"Thanks a ton. It's a relief to get another strong adventurer on the team."
I rely nodded.
"Its already been two days since we found out that people of Parietina Village were gone, so the expedition will be heading out tomorrow morning. Take today to get ready and et up with the team at the western gates."
"Alright."
To be honest, I didn't really need much in terms of preparations, but it would be nice to stock up a bit more on so things.
(Or rather, this is basically a hostage rescue isn't it? Maybe I can get so stuff for that.)
With so final greetings, I left the guild building and started taking a walk through the city.
Now that I knew what I did, I couldn't help but wonder if the atmosphere was so dark here because people knew what had happened to that village, or if this really was the norm here. Thinking about it rationally, there's no way that the guild would let sothing that huge out before at least doing an investigation to confirm the situation.
(Then again, leaks happen to even the best kept secrets.)
In the end, finding out which it was took ti and effort, both of which I didn't really feel like expending at this mont on sothing so inconsequential. I'd do my part to save those that can be saved, but otherwise this place didn't hold any significance to beyond what useful information I could gather on vampires, if any existed.
The mont that I found out that the vampire expert might not exist was when I had started to lose any hope of finding anything of use here. At this point it would just be nice if I get anything at all. It would at least confirm or deny the preconceptions I had regarding the vampire reputation in this world.
But I wouldn't call this trip lacking in worth. At the very least, there were the villagers that needed help.
(I hope that they're still unhard though.)
Since it's been a few days since they were taken already, it was possible that whatever fate the bandits had for them had already happened, but if they still could be saved, my conscience wouldn't let not at least try.
But when it ca to preparations, I couldn't really think of much I needed. My own body was my weapon, along with my spells.
(Then again, I'll be fighting with other people this ti around.)
Concealing a bit of my abilities would definitely be a good idea.
With that in mind, I had a look around.
Thankfully the area directly around the adventurers' guild was surrounded by shops geared towards adventurers. Inns, food stalls, general stores, and of course, weapon stores.
That last type was the one that I stopped in front of. The store was a bit small on the front, but the sll of smoke and iron was strong even from the entrance. The fact that it was on the main street despite its limited initial impression spoke well of the store itself, though I wasn't so sort of expert on the subject so I had real no idea.
Pulling open the door, I went inside.
Imdiately I was greeted with a slightly dark interior. The two windows flanking the door were covered up with all sorts of weapons, the walls on one side was covered in more weapons, and the other in armour, and there was a row of equipnt stands along the middle of the store covered in even more gear. The far end wall also had shelves covered in all sorts of equipnt as well. Due to the sheer number of weapons and armour, all gleaming as if they were just polished, there was hardly any space to move around.
Not really interested in any armour, I shuffled over to the weapons wall.
While the fanciest swords, axes, and bows were most prominently on display, it seed like most of the weapons around were actually clubs, maces, and spears. Not many of them were fancy either, but the price tags on them were far lower than on the fancier weapons.
Though that probably had a lot to do with the massively increased amount of cheaper materials that was used in their construction. Swords were over 90% tal and my limited knowledge stated that bows needed good wood to be made, and aside from the string and grip that was all there was to a bow. And the price tags also confird my theory, as even amongst the fancy decorated weapons, the axes were the cheapest. The undecorated ones were roughly in the sa range as a spear though.
Well, even if I thought about the price, I had no idea what was actually expensive and what was actually cheap. I've barely touched any real weapons in this life and the most I ever had in my previous life was a pocket knife. Knowing the quality of any of these weapons was beyond .
As for my companions...
Claret was the most knowledgeable in general, but she didn't seem to have any interest in equipnt unless if they had sothing to do with either or the previous Scarlet. Even if she knew a bit about weapons, I doubted her standards would conform at all to what was on display.
The lesser spirits were even less help. They were just flitting around curiously checking everything out like it was their first ti seeing it all. I couldn't tell if they simply had no idea what was displayed in this store or just had the mories of goldfish in regards to these sorts of things. It wasn't like I was able to understand what they were saying, if they were saying anything at all at the mont.
And lastly, Alicia...she hadn't even had the ability to see weapons before a little while ago, and the very thought of asking a child less than ten was absurd.
(At least these decorated weapons are pretty...)
Though there was no way I'd buy any of them. Most likely they were just there to attract the attention of people who don't actually use any weapons. I certainly wasn't fashion conscious enough to deliberately pick sothing like that for myself. And since I was buying a weapon as a decoy, picking sothing that flashy would probably just scream out 'I don't actually use this thing!'
I did have quite a few weapon skills, though my practical experience in them was mostly in bashing things as hard as I could when I had the opportunity in the lower floors of the dungeon back ho. My claws were just that much better and more convenient back in the dungeon on the uncommon instances that magic wasn't viable against.
Unable to decide on what sort of weapon I would use, I moved along through the narrow aisle casually browsing though the selection until I ended up at the front counters. The counter was just a sturdy, simply made wooden counter. Behind it more weapons were on display, but none of them really piqued my interest.
