Chapter 191: Looking Forward

In the waiting room of Jory’s clinic, Jason chatted with Jory’s assistant, Janice, until Jory emerged from the treatment rooms in the back with a patient.

“Jason,” Jory cheerfully greeted, after sending the patient on her way. “It’s good to see you in person instead of just hearing you through your voice chat power. You know that weird message popping up to say you want to contact me can be disturbing, right?”

“Disturbing?”

“Remember the other day, you tried to contact me and I refused?”

“I figured you were busy with a patient.”

“I was in the bath! It felt like you were watching me. It was creepy.”

“Sometimes I just don’t have time for a personal visit. The team’s been busy with training.”

“That much I know. I’ve barely seen Belinda, lately.”

“Can you spare me a few minutes now?” Jason asked.

Jory glanced around the waiting room, which was around half full, then gave Janice a questioning glance.

“A few minutes shouldn’t throw things too badly off,” she said. “A few minutes.”

“Come on,” Jory said. “I’ll make us some tea. Would you like one, Janice?”

“That would be lovely,” she said with a sweet smile.

Jory led Jason back into the room he and whatever healer priest was on duty used to relax if things got too tense. It had a large cooler box and cupboards full of snacks and beverages. A large window looked out onto the courtyard where Jason, Rufus, Gary and Farrah used to train. Far from the dirt yard it was back then, it was nicely tiled, with standing and wall planters adding pleasant greenery.

“We’ve come a long way,” Jory said, following Jason’s gaze. “It was only in the summer that you were hopelessly lost, madly training in a dirty back lot. Now this place is a thriving medical centre and you’re a big-time adventurer.”

“This is only the beginning,” Jason said. “Now I’m looking toward bronze rank. I think I can get there before I’ve been here a year. For sure, if the monster surge comes. All those monsters in that astral space sent my abilities shooting up. Same for everyone who doesn’t use monster cores.”

“I know,” Jory said. His voice was a complaint to Jason’s enthusiasm, despite talking about the same thing. “Mine did the same. I’ve never had the money to go spending on monster cores and I’m definitely not interested in hunting for them.”

“You’ve got the skills,” Jason said, “but I think you’re in the right place. There’s plenty of us out there killing monsters. We need more people helping those who need it the most. I really admire you for that.”

“Thank you, Jason. That means a lot.”

“Also, I need forty gallons of crystal wash.”

“Wait, what? Forty gallons?”

“If I could get in it a barrel that would be good. Maybe one of those big kegs that Norwich uses, with the little tap. That would be convenient.”

“What? Are you insane? Are you trying to soak your whole houseboat in the stuff?”

“Actually, kind of yes,” Jason said. “Emir warned my that it would require certain additional materials, especially early on, to fuel the various amenities. The cloud-stuff automatically cleans itself and anything in it. Have you ever noticed how you get out of the cloud bed feeling like you’ve just had a refreshing shower?”

“You know I’ve been…”

“Jory, we all know about you and Belinda.”

“You do?”

“Jory, I’m connected to the houseboat. I know anyone who comes aboard and where they are at all times. Even if I didn’t, Humphrey and I have been watching you sneak off in a dishevelled state every morning. I don’t even know why you’re hiding it. There’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“I wouldn’t want to impinge on her reputation.”

“Jory, she’s a convicted criminal.”

“I was raised a certain way,” Jory said defensively. “I was taught that there’s a proper process to courting a lady.”

“Why didn’t you do that, then?”

“I was working up to it. Then she kind of grabbed me and dragged me off to her room.”

“At least she’s sensible,” Jason said. “Anyway, the cloud beds. Like everything else on the houseboat, the cloud-stuff cleans whatever’s in it. Unfortunately, the houseboat has used up whatever resources it started with for cleaning. Emir warned me that a lot of resources would need topping off early and now I need a bunch of pure quintessence and a full barrel of crystal wash. Luckily, most the Purity temple’s assets were seized and Clive reckons he can get his hands on the quintessence I need. That just leaves the crystal wash.”

