Edith turned the spyglass around so that the inner surface faced her. This time, the card was not just an image reflected in the glass. It was physically there, solid enough that the light caught on its edges.

  She reached in, pinched the corner between two fingers, and gently pulled it free, as if she were afraid it might tear. She smiled at Winnie as she handed it over. “All right,” she said brightly. “Who’s next?”

  Clarice stepped forward and set her ratty quiver on the counter. It looked even worse up close, the leather scuffed and faded from use, the stitching darkened with age. Edith repeated the process, passing the spyglass over it in slow, practiced movements. The glass clouded, then cleared, and a card formed within it. She reached in again, drew it out, and handed it to Clarice with a satisfied nod.

  Then it was my turn.

  Edith scanned my item the same way, unhurried and careful, her expression thoughtful as she watched the spyglass work. When the card appeared, she pulled it free and placed it into my hand. With that done, we thanked her and stepped away from the counter.

  Clarice glanced back over her shoulder as we walked. “Wow,” she said under her breath. “That was lucky. Looks like her nap’s already over.”

  We looked back just in time to see Brenda’s eyes snap open as Edith’s head slumped forward into sleep. Raven was already approaching the counter, and her expression darkened the moment she realized which sister was awake. Brenda only frowned at her in return.

  We reached our table and settled in, the noise of the guild hall washing around us.

  “So,” I said, setting my card aside for the moment. “What did everybody get?”

  Winnie studied her card for a few seconds longer before speaking. She turned it once in her hands, then let out a slow breath. “The helmet’s cool and all,” she said carefully, “but I don’t think it’s good for me. It feels like it would be a really bad idea to use it with a group.”

  She slid the card across the table toward me. “You want to read it?”

  “All right,” I said, taking it.

  The Astigian Viguart

  Attunement Required

  The following effects apply while the wielder wears this helmet.

  Blinding Rage

  While the wielder is engaged in combat, the helmet blinds them and forces them into a frenzy, drastically increasing damage output and movement speed.

  Lashing Echoes

  Every melee strike made by the wielder is reinforced by manifested bone blades that erupt from the weapon in use.

  Magebane

  Any ongoing magical effect affecting the wielder is immediately canceled when the helmet is first donned.

  Headgear

  “This thing is incredible, Winnie,” I said, handing the card back. “I get what you mean about not using it in a group, but we might want to keep it around just in case. Canceling effects on someone could matter more than the other bonuses.”

  “It does seem useful for getting rid of curses,” Winnie admitted, though her expression remained uneasy.

  Clarice leaned in and tapped a single word on the card with her finger. “It says frenzy,” she said, looking up at us. “That means we’d have to get the headgear off someone who’s already in a rage and can’t tell friend from foe. That seems… risky.”

  “That’s a polite way to put it,” Meka said flatly.

  “It feels like a last resort,” Clarice continued. “Not something you use every fight, and not something you really want taking up one of your slots.”

  I nodded. The item was powerful, undeniably so, but it was dangerous in a way that did not care about intent or skill. Used wrong, it would get someone killed, maybe more than one.

  “Probably me,” Winnie said after a pause. “If I used this, someone wouldn’t make it out.”

  She pushed the headgear toward the center of the table. “Maybe we trade it.”

  “Solo fighters would kill for something like that,” I said.

  “Would they?” Meka asked, frowning as she reread the card. “It doesn’t say the rage ever stops.”

  I took another look. “Huh. You’re right. It doesn’t.”

  “So what,” Winnie said, “it just keeps going?”

  “Maybe you get used to it,” I said. “Maybe it stops when everything else is dead.” I paused. “Or when you are.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  “Let’s hope it’s the first one,” Clarice said dryly.

  Winnie slid the headgear farther away from herself. “We’re trading it.”

  “That’s fair,” I said. “It’ll be valuable, even if we don’t want it.”

  “The guild auction will take it,” Clarice said. “No problem.”

  “All right,” I said. “So what’s next? Me or you?”

  “I’ll go,” Clarice said, already pulling her card closer. “Here’s mine.”

  The Mossborne Quiver

  Attunement Required

  The following effects apply while the quiver is not full.

  Sprout Arrow

  While attuned, the quiver grows one arrow every two minutes until it reaches full capacity.

  Weighted Arrow

  Every fifth arrow, out of the twenty the quiver can hold, is produced as an explosive arrow. On impact, this arrow detonates and spreads a thick carpet of moss across the area.

  This arrow is clearly visible while stored, marked by green, moss-like fletching.

  Quiver

  “This thing is awesome,” I said, and we all agreed almost instantly.

  There was no real debate. An infinite arrow quiver would have been worth celebrating on its own. The fact that it came with extra effects on top of that just made it absurd.

  “Honestly,” Winnie said, leaning back in her chair, “it wouldn’t matter if it did nothing else. Infinite arrows is already insane.”

  “And it does something else,” Meka added, pointing back at the card. “Explosive arrows. Every fifth shot.”

  “Yeah,” I said. “That’s just rude.”

