Chapter 106: A Gift

The day before, Jess had missed an Orcish class because of the whole arrest business. He couldn't afford to miss this morning's class too.

Now that he didn't have to spend the whole morning with Marin, he could just do some quick cleaning, ask whether the old mage needed anything, and leave for his Wednesday morning Orcish lesson.

After class, Jess went straight to Larson's clothing shop.

There were two clothing stores in the Mage Quarter. He knew Duncan's fairly well, having visited it several times. He'd been inside Larson's only once, and the person who'd served him had been from Lordaeron.

On that first visit, the man had looked down on Jess for being an out-of-town laborer. Jess hadn't liked that, so he hadn't gone back.

He'd never imagined the place was the Wizard's Sanctum's partner shop, where the mages had their robes made.

He entered reluctantly. This time a middle-aged man, not the young fellow, was behind the counter.

"Hello, young sir," the man said. "Welcome to Larson's. Call me James. I own this clothing shop."

James had gray hair and a face full of lines, but his posture and the way he spoke suggested he was only in his fifties. He didn't have much of a Lordaeron accent either. He was probably a Stormwind native.

Jess looked around. "Ivan Larson was here the last time I came. I thought he owned the place."

"He's my nephew. My name's Larson too, of course. The shop was left to me by my grandfather. Ivan just minds it for me. Do you two know each other?"

"No... just curious."

"So what would you like to see, sir? Most of our clothes are made for mages."

"I am a mage." Jess showed him his apprentice's insignia.

"Very good." James put on his glasses and glanced at it. "First time buying mage robes?"

"Yes?"

"Long or short? Have you thought about it?"

"Short," Jess said immediately.

He needed to study at the academy, but he also traveled and moved around a lot. Long robes were inconvenient to manage and got in the way during a fight.

"Not the traditional choice, eh?" James Larson asked. "What material would you like?"

"My budget's limited. About ten silver, boss," Jess said. "I don't know much about mage robes, so please recommend something decent. Quality matters most. Something that won't tear easily."

"Ten silver, hmm. If you want better quality, spider-silk fabric could work. The disaster in southern Elwynn wasn't without some benefits, I suppose. A few years ago, people discovered that the silk made by the giant spiders living there has decent resistance to shadow magic. It's just right for mage robes. Especially now that we're dealing with all those gnoll warlocks, and with orcs who know dark magic hiding around the kingdom, spider-silk robes are a good choice for mages of any level. Light and strong."

"Could I get a set for ten silver?" Jess asked. "I thought spider silk cost more than ordinary silk."

"Depends on what you're buying," James said. "Even spider-silk fabric can't be made entirely of pure spider silk. By the Holy Light, that would cost a fortune. Our cheapest spider-silk blend is around twelve silver for a full set. It's very good quality for an apprentice, or even a junior mage."

Twelve silver.

He had no idea how long he'd have to wear these clothes once he bought them. Better to choose something decent.

"Any preferences for how it looks? Color, patterns?"

"Keep it plain. Brown or something. Simple patterns, nothing fancy," Jess said.

"Got it." As James wrote quickly, Jess cautiously asked, "Do you offer credit?"

"Of course." James took out a sheet of paper, wrote on it, and handed it over. "Twelve silver if you pay within one month of receiving the clothes. After a month, it becomes thirteen silver, and the cost keeps rising. If you delay until next semester, the Wizard's Sanctum will collect the debt. And if you still can't pay, young sir, you risk being expelled."

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Jess would receive his wages soon. He certainly wouldn't have to wait until next month, so he agreed.

"Sign your name at the bottom," James reminded him.

Jess signed. James looked at the name.

"You're Jess Seso? The initials on your ring stand for Jess Seso?"

"That's right," Jess said. "I only just became an apprentice. My teacher is Master Edan Marin."

"Mr. Seso, Master Andromath specifically asked me to keep an eye out for you," James said. "The royal family is paying for your robes, so there's no charge for this order."

With that, he tore up the bill.

"What...?" Jess was stunned for a moment.

"Can I choose something else, then?" he asked at once.

"Certainly. But the royal subsidy only covers fifteen silver. That's also the upper limit for most new mages' robes. Anything beyond that comes out of your own pocket."

So it was a standard fifteen-silver subsidy. Well, forget it. Jess didn't want to fuss over his choice. With the royal family as poor as it was, he hadn't expected much. Getting this much for free was already generous.

"I'll stick with what I chose," he said reluctantly.

