Grimoire helped me into the armor he’d gotten for me. It was like a vest that seemed easy enough to put on alone. It had buttons to hold it in place on the front and sides, but the front and back were stiff. Knocking on it, there were metal plates in them. The whole thing weighed about five times as much as a couple of the training staves, but didn’t feel weird because it was one my body. I just felt… bulky.
He also got me a skirt made of metal plates that attached to it and long gauntlets with extended arm guards that went to my elbow. The last bit was a couple of spaulders that attached to the top of the armor and covered my shoulders. Over all, I felt weighted down, but when he demonstrated it by stabbing me with a dagger he pulled from seemingly no where hard enough to knock me several meter away, his point was proven. There was a bit of a tear, but I barely felt the impact.
As I was standing up, he motioned to the door. “Come back after five laps and I’ll show you how to take care of it and take it off and put it on yourself.” I left without complaint to go do just that.
Around the end of the first lap, I had to resist the urge to put a few points into strength. By the third, I’d stopped with the obstacles. Around the middle of the fifth, I got a notification:
Skill Unlocked: Light Armor Tier 0, Rank 1
Light Armor
So you’ve decided you don’t want to die, but aren’t committed to the idea enough to wear anything worthwhile. It’s okay, you can dodge that blow. Probably.
Tier 0: You’re wearing something to prevent your insides from becoming outsides.
At least I got something.
When I finished, I went back and Grimoire showed me how to take it off and put it on by myself as well as how to care for it. I used my Note feature to write down his instructions and make some additions. While I grumbled about it, I did appreciate the help, and if it kept me alive that was a plus.
The next day was spent on more training with the armor. I just needed to get used to moving in it, so I decided to just wear it all day. I also practiced my various weapon skills with it on. I was more confident while it was one, which Grimoire was sure to remind me of how stupid that was. I spent a lot of time on the floor of the training room. He even actually stabbed me twice when I ‘got careless’, once in the leg and the other in my upper arm.
I took the lesson to heart.
I didn’t have a lot of time to get used to my armor, though. Only three days wasn’t going to make me an expert, and the rank was increasing at a slow enough rate that it wouldn’t matter. I only got one, and it was from Grimoire throwing a knife at my heart when I tried to disengage while training. I hadn’t even seen him throw it.
When the day came, we met by one of the gates into town, specifically the one that went over the river. The smell was harsh, and I seemed to be the only one who noticed based on the others reactions. We had a small wagon attached to two of the birdlike striders, both with brown plumage and muzzles over their beaks.
Paige was much like I remembered her. Cheerful and dressed in light armor that was more intricate than mine. It was made of more plates and seemed to move better. She actually gave me a hug, which I returned out of surprise more than affection. “Lady Danielle! It’s good to see you again.”
“You too, Paige. I heard your name on the list of people coming, but weren’t you going by Dagger?” I asked as we separated.
“Hm? Oh, I changed it back to my name. It sounded stupid, and most clients wound up using my name anyway.” She shrugged, “Kind of pointless to use a code name when no one uses it, right?”
A guy in what looked like a block of steel walked up behind Paige, “You must be our final participant. My name is Lord-”
“That’s Jason. He’s a noble, like you, but a little more obnoxious about it.” Paige said walking over and patting the larger man on the shoulder. “Also hates it when you call him Jace, so don’t do that.”
The man, Jason, was going red in the face. Instead of responding, he turned on his heel and went to the wagon. The pale blue man petting one of the striders seemed to be ignoring us, so Paige pointed towards him, “And that’s Zaion, though I call him Zee. He’s nice, but I think he likes animals more than people.”
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I rolled my eyes at the girl’s antics, “Do you annoy your companions by accident, or is it a skill you picked up?”
Her eyes went wide and seemed to shine, figuratively, “Wait, is that actually a skill? I’d love something like that!”
I couldn’t help but laugh, smiling widely. “I’ll let you know if I find out. Where’s the other chaperone? Elayne?”
The girl sighed, “She’s sulking in the wagon.” She leaned in close, “Apparently this is a punishment cause she refused an emergency quest to help at the Grave Woods.”
My eyes went wide, “What? Why?”
A mischievous grin broke out on the girl’s face, “She’s afraid of the undead.”
Turning to look at the rogue, I raised an eyebrow, “Are they really that scary?”
“Considering one took my arm, yes.” Deacon said from behind. “Come on, everyone in the wagon. We’ve got a long trip and there’s no reason to procrastinate.”
