Once they had finished their breakfast, the pair got up and headed out into town. They walked quietly together down the cobblestone roads, the marketplace now fully alive with business.
"We need to head by the blacksmith and Rufus' warehouse to go find you a staff and spellbook, right?" Kai asked Elise as they walked.
"Yes, I believe we passed a Mage's shop in that area.." Elise responded with a finger on her chin, deep in thought, "Are you sure you want this? To actually have me come with you sometimes aside from just travel?"
"Of course, at least then I can keep an eye on you and make sure you don't stress out inn-keepers with your worrying." Kai replied with a playful smirk.
"I am not that bad!" Elise huffed in response, folding her arms over her chest with a pout.
Soon the pair had exited the marketplace and made their way down the now familiar part of town, the home of Rufus' warehouse, the blacksmith, and other shops tailored to people's needs for combat or adventure.
"Hey Malakai, I think this is the place." Elise murmured while tugging his sleeve, pointing at a building that looked more akin to a cottage, above the door had a sign with a picture of a book and a staff.
Kai nodded and followed her inside the small building. Inside, the building felt endless, the bookshelves touched from floor to ceiling, scrolls laid out on tables, it felt like a grand library, not a building the size of a small home.
"Whoa..." Elise murmured as her eyes darted all around, her hand still gently holding Kai's sleeve without noticing, completely overwhelmed, "How does all of this fit inside a building so small?"
"That Miss, would be because of magic." A middle aged man said suddenly from behind the pair. His long robe flowed like water as he walked towards the pair, his greying, long beard made him appear older than his voice portayed, "This entire space is in a place separate from the building you entered, and it is powered my Magic Stones." He added confidently.
"So magic, can do this?.." Elise's mouth opened and closed in quiet shock as her gaze continued to wander the great library.
"Very limited yes, and the amount of people who can even cast such a spell, even fewer." The man replied with a soft chuckle, "How may I help you two?"
This man just oozes confidence...
Kai thought to himself quietly as he watched, waiting for Elise to respond.
"W-well you see sir..." Elise began to murmur as she fidgeted, "I was looking for a basic staff and spell book for Healing Magic, it is the only magic I can use you see..."
"Healing Magic, you say? My, that is quite rare indeed... definitely far less common than the run of the mill mages who use combat magic.. a bit more common than illusionary magic, but not as rare as spacial magic, such as what you see here.." The man murmured as his eyes scanned the books on the walls, clearly searching for something.
The old man stretched his arm out towards one of the book cases near the ceiling, and a book slid out, gliding slowly towards him.
Did he just?..
"How did you just do that?" Elise was the one to speak up first of the pair as she watched, her eyes widening even more.
"With Spacial Magic lass." The man responded as the book floated gently down and into his hands, "I can control everything within this space, but when I am not in a space of my own creation you see, I am just a normal man, pretty neat, don't you think?"
So practically a god in the space he creates, but powerless outside of it.. and judging by the need of Magic Stones to power this room, it takes an immense amount of energy to maintain, making it highly inconvenient unless protecting something or someone of immense value...
Kai mused quietly to himself at this new power revealed to him before asking, "Can others use magic in here or even dispel it?"
The man thought long and hard before answering, clearly considering his wording, "Other magic users can use magic inside here, but if their magical power is not equal to mine, I can dispel it with a wave of my hand. As for if they could get rid of this space once inside... they would have to be considerably more powerful than I to overpower myself and the magic stone hidden in the regular world powering this space, but yes it is possible." His confident smile still remained on his face as he explained.
So unless it was an opponent he would have no chance of winning against, this place is practically indestructible... As for myself, I have abilities but they aren't exactly magic, so would he be able to dispel my Sweeping Blade ability? If he could it would be almost impossible for me to land a blow as a melee fighter...
Kai's brows furrowed deeply as he thought before giving a satisfied nod to the man's response, his confident smile still present.
Until I can be certain I have to avoid getting stuck in one of these no matter what unless I am in this shop, but how could I tell before it's too late?
"Here you go Miss, one book acquired for Healing Magic, now let's head to the counter and have you look at staffs." The man politely handed Elise the book and then snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the surroundings of a grand library disappeared, and was replaced by a small shop, where different varieties of staffs rested quietly on the walls.
"Wow..." Elise murmured in awe, her eyes darting around the shop at the assorted staffs, "Malakai look, I think I like this one." She added with quiet excitement, tugging on his sleeve with one hand and pointing at a modest wooden staff hanging on the wall, it was a deep, rich brown, with even a couple leaves growing around the top where the magic stone rested.
"How much for both?" He asked the man quietly as he looked at the staff.
The older man furrowed his brow before responding, "Since you are first time customers I sill cut you a deal, I will only ask for 45 Silver Coins for both, the staff will be free since it has sat on these walls for ages."
"You got yourself a deal." Kai replied as he pulled out his coin pouch from his inventory, making the mage's eyes widen slightly.
