Chapter 8 - Magical Focus

Chapter 8

Salran Mountains, Starnor Imperial Border Territories

Frontier town of Kaisersgrenze

"Hello?" Said Airah as she entered the shop.

The shop was poorly lit, but that wasn't that much of a problem to her. It would be an issue however if the shop owner just wasn't there.

She'd have thought the magic shop would have been hard to find, but its facade had been painted a bright pink and purple, and adorned with images of bolts of energy, wizard hats, and magical swords. The sign was also a wizard hat struck by a lightning bolt.

"Ah? A customer! I'll be right with you!" The door opened briefly, and a face darted too quickly for her to get a good look. She realized with a start that what she could see beyond the door were book stacks. Which made sense, she was on a street right next to the plazza, the owner probably had bought the buildings back to back, and converted them into different shops. That would allow him to hold both of them, probably with someone to fill in for him when he was busy in one or the other.

The voice sounded like that of a young man, and Airah  rested her arms on the counter as she waited.

It didn't take long for a young man, looking every bit the young librarian, to come through the door. He wasn't looking noble per say, but distinguished and educated.

"How can I help you, miss...?"

"Airah, Airah Starfire. I was looking for a magical focus?"

"Ah!" His face lit up. "You are the adventurer those rascals of guards barged into my shop for! Have you read the books I picked for you?"

Airah nodded.

"Every single one. In fact, I'm looking to put the ones about magic into practice. Hence, the magical focus."

"Ah, of course, of course! Casting without a focus would be most counterindicated indeed. Give me a second, I should have some in the back." He waved at her and disappeared into the back of the store as Airah winced.

If the books were correct, 'counter indicated' was a considerable understatement. Apparently casting spells without either total mastery, or a specially made artifact to channel the spell -and most importantly- take the feedback for you if something went wrong was effectively suicide. The descriptions of the consequences were...vivid, and she didn't want to explode or have her organs melt. Some of their briefing documents indicated great dragons had the advantage of being far less susceptible to miscasts and magical feedback than humans, but she wasn't keen on taking the risk.

A minute later the owner came back through the door, holding a small chest. He carefully set it down, and opened it, before turning it towards her.

"Here are the choices. Be aware that I do not negotiate my prices young lady. The sphere is five platnium, six for a bracelet. Four for the wand."

Airah tilted her head.

"What about gold?"

Marty chuckled.

"Magical shops don't accept gold silly. Platinum only."

Airah blinked, but nodded. That...explained why she hadn't found any on the bandits. As they had thought, it must be some sort of premium currency, unavailable to most of the population, although there must be some currency exchanges that would trade platinum coins for more mundane currency somewhere.

She looked over the focuses, and tapped her chin.

I think we should take the bracelet. Said Stellyra. It'll keep your hands free, and the wand looks pretty bulky.

I was thinking the same thing. We won't be able to cast with it in dragon form though.

You can breath fire, I don't think you're going to need about casting spells as a dragon for a while. Besides, you would crush the sphere or the wand if you squeezed them in your dragon hands.

Fair.

She looked up at Marty.

"I'll have the bracelet please." She smiled, and patted the sword by her side. "I like to keep my hands free."

"Ah, an aspiring spellsword I see. Or maybe even a paladin? Good, too many rely purely on the power of their magic or that of their body to save them."

"Indeed. I assume you have some combat experience, on such a frontier place, how do you handle it?"

Marty smiled, and blushed slightly.

"Let's just say I have my ways, and leave it at that."

"Uh...sure."

"Now, the payment?"

"Oh! Of course." Airah rummaged into her bag, found the bag of money given to her by Lenna, and pulled out six of the platinum coins. Thankfully they were noticeable different from the gold ones, hexagons to their discs. She handed them over, and Marty carefully took out the bracelet. Airah noticed that the box shimmered slightly, and realized that it must have been some sort of magic. Probably some kind of security spell or enchantment.

Did you see that? She asked over the mindlink.

Yeah, analyzing it. Some of it wasn't visible light. Weird.

What do you mean?

I mean we saw some of the magic directly. Your brain just interpreted it as an image because you didn't have any other frame of reference.

Wait, we can see magic?

Apparently so. We'll have to test it out.

