I stood in front of the small shop, reading the sign above the door which just said ‘MAK GUFFIN’S PLACE’. And to the side, there was a much smaller sign that said ‘ARTIFICER SHOP. ARTIFACTS BOUGHT, SOLD, AND IDENTIFIED’.

I was currently in Moose Tow proper, doing something that I’ve wanted to do since I arrived a couple days ago. Since I’d just been given my share from what we’d found in the Labyrinth, I could finally afford to do it.

When I stepped inside, I saw that the shop was even smaller than I expected. There were a tables and shelves with artifacts on them, but there couldn’t have been more than a couple dozen at most. The selection was obviously pretty limited, which I supposed was to be expected since supply from the Labyrinth was also limited.

Most of the artifacts present had paper tags tied to them with a piece of string. These were price tags of course, but to my surprise, there was more information on the tag than just how much was being asked. I looked at that tag that was tied to a small dagger and looked it over.

EVASIVE DAGGER:
-GIVES +1 TO AGILITY WHILE BEING USED

“Interesting,” I mused.

My attention then went to the staffs. There were three of them leaned up against the wall, each with one of these descriptive tags.

CREATION STAFF:
-INCREASES DURABILITY OF CONSTRUCTS AND SUMMONS BY 25%
-CAN ONLY BE USED WITH CREATION MAGIC

“Interesting,” I said again, wondering what Lenore could do with this. Of course, she preferred to focus on her archery and personal fighting than on increasing her abilities, so she wouldn’t bother using a staff in the first place.

The second staff didn’t seem to have any of the same limitations.

MAGE STAFF
-INCREASE DISTANCE OF RANGED ABILITIES BY 30%

And then there was the third staff.

LIFE STAFF
-INCREASE POTENCY AND RECHARGE OF LIFE MAGIC ABILITIES BY 20%
-CAN ONLY BE USED WITH LIFE MAGIC

Then I noticed a bracelet that looked exactly like the one that we’d found in the Labyrinth. In fact, it probably was the same bracelet. This was where Grayson must have sold it. Out of curiosity, I looked at the tag.

BRACELET OF LIGHTNING PROTECTION:
-REDUCES DAMAGE FROM ELECTRIC AND LIGHTNING TYPE ABILITIES BY 30%

I nodded at that, relieved that we hadn’t sold something that would have been more useful. If it had been a bracelet of monster protection, I would have been annoyed.

Then I turned my attention to the counter where a woman sat, quietly watching me. She was petite, with lightly-tanned skin and long blonde hair that was tied up in braids. She also looked to be in her late twenties, but with players, looks could be deceptive.

“Are you Mak?” I asked politely.

“Makenzie,” she answered with a faint smirk. She had the look of someone who was enjoying a joke that I was somehow missing. “Mak for short.”

“I have a couple artifacts that I’d like identified,” I told her, holding up my own staff.

Mak gestured to a sign on her wall which stated the fee for identifying artifacts. The price was a little higher than I would have expected since all she had to do was look at the artifacts. However, if she was the only artificer in the area, then she didn’t have any competition and could charge whatever she wanted.

I let out a sigh and then nodded. “Okay,” I said, holding out my staff so that she could get a better look.

Mak made a show of examining my staff, then she pulled out a tag just like the ones tied to all the other artifacts, and she began writing. However, she didn’t give me the tag right away. Instead, she just held onto it, waiting expectntly. Once I paid the fee, she handed it over.

MAGE STAFF
-INCREASES POWER BY 25%
-REDUCES RECHARGE BY 25%
-CAN ONLY BE USED WITH ARCANE, SHAPER, ENCHANTMENT, AND ANIMATION MAGICS

I stared at the tag for several seconds, making sure that I wasn’t missing any details. This was about what I’d expected. Powering my abilities from the staff rather than directly, put a lot less stress on my body, which allowed my abilities to recharge faster than normal. However, it seemed that the staff added an additional recharge bonus on top of that. And that wasn’t even counting the boost in power.

“Useful,” I mused aloud. This also explained why Pham had been able to use ‘Wind Blade’ so often. Then I looked at Mak and added, “I have one more artifact I need identified.” I patted the side of my armor as I handed over more cash.

Mak examined my armor, then suddenly became a lot more interested. “I don’t see many soulbound items,” she said, almost looking excited. “Too bad it’s already bound or I’d offer to buy it.”

“I doubt I’d sell it anyway,” I told her.

The artificer shrugged, looking a little disappointed as she handed me the tag. “Honestly, I couldn’t afford to pay what its really worth.”

