The Dwarf looked between the two of us. "Does your man get any input in this?”
“Maybe." She looked at me over her shoulder. "Ruin? What did you wear on the Outside?”
“Black boots, dark jeans, black motorcycle jacket and a black graphic t-shirt that cycled through smartalec phrases. Does that help?”
“Slightly,” she said, then headed deeper into the shop.
Meanwhile, Delores had pulled out a length of measuring tape and was ordering me around with several variations of, “Lift your arms. Yes. No. Lower your arms. Hmmmm.”
“I, uh, guess you weren't a fan of Millie?” I asked while she puttered around me.
“Fan? If that means I wasn't fond of her you're dead right.” She made a disgusted sound. “Selfish! Greedy! Lazy! Superbly jealous to the point of driving my brother right into the arms of another woman! Well, not so much arms so much as the lower limbs…”
She pulled out a small notebook, a pen and wrote a few notes in it.
She measured my inseam, made a tisking sound, much to my discomfort and continued writing.
“So you're happy with how things turned out?” Cherish called back.
She shrugged a little self consciously and said, “Well, I ain't happy about poor Callie but I am glad my brother finally has grounds for divorce. Murder trumps infidelity around here. Now, if this were a little village in the sticks that might be different.”
Cherished asked what her punishment would be and Delores said it would be a combination of fines, community service and loss of her soul.
“Here soul?!” Cherish yelled.
“Hardcore,” I said.
“Only most of her soul.” Delores explained. “Her spiritual essence will grow back.”
She paused amidst more measurements and said, “Eventually. If she works at it.”
“Wait, wait.” I was confused now. "What is the distinction between soul, spirit and essence?”
She stopped measuring me and finished writing everything down in the notebook before answering, “Soul, spirit and essence are used interchangeably depending on who you're talking to. Or what you’re talking about. But really the soul is your core, it is your self, it is immortal. The spirit grows from the soul and is used in magic. You burn some of your spirit and kindle it into magic. Essence is what everything is made up of. It is accumulated experience condensed into physical form. The Nilum are formed from free flowing essence though, no one is quite sure why.”
I thought about that and it fit with what I had learned so far. "So Millie's essence will be used for…”
“Compensation of the resurrection cost. When someone dies they need a donation of essence to be resurrected. Unless they want to start off too weak to defend themselves.
The more a person is loved, the more donations they get. The less liked… well, let's just say that while Callie would have recovered with only a little loss, Millie would not be so lucky.”
“So if a killer is caught before a person respawns,” I said, then corrected, “resurrects, then part of their punishment is to donate some of their essence. How much?”
Dolores spread her hands. "Every bit of it. Until the criminal is down to the lowest level possible without dieing.”
“It seems like a good system,” I told Cherish.
“Yes, but what about if you find the killer after the person resurrects?” Cherish asked, “Can they still donate essence to that person?”
“Eh, sort of but not really. The transfer of essence from person to person works best when one of the people in question is more… permeable. Almost but not quite resurrected.”
I remembered when I fell through the trees and through the ground. I'd felt pretty permeable then.
I decided that the chaotically colorful winds of energy and glowing flora had been the spirit world.
“Ohhh, Ruuuin!” Cherish's delighted sing song voice rang out from the back of the store. I cringed a little before going to find her.
When I found her, Cherish was waving her hands around like a game show girl presenting a prize.
Continuing the theme, she spoke in a game show host cadence, “This lovely, naturally black boots, pants, belt and vest set is made from top quality spider skin with sewn in metal plate for extra armor! Tough, strong, waterproof and somehow still breathable! Such high quality material allows for excellent, permanent enchantments and comes with a one time sizing enchantment, making it a guaranteed fit! Soulbound upon request for an exorbitant one time fee! And wait! There's more! A new matching bag with an eight inch opening instead of six! And twice the weight reduction!”
I had to admit, it looked like she had found medieval motorcycle gear and the closer I looked, the more I liked what I saw.
“I did good right?” Cherish prodded.
I pretended to think about, rubbing my chin as I circled the mannequin. Then I stopped when I smelled the magic coming off the clothes.
Cherish looked amused while the Dwarf looked confused and I sniffed all around the clothes happily and enthused.
"They smell like magic! That's the sizing enchantment right? It smells… rubbery? Not like the smell of rubber but the way rubber feels? It smells like it has some… give to it."
"That makes no sense." Cherish said.
"There… isn't really a way to describe it in this language. Here..."
I pulled Cherish's mind closer so she could smell it they way I did.
She wrinkled her nose and blinked rapidly, "I don't… I'm… having trouble understanding what your showing me. I don't think I'm wired to understand."
"I wasn't either at first. It takes practice."
She shook her head, I let her go as she pulled away and said, "Okay, but do you like the actual gear or not?"
“Yeah! I mean, the boots alone look like they would be effective at stomping skulls. As well as keeping my ankle from snapping like a candy cane as I rolled down the highway at eighty miles an hour.”
“Why a candy cane?” she asked, puzzled.
“You know,” I sent her a shrugging sensation, “like one of those giant inch thick candy canes that an enraged mall Santa might use to beat me around the head and shoulders like that one time.”
