We made our way back to the shoppe. A few groups had gone the other way and met us on St. Michael’s Way. We received more thanks and some cheers from them. We smiled the whole way back.

  As we walked through the doorway and into the shoppe, Philip said to Biff. “That was the most amazing thing that I have ever just sat and watched. I feel like I won’t need to sleep for days.”

  I was happy but still tired. And I had a lot yet to do. I planned to check in with Red before I began any more work for the evening. But my thoughts were interrupted by a sudden sound of glass breaking, followed by some mean-spirited laughter.

  Biff and I both turned to see a group of five black cognito heroes arguing with one of the retail apprentices. The crash had come from the biggest of the five. It was the barbarian named Smash that I had seen earlier in the day.

  Biff and I walked over to them.

  “Is there a problem?” I asked.

  They turned to look at me.

  The group was an odd assortment and looked like a typical adventuring party. The barbarian served as the tank, a small halfling in leather looked like a burglar, two robed mage journeymen, both in gray, were a pair of elementalists, and a sword-bearing warrior in chainmail appeared to be another warrior of some sort.

  “Back off, mage, unless you want a piece of this!” The barbarian said, flexing his muscles.

  “Watch it, Smash,” the other warrior said, “He’s a goldie.”

  Smash had put me out of his thoughts and said to my apprentice in a low growl, “Bring me the magic or I do some more smashing around here.”

  I summoned my Battlestaff and slammed it against the floor. Bella knew I wanted sound and not for my strike to damage the marble. She accommodated.

  The BOOM was loud enough that all five took a jerky step backwards away from me.

  “This is my shoppe and you will all leave, now,” I said, with an emphasis on the last word.

  The barbarian took one aggressive step toward me, and I levitated him a foot off the ground. My staff flashed, and a copper ring disappeared.

  The other warrior took a step toward me but noticed that the thief and the two mages had not moved.

  The one mage, named “FlameDeath,” said, “Do you see his staff?”

  The other elementalist, whose name was “Blender Bender” replied, “Yes, I did not know a weapon could have more than seven sockets.”

  “You will drag your companion outside with you, where you will all depart to find some sport elsewhere. If you come back, I will see to it that you are reset. Do I make myself clear?”

  They did not respond.

  “Bella, please make sure they understand.”

  I never know what she says in situations like this, but it is always effective. Their faces showed shock and surprise. The halfling was the first to move toward the door, and he decided to keep on moving. He was done with this adventuring party.

  The two mages departed on their own and left the other warrior to drag the barbarian out backwards by his animal hide belt. The barbarian glared at me but remained silent.

  If they come back Bella, feel free to expel them. Be creative.

  Biff flexed his muscles and said quietly, “I wish you had let me remove them for you.”

  I patted his back. “But the apprentice was right here, and a blast or two from those elementalist could have put her at risk.”

  He looked over to where fourteen-year-old Shannon was still wide-eyed in fright at the bullying by the barbarian. He nodded to me and then went to talk with her and let her know everything was alright.

  A movement caught my eye, and I looked over at a counter to see a silver-robed mage who had another heroic black cognito. My eyes narrowed, and I strode over to him.

  He was staring at me, and his eyes grew wide as I moved in his direction. “Dude, I was not with them.” He said quickly, with his hands up and pointing at the door where Smash and his cronies had departed.

  He’s harmless. Mostly. Bella thought to me with a chuckle.

  She enjoyed moments like this. Had she told me he was not with the other group, or made me aware of his presence, I would not have moved so aggressively at the poor guy.

  I relaxed and smiled. “Sorry, I was still a bit tense and assumed you were here to make mischief.”

  He smirked. “Well, I can’t say that doesn’t describe me, but I don’t bully others. Especially kids.” His face clouded a bit as he looked over at Shannon, who was still teary-eyed and shaken.

  Since you seem to want to be hand-fed, the human illusionist had been just about to cast a spell on the barbarian before you, so heroically and protectively, intervened.

  Oh. I replied to her lamely. That moves him up from just a customer.

