Chapter Twenty- Four

  “Is it okay that we’re early?”

  Gear and Wex in the capital had several locations. Most, like the one in Hazeldown, were run by apprentices. Ambrosia had made their appoi at the main store.

  “I sent a little bird ahead and packed a book for you in case they make you wait. You’ve never protested about waiting when you’re allowed a book in your hands. What will they say? Lady White is so well-read, so sdalous. You’ll want to ge into your armor though.”

  Ambrosia chatted from her side of the carriage.

  “What?”

  The dress she’d worn to Lady Coodly’s erfectly acceptable for her shopping pns. Perhaps she could even wear it to dinner instead of her armor.

  “To get the appoioday I had to mention how the armor had been permaly modified and needed an evaluation as the ges couldn’t be undone. Gear and Wex are touchy about their reputation. They always have spots for emergency repairs and issues.”

  “Night is great. It slightly improves every time I put it on.”

  “You’ve been wanting it evaluated for months. So strip!”

  There could have been more ve pces for Ambrosia t this up than on the carriage ride to their destination. Still, she wouldn’t have one of her nice dresses eaten by her skill. Close fines, aed, everything became a tangle of fabric, elbows and knees. Ambrosia after a bit of a ugh joined in to help.

  A few grunts and bangs ter. “Everything alright back there?” The carriage driver cried.

  “It’s fihe pair replied while wrestling off a stog.

  Free of clothes and sweating. Harmony refreshed herself and snapped Night into pce. The skin-tight armged her fortably, the buckles and straps that had been such a pain had ged over the months of using it, their metal enveloped the shiny bck coating until that aspect held the armor on, eveal parts had ged slightly growing a little, and small embedded pieces covered vital spots where she’d sworn no armor had existed before. The idea of having it judged was not appealing.

  “Don’t look so glum. Like you said, Night is eveer than when you received it. I’m sure they’ll have no pints.”

  The front of Wex and Gear was more like a high-end fashion shop than what is thought of as a pce for armor and ons. They didn’t have random pieces for you to choose from sitting in the windows. Their name was enough and pieces were doo order and shipped directly to happy ers.

  Harmony and Ambrosia stepped in after allowing the first two bodyguards to ehe door's little bell at the er was still ringing in the air.

  The man standing in the shop let out a gasp. Large, muscur, the picture of a smith with forearms as rge as her head, in a suit ated with hard leather, the bination of css and bor.

  “What have you done!”

  Uo read if the rea was e or astonishment the pair of maids fli the outburst.

  “Wex, get out here!”

  “Gear, do I have to?” Cried a voice from the back.

  “Yes, Now!” He answered

  Harmo Gear’s eyes on her, or more accurately her armor. The man’s eyes went to her arm and shin cs as much as the rest of her body.

  Wex, dirty, covered in soot and sparkling red powder, stepped in from the back leaving a trail. Short, sy, wearing heavy goggles, oversized gloves, and a thick apron revealed he'd been deep into a project.

  “Blood in the weeds.” He gasped. “Is that?” Wex stepped closer taking his goggles on and off as he looked at Night.”

  “Yes, and no. But at least your worries be put to rest.”

  Harmony shifted nervously as she now had double the focus on her.

  That got Gear's attention, and he fished out a small appoi book out of his pocket and sed it. “Sorry, uh, Lady White. Due to the dimensions and unique requests around that order, we’d been worried it would go to a child. It also stretched further into what we’d call e wear, despite hat it would be used in a dungeon. Wex spent three months tweaking and obsessing over the pieces on the mannequin before shipping it and nearly didn’t send it even with the rge payment to get it to Hazeldown as quick as possible.

  How long ago did Lord Tyler order that piece of equipment? Len had talked about him pnning oing her into his group. This extehe timeline of those pns even further. “Not a child. Merely not graced with a high stature.”

  “The ptes have grown. Look how the greaves extend around a little more, some even under… What is this material?” Wex mused. He reached out to poke the bck strand that had repced the strap.

  Harmony took a step back out of reach.

  “Wex!” Gear admonished.

  “I’d made a dress. It actally merged into the armor I’d paired with. There was an i a’s say they’ve bee ohat’s not the only ge si’s been paired with my [Small Armor] skill.” The situation was odd enough, she mostly ig at this point.

  “A pairing?” Wex gasped. “That would expin... In this kingdom? This piey hands…” The man started to bow. “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!” He cried.

  Gear gave him a little shake to knock him out of that.

  “Sorry about that. When we moved here we never expected ear to get paired with someo doesn’t happen in backwaters like here. Some other kingdoms reserve pairing for their potential elites. It’s how legacy items get made. As you grow the item gets strohat is until you die. It’s a bit of an honor for crafters to have your work selected.”

  They at least know something. The subtle inquiries in Hazeldown had revealed nothing. “How much stronger? Anything useful you tell me about this?”

  “Oh, we don’t know. We’ve been in Naewauld for close to thirty years. When we left, we’d only just graduated Skysmith Academy after our sed evolution and that was with the clothes on our backs.

  Partnerships like ours weren’t acceptable. We know of paired items, but those weren’t the circles we operated in.”

  “Maybe if I get the ce I’ll ask Ha’zel Ri. Old Bones seems like the only oh information around here.”