“Jason, that amount is crazy. A whole barrel?”

“Now, come on, Jory. I know for a fact that you massively increased the production with all those fancy foreign nobles in town. I’m willing to bet you have a decent amount stockpiled away.”

“I sold most of it,” Jory said. “The visiting adventurers are all gone now. Except Prince Valdis, who buys almost as much of the stuff as you.”

Jory looked down, scratching the back oh head absently as he let out a sigh.

“I can probably make that work,” he conceded. “I’m going to use that production space currently on crystal wash for the lesser miracle potion, but I’m still sourcing the materials I need. “That will be the engine to fund the clinic going forward. I suppose I could keep production up until then. I could have that much crystal wash by the end of the month.”

“Thanks,” Jason said gratefully. “I’ll pay full price, instead of the usual mate’s rates. I’ll be taking up a good chunk of your production, after all.”

“That’s appreciated,” Jory said. “Getting the church of the Healer’s assistance has been great but we still run some tight margins. That miracle potion money will be coming in eventually, but I used the last of the leftover money from the renovations on importing the materials.”

“Seems like the more money we make, the more we need, right?”

“No kidding,” Jory said. “Where are your costs coming in?”

“Preparing for bronze rank,” Jason said. “I don’t know when I’ll be able to get back to a big city, so I picked up the materials to resummon my familiars at bronze. I thought I’d be flush with coin after auctioning off those essences but I’ve pretty much got it all earmarked for preparing new equipment, materials for the house boat, summoning rituals, it just goes on and on.”

Jason let out a weary sigh. “I should let you get back to it then,” Jason said. “I need to go spend some more money.”

“You aren’t training today?” Jory asked.

“Humphrey and I are both having our rank reassessments at the Adventure Society this afternoon,” Jason said. “We decided to give the others a rest day. You should knock off early, go see Belinda. In fact, the symphony is playing tonight. Take her and use my private viewing booth.”

“You have a private booth?”

“I go whenever I get the chance,” Jason said. “That hasn’t been as much as I’d like, lately. I’ll swing by and make sure they know to let you use it. You have a good suit, right Jory?”

“Uh…”

“Oh, dear,” Jason said, shaking his head. He took a carousel of recording crystals from his inventory, looking through them until he picked one out and told Jory to stand still.

“What are you doing?” Jory asked as Jason moved slowly around him, waving the crystal up and down his body.

“This is a specialised recording crystal to take clothing measurements,” Jason told him. “I know a guy who’ll do a rush job for me without compromising quality. You’re lucky he’s actually my next stop.”

“You carry around a crystal specifically for clothing measurements?”

“A good adventurer is always prepared.”

***

“Mr Asano,” Gilbert greeted as Jason entered Gilbert’s Resilient Attire For the Discerning Gentleman. “Excellent timing. I was just having Emil take everything to the fitting room.”

“You’ve reached iron rank,” Jason said, shaking Gilbert’s hand. “Finally picked up that last essence.”

“Yes, I finally went and did it,” Gilbert said. “All my cloth essence abilities hit bronze years ago but I was resistant to more essences for a long time. Never seemed quite right to take essences that others could make use of to help people. Age and health are humbling, however. With the market the way it is, right now, I was running out of reasons not to get the others. I’ve been absorbing monster cores but I’m still a long way from bronze and the extra years it will buy me.”

Gilbert led Jason into the generous fitting room just as his assistant appeared, pushing a long rack of clothes from the back room on a wheeled trolley. As Emil departed to fetch the next one, Gilbert started showing Jason the outfits.

“Your winter wardrobe,” Gilbert declared. “As requested, this is largely in the Vitesse style, with the flourishes we discussed previously.”

Jason had long admired Emir’s dress sense, which he discovered was largely down to Constance. She had been kind enough to consult when Jason decided to buy his clothes for the cooler months. Between her advice and Gilbert’s expertise, Jason’s winter wardrobe was sleek, fitted and sharp. The colours were more earthy and sober than local Greenstone fashion, which favoured explosions of bright hues.

