Chapter 143 - 144
It had been two weeks since Janine’s passing, during which time Alistar had spent nearly every waking hour training either his swordsmanship or his spellwork. He had only visited his friends once since the funeral, to return Zech and Jaden’s practice swords to them after Mr. Albeck had kindly reverted them to their original states, and to distribute the charms that his teacher had told him to give to his friends.
The Dozen were not only shocked to hear of what had happened to Janine, but many were anxious, frightened, or both. Considering that the tragedy had taken place immediately after their discussion about the potential dangers posed by Alistar’s relatives, the unwelcome news served as a wake up call for the others, who now studied magic under Lessa and Anice whenever the two girls were free. Alistar wanted to help too, of course—especially since he worried over Anice acting as an instructor for such sensitive skillsets—but he could no longer afford to waste any time on things that didn’t further his chances of accomplishing his goals.
Since that terrible day, Alistar had honed his control over the spells within his repertoire to the point where he hardly required any thought in order to activate them. It was important to note that this was with his limiters on, as taking them off only made the processes much easier and the spells more effective.
The sky was quite clear today, the air cold and crisp with little moisture. It hadn’t snowed since last week, during which time the region had seen an uncharacteristically warm evening that had melted all of the precipitation, leaving only chilled, hard earth in its wake.
Alistar had ventured into Mayhaven’s southern district today with the intention of purchasing a sword for himself, as Tramon still refused to present him with one despite the fact that his master had already acknowledged that he was an adept swordsman, particularly a middle practitioner of the adept stratum, or a second-tier adept. This was quite frustrating, since it was tradition to receive a sword from one’s master upon achieving the first tier of said stratum, but unfortunately Tramon was away from town at the moment so it was impossible to raise the question in time for tonight’s hunt.
"Let’s see," he muttered, silver eyes trailing over the different signs that advertised particular professions within Mayhaven’s craftsman district. "Ah, there it is."
There were several blacksmiths within the city, one of which showed a decent amount of traffic whenever he happened to walk by while on his way to the Greyline. The shop was called ’Mountain Steel,’ with a typical sign depicting a hammer and anvil along with the shop’s name in painted letters.
Once inside the store, Alistar took his time perusing the various weapons, armour and other equipment that were hung up on walls or otherwise arranged atop weapon stands or within open-faced crates along the back wall of the large, single-room building. At two silver lucets, the cheapest swords were of simple make, though still quite sharp despite their plainness. The more expensive weapons averaged around ten silver lucets—the equivalent of a golden half-lucet—though these were too ornate for Alistar’s taste, and he felt that he would be fine with a less decorative weapon of similar sharpness and sturdiness. Moreover, he had no need for the magic crystals that were embedded in some of the priciest pieces, as he couldn’t see himself running out of inner energy any time soon.
He eventually settled on two different blades, a smart-looking short sword of polished, gleaming steel with a simple handle of black leather and a rounded, unremarkable pommel, and a long dagger of similar style. Along with their respective scabbards and the leather straps necessary to belt them to his body, the total cost was a hefty eight silver lucets. Despite the fact that he had just spent four months’ worth of allowance and nearly an entire year’s worth of the average commoner’s earnings, Alistar didn’t feel the slightest bit of regret.