The Frosted Files:Open Eyes

// Chapter 15 \\

    We did eventually find out way back into the undercity, near where we had been captured. As it turns out, the corner they had come from was the front door, so we didn't need to try and track our way back. Karma took lead again, happily taking twisting turns along the undercity roads.
    These past few days have been on a whole new level of crazy. Here I was, being led around the undercity by a not-demon demon looking chick, alongside a fae catgirl, on my way to trade some sort of favor for a vial of my blood. This all kicked off with an attempted assassination by my rival gang, who had a magical set of rings that generate magical shields on command, followed by me getting attacked by a plant beast in a Walmart, only to be saved by a white haired, white eyed wizard. Then, after inviting him for dinner and learning about entry level magical ruling, my own home was attacked by more of these plant beasts, which I beat. Hell, I even healed one, getting my very own familiar.
    As if on cue, Thief came out from around the corner. The little plant cat must have taken off when we were knocked out. Good for her.
    The little plant cat hopped up and onto my arm, curling around my neck, resting on my shoulders. The cat's wood chipper purr started up.
    Eventually, Karma stops in front of some building made of a darker stone, with dark wood accents. A sign out front has strange letters written on it in a language not in my glasses' system. There was, however, a neon sign in the left window, declaring the place 'open'.
    Karma turned to me, and said, "Frost, this shop stole my sword. It's red and black, and a tad heavy - I need you to retrieve it for me. That's the favour I'm asking of you." She took out the little vial of blood and held it up, as if to further convince me this deal was worthwhile.
    "Retrieve it how? And why don't you do it?" I asked. Scarlett was staring intently at the sign. Maybe she could read it, maybe not. I'll ask when I'm done with this.
    "Y'know, either buy it or swipe it. Both work for me, to be honest. As for why I don't do it, well. I may be magically banned - I couldn't enter even if I wanted to. They have wards targeting me specifically, I think." She held out a palm, and a little image was projected, showing a stick figure walking into a wall over and over.
    Crossing my arms, I looked at the shop again. It seemed normal enough, save for the fact that it was in the undercity.
    "What's the catch?" I asked.
    "There may be a, uh, language barrier, potentially." Karma said, looking away. "The sword should be on the back wall, behind the counter. Make sure to get yourself something, have fun!" She pushed me towards the shop, and I fell into the doors, entering the undercity store. Thief leapt off my shoulders and over to Scarlett, who caught her.
    The interior was a lot different than the outside. For one, the store was the size of your standard department store; aka a warehouse store. Maybe there was some magical subliminal space magic going on, because this definitely should not fit within the parameters of the store's building.
    Shelves made of the same dark wood that accented the front made rows and rows of products. Signs above the aisles held various terms in both English, and the strange language of the sign outside, advertising everything from snacks to magical weapons. I decided to look around a bit beforehand, out of pure curiosity.
    As I browsed, I noticed that the energy of the building was dark and murky, like when you walk into a bad neighborhood and know you shouldn't be there. I'm sure if I could see the energies again, they'd be black and inky, slimed over everything.
    The amulet around my neck flashed, and my Sight opened.
    I was wrong. The energy was a dark green, and looked like a wispy smoke, floating through the aisles. Some objects let off various colours, indicating their magical origin. I grabbed a big old blunderbuss, likely older than even my van, and looked at the runes along the barrel. Somehow, I could read it - the runes described how the gun could use magic instead of bullets. The signs above the aisles made sense now, too; they said the same things as their English counterparts.
    I found my way to an aisle showcasing various weapons, some of which are familiar, some of which looked entirely alien. One section was entirely dedicated to weapons based off of video games, from Halo to Mario. Next to the video games was a section called "non-modern", which held things like swords and older guns.
    A gold sword had a little display plaque next to it, also in runes, that described what it could do. Apparently, the sword, made of some magical metal alloy, collapses down into a coin, but it can also become other things, based upon the user's want. All you have to do is flip the coin, and it transforms as soon as it's in your hand again.
