With disaster averted, Felix quickly dragged Menium away from the dangerous girl. If she wanted to find his equipment, she could do it on her own. Hopefully, that would give him more time to intercept it.

  Grateful to be done playing dress-up, Menium seized the first opportunity to drag Felix away.

  “Alright, Meni, I think that’s enough. I want to actually see what they have. It looks like there might be some useful stuff for our trip with the caravan. You should see if there’s something you like. If it isn’t too expensive, we can get it.”

  Menium chirped his agreement, but as Felix started browsing the shelves, Menium stayed nearby. Putting the monkey out of his mind for the moment, he focused on the wares.

  He was in a section with storage equipment, a few crates for storing herbs, some well-made lever packs, and even a storage pouch Felix stared at in envy.

  ‘Maybe if I can master that detection spell, I’ll finally be able to afford one.’

  He recognised that he didn’t really need one. His cart worked well enough. But even after years of Travelling they still reminded him of the stories he read as a child. Apart from having your own boat and a shiny sword, having a storage pouch was one of the staples in any hero’s story.

  Forcing himself to look away, he continued through the store. A few pieces of armour, mostly good boots, gloves and a couple of helmets filled out one section. Some basic weapons, a couple of bows, some arrows, a couple of sturdy wooden shields, and shortswords. All basic weapons you might pick up to have a spare in a pinch.

  Felix briefly admired them all, but it’s clear they were here just for convenience. If you wanted proper equipment, you’d be better off going to a smith, fletcher, or any of the dedicated stores for that sort of thing. He passed by the sections on cooking equipment and first aid, only stopping to see if there was a strong focus on any particular remedy or cure that might hint at the dangers he might encounter on the road.

  Nothing stood out, so he moved on to rations and travelling supplies. He quickly noticed that there was a focus on all manner of equipment to handle rain, snow, and sun. The parts of the Highlands he traversed to get to this Hold were still pretty mild, but looking at the supplies, he thought that might change.

  He made a list of everything he thought might come in handy, deciding to circle back once he’d seen the rest of the store and asked Agrona for her input. He briefly stopped at the replenishing water canteens, admiring the designs. The bottles he had for himself and Menium worked by planting a drowning Lilly in a glass bottle. The dwarves used enchantments instead.

  “I think I like ours more, but maybe I should get one as a backup.”

  After checking the price, he decided against it. They weren’t expensive, but they weren’t so cheap that he’d waste the coin just to have a backup.

  Moving to the next section, Felix’s eyes lit up. A flute, a lyre, and a few sets of drums. Some cards, dice, and a couple of novels lined the shelves with a few more games besides. Menium found the section before Felix did, and he was just as eagerly going through the entertainment options.

  Felix ignored Menium and focused on going through everything. Most of the options weren’t suited for him. Playing an instrument with only one arm was an exercise in futility. Card and dice games used to be pointless since his only companion would sulk for days if he lost a game. Books… Well, needless to say, he’d read them, and even if he hadn’t, there would be little point in buying something that would keep him entertained for a scant few seconds.

  Turning his attention to the stranger options, he found a set of cubes made of sliding panels and tiny gears. It had a satisfying heft when he picked it up. He tried examining it, but he had little luck figuring out its purpose.

  “That’s a puzzle cube.” Agrona’s voice came from behind him.

  Turning around, he saw that she’d left her friend at the counter.

  “You should take one, well, not one of those, you’d chew right through those in an afternoon. Borin has more difficult ones in the back.”

  Felix shook his head. “I don’t think I want to spend anything on entertainment right now. I’m going to need to save up to hire those Explorers.”

  Felix shot a glance at Menium. “Well, I’ll get Menium something, but I’m able to keep myself busy on the road.”

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  “It’s not for your entertainment, remember what I said about you focusing too much on memory for your mind affinity? People use puzzle boxes to train their cognition. There should be some similar training devices for reaction time, but I’d stick to cognition for now.”

  Felix looked at the cube in his hand, surprised.

  “Huh, well, if it’s not too expensive, I guess.”

  Agrona rolled her eyes at his miserly behaviour. “C’mon, Borin is waiting for us out back. Your surprise is ready.”

  Felix’s back straightened a little.

  “Finally! Menium, I’ll be back.”