“It was engaging to work with something different to the local palate,” Gilbert said. “I am quite satisfied with the result.”

“So you should be,” Jason said with admiration. “You’ve outdone yourself, Bert.”

“Thank you, sir. With the mild winters, here, mid-weight fabrics are perfect. Included, of course, are some subtle enchantments to maintain the comfort level whether to day trends hot or cool. Off course, there is a selection of outfits that trend one way or the other. I have included an array of winter colours in the Vitesse fashion; dark greens and burgundies, the expected blacks, greys and blues. Some very nice browns; dark and rich as well as a deep caramel Miss Constance referred to as brandy. I’ve also included some lighter selections, of course, and the expected formal wear for various occasions.

Jason started putting the clothes away, opening the outfits tab of his inventory and placing each ensemble into its own set.

“Is there anything else I can do for you today?” Gilbert asked as Jason stowed one outfit after another.

“Actually yes,” Jason said. “A couple of things. One is rush job, just some basic formal wear for a friend that you can put on my tab.”

“You have his measurements?” Gilbert asked.

“Of course,” Jason said. “I picked up the crystal you suggested.”

“Very good.”

“The other job is non-urgent,” Jason said. “It’s time I started looking ahead and thinking about bronze rank. My combat robe is fantastic but I will need to upgrade.”

“Well-made adventuring garb is about matching material and craftsmanship to purpose,” Gilbert said. “You are wise to start thinking about it now, so we can put together exactly what you need.”

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been keeping up my sleeve for a long time on that front,” Jason said. He continued taking outfits off the racks and putting them away in his inventory as Emil hauled out more trolleys. Three were hanging racks while a fourth was a box trolley packed with underclothes and other sundry items.

“You got the love hearts on the boxer shorts just right,” Jason said as he rubbed the material between his fingers. “This texture is incredible. You were spot on to suggest the mist valley silk.”

“I import a large supply each year,” Gilbert said. “I’ve found it to be an exceptional choice for underclothes with our particular winter climate.”

Jason started looping ties around his neck, tying them before adding them to his outfits. He matched the knot to the outfit, whether a simple four in hand knot, a nice, clean Pratt knot or a bold full Windsor. He even added a flamboyant trinity knot to a couple of the most outgoing outfits.

“I must confess, Mr Asano, I was uncertain about the noose but it does have a way of bringing an outfit together.”

“How many times, Bert? It’s a tie, not a noose.”

“I was concerned that your opponents might not see it that way should you find yourself in an unexpected engagement, Mr Asano. This shop provides resilient attire for the discerning gentleman, after all. I had an enchantment placed on the ties to prevent them from being used to choke you.”

“Very considerate, Bert.”

“Consideration is my watchword.”

“As it turns out, though, I don’t actually need to breathe.”

“Do you need to chant spells?” Gilbert asked.

“That’s a fair point,” Jason acknowledged.

He used the room’s full length mirror to adjust before putting everything away. then dark smoke manifested around him briefly, before vanishing to reveal Jason in one of his new outfits. He adjusted his tie slightly now it was incorporated into the ensemble.

“Well?” he asked.

“I may not be an impartial judge, Mr Asano, but I would say you look very dapper.”

To Jason’s eye it had more of a gothic flair, compared a suit from his old word. The patterned embroidery of the vest and the flourishes on the long jacket that swept in at the waist before reaching down to mid-thigh. He gave a little shuffle, finding his movement utterly unimpeded. The shoes looked stylish but felt like athletic footwear.

“Superlative, Bert. You’re a credit to your profession.”

“Thank you, Mr Asano.”

“I have meeting with the Adventure Society, so I think I’ll wear it out.”

“Of course. Before you go, Mr Asano, you mentioned having something up your sleeve?”

“Right, yes.” Jason said. He wandered over to a table at the side of the room and retrieved a large bolt of dark material from his inventory. “I’ve been holding onto this for a while. What do you make of it, Bert?”

