Lars startled at the sound, reaching for a hatchet on his belt and drawing it in a swift motion. Fortunately, he recognized me before he threw the thing, his expression softening. “Corin. You shouldn’t be ‘ere! It’s not safe.”
I chuckled. “Oh, believe me, I know. I’ve actually got a story for you for a change. Or, I will when I get back.”
He gave me his fiercest frown. “Back? I don’t like the sound of that, lad. What sort of nonsense are you up to now?”
I grinned. “It’s a bit of a secret. But, uh, hypothetically speaking... if I was going into the tower, what would you recommend that I bring?”
He set the broom and dust pan aside, folding his arms — which just gave me a closer look at his injured arm. I walked closer, slipping the ring off my finger and offering it to him. “Your arm’s cut up pretty good there. Put this on for a bit. Regeneration ring.”
He accepted the ring, turning it over in his hands for a moment with a frown before slipping it onto the pinky finger of his injured arm. “This is a Citrine-level item, lad. Where’d you pick it up? You shouldn’t just be handing something this valuable out to anyone.”
“Uh, not exactly mine. I’m borrowing it from Professor Orden. Possibly forever, depending on how things go.”
He laughed. “Borrowing it forever, eh? Seems like a good deal. I suppose I’ll borrow it in turn, but not for quite as long. Maybe half as long.”
“Seems reasonable. So, suggestions?”
He looked down at me, narrowing his brows. “You’re serious.”
I nodded gravely. “Completely serious.”
“Best suggestion? Don’t go until you’re at least Carnelian. You need a shroud to keep yourself safe in there.”
I tilted my head to the side. “A shroud? Isn’t that a Guardian thing?”
He waved a hand to show partial agreement. “Not quite. Everyone who hits Carnelian or above gets a shroud. You’re an Enchanter. That’s the aura you see when you look at them.”
“So, it’s just another name for an aura, then?”
“No, it’s more specific. There are lots of types of auras — you might have an aura of fire around you because of an item, for example. A shroud is your personal aura — it comes from mana leaking right out of you. That’s not a bad thing, though. It protects you, like a barrier that’s always on.”
That did sound useful — and it helped explain why powerful attuned were so resilient. Maybe that was how Keras survived being slammed into a pillar by Katashi?
“Okay, and I presume the stronger the attuned, the stronger the shroud?”
“Aye, and the more control you get over it. Guardians are specialists at using their shroud, as you mentioned. That’s why even Quartz Guardians have one. They develop them earlier and learn more tricks, like focusing the shroud over a specific part of the body to punch someone really hard.”
I scratched my chin. “Good to know. What can higher level attuned do with their shroud?”
“All sorts of things. The most important is that Sunstones learn to suppress their shroud. That makes it so Enchanters like yourself and Diviners can’t tell how powerful they are at a glance. Terrible idea if you might get into a fight, since the shroud actually gets weaker. It’s not just hidden. Many powerful attuned keep their shroud suppressed most of the time to make it harder to gauge their strength.”
I nodded. That helped explain why I could never get a good read on some of the people I’d looked at, like Professor Orden or Derek. Orden could have easily been explained by using illusions — she was a Shadow after all — but Derek seemed combat focused. He was probably just hiding his power the same way that most nobles hid their hands with a glove.
Lars continued. “Beyond that? I’ve heard of Citrines extending their shroud to cover other people, or reshaping them the way a Guardian can from the beginning. Not sure what else they can do — never got past Sunstone myself.”
“Okay. Let’s assume I don’t have time to hit Carnelian - but I’ll try. What else should I bring?”
“A backpack. Food that’s easy to store. Water — ideally an item that will make water for you. Plan for a week. It usually takes two to three days to find an exit, but you want to be prepared for worse situations. Oh, and extra socks.”
I blinked. “Extra...socks?”
“You never can have too many extra socks. Don’t doubt me on this. You’ll regret it if you do.” He nodded sagely.
The wound on his arm was already starting to visibly glow and scab over — that ring worked faster than I’d expected. I’d definitely need that ring in the tower, too — presuming Orden didn’t take it away from me.
“Okay. Any particular magical items you’d recommend? Be direct with me — I’ll buy something from you if you say that I need it, presuming I can afford it.”
“I can give you some recommendations. What’s your price range?”
I’d saved up quite a bit over the last couple months by making my own supplies. I had about eighty silver on me — far more than I’d ever carried in the past, aside from when I’d bought the supplies needed for Sera’s summoning-enhancement gauntlet.
In a better situation, I would have used that money to buy supplies to make myself something — but I didn’t have time.
“I have eighty silver. I intend to spend as much of it as necessary here right now.”
Lars gave me a serious look, nodding slowly. “I’ll put together a few things for you.”
I reached out a hand. “Gimmie that broom, then we’ll look at items afterward.”
He reluctantly surrendered the tool, and I worked on finishing sweeping the glass into a manageable pile. After that, we swept it into a bag for disposal. There wasn’t much we could do about the wall, so I helped him drape a tapestry over the hole.
I left the shop with the ring back in my possession, ten silver in my pocket, and more than three hundred silver worth of items.
In exchange, I’d made him a promise—
I’d be back to shop there again soon.
***