"That's enough drama, Antoine," the inspector said sharply.

The artificer stopped looming over me, stepped back and tapped on a cufflink. The shop's interior lit up with spherical, colorful, mana-crystal filled, stained glass lanterns.

He smiled softly at me, as if he wasn't staring me down like a spook just a minute ago.

"What do you think I am, artificer?" I growled, going on the offensive.

"I meant you no disrespect, my lady," he bowed. "There have been… rumors in artificer circles of Archmagi working with their knights and children, combining people with… chasm-monsters using biomancy and alchemy. From what I understand, it's mostly an experimental beautification procedure."

"What?!" Lambert turned to the artificer.

"Just vague, distant rumors, mind you," Antoine mulled. "I'm not privy to all of the highborn matters of Illatius."

Lambert's eye twitched.

"One of the Barony daughters at Nemendias has a bit of a monster-features in her," the artificer rubbed his goatee. "Nothing too distinctive from what I heard, but she is ranked at the top of her class in every subject. Can't recall her name though. It's incredibly rare and might be seen as quirky now, but I expect highborn biomancy to be all the rage in the future with monster-inspired body mods!"

The inspector glanced at me and then back at Antoine.

"These are the finest biomancy mods that I've laid my eyes upon, my lady," the artificer bowed again. "I was just playing along, I honestly meant no disrespect to you. I've locked the shop on the inspector's request for privacy."

"Right, you can see my biomancy mods right through my armor," I said.

Damn artificers and their x-ray vision goggles or whatever.

"I would never peek on a lady!" the artificer shook his head. "I was talking about your incredibly distinctive gem-like pupils, skin and eye color, of course. I've honestly never seen anything like it! It's truly wonderific! Whoever your biomancer-cosmetologist is, they're incredibly talented. Do you mind giving me their name? I’d love to chat shop with someone so skilled."

“Rawr,” I struck a playful pose. “I’m afraid that my Master wishes to remain private. This is a highly experimental procedure, not yet ready for the public.”

“What about your armorer?” Antoine pressed. “I’ve never seen a design so distinctive.”

“That would be me,” I said proudly.

“You? My, my so young and so talented! Consider me impressed,” the artificer rubbed his hands. “This is truly one of the finest anti-phantom barrier meshes I’ve seen. It must have taken a long time to craft!

“Years,” I nodded.

“You simply must showcase it in Illatius!” Antoine clapped. “The local fashionistas would be all over you, I guarantee it! I recommend the Vogue-Dela-Mode as a good place to start. There are big prizes to be won, offered by the Baronies, especially if your craft can stand up to magical scrutiny.”

“I’ll definitely think about it, thank you,” I said.

On one hand I did want to showcase my designs, but on the other who would even model it for me? A debitor like Grogtilda would probably be turned around at the door or scoffed at and going out as a chimera to a fashion show seemed… far too reckless. The ‘biomancer’ excuse probably wouldn't work on everyone.

“Here,” the artificer stepped back to the counter and handed me a wallet-sized card. The words [Vogue-Dela-Mode 8066] were embedded with gold ink on its dark gray surface. A simplified-style portrait of a girl wearing a fanciful armor-dress stood in the center. I placed my thumb onto a small circular rune below the girl and the drawing twirled in a circle, her dress fluttering.

[Discover the designs by the most talented armor and fashion designers across the Basquenate!] the letters below the twirling girl proclaimed.

[Do you have what it takes to design garments or armor? Submit your prototypes for a review with this card by 11 - 11th, 8066 at the Palais Dela Vogue for a chance to win placement at this year’s gala and 66' world-expo in Illatius!]

I pocketed the card with a smile. I had to get myself to this show, one way or another. It seemed like the perfect place for me to establish myself in Illatius as a designer or even to check out the designs there to get ideas.

I turned to the artificer. "So, I can't get an armacus for my friend if she's not with me today?"

"Afraid not," Antoine nodded. "By law and by design, each armacus is bound to a single owner that I must evaluate in person. It is a simple measure to keep dangerous tools out of the hands of criminals, addicts and debitors."

"I'm getting two then," I said.

"The second won't work on your friend, I assure you. Even a mother's armacus doesn't function on a daughter," Antoine shook his head. "These artifacts are designed by me personally for each individual. Nobody else except for you will be able to use it."

