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It was a little amusing, watching Petra’s reaction as I asked her about the enchanted item I wished to buy. First she asked me to repeat my question, then she stared at me, eyes slightly wide – her face a mixture of disbelief, hesitancy that I might be attempting a joke and, finally, just shock. Eventually, she managed to get her voice working, only to be interrupted by Kira who had stalked right over.

“Are you insane? Do you not know that is one of the banned enchantments?” She waved a finger in front of my face. “Even asking that can get you put on a list!”

“Oooh, do they check it twice and give out coal?”

“What?” The women echoed each other in unison, the boys shooting one another looks of shared amusement as they wandered over.

“What did Lin do this time?” Yorrick asked.

“He asked if we had any movement items that teleported or moved another,” Petra said with a roll of her eyes. “Which he should know, is not something to be joked about. Blink Shoes, Teleportation Rings, Seven Stride Boots and all other forms of teleportation are banned from recreation or resale.”

Brand, probably the second most knowledgeable amongst us about the world of delving, was nodding heavily. “Even if you managed to acquire something like that in the deep dungeons, chances are the government or someone more powerful would take it off you.” He shook his head. “Recreations, on the other hand, are strictly forbidden.”

Kira, perhaps realizing my question was more of ignorance than anything else, added, “The number of deaths just trying to recreate those kind of enchantments have caused is staggering. We lost some of our brightest trying to work them out, and whatever the relics that are brought up have, we cannot tell.”

Petra cut in now. “Even the ones that blend movement are expensive and not on this floor. The Amulet of Shadow Merging is on the fourth floor, and limited to those in the fiftieth floor at least. It’s also one of our most expensive pieces of equipment.”

“You have one of those?” Kira said, surprised. “I’d heard Mastercraftsman Bogdan only makes one a year, so exacting is the work and prone to failure. The waitlist is decades long, from what I understand.”

Petra just smiled, causing Kira to incline her head in understanding. One did not give away business secrets just because you were asked, after all.

“Right, I guess that takes that off.” I sighed. “So nothing to aid movement?”

“I did not say that-”

“That’s not true—”

Again, both the women answered at the same time, only for Kira to wave a hand, gesturing for Petra to continue. Petra smirked just a little, as she replied to me. “We have items that can provide a boost to your movement, but with your skill…?”

“If it adds to my motion, how fast I move, it’ll work.” I grinned. “It could even work very well.” I did not point out how the failed pills that she sold to me on the regular, which only mildly boosted the regenerative properties of a body, were actually helping me Conserve a large portion of health faster than normal.

An enchantment that increased the speed that I moved at would do the same, since I could bleed a portion of that generated momentum into my momentum vault. Depending on how, exactly, the amulet worked – if it increased every bit of motion in my body, including things like my beating heart – it could be a huge benefit.

“Ah, my apologies.” She gestured for me to follow her, pointing to a small collection of items. “Do you want a more general enchantment or something specific? For example, these Boots of Slick Footing are popular among dancers and certain adventurers. It makes the ground easier to move against, though slippery too.”

“Not that one.” I shook my head. Too much of my ability to generate power stemmed from the earth; anything that killed my ability to ground myself was a negative. “In fact, let’s exclude more specific kinds.” I frowned, spotting a gorget that I picked up, reading the tag.

Gorget of Slowed Impact

Reduces forces applied to the neck and head region, reducing impact and slowing down movement of targeted limb.

Blunt Force Protection: Moderate

Draw: Low

Synchronization Difficulty: Low

“Does this work?” I said, curiously.

“In a way,” Petra answered. “It reduces impact, but can create problems around the shoulder and chest regions, if an individual is thrown too hard. It’s minor, and a little healing fixes it. Combined with a solid helmet, I understand some delvers swear by such protections.”

“Huh.” I could think of another reason why slowing down momentum and forces applied to the head might be useful; something most people in this world – and only recently in ours – would not know of. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy – CTE – had only been studied and acknowledged recently, and efforts to change sports in particular to reduce its effects were only just beginning relatively speaking by the time I died. This could actually have done a lot of good in that area, though it’d be something I would want a proper research study on.

Not that I was going to get time to research or the ability to weigh every calculation. Still, I was hoping that the magic energies and my own skill were saving me from the worst effects of it, because losing my mind was not something I would look forward to.

“This is more to your interest, I believe.” Tapping the table, Petra brought my attention to two different items; one a ring and a second a brooch. “They are similar in their function for the most part, only the form of them being different.” I nodded in understanding, while turning the tag over.

Pendant of the Busy Trader

Increases overall movement rate, gifting the wearer a minor increase in speed.

Motion Increase: Low-Moderate

Draw: High-Low

Synchronization Difficulty: Moderate

I grunted, knowing that putting on the pendant would actually give me more information but also knowing that doing so was incredibly rude. If nothing else, the way an individual interacted with an enchantment was idiosyncratic and releasing one from the core could be damaging to the individual, and at times, to the actual enchantment.

“So, what are you picking?” Yorrick asked, impatient as always.

I scratched the side of my head, mentally running down the options that had been offered to me. Many were already discarded, but just in case, I decided to talk out loud. “The pendant works with my skill – how well, I don’t know, but it works with it. That’s always a big bonus. The Rod is out, even if I do think I need a ranged weapon. Hatchets or crossbows…” I shook my head, choosing to ignore the question for now. Something to look into, the stage of their technology for making crossbows. “We have the Wanderer’s Map which was pretty nice, and useful. If we ever visit another maze, we might never get out without a proper map.” After all, not all mazes were kind enough to have an exit leading outwards without breaking the chain of turns. “And the pair of sensing utility items could be useful. Though I’m leaning towards the dark sight one in general.”

“Is that all?” Brand asked, sarcastically.

“There’s also the Shard Garden.”

“Oh, please.” Kira rolled her eyes. “The only person who should buy that is me. My family would pay me back for that well enough, and we could add it to our vaults. For an individual though…” She sniffed. “Its usefulness is minor.”

“So minor that mercantile families like yours and delver families all purchase them whenever they can, telling everyone else that it’s worthless,” Petra said sarcastically.

“A single shard garden, used by an individual—”

“I get it,” I said, interrupting the pair. “I understand both your points, and neither of you are entirely wrong.” I tapped the table. “But I think I know what I’m getting.”

Which, if I had to admit to myself, was rather a given long ago. Even if everything spoken of was useful, one such piece stood above the rest by far. I’d just have to save up for the others in my own time.