Chapter 15: Shopping without my Pi eye
If Isa and her parents were going to insist on coming along, I needed to make sure they were as well-equipped as possible. With that in mind, I headed to the shopping district. The first stop was the weapon shop.
Ingrid Ironside’s Forge and Metallurgy.
It was the place where Zelle used to work. I wondered if Ingrid would remember me. A bell jingled on the door as I pushed it open. A teen boy stood in the back, lazily sweeping the floor.
“Welcome, Sir,” he droned. “If there’s anything I can get for you, please let me know.”
I glanced around the shop, hoping something would glow like it did when Pi pointed it out. Instead, I had to inspect everything individually. Or did I? Rather than trying to see everything about the items, I focused on their grades instead.
F Rank
F Rank
F Rank
F Rank
F Rank
F Rank
F Rank
The bargain barrel of weapons by the door was disappointing, as usual. Then something caught my eye, hidden in the back.
C Rank
I picked up a slender sword and gave it a closer look.
Polished Rapier
Rank: C
Attack: 12
Special: Piercing +5
“Those are five copper each,” the boy mumbled, not bothering to look up.
I wasn’t sure what weapons Vince and Anna preferred but decided to buy the sword anyway since it would make excellent golem fodder, if nothing else. Part of me was tempted to purchase the whole bucket, but the F rank attached to the rest quickly squashed that idea.
As I browsed the racks of weapons strewn about the shop, I thought about Isa, Vince, and Anna and their new classes. Isa was the easiest. Even though she evolved to the new class, Curandera, she still preferred to fight with her hands. What I needed for her was armor to protect her from the rash decisions she tended to make in combat.
Then I saw something. In the corner of the room was a thick pair of studded leather gloves. They looked like ordinary garden gloves with metal studs lining the knuckles.
Weighted Knuckle Grips
Rank B
Attack: 15
Special: Knuckle Sandwich
There was one final line that caught me by surprise.
Made by: Zelle Lhor
Did Zelle make them for Isa and never have a chance to give them to her, or was it a coincidence? Either way, I was definitely going to buy them, so I added them to the sword on the sales counter.
Next were Vince and Anna. “What do an Aquamancer and Berserker use for weapons?”
I’d meant to ask myself, but the clerk stopped sweeping to offer some advice. “The aquamancer depends on whether they like to fight or are a true mage class. If they don’t fight, I recommend finding a staff or a wand with a magical component. We don’t sell those here. For the battle mage, something like the rapier you selected might work. It really depends on their preference.”
“As for the berserker,” he went on, spreading his arms in a sweeping gesture. “I’ve heard they are proficient with pretty much every weapon. The flashier ones tend to go with big two-handed weapons, but they would be just as well off dual-wielding.”
“So, what you’re saying is I should probably bring them here,” I muttered before remembering Isa. “Do you guys make armor?”
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“We do,” the clerk replied. “What would you like? We can do everything from full plate down to lining that noble attire you got on.”
I looked down at my outfit. He had a point. Ever since I got access to the king’s wardrobe at Camelot, I hadn’t bothered too much with armor. Instead, I improvised with Cornerstone anytime I needed protection.
To demonstrate, I covered my body in a full suit of stone armor, causing the clerk to gasp.
“Sorry, Sir,” he squeaked. “I mistook you for a noble. Please forgive me. It won’t happen again.”
“What’s all this about?” Ingrid asked as she entered the room, dusting soot from her apron, and looked me up and down.
I quickly retracted the armor and apologized. “Sorry about that. I’m looking for armor for a friend. Do you make some for us?”
“That depends,” she replied, rubbing her chin. “You look familiar. Do I know you?”
“I’ve been here before,” I said, wondering if she was about to put me and Zelle together. “I bought some weapons last time.”
“Then welcome,” a smile lit her face. “I always appreciate repeat customers. Now, tell me about this armor you need. Is it for yourself?”
“No. It’s for the rest of my group. We are about to go on a dangerous quest, and I’d like them to be as well-equipped as possible.”
“Bring them by for a fitting,” she replied, putting down a tape measure she’d taken out. “That way, I can ensure the armor is a custom fit for their body and class.”
I was trying to avoid that, but I conceded. “Fine. I think I’ll stock up on some weapons for now.”
Ingrid and the clerk watched as I selected every weapon ranked B and above. Only a few weapons were any good.
Rogue’s Dart Launcher
Rank: A
Attack: 19
Special: Auto-Poison
It looked more like a bracer than a weapon. It was a thick metal contraption that was just thick enough to add some sinister-looking darts. I didn’t know if it worked by magic or some spring-loaded contraption, but darts shot out through a hole in the end whenever I clenched my stone fist.
“Please don’t fire the weapons in the store,” Ingrid chastised me as a dart embedded itself in the wall just beside her head.
She didn’t look too phased that it might have hit her, which was a far cry from the clerk who dove for cover.