I looked over the tag, my eyes widening a little as I did so.

ARMOR OF THE ENCHANTRESS
-RESTORAL-UNLOCKED
-PROTECTIVE SHIELD-UNLOCKED
-UNKNOWN-LOCKED
-CAN ONLY BE USED BY ENCHANTERS
-CRAFTED BY MAXIM THE MAKER
-SOULBOUND TO VERATTA BANE

I read over the tag several more times, noting that it had more information than the other artifacts, but at the same time, it also had less detail. In some ways, this was like looking at my status page which showed ability names but no descriptions of what they did.

Restoral. I assumed that this meant self-repair and cleaning features of the armor. It said that it was unlocked, which reinforced the idea. The protective shield was obviously referring to what I thought it was. However, there was another feature beneath that which just said ‘unknown’ and ‘locked’.

“Can you see any more details?” I asked Mak, wanting to know what this unknown feature was and what the prerequisites were to unlock it.

“I’m afraid not,” Mak told me with a shrug. “I mean, there are some artificers who could get more, but there aren’t many, and certainly not around here.”

I blinked at that. “How does that work?”

Mak considered for a moment before answering. “All artificers can read artifacts. We get popups that tell us about them. And this isn’t even an ability, just something that every artificer can do.”

I nodded at that since I’d been told that most classes have things like this, things that they can do as part of the class which don’t even show up on status screens as abilities. According to Grayson, enchanters can see enchantments that would normally be invisible and even tell what they do.

“The more we slot perception,” Mak continued, “the more information we get. However…” She paused, putting extra emphasis on the ‘however’. “Most artificers avoid going back into the Labyrinth like the plague…” Then she shrugged again. “Which means, no leveling and no extra points for slotting.”

“Got it,” I said in understanding.

Grayson told me that slotting points in perception would increase how much information we could sense from other people’s enchantments, so this was just the same thing. Of course, Grayson was the only other enchanter I knew, and I hadn’t slotted a single point into perception since then. That meant, I had to take his word for that since I hadn’t been able to test it myself.

“It says that it’s soulbound to someone named Veratta Bane?” I asked, feeling confused. “Who the hell is that?”

I was pretty sure that I’d never heard that name before, but it still sounded familiar. It sounded like a name that I SHOULD know.

“Soulbound items always name who they’re bound to,” the artificer explained, “but players who respawn with them always have other people’s names on them already.” She shrugged again.

I just stared at that paper, at that name. Veratta Bane. Then I remembered what Giles had told us the other day about respawned players having been reincarnated. Now, that name suddenly made sense. Back in some previous life that I no longer remembered, that had been MY name.

“Thank you,” I told Mak.

I was about to turn and leave the shop, but paused to look around once more. There were some interesting artifacts there, but nothing that would really help me. And even more importantly, I wouldn’t be able to afford any of them even if they did.

For a brief moment, my eyes darted to the windows and then to the corners which had cameras installed. Old habits bubbled up and I found myself considering how I could break in and simply take what I wanted. But then, I shook my head, reminding myself that I had a new life. There was no reason to repeat all the mistakes of my old one.

“No reason,” I muttered. “I’ll be better off making all new mistakes.”

With that decided, I pushed the old temptation aside, took a deep breath, and then stepped out of the shop. As I did so, it almost felt as though a tiny bit of weight had just slipped off my shoulders. It was with a lighter step that I continued on my way.

----------

I was eating my lunch at a table in a small restaurant, still in a good mood from earlier. Having a little money in my pocket and a few answers about my equipment definitely helped to elevate the mood. And of course, the company didn’t hurt either.

Stine sat across from me, eating his own lunch. He was dressed the same way that he’d been since we’d arrived in Moose Tow, with jeans and a flannel shirt. That made me a little self-conscious about the fact that I was still wearing my armor around town.

The two of us had run into each other while looking for a place to eat, and he’d offered to treat me to lunch. Of course, I’d immediately agreed. I wasn’t about to turn down free food, especially not when it came with such appealing company. With his rugged good looks and those firm muscles… Well, Stine did things to parts of me that I was still getting used to having.

I was pretty sure that Stine wanted to get into my pants, and I was becoming increasingly tempted to let him. The attraction was definitely mutual, though I still wasn’t sure how close I really wanted to get. I wanted to see what sex was like as a chick, but the idea of getting that intimate with anyone… The idea was exciting yet terrifying at the same time.

“Do you have any other clothes?” Stine asked me, giving me an amused look.

