As I stood in front of the table, my eyes moved across my three options. I could go for a new gambeson as my only armor, hoping that it will be sturdier than the last one, even thought I knew that no matter how many layers of linin you saw together, it's still only fabric. It's good enough against weapons and smaller beasts, and also provides padding, lessening how hard a blow would land on me. But it was only piece of cloth. Sooner or later it would give up, and I can't be sure to always have an armorer and full purse on hand for a replacement.

  Second option was a leather armor. I knew that some leather could provide actual defense, but it had to be prepared in a specific way, and arranged in a specific pattern. Did I knew any of those things? Of course not. I didn't know a tailor or a tanner that could prove to me a leather armor was strong enough, without getting scammed myself. Just off the risk of being completely wrong, was a good enough reason to pass on this piece, even thought it looked good, with an affordable price. In the end, leather armor had a reputation of being newbie's trap.

  Thirdly, a chainmail shirt. It would cover slightly less than the gambeson, provided the rigidity of iron to the mix and was magnificent against slashes and cuts. Of course a chainmail would always fall short compared to any type of plate, that being a coat of plate, or a proper cuirass. But considering I was on limited budget, it would be the best I could afford right now. I've kept looking, wondering about the options. Turned around to see Abigail not paying attention, cleaning her nails with some tiny wooden pick, completely ignorant of the world around her.

  The payout for Kastan was big enough that I could pay for new armor out right, but of course a trade center with prosperous adventurer's guild would mark up the prices to a ridiculous degree.

  "Gambeson 15, chain 32... Yeah, I'll take both of them." Just saying these words stung like a scorpion, right into my stomach. Back home I would pay a third of this price for all of this.

  "And would you like a helmet and a coif? Most common death causes for adventurers are head injuries!" The merchant proclaimed proudly, presenting to me an iron cap, with a long stripe in the front, meant to protect the nose.

  "How much for that metal bowl?"

  "Additional 15 ducats." He said with a big smile.

  We've stared at each other for a moment, I looked back to Abi for guidance. She was now observing some plate armor on display, still not paying attention. I knew that if I'd pay for the helmed itself, I'd have to give up on the chainmail. It could be a stupid choice, but I stood my ground on getting the metal shirt!

  "No thank you, just the torso protection." Counting the coins very carefully not to overpay by a mistake, I finished the transaction and took my new equipment, slowly putting it on. The gambeson jacket was comfortable, but in a navy blue color, not really my type, but would be fitting with the water mage. When fitted, it went down to half way down my thigh, so just as the previous one, but the sleeves went down to my elbows. This new style was not the most comfortable, and each move of my arm caused me slight discomfort, but it was something to get used to.

  "Abi, care to give me a hand?" The redhead turned over to me dumbfounded and approached. When I handed her over the chain shirt, she extended her hands to catch it casually, but she almost fell over, not expecting this much weight to suddenly appear on her palms, but she managed to recover just in the last moment by stepping forward a bit. With her help, putting the jingling armor not the easiest endeavor - but possible. Of course my hair was getting in the way, so I scooped it up in a single tail, put in my mouth and clenched it with my lips. This helped a bit, but I still ripped a bit of them from my head, as the loose hair got stuck in between the rings.

  Finally on me, I've moved around, testing the new weight across my core and... it all rested on my shoulders. When I looked down, I've realized my belt is under the mail and gambeson. The stress of picking the right armor caused me to screw up the entire process. I've looked at the armorer, who's smile move, and decided to just leave the store.

  Back in the tavern's room, me and Abi spent good hour testing how to put on the armor comfortably, take it off, where to put belt to reduce as much weight and noise, what other pieces of fabric could I stick under or over the mail. A lot of experimentation lead me to getting a good idea how to work around this whole set up, but most importantly, how to prevent my skin and hair from getting pinched against each individual ring.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  "So, we got paid a good 70 ducats for your peer. Got anything you want to spend your part on?" I've asked Abi while sitting, too tired from the whole dress-up to bother getting up.

  "I could get a nice staff, but I doubt we could afford the cheapest one if we combined our money. I never knew how expensive they were out in the outskirts."