“Sorry,” I replied, raising my hand above my head to show I meant no harm. “I’ll take this one.”
Another item was a rather interesting hammer.
True Smith’s Hammer
Rank: S
Attack: 1
Special: True Strike
I was unsure how it worked, but the rank alone was reason enough to make the purchase. Besides, my new friends back in Albion had just taken up crafting, so I was sure it would come in handy for someone.
Dragonslayer
Rank: SS
Attack: 30
Special: +100 Attack Versus Dragons
Dragonslayer was a greatsword that took every ounce of my strength just to lift. Ingrid’s expression told me she’d doubted I could lift it.
By the time I was done, I had at least twenty weapons splayed out on the table.
“Are you sure you want all of that?” Ingrid asked, folding her arms over her chest as she sorted through everything.
“Yep!” I replied happily. “And I’m coming back this afternoon for the armor.”
She took her time going over every weapon before looking up at me. “Why did you choose these items?”
“I don’t know,” I didn’t want to rub it in by telling her I could appraise her wares. “I felt something when I picked them up.”
“Yet you didn’t bother to pick up anything else,” she raised an eyebrow but didn’t question me further. “In any case, that’ll be one hundred twenty-five gold with the standard ten percent bulk discount. The armor is going to cost quite a bit more, but it will all be custom work. Bring the others back soon, as it will take me some time to forge everything.”
“Will do,” I replied.
“What about yourself?” she asked. “I am sure I can make something that compliments your rather unusual skill set.”
“Sure,” I mumbled, only to get swarmed by Ingrid and her assistant, who accosted me with the tape measure.
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Before heading back to the house, I had a couple of other stops to make.
Maritza’s Potions
“Hello,” I didn’t waste time with introductions. “I need as many health and mana potions as you can sell me.”
“We have what you see,” a timid-looking girl replied from just inside the shop where she’d been arranging potions.
“Is that all you got,” I asked, looking at a couple dozen of each on a table. “I need hundreds.”
“Hundreds,” she gasped. “I mean, I suppose Lady Maritza can have some made. Please wait here.”
She scampered out the back door before I could say anything else. I snickered at how trusting she was. While I waited for her to return, I did the same thing I’d done in the weapon shop and scoured the shelves for high-ranking potions. As usual, they didn’t disappoint.
Greater Health Potion
Rank: S
Purity: 98.22%
Special: Heals a large amount of health
I wondered if the amount of S ranked potions on the shelf had something to do with high-level alchemists in yew or simply because they made so much stock that it just inevitably happened.
Greater Mana Potion
Rank: S
Purity: 95.07%
Special: Heals a large amount of mana
Invisibility Potion
Rank: A
Purity: 83.11%
Special: Grants invisibility for a moderate amount of time
I wasn’t quite as picky when it came to potions. I stocked up on anything that looked interesting. That included health and mana potions along with antidotes, stamina boosters, and blindness remedies.
“I bet this is popular in the bedroom,” I said, holding the stamina booster up to the light.
An old woman smirked as she entered the room with the clerk. “Indeed, we have a variety of products that work very well as nuptial aids, including health potions.”
“Wouldn’t you say you’re doing it wrong if you need a health potion after sex?” I asked.
“Or very right,” the clerk said from behind the old lady before blushing profusely and hiding her face in her hands.
The old woman chuckled. “Be that as it may, my name is Maritza Roa, and my apprentice tells me you are in need of a lot of potions. Can you please explain this to me?”
“Yes,” I replied. “I’m going on a very long and dangerous journey and don’t want to leave anything to chance. Not if I can help it.”
“I see,” she replied. “Will you be requiring any resurrection potions?”
“They make those?” I just about fell over. “That would have come in so handy last year.”
She met my question with a smile. “Yes, I do make them, but there is a catch. You must use it immediately after death and before the soul has a chance to depart the body. Even waiting until the end of combat is too long. I can’t tell you how many times people have tried to return my potions, calling them defective when they were the ones who didn’t follow my instructions properly.”
“I see,” I sighed. “It still might have helped.”
I would have moved heaven and earth to save Isa. Pi was more than a match for the zombies in that room. Would it have been enough to prevent the catastrophes that followed?
“I’ll take ten of them!” I finally said.
“T-ten?” she asked, taken aback. “Do you expect ten of your comrades to die? Never mind that. Each potion takes a full day to make and is quite expensive. Are you prepared to pay one thousand gold for just ten potions?”
I took a moment to sort through the money pocket in my bag.
Platinum: 3
Gold: 4,227
Silver: 17,450
Copper: 109,537
The problem wasn’t money so much as it was time.
“I guess I’ll take five then,” I decided at last. “How long will that take? I’d like to depart with these and the other potions in a week.”
Maritza frowned. “I’ll have to recruit some help for the lesser potions, but it can be done.”
“Excellent,” I replied.