Then again, I wasn't really that into weapons in the first place, so that wasn't really a surprise. A nice nail file was probably better for from a practical standpoint than any weapon that was on display in this store.
But going to so different store was a hassle when the results would likely be the sa.
As I moved to turn back to the aisle and try a second go, the sight of sothing behind the counter piqued my curiosity.
"Nah?!"
It took a second to realize that it was a person crouched behind the counter. But that wasn't what made yell out in shock, but his expression. That dark, singularly focused look of obsession as he polished sothing in his hands with a well worn rag.
But whatever spell he was under, the sound of my voice seed to have broken it and he looked up.
"Ah, sorry. I didn't realize there was a custor."
The figure rose to his feet and bowed his head a little.
Looking at him properly, while he towered over and forced to look up, he probably was only average height or so. His features were also pretty average, aside from the dark circles under his eyes and that slightly dangerous gleam his eyes were emitting earlier. His face was a little gaunt as well, but not to the point that it could be considered a significant feature. His figure was pretty lean, but I could see how touch his muscles were in the forearms he exposed from rolling up his sleeves to his elbows.
Over the grey shirt he was wearing a heavy looking brown leather apron, and equally heavy looking gloves covered his hands. His head was topped with a simple grey bandana covering his short cut black hair.
"Is there anything I can help with? Maybe a bow...or rather a crossbow? Hmm...maybe a wand is better? Unfortunately I don't have equipnt for mages in my store."
I wasn't sure if the fact that he quickly decided that a bow wasn't for when he glanced at my chest for a mont spoke well of him or not, but at least his eyes didn't linger despite how obvious the look was.
"Ah, umm...I was looking for...umm..."
I still had no idea what I wanted.
(Maybe it's best to just go orthodox and get a sword or sothing?)
"Are you not sure? Are you a new adventurer or sothing? In that case if you don't have any preferences, it would be best to coordinate with your party to fill any gaps. If there isn't any specific need then a spear is the most universally useful weapon to pick."
"Ah, umm..."
That was true, but a spear would be a pain to carry around. I could just throw it into my magic bag, but taking it out all the ti would be a hassle, and I was liable to just forget it existed, ruining the entire point of getting a weapon.
"!"
As I contemplated, I noticed the thing that the store owner was polishing. It was small, yet glead brightly thanks to the man's efforts. It was comprised of four hoops with little spikes jutting out of them connected together with an extending arm then a gently curving crossbar.
"Ah, did this catch your eye? You've got so strange tastes, though I can't bla you. I'm a fan of these myself."
What I was looking at was a spiked brass knuckle. I hadn't expected to see sothing like this in this world at all. While my interest in it ended entirely at that point, as I've never even seen the real thing in person, the thought of sothing which felt like it didn't belong in this world instead piqued my interest way beyond anything else in this store.
"How about you try it out? This bar goes in the palm of your hand and you loop your fingers through these rings."
Showing how its done, the store owner then passed the brass knuckles to .
But I quickly found a problem.
While they fit him fine, I couldn't get my fingers even up to the second joint with the crossbar in my palm. Even if I disregarded the crossbar and forced the rings as far as they could go, the narrow nature of my hands ant that I was forced to try to spread my fingers further than they could go without dislocating sothing.
Simply put, they were way too big. Or rather, my hands were way too small to use sothing that this average looking man could equip without trouble.
"Hmm, I thought that might be a problem. While I don't have any spiked knuckles your size, I do have sothing similar that I can adjust to fit you. Wanna try it?"
Being recomnded sothing sounded nice, as it saved the effort of picking sothing on my own, so I nodded.
"Gim a sec."
With those words, the man disappeared through a door in the back. After a few seconds of the sound of rummaging, he ca back with sothing in his hands.
It was a pair of silvery white tal plates with four little spikes sticking out. Underneath the plates was a bit of a ss of leather.
"Give your hands."
Unsure what he was going to do, I cautiously did as he asked.
Imdiately he firmly grabbed by the wrist and slipped my glove off with practised ease. I almost pulled away from his sudden action, but managed to stop myself with nothing but a small jerk.
"Your hands are so soft, but you have a lot of strength huh? These might really work well for you then."
He pulled the tal plate up over my hand, the leather slipped around my fingers and he pulled a strap around the palm and back of my hand before wrapping it a few tis around the base of my hand. Finally, he secured it to a buckle just underneath the tal plate.
The shop owner then did the sa thing to my right hand before making a few adjustnts to both and give a bright smile.
"How do they feel?"
I opened and closed my hands. While there was so bulk in my palms, they didn't do anything to impede my fingers, and the weight was negligible. Though my stats ant that I would have a hard ti noticing if they were actually heavy so that was hardly an accurate comnt.
The plates settled firmly over my knuckles and didn't move in the slightest when I moved my hands.
Since they looked like punching weapons, I tried a few punches out. As I had very little experience doing real punches, I was forced to let my skills do all the work, but thanks to them, my body fell naturally into a secure feeling stance and my fists moved in fast and clean lines.
These things felt pretty nice. They were well and properly secure on my hands, yet didn't impede my movents much at all. And best of all, they were small and easily carried.