"Of course. There's something else I need to give you. Just a moment." Larson cleared the counter and hurried into the back room.

Jess stood there alone.

So the king had even paid for his clothes. That was nice.

He suddenly remembered the strange look Andromath had given him when recommending Larson's. Perhaps he'd been embarrassed to say in front of so many people that the king was buying Jess new clothes, so he'd simply reminded Jess to visit the shop.

Jess had completely missed the hint. It had taken being arrested as a thief to get him through the door.

When Larson came back, he was carrying a reddish-brown cloak.

He spread it before Jess with extreme care, as though afraid he'd damage it.

What was this thing? The way the man handled it was making Jess nervous.

"This..."

"A Smoldering Cloak," James Larson said.

He lifted the garment. "The material comes from a giant smoke-drake that roamed the Badlands and southern Loch Modan. Do you know what a smoke-drake is?"

"I do," Jess said. "A monster that crawls like a crocodile, with a big sail on its back."

"Exactly. Bronzebeard dwarves first discovered this particular one. It often used its reddish skin to ambush travelers near the Badlands. Even though it was more than ten yards long, it regularly managed surprise attacks. The dwarves called it 'Cunning.' Ironforge was so busy fighting the Dark Iron dwarves that they couldn't do anything about the creature for years."

"A few decades ago, King Bairathern sent a hunting party to help the dwarves of Thelsamar kill the beast and restore normal contact between Ironforge and Stormwind. The dwarves used its scales, skin, and back sail to make armor and outerwear, then sent some of those pieces to Stormwind as thanks. This cloak is one of them."

"Since the cloak is decades old, it's suffered some damage. This one has been repaired. Its previous owner wore it while fighting trolls and took a spear through the shoulder here. After the repair, you can barely see the hole. Our leatherworkers are among the kingdom's best."

James turned the cloak over as he spoke. "It still has the strong resistance to fire it inherited from 'Cunning.' It can also strengthen a mage's fire magic. A treasure for any fire mage! The biggest drawback is probably that it'll feel hot in summer, Mr. Seso."

"This is far too valuable..." Jess stared at the cloak, hardly knowing what to say.

"It's certainly valuable, but not beyond imagination," James said, folding it carefully.

"About how much would it be worth?"

"In Dalaran, perhaps three gold coins. It's been repaired, after all, and many buyers assume a repaired item doesn't perform as well as it originally did. That's understandable."

Jess had already seen magical clothing scorched by a red dragon selling for seven gold, so he wasn't easily shocked by prices anymore. Even so, three gold was far beyond what he'd expected from a cloak the king was giving him.

Even as a gift, he'd be afraid to wear it outside.

"If it gets damaged again, could you repair it?" he asked cautiously.

"This cloak can only be repaired with magic, Mr. Seso. The cost depends on the damage. Fixing a hole like that one would be around thirty silver coins. But the cloak isn't nearly as easy to damage as you think. It was made with magic by the dwarves' rune tailors."

Jess stopped hearing much of what followed.

All he remembered was thirty silver coins.

"Can I wear it as a rain cloak?" he asked cautiously.

James laughed. "Unless the sky starts raining wind serpent acid, and even that might only eat away a little color. Remember, smoke-drakes live around molten lava."

He wrapped the cloak carefully in a piece of fabric Jess couldn't identify but which looked expensive. He handed over the package, then slipped a letter into a fold.

"That's everything Master Andromath asked me to give you. Once you take it, my task is done."

Jess thanked him several times and took the package. Then he noticed the seal on the letter: a golden lion's head.

He left the clothing shop, found a step in the garden, sat down, and opened the envelope.

"Mr. Jess Seso,

"Granting your wish to enter the Wizard's Sanctum is far from enough to express my gratitude. At one of the kingdom's darkest moments, you gave courage to every soldier at Stonewatch Keep and to the people of Lakeshire. Such hope in the darkness is beyond price.

"Every mage of the Wizard's Sanctum wears clothing suited to their position. As a young craftsman who has traveled far from Lordaeron and worked so hard to rebuild New Stormwind, I know you must have little money to spare for such things. So I have taken the liberty of selecting a magical cloak from the royal mages' treasury, passed down from my grandfather King Bairathern, as another expression of thanks. I hope it helps you settle into your new life in the kingdom.

"May the wound on your hand heal soon. In the name of the Holy Light.

"—Varian Wrynn, King of Stormwind, Defender of the Royal City, and Lord of Stormwind Keep."