“Micah,” said Hannah with a sigh. “Touchin’ people is a part of my job too, and if I were timid about it, there’d be problems. Now, what I don’t want is ill-fittin’ armor, not when I’ll be fightin’ monsters in it and travelin’ while wearin’ it.”
“Sorry,” said Micah. He went back to it, blushing but much more firm, and Mizuki kept her comments to herself.
When he was finished, he went over to the breastplates and picked up the one with the filigree. The metal was in pieces, allowing for some movement. “I think I could make this fit on ye, though I’d have to do some work, curve it out a bit. Four days, if ye’re in a rush.”
“We are,” said Hannah with a nod. “I know you do quality work.”
Micah nodded. His eyes were fixed on Hannah’s for a moment, and he finally turned to Mizuki, seeming reluctant. “And a helm for ye?” he asked.
“Yes, please,” said Mizuki. “My head is where I do my thinking. I would like it protected.”
“Try this one,” said Micah, reaching for one he’d brought from the back.
Mizuki slowly lowered it onto her head, and to her surprise, it felt like a perfect fit. A piece of metal came down right where her nose was, protecting it, but it didn’t obstruct her vision too much.
“Will ye be wantin’ full armor too?” he asked.
“Um,” said Mizuki, looking at Hannah. “Not if I can help it. I’m a sorc, so in theory I’ll be at the back. Hannah’s the one that will be rushing up.”
Micah blanched and looked at Hannah, but he kept whatever comments he had on that behind thin lips. “Well, ay,” he said.
“In due time, we’ll get her more,” said Hannah. “But it’s early days, and as she said, she’ll be the last one that’s likely to get hit, aside from the bard. Full plate would be a waste of money for her. I can heal nearly anythin’ that doesn’t pierce through, and most things that do.” She frowned a bit. “A plackart, to protect the guts, perhaps?” She gestured to her stomach, showing where it would go.
“Hard to do, without a breastplate,” said Micah. “And expensive, to have both.”
“I’ll see how the next dungeon goes,” said Mizuki. “I’m not convinced that I want to be pouring money into armor that I’d be selling right back to you, no offense.”
Micah shook his head. “Most go into the dungeons with less, ay.” He looked at Hannah. “Some of them don’t come back though.”
“Don’t fret about me,” said Hannah. “Monsters in the dungeons we’re goin’ to, at least of our elevation, are no more dangerous than fightin’ three raccoons.”
Mizuki bit her lip at that but said nothing. The obvious history between the two of them was making her a bit uncomfortable. Mostly it was an uncomfortable curiosity.
With the measurements taken and everything arranged, they handed their funds over to Micah, who made notes in a ledger and a promise to Hannah that her breastplate would be ready in four days’ time. Mizuki put the newly purchased helm into her bag, where it just barely fit. It had cost a shocking amount of money, though Mizuki hadn’t been under any delusion that armor was cheap.
“Seems like he still holds a candle for you,” said Mizuki once they were out of the shop.
“Ay,” said Hannah with a sigh. “I try not to be so nice to him, to lead him on and such, but it’s hard with such a man, who sees every kindness as a spark of attraction.”
“But you are attracted?” asked Mizuki. “At least a bit?”
“Ay,” said Hannah, shrugging. “But I’m only twenty, and to have children so soon, I’d feel like I hadn’t lived my life to my fullest.”
“And… you’re sure that’s what he wanted?” asked Mizuki.
“Oh, ay,” said Hannah. She shook her head. “But I’d rather not speak on it more, if that’s fine with you.”
This was the first time Mizuki could recall that Hannah had asked to drop a topic, and she didn’t know what to make of that. Clearly she wasn’t getting the full story. Mizuki felt bad for Micah, and inevitably, she got to thinking about what it might be like to date him. It was hard not to help herself, but she did try.
Pucklechurch didn’t have all that much in the way of shops, but they went to what there was, and it felt to Mizuki like they were spending rings with abandon. Mizuki bought some pants and had them tailored, then a thick shirt with long sleeves that would help against superficial injuries and environmental concerns. Hannah gave some advice and seemed to be a font of knowledge about dungeons. Almost everything that Hannah said about dungeons made them sound more dangerous rather than less, but Hannah was quick with assurances that this was all about planning for bad variance.
At the general store, they stopped to speak with Bethany for a bit. It was her father’s store, but Bethany had been running it for almost four years, and in Mizuki’s opinion, that was mostly because Bethany loved gossip.
“Your party is the talk of the town,” said Bethany with a smile. She had a mousy look and a bubbly personality, and within the last year she’d started dressing in shirts that left her shoulders bare, which Mizuki took as a sign that she was looking for someone to partner with. She had long brown hair she usually wore in a plait and kind green eyes. Mizuki thought she’d find a match pretty easily if she wanted to, but the girl was already twenty-one.
“In a good way or a bad way?” asked Mizuki, wrinkling her nose. Bethany had been in the year below, and they knew each other fairly well, especially from their combined classes. They had never been close in school but had slowly grown closer, in part because neither of them had settled down with a partner or children.
“Good,” said Bethany. “That Alfric—he’s made an impression.”
Mizuki nodded. “Big-city energy.”
“Not so often you see so many mages in a party,” said Bethany. “No offense,” she added to Hannah.
“None taken,” said Hannah. “It’s a matter of luck, though a sorc would be worth a lot less without aether manipulation. The real luck, from my point of view, is not in the findin’ of people, but findin’ them without needin’ to break up a party. My guess, knowin’ Alfric a bit now, is that if we’d said no, or we’d already done all the dungeons around the area, he’d have gone to his alternates, and if they hadn’t worked out, he’d have gone down a list until he’d found someone that would agree to it. Easy enough to follow a man like that into the dungeon. If things had been different, he might well have come in here, askin’ you whether you’d ever been in a dungeon before, and if you hadn’t, whether you’d like to fill out the team.”
“I actually have been in the local dungeon,” said Bethany. She smiled. “And after that, I decided that one dungeon was all I ever needed to do.”
“Who’d you go with?” asked Mizuki, frowning. “And when?” She had imagined that if Bethany had gone in the dungeon, it would have been hard to avoid news of it.
“Two years ago,” said Bethany. “With the Pedder boys and Neil. It was after you’d stopped hanging around with them.”
That did explain it. Things had gone wrong, and Mizuki had made herself scarce for a bit, especially around Bethany, whenever possible. Mizuki had been the token girl of their group, until all three of the Pedder boys had feelings of one kind or another for her, and it became an absolute mess. She accepted at least some of the blame for it.
“And how’d you make out on your one dungeon?” asked Hannah.
“Horribly,” Bethany said with a laugh. “We cleared it, but we were pretty bloodied up, or at least the boys were. We stumbled our way back to Pucklechurch.” She reached up and touched her earrings, which were jet black in the center with silver swirls around the outside. “I got thirty rings and these, along with a scar on my leg.”