The inside of Jerethal’s Leatherworks had a surprisingly warm atmosphere with its worn hardwood flooring, racks displaying various styles of leather armor, and pleasant lighting shining from a few sun shards embedded in the ceiling. A tall, lean human who I assumed to be the owner of the shop hunched over a sturdy-looking wood counter at the far end of the store. He muttered darkly as he scribbled something in a ledger, but with the chime of the bell above the door as I pushed it open, his sharp green eyes flicked towards the warden and I as we stepped inside. “Welcome,” he grumbled through a scowl before returning his focus to his battle with the ledger. “Feel free to look about…” Not seeming to be put off in the slightest by the disgruntled man’s poor salesmanship, the warden strode up to the counter. She beamed at him and gestured to me as I arrived beside her. “This one requires a full set of lightweight armor preferably made from dune stalker hide and runed to bolster its re
Over the next few minutes, the shopkeeper disappeared three times through the door behind his counter, returning each time with a different set of leather armor and setting their chest piece atop the counter. All three were made from the same smokey gray hide and lightweight style. “These three were the only ones I had on hand that’d fit someone your size,” the shopkeeper said, eyeing me up and down from across the counter. “Well, maybe with some minor adjustments.” Then, seeming to lose interest in me, his attention moved to the warden. “Now, each of these has a different rune etched in the lining to keep out of sight from prying eyes…” He then thumped the armor one after another as he continued. “This one’s got a Spearward rune. This one a Breezewalker rune. And this one a Spiritwell rune.” “We’ll take the one with the Spearward rune,” the warden said as soon as the shopkeeper finished speaking. He nodded knowingly, seeming to have guessed which one she’d pick. “A practical dec
It’d taken a couple hours to try on the dark gray leather armor and get it properly fitted, but when all was said and done, it fit as though it were made for me. The protective hide covered my torso, shoulders, upper arms, and thighs, which allowed my arms and legs to be more or less unrestricted in their movements. However, this lack of protection for my limbs had caused me to shift my weight uneasily as I realized the only thing keeping my leg from getting cut off at the knees, or my arms at the elbows, was the fabric of my pants and shirt. The shopkeeper had addressed my concerns by telling me, “Mobility comes with more risk to those who lack skill…” His words hadn’t really helped, but they had made a certain amount of sense. Worries aside, though, I had immediately discarded my previous outfit before conjuring a new cloak, long sleeved shirt, pants, boots, and pair of gloves all the same dark smokey color as the armor. The shopkeeper had let out a raspy chuckle at my desire
The warden had told me we’d visit Port Marine again before I went to Chromayn Academy, so the choice on my end between hanging out for a while or returning to Stone Lock to find out what was in the sack had been obvious and immediate… My mind had rarely left the mystery bag as we made our way back to Port Marine’s pier, and to my annoyance, she’d refused to let me see inside the entire way. “I might show you after we return home,” she’d said with a smug grin as we walked side-by-side through the crowds of people going about their business on Port Marine’s main street. As I was sure she’d been fully aware of, her teasing words and the way she’d delivered them had stirred me up, making me want to somehow fire back. However, instead of giving into my knee-jerk reaction of sidling up next to her and giving her sculpted ass a possessive squeeze, I’d only smiled affably at her. I’d get her back later when she’d least expect it… # Having returned to Stone Lock, I followed the warde
“Aha! Found it!” the warden cheered, suddenly straightening just as I was about to pull up her dress, and as though being snapped out of a trance, my higher brain functions were restored. “Huh?” I blinked, staring dumbly at the back of her head. She turned on her heels to face me, clutching a rectangular, metallic cube to her chest. Finding there to be barely any distance between us, a coy grin curved her mouth before she leaned her ass against the top of the couch’s backrest to create a little more room to show off what she’d taken from the bag. “If you recall, I told you last week we’d have an opportunity to obtain some somnium you could use to craft a more durable gun…” she said, using both hands to present a thick bar of dull metal the color of bone. I took it, and was surprised by how much muscle I needed to put into keeping it aloft. It must have been dense, like gold. “Damn, it’s heavier than it looks. Didn’t you say it was supposed to be lightweight?” “Indeed I did, and i
Standing a few steps away from the warden, the densely heavy bar of somnium felt cool in my hand. I inspected the pale, dull metal and checked my phone to make sure I knew what I was doing. Finding the phone’s entry about using raw materials to reduce the spiritual cost of conjuring an item, a spark of satisfaction came to life in me at seeing it matched up with what I’d been able to remember on my own. Feeling ready to give it a shot, I slid my phone into a pouch fixed to the belt of my armor and began the process of making the somnium revolver. Okay…I’ve got plenty of spirit… First, will the gun into existence, but don’t imbue it. Just hold it in place.Particles of bright blue energy appeared in the air in front of me, merging into the shape of my revolver. I maintained my concentration on the conjuration, causing the gun-shaped mass of light to hover in place as it awaited to be imbued with enough spirit to gain physical form.Now, ‘make physical contact with pure material unpo
The test-firing of the somnium gun and the blast shell out in the grasslands had been a bit of a mixed bag in terms of results. Overall, though, I’d call it more or less a success… seeing how the revolver hadn’t exploded when shooting the experimental bullet. After this, and getting me out of my armor and back into my comfortable gray uniform, the warden and I had gone straight to the dining room to satisfy our rumbling stomachs. Over dinner, she’d warned me against using a blast shell during the monster hunt because of what’d happened during the test-fire. I’d promised her I wouldn’t make anymore until we got back to Stone Lock and I could spend some time tweaking the runes to make it not so dangerous. That said, I’d initially made two blast shells and still had one more. So, when I told her how I’d keep the remaining blast shell on hand just in case a dinosaur showed up, and had explained what dinosaurs were, she’d rolled her eyes and made me swear to only use it as a last resort
Our neighboring showers rained lightly steaming water on us as the warden and I drank in one another’s wet nakedness. My stiff cock pointed directly at her, occasionally reactively twitching to my building need to touch and enjoy her body. In response to my declaration that I’d win the teasing game and finally learn her name, she folded her arms beneath her perky tits and flashed me a tauntingly smug grin. “An ambitious goal… but just how do you intend on accomplishing it?” “Well…” I reached over to the dial that operated the shower next to me. With one smooth movement, I twisted it and water flowed freely from the shower head. “First, I’m going to turn this place into something like a sauna by turning all the showers.” “Hmm… that does sound enticing, but don’t you find that to be a waste of water? What if Stone Lock runs out?” she said teasingly, her inky-black eyes trained on me with interest as I circled the room and turned on more showers. “I seem to remember you telling me th