While my gear was in the works I rounded out the day buying a variety of steel weapons from a mundane weapons shop, along with a couple shields. I also grabbed a couple different bows and all the arrows an irritable fletcher would sell , which was a few hundred. All of that got tossed into my inventory for to play around with later.
I had the cash, I needed to figure out what I vibed with, and it wasn’t that expensive to buy non-magical items. Plus I had the inventory space with my recent Closet expansion.
Ok, maybe my concept of money had been slightly distorted by my new wealth, since throwing down a decade’s worth of peasant wages was what I considered ‘cheap’.
I went back to my place and spent the evening and most of the next day training, snagging another plus one to Strength and Speed. I did my best to avoid Lito as I did so, but couldn’t help but get a few perplexed looks when he caught mid-pump. I wasn’t about to sacrifice gainz to keep the Guardian from thinking eccentric, or perhaps misguided as to how Delvers got stronger. Closing the deal with Seinnador had also gotten a point of Charisma and offered the intrinsic skill rcantile, which I seriously considered, but decided to pass on for the mont.
I would have liked to train more before the journey, but I was pretty happy with how my stats were looking.
Strength 8
Agility 2
Speed 6
Fortitude 22
Intelligence 10
Wisdom 10
Charisma 4
Luck 2
I ntally updated my power rating to sixty-four. Considering my level, I’d normally be a PR 26, a discrepancy that should continue taking people by surprise. I reminded myself to stay aware of that fact, in case there were any other unique cases out there.
The evening before our departure I went to Nuralie’s alchemy shop and helped her install a basic workstation in the Closet. She insisted that I move the entrance to the alchemy room for ventilation reasons. She had a few purification wards that she could place above the various beakers, alembics, and one straight-up witch’s cauldron, but said that there was no good replacent for fresh air.
The conversation reminded that I didn’t know how quickly the space would be depleted of oxygen if we were forced to seal it and stay inside for an extended period. I ntioned it offhand to Nuralie and she decided there was a fifty-fifty chance that a purification ward similar to her own would redy the issue, though so experintation would be needed. Maybe I could just build a greenhouse? A really big greenhouse. Another one for The List.
The morning of, I traveled to Seinnador’s with Myria and Nuralie in tow, each of whom had a few last-minute purchases to make. Seinnador was kind enough to open up early, and we walked through the doors to his surface-level establishnt just as the sun was beginning to peek out from the horizon. The east-facing mountainside gave a gorgeous view of the golden spectacle, and I couldn’t help but take a few minutes to observe the distant star shining through an unpolluted and crystal-clear atmosphere.
Seinnador helped don my new equipnt, and I was forced to do a little modeling for the trio.
“Wow!” said Myria. “Looking good for a newbie, Arlo.” She stepped around as Seinnador took notes for potential adjustnts on my next visit.
“It’s colorful,” said Nuralie. Pause. “Looks expensive.”
“True. I didn’t think Creation Delves paid so well, platinum or not. How’d you manage this?”
“Now now, ladies,” Seinnador chided, “a gentleman shouldn’t be asked the value of his armor. Yes, yes.”
Myria smiled and stuck her tongue out at Seinnador behind his back.
“Nor should a lady make such faces,” he said without turning around.
She ignored the mana-weaver and put a thumb on the handle of the mace hanging at my hip.
“Planning to try out smashing in so skulls?”
“Needed to have a fallback,” I said. “Mana doesn’t grow on trees. Unless it does. Does it?”
Myria gave a quizzical look.
“Technically it grows in trees,” said Nuralie.
“I just thought they absorbed it,” said Myria.
Pause.
“Maybe.”
Having finished my adjustnts, Seinnador helped Myria and Nuralie select a few ready-made items. Nuralie picked up a pair of shiny black gloves made from the skin of a giant serpent creature. They boasted several useful qualities–waterproof, fireproof, corrosion resistant, among others–and fit snugly around her fingers. Myria picked up a pair of rings that served to stabilize her body while performing acrobatics. We’d all been given a discretionary budget for “necessary items” by Umi-Doo, and everyone seed determined to spend it.
I’d sort of forgotten about it, so I hastily bought a bundle of paralytic arrows and a half-dozen of what Seinnador called “Dazzlers.” They were so sort of magic flash-bang, and that seed like a good thing to have.
