“I wasn’t lying about being a dancer. Don’t you have problems keeping still when you’re excited?”
Perhaps she wasn’t as distraught as I thought.
“Yeah, but I pace. I don’t dance.”
“Poor boy. I’ll have to teach you to dress and the proper way of things.”
“You mentioned money. So I should probably stay on your good side.”
“Only if you want to be rich, a member of the strongest guild in the game, and have a fashion coordinator.”
“Do all members get a fashion coordinator?”
“No. I’ll charge everyone else. You saved me, so I have to be nice.”
“Makes sense.”
We arrived at a side road not far from the front gate where a merchant and his son had three different carts set up. The traffic here was slower, but they had a better quality selection than any merchant I had seen.
The merchant's name was Henry. His son’s name was George. They both were laidback, letting us browse. Henry sported a full beard and wore a nice off-white tunic, but had the sleeves rolled up revealing sailor tattoos. It was the anchor that gave them away. His son was dressed just as nicely, without the sleeves rolled up.
“This is the best place to sell,” Victoria said.
I was going to do something that I never would have done before. My play style had always been with a single sword and a strong magic foundation. But now? I had been using a spear and shield out of necessity. It was time to either completely commit to this new play style or change to my old one. After facing the hobgoblin, I didn’t really have any other choice.
I was at 94% capacity of the 200 lbs. my inventory held. By the time I was done unloading everything, I had a total of 1 gold 17 silver 94 copper. Almost 2 gold in total.
Their item qualities were fairly vague. The different levels went as follows: Low Quality, Average, Fine, and Superior. The biggest issue was that there seemed to be some overlap or difficulty with items that were close to two qualities. Most junk was Low Quality but could be used for a time. It was more likely to break and didn’t hold much of an edge. Average was used, but functional, and had a lot more life left in it. It could hold a good edge. Fine was either brand new, or an item of rare quality. It would endure longer and had a sharper edge than normal. Superior was just that. It would hold an edge that surpassed what was normal and had a tendency to stay sharp. Armor was thicker with enhanced quality made by a master.
Except for my extra thick leather vest of superior quality and two padded leather greaves to protect my shins, the only thing I didn’t sell was my gemstones. There was also a fine leather cuisse, or thigh protection, I saved from my inventory before selling the rest. I wouldn’t find anything better for some time.
Wading through a crate of arm guards I found two different colored bracers that fit my arms perfectly after a little tightening of the lace. They cost me six silver for the pair and were of fair quality, between average and superior.
I spent the money on a good iron helm, a bit better than average. This was really good for an iron helm considering it reached down to cover my neck. It had a brim to shade my eyes, but an open face that wouldn’t limit my vision terribly. There were visors pointing down over my ears, and a curved bill over the back of my neck. It was eight silver in total.
It was time to get serious. There was a large, round, bronze shield on display hanging from the corner of their overhead tent. Because of its size, it was for sale for 15 silver. It was big enough and of superior quality, so I could literally hide behind it like a bronze tank. I had to try something.
“Question. Do you buy these?”
I held out one of the small emeralds.
“Sure do. Give you a silver for each one you find.”
“Would you trade the shield for ten of them?”
Retrieving the stones I held them out before him.
Seeing him hesitate was a good sign. Either the shield was a little overpriced, or the stones were worth more than he said. After my browsing for the day, I was sure the shield was worth the price, probably even on sale.
“I couldn’t do a direct trade, but throw in five silver coins and I’ll add something with the shield.”
“What about this?” I held out another emerald.
“Do you have another?”
“Deal,” I said, shaking his hand that was as tough as any leather.
The shield was surprisingly light. He added a small bottle of liquid to put on the shield to keep its color and a small wooden box with different textured cloths to polish it.
“You can use this on any metal. It keeps it shiny and protects from rust.”
The bracer that was made from softer leather worked perfectly for what I had in mind. It added extra padding between me and the shield. This would hopefully help protect my arm from things like giant clubs wielded by hobgoblins.
Grabbing two additional spears as Peter requested, I was able to depart much better armored and with 1 gold and 3 silver coins left.
“Ready to do some real shopping?” Victoria asked.
“No.”
“Very funny.”
She led me to a small building with clotheslines strung on the roof to either side of the entrance. Fabrics of different colors and patterns hung down in long sheets. Inside, three walls displayed clothing from ceiling to floor. A smell of lime detergent cleared my sinuses. Many of the clothes overlapped causing the illusion that the clothing was a collage of different pieces making up a colorful whole.
Victoria smiled to the crane-necked tailor standing mid-room, his arms folded behind his back, wearing a suit jacket with a tail.
He nodded to her like an old friend and waved us back. Stepping through the room, a door opened to a back room half the size of the first. Drool sat at a smooth wood desk, a piece of fabric hovering a few inches off the surface. Deep in concentration, she pulled at the fabric and it grew or shrunk at her fine movements. It wasn’t fabric at all but a hologram design program that allowed players to customize clothing.
So this is how crafting works.
Without interrupting Drool, Victoria sat at the only other desk, which rested on the opposite side of the room. Though fashion was far from something that interested me, I still would have liked to experiment with the crafting system. I needed to make some time for it.
“Measure,” Victoria said, flicking a seemingly empty hand at me. Her eyes examined me from head to toe, obviously seeing something I was blind to.
A hologram of a leaf green tunic, long-sleeved and with a v-neck, appeared before her. Clicking it twice, it expanded or shrunk in size at different places. With a nod, Victoria grabbed the shirt a final time, the item coming to life as she handed it to me.
Fine V-neck Tunic
Light Green
“For cold nights.”
She didn’t wait for me to thank her or have me try it on. Turning back to her work, another shirt appeared; this one without sleeves. It was the same green, but just like Peter’s shirt, it had different color trim at the armholes and collar. With a few touches it was finished, and she handed me three copies folded up and stacked on top of each other.
3x Fine Tank Top
Light Green
Still, she wasn’t finished. Next, forest green pants appeared before her, two pairs she handed to me after some tweaks. They were much thicker material than the shirts, but still cotton.
2x Fine Trousers
Dark Green
Finally, a hooded cloak, much roomier than the other clothing, appeared before her. She took more time with this garment than all the others, sizing it manually, not letting the design program interfere.
Fine Cloak
Dark Green
Standing, her nose wrinkled with her grin. She was up to something.
I placed everything into my inventory.
“You don’t have to undress to try something on. Open up your inventory and character sheet. It will allow you to add and remove equipment. You can even stack it.”