“Ooh,” I said aloud. "It comes with laces and a side zipper. I didn't know the had zippers on this world.”
“Why wouldn't we have zippers?” Delores asked. “And what's a candy cane?”
“Peppermint candy,” Cherish said, “Shaped like a cane.”
“Oh." She blinked. "Why?"
"So you can hang it on a tree," I explained.
"Why?"
"For decoration."
"Why?"
"For fun."
"Why?"
"Tradition?"
"... why?"
"I don't know."
"Oh… okay."
I went back to examining the clothes.
The pants looked equally tough, with the sewn in metal set in strategic areas. The vest had the metal plates sewn in as well and covered everything up to the base of my neck.
The front was open and I could see that it closed with a heavy black zipper, which was covered by a flap. A flap that closed with another zipper.
This wasn't just a leather vest, this was actual armor.
The belt was… a belt. Black and functional.
“What? No utility belt?” I asked, half joking.
“We do have a good selection of unity belts,” Delores said helpfully. "For all your adventuring needs. A few already enchanted!”
I looked back at Cherish. "Why don't we add one of those?”
She gave me an amused look and said, “I don’t cry diamonds, Ruin. Did you look at the price for that set?”
I looked at the writing on the small chalkboard at the foot of the display and calculated gold to American dollars. Then, I made a sound that combined the effects of a donkey kicking you in the belly while Beetlejuice grabed you by the reproductive organs and squeezed.
Confusion, outra
ge and horror brought me to my knees as my dreams of getting back in black were crushed under the weight of a three thousand dollars in gold coins.
‘Whyyyy…” I whispered.
“Oh relax,” Cherish said, half weary and half amused. "I got the money.”
“Really!” I popped back to me feet. "Wait! How? What! Really?”
“Yes, really.”
I may of squealed a little and said, “You are, like, the best sugar mama ever.”
“Don't call me that.” She gestured to a blushing Delores. "People will get the wrong idea.”
“Fine, fine,” I said airlily, then mentally asked, “But can you really afford this? I mean, you did say you made a lot of money but I don't really need it. Just a decent pair of shoes and pants are fine.”
“No. I'm buying you this,” she said firmly, “I know how much trouble you get into and I want your respawns to be at a minimum. You're a fighter, you need decent armor. Once its soulbound it will use your own physical regeneration to repair any damage it receives."
"Really? Wow. I didn't know soulbound items did that.
"It makes sense, our underwear is soulbound too you know."
"So, about it using physical regeneration to repair itself. Does that mean I'll heal slower?"
She shook her head. "Items will only repair themselves if you're fully healed."
"Cool. But what about you? Your vest doesn’t cover… well it looks more decorative than protective."
“I'm a buffer/debuffer with crowd control. Not a melee fighter.”
“And besides,” she added aloud, “I already spent more than that on myself getting a better bag and camping supplies. Which we'll need for traveling through the woods.”
I agreed with her and was about to say so when Cherish stopped and looked over at the Dwarf, who was giving us an odd look.
“What?” Cherish asked her.
Delores blushed and said, “I'm sorry it's just that… well. You have a group contract with each other and you keep talking mind to mind, right?
Cherish and I looked at each other before Cherish said, “I'm sorry. Is that rude? It's probably rude.”
“No! No, it is not rude, exactly. It's just, well.” She looked between us again, her expression unsure. "Usually, people just use the contracts when they go hunting or fight in groups. Prolonged use makes it difficult to keep your thoughts and emotions hidden.”
"Why would we try to keep them hidden?” I asked. “Are there negative effects if you share them for long periods of time?”
“Well… no… not really. It's just that… most people wouldn't want others to know, well, things. And being so close to another. So connected all the time might be… difficult?”
Cherish and I looked at each other and had a... not a conversation really. Not with words. We our minds pressed close and showed each other exactly what we felt on the subject.
It took less than a second.
By mutual acceptance we pulled back and I said, “So our only real concern is potential negative side effects.”
"Confirmed," she sent back.
Then she smiled at Delores and said, “Back on the Outside. That was the place we were before living in Midian, we were connected all the time."
“Not like this, but still connected. “I added. "When we communicated we would send our voices to whoever we wanted. We could send information in text along with… symbols,” I meant emoticons, “to communicate emotions and add context. We also sent images and videos, uh… recorded events, of what we've seen.”
Cherish nodded and said, “The emotion sharing this magic allows is like an extension of that system.”
“A more effective one actually,” I put in. "It adds a little more… clarification, to conversation once you get used to it.”
Delores frowned. "But what if the other person doesn't want to share?”
The thought of Five feeling the same way dashed through my mind and I looked away from Cherish even as I pulled back mentally.
Cherish looked at me and said, “Then they pull away. It's their decision and we won't hold it against them. Some people are the sharing type and some aren't, just like on the Outside.”
I looked back at her and smiled sheepishly. "And we all have things we want to keep hidden occasionally.”
Delores looked back and forth between Cherish and me, then down at our hands.