  Clarice tilted her head, studying the description again. “I wonder how big of a carpet of moss it actually makes.”

  “We’re definitely going to find out,” Winnie said without hesitation.

  Clarice grimaced slightly. “It’s too bad this thing is hideous.”

  She gestured vaguely at where the quiver would hang. “But I’ll get used to it.”

  “You can get used to a lot of things when they’re that good,” I said.

  They all looked at me then, smiling in the way that meant they were about to turn the attention back where it belonged.

  “And what about yours?” Clarice asked. “Your nice, fashionable, beautiful skirt?”

  I sighed and picked up my card.

  “Wait,” I said after a second. “I just thought of something for Winnie’s headgear.”

  They all looked at me immediately, expressions narrowing with a mix of suspicion and concern.

  “Hear me out,” I said, lifting a hand. “If we ever need to use it to strip a curse or some other nasty effect off someone, we restrain them first. Then we put the headgear on, let Magebane do its thing, and take it back off.”

  There was a pause.

  Winnie was the first to speak. “That depends,” she said slowly, “on whether it counts unarmed strikes as weapons, and whether those bone blades can cut through whatever we tie them up with.”

  She tilted her head. “You were thinking Meka’s vines, weren’t you?”

  I winced. “Yeah. That was exactly what I was thinking.”

  “Then it probably wouldn’t work,” Winnie said. “Those vines wouldn’t last long if the blades trigger.”

  I let out a breath. “Damn it. I thought I had something.”

  “These items are always like that,” Clarice said. “You know what they do, but not how they behave in edge cases.”

  “They’re vague on purpose,” Meka added. “Keeps people guessing.”

  “Well, mine’s pretty straightforward,” Clarice said, tapping her quiver card with a grin.

  “That’s because every archer on the continent wants an endless quiver,” Winnie said. “And you got one with a bonus.”

  Clarice smiled smugly. “Good for me.”

  Winnie rolled her eyes and looked back at me. “We’re talking about the helmet. We are trying to keep us all alive, remember?”

  I held up both hands. “I tried.”

  Clarice studied me for a moment, then shrugged. “Looks like you’re failing.”

  Her expression shifted into something far more dangerous. “So. Let’s see what your skirt does.”

  She snapped her fingers at me impatiently.

  “It’s not going to be anything,” I said quickly. “We’re just going to trade it. It’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”

  Winnie leaned forward, eyes bright. “Runt, we need to see it before we decide anything.”

  She smirked. “How much do you want to bet it’s perfect for you?”

  I sighed. “That’s exactly what I’m afraid of.”

  I pulled the item out fully. The one redeeming feature of attuned equipment was that it scaled with its wearer as they grew. You never had to replace it.

  Unfortunately, that did not change the fact that it was fur.

  A skirt.

  Or rather, as I discovered when I finally looked at the card…

  “Loincloth,” I muttered.

  “Let me see that,” Clarice said, already reaching.

  She snatched the card out of my hands before I could delay any further and began reading out loud.

  The Loincloth of Tharos Bearwalker

  Attunement Required

  The following effects apply only while the wearer is wearing this as their sole article of clothing, including footwear.

  “I’m not doing that,” I said immediately.

  Clarice ignored me.

  Thermal Balance

  Environmental temperatures do not cause discomfort or physical impairment to the wearer.

  She continued.

  Tremorsense

  While barefoot and in contact with solid ground, the wearer gains tremorsense through their feet.

  She paused, frowned, then read the final line twice.

  Stable Attunement

  While the above conditions are met, this item’s attunement cannot be magically dispersed.

  Clothing

  She looked up at me slowly.

  “Dammit,” I said. “It gives tremorsense. Why does it give tremorsense? That’s so stupidly good.”

  Winnie burst out laughing. “Oh gods. Now we get to watch the barbarian boy run around looking like a criminal, with those eyes and that skirt on.”

  Clarice snorted. “People are never going to let you live this down.”

  “I know,” I said, rubbing my face. “I know. And I’m going to have to do it.”

  Meka leaned closer, peering at the card again. “It’s not just the tremorsense. The thermal balance is huge. Heat exhaustion, cold shock, environmental exposure… all gone.”

  “That’s the problem,” I said. “If it was only one of those, it would be great. Both together makes it absurd.”

  I tapped the last line with a finger. “And this stable attunement thing. As long as I’m on the ground… or is it just as long as I’m wearing no other clothing, including footwear, it can’t be magically dispersed?”

  Meka adjusted her glasses. “It doesn’t define temperature limits,” she said. “If it means exactly what it says, you could theoretically walk into the heart of a volcano and the environmental heat wouldn’t even cause discomfort.”

  Winnie stared at me. “That’s disgusting.”

  “Yeah,” I said weakly. “As long as I don’t find any other good clothing articles.”

  Clarice grinned. “So just don’t trip over a legendary sock.”

  I winced. “This thing is too good to pass up.”

  The realization settled in around the table, and none of them argued with me.

  I winced again.