The set of clothes was less than impressive, perhaps only a little better than what I had. It smelled of a musty basement and regret. Consisting of boots, pants, and a poncho, it was not that much different from what I had already. The colors had faded, the bottoms of the leather-reinforced denim pants were frayed, and the poncho had a hole punched all the way through. I picked up one boot, and the sole fell off.

  “I don’t want to sound, uh, ungrateful or critical about this,” I said carefully. “But when you said antiques, I didn’t know there would be condition issues.”

  “Aye, lad. I swear they were in better condition than this. Why, I just checked that portion of the inventory recently. Maybe seventy years ago.” The old dwarf stroked his beard, frowning at the sad state of the outfit. “I was goin’ to give you a discount, but 10 percent off would just be insultin’ to us both.”

  “Is there anything that can be done about this? Like a repair spell or something?”

  “Lad, if that kind a magic existed, half my job wouldn’t matter. No, I would have to repair them by hand. Tell you what, I’ll sell them to you for half off, and I’ll throw the repairs in for free.”

  “Really? That sounds like a good deal! What do you think, Jerseil?”

  “What is half off, friend Gorim?” Jerseil asked.

  “Ooh, let me think. The original price was around 500 gold. But with the age and used nature and in the condition I got them, I would have sold em at 100 gold and 60 silver. With inflation, that would be 300 gold, 12 silver, and 76 coppers… Well, fuck. Why don’t we just say an even 200 gold, throw in the repair and a promise to bring me your future business?” the old dwarf suggested slyly.

  Jerseil frowned. “I wouldn’t accept anything above 150 gold.”

  “Please give us a second, would you?” I asked the armorer Gorim before pulling Jerseil away. “I don’t have that much. Nowhere near that much.”

  “Oh? How much do you have?” Jerseil asked.

  “Maybe 50 gold?”

  “Gods, Finn! How do you have so little? Most people from your world at level 12 have ten, if not twenty, times that.”

  “Let’s just say I didn’t get this far the normal way,” I said mildly. “There were a few steps we skipped to get here. Like a shortcut!”

  Jerseil groaned in annoyance. “Okay, fine. I’ll lend you the money this time, but by the Twins, Finn! Pay me back as soon as possible. You’re my friend, and I hate lending money, but you need the protection better gear can provide. I can’t have you dying on me.”

  I clasped his arm. “Thank you, Jerseil. I will pay you back, I promise. You’re a good friend.”

  “How bout 185 gold?” The dwarf called out to us. “I could go as low as that!”

  Jerseil grinned and gave me a wink before turning back to the dwarf in fake outrage. “185? How dare you, sir! Anything above 160 is disgraceful. We should take our business—”

  “There’s no one else in town and—”

  They argued over the price for several minutes, going back and forth on various points of materials and parentage, both enjoying it immensely.

  The cost they finally agreed on was 174 gold, with the agreement that the dwarf would repair the mage armor and have it ready for pickup in the morning. I had wanted to go by that first store we had wandered into, so that I could check out the book that looked familiar.

  Jerseil snorted and shook his head. “How about we don’t spend anymore of my money today? Let’s head back to Chiang Wu’s for dinner and get a good night’s sleep. We have a long day of walking if we want to make it down out of the mountains.”

  The next morning was filled with the smell of breakfast and the pleasant early light. I hadn’t drunk much with dinner, or after, and I was ready for the day. In fact, I felt better than I had in weeks. Breakfast itself was a delectable affair — eggs, sausages, and pastries from a local bakery. After breakfast, we made ready to go.

  “Please check in with me before you leave. I need to make sure that you can get back out of the barrier without any further difficulty. I made some minor tweaks, so hopefully it works. But just in case, I should be there.” Chiang Wu said as we left.

  “We will! And thank you for letting us stay with you,” Harper replied.

  “Anything for the Allied Army!” he exclaimed pleasantly. He watched us go toward the center of town with a large smile on his face.

  Our walk through the town in the brisk mountain air was much more pleasant. It was far less crowded than the day before. Apparently, most of the people in Lass Trusen shopped and strolled in the afternoons and evenings. This allowed us to quickly make it to the shop with the curious book.

  The owner of the shop had just opened for the day, and she was surprised at my interest in the tome. “That’s an ancient Mage spellbook. You seem quite young for a collector!”

  “Yeah, I know. But I, uh, like old books,” I said nervously. I tried to keep the need for the spell out of my voice and off my face.

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  Her face brightened. “Well, I think that is just wonderful. Too many young people these days come in here and never buy anything, wanting new stuff. I’ll tell you what. I’ll give you a discount on that book if you buy something else! Do we have a deal?”

  “Um, sure!” I said and began looking around at the various odds and ends, many antiques and strange curios. Nothing that looked like a weapon or such. I poured over the display of rings that the owner said were magical. All out of my price range. And then I came upon two items that were just perfect.

  The aviator sunglasses were obviously from my world yet looked to be in great condition for their age. My dad used to have a pair just like them. The second item, however, was strange. It was an oddly beautiful pendant on a gleaming silver chain, almost too thick for my liking. The pendant itself was an intricately cut clear gem, surrounded by a cage of silver and iron.

  “This is an interesting necklace. How much for it and the sunglasses?”

  The older woman looked at it with disdain. “My father picked that up on his travels, like most of the items in my store, and I really don’t know why. It looks so cheap to me, a gray and speckled stone on a leather cord. I’ll tell you what, how about 40 silver for the sunglasses and the rock, and 2 gold for the book? Does that sound fair?”

