Guardian Angel Chapter 16 (Patreon)

The next morning was… difficult. The others had insisted on celebrating Ana’s new level, and while there had been a lot of drinks she had not been allowed to pay for any of them. It felt as though having a 16 in Willpower should have made her harder to convince, but she had been in a very good mood and might have gone somewhat overboard.

On the bright side, that morning she had made the connection between having a high Vitality and recovering quickly from hangovers. It seemed obvious in hind-sight, really, and after another massive breakfast of everything-porridge she was as good as new.

After that Tor came by to take her to the Exchange. Kaira had offered to do it, but had quickly been convinced to leave it to Tor, due to her tendency to get heated when she felt that she wasn’t getting a good deal.

“Oh, right, yeah,” had been her response to that accusation. “I really don’t need to be banned from there again.”

“Banned?” Ana said curiously.

“They were trying to screw me!” Kaira said, her lower lip jutting out angrily.

“They were trying to turn a profit,” Tor said, firm but gentle.

“Yeah, well…” Kaira muttered.

And so, it was Tor who came and said hello to Omda as Kaira finished her meal, and then brought her to the square.

The Exchange occupied a large portion of the southern side of the square, but it was a quite nicely constructed building of stone and wood rather than the sturdier, all-stone guard house and Administration. The reception of the building reminded Ana a little of Touanne’s front room; for a store, there was very little on display.

Despite the early hour there were already other customers – clients? – in there, two women leaning on the counter and talking in hushed voices with a middle-aged man who seemed completely engrossed in whatever conversation the three were having. That left a younger man to greet Ana and Tor.

“Torden Barlo!” the man said, greeting Tor like a long-lost friend. “And you’ve brought us the newcomer! Welcome, Miss! My name is Yildim. How can I help you this fine morning?”

Ana glanced at Tor, who waved her forward with an encouraging smile. “Anastasia. I have some things I’d like to sell,” Ana said to Yildim, “and I might want to buy something, depending on what you have.”

“Love to hear it!” Yildim said. “Put it on the counter, then, and let’s have a look.”

Ana put down the suit of leather armour on the counter, and the sword, still in its scabbard. Yildim snorted as he looked over the suit. “Pretty sure I sold this once before,” he said in a low tone, giving Ana an appraising look. Ana looked back flatly. “But I heard you talked to the Captain, and you’re here instead of in the stockade, so… I won’t ask. I can give you one gold and eight for it.”

“Two gold,” Ana countered, hoping that she wasn’t underestimating how much Yildim was trying to ‘screw her,’ as Kaira had so eloquently put it. “Or I can trade it in full or in part for something that fits me better. I need to keep it if I can’t replace it, anyway.”

Yildim hemmed and hawed, sucking his teeth as he made a show of looking over the armour, then nodded. “I can give you two gold in value in a trade,” he said. “I’m firm on one and eight in coin, though.”

“Deal,” Ana said. They shook on it quickly, and Ana took the armour down, resting it against her side of the counter. “Then there’s this.” She lifted the scabbard and pulled the blade one third out, handing it to Yildim who again started with his theatrics.

“Well, it’s a decent enough blade,” he said. “But the engraving… I can give you five gold, and that’s being generous. This is mostly ornamental, see?” he said, tracing his finger to point out what Ana already knew. “And the quality of what there is–”

“Is excellent,” Ana said, unfolding the note that Tor had brought with the sword and sliding it across the counter. “According to the Barlos, who I understand to be the resident experts on these things.”

Yildim looked at the note as though it might bite him, then put the sword down and picked up the paper instead, reading it carefully.

“Tor,” he said mournfully, turning his eyes on the other man. “I can’t believe you’d do this to me.”

“The note comes with the blade,” Tor said cheerfully. “And you should know better, Yil. Really?”

“A man’s got to make a living,” Yildim said with a shrug, then turned back to Ana. “So–”

“Twelve gold,” Ana said firmly. “I know what it’s worth.”

“You can’t be serious. We’ve got to make a profit here, you know? Ten.”

“Eleven and eight. Wait for the right person to come along and you’ll make plenty of profit, you know that as well as I do.”

“That could take weeks, and storage is not infinite. Ten and six.”

“Eleven gold,” Ana said, locking eyes with Yildim and reaching out to put her hand on the scabbard, though not quite grabbing it. “And two silver for trying to screw me.”

“I am but a man,” Yildim muttered, though he had the good taste to look away in embarrassment. Then he stretched out his hand. “Deal. Eleven gold and two silver for the Engraved sword.”

Ana was barely surprised when a notification popped up.

[Skills partially calibrated, based on use.]

