26 - Shopping Cures the Soul
Inside the magic shop, they noticed a dizzyingly large variety of goods, including several suits of armor and weapons. Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses as she peered at an equine set of chainmail. "I thought they sold trinkets here, not weapons and things?"
The store's owner, a leather wing with large ears, smiled with exposed fangs. "We offer enchanting services, which means we get magical things of all types here, and if you have things you'd prefer enchanted instead of replaced, we can accommodate that." He glanced over the three and played it safe with assumptions. "Who is the financer of this little outing?"
Diamond Tiara raised a hoof. "That would be me, a pleasure to meet you." She pointed at Silver Spoon. "She's in love with that bow of hers, can you make it more magic then?"
The owner peered at Silver Spoon curiously. Her bow had no spike, and she wore no amulet of helping hands. How did she wield it? "I'm being rude. I'm Dark Flight, a pleasure to meet you all this day. I can certainly enchant the young lady's bow. Please come closer, and show me how you typically use it."
Silver Spoon trotted up towards the bat pony curiously. "Hello Dark Flight. I'm Silver Spoon. I never met a bat pony before."
"Leatherwing, one or two words is all the same, but leather wing, not bat pony." He snorted softly. "Now go ahead, show me."
Silver reared up onto two legs easily and drew her bow. Despite her lack of experience, it seemed to come naturally enough to her and she soon had an arrow in place and drawn. "Like this?"
He was impressed by what he saw, her drawing like that with flat hooves. "Yes, yes, that's all I needed to see, do let that go, gently." Too late. She let it go and the arrow embedded in the wall lightly. He sighed. At least it hadn't gone through anything. "How much were you looking to spend on it? Enchanting is one of the few things that have very formalized prices. There's really no haggling involved. It's a universal constant. As the price of the supplies shift, so too do the quantities required, and the final price remains the same. Praise unto Luminace. I can only assume it's her doing."
Silver Spoon smiled at the idea of her goddess being involved, but looked to Diamond Tiara to confirm price amounts.
Diamond rubbed her chin a moment. "Let's say five thousand, what can you do with that?"
He pointed at the bow and it gently tugged at Silver Spoon's grip. She released it and he pulled it over with his magic before looking it over critically. "Hmm, it's too taut for you. First thing is an enchantment that would let it flex just right, even if you get stronger later. One thousand. If you want to be able to take it anywhere, I could make it able to hide itself on command, an illusion. Four thousand, and you can take it anywhere. Even formal parties will be unaware."
Silver Spoon tilted her head. "Can you show me something that does that?"
"I can." He hopped off his chair and moved around the counter. "You, keep your hands to yourself," he chastised Gneech as he went by. The kobold hadn't filched anything yet, but it didn't hurt to remind him he's being watched. "Now here, take this." He plucked up a dagger and offered it to Silver Spoon. "Imagine it as a mane comb, but don't use it as one."
Silver Spoon did just as she was told, and was soon holding an exquisite mane comb, with no sign of the dagger she once held. "That's super cool!" It started becoming other things as she experimented with it.
Diamond Tiara nodded. "Alright, make her quiver part of that and you have a deal." She dug out her pouch of money and pulled out several gems she already knew the value of. "You do accept gems, I assume? Platinum was becoming too heavy."
Dark Flight's heart soared. All doubts vanished at those lovely words. She was rich, and would be treated like royalty. "Oh, of course, madame." Platinum, too heavy. That was just not a complaint spoken by any but those rich enough to enjoy his full services. He even patted Gneech on the head with a hoof. "You go ahead and look around. I presume you are all together?"
Diamond Tiara grinned at the obvious display. "Yes, the three of us are going to be going on a bit of an adventure, and we plan to be properly prepared. As the leader, I will be magnanimous and go last. Gneech, what do you prefer?"
Gneech pulled out his dagger and held it up for inspection. "Gneech good with most simple weapons, maybe short sword, if in Gneech's size. Make Gneech's dagger more better is also alright." With his free hand he patted his armor. "But Gneech is no good if Gneech is dead. Got protection magic?"
"Strangely enough..." Dark moved and plucked a small suit of chain off a humanoid mannequin. "A gnome ordered this and vanished before he picked it up. It's about your size, try it on."
