"pftt haahahaha"

After checking a few dozen shops and making a fool of myself a few dozen times we've come to the striking conclusion that I'm just too scrawny to wear body armor .All Heavy to mid range armors make me practically unable to walk and light armor is useless .In other words my plan was to maximize my mobility rather then my defense. I haven't lost hope yet I'm sure there something for someone like me to upgrade my speed or stealth. If I'm lucky i can obtain something for both. In the far distance i saw a shop with the pictures of a mask on it and pointed to it. At worst ill just have more notes and best what i want

"Sigh you still want to go looking , well ok it just means i get to laugh more. This is the most fun I've had in years"

"That's splendid, lets go"

Upon entering the shop there was such a starch difference from the other stalls ,it was like i was back transported back in time to the medieval ages, it was jarring to say the least. This is the first beastkin i got to lay my eyes on. The beastkin in question was a HUGE bear at least 15 feet tall , wearing some type of red poncho with a single pair of yellow stripes on the side. The shoulder area was cut so we could see just how massive his bulging arm's really were .He studied me for a while, while i was busy drawing him or her really had no clue.

"Inquisitive fellow aye "- bear

still no idea but i wont even mention it

"Yes i love learning, Can you tell me what your shop sell please"

"Usually don't have costumers as nice as you so ill give you the run down"

"This shop sells trinkets"

...

After some silence i figured that the best he was going to do, and Gwendolyn was content to just watch me roam around so consequently i took it upon myself to look about. there were barrels full of trinkets and gizmos most of them useless to me. Oh a emerald studded ring ,lets see what this does.

"bad eye but that item is trash wont even lie to you ,it makes the user able to conceal his hide smell and sound"

That didn't sound to bad to me though

"How much is it"

"5 gernas"

So cheap! I guess these guys were only fans of hand to hand combat or something

"I'll take it"

My search didn't stop there looking through the clothing section ,i found a white cloak along with some white metal grieves .All of it matched my hair ,yes shallow but it really made no difference .I would be going off its appearance anyway ,since i didn't know what any of this stuff did. Might as well match

"You manage to find the weirdest stuff that robe conceals its user as well as blending them in with their surroundings, the shoes make you faster, most humans end up hurting themselves with it though.. don't run into any walls"

"How much for both?"

The descriptions sounded like exactly the items i needed ones man trash as the say. Lets just hope they work like that in actuality.

"For you 100 gernas"

I looked at Gwen and she just sighed. She may have been able to laugh at me all day but she still had to pay for my stuff, i considered it even. She wordlessly put 105 gernas on the desk saying something about at least its cheaper

"when people come here ordinarily they're looking for swords the bigger the better, your the first chap I've seen even remotely interested in that stuff, then again you're the first ever human to walk these halls .So if you don't mind telling a this old girl Beara what do you need that junk for anyway?"

noting that she was the nicest to me out of anyone here i had no problem sparing her a couple extra details, i mean hey why not.

"Well im trying to find some armor but all the shops we've been to haven't helped, they've all been to heavy"

"Oooh why didn't ya just say so, did ya think i would snap on you like those other stuck up shopkeepers, you know communication can go a long way" she snickered as she looked at me and gwen

"I'll be right back"-Beara

She left the counter alone i guess trusting that i wouldn't steal anything, not that i would. If anything this is a perfect time to write some notes Beastkin seemed more trusting and likeable .In less then a few minutes she returned with something i could only describe as a light to mid hybrid hard plate fusion ,it was white as well.

"I saw you liked white so i made sure to get this one for ya . I noticed you seemed like a sneaky, bugger so what it does it adjust itself based on the users bone/internal density even a baby could wear this"

coming from someone so nice it hurt to be called a sneaky bugger but ill let it pass over me

"Wow" i stated

i was legitimately amazed though in theory i could've skipped all the other shops and came straight here if i knew what i was looking for .I couldn't wait to try out all this new gear

"How much" i asked

"well since you're such a cutie this ones on the house"

Cutie? did she notice that one of my eyes was completely black and pupil-less? must be hard times out here

"really? thank you ma'am"

"well i do want one thing. I overheard some zyanites talking about how the prince has a new human and lookie here you just so happened to appear in my shop .I can put two and two together, all i ask is if you make it big let me open up a shop in your province .Im tired of being around all these metal heads"

"Tch" i heard Gwendolyn suck her non existent teeth

News travels that fast huh. she most likely really didn't think i was cute but was buttering me up to ask for the favor, very sly .I approved, not like I wasn't getting a free piece of loot anyway for promised treasure.

"You might think I'm crazy but a merchant learns to follow her nose and my nose is never wrong"

"Deal! Beara was it, if we ever meet again and i can fulfill this promise , i will"

"You'd better!" she said as were walking out

At first i was planning to leave the burden of carrying everything to my ever so handy robo knight, but the understanding that she might be hindered if someone where to attack made me think again. i put on the ring and wrapped the rest of everything in the white robe making it more convenient to carry. I would wear the gear but i decided it's better to wash them first, wouldn't want to catch space herpes. I noticed due to the ring my foot steps sounds were no more and i stopped absolutely stinking... yes i still needed a bath i was adorned with the same cloths from the temple and they were past their expiration at this point.

I was getting hungry but i doubt they would have what i needed here around any of these shops, nor at the planetary base.

"Hey is there a near by stream or river near by any body of water will do really" - farron

"Yeah about 30Km from here to our east there's a large lake"

"lets redirect there i need to bathe and to eat. You might have to carry me again since i don't think we'll get there before night fall"

"of course, ok well hope on we only have 5 more hours in the day. Are we going to camp out all night?"

"If need be"

I hopped into her arms without a care in the world. It was getting less and less shameful the more i did it honestly.