"Oh? You look like a natural. Do you like those cestuses?"
I turned and nodded.
Frankly, it was such a good fit for my needs that it was almost scary. What was scary though was when I noticed that the creepy glint had returned to his eyes as we watched my form.
"I'm glad. The cestuses I make are easy to fit on anyone and even easier to use, but not many people seem to like them."
To be honest, even I thought that it would be weird for a person to pick sothing like this as their primary weapon. At most it would be their secondary weapon, but at that point most people would be better served getting proper hand protectors and just punching with those instead.
It would take a weirdo or soone with very specific needs to specifically pick out weapons like this. Unless if you had weirdly inflated stats like , it was just better to go for almost anything else. Everything else the store was offering had both better reach and destructive power. Fist weapons lacked both by huge margins and I doubted that grappling would be a popular fighting style outside of sport fighting in this world.
At least this guy had the sense not to fill up his store with the things. Rather, he really seed to be doing well for himself even if there wasn't anyone else in the store at the ti. Maybe he doesn't do maintenance and only sells gear? He was dressed like a blacksmith so it would be weird that he didn't do that sort of thing.
Maybe there was a different reason why the place was void of custors?
I looked more closely at the cestuses. The construction was quite simple, yet effective. Just a series of straps and points to connect them to the slightly curved tal plate. But the attention to detail was pretty remarkable. There were clear indentations for my knuckles and the spikes were placed perfectly so that they'd embed themselves properly with a straight punch, yet their shape would prevent them from getting caught inside of a target if the punching angle was different.
Probably. I was only guessing after all. I wasn't an expert even by the most generous of definitions after all.
But I did know physics, and the tangential application of that did suggested that my thoughts rang true. Against simplified geotry at least.
The tal plates were a little wide and overhang the sides of my fists, but they were workable and likely wouldn't be a problem.
But what surprised though, was the fact that they glowed a little. There wasn't any reason why tal like this should glow under normal circumstances, so there was definitely mana imbued in these weapons. What that actually ant though, I couldn't be certain of.
Either way, it looked like I got a hit.
"Let show you how to take them on and off."
With those words, I extended a hand towards him and he showed exactly how he wrapped the straps around my hand and even made do it twice so he knew I got it down right.
"Alright. Give a sec then."
And the store keeper took the pair and went back to the rear of the store before I could have Alicia check on what the enchantnt was, presuming that it would show up in so easy to read manner with [Scan]. There was the sound of banging and so scraping coming from the back room before the man returned.
"Try them now."
Without any reason to refuse him, I put the pair on, only to realize that the tal plates were a little shorter. They didn't overhand the sides of my fists anymore.
"Wait, this..."
"It's the least I can do for soone who finally understands how great fist weapons are!"
The shop owner gave a smile so bright that it made wince a little. Mostly because I hadn't actually decided to buy them yet.
But they did fit all my requirents and he went through the effort of modifying them to my size.
I stepped out of the store.
Inside of my magic bag was the two cestuses I had just bought.
A pair of mithril cestus of impact. For only slightly more than those decorated weapons.
I didn't understand what the price of those weapons ant, but I did know that I had gotten a massive deal on these weapons, being both enchanted and made of mithril. It was to the point that I couldn't really refuse. I would've felt bad after he even modified them to the point that they wouldn't fit a normal person properly anymore.
But it was a good deal, and exactly what I needed. But I only needed it as camouflage, so getting sothing so nice felt like a waste. But it was cheap for what it was, so it was hard to complain.
In addition, it was only after that I realized that he didn't suggest any armour. It really made wonder what he was thinking when he looked at , but it wasn't really consequential so I didn't give it any more thought.
Instead I moved on to do the rest of my shopping.
With a weapon bought, and no need for any more combat equipnt, the only things I could get were things for the kidnapped villagers.
I couldn't see how they would be treated decently, so food was definitely needed. I had already bought a bunch but, I had hardly made a dent in the funds I had gotten these last few days. Only these cestuses managed to carve a small hole into my wallet, but it was hard to imagine that anything else I could buy here that would be of use would hurt my wallet.
There were a few more things I could think of that they could benefit from, but without knowing more details, it was hard to know if any of them would be of use. And a lot of that could be procured and improvised wherever they were kept.
But food would be difficult. Especially the sort that the prisoners would most need.
With that in mind, I went around the various stores, and even visited so high end places.
Vegetables, bread, grains, were definitely high on the list and I got plenty of them, but what was more important was things like fruit, milk, butter, herbs, spices, and most importantly, sugar. Rather, I couldn't get my hands on refined sugar, so I had to settle with honey. But after pressuring a few stores, I managed to get a good few litres of the stuff.
It was unfortunate that we weren't anywhere close to my ho dungeon, as I could have fard this much up on my own in an hour.
Instead, as the light of the sun was starting to wane, I left the city and quickly did a little bit of hunting. Part of it was so I could top myself on blood as well as fill a few more jars just in case. The other bit was to feed to the survivors.
We returned to the city before the gates closed for the night and I played around with the little fluffballs while we waited for the investigation to start.
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