Master Of None

After grabbing another snack made from berries that grow in the forest Su pushed Walker towards an average looking shop. Nothing really stood out about it other than the fact that he could feel a larger amount of elemental manas surrounding it. He had a suspicion that this was caused by the very runes that were being added to items.

"Eh, Su are you back to show off those mana storage runes carved on your shields again?" A gruff looking older elf man was scratching away at a small silver bell while sitting at a desk. Walker could clearly see the rune patterns being carved on it.

"No sir, I have brought my party leader like I said I would. He is definitely going to like some of the things you have here." Su said this in a very bright and cheery tone. This made Walker more relaxed in the new shop since Su seemed to have made decent friends with this craftsman in the past day. 

"Ah, so this is the boy you told me about. You're the one that stood behind little Alma and got the ancestors to support a change for once. Nice job. Welcome to my accessory shop. I mostly take special orders but I do have some items for anyone who comes looking. Feel free to take a look and ask any questions." 

"So this is the craftsmen that I was told you got caught talking to?" Walker already knew the answer to be yes, but he wanted to see what Su had to say since she had been here already.

"It is, I asked a lot of questions about the accessories he made and found that some of them had a very useful rune that could recycle mana. I thought you would want to buy it." Walker was a little curious why Su had thought of him when it came to recycling mana. But her eager expression made him believe it was for a very good reason.

"I already found something that can be a good souvenir for some of my healer friends at the cathedral along with my parents." Su held up small rune engraved charms of different animals. "These have the same runes that attract steady mana. It isn't strong enough to help generate mana but because it is steady it helps the wearer stay calm and feel at ease. I thought that it would be a very pleasant gift."

"Oh, I never thought of it like that. I only thought runes would be used for something like enhancing gear or adding effects. But small things like that are great for daily life." Walker had come to the conclusion that he had been too narrow minded. He had seen the effects of runes that the wandering blacksmith used and assumed they were for this respective use. 

The problem was even in his kingdom he had only ever seen runes used for safeguarding doors or making enhanced defensive formations on walls or buildings. No one he met had used them in the way elves used them. This was the divide between a culture that used natural mana and studied systems compared to a culture that did not. 

Walker became more excited and went toward the row of shelves and tables in the small shop. There were charms that Su had shown him and even some larger items. He picked out ten charms so that he could give them as gifts as well. He was not ashamed of following Su's lead since it was a wonderful souvenir item. 

His eyes soon rested on another silver bell similar to the one that the rune smith was already working on. "Can I ask what this bell does?"

"Of course. It is a common item for shopkeepers to hang on their doorways. The runes I add to it make the sound travel farther so they can hear it from any place in the shop." Walker nodded seeing the use for this item. In their kingdom, something like this could be snapped up very quickly by the shopkeepers or nobles.

He looked through more items and found a set of child sized bracelets. There were multiple pieces of intertwined copper and silver. "These are different from the others, can I ask what they do?" 

The rune smith glanced up before returning to work. "Those are bracelets for children who unlock systems with certain passive skills. I am proud to say that I made the one Alma actually used to wear before she could control her skill to whisper to forest plants. She would speak and her mana would be gone in a second. Many elves have the problem and will wear that. It will catch the mana and channel it back in to their bodies. That is why there are two different metals engraved with two different runes."

Su was nearly bouncing she was so excited. "I asked the same thing and I could only think of how useful it would be for a certain someone at the cathedral who loses their mana every time they speak." She was trying to hint at something, but Walker already was consumed by the thought. 

"How much for one of these?" H held up the largest size which would fit Alice's wrist easily.

"You're interested in that? I didn't expect you to want it. You can have it for three gold. They are a dime a dozen around here." Walker was stunned. It was so cheap but would change someone's life in such a great way.

"Su, I owe you big for this." Walker could only think of how to imagine what Alice would think when he gave it to her. However, his face soon dropped. "It will be some time until we return home" He wanted to rush home and give this gift, but he needed to think of all the things he needed to accomplish as a hero first. 

"Don't worry. It seems like a long time, but it will be much shorter once you get distracted by some crazy skill or new friends. Just hold on to it. Also...hold on to mine too." Su sneakily asked Walker to store her souvenirs as well. Walker could only laugh with her while his eyes turned to the other accessories. Su had found a diamond in the rough.

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