Yeah.

She grabbed the bracelet as he handed it to her. She tried it on, and opened her mouth to ask if it was possible to adjust the size, as it was too large for her wrist, but it shrunk, and fitted snuggly around her arm.

"Wow! What the-" She looked at Marty, who looked amused and slightly smug.

"Everyone has that kind of reaction the first time. Most focuses are mass produced, it's vastly cheaper that way. So they have some enchantments to adjust to the user. Once you're talented enough in the arcane arts, you'll be able to make one tailored to your own magic." He held up his hand, and pointed at one of the rings on his fingers. "I did it. Expensive and a pain in the ass, but worth it in the end, believe me. You will spend a lot of time cursing at jewelers though."

Airah nodded. Since she'd just spent over half of her platinum, she'd rather not know what 'expensive' entailed in this case.

"Fair enough, I suppose."

"So, may I interest you in anything else?"

"Well...I don't have that many platinum coins, so..."

"Mmmmhhh...tight budget, eh? I'm sure I can find you something still." He snapped his fingers. "I know! One minute please!" He rushed to the back of the shop, and Airah watched him go with a raised eyebrow.

He came back a few minutes later, holding an old looking tome.

"What is that?"

"An old grimoire of mine." He tapped the book affectionately, before setting it down on the counter. "I used it back when I was an apprentice in the arcane arts myself. I was keeping it around mostly for sentimental reasons, and because not many people look to learn the arts of the arcane here. But since you are, it would serve you much better than me."

"Oh, well, thank you, but I'm not exactly sure if..."

"Don't worry, I'll make you a friendly price. Three platinums. Believe me, it'll be worth it." He looked at her with piercing blue eyes, and she had the sudden feeling of having him stare into her very soul. "You will need it less than most, but it will still help you a lot in your early days. It contains a lot of my personal notes and beginner spells, they will guide you on the path."

"I..." Airah looked at the book. According to what she'd read, grimoires were something between an 'how to' technical manual, and a repository for mages to store spells they had made or tweaked themselves. They were often invaluable, which made this offer very generous. "Thank you, I'll take it."

"Excellent!" Marty held his hand out, and she deposited the three platinum coins into it. He smiled, and handed her the grimoire. "Do be careful with it. And may it serve you well!"

"Thank you. I will do by utmost."

"Excellent. Will that be all?"

Well, she had a platinum coin left, but she doubted it would get her much, and she'd rather keep in reserve just case.

"Yes, thank you! Goodbye!"

"Goodbye lady Starfire!" Airah made her way to the entrance, and froze as she opened the door and he continued. "And fly safe, mighty one."

She almost tripped, and looked back at the counter, but Marty was gone, and the door to the back of the shop was closed.

How-

Magic, I suppose? Said Stellyra as she looked worringly at the door. That or good info. If he's the only mage here, the government must rely on him a lot.

He isn't, they produce bags of holding here, remember?

Right. Still, mages must be pretty rare, especially if they have their own standalone currency.

I suppose so.

She exited the shop, and looked at her list. She'd already acquired clothing, a relatively quick trip, and some sewing kits to get her current attire back in order. She'd also bought general supplies, especially soap and some kind of cleaning fluid. Those would come in handy. There was nothing left, not really, except a few spices and herbs, but she could probably get those at any general store on the way back to the gates.

Alright, let's go home.

Sure thing. Remember that Lenna might want to meet with you.

Right. I guess we'll see.

*****

"Ah, lady Starfire!" Called out the officer as she approached the gate. Standing next to him was the commander of Lenna's personal guard. Stavros, if she remembered well. "This is commander Stavros. Lady Lenna would like to meet with you if at all possible?"

"Uh, of course, but should we go towards the manor or...?" She was still hesitant about boxing herself into a fortified building, especially one she couldn't transform in, but thankfully the officer shook his head.

"No need, she is waiting for you in the guard post."

It took only a few seconds to get her to the guard post -a shack really, built on the inner side of the wall-, and sit down in front of the simple, but solid looking table. Opposite of her was Lenna, looking much better than before. Airah had to stop herself from gazing at the woman. Deep purple eyes, and raven black hair...she looked beautiful, in her own way.

