Rob X Punzel ~ Eighteen!

Advanced Skill: Dreadful Locks: Level 9/10.

Requirement to advance to level 10: 

Sense danger before your hair does. 49/50. Stop people or yourself from being poisoned by food or water. 50/50. Remain underwater for 240 continuous seconds. 0/1. Absorb a full lightning bolt’s worth of energy. 1,000,000,000/1,000,000,000 watts. Unlock Common, Uncommon, Rare, and Epic locks in any circumstance. 50/50, 25/25, 5/5, 1/1.

Goldie toyed with her arm as she brazenly strolled through the artisan district the following morning, considering the fulfilled requirements of her skill. “Sensing danger one more time should be easy enough. But the water thing? I might need to break into someone's house and figure out how to draw a bath. No way to stay under at a public one… too shallow.”

It was a strange feeling, being in the same area so many days in a row. Ever since the incident with the scammers, she had gone out of her way to remember Chay’s instructions to never do the same thing with any regularity, whether it was buying food at the same place, patrolling the same roads, or generally being found within an area. Luckily, as she was in the capital city, Goldie had plenty of options for new places to be.

Yet, here she was, walking right past the fine fabrics shop with her pockets absolutely bulging with the coins she’d been given as an advance on the sale of the lace and silks they’d stolen. To her surprise, the people in the shop didn't seem sad or despondent, merely resolute and perhaps slightly angry at a shame-faced shopkeeper. She heard snatches of their conversation as she walked by without slowing, stifling a wince at what they were saying. 

“-believe she left the door unlocked.”

“At least he didn't smash the shop up like he did the next one over.” A deep sigh followed those words. “I guess it's time to commission some warded glass. Maybe a magical lock as well. Doesn't matter how fancy it is if someone forgets to use it.”

“Plenty of stock in the back, so we can restock the shelves-”

Goldie let out a soft *tsk* as she realized there was more they could’ve gotten away with, but reconsidered the thought almost immediately. It was likely that people stayed and crocheted lace at all hours of the day, and if they would have tried to break into the workshop, they would’ve been noticed and likely attacked. “We got out without being seen and without injury. Just take the win and move on.”

Only a brisk, five-minute walk later, and Goldie was pushing open the doors to Damage Dealers X-L, freezing in place as she found the point of a spear nearly touching her wide eyes. She felt a tingle on her arm and nearly subconsciously recognized that she had seen this danger before her hair had—for obvious reasons. 

A huge man with cold eyes stared at her calmly, his roving gaze taking in every detail. “Welcome to DDXL, where the damage dealt excels. Are you trying to buy, or did you step in here to die?”

Goldie licked her lips, regaining her composure as the spear pulled back slightly. “Hello there, scary shopkeep man. I came to make a purchase, or a commission if you don't have what I need. Cutter recommended this place to me? Probably because you both like to make rhymes at strange moments?”

At the mention of the knife trainer's name, the shopkeeper lifted an eyebrow and finally relaxed. “Cutter’s still alive? Well, there's some interesting news. Congratulations, that'll cover your first gold’s worth of work. You can call me Xander. Now… what do you need?”

“Is this where you'd like to discuss business? Or should we go somewhere less obvious?”

Goldie trailed off as the man shook his head with zero hesitation. “Don't worry, no one's listening in. The shop is empty, and we usually only get one or two customers per day. If someone walks in, clam up. Otherwise, you can just speak freely.”

“Okay…” Taking a deep breath, she pulled out her battle scissors—apparently too abruptly, going by how the spear was suddenly pointed in her direction once more. “Sorry! Just trying to give you an example of what I'm trying to get! These are-”

“Battle scissors.” Xander rolled his eyes and set his spear to the side. “Well, I'm sold. You definitely came here on Cutter’s recommendation. You even draw your weapon with the same flourish. He trained you for a good while?”

“Um. Yeah. The last couple years.” Goldie looked down, confused, as she put her scissors away then drew them once more. Her motion seemed standard, the same anyone would use to pull out a blade. Filled with confusion, she looked up and opened her mouth to speak, only for Xander to cut her off with a dismissive swipe of his hand.

“If you don't know what to look for, you won't see it.” The huge man walked away, and Goldie slowly fell in step behind him as he moved through the shop as he spoke, “What's wrong with your current equipment? Looks like it could use sharpening, but other than that, they’re serviceable.”