"So are you a wielder of Spacial Magic too? I wouldn't have guessed since you look like a melee based fighter." The man muttered as his brow furrowed.
"I guess I am, but I can only deposit items and take them out." Kai responded sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head, "So 45 Silver Coins it was? Here you go sir." Kai handed the man the coin and waited for him to count.
"Well I suppose I can take that as an answer, even if it just leaves me with more questions." The man sighed before grabbing the staff off the wall, "Here you go Miss, the staff and book are now yours." His confident smile returning to his face.
"T-thank you very much!" Elise replied as she bowed her head politely, holding the spell book and staff like sacred treasures.
With a polite wave at the man, the pair turned around and left the shop, heading towards the blacksmith.
"Thank you again Malakai..." Elise murmured with a soft smile on her lips, cradling her staff and spellbook, "I can't wait to see this armor of yours." She added shyly as she looked up at him.
"I hope it was worth the price.." Kai chuckled nervously as they entered the blacksmith shop, the ringing of a hammer could no longer be heard unlike earlier this morning, and Kai's eyes drifted around the shop before spotting the old smith's apprentice.
The younger man seemed to notice them too as he called back into the work area, "Hey old man! The man who asked for the armor is back!"
"Well why don't you hold on a damn second! Actually even better, you come in here and you drag this metal out!" A hoarse voice barked back to the boy who scrambled from where he was standing to go into the back where the old man was.
A few short moments later the old man walked out with a smile filled with confidence, "Just you wait until you see what we made for you kid."
Just behind the old smith came out the younger man, pushing a display rack that held Kai's armor. The engravings on the plate made it look more like a work of art than armor, as it gleamed a brilliant silver. The trim was colored a brilliant blue color, resembling the same shade as the sapphire in Elise's hair pin. Resting on top of the display was an ornate helmet, with a visor that could be in the up or down positions, and resting on it was a plume shaded a deep yet vibrant red.
Holy shit...
Kai's mouth opened and shut in quiet awe at the craftsmanship.
"Oh and boy, Rufus stopped in to get some of his tools sharpened for his work, and when I told him I was doing up a set of armor for a young man, he left in a hurry and grabbed this pelt, said an orc you killed was wearing it. He said you should have a trophy to wear so we went over and harassed the tailor down the street, and got that geezer to make it into a nice mantle to put on your shoulders." The old man said as he reached into a wooden crate, holding up a pitch black mantle, the hide that the orc had previously wore was the top and was attached to an equally dark fabric.
"Don't worry about the cost of that though boy, Rufus had a couple favors to call in so it ended up being free." The old man added with an amused chuckle, "Now are you going to try this on or am I going to drop dead?"
Kai nodded and walked over to the display, looking it over thoroughly before slowly attaching the pieces of plate to his body. The armor fit like a second skin, and as he put more of it on, he noticed how little it impeded his movements, if at all.
"Remarkable..." He murmured as his slipped the helmet on and lowering the visor, the vertical slits providing plentiful vision once his eyes adjusted. He clenched his fists, a rush flowing through him at how natural the gauntlets rested on his arms.
"You really are like my knight..." Elise suddenly murmured, her cheeks flushed slightly as her eyes took in Malakai's fully armored form, before shaking her head, composing herself, "Let me help you with your mantle, Malakai."
"Okay, thank you Elise." Kai replied, a soft smile hidden behind the visor as he sat on a stool, he watched her intently as she retrieved the mantle from the old smith, and walked behind him.
This doesn't even feel real anymore...
Kai's breathe hitched slightly as he felt the heat of Elise's hands around his neck, doing the metal clasp around his neck. He could feel the weight the hide on his shoulders brought, but it was more comforting than not.
When Elise finished Malakai stood up, the mantle flowed regally behind him and he turned to face her, "Thank you Elise for helping me get the mantle on." He said with a polite bow of his head.
"H-hey there is no reason to be thanking me!" She stammered in protest, but her mouth held a very pleased smile.
"Hey kid, want to see how you look in that? Let me tell ya, you look like you could level a country on your own wearing that." The man chuckled to himself in triumph as he waved at his apprentice, who rushed in the back and brought out a large standing mirror.
"Wow, no kidding." Kai said with a quiet confidence as he studied his armored body, looking like a one man army, "Thank you again sir." He added as he bowed his head politely to the old smith.
"Bah! Save it for someone younger! Now that armor is strong enough that your body should become no more before it breaks, so I better not get a box of plate from this lass here, do you understand?" The old man grumbled as his gaze shifted towards Elise, who immediately looked away, flustered.
"Yes sir, of course." Kai replied as he handed the smith 2 Gold Coins as promised, before turning to Elise.
"Alright, let's go get that carriage and head out! Our destination is Meridan." Kai said to Elise who gave him a quiet smile in response, the pair walking out of the blacksmith's shop.