Gneech quickly slipped the shirt over his clothes and shook himself out. It seemed to adjust slightly to fit him and was quite snug and proper. "Fits good, what else do?"
Dark smiled. "How do you feel about being able to get through very very small places, and never being grabbed by the slathering tentacles of monsters?"
Gneech bobbed his head. "Gneech likes the idea of that. How work?"
Dark rolled a hoof at Gneech. "The second part is constant. Watch." He approached Gneech and leaned in, grabbing him by the collar, but Gneech just slid out of it without trying. "It's not perfect, but it gives a powerful edge to getting away from things. Once a day you can even become like jelly, and squeeze through tight places." He looked to Diamond, the leader. "It would normally be a little over five thousand, but we'll round down to five thousand for such a good customer."
Diamond raised a brow. "Huh, that's two sets for five thousand now. Very well. What about his weapon?"
Dark accepted the dagger and brought it back to the counter to set beside the bow. "At least give it a basic enchantment. There are things that can't be hurt at all without it. Ghosts and the like will tear you apart unresisted if you try to fight them with mundane steel. Two thousand. It will also strike more truly and just that bit of edge to get you through a battle."
Gneech had no complaints about the vast sums being spent on him, and Diamond Tiara authorized it before she tapped her chest. "My turn. Now, I don't have a weapon, or armor, to start, but I want both."
Silver Spoon pointed at the axe hanging from Diamond Tiara's belt. "Don't forget that. It's pretty amazing, DT!"
Diamond blinked and looked down at it. "Of course. Apologies, I've had a very exciting day and it just slipped my mind. What do you think of it?" She pulled the axe free and placed it on the counter for him to look at.
Dark examined the weapon curiously. "Griffon iconography, basically enchanted, with a flaming spell in addition. A fine weapon. Just as valuable as Silver Spoon's bow, after I finish with it. You would be better served with some armor, you and Silver Spoon. Going out in clothing is... ill-advised. Even wizards have some protection."
Diamond Tiara smiled. "We want a matching set. Something to show the world we're all part of the same team."
He raised a brow appraisingly as he looked over the three. "I believe you would be better served with a matching icon, though any--" He pointed at Diamond Tiara. "--could easily match him." He pointed at Gneech. "But if we're going for the best, on the other hoof... We should test this." He pointed to a set of three pony-shaped mannequins. "Light, medium, and heavy armor. Try them out, move around, and tell me which you like."
Silver Spoon started wriggling into the full set of chain mail, while Diamond Tiara tried on the full set of plate armor. It required some help from Gneech, but he obediently helped both fillies into their armor.
Diamond took slow awkward steps with a frown. She tried to power through it, but felt incredibly slow and rigid. She could barely breathe, let alone get anything accomplished. "This is unacceptable!"
Silver Spoon was moving around in slow circles. The suit did slow her down, but she was moving, and it didn't feel too bad. "It's alright. Want to trade?"
They did trade. Silver Spoon did far better in the heavier armor than Diamond Tiara did, much to DT's annoyance. It was still a huge set of armor that slowed her steps, but she seemed to know how to move in it. "I am a war priest," noted Silver Spoon. "Maybe armor is a part of that?"
Diamond Tiara squirmed out of the chain mail. "Get me one like his!" She pointed at Gneech. "Something light and sleek, like me. I don't need any stupidly huge pieces of armor slowing me down!" Her anger turned against heavy armor in general as she turned up her nose at the situation. "And a great big stupid thing for Silver Spoon if she likes it so much, but don't blame me when you're too slow to get out of the way."
Silver Spoon smiled gently. "It's not a contest, Diamond. Besides, now we'll both be about the same speed."
Diamond thought about that. With Silver in the heavy armor, their entire team was about the same speed. There was a certain elegance to that. "I suppose there is a bright side to it. Carry on." She waved a hoof imperiously, and Dark got to work.
"Enchanting your weapons will take a few days, but you can wear the rest home if you like." He accepted payment with a smile and tucked it away. "Leave me your address and I'll deliver it myself when they're done." He had made enough to take that vacation he had been wanting. Maybe he would go to the beach...
