Return of the Runebound Professor

Noah was still standing by the window when Lee and Moxie got back. He turned as the door opened and they stepped inside.

“What’s wrong?” Moxie asked, reading his expression immediately.

“I saw the weird cat thing that was sitting on my chest back in Arbitage,” Noah replied. “It was in the alley down there.”

“Where?” Moxie asked, walking up and peering through the window.

“It’s gone now. It left a bit ago. I was debating chasing after it, but I restrained myself.”

Moxie started to nod, then paused and took a step back to examine Noah’s face.

“What?”

“Just didn’t expect to hear that you actually thought something through before going through with it. Good job.”

“Why do you sound so impressed? I’m not a complete idiot. That was the same energy that showed up when we fought the weird sludge-monster underground.”

Moxie grunted. “Nobody is saying that you didn’t make the right decision – I’m just surprised you did. Your approach is typically start swinging first and thinking later. For a moment, I was wondering if you were someone else and the real Noah had gotten kidnapped.”

“If you were wondering that, then you probably shouldn’t have said it out loud. Now I know.”

“Lee would have immediately noticed if that was the case.” Moxie rolled her eyes, then handed a piece of dry parchment to Noah. “Here. We got some jobs while we were out. It looks like they aren’t all that far from each other either, so we can do them both in one go.”

Noah read over the paper.

“Hunting Molesters?”

“That’s what I said!” Lee exclaimed.

“Molsters. Mo-el-sters,” Moxie enunciated. “They’re big ass rats with giant claws and squished faces.”

“Odd. More mole monsters, huh?”

“That’s what I said!” Lee added.

Moxie just rolled her eyes.

Noah chuckled and gave the job back to Moxie. “Works for me. Sounds like we’ll be doing the world a favor.”

“The other job is punching rocks,” Lee said.

“Killing some rock monsters that were getting aggressive and pushing a bit too close to the city,” Moxie explained. “Although that might not be all we have to deal with.”

“What’s that mean?”

“We ran into someone that Lee said was watching us while we were getting the jobs,” Moxie said, folding the paper up and sliding it into a pocket. “It might have just been nothing, but there’s a possibility someone scoped us out and has decided that we’re easy targets.”

“Interesting,” Noah pursed his lips. “They seem strong?”

“Not in any obvious way. If they were, I doubt they’d be sitting around in the shadows of an inn and waiting to find easy targets to rob. Who knows, though. He could have just been looking at me. Maybe he saw the Torrin sigil on my clothes.”

Can’t blame him.

The thought passed through Noah’s head before he’d even realized it. And, by the time he had, Azel’s laughter was already echoing through his mind. Noah shut the demon out, keeping his expression neutral.

“What?” Moxie arched an eyebrow.

“Nothing,” Noah replied, clearing his throat. “Nothing. Just thinking. We’ll just keep an eye out in case someone shows up and tries to mug us, I guess. Is there anything else we should try to prepare, or is the job close enough that we can just head over there today?”

“It’s a bit of a travel from the city by foot, but we’ve still got a good bit of gold. Your last flying sword got melted, but with how much time it saves, it’s probably a good investment for us to get another.”

That’s true. I kind of miss the thing. Piece of shit or not, it was fast.

“Might be a good idea,” Noah agreed. “Did you see somewhere where we could get one?”

“We spotted an Imbuer’s store on the way over. We can swing by it on the way out of the city. With a flying sword, we should be able to do both of these jobs within the day and make it back before nightfall.”

“Works for me,” Noah said. “Shall we?”

Moxie nodded, then looked over to the closed wooden box on Noah’s bed. “Should we put that somewhere?”

Noah pulled his sleeve back with a grin, revealing the tattoo on his forearm. “No need. It’s coming with me.”

“That’s the violin?” Moxie’s eyes widened.

“Yep.”

“What kind of Imbuement can do something like that? I certainly didn’t put it in myself.”

“Arnold said it would take its own form, didn’t he? Maybe it was a mixture of something you did and something he did.”

Moxie didn’t look convinced, but she certainly looked impressed. “Well, that definitely solves the issue of carrying it around everywhere. I’d love to know exactly how that Imbuement works, though. Imagine if you could Imbue an entire suit of armor on yourself. Instead of carrying it around, it could just pop out whenever you wanted. That would be invaluable for Soldiers.”

“Maybe you can ask Arnold. There’s only one Imbuement that I don’t want to screw around with on my body, and it’s this one.”

A smile passed over Moxie’s lips and she nodded. “Maybe I will, if we meet him again. Shall we go get the flying sword, then?”

***

The Imbuer’s store was just a ten-minute walk from their inn. It turned out to be on the third floor of a long, six story building, nestled between a boutique and a shut down bakery. There really didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to many of the buildings in Dawnforge, and this one was no exception.

On the other hand, the interior of the store was immaculate. It was almost a surprise to Noah to find that, instead of piles of trash and random objects scattered across the shelves, this store was perfectly neat.

Weapons and armor lined the walls and sat on display stands, carefully organized to make it easy to immediately find whatever you were looking for. There was as surprisingly extensive collection for a relatively small store.

