura, and elves. He also saw a large, wingless coatl and a pair of the draconic droxi - very far from their homeland.
The groups first priority was a new shield for Gloria, as Dido would use that to pick out the designs on the rest of her pieces. Neither Vittorio nor Gloria were entirely sold on the need for fancy designs, but Dido was adamant, so they let her do her thing. She was also paying.
The first two shops they entered had nothing up to her standard, but the third, "Fine Martial Enchantments by Kraar", did. The storefront was tiny, with space for maybe five people before things got cramped, and there were no goods on display. Behind a counter sat a short, lizard-like person with dull red scales. A kobold.
"Welcome to Fine Martial Enchantments by me, Kraar! What are you looking for today?"
"Hiya Kraar! We're looking for a shield for this one here", Dido said, patting Gloria on the shoulder. "Adventuring shield, full body, tier 1. Nothing too extravagant."
"Aha! A shield! I have a few of those. Tell me, uh, you, how do you use your shield?"
Gloria looked confused. "With my... arm?"
"Good start, good start. But do you bash? Smash? Rush? Crush? Do you only block?"
"A bit of everything?"
"Aha! Well-rounded! That calls for a rounded shield maybe? I have a Kite Shield of Stabbing and Bashing, perhaps? Two forms of improved attack, quite light and easy to move around. Standard tier 1 toughness and repair of course, the tip has a small spike - guaranteed not to get stuck in meat! - and the roundel has a modest force-enhancer for bashes."
Gloria thought that sounded pretty good, but Dido disagreed. "No kite shields. We want something wider."
"Aha! Wider, better cover, still tall. How about a Scutum of Seeing and Slashing? Tall, wide, curved, edges can be sharpened to a fine edge on command, and the wielder can see through it. Sort of. It's actually an illusion of the other side of the shield, but it's a good one! Slashing edges especially good against enemies who grab onto it."
"Maybe. What else?"
"Aha! Options! I have two more large, wide ones. Pavise of Lightness and Cushioning. Very big, but weighs just a little more than the kite shield and when hit, very little of the impact hits the arm. Low weight for its size makes it not so good for smashing or bashing, but better for rushing than a normal one. Very solid, can hide an extra normal-sized person behind it with you. Like me.
"Also, Tower Shield of Shocking. Smaller than the pavise, larger than the scutum, mostly flat. When hit, sends a spark at the attacker, punishing them for attacking you! Also protects a little from lightning magic."
Dido considered for a moment before turning to Gloria. "What do you think?"
"Me?"
"Yes, you! We're shopping for you!"
"Oh, uh... the first two sound good, I'm not sure about the last one. Seems like a bad idea to make monsters regret going for me."
"I agree. Can we have a look at the scutum and pavise?"
"Aha! A demonstration! That I can do. Please wait for a moment." Kraark left through a large door in the back, and they soon heard some scuffling of things moving around. This was swiftly followed by the kobold returning, carrying a big piece of metal on his back. He placed the top of it on the counter and slid the rest up before speaking.
"The Pavise of Lightness and Cushioning." The shield was painted blue, with a pair of cupped hands in the center and a stylized sloth at the bottom. It was almost a meter and a half tall and about half as wide, mostly flat but with a ridge down the middle. "Teris' cupped hands and sacred animal. Popular." He then returned to the back room briefly before coming back with a smaller, but still large, shield, which he also slid onto the countertop.
"The Scutum of Seeing and Slashing", he said once he'd hopped back on his chair. This one was a bit under a meter tall and about half a meter wide, painted black with stylized golden vines climbing up it and small silver runes written in a circle around the center. "The [Armoursmith] kinda does her own thing. Design doesn't mean anything I think. The designs on both are, of course, protected by the toughness and self-repair."
The three shoppers looked them over. "Can I hold them?", Gloria asked.
"Aha! A test! A good sign. Of course! And I have some clubs if your friends want to hit you a bit." That said, Kraark brought out two wooden clubs from under the desk. They tested them out, and Gloria remarked on how light and comfortable the pavise was, but she was clearly more interested in the scutum. Holding it she could see what was on the other side framed by the outer five centimeters of the shield.
"You said it's an illusion?"
"Yes! Yes, an illusion. True one-way invisibility is tricky and expensive, instead the back of the shield has an illusion of what is in front of it. There are monsters and magic that can hide from it or trick it, and it can be damaged - though that will self-repair with time!"
