U.S.S.A HellField

Chapter Part 16 Eldritch light

I figured we still had time, so we took a detour to the blacksmith's shop to check If Alice's pauldrons and shinguards were finished. There seemed to be more people walking through the streets than usual, they wore ragged clothing, looking as if they had wandered the desert for days on end. They had empty expressions on their faces, devoid of anything but exhaustion. We walked past them and went into the armorsmith shop. There the old blacksmith was, sitting at the desk, working on something. He turned and looked at me. "Ah there you are, yes I've got yer items right here, was just polishing them up for yer lady friend here."  He untightened the vice grip and then put the pauldron with the other one along with the shinguards. He wrapped each pair in white cloth and handed them to me, it was difficult to gauge how heavy it all was as it felt weightless in my hands.

- "Let's see them."  Alice said, looking curiously over my shoulder. I handed them over to her. "Huh, these are a bit heavier than I thought they'd be."  She said with a surprised laugh, then she walked over to the changing room to try them on. - "Do you know how to put those on?"  The blacksmith asked her. Alice opened the cloth and inspected the armor. - "I just tighten these straps right?"  She asked. I looked at the blacksmith, he nodded at her. She entered the room and shut the thick brown curtain behind her. The two of us waited for close to ten minutes then I heard an excited aha come from inside the room. The curtain was moved to the side, and Alice slowly stepped out with her hair exposed while wearing some kind of skirted leather garment along with the armor I gave to her. She looked stunning in it, like an Amazonian warrior walking out of myth into the real world. 

- "Where'd you find that?"  I said pointing at the garment she was wearing. - "Oh, I found this hung up on a rack, it looked like it would fit me, and turns out it does."  She said, sounding surprised. The blacksmith looked almost as surprised at her as I did, Crap, I hope he didn't recognize her. - "Are you alright?"  I asked, leaning toward him. - "Huh? Oh sorry, it's just that you remind me of the previous wearer, she was a dear friend of mine."  He said, I could hear the melancholy in his weathered voice. - "Well I'll put it back then..."  Alice went to put it back but the blacksmith interrupted her. - "No, you can wear it, hell maybe you can even keep it. It's been years since that old thing has seen a good battle, prove to me you're worthy of wearing it and you can have it, free of charge."  He said kindly, his eyes not averting from her once.

"You can pay for the rest when I'm finished, now don't go dying on me you hear."  He said with a dry laugh. That was surprisingly nice of him, I didn't think he was the type to give anything away for free. - "Thank you very much, I feel like an ancient warrior going into battle with it on."  Alice said pretending to hold a spear and shield. "How does it look on me?"  She asked me, turning around, giving me a better view of how it fits her. - "It looks great, isn't too bulky, and has enough padding to give some protection, you could wear it under your robe too."  I said, finding it difficult to keep my eyes off her. - "I feel like there's more than just my outfit you're looking at." She said with a coy smile as she caught my gaze looking at her thighs. Whoops, I forgot the glowing white eyes on my helmet could be seen by other people. - "You just look like you've gained weight...I mean in a good way, you look healthier."  I awkwardly stammered. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. - "I'll take that as a compliment since it's coming from you."  She said walking past me, seemingly unoffended by my comment.

Alice donned her robe over her new outfit and what armor she had. We left the shop, but before we went to go speak with the merchant, I wanted to get one thing. - "Hey, before we go talk to him, I wanted to get something at the gunshop."  I said, pointing in its direction. - "You want to get a new gun now?"  She asked, the pitch of her voice raising. - "You'll see which one when we get there, it'll be worth it."  I said then started walking toward the weapon shop, I would make sure to make this quick. We quickly made our way through the crowds until we reached the place. When we got inside there was quite a lineup at the front, it seemed more people were in a rush to get a gun lately. I showed Alice the rifle I wanted to buy, it was the blue one I saw when I first looked around, it was my rifle. The rifle was behind a metal cage, I could break it open but I don't think the owner would be too happy about that. - "Do you need help with anything?" one of the workers asked, it was a female Alsha at that, a younger one too. -"Yes, I'm wanting to purchase that blue rifle there. I'm a little short on time, is there some way we can bypass the line?"  I asked her. - "Well...we don't normally have this many customers, my boss has been trying to sell this one to no avail, I suppose he wouldn't mind if he didn't have to deal with it taking up space anymore."  She said. I handed her the 1500 Helva then she went to get the key and opened the cage door. - "Thank you."  I said, then we left to go find the merchant.