    Below the display sword was a small box containing the coins in their own individual bags. I grabbed one.
    The next aisle over had a lot darker energy, the deep green mist laying lower to the floor. There were a lot less items in this aisle, and they asked for insane prices, such as 277 gold for a single coin. Not that I knew how a 'gold' translates into human money, but still, my blunderbuss was only three, and the coin sword was two. 277 seems like quite a bit, so I looked closer at the coin. The side facing out from behind the thick glass display case showed a rough image, or a sigil maybe - a quill in an ink bottle. The coin itself looked like rough silver, polished but
    As I got closer, I started to hear whispers come from all around me. I spun around, but there was no one there.
    The coin let off a gentle white energy, puffy as clouds, but it looked heavier than even the dark green energy of the aisle.
    I'll come look at it some other time, because this was lowkey spooky.
    Moving on, nothing else caught my eyes, so I found my way to the desk in the back. Behind the desk was a very large man with green tinted skin. Tusks rose from below his bottom lip and up to right below his nose. One of them was chipped, and they were both surprisingly clean. He had his arms crossed as I approached. A little sign beside the register said that first time customers had a tax, to prevent magical legal issues.
    I set my two items on the counter, and looked up behind the counter - directly behind the guy was a black and red longsword hung by the hilt.
    "Yeah, hi, can I get these two things and... that sword behind you?"
    The large man grunted and turned, retrieving the sword. As he turned, I grabbed the blunderbuss and smashed it over his head.
    The gun bounced off, ringing like a tuning fork. The store clerk showed no reaction, turning to set the sword on the counter.
    Oh, shit.
    I hesitantly lowered the gun and shoved my hands in my pockets.
    He spoke, his voice deep and gruff, "Gun three gold, coin two, sword sixteen. First time customer tax ten percent. Violation of guest rights, thirty-seven gold. Total is 60 gold, one silver. Or, if you wish, twenty-three gold and one silver, and combat for guest rights."
    This was not exactly going as planned, but I took out my wallet. "Do you- do you take cash?"
    The man's eyes narrowed, and he pulled out a calculator. "One hundred and eight thousand, one hundred and eighty United States dollars. Or, forty one thousand, five hundred eight United States dollars and combat for guest rights."
    I flipped through the whole thirty-two bucks I had in cash, and slowly pulled out my card. "Do you take debit?"
    The green man huffed a breath, and leapt over the counter, landing just to my side. A shockwave of force pushed back various shelves and the counter, and the air began to shimmer. Walls formed, I could see, walls of solid energy, and illusions were laid over top. I still had my Sight active, so I couldn't see what the illusions were depicting-
    My Sight shut off.
    The illusions made it look like a boxing ring, and they were very realistic, too.
    The large man slammed his fists together, and two of the many rings on his hands began to glow. Gauntlets of some dark material formed around his hands, heavy and obviously well used.
    "If you live, you may take your purchases. If not, well, your debt will be paid."
    As I was trying to comprehend the whole 'if you live' line, he rushed at me, faster than I could react. A metal fist slammed into my gut, and I doubled over in pain. Another hit slammed into my side, and I staggered back. Gods damned, this guy was mean.
    My amulet flares up with some purple light, and I feel my injuries hurt a bit less. If this guy wants a fight, then I'll give him one.
    I dodged his next punch, and landed a kick to the side of his leg. He didn't go down, but he took a step back, and I used the momentum of the kick to push off of him and towards the counter, where the weapons were. I grabbed the blunderbuss, but the guy was fast, and hit it out of my hand. I spun around, only to be met by another fist to the gut, sending me a few steps back. He followed it up with a kick to my chest, and I flew back into the magical wall.
    Even as the injuries occurred, I felt them lessen, felt them heal, ever so slightly.
    As he began to approach again, I pushed off of the wall and swung my hands. A large hammer made of ice formed in my grip, and I shattered it on the guy's head. He staggered to the side, but didn't fall.