"You prefer that one, Gloria?", Dido asked.
"I think so. The size feels better, and that's really all the pavise has on it. I also kind of don't want to... hurt the sloth", Gloria answered, her voice trailing off towards the end.
"Excellent! I think it will work well. Black and gold is hardly a unique combination, but it looks good. And it doesn't say anything, unlike the I-worship-Teris shield. We'll take it."
"Aha! A sale!"
Next, they went to a store that sold items more targeted to magic users. There they found a Lesser Amulet of Aura Growth for Gloria, which made her aura reach much further. Dido wasn't entirely happy with it but she hadn't found anything better while waiting for them. Gloria, on the other hand, was quite happy with it, as not only would it work together with the Talent that did the same, but it saved her a Talent choice for now.
They also looked at wands for Vittorio, and two caught his attention: The Wand of Marking would leave small glowing marks behind when you used ranged magical attacks with it, which would greatly aid in aiming his invisible Wind Weaponry. It would also make it much harder for enemies to hide.
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The second, Telekinetic Wand, was actually two linked wands. You held one and could telekinetically move the second within two meters of yourself, and when you cast a spell it would come from the hovering one. Aiming would be harder with it, but there would be much less chance of hitting an ally in the back. Or just being unable to attack at all. He chose the Telekinetic Wand. The Wand of Marking would be the better right now, but with time he shouldn't need the help to aim and he was pretty sure there was a hex to make monsters reveal themselves.
After that, they visited an [Armourer] for various nonmagical pieces of armour, [Seamstress] for a tabard for Gloria and then a [Painter] who would set one of his apprentices to paint the rest of her solid armour pieces to match the shield. For Vittorio, they bought some dark green leathers reinforced with plates and small sections of chainmail as well as a new helmet that got Dido's approval. It was a bit shorter and didn't need extra padding to make it fit right, but it was no great change. His leather armour was left with the [Leather Armourer] for some adjustments.
At last, it was time to buy a weapon for Vittorio. There was no looking around, Dido knew exactly where they were going.
"The latest thing in equipment", she said, "is magitech. An old school of magic and crafting that's been kind of lost. Personally, I think it's a bit of a fad, and a lot of people will need to replace their stuff sooner than they think. That said, there are some really neat things, and I think one in particular would be really good for you, Vittorio." She'd already convinced him that out of the weapons his pacts made use of, he'd be using a spear. The others - club, small blades, and unarmed - were only for specialists she said.
The final shop was ostentatious, the walls painted a deep purple and a sign above the door proclaiming "Masterful Creations". The interior was no less grand, with fine imported wood for floor and ceiling, and three wide aisles flanked by waist-high counters holding an array of stands for a wide assortment of goods. Each counter was enveloped in a magical field of some sort, preventing access. At the far end was a lone counter not protected in such a way, though it was connected to each display via an arch that you could walk under. On the counter stood a small figure, maybe thirty centimeters tall.
"Welcome to Masterful Creations", it said - or rather, it opened its mouth and the words came out. It had no lips, teeth, our tongue to speak with. The figure was a machine in the likeness of a person. "This one is Gild, servitor of Master Altepe, creator of all goods available in this shop. This one is not a thinking creature but can perform business dealings, so please keep your inquiries to such matters. How can this one serve?"
Gloria and Vittorio were staring at the little mechanical figure. "Is it... alive?"
"This one is not alive."
"Servitors are rare, to put it mildly. But no, it just does and says what it's been made to do and say", Dido explained before turning to Gild. "Is there a collapsing spear available?"
"There is", Gild said and wandered down the counter. It climbed a ladder up on one of the arches and walked across so that it ended up inside the magical barrier. Gild continued on most of the way down the counter before stopping by a steel rod about as long as it was tall, and afforded room on both sides. The servitors mouth opened again.
"Collapsable weapon model Spear-C7-B4-3 has three forms. Fully collapsed for ease of transport, half extended for one-handed use, and fully extended for two-handed use. Control is simple and safe." Gild twisted a part of the rod, and it began to change. Ten-centimeter-long metal segments emerged on one side, one by one, until a spear tip poked out. The segments shifted, twisted, and seemed to fuse, creating what looked to be a solid steel spear. Gild twisted another part and the same thing happened on the other side, only blunt.
