A small bell jingled as Damian, with Bronze on his arm, and Catherine entered ‘Mal’s Curios and Oddities at the Crossroads’. The shop was more of a modern pawnshop than a traditional shop by the scenario’s standard. There were a bunch of different items on display, from weapons to materials to books and strange artifacts. Damian could swear he saw a talisman that grew eyes, furtively glanced around, lock gazes with him, then snapped them shut.

  Behind a counter was exactly who Damian suspected. Maladus looked the same as ever. Curling rams’ horns that seemed polished, capped with a gold tip this time, and flowing robes of bright welcoming colors that complimented his complexion. His eyes lit up at the sight of customers and a large smile broke across his face.

  “My friend, it is good to see you!” Maladus’ slightly accented warm baritone boomed across the shop. “It took you two whole months to come see me; I’d be hurt if I didn’t know about the montage. Come, come, tell me what you need and if you can show me how your skills in enchanting have progressed.”

  Damian returned the smile, “Good to see you again Mal, this is Catherine my partner for this scenario and we are in the market for some anti-vampire equipment.”

  “Nice to meet the fair lady, it is an honor. I have only one specific anti-vampire item unfortunately. I will admit, I had a feeling I would meet you again young Damian so I stocked up on materials more than anything else. Word travels fast when Inducted enter portals, especially among involved merchants. Everything you see on the floor would be all I have in the way of items and weapons, I’m afraid.” Maladus leaned on the counter and gave a sheepish grin.

  Catherine was disappointed for a second before something on the show floor caught her attention and she drifted away to inspect it. Damian took out his crossbow and set it on the counter to show the demon.

  “This is what I managed to make since our last meeting. What do you think?” Damian asked.

  Maladus took the crossbow and began to examine it bringing out various tools and opening various system screens. “Very nice, my friend! I’m impressed, this is a solid early piece of magi-tech. The enchantments are concise and well placed, but I never expected you to dedicate the weapon to a deity via blood sacrifice.”

  Damian rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, “It wasn’t intentional. I accidently pricked my finger while carving the final runes and it dripped on them by happenstance.”

  Maladus gave him a look before bursting into laughter, “Ha! That is quite amusing. Anyway, tell me friend, did you happen to pick up the artifice skill tree?”

  Damian was startled, “Yeah. How did you know? I haven’t even tried to build anything yet.”

  Maladus clapped his hands in delight, “I have my sources, but that’s not important right now.”

  Damian disagreed but knew a loosing battle when he saw one.

  “It’s good that you didn’t go straight to tinkering, what most don’t realize about the more technological professions is that they require blueprints to make anything worthwhile. Anything you make without one is going to be heavily penalized by the system as it prefers people to understand what they are doing. You can develop your own blueprints if you have the means and skill.”

  Damian considered that thoughtfully, “I see, so to create my own items I’ll need to do the requisite research and design work. Rather than just slapping something together and seeing what works and what doesn’t, got it. What blueprints and materials do you have?”

  It was at this point that Catherine returned and plonked down a metal cube on the counter. “How much?”

  Maladus glanced at the item and his eyes lit up, “Oho, another crafter I see. The portable smithy comes in a few configurations that vary in price depending on how much is added. Did you decide on which you would like they were listed next to the podium it was on?”

  Catherine nodded rapidly, “I want the smelter and weapon smithy combo. How Much?”

  Maladus took the cube and placed it on a platform next to him and started to tap at a few symbols around it. “There we go, it will be configured in just a second. As for the price it normally runs around forty thousand essence for that combination, “

  Catherine’s shoulders started to droop as she obviously didn’t have such a sum.

  “But I do accept other methods of payment.” Maladus turned and looked at Damian expectantly.

  Catherine followed his gaze and gave Damian puppy eyes. Damian sighed and started to go through his inventory. He doubted Maladus would except just one item for it so he grabbed ten tabletop games. Among them were monopoly, risk, and uno the quintessential friendship enders. Maladus’ eyes lit up and he started sorting through the games, reading their rules and chuckled.

  “Yes, these will do nicely, consider the cost covered. Now, for you my friend I was unfortunately only able to get my hands on one blueprint, but all the materials for it and some unique alloy formulas to compliment them. How about it? I can sell it to you for a total of…...oh who am I kidding how about three connected pieces of media or eight more board games?” Maladus made his offer.

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  Damian could feel Catherine staring a hole in the side of his head. “Let me see the blueprint and formulas first, just descriptions are fine.”