A quick check showed that she now had the skill Negotiate at level 2. It was a little bittersweet, though, now that she knew how many hundreds of experience points she was missing out on by not gaining the skills the ‘normal’ way. Sure, it had saved her more than a few bucks – and quid, and euros, lira, rupiah… – over the years, and it had probably made her a couple of silver just now, but if she hadn’t had it in the background she might have been that much closer to level 5 now.

“You were interested in buying, too, weren’t you?” Yildim asked after coins had changed hands and the sword was stashed away somewhere.

“I am,” Ana said, feeling confident now. “I need armour that fits me better than what I have, and a…”

She looked at Tor, who said, “A buckler. A sturdy one.”

“Armour that fits you better…” Yildim mused, looking Ana over perhaps just a little longer than strictly necessary. “Hardened leather?”

“Or leather scale,” Tor suggested. “More flexible,” he explained in an aside to Ana.

“Right…. Right… Miss Anastasia, if I may be so rude…” He waved for Ana to lean in, and she did, hearing him whisper, “Is your Strength above 12?”

She considered the question. They really took secrecy seriously here when it came to that stuff. But she assumed that it was to get her appropriate gear, and Yildim was being very considerate about it.

“Little higher, yeah,” she whispered back, and Yildim nodded.

“I might have just what you need,” he said, vanishing into the back again.

After Yildim had been gone for about a minute, Tor leaned in close to Ana’s ear. “Sorry, Ana, but I can’t resist asking. I know you boosted your Strength yesterday, but… did you increase your Charisma, too?”

“It might be a point higher than yesterday,” Ana confirmed.

“I thought so,” Tor murmured. “Worked out well, too. Yildim’s good at what he does, but he’s always been a sucker for a girl who knows what she wants. And I’m assuming you’ve got some decent socials to go with it, so boosting those before doing this was a good plan.”

Ana hadn’t considered that at all, of course. She’d never even considered increasing her Charisma deliberately since she had far more important things to improve, and between the initial value she’d been assigned and the increases from her level she was quite satisfied as it was. Still, it was supposed to increase her force of personality, and her Charisma was higher than her strength. She might as well start putting it to deliberate use.

“Mister Bardo, are you saying that I’m charming?” she said, giving Tor a big-eyed smile and putting all the innocent charm that she could into it. Tor blushed, then smiled back when he saw what she was doing.

“Social classes,” he said with mock ruefulness. “Us poor combat types are defenceless against you.”

“So does Charisma directly improve Negotiate?” Ana asked.

“And Willpower and Acuity and Perception and even Connection, I think. Lots of things go into a good haggle right? But it could be the other way around, too. It’s not exactly clear, as far as I know. What we do know is that Skills and Attributes work together in ways beyond both being important. A single point increase in an Attribute has more impact with a higher skill, right? That’s firmly established. So there must be some connection.”

So… some kind of multiplicative effect, maybe? Ana wondered. She was sure that her Acuity was helping her see connections. It was now 40% higher than it had been back in London, and that had to count for something. Still, Math was a skill, if not a Skill, and it just wasn’t something she’d ever focused on. If she could get some kind of academic Skill, would she just automatically get better at it as she gained levels?

Further musing was interrupted as Yildim came out holding two items. One was a buckler the size of a dinner plate, covered in what looked like grey leather and with a bulging brass boss in the centre. The other…

“I noticed this in the back a few days ago,” Yildim said. “I guess it hasn’t sold for a while, because it was way back there. Looks like it should fit you well, though!”

Ana basically shut her face down. There was no expression she could make at that moment that wouldn't make it clear to Yildim just how much she loved the suit of cream leather armour he was holding. She couldn't say why. She knew nothing about what made any piece of armour good beyond ‘keeps you alive’, and she’d never been one for ren-fairs or anything like that. But the suit called to her, and she wanted it.

It wasn't scale, like Tor had suggested, but Ana could see how easily she would be able to move in it. In design it was quite similar to what she’d had, with a few extra parts; beside the solid front and back pieces and the skirt, this suit had a rising neck guard and some short pieces covering the shoulders and upper arms.

“What do you think?” she asked Tor, keeping her voice carefully neutral.

“The shield looks good, depending on the price. I still think you should get something more flexible for the suit, but it’s worth trying it on. Looks like the right size, at least.”

“Is that alright?” Ana asked Yildim, who handed the suit over with a smile.

“Do you need any help?” he asked hopefully. “I notice that you’re not a combat class.”

“I’m sure that Tor can help with the straps,” Ana said drily.