Gneech pouted a little bit. "Gneech feel naked without dagger." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "At least Gneech have good armor."
Silver Spoon moved over to Gneech and threw a leg over him in a hug. "I know how you feel, he has my bow and arrows."
Diamond drew her axe as she stepped out of the store. "I'll protect you both if I have to." Better armored, if not armed yet, they returned to the inn to report their success and plan for the next step.
Back in the shop, Dark Flight whistled a merry tune as he flipped the sign over from open to closed and got to work enchanting. It would be his full-time job for the next few days, but... "So worth it..."
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the trio is armored up and there wepons are being tuned up.
yep a battle is one the way.
I hope all the enchanting did not create any more typos?
6282134 Magic is treacherous.
Ye olde typo
me
experimented
Poor dear, haha. She certainly knows what buttons to push with this guy.
patted
I can't seem to parse this excerpt. Any what could match him? Do you mean that Diamond can match Gneech? What does that mean?
6282241 Typos fixed, and found another one. The sentence meant he could fit them all in chain shirts, but it might not be ideal, which they eventually found out, as Silver Spoon could soldier it out in full plate without much difficulty, and Diamond Tiara was a bit jealous for a moment there.
I like them as a terrible trio in matching armor. Interesting that all of their armor seems to be amorphous or slick, they are certainly ready for anything trying to grapple them. Now I hope they face tentacle monsters.
6282859 Oh, thanks, I need to catch up on my Unchained.
All they need now is a party name. .
Much like how great evils return after a thousand years, or ancient comets, floating cities, etc, so too do shop keepers maintain a constant with such favorite extortionistic prices like FIVE-THOUSAND. Geez, I wish I had a third of Diamond's whealth by the time I even reach the third town in an RPG. Filly :P
The most adorable characteristic I enjoy that's remained a true constant with Tiara has been her competitive nature in all things great, and especially trivial. It just keeps reminding you that these are still young ladies despite the dangers they seem to face Diamond will always find something to compete against Silver with. xD
Superiority complex? Superiority complex.
Wow. Gneech got a sweet upgrade! Hope he uses it wisely. Also, so adorable how much a part of the crew he is. Silver hugs are best hugs.
Well, this was a fun chapter. Can't wait to see what they do next!
6283605 Hit'em High, Hit'em Low,
Hit'em Everywhere it hurts!
GO~ TEAM ALPHA HORSE!
*all three jump into the air and cross weapons*
When they say 10,000 gp worth of diamond dust, they mean 10,000 gp worth of diamond dust. Economancy is a truly dark magic.
In any case, the team is gearing up. They'll be a lean, mean, adventuring machine... in about a week. Until then, they'd best stick close to Pinkie. Especially Gneech. At least Silver has her hooves.
Also, I'm not sure if I trust this guy, given the typos in his craftsponyship:
Taut.
Breathe.
Shop owner's.
6285533 Typos banished to the typo dimension! Thankee.
There are two spaces between these sentences.
You don't need the second "she" in that sentence.
6285793 Typos destroyed with magic!
6285818 I feel like there's very little for me to review here; the characters go shopping, and that's that. That said, this was an amusing shout-out to fans with more knowledge of the RPG side of things, since we were given glimpses behind the proverbial curtain of what gear the team currently has.
I did smirk a little at the explanation that the cost of enchanting weapons and armor remains a "universal constant." That particular explanation - that the quantity of materials involved in enchantment always shift to match whatever equals the "appropriate" price used to purchased them - is one that completely breaks down under any kind of logical scrutiny; even as a cursory explanation, it works only because the entire process of enchanting things is so abstract as to be near-totally meta-game anyway. Hence, there's little point in picking this apart further.
Beyond that, the group is getting properly equipped, and Diamond Tiara got to throw her money around, so it's all good. Dark Flight (no relation to Dark Streak, I presume) was also a fun character, since his goals kept being shown to us, making him much more than just a set-piece for the girls to buy new things. I doubt we'll see him again, but he was fun.
6285974 Character building through shopping! It feels appropriate somehow. The character and group dynamics got to express itself, and I don't think it was a terrible chapter despite it being fluff. Good fluff? I think it's good fluff.