"Both are for me," I insisted. "One for each hand. In case one breaks. I'm a Dungeon diver. Can never be too careful."

"My armacus can survive an inferno! If it breaks I guarantee a replacement," Antoine said and glanced at Lambert.

"I'm vouching for her," he said. "She's employed by the Lamb Constabulary as a Free Agent. If she wants two, make her two."

"Very well," Antoine said. "Two armaci it is then. What features are you interested in?"

"All of them," I said.

"Adding more hexagrams into an armacus will make it very expensive and potentially unstable," Antoine explained. "Plus I can't put killing spells into one for you."

"Lame," I commented.

"If you want to have a weaponized armacus, you'll need a relevant degree from the Arcanarium and a job with a license to kill… permitting you the purchase of such," the artificer explained, spreading his hands. "I can lose my own artificer license if I give kill-spells to someone without the necessary experience."

"Just tell me what you can put in then. Also, do you accept beast cores as payment?"

"I'm purchasing the armacus for you," the inspector commented at me.

I rotated to face Lambert, squinting at him.

"It's a tool required for your job," he said. "Therefore, it is a deductible expense, covered by the Lomb Constabulary. I'm not going to let you go into the caverns below the city without one. You can pay for the second one though. The Constabulary won't allow two to be deducted for a single Agent."

"Fine," I replied, turning back to the artificer.

"The most important part of an armacus is the foci core," Antoine said. "It will allow you to focus your own skills or spells better. Let's see if I have the material for that first and then we'll add as many rune hexagrams as I can on top. Each extra hexagram added on top of the foci must be as compatible as possible."

I nodded.

The artificer disappeared behind the door to his office.

A few minutes later he returned, holding a large metal box. He put the box down and pressed a rune on the side. The box unfurled into several cases. Each case was divided into box-compartments each one containing different little spheres about the length of my smallest fingernail. Some of the spheres were crystals. Some looked like bones. Others looked like a single drop of the ink or gas-like substances floating in circular, glass containers.

"What are those?" I asked, pointing at the glass vials.

"Liquid and gas foci," Antoine said. "There are also stone, wood, gem, metal, bone, ceramic and various rare composites created by Archmagi and Alchemy laboratories."

He handed me a very large steel ring covered in runes. "Take off your glove please and put this ring on your index finger. Spin it to adjust it to fit you. The ring is a match receptor. It will help determine which foci is best - simply wave the ring over the presented materials until we find the one responding to you best. The white crystal should light up when..."

I took off my right glove and slid the metal ring on. I spun it and little gears inside rotated until it fit perfectly on my index finger. The white crystal on the ring suddenly ignited with a brilliant, red flare.

Antoine's lenses clicked. He was staring at the ring on my hand. "That's... impossible," he whispered.

"Hrm?" I voiced as various, tiny runes on the ring lit up.

"Your hands are covered in some kind of crystalized mana ground to a very fine powder held together by some kind glue," Antoine whispered with reverence. "I've never seen anything like it. You already have your foci on you! It's the strongest foci match resonance I've seen! Whatever this crystalline material is, it's absolutely perfect for you! What sort of a creature made these crystals?"

"Uhhh… it's a trade secret," I said.

"Right," Antoine swallowed, relocating his gaze from the ring to the inspector. "Where did you find this girl?"

"She came into my office this morning," Lambert smiled.

"So um, do I still need to pick a foci material or are we done?" I asked.

"Do you have more of this... crystal, less ground down into dust? I require a crystal big enough to shape into a sphere like these," the artificer pointed at the glass spheres in his chest.

"Yes, do you mind giving me a bit of privacy? The crystal's... stored in my bra," I said.

"Say no more. The inspector and I can step into my office for a minute," Antoine bowed and vanished behind a door with Lambert walking behind him with a knowing smile. "Ring the bell when you are done."

I took off my helmet, pulled the black soul-carving knife out of its sheath, dug through my crystal mane and snipped off two of the biggest crystals I could feel. I placed one of them into a pocket and the other onto the counter, put my helmet back on and rang the bell.

Antoine and Lambert emerged from the office. The inspector returned to my side, while the artificer picked up the crystal and stared at it with amazement.

