We spent the day patrolling the surrounding area in our animal forms. We did not find any demons but it was fun to run around. In the evening we returned to the village. The inn was rather crowded. The story about the demon had spread and a lot of people were in need of a drink.
The innkeeper had a small table reserved for us and offered free food and drink. I overheard several conversations, apparently people knew we fought the demon lord. Everyone looked at us with respect and maybe some amount of fear. Nobody approached us. The food was great though. I enjoyed a lovely fish pie with some ale.
The next day we left. The people seemed ok and the guards were now doing their job. It was time to return to Iron Rock. Once we were back we reported our findings to the guard. After that we took it easy for a few days. One morning a message arrived that our clothes were finished and the tailor invited us back to discuss enchantments. It had been 8 days since we placed our order. We excitedly made our way to the shop.
“Greetings Alfred, how are you? I heard our clothes are ready.” I said as we entered.
“Ah, lady Amaya and lady Lucy.” He said bowing. “Welcome back to my shop! Yes your orders are ready, only the enchantments are missing. It was a true pleasure to work with the spidersilk you provided. If you will follow me, the clothes are in the basement in the enchantment room.”
We followed him into a cosy chamber. The floor had a huge empty metal circle. I spotted a rack with our clothes and various cabinets.
“This is where the magic happens!” He said pointing at the circle.
I held back my laughter. I assumed this world did not have the same expressions as my old one. And he obviously meant magic literally.
“How does this work?” Lucy asked.
“This is a reusable circle. We have several metal plates with runes that we place inside. They all fit together forming a ritual. That allows for a lot of different combinations and ensures that there are no errors drawing the runes. Of course you still need to know what combinations work, how much magic an item can hold and you need additional components and the spell slots to power the ritual.” He explained.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
I was rather impressed. That was a great system and made a lot of sense. It would save tons of work since most people wanted the same things on their clothes.
“Before we do any enchanting you should try the clothes to ensure the measurements are correct. There is a screen in the corner where you can change.”
First I had a closer look at my clothes. The underwear consisted of modern panties and bras. Mine were black with a purple trim. Even without magic they already felt rather soft. The travelling clothes were a simple black shirt and pants. They felt somewhat rough but the magic would change that. My formal outfit looked stunning. The jacket was hip length, on the front were two rows of silver buttons. There were shoulder marks featuring a purple delphinium. They had a silver trim and reminded me of an officer's rank insignia. The jacket’s collar and cuffs were decorated with purple and silver. The pants were black with a purple line on the side. A black shirt and a black belt with a purple clasp were included too.
I tried it on and admired myself in the mirror. It was formal with a militaristic style. Meanwhile Lucy was in her black suit. We were both happy. After trying on the other clothes and finding them satisfactory it was time to discuss enchantments.
“Amazing work Alfred!” I said. “So, what enchantments have you found for us?”
“I do have a high level durability enhancement, it will stop non magical weapons from cutting your clothing. It will even resist some magical ones. I have also added a fire and acid resistance. There is a limited self repair function. The clothes can fix minor holes and cuts but you need to power that with your spell slots. There is also an option to dry them which works the same way. Further I have an enhancement which will make them softer on the inside and a lot more comfortable to wear. The snow sheep wool in your travelling clothes will keep you warm in rather icy temperatures without any enhancements. The midnight cotton in your formal wear offers some protection from shadow magic. The spidersilk present in all your clothes will offer a certain resistance to magic in general.”
“Sounds great! We will take all of that if possible.”
“Certainly. Thanks to your royal spidersilk we can fit everything. We can enchant all of them at once but it would take five 9th circle spell slots.”
“No problem.”
His eyes widened slightly. “Ah yes, then we can get started. The final price will be 1023 gold. There is also some spidersilk left. I would be willing to offer you 800 gold for that.”
I had no idea how much was left or what it was worth. But Alfred offered great work so far so it was ok by me. “Sure. You keep the silk and I will pay you 250 gold.” I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to haggle that down but I just wanted to give a tip for a good service. He looked really shocked so I might have given him a great deal. Fine by me.
“Ah certainly yes, thank you my lady.” He bowed again.
Afterwards Alfred assembled the ritual with his metal plates. He double checked the arrangement and then placed a bunch of gems and the clothes in the centre. Afterwards I activated the magic. The gems dissolved into smoke which was absorbed by the clothing. It was rather pretty to watch and only took about 5 minutes.
We immediately changed into the newly enchanted clothing. It was heavenly. After paying Alfred we left satisfied.