Victor of Tucson

Book 8: Chapter 15: A Need for Funds

Book 8: Chapter 15: A Need for Funds

As he eagerly explained his choices to Lam, Victor's eyes gleamed with anticipation. He glanced over his shoulder at the line of people waiting, his annoyance at the rush fading into the background. This was a moment of significance for him, and he saw no reason to feel guilty about utilizing a service the city provided. He reasoned that the city must benefit from the transaction, and if it took him a few minutes, that was just the way it had to be.

“I’ve heard you say that you wish you had a weapon to use when Lifedrinker isn’t handy,” Lam said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. “The ability to control flames is nice, but what if there aren’t any?”

“I guess I could make some,” Victor chuckled, thumping his chest.

“Ah! That’s a good point. Still, a lash that can stretch to hit ‘distant’ targets might be just the thing you need. I’ve seen you fight. You’re a terror up close, but you do have to get close.”

Victor nodded, smiling at her a little sheepishly. “I wanted the whip, so I’m glad you’re not convincing me otherwise. One time, I channeled one of my ancestor’s powers, and she gave me a magical whip to use. God, it was incredible. I’m not saying this will be the same, but the idea that I might recapture that feeling even just a little . . .” He shrugged, trailing off, as Lam reached up to squeeze the meaty part of his shoulder.

“Do it then!”

Victor turned to the stone and selected the second option, choosing to put the power of the magma attunement gem into the gauntlet. Suddenly, a new message appeared:

Imbuing items with selected treasures in 5 seconds. To cancel, select the option now.

Victor didn’t cancel it, and he watched the items lying at his feet, wondering what the process would look like. As he mentally counted out five seconds, a shimmering cloud of gray and yellow fog erupted around the items. He heard crackles and pops and felt a wash of potent System Energy, and then the cloud dissipated, and he saw the objects had changed drastically.

“Roots!” Lam breathed, suitably impressed. Victor grinned, studying the set. The gauntlet and helmet had changed the most; they weren’t leather any longer but seemed to be made from a lustrous, deep red, almost black metal. Was that because they’d gotten the full “resilience of the Lava King?” More than their material, they’d changed in form. The helmet looked like a scowling monstrous reptile’s head.

“It’s almost like a dragon’s head. Even more than a wyrm.” He could only say that with any authority because he’d seen Tes’s draconic form. It looked like his face would peer out between the metallic fangs that stood out from the draconic snout. The beast’s angry eyes would be on his forehead, and the long, black horns would sweep back from there. It was an intimidating countenance. The gauntlet was similar in style, made of the same dark red metal, and would sheath his entire arm up to the elbow in reticulated scale plates. Spikes protruded from the knuckles, and he could see it was, like the helmet, lined with supple, red leather.

The pants, belt, and boots retained their original leather material but underwent a transformation in appearance, mirroring the deep red-black hue of the metal components. The leather now appeared sleek and supple, as if infused with the essence of the lava king's hide. Each piece was meticulously tooled with intricate patterns and adorned with small, gleaming studs that caught the light with a faint, fiery shimmer.

“Fancy,” Lam said without a hint of sarcasm.

“It’s not done,” Victor said, studying the System display:

Treasure imbuement complete. Sojourn five-piece set enchantments are available. Note: This set may be imbued with up to three Class A enchantments, two Class B enchantments, one Class C Enchantment, and one Class D Enchantment. Prices are based on material imbuement and enchantment value. Options are dependent on material imbuement. Set bonuses do not have to be purchased at this time and can be purchased separately at different times. Set bonuses cannot be removed or changed.

Class A:

Resizing Enchantment – 5,000 standard Energy beadsSelf-cleaning & Repairing Enchantment – 5,000 standard Energy beadsEnchantment Toggle: Disguise Armor as Clothing – 25,000 standard Energy beadsFeather Fall Enchantment – 40,000 standard Energy beadsWater Breathing Enchantment – 55,000 standard Energy beads

Class B:

Ten-Percent Bonus to a Physical Attribute. Choose one:Strength – 50,000 standard Energy beadsVitality – 75,000 standard Energy beadsDexterity – 50,000 standard Energy beadsAgility – 50,000 standard Energy beadsFifteen-Percent Resistance to a Damage Type. Choose one:Fire – 5,000 standard Energy beadsCold – 500,000 standard Energy beadsElectricity – 25,000 standard Energy beadsPoison – 25,000 standard Energy beadsAcid – 25,000 standard Energy beadsSlashing – 10,000 standard Energy beadsPiercing – 15,000 standard Energy beadsCrushing – 20,000 standard Energy beadsTen-Percent Enhanced Damage Type. Choose one:Fire – 5,000 standard Energy beadsCold – 500,000 standard Energy beadsElectricity – 25,000 standard Energy beadsPoison – 25,000 standard Energy beadsAcid – 25,000 standard Energy beadsPhysical – 25,000 standard Energy beadsEnchantment Toggle: Reflective Shielding – 90,000 standard Energy beadsEnchantment Toggle: Fire Aura – 125,000 standard Energy beadsMinor Regeneration Enchantment – 150,000 standard Energy beads

Class C:

Enhanced Mass Enchantment – 150,000 standard Energy beadsLava Blast Enchantment – 250,000 standard Energy beads

Class D:

Lava Domain Enchantment Toggle – 1,000,000 standard Energy beadsRoar of the Lava King Enchantment – 1,250,000 standard Energy beadsFlight of the Lava King Enchantment Toggle – 1,500,000 standard Energy beads

“Shit,” Victor sighed, looking at the overwhelming list. He glanced over his shoulder at the queue of citizens waiting for him to finish and shrugged, offering a quick, apologetic wave. He pulled out a notebook and pen, and, as quickly as he could, he scribbled down all of the options. “I’m going to need to think about this and probably raise some funds to get what I want. As usual, the System doesn’t give enough details for me to feel confident, but maybe Dar will have an opinion.”