-

We arrived at the river with 1hour to spare until night time. jumping out of her hold, I needed to get everything set up quick, fishing in complete darkness wouldn't be pleasant but it was possible .I went to a nearby tree an ripped off a nearby branch that was both thick and flexible. I considered my options i didn't have any rope or hook so i would have to do blunt force spear fishing .I could ask Gwen but i specifically remember telling her i wouldn't have her do anything that wasn't outside of my scope of abilities. I'd be fine this was the one thing i knew how to do really well ,that being said i went a few feet behind a tree and stripped entirely of everything but the ring, doubted emeralds got rusty.

putting my newly acquired gear next to a nearby tree i called over Gwen.

"Hey Gwendolyn! come close but not to close just enough to protect me if need be"

"and if i came too close? no prince around to protect you"

"well you would see the family jewels but just remember you're the one with the insane memory , That image will be in your head even after im long dead"

"got it" she said leaning her back against the same tree my loot was located

using the stick to test the water depth and speed i figured the lake was a only about 1meter deep at least the first few feet were , i would have to check the rest for myself .I was a fairly astute swimmer so that was no problem. I got in the water and choose that i would shower first catch the fish later, light was fading so i had to be quick.

After about 10 minutes of splishing and splashing i decided that was enough ,not like i had soap anyway. I grabbed the stick that was sitting face down on the side of the lake bed. Taking a deep breath i submerged myself in order to see my first look at what was below.

What i saw was truly phenomenal there was about 20 feet of shore then there was a steep drop into what looked like the deep part of the lake .Coral and seaweed were extend through out the the bottom making it look like a underwater forest .The crabs were in great number scattered along the shallows of the lake bed .As great as the sight was to look at it was odd to me that i didn't see any fish .Crab was good but i was hoping to get both so i swam a few feet into the deep part and looked down and still no fish .All i could see was pitch black below, but that was normal. Normal in the deep ocean.. but this was a lake and im not even that far in.

Terror tingled through my spine as a realization struck me the black im seeing could be a predator that hunts from down below, that's why there were no fish and all the crabs were pushed to the shoreline. It was gigantic though because the black stretched as far as i could see, but why hasn't it attacked me yet. Maybe because it's not night time yet i know some creatures are nocturnal

wait.

It had to be the ring hiding my scent and sound, that was a slight relief .I wanted to get the fuck out of this part fast. now that i had a grasp of what it was i could see its figure drifting very slowing most likely a ambush predator. Should i yell out for help or should i try to back pedal. I tried to move but i couldn't i was frozen with fear ... my instincts shouted at me to move but in the face of death it was hopeless

no matter what i did i had a feeling that when i swam over here i lost any opportunity of leaving this situation unscathed. My brain starting feeling hyper levels of activity as i searched for a way out of this. My markings left by Janus began faintly glowing , that was the last thing i needed right now .If anything is for certain i had to keep a eye on that thing.

That really didn't need to be said as when i looked down at it all i could focus on were its two massive eyes staring at me , it was still unmoving though... did i know that i could see it? No predators that tended to depend on stealth stalked their prey...I needed to move NOW

With explosion of flight or flight energy i glided through the water as top speed

"GWENDOLYN COME N-

before i could finish the full sentence i felt a hot pain shoot up my leg were my ankle should be. Did it just bite off my leg? I had no time to think about that , i was getting more desperate by the second

I had to shout or she might think i was joking around , luckily she seemed to hear the fear in my voice .she appeared where my stuff was

"what is it , oh god your naked"

"THROW ME THE RIFLE NOW NOW NOW!"

Entering the shallow area, when my feet hit the sand i abandoned swimming to running .My left leg was burning in agony with every step, i could pass out from the pain alone. The water was blood stained .If i didn't want to become food i needed to press on ,withstanding the mind numbing throbbing i persevered .Even with the water resistance i was moving faster then usual.. did she not hear me? i was getting fed up with her antics and screamed

"DID YOU HEAR-" the plasma rifle was in mid air ,i wasn't going to make it .I could feel once i started swimming the huge beast was on my tail ,i just didn't have the luxury to turn around and see what it really was .Extending my right hand i grasped the empty air where i thought rifle would land . My thoughts told me exactly what i needed to do to survive ,though i didn't know if it was possible though.

One innocent decision led to me running for me life i was a goner... but i had to try,

that's right I'm not dead yet

.The tattoos on my right side were glowing like a purple sun ,i could feel it giving strength and guidance to my body.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" i screamed at the top of my lungs

with an incredible force i leaped out of the water my hands and legs swinging like a the gears of a bike would ,while twisting my body into a backwards motion. If i had made that choice any later i would've bit the dust as i felt a burst of wind propel me forward probably from my tormentor Everything was in slow motion as it lunged out of the water and now i could see what wanted to take my life

Along with my missing left foot ,what i saw was a absolutely massive black Leviathan like snake with scales as big as my body. Its face consisted of yellow reptile eyes and large protruding gills where its ears should be .Rows ,rows of teeth with a blood splattered mouth

. Letting the rifle fly pass me only just enough for my propelling body to meet rifle in the perfect position, I undid the safety switch in mid air and aimed at its big ugly head. This was personal, I started squeezing the trigger like my life depended on it BRTTTTTTTTTTT all i saw were crimson colored sparks of plasma akin to firecrackers exploding right in front of me. I prayed it was ripped to shreds

BRTTTTTTTTTTTTT the sound was deafening but i no intentions of letting go of that trigger until

WHACK!

The back of my head hit a tree and i was finally forced to let go of the gun by the sheer momentum and speed in which it all happened

"holy shit" was the last thing i heard before i passed out