I hadn’t heard him coming up from behind, but apparently Paige hadn’t been surprised. “Well, at least you were there, right?” She shrugged and headed for the wagon, hands behind her head as she looked back at me. “Where’s your bag?”
I shrugged, “Don’t need one.”
We’d actually talked about revealing Spatial Closet, and ultimately it seemed like it wouldn’t matter. There were apparently skill books available for sale that had something similar, amongst other things. Learning about that, I realized that it was kind of like how my Shop worked. I didn’t know how they were made, but apparently they were common enough for there to be entire shops for them. I hadn’t found any, but I’d keep an eye out next time I went shopping.
“Oooh, mysterious. Maybe I should ask you to carry my stuff too?” Paige was all smiles, so I wasn’t sure if she was serious. “Though most of it is just clothes. Clothes and the occasional thing I think is interesting.”
“Stole, you mean.” Jason said from where he was leaning against the wheel of the cart. He had his arms crossed and was doing his best to look unimpressed. “How else would you get such a high level in a Thief class.”
I turned to look at Paige, “Really?” I actually opened my class section to check if it was actually a class.
“He’s being an ass. He’s one of those that thinks all Sneaks are thieves.” She glared at him, and it was honestly the first time I remember her looking anything but mildly put off. There was actual anger there.
“They are. And you can’t prove me wrong, either.” He said, stubbornly proud of his statement.
A statement that didn’t really match with what I’d heard. I thought back to a conversation I‘d had over a month ago. “Don’t the guards usually hire sneaks and sneak related classes?”
“You’d dare besmirch the noble guards that protect this city?” He took a step forward, “They’re guards, why would they have anything but a guard class?”
I noticed some of the gate guards studiously looking away. “Cause people don’t usually grow up wanting to be a guard. I know I’d find the idea of standing in place for hours boring.”
He looked like he wanted to argue, but was stopped by chuckles coming from the guards. Deacon was also chuckling as he loaded some bags into the wagon, shaking his head at the silly conversation. Over by the birds, Zaion was pointedly looking away, but I could see his shoulder shaking. The man turned bright red and climbed up onto the seat with the driver.
Paige was snickering beside me. When she could control herself, she smiled and asked, “Is that true?”
I shrugged, “It’s what Cal and Porter told me. And I think Captain Severn might have mentioned it, but I’m not certain.”
There was a strangled cry from the bench at the Captain’s name and I gave Jason a confused look. What is that man’s deal?
Zaion walked over and joined myself and Paige, “I must say, when I heard another noble was coming along, I was expecting someone a little more stiff. Elayne was practically drinking herself silly thinking about it.”
I smiled at him, looking him up and down. He certainly dressed like what I thought a mage would look like. Flowy robes and no real armor. Instead, he had a couple of bandoliers filled with liquid and two large jugs attached to his hips by strings.
“Why’s that?” I asked in response to his question. I then nodded at the jugs, “Also, what’s in those?”
“Hm?” He looked down, “Oh, they are what I use for my spells. The jugs are just water, and the bottles are more… unique substances.”
“He used acid to blind a guy we were tracking. It was so gross. And AWESOME!” Paige exclaimed, going over and grabbing Zaion by the arm, tugging at him playfully. “I asked him what’s in the others and he wouldn’t tell me.”
“Because they are expensive, and you don’t respect boundaries.” He said as he gently separated himself from Paige. “And Elayne had some bad experiences, I guess. She never talked about it to me, and she’s only been my trainer for a couple weeks.”
Paige stepped back, shrugging, “I just met her the other day, soon after I met Deacon.” She moved in close, “By the way, is he single?"
I took a step back, surprised by Paige's speed. “Uh… yea? I don’t think you’re his type though.”
“We’ll see about that!” She said before dancing her way over to him.
I looked at Zaion, “She seems more… mobile than last time I met her.” I had tried to think of a more polite way to say ‘flighty’. “Is that because of her new class?”
He considered what I’d said, “Perhaps? She has been like that since I met her, which was not long ago.”
“So, a team of people not familiar with each other? Should go well.” I said with only a hint of sarcasm. “Hope we get something to practice against before anything serious.”
A gruff female voice came from inside the wagon, “If we get to Daveville without running into at least wild striders, I’ll be amazed.”
I looked between Zaion and the wagon. “Elayne, I take it?”
“Don’t act like don’t know me, you prissy bitch.” The voice came from the wagon again. “I’d recognize that voice anywhere, even if you are dropping it to sound more mature.”
Guess that answers my previous question. Not looking forward to this already, I went around to the back of the wagon to see the woman I was going to be stuck with for the next several days.