Chương 21: Gearing Up

The others seemed genuinely excited to see what Maurifus had made for us. I was too, but I took a few seconds to stop at the stream outside of Slowbend, to wash off the filth of the Bane-lands, and most importantly, to clean out the new scratches I'd gotten. It wasn't worth bothering Hild with, but I also didn't want them to fester and get infected. After I'd cleaned up, I hid my homemade siphon safely in my kit bag.

As far as I knew, there were no rules about regular men-at-arms owning siphons, but it was better safe than sorry. I didn't need to draw unnecessary attention. At least, no more than I already was. I was going to start improving quickly, and there would be questions. People would want to know where I'd gotten the Presences and why my own Presence had increased. I was working on some solutions, though. But for the time being, I was ready to check out my new equipment.

When we arrived at Maurifus' shop, he took one look at us and grinned, then said, "Over here, lads. I've been working on something special for you." I hadn't thought any of my requests were all that special, but it made me all the more curious. I stepped up to the counter and asked, "Something special?"

"You brought me some wonderful ingredients," Maurifus said.

"It is a shame to see such beautiful metals in the clutches of orcs, and though I'm no liberator myself, I can't help but appreciate the efforts of those who do rescue them." He pulled a rough burlap sheet off a table, revealing a folded up vest of scale mail, a helmet, and a pauldron.

"For the boy." First, he retrieved the helmet.

"We will start with my lesser accomplishments. This helm, sadly, will resonate with Perception instead of the requested Focus. It was a coin toss. But I hope it is suitable for now." It was a polished steel helmet, and though there was nothing extraordinary about it, I far preferred it to just wearing a hood of chainmail. If I remembered right, we would've called it a spangenhelm back on Earth. It had a cowl of metal that ran down the back and protected my neck and an eye guard, but it left my mouth exposed.

There was padding inside it and a socket at the top for a horsetail plume—but no tail in it.

"That plume is for you to figure out on your own," Maurifus said.

"Though I advise against putting something in it until you make sergeant. Technically, it's not against regulations, but it's not good form, either." I winced.

"I'm not sure if I'm ever going to—""Yes, yes, whatever you say." The other four Dupes chuckled. I glanced at them.

"What?"

"With how well you've been doing, there's no way you don't make sergeant," Romance said.

"It's only a question of when."

"Try it on, try it on," Maurifus said. I nodded, then picked the helmet up and pulled it onto my head. It fit snugly, but wasn't uncomfortable, and the eye holes were at the exact right height. But really, the boost in Perception was what helped. Something about the metal seemed to ripple and shimmer. It caught the light in a slightly different way, and if I looked at it correctly, it was almost iridescent. But when it slotted onto my head, Maurifus was right. It was like I'd just put on a pair of reading glasses.

My eyesight focused immediately, and I could make out the writing on Maurifus' parchment sheet on the opposite wall.

"How is your hearing?" Elf said.

"Considering I've got a helmet blocking my ears, I'd say it's pretty good," I replied. It didn't feel like anything had changed—like my head was completely open to the air. The enhanced Perception countered the effects of the helmet. Then Ticks tapped the back of my helmet with his fist, making it ring. I winced, staggering forward. The ringing wasn't louder than normal, but it was far more grating to my ears, and I picked up more depth in the sound than I otherwise would've.

"Hey, hey, I polished that," Maurifus scolded.

"Don't scratch it up too soon." He shook his head, then grabbed the pauldron.

"Next: a simple pauldron. No enchantments, but it will serve you well." You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. I picked it up, and unlike the helmet, it seemed to be made of normal steel. It was a proper weight, that much was certain. I strapped it onto my shoulder, letting the engraved raven sigil point outward. For once, I felt like a proper soldier of Gate, with a crest and everything. And considering how often I was taking hits to the shoulder, I'd need it.

"And finally, your scale mail," Maurifus said.

"It will grant you a bonus two points of Agility." He picked it up off the table and let it unfold, then shook it out. It seemed to be made of the same material as the helmet. Each scale was plain, but it was sturdier than just chainmail while retaining its flexibility.

"Two Agility?" I raised my eyebrows, though no one would see with my helmet on.

"Two," Maurifus confirmed.

"You're a miracle worker."

"That's wonderful to hear," Maurifus said. He handed me the vest of scale mail.