    I tried to form another ice weapon, but he flung his hand out, and the room heated up, and the ice melted whenever I tried to form it. Dirty play.
    He rushed forward, and I dodged the hit.
    As he moved past me, as I had slipped to the side to dodge, I thought of what I wanted to do.
    I slammed a fist into the side of his head, barely reaching, and I heard myself mutter some word that I didn't know, and a surge of magical energy flowed from my pendent and into my hand.
    My knuckles broke, I felt that, but the store keeper flew across the ring, hitting the wall hard, and sliding down. He did not get up, but was conscious, if barely.
    Trying my best to ignore the pain of my broken knuckles, I walked over and set a boot on the guy's chest.
    "I believe that's my win, buddy."
    He grunted and nodded.
    I stepped off him, and held my non-broken hand out, which he took. I pulled him to his feet, and he nodded his respect, the illusion dying away, the walls dissipating.
    He swiped a hand, muttering a harsh language, and the shelves and counter grinded back into position.
    He rang up my items, and applied some kind of 100% off discount, handing me the receipt and items.
    "Take care, Fate Frost. May your travels be adventurous and nonlethal."
    I nodded a thanks, and as I turned to walk out, my pendant's light cut off.
    However convenient this thing was, it felt like it had a mind of its own, turning on and off whenever it felt I needed the help. Hell, that may be how it actually works. Maybe it relies on adrenaline levels?
    Regardless of the amulet, my hand was still broken, and I felt steam coming off my skin, and ice formed where I stepped.
    I left the store, grabbing a cool looking bracelet on the way out. Once again, as I exited, the two girls stopped chatting. They turned to me, and looked stunned - maybe it was the frost along my stepping path, maybe it was the fact I was even alive. Nevertheless, I tossed the sword to Karma.
    "Blood. Now."
    Karma fumbled with the sword, setting it to her side. A sheath formed from seemingly nothing, and she reached into her pocket, tossing the blood vial to me. I put it in the interior pocket of my own coat, and turned to Scarlett, who was blushing as red as I felt. I don't know if it was from me, or from Karma, but it didn't matter much right now.
    I held my hand up, and Karma squinted. "All four knuckles, and two fingers? How'd you manage that one, Frost?"
    Scarlett came over and took my hand in hers, the magical healing energy flowing between us. It felt like sunshine on a cold day. "Oh, y'know. Pumping magic into a hit to fight some ogre-"
    "He's an orc, actually." Scarlett cut in.
    "Right, right. Pumping magic into a hit to fight some orc, so I can get my blood back from a not-demon. Standard Friday night, huh?"
    Karma chuckled, shaking her head. "What else did you get besides my sword?"
    "Oh, uh-" I used my tech hand, which was not occupied by Scarlett's healing, and brought out the three other things I had gotten - the blunderbuss, the coin, and the bracelet cuff thing. Karma took them, one by one, and looked them over.
    "Very nice, Frost. I'd advise looking into how to link this cuff and the gun; it'd come in handy. The coin is cool, too." She flipped it, and when it landed in her hand, she was suddenly holding a hairbrush made of gold. It shrank down to a coin again, and she flipped it, this time resulting in a full on pistol made of gold. She shrank it down again, and set it next to the other things.
    Scarlett finished up her healing, and I grabbed her hand as she pulled away.
    "Now, Scarlett, tell me. Why have you been stalking me, and why are you following along?"
    "Stalking?" She asked, her British accent more pronounced than before. She tilted her head, her cat ears perked up.
    "Don't play dumb, I've seen you in your little red-eyed cat form around The Compound. I figured Apollo had just adopted another cat - hell, we have like twelve already - so I didn't question it much." I said, and she curled her tail around her leg.
    "Well- that was only somewhat recent, first of all. I have been assigned to you, as the Q- as my boss thinks I could subdue you if need be, should the situation arise. Secondly, you agreed to meet the queen, and I am to follow you until you do so."
    If I had been drinking something, I'd have choked. "I fucking what?"