I looked down at my armor and shrugged. “It’s very comfortable, it looks good, and it’s always clean.”

Stine chuckled at that. “Most women seem to prefer changing outfits several times a day.”

“Well, most women don’t have magic clothes,” I pointed out. “

“That is true,” Stine agreed.

“I wouldn’t mind a little variety,” I admitted, feeling a little self-conscious as I did so, “but I haven’t found anything as nice as this yet.”

Stine nodded at that, looking thoughtful as he did so. “Keep an eye on stores around the Labyrinth, and I’m sure something will turn up.”

“IF I can afford it,” I muttered, thinking about the prices I’d seen on those artifacts earlier.

“I know what you mean,” he responded with a grimace. “As a respawn, you’re forced to start over. Everything you previously earned and saved… Gone.” He spat out that last word. There was clearly a story there.

“I take it that you’re not a fan of that law,” I said.

“Screw that law,” Stine said, his expression hardening. “Screw all the laws.”

I blinked at that. Back in prison…and well before, I’d known a lot of people with similar perspectives. Most of them ended up in prison, sooner or later.

“Not a big fan of laws?” I asked.

Stine hesitated for a moment, then said, “You know, I used to believe in the law. In fact, I spent a few decades enforcing it.”

“Enforcing?” I asked, my eyes narrowing as I realized what he had to mean.

“Protect and serve,” Stine said. “I honestly believed it too. I did my best to be a good cop, to follow the rules and do things the right way. I saw a few cops who took money to look the other way, and they always seemed to get nice cars and nice houses. I refused to do that. I saw people twist the hell out of the law to do more damage than any criminal and still walk away nice and clean.” He shook his head. “I spent a whole lifetime walking the straight and narrow…and it was damn waste.”

I just stared at Stine, interested in his story while also being surprised that he’d tell me this. This didn’t seem to be because he wanted to get into my pants, but because he simply wanted to vent to someone. Of course, my relatively high presence might have encouraged him to open up to me too. I’d been told that high presence could do that kind of thing.

“There I was, having worked a ton of overtime,” Stine continued. “I’d saved for decades to buy a nice retirement cottage on a lake and a small fishing boat so I could enjoy it. Then, six months before I retired, I had a heart attack. Boom. Gone. Everything I’d worked and saved for was gone. The government took it all, saying that I wasn’t legally myself anymore, so they were completely justified in taking everything.”

“That…sucks,” I said, a little surprised at myself for feeing sympathetic to a cop, or even a former cop.

“It is what it is,” Stine said, taking a deep breath and composing himself again. “But needless to say, I don’t have a lot of respect for the law anymore.”

“I wouldn’t either,” I assured him. Of course, I never had.

At this point, the good mood had been ruined by Stine’s rant. He quickly excused himself and left. I just let out a sigh, wishing that I’d never brought up the subject of laws. That had been interesting, but a complete waste of a nice afternoon.

A short time later, I finished my lunch and left the restaurant. I barely stepped out the door when I saw Lenore standing across the street, dressed in her black leather armor from the Labyrinth.

“What’s going on?” I called out, a little worried after seeing her dressed for a fight. However, she didn’t have her bow on her, which only made me more wary. Why would she take the time to get dressed in her armor but then leave her bow behind?

Lenore didn’t answer me, at least not verbally. Instead, she simply gestured for me to go over and join her. I scowled, sure that something was wrong, but I wasn’t sure what. Still, clenched my staff tighter for reassurance, then made my way across the street to join Lenore.

Once I was beside Lenore, I repeated, “What’s going on?”

Just then, I saw movement from the corner of my eye and snapped around. Three figures emerged from the nearby alley, and they were obviously not human.

“What the fuck?” I blurted out.

The three figures were all the same general size and shape as people, but they were made entirely of wood. In fact, they appeared to be wooden puppets or mannequins of some sort.

I immediately dropped a ‘Cursed Ground’ beneath the approaching figures, which caused them all to immediately slow down. I followed that up by firing a ‘Hex’ at another one, but my enchantment didn’t stick to it. Instead, it seemed to hit the mannequin and them vanish.

At that moment, I suddenly remembered Dave from back in the prison and just how big of a mistake it had been to turn my back on him. Lenore was now at my back and… I snapped around, but Lenore was no longer there. Instead, Jag stood there with both of her knives in hand. I was barely able to register this before she moved and I found one of those knives held to my throat.

“There’s someone who wants to talk to you,” Jag said with a sneer, using her second knife to poke me in the side, just to emphasize her words. “You’re coming with us.”