“It's not that they’re bad weapons, they just don't work for what I need anymore.” The thief let out a soft, annoyed huff as Xander remained silent, waiting for her to continue. “I'm trying to cut through my… a tough material, and without going into any additional details, these just don't work for me anymore. I need something with more cutting power. Magical, if possible.”

“That's expensive, you know.” Even though his comment dashed her hopes a little, Goldie appreciated that he hadn't pressed for more information. “What’re ya thinking? I can do anything from a simple sharpness inscription, to a much more refined version. If you're using them as actual scissors, I could set them up to multiply the amount of force you apply when they’re closing. Combine that with a bit of sharpness and some excessive durability, and you could chop right through a steel sword as if it were paper.”

“Is this what it feels like to fall in love?” Goldie joked at the man, who showed only the tiniest of smirks.

“Sorry, I'm taken. I fell in love with my work, and she does not abide competition.” 

“Fair enough.” Strangely enough, the young thief felt herself relaxing in this enormous man's presence. Perhaps it was something to do with his dedication, or maybe it was simpler: he was clearly highly competent, and she admired the dedication that must require. “I'll need to go simple at first, but… it's likely that I will need to upgrade over the years.”

“Trying to chop through something with resistances, huh?” The offhanded comment from Xander almost made Goldie respond, but as she opened her mouth to correct him that it was immunities, not resistances, she felt a familiar clenching around her heart warning her against explaining her skills. 

She gagged and gasped for air, realizing just how close she’d come to accidentally breaking her oath. 

Xander watched her struggle to breathe with wide eyes, his mouth dropping open as he made a realization. “No way… you've made an oath not to tell me? No… you only just met me… likely you can't tell anyone what you're going to do. Interesting. If it's Cutter, you're doing something illegal. I wonder if it's related to an upcoming job… or if it’s something more personal.”

“I hope you'll understand if I don’t tell you,” Goldie spat out after a moment, angry with herself for almost self-destructing out of nowhere. “I just need them to be fully functional, not just for show. Fighting and cutting both.”

“Utility battle items have become all the rage in recent years,” Xander commented as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Yeah… I've got some ideas. Give me a moment.”

He stepped into the back of his shop, coming back a moment later with a dusty case. Pulling it open, he revealed a set of scissors not dissimilar from the ones Goldie currently had stashed in a hidden pocket. “Here's what I'm thinking. I take this, set them up as a regular pair of scissors. Then I'll take a second set and overlap them, and you can use the duo of scissors as an oversized pair of shears. Or, you can take both sets apart and have four blades for throwing. That's the only way I can think of to create an inscription that’ll be useful. Otherwise, there's just not enough space to inscribe the metal.”

Pausing for a moment, Xander glanced at her, hoping to glean a reaction. “Does that all sound good? The downside is that the magic won't work unless all four pieces are together. As a plus, they won't register as magical unless you’re using them like that. Far as anyone else will be able to tell, you'll just have two pairs of scissors on you.”

“I have to admit… that sounds good. In my line of work, looking as inconspicuous as possible is a benefit.” Goldie remembered how Cutter had explained that magical items needed to be recorded with the kingdom, and she had no doubt they had a way to check people to see if they were carrying something like that around. Taking a deep breath, she met his gaze and tried not to wince. “How long is this going to take to make, and what’ll I owe you?”

He raised an eyebrow as he looked meaningfully at her stained, third-hand clothing. “Even if I tell you a price, will you be able to pay? Probably should’ve led with that, if I'm being honest. It's been a slow day, so I don't mind the discussion, but I also don't work for free.”

“How about you just tell me the cost?” Goldie growled at him, earning herself an indulgent smile from the man.

“Good.” Xander looked down at the scissors once more, rubbing his chin in thought—apparently a common habit of his—as he considered what he should charge her. “Material costs, my time, and a little extra on top to not register the weapon and its mana signature with the kingdom's wards so it can be tracked at all times. Hmmm…”

Goldie shivered at the thought of the kingdom's guards knowing where she was at all times if her weapons were put together. Xander shrugged and looked up. “Total price is going to be about ten gold. Nine after I apply that discount I offered you. Most of the cost is in making the design and putting the weapons together. Like I said, it's going to be the most basic sharpness inscription. I could have this done as early as tonight, if you can pay in full.”

