Gearing Up

With our stomachs full and spirits high, we followed Pira across the city center and down an alleyway. The sun was just beginning to sink toward the horizon. The uncomfortably narrow streets seemed to wind infinitely back and forth as we passed through the city towards the outer commercial districts. Pira never hesitated, knowing the roads like she’d designed them herself.

As the party squeezed through the cramped walkways, I found myself becoming overstimulated by the amount of new information I was absorbing. So many details around me were completely different from what I was used to, and these were the everyday things the people here took for granted. I whipped my head around in a double take at innocuous floating lanterns, furry potted plants, and bits of architecture that didn’t seem physically possible. I was entirely lost, grateful for the guidance of my party and almost sore with the effort of taking it all in. I realized that, while I thought I had accepted and internalized the fact that I was literally in another world, I might never be entirely comfortable here as every small thing caught me off guard.

“We’re here!” Pira announced, spinning on her heel and gesturing wildly, her enthusiasm palpable. “This is my private shop and a hub for the guild I help run. I’ll show you around!”

“Really? You led us all this way to your own shop?” Andra asked, slightly incredulous. Her manner became a bit defensive, even suspicious. “I can tell by lookin' atcha that you’ve never been outside the city much. Don’t underestimate the wilds, it’s a very different place out there. If your stuff ain’t up to snuff, then we’re all dead.”

Andra’s antagonism seemed to have no effect on Pira as she moved to open a large warehouse door on the side of the building, humming to herself before glancing over her shoulder at the group. “Don’t forget that in spite of my weak physique, I was still chosen to participate in the hero’s auction. I’d recommend you not underestimate me.”

As the door slid aside with a metallic clang, the party entered, and those of us who hadn’t been here before were immediately thrown off by how much larger this place seemed on the inside. It felt like a warehouse, with wide spaces for work and storage. Well-used tables and desks surrounded empty cordoned areas, which seemed to be set aside for testing and tinkering with devices. The walls seemed distant, or they would be if they were visible. Instead of walls, we were boxed in by towering shelves bulging with boxes, bins and unidentifiable supplies. It looked like an engineering marvel that most of them were even upright.

A few workers were scattered around the room at different stations, but none of them bothered to so much as glance our way as we came in. If this was Pira’s place, the people here probably knew that she had gone to be part of the hero auction, which would naturally mean that any group she returned with was likely a proxy party. That should have been a big deal, the succession competition was all most residents of the city could talk about, but instead of ogling, these people’s gazes stayed locked on their various projects as if nothing else could possibly matter. The sounds of metal on metal and unknown machines whirring to life echoed through the cavernous space.

Pira confidently strutted through the middle of the workroom, leading us past all the work stations before pushing through a side door and beckoning us through. A metal plate attached to the door proclaimed it the “Armory” in letters that had been crudely scratched into the surface.

Despite its humble nameplate, the room itself made the rest of us stop short. It looked like a large gallery, with display tables and walls laden with enough weaponry and armor to equip a militia. I glanced at Andra and Estelar, who were both staring with mouths agape at the wealth of steel in front of them.

“Let’s start with you, proxy,” Pira smiled slyly at me before producing a measuring tape from some unknown pocket and advancing on me. I reflexively stiffened up at her approach, and she frowned, leaning forward. “If you don’t relax, I can’t get the most accurate measurements.”

Her lips were nearly against my ear as she spoke, which ensured I was even less likely to calm down. She began to pull the tape measure through her fingers quickly, holding it up against me here and there with a demeaner that somehow felt both businesslike and seductive; I subconsciously fidgeted with my wedding ring to distract from my discomfort.

Luckily, it only took a minute or so before she pocketed the measuring tape and began picking up an array of less intimate devices, one after another. I couldn’t tell what they were, but she was clearly using them to scan and prod me from head to toe. I held as still as I could, trying to breathe steadily as she puttered.

“Hmmm…” she mumbled, “It seems you weren’t lying about not being an experienced fighter… although you do have a similar physique to a day laborer, which is better than nothing.”

“At least you have me beat,” Estelar chuckled lightly, a wry smile on his lips as he looked at me and then at the room at large. “I doubt much of this equipment will be of use to me, so get whatever you need for yourselves.”

“Hey, I’ve got something in mind for you so don’t write me off just yet!” Pria quipped back, not looking away from her devices. “You’re about to get a harsh welcome to the modern era, hun.”

Estelar simply shrugged and began chatting with Andra while they waited for me to be fully assessed. Apparently he had recently helped some feral tribes with a famine that struck the continent, and the hybrid girl was interested in that. But it turned out that Estelar’s definition of “recent” seemed to stretch back decades, which led Andra to roll her eyes and pay less attention to the mage’s ramblings.

“I’ve got a plan!” Pira suddenly announced, stepping back. She began to move around the room collecting scattered objects. “We’ll start with this.”

She spread her haul onto the table nearest to me. It looked like medieval armor, complete with chainmail and metal plates. Upon closer inspection, however, I noticed that patterns that looked like circuits followed the trim and edges, running the full length of each piece and leading inside the chest plate towards a fiery blue crystal that sparkled on the back collar.