A Gift

“Ah, welcome back kiddos,” said Gant, waving from behind the counter as we entered the armory.

“Is it ready, Gant?” asked Sofia. The armorer gave a nod before turning and heading into his back room.

“Anyone wanna tell me why we’re here?” I asked.

“It’s a surprise!” Flora exclaimed.

“Okaaayyy. What kinda surprise?” I asked. Before they could respond, Gant returned carrying an armor stand with a set of leather armor on it.

“This kinda surprise,” he said, setting it down in front of me. “Here you are. Leather armor made from troll hide. Hardened and tanned with elven methodology, inlaid with blessed mythril chains for added defense and curse resistance. Cloak here’s made of enchanted cloth to resist magic. Real state of the art shit.”

“You guys got this for me?” I asked, incredulous. “This must’ve cost a fortune!”

“Normally, yeah,” said Gant. “Your buddies pulled out all the stops. Sofia pulled some strings at the university to get the cloak’s enchantments done for free. Alice over there got the church to do the blessing of the mythril. Flora managed to hook me up with cheap access to trollhide. And Lucille was a big help on those inlays. She could be a blacksmith in another life.”

“Really? You guys did all that?” I asked, nearly tearing up.

“It’s our way of saying thank you,” said Lucille.

“You’ve done a lot to protect us, so we wanted to return the favor,” said Flora.

“You guys...” I said.

“Oh yeah, we also got you a new set of clothes,” said Sofia.

“Your current pair is...rather worn,” Alice said. She wasn’t wrong. My current clothes were what I’d been wearing since my arrival in Gaia. They were covered in dirt and various tears.

“That reminds me, better go bring those up out of the back too,” said Gant, heading back into the back room again.

“I don’t know what to say,” I said, completely stunned.

“How about a thank you?” said Sofia, pulling me into a hug. The others joined in a group hug.

“Thanks, everyone,” I said, enjoying the moment. Gant returned from the back room with a folded set of clothes in his hands.

“Well, isn’t that touching,” he said, setting the clothes on the counter. “Go on, you can use the storeroom to get changed. Come on, customers are gonna start showing up again soon.”

“Thank you Gant,” I said, taking the clothes into the back room with me. I quickly undressed before observing my new duds. There was a royal purple tunic, with fancy gold engravings. The slacks were made of a comfortable black cloth. There was even a pair of fancy white socks. I donned my new clothes, enjoying the feel of the fresh fabric against my skin, something I hadn’t felt in a while. I stuffed my old pair of clothes into my bag and went back into the store.

“Well, don’t you look fancy?” Gant taunted. “Come on, I’ll help you get your armor on. Pay attention. I won’t show you how a second time.”

“Thanks,” I said. Gant aided me in strapping the various pieces of dark leather armor into place. He pointed out where everything pieced together, along with giving me pointers for how to put it on by myself.

“Here. The finishing touch,” he said, handing me the black cloak. I wrapped it around my shoulders, fastening the metal chain to my chestpiece.

“How do I look?” I asked, swishing my cloak as I turned back to my party.

“You’d probably look better if you put on your boots, kid,” said Gant, tossing me the new boots I forgot to put on. Embarrassed, I slipped the boots on. It was a bit more awkward to bend over with the armor on, but it conformed to my body surprisingly well.

“How about now?” I asked, standing back up.

“You look good,” said Lucille. “Certainly more formidable.”

“You look like a proper adventurer,” said Alice.

“Like a noble and dashing hero!” Flora exclaimed.

“Handsome. It suits you well,” Sofia said.

“Thanks. Seriously, it means a lot guys,” I said. I turned to Gant. “How much do I owe you for all this?”

“Not a thing. The girls already pooled their money for it. You’re all paid up,” he said.

“That so? Thanks, everyone. We should get going. I think Jenkins has been waiting long enough,” I said. We began to head out.

“Hey kid!” Said Gant. I turned. “Take care of them, alright. You got yourself something special. Make sure you hold onto it.”

“I will. Thanks Gant,” I said, turning back to follow the others out of the armory.