Bert moved up next to Jason and ran his finger lightly over the material. It was dark, matte and cool to the touch.

“Snakeskin,” he said. “Umbral snake, probably the mountain variety. Strong affinities for darkness and poison. Bronze rank, and it’s infused with some kind of odd magic. It almost feels intrinsic, rather than externally imposed, but…”

Gilbert frowned. “Was this a familiar?”

“It was,” Jason said. “Is that a problem?”

“In terms of the value of the material, just the opposite,” Gilbert said. “My concerns are ethical. You don’t get familiars without essence users.”

“You’re aware of the people running around causing trouble in the astral spaces.”

“Cultists or something,” Gilbert’s assistant said from off to the side. “It’s almost all anyone wants to talk about, these days.”

“Yes,” Gilbert said, giving his assistant a nod. “The competition held by the gold-ranker distracted people for a while – congratulations again, by the way – but they’re back to all this unnerving talk. Strange forces from beyond reality and the madmen that worship them. It’s as unpleasantly disconcerting as it is monotonous. Fear isn’t a look that matches any outfit to be found in this store.”

“Fear is to be expected,” Jason said. “The threat is real and it falls to more powerful people than us to stop it. About half a year ago, however, I ran across one of those cultists and he tried to kill me. After he died, his familiar tried to kill me too.”

He patted the material.

“This is its skin.”

“Good riddance, then,” Gilbert said. “We should see if we can’t make something of it to help you deal with more of them.”

“If the familiar was bronze-rank,” Emil said, “then the cultist must have been, as well, right.”

“That’s right,” Jason said.

“You’re only iron-rank, though,” Emil said.

“Back then, I wasn’t even that. Didn’t even have my first essence.”

“Then how did you beat them?” Emil asked.

“I got lucky,” Jason said. “Things that attack me have this way of ending up dead.”

“Do go on, Emil,” Gilbert said, dismissing his assistant.

“Yes, boss. Uh, can I ask you something before I go, Mr Asano.”

“Emil,” Gilbert admonished.

“It’s fine,” Jason said. “Go ahead, Emil.”

“Did all those gods really appear to thank you in person?”

“Gods turning up is hardly a big deal,” Jason said. “Spend some time at the Divine Square; they pop up with fair regularity. And I’d hardly call it ‘all those gods’ when it was barely a half-dozen.”

“Out with you,” Gilbert said, shooing his assistant out of the fitting room.

“He’ll be telling that story all over, Mr Asano. You’ve built up quite the reputation with recent events. A local boy, beating out all those fancy foreign adventurers? Princes and princesses, no less.”

“I’m not exactly local,” Jason said. “In fact, I’m about as far from local as it comes.”

“You’re a local now,” Gilbert said with a laugh. “You’ve been co-opted. Nothing earns good will like success.”

“So, this material is something you can work with?”

“I certainly can. If you’re willing to leave it with me I can investigate the best options.”

“Good, because it was a pretty big snake,” Jason said, taking out a second bolt of the material.

“Oh, my,” Gilbert said. “There’s certainly enough for two sets of armour here, probably three. Possibly even four, depending on how we use it. Were you looking at spares, or do you want something for your agile lady friend as well? This material should be useful for something that would suit her.”

Sophie, like Jason, used highly flexible armour made from trap weaver leather. Gilbert only catered to the discerning gentleman, but had a lady friend of his own. On Gilbert’s recommendation they had taken the trap weaver leather to Brenda’s Massacre Emporium, elsewhere in the trade hall.

“Sophie might want something that better combines flexibility and defence,” Jason said. “Stealth and poison doesn’t fit her power set.”

“Then would you like me to take the liberty of keeping an eye out for appropriate materials? I can have Brenda do the same.”

“That would be great,” Jason said. “For the whole team, in fact. How about l have them come in for a chat so you know what to look for.”

“A prescient idea, Mr Asano.”