  "Active guild, end of supply chain, any demand and no local production. That's why I want to get out of this place as fast as I can. You coming with me?"

  This question stunned Abigail for a moment. She looked down, thinking for a good 15 seconds, before looking back at me. "Yup, beside traveling with you, I have not many options. If I return to my master after fumbling an opportunity he worked hard to get me - he'll kill me. And if I get to my parents after losing most of the equipment I got for their money in drunken idiocy - they'll kill me too."

  "Pffft, I almost forgot about that." I barely contained my laughter, but only after reacting to her. It was true, I might need to look at her hands constantly, to make sure she's not overdoing the booze, otherwise she'll be only a hinderance. But if I can manage to keep her sober, a water mage could make capturing targets live much easier. Manhunting job paid much better than monster hunting, and this market could be well exploited with Abi's help.

  "Alright, it's not even noon yet, I've done all my business in here, you have none. Time like no other to get moving." I've stood up slowly, with a wobble - completely unused to being top heavy. "First things first, let's get some dry food for the road, and maybe some spare supplies. We got about a week to the next town, and I doubt the villagers will be always happy to share their food with armed strangers. At least until threatened."

  "And do you plan on threatening them?"

  When she asked that, I had to stop for a moment and look at her. "I am not a bandit. If they don't want to share food, I'll just walk away. Who do you take me for." I kept my eyes on Abi, and could see how she struggled not to blurt out that I'm a vampire. But surprisingly, she managed to stop herself.

  Soon after we split, with the redhead going to collect some food and get herself a nice traveling bag, where she could store all her belongings. She had a small list of things she wanted to buy, so we agreed to meet up at southern gate.

  On the other hand, I spent the time collecting information on the road and potential targets. At the barracks, I've looked over every wanted poster, trying to memorize the most notable people, and the information where they can be delivered. At least half of them were under provincial bounty, preventing me from depositing them wherever I wanted. Province of Marubia was the biggest in the kingdom, but also was the least populated. Many places where one could hide, a lot of monsters in between settlements. But what was important was the bandits, and bandit aligned adventurers.

  It took two hours before me and Abigail met back up under the gate. I had my papers ready, with a blank sheet ready for her, with a piece of charcoal. When she approached, she didn't even bother greeting me, and only deposited the overstuffed bag next to me, rubbing her forehead.

  "I might've overbought. But!" She went silent, grabbed a piece of cloth and lifted it up to me, showing me what seemed to be a wide coat with hood attached to it. "What you think?"

  I looked it over, but it seemed normal. A large piece of wool, hood was pretty wide and it seemed warm. "A coat? Cape?"

  "Two capes, bought them on a sale. This one's yours." She then handed me the coat, and without looking if I even grabbed it, just threw it on top of me. I freed myself from the clutched of the brown wool, threw it over my shoulders and tied it around my collar. I already could feel it dragging on the ground and pulled on my shoulders heavily.

  Looking back at the redhead I could see her fighting with the rest of the shopping, packing everything in the bag. I've put a hand on her shoulder, and when she looked at me, pushed the paper and charcoal stick into her hands. When she held both, I've presented my piece of paper full of information.

  "See all the details I've written? Copy it with your own. Name, family name if you have one, specialization." I carefully observed as she knelt down, placing the paper on the bench and filling it up as I said. "Now, occupation as an mercenary apprentice. Write me as your tutor."

  "Why? I never agreed to be under your tutelage." Abi commented as she looked over to me.

  "Registration as independent is 5 gold ducats, and on top of that you need a letter of recommendation from a legal administrator like a lord or a duke. As an apprentice it's free, but I'm responsible for you."

  Hearing that it was either free or with massive upfront payment, she immediately filled it up as I told her. Rest was just copying and pasting the information.

  When she finished, I took her papers and the charcoal and walked into the adventurer's guild, which was nearby. I've given the clerk the papers, asked them to be delivered to the next town over - Vishgrad. When finished, I collected my new apprentice, who finished fighting with her bulky bag, and we both walked out of the gate towards the south. Sun was high in the sky and we had multiple hours before the night.