And the fact that she was wearing a light dress showing a generous amount of cleavage was helping as well. Just because she was dragon didn't mean she was blind, or didn't have hormones anymore. Plus she really was attractive.

"Hello lady Starfire, it's a pleasure to see you again." She smiled. "I was told you had eliminated some bandits?"

"Yes." Airah shrugged. "They attacked me. A foolish mistake."

"Indubitably. Still, I thank you for helping me get rid of this scourge, even if only in self defence." Lenna visibly hesitated and squirmed on the chair, readjusting her position over and over again. "Which brings me to my next point. We have your bounty right there." She patted the purse on the table. "Twelve gold pieces, one per bandit. But I was wondering if you were open to, ah, further cooperation."

Airah leaned back into her chair, and rose an eyebrow.

"What kind of cooperation?" There was no way she was accepting to enroll in whatever military they had, or take some riders. She might have only been recently turned into a dragon, but she still had some pride!

"Well, thanks to your ability to...see things from above, I was wondering if you would be interested in spotting and reporting the larger bandit camps to me? The smaller ones would be hard to find, I'm sure, but we have multiple reports of larger groups at the fringe of my territory, some freshly moved in."

"Ah." Airah steepled her fingers. "What would be the payment then?"

"Well. If you are willing to spot the camps for us, we could give you a fee for each camp found. Say, thirty gold."

"Uh uh. Fifty gold."

Lenna winced, but nodded.

"Fifty golds would be acceptable."

"Excellent. And I would like also a part of the loot and bounties, if I accompanied whatever assault you are planning."

Everyone in the shack -Lenna, Stavror and a handful of bodyguards- stared at her, and Lenna cleared her throat.

"Of course! It would only be fair. Do you think that is likely to happen?"

Airah smiled. It wasn't a very nice smile.

"Just because I have...higher interests doesn't mean I don't despise bandits, lady Vostner. Besides, bandits tend to have a fair amount of loot."

"Of course. What percentage would you be taking?"

"A quarter of the loot, so twenty five percent." The second she saw Lenna's eyes get wider, she knew she had given too generous an offer. "But, I will get first pick on any and all magical artifacts or platinum, at minimum, and preferably on all of the loot."

Lenna winced, before firmly nodding.

"That is more than fair. You would, after all, be doing most of the heavy lifting." She hesitated. "We do have some reports of their camps having taken prisoners, as servants and...pleasure toys. If at all possible, could you avoid harming them?"

Rage surged through Airah's mind, and she schooled her features a second too late. Slavery was...one of the bane of any human civilization. Although there was no point to slave labor in the Galactic Empire, there were still criminal syndicates enslaving people. It had more to do with power and sex than everything else, but it still existed. The inability to completely eradicate this trade was one of the Empire's greatest failure. And some of her journals indicated that the Navy had tried. Hard.

Not all Devourers had been deployed against Conclave star systems after all.

"I would be honored to keep them safe. I...have a dislike for such behavior. Something of a personal hatred for slavers and their ilk."

Lenna nodded, licking her lips.

"So do I to be honest. Very well, I believe we have a deal. Fifty gold per camp, and a quarter of the loot if you participate in the assault, with you getting first pick on whatever is found." She looked at Airah for confirmation, who nodded. "Excellent! I suppose you will come back when you find one of those camps?"

"Yes." Said Airah as Lenna extended her hand, and she shook it. Some gestures transcended dimensions apparently. "Although don't necessarily expect immediate results, I do have some things of my own to work on."

Lenna nodded.

"Magic, I'd heard. Unsurprising, given your...natural affinity with it. I myself never got into the arcane arts, despite my aptitude, never enough time."

"In my experience, there will never be enough time, no matter what." Hell, even G had run out of time, and she could practically stop it!

Lenna smiled.

"I suppose that's true. Very well, good bye, and safe travels, lady Starfire!"

"The same to you, lady Vostner." Airah smiled. "Do try not to get ambushed again, I can only arrive at the opportune moment so many times!"

Lenna laughed, her men chuckling, and she shook her head.

"I'll take the requisite precautions, do not worry."

Airah nodded, and left the guard post, passing the gate without incident, returning the nods from the guards, and left for the forest in the distance. Time to get home.