I hadn't noticed but sometime during the conversation we had started holding hands. A little physical reassurance along with the mental.
The Dwarf hesitated at first but then asked, “So are you two together? Because my feminine intuition says no but...”
“Nah,” I said and leaned towards Delores as I whispered conspiratorially, “She's in love with someone else.”
“What?" Cherish dropped my hand. "No! What? I'm not!”
“She totally is.”
“Shut up! You shut up! Shut your mouth and stop talking with… your… your mouth!”
She crossed her arms under chest and glowered at me while I snickered.
Then she said, "Just for that I'm still going to buy all the clothes. Except for the shoes.”
“Hey!”
“Yeah. That's right. Enjoy your sandals.”
“Well if that's your decision, I'll just have to be a responsible person and accept… hey look!” I pointed over her shoulder. "A distraction!”
She turned around before the full meaning of my words hit her, but when she looked back, it was too late.
“Oh my, would you look at that.” I pressed my hands to my cheeks in a pantamon of surprise. "It looks as though my sandals have been mysteriously ripped and shredded with extreme prejudice. I guess I have no choice but to get those boots.”
We both peered down the mutilated footwear, me in innocent surprise and Cherish with consternation.
“Really, Ruin,” she said, her tone dry. “Really?”
I tried projecting innocence, both through my expression as well as my mind but it turns out you can't lie mind to mind.
I should have expected that. Aw, well.
“Well then, just for that I'm not going to buy you those pants either.”
“You're not? Oh, well I guess this is another opportunity for me to show how responsible… Hey look! A pterodactyl!”
She didn't move.
“Not a dinosaur fan, huh.”
A bell tolled, making Delores jump. "Oh! That's the half hour bell! The meeting! Or, announcement or whatever it is. They keep changing what they call it. Anyway, it's going to start! Quickly! Make your purchases. I'm closing the shop.”
“Alrighty then!” I pulled off my shirt, dropped my pants. "Cherish? I'll pay you back, I promise.”
She pulled the clothes off the mannequin and said, "Whatever. You can if you want. Just get it to me by whenever.”
I turned to Delores and asked, “How do we do the soulbound thing and why is your face so red?”
“You're sorta naked right now,” Cherish pointed out as she tossed the pants at me.
“I'm wearing underwear!” I protested.
She ignored me and asked the Dwarf, "Do you sell socks? I know it's not a leather thing but - “
“Yes!” Delores shouted and turned around. "Socks, shirts, extra leg armor lining. All for an extra fee which I'll get right now okay good you stay here okay good!”
I watched her run to the back of the shop in confusion, my new pants halfway up my thighs.
“Umm… are my scars that ugly?”
Cherish looked me up and down before saying, "Not really. I think it's rather the opposite effect really.”
I pulled the pants all the way up and buckled the belt as I asked, “I've heard that chicks dig scars but… wait. Do people even get scars here?”
“Yes?” Came the hesitant voice of an approaching Delores. "If someone is gravely wounded and must heal slowly. Without the aid of herbs, potions or magic, then scaring can occur.”
She didn't look at me directly but with qu
ick little glances. “How… how did you come by such wounds? Was it in a great battle?”
I smiled. "Nah,” I pointed to the white streaks of scar tissue on the right side of my ribs and said, “This is when I got knocked off my motorcycle going about one hundred and ten miles an hour. That's… um, three times as fast a galloping horse and a motorcycle is a mount made of metal, glass and rubber.”
She looked up at me with wide eyes. "What were you doing on such a creature?”
I shrugged. "Eating a cheeseburger. But that had nothing to do with me crashing. I'm pretty sure.”
Then I pointed at several one inch wide scars around my left side beside the stomach. "Stab wounds. Got between the wrong guy and his cheating girlfriend. The worst part, she wasn't even cheating on him with me. All the pain and none of the gain. ”
Cherish plucked a pair of socks from the girl's slack hands and tossed them to me while she said, “And that was the worst thing about getting stabbed multiple times in the stomach?”
“From a guy's point of view? Yes.”
She smirked and her eyes drifted to my right shoulder. "How about the scar on your shoulder? I know you said you got it from a fire but I never got the specifics."
“Oh, this. I ran into a burning building to save a box full of puppies.”
They both stared at me.
“What? I like puppies,” I said defensively.
Cherish laughed silently as she tossed me the shirt and vest. Delores leaned in close to her and in a loud whisper asked, “Did he really run into a burning building to save a box of puppies? And if he did, does he have a girlfriend?”
Cherish whispered back at an equally loud level. "He felt sincere when he said it and knowing him it wouldn't be a surprise if he did. But he already has a crush on someone else.“
“What? No I don’t. Who would I have a crush on? I spend all my time with my Chain.”
Cherish let out a long, loud groan before saying, “Blood and Suffering gods you're clueless!”
“Huh?”
She threw my new bag and me and told me to put it on. I undid my belt and threaded it through the bag, adjusting it until it was comfortable. Then we followed Delores through a door, to the back of the shop.
I found out exactly how complicated soulbinding objects was. As opposed to the “Bind On Equip” system in other game worlds.
Dubstep Succubus Page 30
