23. Unexpected Benefits

Novum beat on the doors of his men and when he got a reply he was not sure if they were hung over or not alone. He smiled and went down for breakfast. He had eaten and was on his second cup of coffee when they came down. One was holding his head and a girl darted off the side as soon as she was at the bottom step so it appeared that he was right on both counts. He grinned and pushed some food across the table.

"Dan you are going to want a lot of water. Drink a cup of coffee and then a pitcher of water. It will help you." The men dug into the food and Dan did as he was advised. "We will go and pick up the wagons and make one pick up and then I have arranged for guards to take you back to Three Mines. I have a few things that I need to get taken care of here before I leave."

"Is that safe for you sir?"

"Don't worry about me Dan. I can push the pace with Noctis and cover a lot more ground without the wagons. Plus you have animals that need to be placed on the farm as soon as possible."

They finished their breakfast and headed to pick up the wagons. Novum debated on leaving Noctis there for the next couple of day but he had seen a couple of nice stables in the city so he figured he would be more comfortable there. When he got there the wagons were neatly packed and looked like they were ready to go. All of the animals looked well taken care of and the horses looked refreshed. Even Noctis looked like he had enjoyed the place.

"Sir I will go ahead and pay you what I owe for feeding the animals that I bought. But do you have to have a wagon here in order to keep your horse here. My buddy Noctis here seems to have enjoyed himself and I am going to be in town a couple of more days at least."

"Yes sir you have to have a wagon. I could take him because he was considered a part of the caravan but without that I can't keep him."

"That is reasonable." He pulled out a platinum piece. "This is to reserve a spot for a wagon later today. I can just keep one of the slots. I was going to wait until I left to buy a wagon but I will go ahead and do it early. Which slot will be mine?"

"You can keep number twenty sir."

"Thank you very much I will be back later with a wagon. Okay boys everything is good to go. Grab that wagons and lets go pick up the last of the items that I purchased and get you on your way."

They pulled up to the shop and the man had the slated bundled for travel. The bundles even fit perfectly in the wagon without have to make any major adjustments. He pulled out his boxes from the school as well and got everything ready to go. He headed for the office by the gate. The guys were surprised when he came out with two armed me. The two quickly went around the building and came back around with their own horses.

"These gentlemen will be your security all the way back to Three Mines. When it comes to security listen to them." He handed Dan a bag. "Give this to the mayor. It has instructions for you three as well as some for him. Just listen to him for a few days until I get back. Any questions?"

"Why aren't you coming back with us?"

"I have a few more things that I need to get taken care of here and the things that I bought need to be back on the farm or being taken care of by the mayor as soon as possible. It might be over a week before I even leave here."

"Oh okay sir. We will take care of everything on your list."

The guards gave him a nod and then rode out with the wagons. Novum headed just down the street and saw a wood shop that was making just about anything that could be made of wood but a house. There was a wagon that was bigger than the rest but still just small enough to make it down the street easy enough. They had made the wheels and axles a little bigger and made the wagon a little longer as well. There was a lot of time and research into that wagon.

Even though the space was not doubled the price was and Novum was not sure it was worth it and then he thought about it and realized that he could copy their design when he built one. He purchased it as well as the horses to go with it. He was probably going to have to expand his paddock again if he kept collecting animals at this rate. But after he butchered the cow there would only be one more. He would see how things progressed before he made that decision. He hopped into the driver's seat with Noctis loosely tied to the back. The man gave him a wave and pointed him to stall twenty. Noctis was fine with the arrangement and followed the hand there easily.

Now that the little things were done he need to go and see the mage that was taking care of his magic items for him. Luckily it was not a long walk and this time he did not trip as he came though the door. The girl saw him come in and yelled out, "Nana he is here."

The old woman came out of the back a lot faster than she did the day before. "Good morning young man. I will admit that your items kicked up a bit of a hornets nest. You see there was a reward on the mirror. Now the gentleman that put out the reward for it wanted me to make you an offer. It is way to expensive for him to buy right out but he was wondering if you would be willing to make a trade."

"What is his offer?"

"For the mirror and two of the rings he is offering a magical flaming bastard sword of speed and a belt of strength, the high powered one."

Novum knew how powerful that sword and belt could be and the value of them. "Which two rings?"