"Take care of it." I pulled it on over my helmet and chainmail hauberk, letting the scales settle.

"It fits perfectly." I couldn't explain exactly how I knew it was improving my attributes. It wasn't permanent, but while I had the armour on, it felt like it had joined with me. Like it was connecting with my bones somehow.

"How does it actually enhance my attributes?" I whispered to Shave.

"Resonance nodes," Shave replied.

"Each Dupe has a resonance node implanted in us when our flesh is woven for each of your attributes. These nodes are artifacts retrieved from the Labyrinths—which is partially why the Labyrinths are so helpful for us." I didn't really understand how it worked, but that made slightly more sense, and at least Shave didn't really seem to know how it worked either.

Shave continued, "They're what lets you grow faster than a regular man, improving your attributes if you have the drive to do so, and helps you maintain them once you earn them."

"But when you gain an attribute to your armour, it doesn't count toward your overall tally," Ticks clarified.

"Even if your armour puts you up to ten points in total, it doesn't count toward getting to Iron tier." I nodded, and opened my mouth again, but Maurifus cleared his throat.

"There is one more article." He walked back through the blacksmith shop and picked up a spear, then carried it over to me. It was the same as the last one I had, but I wasn't complaining. At least it wasn't an orc spear. I held out my current orc spear to him and said, "Trade?"

"I will add this spearhead to your scrap tally," he said.

"Even if it's not much, it can go toward your next piece of equipment."

"Hey, that's just a normal spear," Romance said.

"I thought you were saving the best for last." Maurifus laughed nervously.

"Yes, well…I forgot the spear, and I was far too excited to show him the scale mail. But yes, the spear is the last thing I had for you."

"Thank you, Maurifus," I said.

"This spear will do fine." Besides, when I did get a proper weapon upgrade, I wanted it to be something good. Something that would take my fighting ability to the next level, and I got the sense that a mortal blacksmith—no matter how good—couldn't get me what I wanted. The sappers had to have a smith capable of making better weapons for them, considering how well the guys guarding the castle were geared. After that, we returned to the camp, but I couldn't rush off to bed just yet. We had to get dinner.

As we walked through camp, heading to the cooking fire, I questioned Shave about something I'd been meaning to ask earlier: "So, you said the resonance nodes are what allow us to improve beyond the limits of regular men, right?"

"Correct," he replied.

"Could we just implant more resonance nodes?"

"It wouldn't do you any good. You have one node per attribute, and they've tested it. Implanting more nodes doesn't improve your rate of attribute gain."

"Damn," I muttered.

"He's just looking for every loophole now," Romance joked.

"He's doing a better job at soldiering than you," Elf replied.

"I'm just looking for my sceats and trying to survive 'til the end of my service," Romance said.

"No delusions of grandeur here."

"You'd think they could have designed Dupes' brains in a way that made us obedient and…extremely loyal," I muttered.

"I mean, the Fleshknitters, whatever they are. I've got no idea what they are really, and obviously they didn't do that, but you'd think they could."

"Us, says the Atoning," Ticks said. I gave him a cautious glance.

"Just a…joke." I rolled my eyes.

"You need to work on your humour." I'd done a good job of not turning my back to him so far, but at least he reminded me that I couldn't get too comfortable around him—not until I figured out whether he was on Scar's side or mine.

"That would involve giving us the same soul," Shave interjected forcefully, returning to my original point.

"And as far as I know, that's impossible. Or, they could create us without implanting a soul. But then we'd be no different than orcs."

"I'd bet they tried," Elf added.

"But they couldn't make it work. Orcs are the way they are because they have no soul. There's a void in them where the soul should be, and it makes them hunger to fill it. They never can, 'course, but it doesn't stop them from trying."

"Where do they get the souls for you guys, then?" I asked.

"It has something to do with special Path-walkers known as Seers," Shave said.

"But that's all I know. The Seers serve the Warlord, who is a powerful Path-walker himself." We arrived at the fire pit, where Hild and her apprentice were stirring a cooking pot and passing out bowls to everyone. I dipped my head in thanks as I accepted a bowl of stew, then found a spot nearby to stand while I waited for the others. I was off to the side, but it didn't stop someone from jostling my shoulder as he walked past—yet another Dupe.

"Watch where you're standing, Atoning," the Dupe grumbled, and I recognized his voice. It was Scar.