  “The dungeon spirit?” Wex asked.

  “Wait! You’re that Lady White!” Gear excimed.

  “I don’t know of any other ones,” Harmony answered a little crossly. Wait, she should be happy to not be reized on sight. That was supposed to be one of the advantages of the capitol, not that news wasn’t getting around.

  “You should see the pseudonyms used to schedule appois. Most of the time I have to forcibly remove those who schedule this slot. Either their armor needs work, which is rare.” He stated proudly. “Or they think they bend the rules and use this time to p order. Showing you remove that kind of person is good for business no matter their status.”

  Harmoed shooting Ambrosia a dirty look. Today, the main goal was to make a purchase and not get removed due to their armor being unbroken. Servants are invisible. Servants are invisible.

  “Well, since you ’t help me with my armor, are you willing to take a order now, or will I o reschedule?”

  Harmony knew a refusal when she saw it ing. The way Gear leaned back a little with some hesitation and tenseness in his shoulders.

  “Unique! I touch it? The way it is with light. Of course, I’ll make something for you!”

  “Wex!” Gear moaned.

  “I know. You do the business, but think of this opportunity. It has a name!”.

  “A name?”

  Clearly only one of them had ied the armor with a skill. “It’s named Night. You may touch it if you prioritize my order.”

  “Of course,” Wexa answered, stepping forward, his hands already iing how the greave attached around the shin. The way the bck stands kept it on after the ges showed more calf than wheher had been strapping it on, though the way it was skin tight meant no chaffing. Harmony wondered if it was all because it felt affixed to her pletely.

  “Wex! I’m sorry Lady white.” Gear started.

  “I sider the promise sealed,” Harmony answered, ign the pawing. At least it was limited to the armor. “I ools for my familiar, who is a shadow toad. I’m thinking of a sawing or cutting implement that be used against the pnts of the dungeon without hampering his movement much.” Why try to design something yourself when you have moo hire experts?

  “It doesn’t cut! The material is both hard aic. Does it lock up if you move fast?”

  “I’ve yet to have an issue with it. My project?” Harmony answered.

  “Talon-less animals. About seven years ago we had a frog. Then there was a gecko? But that’s not what you’re looking for. Not gloves with bded tips. Strong legs?”

  “Very.”

  Wex moved up Harmony’s leg to her knee, probing as there was more c around the joint. “There’s embedded armor behind the knee for extra prote. It’s like it repurposed the buckles. For your familiar, I’m thinking spurs where the heels would be, strapped on so they ’t be ripped off easily. Serrated to cut through those tough vines, and maybe a Twiggy’s limb if allowed enough time.”

  The thighs were simir enough to the armor below that Wex didn’t spend much time obsessing there, instead, his eyes went to the core of Night, the enpassing bess speckled with bioluminesce from her waist all the way curving up the mostly decorative armor around her bust. With the ret ges it acquired with [Stride Before the Fall], you could almost peer into it with an illusionary depth like you were looking into the night sky.

  “With speed being a priority. How soon do you think you plete the projee?”

  Harmony winced as he poked into her midse. “I’ll have them delivered to you tomorrow.”

  “Wex.” Gear pined again.

  “You know I won’t sleep tonight after looking at this. I might not be able to cut or copy this kind of metamaterial, but I think I add some of the traits using [Adaptation]. An imperfect magical modification is still an improvement. This is nothing like what we’re forced to work with in this podunk kingdom.”

  “Sorry.” Gear mouthed.

  Harmony was used to living in a pce looked down upon. Hazeldown had been the ugly brother of Naewauld for the twin cities that represehe kingdom. Having suegative opinions about the capital too was a tad surprising. “It’s okay. I’m merely happy to have the ission done so soon.”

  “Serrated bdes are a specialty. Gatherers hem to harvest materials, usually after the monsters are dead. What’s your familiar’s measurements?”

  [Recall] provided all the information the man needed while he pleted his iion. Gear at least had the respect to flush for him as Wex got close enough to her chest that she could feel his breath. At least it wasn’t about her. The cost left her purse signifitly lighter.

  “Please e back so I see the ges after you evolve.”

  If she evolved. Making Hyath more funal only helped somewhat. Even then would there be time to return here?

  The whole trip took lohan expected. There wouldn’t be time to ge before dihankfully diurned into how many ways she could say “I holy don’t know, guild master Hemlock made all the deals with Ha’zel Ri. I’m merely there to open the games.” Pretty girls and servants learned how to py dumb when needed, and it wasn’t inaccurate if anyone had any skills to hunt down false implications to pull on.

  This allowed her to listen in on them fantasizing about the titles.

  “With five titles avaible there has to be some ive ones. I hear no one does the trial of the giant in Euless anymore because imes out of ten you get the bad one.”

  “As great as it be to impress a dungeon spirit, one really should avoid disappointing one. “

  “You met the dungeon spirit, Lady White?” Friar Trent asked.

  “Only very briefly, and not as close as Duke Darren.”

  “That poor man. That’s what I’m talking about. I’m lucky I’m level thirty. My hough, he might qualify, been h he end of twenty-four for weeks.”

  Harmony didn’t have weeks. Her teeth chewed on her delicious steak as her thoughts chewed on her problems. Food was good, at least.