Mantle of the Gods

Compared to the other stores, Mogi Leathers was packed.

Which was made even worse considering the store was also over twice as large as both places we had already been combined. A good weapon was necessary, but once the crafter had an idea of what you wanted, they could make it. If you needed any final alterations, those just required a little tinkering.

Armor was a completely different story. There were boots, pants, belts, shirts, vests, jackets, gloves, and helmets. Not to mention goggles and other accessories. Some Adventurers would buy stuff right off the rack, but most wanted their armor to be custom fitted for themselves, which took time. And time was something that we didn’t have.

“Let’s go to the premade section.” Oz pointed to an area that was a lot less crowded. It helped that we wanted Tier Zero stuff and that we weren’t going to get it altered. At least not here. Given that Fray and I were on the Blue team and Oz was on the Green, we’d have to get our armor dyed to be primarily our team colors, but we could do that ourselves.

I began thumbing through the clothes, looking for something that would work better than the level one gear that I currently had. I noticed that the other two had split off and were looking an aisle over in a section dedicated to women’s armor.

“They have a lot of stuff here with water resistance." I pulled a jacket off the rack and tried it on. This one had a hood that could be strapped into place to provide head protection. It also came with water resistance as did the pants, gloves, and boots I had found. I took it off and added it to my selection of gear and strolled over to where Fray and Oz were picking out things.

“Did you find everything you need?” The raven-haired woman eyed the pile of clothes in my arms.

“I think this is all I need.” I nodded at the stack she was holding. "What about you?”

“Fray and I were about to go try this stuff on.” Oz pointed at a place a little ways down the store that read ‘Changing’. “Have you tried it all on?”

“I checked out everything but the pants.” I pulled the pants out of the bottom of my pile. "I didn’t know that there was a changing area.”

“Come on.” Oz picked up the stack that she had made and headed towards the changing area. I shrugged at Fray and we followed after her.

I noticed that Fray’s pile was significantly smaller than Oz’s.

“Did you have trouble finding things you liked?” I nodded at the items in her arms.

“I got a full set of armor.” Fray smiled. "And I think it’ll fit.”

I was a little confused by the difference in size of our items. It looked like Oz’s stack was as big as mine and Fray’s combined.

Oz was already talking to the red haired woman at the counter.

“I already told you, one room per party.” The woman’s red eyes drifted over to Fray and myself. "You can take turns or go in one at a time.” She pointed at a crystal on the counter. "You can deposit the items that you want to try on here, then you’ll be able to take them out once you are in the room. Once you are done trying them on, place them back in the crystal and you can either pay for them here, or go get different items to try on.”

I took a step back. "I guess I’ll wait here for the two of you to get done.” I shifted the clothes in my arms. Part of me was thinking that this was too much of a hassle just to make sure the pants fit well. Honestly, if they didn’t, then I could use a belt to keep them up, which I was planning on wearing anyway.

“Atlas.” Oz had already deposited her items and walked past the counter. "It’s not like we’re getting naked.” She looked at Fray. "It’s nothing he hasn’t seen before.”

I swallowed as Fray blushed.

“I think it might be less awkward if I wait out here.” I shook my head.

“Fray, you’re okay with Atlas coming back, aren’t you?” Oz put her hands on her hips as Fray began depositing items into the crystal.

“It’s…” Fray took a deep breath. "I don’t mind.” She looked at me. I had been expecting to see fear or discomfort, but instead there was a little smile on the blushing woman’s homely face.

“See?” Oz pointed at the crystal. "Hurry up and put your stuff in there because I know I’m going to need help getting into this armor.” The raven haired women began walking towards the designated changing room without waiting for my response.