Master Kallo was a bear of a man, which had originally come as something of a surprise to me given that his brother managed to achieve the feat of being lankier than me. Burns covered much of his skin, evidencing his many decades of working the forge.
The man grunted in lieu of a greeting and looked at me expectantly.
While Kallo and I had a relationship based on mutual respect for each other's trade, it was a very brittle thing. He did not like me one bit and made no effort to hide his distaste for my brand of sorcery. Even so, he was a man of principle, and to him, anyone's gold was good gold. He had crafted a fair bit of specialized equipment for me, and I fully trusted his professionalism.
"A set of plate mail, custom fit for him," I repeated my request, knowing he preferred brevity.
Kallo grunted again, this time in assent, and motioned for Sarjay to follow him to the back of the shop. I moved to follow, but he turned around and stopped me with a glare.
"Don't need you here for this. The lass knows what he wants, aye?" His voice was gruff and reminded me of old mothballs.
I gave Sarjay a questioning glance, to which he nodded after a second.
"Very well. You can leave the bill with any of the guardsmen." I then turned to the knight. "Come to the Traders' Plaza when you're done. I'll find you."
Sorting out the armor would take at least an hour, so I found myself with nothing to do for the time being. For a moment, I considered finding a quiet spot and practicing Dimension magic, but then reason kicked in and I dismissed the idea, it would do no good to accidentally demolish a building. My reputation was poor enough as it was.
I made sure to wear a mask making sure not to catch any unwanted attention. Who would want to have the Devil Lord roaming around Blackrock? Certainly, no one.
Wandering through the streets, the decision was soon out of my hands as I found myself standing in front of the one thing I was most vulnerable to. Something that had not been here when I last visited Blackrock, and I was no more able to resist than a crab in front of the tide. There, standing proudly between a bakery and a tailor's shop, was my greatest weakness.
A bookstore, Gmiores or some sort of. I have been planning to buy one and if I'm lucky enough, I might find something inside this store.
Unmindful of the people around me, I made a beeline to the object of my desires. The bell above the door made a pleasant clink as I stepped into the shop.
The inside consisted of several rows of bookcases, each going all the way up to the ceiling.
There was a counter to the right, but it was currently unmanned.
I spent the next half an hour browsing the stock, and setting aside a pile that would be coming home with me. There were quite a few new magical treatises that interested me greatly, and I reluctantly also picked up a book called Dimension Magic for Dummies. It was aimed at young apprentices, but beggars couldn't be choosers. I already browsed all the bookshelves but to no avail, I haven't found one. Although I already have one, I would love to have summoner grimoires as well.
I also selected a few titles that would help me with the newest addition to my tower, namely Mage guild on raising Teenagers and Teenage Angst: A Survival Guide. I needed all the help I could get there.
I was still lost in my own little world when a voice startled me from behind.
"Hello there, customer! I apologize, I was in the back and didn't hear you enter. I am Davos, owner of this store. Is there anything I can help you with?"
I turned around to face the shopkeeper. He was a dark-skinned man with wild hair and looked to be in his late thirties or so. Interestingly, he did not seem to recognize me. Maybe he was new or something.
I glanced at the veritable mountain of books I had picked.
"I think this is all for now. Though, you'll likely be seeing me a lot around here."
He smiled and gestured to follow him to the counter.
"I'm familiar with most of my patrons, but I don't think I've seen you here before."
"Indeed. I have been away from Blackrock for some time. I'm Achilles. Have you been open long?"
"About a year. I'm a refugee from Redford."
I grimaced at that, but Davos didn't seem to notice. Redford had been another village under my domain, just until two years ago. Like the other settlements that fell under the former Barony's jurisdiction, I had sent a contingent of undead for peacekeeping, as well as to collect the bone tax. This was mostly well-received — even though almost nobody liked the walking dead, even fewer people liked taxes. Heh, death and taxes.
In Redford, however, the local Temple of Lussira had been vocal protesters, calling for people to rise against the "forces of evil." This culminated with the Temple starting a riot that led to the entire village going up in flames.
I felt no small amount of guilt, now, standing in front of this man whose life had been uprooted as a result of my actions. I turned that guilt into fuel for the anger I held towards the gods. I would make them pay a hundredfold.
If Davos noticed my inner turmoil, he made no mention of it.
He went through each book, making notes in his ledger. He tapped one of the covers as he began, "This one is a godsend. I've been raising my boy alone for the last five years, and that Guide saved me a lot of grief. Are you a father as well?"
"Not quite. I… I picked up a stray boy so to speak, and I'm feeling ill-prepared to mentor him."
Davos snorted. "Ain't that the truth. You can never be prepared enough with a kid." He looked lost, but then continued, "It was difficult enough when my wife died.
As we finished the transaction, I made to leave — arms full of books — but then stopped in the doorway and turned around to the shopkeeper.
"I hope you have a good time in Blackrock. I'll be returning here often, so if you need help with anything please don't hesitate to ask."
He smiled and nodded, and then I was gone.
Back on the street, I mentally signaled to one undead guard, who I then sent to deliver the books back to the tower. With that taken care of, I started in the direction of the Traders' Plaza. This was going to be fun.