Chương 50: Chapter 47: Outfitting

"Demigod, please drop the weapon and come with us," the central leader of the soldiers- likely cops - commanded him. Aaron snorted, and said "No." He looked like he wasn't sure what to do now, looking around for support in the room and finding his men behind him. Aliata, Ketzi, were all unwilling to back down either. He sighed, "Okay, would you mind if I conduct a field interrogation for a bit of critically important missing information."

"Depends on what is asked." The man nodded.

"I can sense you are not Gone any longer, is this true?"

"Yea."

"You're Aaron?"

"Yea?" He nodded, then visibly ran mental calculations. At first, Aaron thought he'd try to beat it out of him like Paxton had, but instead, the lead cop changed the subject entirely.

"Did you actually threaten brightsmith Ketzi?" His eyebrows rose in surprise.

"No questions about the-""No!" the man immediately cut him off.

"It's… hmm. It is obvious you fundamentally do not understand many things about the Underworld. After this is over, I will see about having one of the Elders teach you, before you call calamity upon our heads. Now, did you, or did you not threaten brightsmith Ketzi?" Aaron sighed, "Yes."

"Ketzi, do you have any other complaints? Keep in mind, this is a civil case."

"He didn't just threaten me, he threatened to kill me! In exchange, I want the right to look, in depth, at that Memorabilia, and a full replacement of my dark room, as not only did he use it without permission, he completely destroyed it with how much energy he was emitting! I doubt it'll last another week." Aaron suddenly realized why Ketzi had defended him. He wanted to see the completed product, and he couldn't get that if the police killed him. The officer frowned, "Aaron, did you threaten to kill him."

"Yea, but I didn't mean it, I just wanted him to fix his mistakes and he refused to. He made a promise that he'd merge my Burgeoning Memorabilia and guaranteed that they wouldn't be destroyed, but halfway through, gave up! They were both very close to being lost entirely, and I was forced to step in and do his job for him! Of course I'm going to emit a lot of energy when I'm learning how to brightsmith on the fly, it's a miracle I completed the product at all!

If anything, I should be compensated for almost having my Burgeoning Memorabilia, one of which I personally created, completely smashed to bits in his clumsy hands!"

"CLUMSY!" Ketzi screamed, tensing as if to launch at him." KETZI" the cop screamed, his voice reverberating in a menacing, hostile manner that made all heads snap to him.

"It is clear this is a bit more complicated than we initially thought. Demigod Aaron, while I understand you do not wish to come with us, would you be opposed to us coming closer? Your Imprint was… very clear not to do that." Aaron shrugged, "Sure."

"Ketzi, may we enter the room?" The smith harrumphed, "Fine." The officers walked in, sheathing their weapons, and everyone in the room relaxed. Imposing themselves between Aaron and Ketzi, with the other two standing on Aaron's side, a field court-case was held.

'This feels like a frontier town. Am I on the frontier of the Underworld? Is this how frontier towns held their laws?'

"Alright," the head officer said, stepping up towards him but still leaving a healthy distance between them. Eying End for a moment in his right hand and Muscle Crusher in his left, he chose to stare Aaron in his eyes. Waving his hand. Aaron felt the world muffle, and realized that, at some point, Ketzi had deactivated the dark room, with the officer reactivating a lesser version of it, localized around them with his own Imprint.

"My name is Utrisnic, and I am the (Sheriff) of this town. I understand you came from above, but can I at least get your promise that you'll try to abide by the laws?" Aaron nodded, "I have been, honestly. I noticed that using Imprints inside the town was frowned upon, so I avoided that, and I intended to pay for anything I bought- even if Aliata said not to worry about money, I want to come back later with some ebon opal, maybe get it refined if that's how it works, and find my own place here."

Utrisnic visibly relaxed, "Thank you, I appreciate your patience in this. Would you be willing to give us your side of the story from the beginning?"

"Sure," Aaron said, recounting everything as close to the truth as he could, while occasionally throwing vicious jabs at Ketzi- though he made it abundantly clear what was a retelling and what was his internal thoughts on the matter.

