Provisions, armor, and onward to adventure.

Brighid pauses in front of you for a moment, waiting for you to collect yourself. You shake your head and look up at her expecting a scowl for being caught checking her out twice in one day, but this time her face is impassive except for a hint of mirth in her eyes. Wordlessly, she passes by you and waves at you to follow her, so you fall into step beside her. Her armor is finely made and is surprisingly quiet. You doubt she could sneak right up behind anyone's shoulder in it like she did to you earlier, but where movies and games had led you to expect heavy armor to be loud and inflexible, Brighid's armor has no noticeable effect on her range of movement and only rustles and lightly jingles with her steps. Now that you have a moment to examine her armor more closely, you see that the steel is not the boring metallic gray substance you're used to from Earth; this metal has a faint red tint and an almost golden sheen when the light hits it just right.

"It is Sunsteel." Brighid says. You look up from admiring her armor to see her looking over her shoulder at you. Seeing your confused look, she adds. "My armor is made from Sunsteel. It is made by refining normal steel with Essence of Fire and Essence of Light, and in addition to being stronger and more flexible than normal steel, it provides protection from heat and cold. Like most other magical metals, it is also immune to rust, a fact I am grateful for given where I live." The last is said with a rueful wave at the mist still clinging to the ground around your legs. "Anyway, next stop coming up: the granary. I will get us supplies for two weeks' journey; it would only take me a day to get to Bannagh Macht on my own, but at your pace it will take us at least two and probably more like three." She pauses and just as you begin to open your mouth to ask, she says, "And no, you cannot ride me. Never ask that of a centaur, it is a grave insult." The pause before she spoke and something in your tone almost make you think she's teasing you. You resolve to take her advice to heart anyway.

Shortly thereafter you walk up to a large warehouse-style building. Brighid asks you to wait outside again, then steps into the granary. She returns a couple minutes later, her saddle bags bulging much more noticeably than before, and hands you several bundled packages to put into your backpack.

You have found: Centaur Trail Ration (7). Rarity: Common. Item Quality: Common.

"I know you are just a weak human mage, but by Brigantia I will be damned if I carry all your food for you." You, rather wisely in your opinion, say nothing in return and just slip the food into your pack. "Alright, now to get you some protection. Armor and magic do not generally mix well, but I refuse to let you go into that place with no armor whatsoever. Light armor should not affect your spellcasting much, especially if we just leave off the gauntlets. We will see what Roark has in your size."

Roark turns out to be a genial old centaur who runs a foul-smelling tannery outside of the village. After a discussion with Brighid, he nods and looks you over, measuring you with a knotted string and "Hmmmm"ing as he looks at your legs. After another few words with the lady warrior, he goes into one of the buildings of his tannery and comes out with a padded leather shirt, several strips of cured leather, and a partial set of leather armor: breastplate, pauldrons, and vambraces.

You have found: Cured Leather Breastplate. Armor Type: Light Armor. Average Protection: 3. Encumbrance: Slight. Rarity: Common. Item Quality: Above Average.
You have found: Cured Leather Pauldrons. Armor Type: Light Armor. Average Protection: 3. Encumbrance: Slight. Rarity: Common. Item Quality: Above Average.
You have found: Cured Leather Vambraces. Armor Type: Light Armor. Average Protection: 3. Encumbrance: Slight. Rarity: Common. Item Quality: Above Average.

He helps you into the shirt and armor pieces, then leads you over to a barrel of water and asks Brighid to heat it up for him. She holds one hand out, says something, and makes a series of gestures as her hand begins to glow red. A second later, the glow dissipates from around her hand and steam begins to rise from the barrel. You recognize the glow and draw a conclusion from the results, adding another note to your collection on the redhead -- she's a fire mage! Your estimation of her goes up another couple of notches.

Roark thanks her, then dips the leather strips into the barrel. After a short time in the barrel, the cured leather softens and pulls them out. First, he wraps one diagonally around your head, from just above your eyes to under the back of your skull, and tells you to hold it there. You do as you are asked, although the leather is uncomfortably hot to the touch. Then he slowly kneels in front of you and does the same with your right thigh and shin. Brighid casts another spell and immediately the heat is sucked out of the leather, leaving it wet but hardened once again. Quickly Roark repeats the process on your left leg and again Brighid removes the heat magically. Roark helps you out of the proto-greaves and proto-helmet and then vanishes into his workshop, telling you that it will be just a moment.

You examine your new armor more closely while you wait for the leatherworker to return. You have no idea what animal the leather is made from, but it's a reddish brown in color. You rap your knuckles against your breastplate and it certainly feels hard and sturdy enough to serve as protection. It restricts you more than you thought it would, but you figure that's just your inexperience, read lack of Skill, with armor. After a few minutes, Roark emerges with the finished greaves and headwrap in his hands; mostly it looks like he just poked a series of holes along the edges where they would meet around the back of your head and legs and added a leather strap to each to lace them together. He hands them to you and once again helps you to wear them, showing you the proper way to lace yourself into your armor and giving you instructions on how to care for it.

You have found: Cured Leather Helmet. Armor Type: Light Armor. Average Protection: 2. Encumbrance: Slight. Rarity: Common. Item Quality: Makeshift.
You have found: Cured Leather Greaves. Armor Type: Light Armor. Average Protection: 2. Encumbrance: Slight. Rarity: Common. Item Quality: Makeshift.

When he's done, he looks at you gravely. "Brighid has told me of your quest. Even were it not the Will of the Council, I would gift you this armor, for never let it be said that old Roark Tanglebriar would deny aid to one seeking to cleanse the land of evil. I hope that your quest is successful, young Aidan; you would be helping us more than you know if you manage to clear out Brannagh Macht. But know that if you come back without Brighid, I will never make anything else for you again, Council or no. I have known her since she was a filly and while she is unquestionably brave, the fire within her sometimes blinds her to caution." He turns to Brighid, who is now giving the old centaur her patented emerald laser **** glare, and says to her, "I know you mean well, lass, and I know that you burn to purify that filth with Brigantia's sacred flames, but do be cautious. The Council did not keep you from Brannagh Macht without reason. I question their judgment sending you with Aidan even now. No, no, I understand that you demanded that they allow you to go -- but consider this. When was the last time you ever outmaneuvered your mother in a duel of wits? Just be safe, little spark." He claps her on the shoulder and then returns to his work.

Brighid's eyes are open wide with shock after the old man's words, but she shakes herself out of it and says to you in a gruff voice, "Come on, Birgitte's light is wasting." Once again you fall into step beside and slightly behind her as she leads the way out of the village, following the curve of the low ground between hills vaguely northward. The sun has just reached its zenith over head, and the mists coiling around your legs are thin and wispy. You travel for more than an hour in silence before finally asking the question which has been on your mind.