  Maladus just smiled and nodded and pulled out some preprepared parchments. The first one Damian looked at was the blueprint as Catherine snatched up the alloy formula descriptions. The blueprint, was for a pair of weapons called tojo blades. They were basically handheld saws with pistol grips that could be launched like ninja stars with the pull of a trigger. They had a very high rotation speed and with the right material would likely cut through nearly anything. The best part, as far as Damian was concerned, was that they were designed to be concealable. His second-tier perk for artificing specified concealable weapons he pulled up the description to double check what it said.

  That would pair nicely with the hand held saw blades, Damian decided to go ahead with the purchases but wanted to check the alloy formulas with Catherine first. Catherine was vibrating with excitement over the description of each formula and when Damian tried to peer over her shoulder she shoved them into his face in her excitement. He took a step back with amusement evident on his face and carefully took the pages from her. Taking a look, he had to admit, these all were quite interesting, and while sourcing some of the materials would prove difficult, they would be worth the effort.

  Gryphon’s Zenith Bronze: A vibrant, burnished gold-bronze alloy with deceptive strength and cool temperature. The material taking after the bits of gryphon it’s made from is incredibly light in weight and yet as durable as steel, making it ideal for tools or those who prefer light armor. The metal alloy also has an affinity for air as an element enhancing any enchantment of that element. It is also used among the more technologically inclined civilizations for items that regulate temperature.

  Damian clicked his tongue, might be useful for arrows or thrown weapons, but he doubted he could make much use of it for now.

  Gloom-Iron (of the Banshee’s Wail): A near pitch black metal with smoky purple undertones, comes in many varieties due to the use of spiritual entities in its construction. This specific formula uses banshees as is noted by the name. It surprisingly absorbs sound better than it conducts, making it desirable in constructing sound proof rooms or as armor for those of a more stealth oriented profession. Gloom-Iron has slightly less structural integrity as normal worked iron, in exchange it is capable of interacting with incorporeal entities. Warning! The psychic signature of the banshee’s wail is still present in the material, exposure for periods longer than twelve hours is not advised and may lead to feelings of unease, mild disorientation, and/or dread.

  Catherine squealed in delight at this formula’s description. “This is amazing! Metal with a confirmed psychic signature?! I can’t wait to mess with it!”

  Damian snorted at her reaction, then moved to the last formula. It caused his brow to raise in interest and slight concern.

  Basilisk-Heart Quicksilver: A highly reflective, liquid-like silver with scale like patterns on its surface, this metal alloy boasts extraordinary corrosive resistance. The alloy has a malleable rigidity that lends itself well to whiplike weapons or those that require a certain amount of flexibility. Best known for its use in protective equipment or containers that can resist even the most potent of acids and bases, the metal retains small traces of the basilisk’s potent venom such that when used as a weapon the areas struck by this alloy leave a localized numbing and stiffening effect. Warning! While the numbing and stiffening affect is minor it is always present in the metal thus it should never be handled by bare skin and should always have an insulator between the user and it.

  “Those could be very useful, dangerous but useful. You said you have everything we would need to make them?” Damian turned to Maladus and asked.

  “Not in large quantities, but three to four bars per material should be possible. So I take it you are buying them?” Maladus replied.

  “Yes, if I don’t, I’m certain that Catherine might beat me to death.” Damian joked as he pulled out copies of the Blade movie trilogy and passed them over. “Will these do?”

  Maladus nodded easily, “Of course friend, anything else you might need?”

  Catherine calmed down from her excited state, now that she was guaranteed to get her precious alloy formulas, and asked. “Yes. Would you happen to have anything that would harm vampires specifically?”

  Maladus hummed in thought for a second, mentally going through his catalogue. “I do have one thing. It is a mixture of juniper, wild rose, and hawthorn, along with a few other ingredients that make it easier to be absorbed into the blood stream and stay there for extended periods without causing harm to the drinker. It is called, Gastric Shackle. It was made by a Slavic herbalist to assist him in exterminating a nest of vampires who had taken up residence near his home. Any vampire that ingested his blood was forced into painful retching and stiffness of limb that made it easy for him to stake them. Very effective but only lasts two hours. I only have one dose and its cost is four hundred essence.”

  “I can afford that, we’ll take it.” Catherine said. Maladus processed the payment and went to gather their items. He returned after ten minutes and set down eight boxes of materials on the counter, each clearly labeled and separated by use. Six large boxes for the materials needed to make each of the alloy formulas they purchased and two small boxes full of parts for Damian to make his weapons. After they put their respective items in their inventories Maladus passed over the vial of Gastric Shackle which Catherine passed to Damian.

  “You will need this for my plan to work.” Catherine informed him.

  “Why do I get the feeling I’m not going to like your plan?” Damian deadpanned much to Maladus and Catherine’s amusement.