"Fantasmagoric Madeline," he uttered, observing the crystal with his numerous lenses. "Personalized... organic, crystalline mana! I don't know which Archmage is responsible for this masterpiece, but it's a work of art! It must have taken decades to manufacture and even longer to personalize!”

He squeezed the crystal and watched it shimmer in his hand. “It looks hard… but it’s soft!"

"Do I get a discount for providing my own foci material?" I asked, laughing internally at the fact that I grew my own crystal mana without even doing a single thing. “Also, if you leave it under light of the Dungeon clouds for a week, it will harden. It might be absorbing… magical ambiance or something. I am not sure.”

"Hum… yes," Antoine nodded. "Of course. This crystal is big enough to make two armaci focus spheres without issues. I will of course return whatever crystal material remains after the shaping to you," the last sentence uttered by the artifact master was said with a bit of a sad tone. He clearly wanted more of my hair for himself.

He handed the ruby gemstone back to me. "Hold the crystal in your hand and then slowly move your hand over the other materials, please. The foci of your armacus will be made from your... organic gemstone, but extra rune-spells will require different materials as the hexagrammic cores."

I moved my fist over the numerous spheres within the cases. Whenever the brilliant-red flare shifted to a different color, Antoine asked me to stop, noting something in a small notebook. Once the box was done, Antoine brought out other, similar boxes from his office, refining the material search further and further.

In about an hour of slowly going over thousands of materials, I was done.

"That's quite a list of materials you've chosen," the inspector commented. “I’ve never seen Antoine so excited about a project.”

"What can I say? I'm a demanding and fun customer," I said.

"Indeed," Antoine nodded. "My apologies for taking up so much of your valuable time. It is only because your foci matches you perfectly that we were able to fine-tune the selection of the other materials so much."

"What difference will it make?" I asked.

"Efficiency," the artificer clarified. "The runework will last longer and spend less mana per spell."

"I see," I nodded, a plan forming in my head.

"Can I have the match-receptor ring back?" Antoine inquired.

I paused, not wanting to let go of the artifact. "I'd like to buy this ring from you."

"Why?" the artificer tilted his head. "It's an incredibly specialized tool used primarily by artificers to make foci. It's not cheap and if I sell it I'll have to make a new one for myself, delaying new orders from armacus buyers..."

“I’m an armor designer and a Dungeon diver,” I explained. “I could really use an artifact that could tell me what matches me best magically. I could test it on everything that I find in the Dungeon with it and make better magical armor.”

“Hrm… I don’t know if I could trust someone so young with such an item… besides it’s not cheap,” the artificer mulled, not looking convinced.

"I believe I have something you want, Antoine," I said with a smirk. “Something… incredibly rare that nobody else will offer you.”

"Hum?" He blinked.

I reached into my pocket, and pulled out the second ruby-colored crystal. "Crystalline-organic, personalized mana. You can have this one and perhaps a few more… to experiment on. You won't find another one like it, trust me. Feel free to ask the inspector to confirm my words as the truth. It will be decades or maybe never… for another crystal like it to reach an artificer. Maybe you'll be able to figure out how to make this material yourself or how to irradiate it or infuse it with gas to alter its properties. The possibilities are limitless - it is incredibly magical and malleable from what I understand."

Antoine glanced at Lambert for confirmation of my words.

“This crystal is exceptionally rare,” Lambert affirmed. “Just like Juni here. You can experiment with it in your lab and use it to make something for yourself, but do not sell it or show it to anyone else. Its rarity makes… it so valuable and you will end up dead if the wrong sort of people learn that you have it.”

“The Guilds?” Antoine gulped.

“I wish,” Lambert sighed. “Only a few highborn Archmagi know of its existence and they wish it to be kept out of… lesser hands. They will kill you if they find out that you have it, so keep it well hidden. I don’t wish you to end up as evidence in my case.”

“Understood, my friend,” the artificer nodded. He didn’t seem to be deterred. If anything he looked to be more motivated and excited than ever. “I’ve worked with… very valuable materials before.”

"It's a deal then!" Antoine declared, taking the ruby gemstone from me with a huge smile.

He undoubtedly thought that the crystalline-organic magic gem was worth a ton of obliss, but to me it was simply my hair, an easily attainable, renewable resource. To get more, all I had to do to get more was give myself, my sister or my cousin a haircut.