Scattered between the Imbued objects were a variety of detailed paintings, each depicting men and women in armor and hefting weapons aloft.

“That looks fun,” Lee said, walking up to a huge battleaxe hanging from the wall and eyeing it. It was nearly three heads taller than she was, and the blades were wider than her torso.

“A little big for you, I think,” Noah said.

“I could hold it.” Lee crossed her arms.

“I’m sure you could,” Noah said quickly. If it became a challenge, Lee would probably grab the axe and start swinging – and there was no doubt in his mind that she would be more than able to wield the massive weapon. “But I think it might be a bit too dangerous in your hands. We should show some mercy on our enemies.”

“Hm.” Lee stared at the axe.

Oh boy.

“Good morning. My name is Olive. Is there anything I can help you with?” a kindly voice from the far end of the store caught Noah’s attention. He turned away from Lee as the owner of the shop stepped out from behind a door. A stained white cloak hung around his shoulders, and he wore half-plate armor even though he was inside the safety of his own store.

Long, blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail behind his head, revealing sharp features and warm, brown eyes. His face didn’t fit the rest of his burly body at all. It looked like someone had taken the head of a doll and swapped it onto the torso of an action figure.

“Good morning,” Noah replied. “We’re looking for a flying sword. Would you happen to have one?”

“Of course,” Olive said, flashing them a wide smile. He approached the wall across from Noah and pulled one of the blades in the middle of the section down before walking back to Noah and holding it out. “Take a look at this one. What’s your budget?”

“We’d like to keep it below a hundred gold if possible,” Moxie said as Noah took the sword.

It was heavier than the previous flying sword he’d used. Part of that might have been because this one actually had a hilt. The blade was about three inches wider, and the entire thing was beautifully polished.

While it wasn’t extravagant by any means, Noah could feel that the weapon in his hands was incredibly well made. It was probably also well out of their budget.

“That’s rather low for a flying sword,” Olive said diplomatically. “They’re rather powerful Imbuements. I typically don’t sell any for less than five hundred, and that’s on the absolute lowest end.”

Damn. That merchant in Arbitage really cut me a good deal, even if the sword was rusted to all hell.

Olive spotted the sour look on Noah’s expression and cleared his throat, misunderstanding the reason for it entirely.

“That’s not to say I can’t work with a lower budget, of course. Are you flexible on the hundred gold limit? I might have something for two hundred.”

“I assume it isn’t this?” Noah asked, holding the sword in his hands up. “It’s very nice, by the way.”

“I’m afraid not,” Olive agreed with a laugh. He took the sword back from Noah and returned it to its spot on the wall before taking down another one from the far end of the collection.

The second sword was a little thinner than the previous one had been, but the quality on it looked nearly as good. It was plain, and there were a few scuff marks near the hilt, but it still looked very high quality.

“This is two hundred?” Noah asked, trying not to sound too surprised.

“It’s not the fastest one I have, nor is it the most responsive or deadly. Not much of a statement piece either, but it’ll get the job done.” Olive didn’t bother hiding the pride in his voice. “Cheap but effective.”

“For two hundred?” Moxie asked.

Olive started to nod, but midway through, he let out a strangled squawk and held a hand out. Noah and Moxie both spun just in time to see Lee wrap a single hand around the hilt of the massive axe and lift it from the wall.

She glanced over at them, holding the axe out at a full arm’s length before her. “How do I look?”

“Damned Plains, you’re strong,” Olive said, his eyes wide.

“I know.”

“Lee, maybe put that back before something gets broken,” Moxie suggested. “We can’t afford to replace some of the stuff in this store.”

“How much is that, though? Out of curiosity,” Noah added, lowering his voice.

Olive ignored both of them. He walked over to Lee, stopping several paces away and raising his hands, forming a square and peering through it. Lee reluctantly went to put the axe back on the wall.

“No! Stop,” Olive said, grabbing the hilt and pushing it gently back toward Lee. “Hold that out again.”

Lee lifted the axe.

“Move it back a bit.”

Olive guided her grip on the axe, adjusting her stance a little more before taking a step back.

“Why am I doing this?” Lee asked.

“I want to paint you. You’d look marvelous on my wall.”

“I don’t really like the feeling of wet stuff on my body. No thanks.”

“I – what? Not paint on you. Paint a picture of you,” Olive said. “Can I?”

“Do I get to keep the axe?”

Olive choked. “That’s an eight hundred gold weapon.”

“I’m an eight hundred gold paintee.”

“Five hundred gold for the sword and the axe if she lets you paint her?” Moxie offered.

Olive glanced back at Moxie, then over to Lee. He considered the offer for a few seconds, then gave them a sharp nod. “Fine. You’re going to have to stand still for a little while, though. I can tell that this is going to be perfect. A cute little girl, wielding an axe like that? Hah. I never would have thought.”

“Can you paint me chopping something with this?” Lee asked, looking up at the axe. “It would be cooler. Make sure to have lots of blood flying everywhere too.”

Noah suppressed a laugh.

I’m not so sure Olive knows what he’s getting into.

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