"Version seven of the collapsing design features improved strength and decreased weight, as well as improved safety during extension compared to version six. This model also features the triple-edged expanding blade version four, providing greatly increased damage potential." Gild moved part of the handle and from the simple spearpoint three sharp, five-centimeter blades emerged along its length. "The expanding blades are dynamic and need not be equally deployed, thus ensuring maximum possible damage with every activation. Testing has shown this design highly effective against armoured targets as the blades will cause extensive damage from a small entry point." Gild then withdrew the blades again, fitted a metal ring around where they were, and activated them agai. This time only the portion of the blades between the top and the ring emerged.
Vittorio stared at the blades, imagining the gruesome wounds they could make. "This seems like a lot, Dido. I mean... it's just a backup weapon."
"For now, perhaps. But there are three reasons I've looked at this: First, you don't have to lug a spear around. Second, you can have it enchanted later. Third, look at it!"
"Those are good arguments, I'm just... couldn't we spend the money on something more important? Something that'll get more use? A helmet for Gloria maybe?"
Dido shook her head. "It's this or nothing. I want you to have this."
Given the options, Vittorio agreed. Gild collapsed the weapon and carried it back to the front counter, where it showed how to use the spear and took payment. By now it was fully dark, though the streets were lit by magical lights on tall pillars.
"Does everyone work so late?", Vittorio asked.
"Not at all, but we obviously couldn't go to closed stores. Shops in the Makers Market do tend to be open longer though. It's managed by the Baek Family and they have this weird rent system: The more you earn and the more you sell, the less you pay. Whenever someone moves out people damn near fight to get to move in."
"Baek family? Like nobles?"
"No no, it's a trading company. Most of the city is administered by trading companies, though everyone knows it's the University that actually rules the city."
With their shopping done, Dido led them back to the network station to help them get to the Free Company hall. They'd have to pick up the altered equipment the next day. One hop back into the loop, one hop back the way they came, and then Dido directed them to a final hop that'd take them straight to the hall.
"Well, figure this is it! Good luck you two. Work hard, get a patron, and make us all a lot of money, you hear?"
"Oh! Uh, that's it?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's just... you just spent a lot of money on us, and now it's just... goodbye?"
"That's my job! Avourel finds people and I get them in order to draw attention. Don't know the specifics of your deal but Avourel seemed happy with it. You seem nice enough, but it's just business, you know?"
They said their farewells, and Dido went off back towards the harbour while Gloria and Vittorio headed for the Free Company. They arrived in a fairly spacious chamber open to what was clearly the great hall, which was large and richly decorated. The walls were wood-paneled and held plaques and a handful of mounted weapons and shields, as well as the heads of several enormous monsters. Facing the doorway they passed through was what looked like a mushroom cap three meters across covered with mouths.
The ceiling was supported by a number of marble columns - which must have cost a fortune to ship - carved in different themes. There was space for two hundred or more people, though it was only a quarter full at the moment. More sounds of merriment drifted out of an adjoining pair of doors.
They joined the short line leading to a wide front desk staffed by three people. There wasn't any way of not overhearing the people in front.
"He broke my arm!", an irate anura shouted. Their dark green skin seemed to pulse with anger.
"The Shattered Shield is a private establishment. If you have complaints, take it up with the [Tavernkeeper]."
"But it was he who did it!"
"As I said, it's a private establishment. The Free Company takes no responsibility for anything that happens within."
"But it's right there!" They pointed at the doors Vittorio had noted earlier.
"Be that as it may, it remains separate from the Free Company. If you wish to file a complaint, you may do so with the guard."
The anura stormed off, shouting in their language. The official seemed used to it, sadly.
Gloria and Vittorio didn't have to wait long until it was their turn. They approached a mikhuq man.
"Welcome to the Free Company, how might I help?"
"We're members and just arrived."
"Ah, welcome! If I could just see your badges please." He accepted them, touched them to a device, and then started reading in a logbook of some sort. "Gloria Innkeeper, [Fervent Warrior] and Vittorio Merchant, [Pactmaker], correct? Good. First time in the city? Or just the first time since joining?"
"First time, we just arrived today."
"Then twice welcome! If you need help with where to go or how things work, you can always approach us here at the desk. But! I see you are expected, so no doubt your team will take care of you. I'll let them know you've arrived, if you'd just like to take a seat and wait for them."
"Oh! Thank you, we'll do that."
"Alright, and here are your badges. Again, welcome to Kara and good luck on your adventures!"