When they got to the part where he allowed his Imprint to take over, he glossed over the details, at the behest of Utrisnic, saying only "I switched with my Imprint," then going into detail about how he did the entire Memorabilia once, found that it was deeply flawed, undid and redid it again, once more finding it was flawed, and only getting close to perfection on the third try. He woke back up, found everything in the way it was, and the legal battle ensued.

The entire time, Sheriff Utrisnic simply nodded along, listening intently. When Aaron finished, Utrisnic let the silence hang for a moment to see whether there was anything to add, but he'd already recounted everything verbatim as far as he knew it. Utrisnic glanced at the two next to Aaron, both corroborating his story.

Aliata, though, also reluctantly added "He did seem very serious with the threat to Ketzi, but as a human, I understand it was just something to say that would normally 'Wake someone up' when they're frozen with fear. I, ah, don't think Aaron has ever met a taurin before?" she said it as a question, looking at Aaron. He shook his head, "Nope, Ketzi was the first… taurin… I've ever spoken to."

"You're handling yourself surprisingly well, then" Utrisnic said, nodding approvingly. Aaron smiled wearily, "I got pulled into the Underworld… a week… maybe less, maybe more ago. I can't really remember… But, since then, I've met multiple non-humans and a lot more horrific stuff. A species of slightly taller, four-armed, hairy humans is just… honestly, it barely registered." Utrisnic laughed boisterously, "I suppose so. Well, something you must know is that taurin do not respond well to…

friendly stress, or, nonlethal stress. We do only a single thing when threatened, and that is attack until either we are dead, or the threat is. We're not animals of course, so the impulse can be resisted, but pressuring a taurin will, nine times out of ten, result in them attacking you. It's in our nature, and taurin not specifically trained to resist this will fall into the habit frequently."

"I see…" he muttered, "So the best way to get Ketzi to help would've been to patch my Memorabilia until he calmed down enough to take over, and worked from there… Hmm…" Utrisnic's eyebrow twitched.

"I will not sugarcoat my words Aaron, whether he was taurin or not, threatening his life was inappropriate. Yes, if he'd destroyed your Memorabilia, he likely would have been exiled and left to die in the mirror fields, but we are in town, and carrying out your own justice is frowned upon. There are some complicated situations where such a thing is allowed, but for now, I would say to just approach a guard if you wish for something to happen and a person to be punished within the law."

Aaron blushed, feeling chastised but still nodding. Looking back, he supposed that was a bit of an overreaction. He'd said it aggressively, and Ketzi really thought Aaron was going to attack and try to kill him over a stupid sword… okay, a cool sword, but just an item nonetheless.

"You're right sir, my apologies, it won't happen again." Utrisnic's expression softened, "We all make mistakes; as long as you learn and try to do better, I won't fault you." Deactivating the bubble, he said "Now it's time to hear what Ketzi has to say," and walked off to the fuming smith. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Aaron turned back to his companions. {Resistance: 2. 2} -> {Resistance: 2. 21}"Think I'll get in trouble?"

Aliata shook her head, "No, it's likely Ketzi will be compensating you for everything he put you through… I'm very sorry Aaron," she said, eyes going downcast.

"I brought you here thinking Ketzi was a great brightsmith who could make you a sheath, and now you've been roped into this whole ordeal and not only did you make an even flashier sword, you still don't even have a sheath…" Aaron hummed thoughtfully, "I wouldn't be too sure about that. I made this thing myself, so I know its limits pretty well… wanna hear about it?" Aliata nodded eagerly.

"Absolutely!" He chuckled, "Well, for one, I can confidently say it's a lot more durable. Though Memorabilia are generally invincible, I'm pretty sure-" he was going to say'That they can be cut through by other Memorabilia of higher quality,' but Aliata cut him off.

"Wait! Don't talk about anything involving the mechanics of the Underworld." He frowned "Why?" Aliata shrugged, "Bad stuff happens when you do." Aaron thought back to how he was pulled away when trying to describe how to break free from an Imprint, and nodded.