  She laughed. I know. That’s why I shared it with you.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  I got the sense of her shaking her head at me and then moving on to another task.

  I reached out my hand. “I’m Gwydion and this is my shoppe.”

  He relaxed and shook my hand. “Cedric. And I’m shopping.”

  We laughed.

  “Are you looking for something in particular?” I asked.

  “Well, I have a wand with a socket, and I figured a jewelry shoppe might be a good place to look for a gem to put in it. I had no idea I’d find a goldie owning it.”

  He referred to me using a slang I had not heard before the warrior had warned Smash about me. It didn’t seem especially insulting coming from him, but it had an edge to it when the warrior spoke. I suppose that the regular gamers entering the Shallowlands would pick up on the differences between golden and black cognitos fast enough.

  “Did you have a spell effect in mind for the wand? Did you want something offensive, defensive, or maybe an effect that was more neutral?”

  He crossed his arms, holding his right elbow with his left hand and stroking his chin in a way I had often noticed my father doing when thinking about some deep subject. The action warmed him to me even more.

  “Well, I have some good general effect spells. Illusionists have a pretty wide range of effects that we can do. And I do have an armor spell, which is pretty cool. But my direct attack spells are pretty limited.”

  I was curious about illusionist armor, and asked, “What is your armor spell? I would have thought that illusions might not be the greatest way to keep from getting damaged.”

  He nodded. “That’s mostly correct. But as spells increase in power, we can add solidity and effects that are as deadly or powerful as those of other mage guilds.”

  Cedric was not defensive in how he spoke, but I could see a pride in his guild that was probably trampled on by mages, like me just now, who made assumptions about the flimsy nature of visions and illusions. I should know better, having Wilma around. I hoped she wouldn’t hear my comment because it would cost me later.

  He continued. “I know that black cognitos were supposed to be limited to first-level spells, but I was granted an exception and chose a third vision spell called Glass Armor.”

  “Glass armor?” I asked, skeptically.

  He laughed. “Yeah, it sounds terrible, but it is actually pretty cool.”

  Cedric had an easy-going nature, but there was something about him that told me he had a keen mind and some skill that ran deeper than surface appearances.

  “The spell name makes sense if you know what to look for, but could easily get skipped over. I passed it over twice when I was going through lists of options. It was only a need for some kind of protection that forced me to dig a bit deeper and actually read its description.”

  I loved learning about new magic, and misleading spells definitely sparked my interest as an enchanter.

  “The glass portion of the name has dual meanings. First, when the illusionist casts it on his target, it is invisible. It does have a kind of silver flash effect when struck, like body-shaped force fields, but it will remain unseen otherwise.

  I nodded appreciatively at the subtle magic. “An elemental Blood Armor spell is similar, although I am not aware that it flashes when struck.”

  “The invisible nature with no weight is a plus. If you look at it with a See Magic spell, it does glow and reveal itself, however.”

  That was a good idea, and would give me a chance to check him out. “Let me try my See All Magic and Enchantment spell. It is a bit of an OP equivalent unique to enchanters.” I explained.

  I cast the spell and immediately saw that he was wearing a suit of magical, transparent armor. But there was more to it. A filmy darkness seemed to float around inside the armor.

  I asked him about it.

  “I can see your armor clearly, but there is also a kind of filmy darkness in there as well.”

  “Oh wow, you see its special effect. I don’t think the regular magical detection spells pick that up.” He looked impressed. “A special benefit of the spell, beyond two points of armor for every casting point used to create it, is a trigger spell when the armor runs out. I chose for it to release a seventy-foot darkness spell. I figured that if I was getting pummeled, the spell could be used to help me escape, or attack without being seen.”

  “You can see through your own darkness spell?”

  “Yeah, I know the first spellbook generic Darkness spell creates darkness that even the caster can’t see through, although he can adjust the range and target somewhat. But the illusionist, Advanced Darkness spell allows us to see as if there was a slight haze in the air. It is also a first-level spell, which we call a First Vision spell, but we get the advanced version of it.”