The suit had barely settled on her shoulders when Ana made her mind up. She had to have it. Price didn’t matter; she could make more money. It sat on her like a second skin, comfortably warm and surprisingly flexible, and when Tor tightened the straps… there was a notification.

Ana froze.

“Is there something wrong?” Yildim asked curiously, leaning forward over the counter.

“Not sure,” Ana said, and brought up the notification.

[I’m sorry, Ana. You should not be here. I will try to make it up to you.]

Ana's mind raced. What the everliving fuck was going on? That was… firstly, it was a lot more personal than anything Ana had seen from the System. It was directed at her, by name. And it had come when she put the armour on. Who could make that happen? Who could make that happen that cared about her?

Was this a trap? Should she get as far away from this armour as she could?

“Is it uncomfortable?” Yildim asked. “I think there’s–”

“No, it’s fine!” Ana said hastily. “I’ll take it!”

“Oh, great! Eight gold for the shield and the armour.”

That got at least some of Ana’s attention. “Are you mad?” she asked. “You just said that you can’t get rid of it. I’m basically freeing up space for you! Five gold for both.”

Behind her Tor choked subtly. Too low?

“Oh, I know that’s not a serious offer,” Yildim said. “It drips quality. Just look at the dye! Eight was generous. Come on, what’s your real counter?”

“Can’t blame a girl for trying, right?” Ana said, trying to get her head back in the game. The notification with her name on it still hung there in front of her, but despite her misgivings she wanted it. “Four gold, six silver, plus my old armour.”

“Six plus the armour.”

Ana rolled her eyes. “That’s the same as your first offer. Four and ten.”

“Can’t blame me for trying?” Yildim said with a grin, as he looked her up and down. “Five and ten.”

Maybe he was trying to be subtle about the way he ogled her, and maybe not. To Ana it was impossible to miss. And if he was going to be a creep, she was happy to abuse that.

Time to finish this, she thought.

She sucked in her bottom lip, worrying it a bit, then took a big, quiet breath and held it. She spun slowly where she stood, then swung her arms a little, moving around as if to get a better feel for the armour but really just making sure that he was looking at her move. Then she faced him and gave him her biggest, saddest eyes.

“Listen,” she said, pleading for him to understand. “I really want this. But the money you gave me for the sword is all I have, and I don't really have much of anything else. I’m trying to build a life here, from nothing. I can give you five and two, plus the armour. Can you do that? Help me out?”

Yildim looked back at her. He didn't look quite awestruck or smitten, but he did look sympathetic. He took a deep breath, sighed, and folded. “You’ve got a deal, miss Anastasia,” he said, offering his hand.

Ana took it. “Thank you, Yildim,” she said, and smiled.

Ana wore her new purchase out of the store. The notification – the message –  still bothered her, but she felt confident in her decision. Whoever sent that message hadn’t asked her to do anything. All it did was to apologise. Of course, magic was very much a thing and so were enchanted items, so perhaps the tone of the message was intended to lull her into a false sense of security so that she’d wear the armour?

But if she were to believe that she might as well go around naked. At least this one item had a notice on it to make her suspicious.

Tor started laughing softly as soon as he’d closed the door behind them. “Warn a man the next time you intend to turn on the charm, would you?” he said.

“Maybe, if you behave,” Ana replied noncommittally. “Do you think it got me anywhere, or did I just embarrass myself for no reason?”

“Honestly? Eight gold was a generous offer, from what I can see of the armour. There was probably a little wiggle room, but I’d say you saved yourself five or six silver with that little act of yours. Do you always use your appeal to bargain, or was this for Yildim’s benefit?”

“I was happy to just haggle normally until he started trying to stare a hole through my clothes. There’s a time and a place for that shit. An hour after sunrise at the store is not it. If I want to be appreciated, you’ll know.”

The rest of the day was spent getting Ana properly acquainted with the equipment she’d be using, which meant drills with her real sword and shield while wearing her armour. They took a break for lunch, where Ana went to visit Touanne – which she’d neglected to do the previous day – and get the Healers notes and descriptions of reagents she wanted Ana to look out for. Ana also made sure to visit the tailor for another full set of spare clothes with extra socks and underwear. Peace of mind was well worth the one gold and four silver that she spent on it. The afternoon was filled with more drills, then a visit to the baths with Kaira and dinner with the party, a cheerful sendoff with far too much ale.

And then, somehow, it was the next morning, and Ana stood in the square wearing her equipment, with the pack of gear she’d borrowed from the guild in front of her.

“Good morning, ladies!” Kaira said to the seven women assembled before her. “Is everyone excited? I know that I sure as hell am! Let’s do some introductions for the newbies and get this show on the road!”