"I guess I should tell you that stuff first. So you have a nice assortment here for a thief. There is a ring of invisibility, a ring of X-ray vision that lets the wearer see through almost anything if it is not to thick. Then you have a ring that boosts your natural charisma and one that will help you avoid magic attacks. The latter is not a lot of use to a good thief since they can do that anyways. The cloak boosts your natural resistances. It as a good all around cloak. The amulet that you found boost your bodies constitution, it is at the mid level but still very powerful. And then there is the magic stone. It is not powerful but it is a speaking stone. It is not worth anything unless you can find the other stone."

"If the stones get within a certain distance will they resonate or anything like that?"

"That is an interesting question. I am not sure. I know that they glow when they are linked but I do not know how they will interact when they have been apart for a long time."

"Which rings did the man want?"

"The invisibility and the X-ray vision. And before you ask I did not tell you the abilities of the mirror on purpose. It is probably better that you do not know." Novum was paying attention to her but at the same time asking the system to appraise the items. The numbers that he was seeing made his heart race. He knew how powerful the sword was and how expensive that it would be was an eye opener on the price of the mirror.

"Tell him I will make the trade but I would prefer that it happens here. Or somewhere with extra people."

The woman gave him a sly smile. "The stuff is already here in case that is the way that you felt. He felt the offer was very generous and unless you were a thief it would be a waste for you. And no offense but based on your size you would not make a very good thief." She brought out the two items and put them on the counter and then pulled the mirror and two rings back.

Novum looked around the store a little and saw a pair of gloves and amulet on the same shelf. He looked and saw the label and got really excited. But now he had a real problem. He wanted the amulet on the counter as well as this one. "I will trade you the amulet on the counter for this one straight up. And then I will buy the gloves."

"Done." She pulled the amulet off the counter with the label as well. The number that went on there was bigger than the number out there but it worked for both of them. "And since you have brought me so much business today I will take two off the price of the gloves."

Novum picked up the gloves and took them to the counter. "How about I give you the two rings that I am wearing and you take four of the price?"

She looked at rings and thought about it for about two seconds. "Deal. By chance can you snap with both hands?"

"Yes I can snap with both hands. If not I would only need one glove." He dropped the amulet over his head and made sure it rested against his chest. He was about to link the items when he thought about it and the young lady in the room he blushed just a little. "May I use the back room to finish linking my amulet?"

"Of course." She jerked her head towards the door the she came through. He pulled out a set of his quality clothing and stepped into the area. Once he was out of sight he concentrated on linking his armor to the amulet and as quick as a thought it disappeared and he was in his underclothes. He quickly put on the other cloths that he had and concentrated on linking them. He felt when they connected and his armor and clothes were now interchangeable with only a thought.

Novum came out wearing the nice clothes and the girl looked at him a little differently. He put on the gloves and linked his shield and new sword to the gloves and they would disappear with a thought and reappear with a snap. He grinned from ear to ear. He could walk around like this but always be armed and ready. He pulled the dagger he was given out of his pouch and strapped on on with his new belt as well. He made sure that the belt was not linked to either outfit so that he would wear it all the time. He put on the two rings and the cloak, that he did not want linked as well. He put his sword in his haversack and hated that it ruined the looked over everything.

Novum grabbed the stone and put it in the bag on his other hip and carried his haversack out by the handle. "Thank you ladies I might be stopping by again before I leave." He gave them a wave and headed for the wagon. He was going to put his faith in the men that worked there and hope they could keep his stuff safe. He went straight to the wagon and pulled out the bracelet that Peter sent for his girl. He put his bag in the hidden compartment the builder taught him about and headed for the church.

Player name: Novum

Race: Human

Class: Fighter (6)

STR: 18 (24) +4 (+7)

DEX: 14 +2

CON 18 +4

INT 16 +3

WIS 14 +2

CHA 16 (20) +3 (+5)

CMS 16 +3

Fort +9 (+11 Cloak)

Will +4 (+6 Cloak)

Ref +4 (+6 Cloak)

+3 Flaming Bastard Sword of Speed 11-20 per attack 1-6 fire dam per attack 3 attacks

Crit Chance 10% Crit Dam 200%

+1 Breastplate of Spell Resistance

+1 Heavy Steel Shield

Total AC 21 Spell Resistance 13

Skills [Expand]

Feats [Expand]

Languages [Expand]

[1] CMS is short for Comeliness or how physically attractive a person is.