“Planning on becoming an ambush assassin?” Myria asked, seeing my purchases.
“Well, I already have a pretty cool hood to make seem mysterious and foreboding. Might as well complete the package. I don’t suppose you know where I can buy a tanto?”
Myria snorted at the shitty joke in a way that made her overwhelmingly cute, and I had to shake off a sudden wave of attraction like I hadn’t felt since the first ti I t her in the offices above the Creation Delve. I didn’t think it was magical in nature this ti, though. Did she know what a tanto was, or was the word translated to sothing that made sense in context?
We made our way to the eting point along the main street that led from Formation down the mountain and into Foundation proper. Xim, Lito, and a trio of unfamiliar Delvers awaited us.
Two of them were won, clearly identical twins. The first wore a light, scale armor suit similar to my own, though it was gold and bronze in color. Her white and gray Hiwardian hair was tied up in a bun, and she lounged on a bench with her arms spread wide over the top of the backrest. She had bright blue eyes which were sowhat lidded, but studied as I approached.
The second had on a set of what at first appeared to be form-fitting travel clothes, though the neutral-toned jacket and leather riding pants were thick and sturdy. I suspected the clothes were a disguised set of protective gear. Her own hair was woven into a single long braid that hung over one shoulder. She stood next to her more obviously armored twin and followed her gaze toward .
The third was a slim-built man who stood at the exact sa height as the second woman and had uncannily similar features, though distinctly masculine. He had a short, neat beard, the sa dirty-white color that all three had up top, and wore a buckled crimson tunic that ca down to his knees. He was speaking with Lito and paid no mind to our approach.
When Lito saw , he looked over and grunted.
“You look like you want everyone on the battlefield to know you’re there,” he said.
“I do have a sort of presence to .”
“Hope you’re good at dodging arrows. And spells.”
“I don’t think Arlo dodges too much,” said Xim.
“Not for lack of trying,” I said.
“I don’t know,” said the crimson man, “if I saw a warrior on the battlefield wearing violet armor with fuschia highlights I think I might be afraid of them.” He scratched at his jaw. “They’d be insane, obviously.”
“I think I’m holding it together pretty well under the circumstances.”
Xim chuckled at that. Nuralie nodded, though I think she underestimated the number of things that might have been leading to crack up.
“Arlo, Nuralie, this is Cole. Cole, Arlo and Nuralie,” said Lito. “Ashe is the one in the gold mail, and the one wearing suspiciously armored travel clothes is Ember.”
“Cole, Ashe, and Ember. That’s good theming,” I said. “Are y’all the triplets?”
“We are indeed,” said Cole.
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I wasn’t sure how that worked. The two won were twins, but Cole was…what? A fraternal triplet? Was that even possible to have at the sa ti as twins? I didn’t want to accidentally offend, so I held back any questions. The biology of pregnancy and birth might be different here. There were people with scales and fur, after all.
Maybe I should check in Umi-Doo’s book.
Fortunately, Xim didn’t harbor any reticence with her curiosity.
“How’s that work?” she said. “Shouldn’t you all be identical cute Hiwardian won?”
Cole smiled.
“We used to be. However, the body reforging that occurs within the Creation Delve can be a bit more…comprehensive than most realize.”
“Wait, you an-” I began, but Ashe cut off.
“Cinder went through the Delve portal with an innie and Cole erged with an outie.”
“It took most of a day for him to convince us he wasn’t so weird imposter,” said Ember, fussing with her braid.
“I still have my doubts,” said Ashe, reaching over with a gauntleted hand and giving her brother a shove. He staggered away over-dramatically.
“Can that happen to anyone?” said Xim. She sounded more fascinated by the chance of her gender having changed unexpectedly than concerned.
“I doubt it,” said Cole. “Half the reason I wanted to beco a Delver in the first place was to figure out a way to accomplish that very thing. I think the Delve sohow realized that.”
“It’s not the destination of the Creation Delve that matters,” said Ashe. “It’s the dysphoria you shed along the way.”
“She uses that line every ti we have to explain this,” said Cole with a sigh.
“What is dysphoria?” asked Nuralie.
Lito cleared his throat.
“Feel free to discuss in your own ti, but we have a schedule to keep. Now that the introductions are done, let’s talk about our route and schedule.”
The eight of us ford up into a tighter group as Lito laid out a map of Hiward on the bench.
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