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382. Emperor's Clothes
🕑 Added 2025-05-04 14:00:08 +0000 UTCThey left the rubble behind before anyone could seriously start looking for who to blame over the recent destruction of the homes all around them, and followed Scar back to the merchants’ district. Ike headed for the high-end shops, but Scar caught him by the back of the collar and whirled him about. “Not that way.”
“What? Aren’t you rich?”
Scar laughed. “Not that rich. That’s for people who are mage-rich. Dragons and the other deep-pocketed mages who’ve had a few hundred years to accumulate lots of wealth. Neither of us can compete with that kind of money; that isn’t for clientele of our level. We’re down here. Over in the normally-expensive shops.”
Ike turned. The shops where she was pointing were nice. Not ridiculously fancy or over the top, nor did their items have the tremendous kind of aura that Ike could feel through the shop walls, like the items ahead of them did. He glanced back at the nicest shops longingly, then followed Scar toward the more reasonable shops.
Wisp nudged him. “I think we should have our next battle with Brightbriar over there.”
“Where?”
“In the nice shops.”
Ike thought for a moment, then nodded. It was a great idea. They had a battle over there by total coincidence, smashed up the shops, then just happened to get a few of those high-end robes twisted in their storage rings and just happen to walk away without realizing they’d grabbed any… it could work. “I think you’re on to something there, Wisp.”
Scar glanced back. “Don’t get any ideas. They lock those shops down better than they lock down the palaces. Even if you and Brightbriar were to have a drag-out knock-down battle right on top of those shops, they wouldn’t take an ounce of damage. You aren’t the first ones to get a little opportunistic around here. They’re well-prepared.”
“Dammit,” Wisp muttered.
“What a disappointment,” Ike agreed.
Scar sighed. “You could’ve at least pretended not to be doing it to loot the stores.”
Ike shrugged. “You know what we’re about. What’s the point of lying to you when you know what we’re doing?”
Scar started to say something, then shut her mouth. She pursed her lips and nodded. “You have a point.”
“We always have a point,” Wisp agreed, nodding sagely.
“I’m going to disagree with that,” Scar muttered.
Lots of other mages wandered these shops, unlike the high-end shops, which had been almost abandoned. Scar led the way with certainty, winding through the passersby with the confidence of a long-time city dweller. Ike followed after her, bulling his way ahead, and the other mages got out of his way. They shot him nasty looks, but he ignored them. It didn’t matter what they thought of him, in the end. He was here to kill Brightbriar, and when he was done, he’d be right back out onto the road again. Their opinions were less than chaff. Wisp skipped along, humming an uncomfortably familiar tune under her breath, and Mag flew overhead, little more than a shadow on the ground nearby.
“Over here—that shop sells premade robes. The ball is tonight, so we can’t spend time getting you guys custom robes. You’ll have to take what’s already been built,” Scar explained, slightly apologetic.
“Okay,” Ike said.
“The nobles might bully you a bit, but put up with it, okay?” Scar said.
“Bully us? I welcome the challenge,” Wisp said, crossing her arms.
“Imagine, being some stuck-up snob who’s never fought a real battle in their life, and trying to bully us,” Ike said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. It was pretty ridiculous, that someone who was born into money would look down on someone who worked hard, but he knew that those with money never did anything but look down on the hard workers who supported them with all their efforts. It was human behavior, and for once, he did feel that it was a lacking of humans in particular, and that it wasn’t a problem beasts tended to have. Still, he didn’t agree with it, and had no intention of playing along if the nobles decided to try and shit on him.
Scar took a deep breath. “How did I forget who I was dealing with? Listen, if the nobles try to bully you, don’t attack them, and don’t give them too much shit. We don’t need you guys dueling with every noble in the city. Brightbriar already knows you’re here, so this isn’t about stealth, but think about conserving your mana, okay?”
“As long as they aren’t too much of an asshole,” Ike allowed.
“What if I just eat them instead?” Wisp asked.
Scar put her hands in her face and took a deep breath. “How are you guys my best bet at defeating Lord Brightbriar?”
Ike shrugged. “I dunno, that’s your problem.”
“Let’s just… forget about this and go get you guys clothes. What colors do you like?” Scar asked, visibly putting it behind her.
“Uh… blue?” Ike said, not really sure. “Orange? Yellow?”
“That’s a good set of colors. What about you, Wisp?”
“I like the purple people turn when I put venom in them. And the red color of their innards. And white, like my thread,” Wisp said.
Scar looked her in the eye. “The next time, just say colors. I don’t need the backstory.”
“But it’s important. How else are you going to know the exact shade of purple and red?” Wisp asked.
Ike nodded. “Wisp has a point.”
“I like red! And black, and white,” Mag said, swooping down from above.
“Honestly, you look fine as is,” Scar said, looking up at him. “I don’t know that we could buy anything as nice as what you’re wearing right now in any of these stores.”
Mag swirled around and landed on a nearby streetpost to preen. “Of course not. These robes were given to me by my father. They’re far superior to any mass-produced trash that you can buy in a piddling city like this.”
Ike sighed. He nodded at Scar. “I trust your good judgement. Get us clothes, and let’s get moving.”
“Right. I’ll be right back.” Scar nodded and retreated, vanishing into one of the nearby stores.