Lam watched him writing, nodding. “Lots of options. I bet the enchantment ‘toggles’ require a certain amount of Energy to activate. Otherwise, I bet low-tier rich folk would load up these sets with the most expensive options.”

“Yeah,” Victor muttered, finishing his work. “Though a lot of these are clearly tuned to the hide of the lava king I put in there. I wonder how rare that shit was? What the hell even is a lava king? Judging by the helmet, it’s related to dragons.” He chuckled, amused and a little chagrined by his impulsive decision to put the hide into the mix. He picked up all the items, stowed them away, then turned away from the stone. “I’ll come back.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

He and Lam walked down the steps, and Victor winked at the lady who’d been waiting to go next as he passed. “You’re up.” To his surprise, she smiled pleasantly, reaching up to preen her black, feathery plume of “hair,” blinking her overlarge, avian eyes at him while smiling coyly. She clearly wasn’t a full avian; she didn’t have a beak or wings, and Victor idly wondered if she was some mix of species or a different type of person entirely. It seemed like he saw a new kind of person everywhere he looked, and he despaired at the idea of ever getting them all straight. He’d struggled in Coloss with only a handful of different species.

She made her strange trilling, cooing pleasure sound and said, “Hello, sir! Welcome back. I’m quite well, thank you.”

Victor grinned as he approached the counter. “You forgot my name, didn’t you?” It felt wonderful to be on the other side of that problem for a change.

“I . . .” she sputtered, tilting her head to the side. “I apologize, but your name escapes me! It's something distinctly violent-sounding, if I’m not mistaken. That’s right! It starts with a ‘vvvv’ sound.” She drew out the consonant like she was revving a motor. “I should know it! I saw you battling in the Iron Challenge! Another patron bought me a round when I said I knew you. Oh, drat! Put me out of my misery! What is it?”

“His name’s Victor, and I’m Lam. I’m pleased to meet you, ma’am.” Lam grinned and took the avian woman’s softly feathered hand.

“Too easy, Lam,” Victor sighed. “I could have tortured her a bit longer, don’t you think?” He chuckled and leaned on the counter, causing it to creak ominously. “Anyway, I promised I’d bring you more business, and here I am. Do you know anything about the Sojourn item sets?”

“Bah! Of course! They’re stealing a lot of my business with those damn things.”

“Really?” Lam asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tria clicked her tongue and shook her head. “Oh, not really. All of us Artificers like to complain, but not enough people are completing those sets for it to impact us much. What’s your question, big fellow?”

“Well, one of the enchantments you can purchase for those items is to have the armor ‘disguised’ as clothing. Do you know anything about that?”

“Of course! It’s not so much a disguise as it is a kind of altered state. Each armor piece is imbued with a dimensional space. The space is very limited, and it can only contain the item in question or the alternate version of the item, which, in this case, is a piece of clothing. If you had a breastplate, for instance, it might share a dimensional space with a fine shirt. As you toggle the enchantment, they will swap places.”

“So, I won’t actually be armored unless the armor is showing?”

“Correct.”

“But it’s instant? The change?”

“Yes, quick as a thought.”

“Do you know how to do that enchantment?” Victor brought out his wyrm-scale vest and laid it on the counter. The scales rasped against each other, and the weight of the vest was palpable in the way it thunked onto the wood. “I mean, to something like this?”

Tria sucked in her breath, causing it to whistle through her beak as she leaned close, gently tracing her fingers over the wyrm scales. “So fine! So perfectly cured, cut, treated, and imbued! A true master crafted this! What wonderful scales! A truly ancient wyrm, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Yeah. He was a big son of a . . .” Victor trailed off, for once recognizing his cursing might not be appropriate.

“These scales are imbued with something exceedingly potent! It hurts my Artificer’s sight to peer at them! The blood of something mighty, something well into the lustrous veil. Was it given freely? Did you slay such a creature?”

“It was a gift,” Victor said, smiling. Some bittersweet memories of Tes ran through his mind at the memory. Did she know where he was? She had his blood, after all. What would he say to her now? How much had he changed since he’d last seen her? Would she be proud? Disappointed?

“This armor is beyond me. I could add the enchantment you asked about, however. The materials won’t mind the extra weight of such a simple working.” She looked up from her study of the armor and blinked her big, round eyes at him. “You’ll need to provide the alternate clothing item, and it will take me a few hours.”

“And the price?”

“A few thousand beads. Nothing much. It’s basically the same as crafting a simple dimensional container. Oh!” She held up a finger. “If I were you, I’d buy an enchanted shirt! One that can change its style and color. Then, when you switch to it, you can make it fit your outfit!”

Lam laughed and elbowed Victor in the ribs. “She’s smart. You know, I’ve been wanting to buy some new clothes.” She turned to Tria, “Is there a tailor with such items nearby?”