"Yea, that makes sense."

"Okay, what does the sword do, specifically."

"Well, for one, it can do this" he said, and pushed his will into it With how deeply entrenched his organic spell structure had become with the rigid Memorabilia beneath, there was life in the Mushki feather once more. As he ran his energy through it, he found that he was able to wiggle it about, even the metal bending along with the blade as it curved and slithered like a snake through the air.

"Oooohh… what does that do?" Aliata asked with wonder-filled eyes, and he laughed.

"Moving the blade around? Pretty much all that does. It's more of a side-effect of what process I used to make it, but maybe I can use it to strike at odd angles during a fight? But the part I'm most interested in is this…" he said, and sent his energy towards the wrapping at the handle; after all, the entire blade was opposable, as the entire Memorabilia contained its traits as a whole.

Despite being much slower than the movement of the blade, felt straps did slowly wrap around the handle, meeting the sharpened feather edges and climbing over it. Looping again and again, the black cloth managed to slowly cover his sparkling blade with ease, the material just as magical as the blade, meaning it couldn't be cut through at all.

At the end, the sword was hidden, and when Aaron held it around his back diagonally from shoulder to hip, the straps slowly wrapped around his chest, too, tying itself in place. He nodded, satisfied, as it'd made its own container. When he grabbed the handle, all he had to do was think about it to release it from his back, the straps withdrawing, turning to nothing as they disappeared from sight.

The withdrawal process went by much faster than wrapping the blade, and in a moment, it was free and dangerous once more.

'Awesome.'

"It doesn't do much, but it'll certainly make it a lot more convenient to walk around with," he said, wrapping it again and attaching it to his back. Despite the meager display, Aliata seemed like she had stars in her eyes, giddy and on the verge of exploding with joy. Internally, he felt kind of bad for hiding the fact that there was actually another trait he wasn't talking about as well- the fact that the entire handle was hollow, and could open to reveal a storage space for tinier trinkets.

But, he wanted to keep that part a secret- his own compartment. As he finished up his showing-off, he saw that Sheriff Utrisnic stepped to the center of the room, and said "Alright alright, gather around cause I'm only saying this once.

"After discussing with both parties, I can see that Ketzi has completely failed as a brightsmith, but Aaron's lack of knowledge on taurin exacerbated the issue. Ketzi lost his cool, and antagonizing him didn't exactly help." Ketzi was obviously bitter at the insults, but Aaron could understand his part at least- well, it was probably easier considering he was given some pretty weak "Criticism," but still.

Utrisnic continued, saying "While he failed, though, there was no harm in the end, and who is to really say if he would have jumped in to fix the Memorabilia if given enough time? Instead of ruining his life or reputation, Aaron will be allowed to outfit himself with as many brightsmith weapons or tools as he likes from Ketzi's shop. Should he do so, Aaron will also never talk badly about Ketzi to the public, and never allow for leaks or gossip to start about the truth of what occurred.

That goes for you as well, Aliata, no speaking of this."

"What?!" Ketzi screamed, and Aaron fought to not look smug. * Looking around at the entire inventory, some of the stuff from the back and even the displays open to him, Aaron struggled to figure out what to take. His mind raced, and he thought of all the things he could use. Utrisnic cut through the false notion though.

"I don't recommend taking even half as much as I can see you're thinking of doing."

"Really? Why?" he asked, disappointed. Utrisnic mulled for a while over how to respond, and Aaron picked up on the fact that it was something to do with the mechanics of the Underworld. Staying vague, Utrisnic said "It's been found that people with more bought Imprints, generally, grow less over time. Like a crutch, having too many can be detrimental. What you should do is to take the bare minimum."

Aaron nodded and began sorting through the piles with a different perspective, and a clearer understanding of Utrisnic's ruling. The more Aaron took from Ketzi, the more his future would be damaged in the long run, so he had to balance survivability with growth. As he looked, he found an unspoken benefit coming into play when he was able to freely study multiple of a brightsmith's best works freely, and his knowledge of the structures needed to maintain their magical properties grew.