  “Enchanters have similar options. The magical detection spell I am using is the same kind of specialty upgrade.”

  “Cool.” He said appreciatively.

  In addition to his wand, I also noticed that he had one of each of the three adventurer potion sets, a magical dagger, and a socket on each of his leather forearm bracers that glowed weakly.

  “Looks like your bracers have sockets, also.”

  He looked down at them. “Yes, they were a gift from my master on earning my journeyman rank. He had them made by an enchanter here in Keelwell.”

  “Master Habberjaz?” I asked.

  He smiled widely. “Yes, that was the name he used. I’d guess you would know him, being an enchanter yourself.”

  “One of the very best, but he doesn’t come cheap. What does it do, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “I’d normally keep that to myself, but you already know they’re magical, and I was hoping you could also suggest some gems for those that I can keep an eye out for. I won’t be able to buy more than one today, however.”

  I nodded, but was already seeing him as a city defender and therefore could earn an extra gem or spell from me. I also wanted to get him to cast his armor spell for me on a SUS ring.

  “The bracers were made with my heritage in mind. My father died when I was very young, but he and his four brothers were all royal rangers. The blade I carry was his, and it goes back many generations.”

  “May I see the dagger?”

  “Sure.” He handed it to me, handle first, and continued. “The right gauntlet allows me to summon the dagger from wherever it is. I am pretty good with the dagger and with throwing, so that is a real bonus.” He raised the gauntlet to show me.

  “The other gauntlet allows me to fly once per day for thirty minutes. It’s not really long, but it could save me from a nasty fall or help me escape a rampaging minotaur in a pinch.” He grinned.

  The blade he handed me was of flawless quality, but it did not have a single socket. It had a powerful attack bonus and would deal double damage against any of the seven evil races. It was masterfully crafted and spoke to a family lineage that fought against evil for generations.

  That sealed it for me.

  “Cedric, I think we can work out a deal.” I handed him back his round-handled, long dagger.

  He sheathed it without breaking eye contact. “How so?”

  “Are you planning to remain in the city for a while?”

  “Yes, my master has assigned me and several others to help work on some task the Duke assigned them involving the walls. They were pretty vague about the details. But I got the feeling they had work for us to do over the next few days. Why do you ask?”

  “Have you been in town the past day or so?”

  He looked surprised. “No, I just got here on the ship with my master. We passed your shop on the way to the guild hall to check in, and while he got into some discussions with other masters, I came over here to look for gems while I had a few minutes to myself. I earned a large commission and had money burning a hole in my pocket.” He laughed again. Laughter seemed to come easily and freely for him.

  “Well, then there’s probably something you should know…”

  His face was pale by the time I finished informing him about the past twenty-four hours in Keelwell.”

  “I should have stayed in Port Departure.”

  “Too late now. You’ve been conscripted, or at least, I’m betting you will be by the time you get back to your guild hall.”

  He was quiet, and I could tell he was trying to work out what all this meant for him.

  He looked back up at me. “You said something about a deal?”

  “Yeah. I am willing to give you a 7pt ruby for your wand, allowing it to cast Firebolt spells and add five sockets to your heirloom dagger.”

  “Five sockets? I thought three was the maximum.”

  “Three would be for a dagger, but you caught me on a good day.” I laughed.

  “What’ll this cost me?”

  “I would like you to cast your Glass Armor spell, maxed out, on two magical rings. I’ll provide you with potions to recover your casting points. In fact, I’ll also give you two blank magical rings that you can cast spells or skills into. I’ll explain how they work in a minute.”

  “That’s great, and I’m happy to help since getting the potions just refills me, so there is no net cost to me. How much gold do you want?”

  I grinned. “None. You are working to help save our city. If you’d like to exchange a spell for a ring, I could use your special Advanced Darkness spell. For each spell you cast into a ring for me, I’ll give you a blank ring for your own use.

  His mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow, you’re the best, dude. When do we start?”

  “Now.”

  “Thanks!”

  “No worries, man. Anything for a fan.”