  Shocked, I stared at the finely cut stone again. I looked up at her, disbelief on my face. “I…”

  “Oh, alright. I’ll go down to 1 gold, 64 silver. But only because I like your interest in old things.” She said pleasantly.

  I nodded, realizing that I had stumbled onto something uniquely magical and handed over the 2 gold and all 53 of my silver coins for the three items, receiving 9 silver in change. I placed all three into my backpack for further study, but then pulled the sunglasses into my hands and put them on. They made me feel closer to home.

  “Finn, I’m not sure you got a deal there. The sunglasses are stylin’, but that necklace was just… I don’t know,” Harper said while we walked out onto the street. “What do you think, Jerseil?”

  “I’m pretty sure he did,” Jerseil replied thoughtfully. “That was a Mage spellbook, if I’m not mistaken. If she had known about the increased interest in such things outside of this backwater town, she would have wanted to hold on to it for a rich collector. I have heard that things connected to Mages are going for thousands of gold coins. Mage spellbooks for even more.” He looked around conspiratorially. “I heard a rumor that one spellbook went for over 20 thousand!” he whispered.

  “Fuck me! How the hell am I going to find any more spellbooks?” I bemoaned. We walked past a storefront I didn’t remember seeing yesterday, but the name looked familiar. Mad Mike’s House of Boom. Come to think of it, I’d seen one in Alsiger as well. I still didn’t feel comfortable with explosives and was not about to suggest entering the store.

  “Sorry, Finn. With the increased focus on the monstrous Mages of the past, Mage stuff is considered taboo and is in high demand by the rich. Theres a lot of weirdos out there, and rich collectors are the weirdest,” Jerseil said, grimacing at the entrance to Steelmantle’s.

  The old dwarven armorer didn’t even look a little tired when we entered his shop. In fact, he looked downright energetic, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet.

  “Well, good morning to ya! And what a fine morning it is, if I say so,” he greeted us.

  “Gorim! I can’t wait to see what my gold has bought,” Jerseil said, taking a good-natured jab at me. I winced when he said it though, as it was a poignant reminder that I would need to pay him back as soon as possible.

  Gorim beamed and pulled out the repaired Mage Armor. The change in visual quality was astounding. Re-soled and restitched, the black boots practically gleamed in the morning light, looking almost like polished combat boots. The denim pants looked new, with clean hems and the leather now obviously thick, hardened leather plates protecting different parts of the legs. And they looked freshly oiled.

  And then there was the poncho. Where mine was a maroon color, this one had offset stripes of red, brown, green, and purple. There was no evidence that the hole going all the way through it had ever existed. Gorim had also placed a couple pull-over shirts with laces at the neck hole, almost like pirate shirts, neatly folded on the pile of what was armor for my class.

  “I went ahead and upgraded this poncho a bit more. Giving it some more inner pockets and a bit more in the way of thick leather plates. Save you from the odd thrust or arrow. I also figured you could also use some fresh shirts. On the house,” Gorim said proudly.

  “This is more than I expected. Thank you, Gorim Steelmantle,” I said. He must really want my future business. And he’s got it, if I survive! “You don’t have somewhere I could change, do you?”

  The old dwarf chuckled. “Of course, lad. What kind of apparel shop would this be without changin’ rooms?”

  Everything fit as if he had taken my measurements. Both the poncho and the pants had extra weight with the added leather armor pieces, yet I barely felt it. Being stronger than average had its perks alright, I thought cheerfully. The boots were a little stiff on my feet, and I missed my old boots. Heck, I missed my shoes, but I’d likely never have anything that good. I haven’t noticed any foot problems while walking or running in my first boots here, I thought.

  Almost as an afterthought, I pulled out the strange stone pendant and put it around my neck. I tucked it beneath the fresh, swashbuckling shirt. It was cold against my chest, and maybe I shouldn’t have put it on. I didn’t feel weird or wrong, which was fortunate. Hopefully, that in itself showed the pendant was safe. Guess I’ll just have to get it identified, depending on the cost.

  Shouldering my backpack, I stepped back out into the main area of the store. Jerseil whooped, and Harper clapped. I took a quick bow.

  “Questions for me, lad? It all fits okay?” Gorim asked.

  “Oh, it’s good! Everything fits fine. And apparently, I look good in this!” I replied jauntily. I was feeling pretty confident with the refurbished armor on.

  “What bonuses does this armor provide?” asked Harper.

  “The lad should see a small increase in his mana pool, armor level, and spell damage. Oh, and a slight increase in carrying capacity with the extra pockets. Canna have too many pockets!” Gorim answered with a chuckle.

  I focused on my stat ‘screen’ and noticed that it had updated. Now, in the armor section, there were actual positive numbers and words. Ostensibly, I was wearing an armor set. It even had a name. Halkok’s Armor Of The Spectral Mage +1. Seriously? What does that even mean?

  My mana points went up by ten percent to 259. I also gained 10 pounds of maximum carry weight. And my armor class… went up 10 points to 30! Fucking A, I’m not unstoppable. But at least I won’t have to drink so many potions. Elation and confidence flooded me.

  “Gorim, you’re a fucking genius. Thank you for this,” I gushed. The dwarf had just become one of my favorite people.

  “Save your thanks for when you come back alive, lad. Now, if we could conclude this transaction, I would very much like to take a wee nap.”

  Jerseil smiled and pulled out the required payment. “You do fine work, Master Steelmantle. We might have to conduct more business in the future.”

  “I’ll take your money, but I’ll believe the future when it comes,” said the now tired-looking dwarf. I guessed that once the high of completing the work and the sale was over, any vigor the old dwarf had was swiftly departing his body. We left him snoring on his stool and entered the bright sunlight of the morning.