The night wore on, and everyone began to tire, but Aaron took his time, and soon, a collage of mismatched objects spread before him. His pride meant that he refused to ask Ketzi what any of them did, and his brief experience gave him insight into finding their uses himself. Though it was harder to pierce through the haze now that he wasn't in a dark room, it wasn't impossible to get the general gist of everything. The first was a kind of disc, with a raised rim and slightly curved middle.

Generally the shape of a compass, instead of glass, it had a smooth, mostly flat semisphere in the middle that was currently dark, reminding him something of a new moon. From his experiments, he believed it was a clock of sorts, and would help him tell the time- once he got it working. The second, a candle which he knew could burn at varying brightnesses.

He got the distinct feeling that this wasn't a weapon at all, but something for light- although more of an alluring light than anything, something that would attract others towards him. Not in a sexy way either, more broadcasting that he was a tasty morsel; he intended to use it to help attract more shadows for Bwurzix. Third was a ceramic bowl that he could feel would warm up anything within, likely for cooking, and fourth a sleeping bag that was very comfortable, though he could see was barely magical at all.

Then, the fifth and sixth items were a cloak and dagger. If he was reading between the lines on Utrisnic's words correctly, whatever he chose, he'd be reliant on- the Underworld wouldn't grant him a way to remedy that on his own. He'd either struggle to develop the ability required to patch the hole in his skillset, or he wouldn't get an Imprint that might be able to turn into a more suitable, personalized, better item. Looking at the vast quantity around the store though… he had to ask.

Turning to Aliata, he said "How are there so many Imprints?"

"Most of these are only partial Imprints, a lot weaker than the real thing, and some of them are very detrimental to the user- more parasite than true Imprint. Some are a fraction of a fraction, barely magical in the slightest, while others would be lethal towards the person themselves. Brightsmiths turn these useless echoes into niche items that will likely serve a purpose eventually, though not as permanent as absorbing the Imprint yourself." He nodded, "That makes sense, I suppose."

"I understand the rest of the items, but why the cloak and dagger?" Utrisnic asked, and Aaron bit his lip.

"I can't remember…"

"Me either…"

"So, do you think this would be a good line up?" Utrisnic looked amused that he was even asking.

"You barely got anything. It'll be for the best long-term, but are you sure? It'll be a lot harder right now." Aaron didn't want to say that he was honestly only taking things just to get back at Ketzi. With his sword, he could kill, and considering his unnatural durability, he was harder to kill in turn. He didn't want to hinder his progress just because he thought it would hurt Ketzi financially to give him a full suit of armor and a ton of dangerous weapons. A few quality of life items, though?

Eh, he doubted he would be pouring his effort into honing his comfort abilities any time soon, so it should be fine.

"I'm sure," he said, nodding, "Though I'll definitely need to get a backpack… a mundane one, that is."

"I agree, I'll send a man to go grab one now."

"Thanks," he said, and looked back at Ketzi. The man's face was fully settled into shame now, staring at his counter with his lower hands propping him up, face resting in his upper hands with a thoughtful expression on his face. The longer it went, the less Aaron found that he was truly mad, and now felt a bit guilty for taking any magical items at all. True, he was "Entitled" to some, but in his heart, he felt that how he treated others reflected on him more than it did anyone else.

Yes, he was allowed to treat Ketzi badly, but that didn't mean he had to. A noble could abuse their servant for messing up, but that didn't mean it was the right thing to do. Reluctantly, he sighed, saying "Ketzi… When I get the money, I'll come and pay you back anyway." The man looked up, staring at him blankly, then simply closed his eyes, and nodded.

Aaron would think about the exact price later, but at Utrisnic's insistence, he would stay at a nice inn for now, so everyone could go to bed, and honestly, he couldn't agree more. He was mentally and physically exhausted from the day, and even if he was sure the sun was soon to rise, his circadian rhythm was long-gone anyway.