"Like I said, they were my mom's," Emory repeated, "The Witches back home said they probably Elandrian made."
"Not Elandrian made, these are Ancient gauntlets. This scale leather isn't wyvern; it's dragon!" Soren yelled, drawing the attention of everybody nearby.
"Are you sure?" Emory questioned, "Perhaps they're just very old."
Soren shook his head violently, "I'm definitely sure we didn't make those. See this metal? It's mithril, the legendary metal. This metal has been Elimine's research project since before I joined the Five. Adamantine is our version of it, but it's nothing in comparison to the real thing."
"What's so special about mithril?" Emory frowned, "I mean both Orichalcum that we use and Adamantine that you use seem to work great."
"How can I put this is a good way? Mithril is the only metal we've come across that has magik present in it from the beginning. Remember what I said about those special trees last night? This is the metal version of those trees," Soren tried to explain.
"Wow, that's great! Why isn't everything made of mithril then?" Emory exclaimed, "What does that mean for the finished product?"
Soren grimaced, "Those gauntlets are only the second item I've ever seen made of it. I've never seen it in its raw form. But they're far more powerful than anything we can make and have skills we can't replicate. What skills do those have?" Emory waved her hand above them to reveal their information.
"Level four enchantment: Arcane. Active Skill: Emergency Shielding. Passive Skill: Mana Draw."
"When I wear them, they're constantly drawing in magik. Then, if I ever take a big enough blow, they will create an Arcane Shield around me using the magik stored within the gauntlets. Though I don't know how exactly it works as they've never activated before," Emory had a big smile on her face as she told him.
"I can't believe such a skill exists," Soren stuttered, "I've never even heard of a skill like that before."
Emory put her gauntlets away then froze midway through, "Wait, you said this was the second time you've seen mithril. What was the first item?"
"Athos has a ring made with mithril," Soren regained his composure, "It gives him a plus four like those. But it makes his Luck crazy strong. I think the skill is called Forever Lucky. Given enough time, everything he wants comes true or something like that."
"That's insane. Did he say where he got it?" Emory's eyes almost popped out of her head. But Soren shook his head, causing both their shoulders to slump as they went back to looking through the gear. After a few minutes, Soren found a pair of forest green fingerless gloves with small spike studs on the knuckles. He handed them to Emory and snapped his fingers to reveal its information.
"Level three enchantment: Arcane. Active Skill: Supersize."
Soren asked, "What about these? Supersize activates once you channel magik into them and grows the wielder automatically to their maximum size as if they cast Growth on themselves. At least one of the people you're giving these to has to be a bigger person, right?"
"These will be perfect for one of the five people I need gloves for. Let's keep looking," Emory agreed, "We still need to find something for a Shifter, someone with the Creation sphere, another with the Blood sphere, and a ranged fighter. What about these for the Shifter?" She handed him a pair of leather gloves that looked like imitation bear claws.
"Level three protection enchantment: Arcane. Passive Skill: Thick Hide."
"These would be perfect for a Shifter," Soren nodded, "The passive skill means they can keep these on when they transform and get a protection bonus in that form. Three more to go." They kept searching for suitable hand gear and separated to move through the equipment twice as fast. After ten minutes, they both called out at the same time, "I think I found one!" The two shared a brief look and smile before tossing what they had found to the other person.
"Level four enchantment: Illusion. Active Skill: Phantasmal."
"Level three enchantment: Succession. Active Skill: Shotgun."
"Phantasmal is good for the Creation caster. It makes all magik they use invisible, including Barrier. Even when they pick up a second sphere, the magik they use from that sphere will be invisible as well," Soren replied after looking at the silvery thin gloves Emory had tossed.
"Is Shotgun like a projectile skill like Cannon?" Emory questioned, "That would be very handy indeed for my ranged friend."
Soren grinned widely, "That means we only have one left to go. Though Blood is a tricky one to find, I'm sure they'll have something useful."
"Look for a ruby ring in the jewelry section," the shop owner cut in, "I've been trying to sell that piece for months, so maybe you can take it off my hands." Realizing how loud they had been, Emory and Soren quickly lowered their heads in shame and scurried off to find the ring suggested to them. In the center of the box was indeed a ruby ring, but it didn't look like a normal ruby atop it. A dark energy swirled around inside the gem as if it was alive and trapped in it. Soren almost dropped it when he showed what it could do.
"Level five enchantment: Blood. Active Skill: Link. Passive Skill: Benefactor."
"This is an incredible find, but I also understand why you've had trouble selling this. Still, it's a level five enchantment," Soren mused after he picked the ring back up.
"Link? Benefactor?" Emory's face contorted in confusion, "Unlike most of the skills I've seen, I can't begin to imagine what these do."
Soren handed Emory the ring and answered, "Link creates a magik connection between you and another creature with magik. Once someone is linked to you, you can redirect injuries to them, but if they know that you're linked, they can do the same to you. Benefactor is conditional on Link being active and uses the magik of the creature you link to instead of your own."
"That sounds amazing!" Emory cheered, "What's the problem?"
"Mantoan don't have magik, so you can't use it on them and leaves only Uthid and Laxtros. Both of them are smart enough to figure out you're stealing their magik in a prolonged fight, so you'd have to finish them fast, virtually impossible for Laxtros. And, though I didn't mention it before, you can't redirect self-inflicted wounds on the other person," Soren listed the downsides of the skills.
"I see. But you don't have to activate it, right?" Emory pointed out, "Without the skill, it's still incredibly strong, stronger than any equipment we currently have. Say, since you haven't been able to sell this for a long time, would you sell it to us at a discounted price?"
The shop keeper rubbed their chin, "Well, since you're buying all these other weapons, I suppose I could give you a discount. How does twenty-five percent sound?"
"That'd be fine. Thank you!" Emory appreciated the owner's help finding all the gifts for her friends. She charged everything to Athos's account before carefully putting them all in her bag. Though it had gotten any heavier or larger, the objects were starting to distort the shape. Together they walked out of the shop and down the street towards the armor.
"We can look at the armor if you like to get an idea of what we have to offer, but your argument for their development doesn't work for protection," Soren persuaded her, "Please let us make some elite armor for you at the least."
Emory smiled, "I think I will take you up on that offer, but actually, we're here for a different reason. With all your power, I was hoping you could enchant some armor I already have. Is that possible?"
"Unfortunately, enchantment has to be done during the forging process to bond correctly with the gear," Soren apologized, "Could I see the gear? I'll look at it and see what we have that's comparable."
"Well, enchantment isn't the right word. These are already enchanted; they just don't have skills. Because I don't really understand how skills are added, I was hoping I could just add skills to these," Emory admitted as she pulled out the chainmail leggings to show him. Soren took the pants and waved his hand over them, revealing the same question marks for skills it had for her. He blinked a couple times before his eyes lit up as he realized what the problem was.
"I see what the problem is. Whoever enchanted this didn't finish the incantation," Soren remarked, "This is an easy fix. And it's a good thing too because these are well made. They're not quite as good as our elite gear, but if they get the right skill, you could have quite a piece on your hands. Do you have a top for it as well?"
Emory lit up, "Yeah! Come one, let's go! Where do we go?"
"Any of the full-sized stands should do. Don't worry; it'll be quick," Soren grinned as he led her to a small store with an open storefront. Unlike most of the shops that resembled little more than oversized kiosks or booths, this place was like a small house with a large, covered porch in front. The sound of metal clanging on metal pierced the hubbub of the festival as they entered the store. A little kid sat behind the counter, tapping along the top out of boredom, and jumped up when they came in. Emory instantly recognized this little girl as the one who had given her directions yesterday.