  Before Menium had time to realise his shield from the dress-up-obsessed girl had disappeared, Felix was already in the back of the shop with Agrona and Borin.

  “Alright, here he is,” Agrona said.

  Borin nodded before taking a polished quarterstaff from his bench. “Here you go, son.”

  Felix’s eyes went wide as he took it. He quickly shot a look at Agrona before she nodded.

  “That stick you’ve been dragging around won’t do you any good. You’ve been using it because the full length staffs can’t be used with one hand, right? Well, there you go. A proper staff, enchanted with everything you’d get in a full-sized one.”

  Felix’s eyes roamed the beautifully polished dark wood, the ornate bronze end caps, and the delicate weave of dwarven runes inlaid in bronze across its surface.

  “Agrona, this. I can’t. It must have cost you a fortune. I’ve tried having one made before…”

  “Don’t worry about it, consider it payment for all the recipes you’ve been sending me from the Feywild. I know you won’t accept my help in paying for the Explorer’s team, and if I thought you’d have any trouble raising the funds before you get to the Deephold, I’d have insisted. I’m not worried about that. I am worried you’ll hoard coin until you get there. I’d rather see you protected.”

  Felix pursed his lips.

  ”I— Thank you. I’ll find you a thousand more recipes to show you how much I appreciate it.”

  Agrona smiled. “Not going to argue that you can’t accept it?”

  Felix shook his head and turned to Borin. “These enchantments, they’re for my affinities, aren’t they?”

  Borin smiled at the exchange. “They are.”

  Turning back to Agrona, he shook his head with a wry smile. “What good would it do. A quarterstaff with life and mind affinities? You aren’t getting a refund. It’s best I just focus on paying you back.”

  Agrona chuckled. “See, Borin, this is why I had you make it without the boy’s input.”

  The dwarf sighed. “Aye, I can see that. He’s a stubborn one. You’re lucky he’s green enough that I could slap some general enchantments on it.”

  Agrona nodded, letting Borin continue.

  “C’mon, boy, let me walk you through it so you understand what you have. You see this row right here, which strengthens the staff and binds together the parts into a whole. That’s the core of your staff. This set makes it easier to handle, less likely to slip from your hand in a fight. You’ll need to play around with it to get the feel.

  “These are for your mana types. This one is mind, and this one is life. They’re general enchantments. They make it easier to connect with the mana in the environment and amplify your will. They’ll work for any spell, but the effect is severely diminished compared to specialised enchantments. It’s why we normally save them for beginners.”

  Listening to Borin slowly walk him through every enchantment on the staff, his mind slipped to a conversation he had many years ago with Instructor Grendel. Back then, he’d told Felix to give up on the sword, but he’d refused to tell him why he had to focus on the staff. Now, years later, he realised that he still didn’t know. Since he had the perfect person to ask right in front of him, he wanted a break in the dwarf’s elucidations before quickly squeezing in his question.

  “Huh, ah, well, that’s complicated. Mostly, it comes down to how runes are forged. When we make swords, we fold the metal to shape the runes inside the blade. It works well with martial artists whose mana comes from within, but for magi who work with mana in the environment, it’s better to have the runes on the outside.”

  “Can’t you just have runes on the outside of the sword?”

  The dwarf nodded. “You can, but it will always be weaker than having them in the blade. For a blade, you want a strong core. It doesn’t matter if the surface material is weaker. It just means you need to maintain your blade. A weak core means the blade could shatter.”

  Felix nodded. He didn’t fully understand, maybe one day he’d have the chance to look into enchantment himself, and then he’d understand why you couldn’t do it. He frowned. There had to be a way to do it. There wouldn’t be any magic swordsmen.

  Before Felix could ask, however, Borin had already dived back into explaining the features of his staff, forcing him to wait for the next time he could squeeze in a question when the dwarf caught his breath.

  The opportunity never came, while he was waiting the sounds of a commotion came from the front. Felix didn’t have time to process what he was hearing before Agrona rushed out. Before Felix could follow Borin caught his arm and pressed his finger to his beard in a shushing motion.

  Pointing to the corner he tapped his ear. Understanding what he wanted Felix skulked to the corner. Through an opening in the wall the noises from the front of the shop were easier to interpret.

  “We’ve told you ma’am, we’re looking for a fugitive that’s travelling with a monkey that matches this one’s description. We need to investigate.”

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