Though she’d known it was going to be an expensive indulgence to purchase, Goldie still nearly swooned at the thought of spending nine entire gold coins on a single item. Still, it was a necessary expenditure, and she grit her teeth as she began pulling out bag after bag of silver coins. “One, three, five, six… would you take six gold?”

Her voice was hard as she avoided his eyes, knowing what she would likely find in them. At an exchange rate of one hundred silver to one gold, even the advance she had gained on the previous nights’ massive theft was only enough to cover two-thirds of his asking price. Xander stayed silent, so she could only quietly press harder. “I’ve nothing else to offer, but I need to make this happen. Could I… at least get you to start on it? Can I put this down as a partial payment?”

“Nah.” Xander’s easy dismissal caused Goldie's eyes to fly to him, where he was looking away with a pained expression on his face. “Look, I don't want to… gah… lady, if you can't afford the most basic option I can offer you, you're not going to be a repeat customer. There's nothing I can-”

“What if I could find a different way to pay you?” Goldie interrupted, mind spinning as she tried to think of what someone like this would want, especially when he could make gold hand over fist simply by keeping his shop open. “Coin can't mean all that much to you, right? If you sell one item, I bet you're set for the entire month. More than that, maybe. But if you're so dedicated to your work, you must be trying to improve your skill levels?”

“…who isn’t?” Xander finally stated to her immense relief. “You can't help me with that though, no offense intended. I've been completely locked in for the last six years.”

Feeling that she was on the right track, Goldie pushed harder. “I'm also seeking Perfection in my skills. Like you said, who isn’t? At least give me a hint as to what you need? Let's say I can find some way to help. Maybe there's something you need, that you can't get… let's say entirely legally? I might not have coin, but maybe I could barter.”

“That's not… I'm not going to…” Xander fell silent, and she knew she had him. “Maybe.” 

“Come on, Xander. Tell Goldie what you need.” She patted her chest proudly. “If you know what it is and where to find it, I can get it for you.”

Xander flushed, looking deeply uncomfortable as he walked over to the door and threw the bolt shut. 

As he turned toward Goldie, she quipped, “I thought you weren't worried about someone overhearing us?”

“The people I worry about aren’t people you even know enough to worry about, unless you know what I know.” The shopkeeper informed her in a hushed tone. “You know that the ringed city is built on a hierarchy, but unless you live in the upper echelons, you won't understand that there are different castes even within each district. You don't mess with royals, guards, magi-artists, artificers, or alchemists.”

“I've only heard of the first two, so you probably have a good point.” Goldie could only shrug at his dark glare. “I have no idea what a magi-artist could even be. Alchemists make potions or something, now that I think about it. What's an artificer?”

“Don't worry about them. I need something I can't get, and that's a material that even my best weapons can't cut through.” Xander held up a hand in frustration to cut Goldie off. “Listen, the only way my Masterwork weapons won't cut through something is if it’s alchemically treated or magical itself. What I need is something created by another person at the Master rank or higher. Now, an item or material like that has stringent requirements when it’s purchased.” 

Practically spitting, he finished, “One of those demands is a binding contract that you won't use it to advance your own skill intentionally. To get around that is beyond expensive. Simply put, it isn’t something money can buy. This is how extremely high-ranking crafting guilds maintain control over who attains Perfection or not, and-”

“Xander!” Goldie finally cut off the deluge of information, and the man's mouth snapped shut in shock. “Calm down a little, would you? First, a quick question. What do you need the material for?”

“I need to use it to create a very powerful weapon.” Xander simply shook his head and sighed, his acceptance of the reality draining his excitement and anxiety out of him as he remembered who he was speaking with. “Creating a Perfect weapon while in the Master rank is my task, but it has specific requirements.”

“Does the weapon you use to cut through it have to be magical or just a Masterwork weapon?”

Having a follow-up question was not where Xander thought the conversation was going, but his hesitation was followed with a quick swipe of the inside of his left arm as he read over the requirements. “No… it doesn't specifically say I have to use a magical weapon. But even my Basic items can score steel. The things I cannot cut, I also generally can’t work with.”

“If I could get you something you can't cut through, and you managed to reach Perfection by using it, all without making enemies for yourself by grabbing what you need…” Goldie couldn't help the slow smile that spread across her face as she toyed with her hair. “What's in it for me?”