Elise held her cloak tightly to her body as the carriage bumped along the brick-paved road. She had never went out to town without her mother and was rather excited to be exploring with her new friend.

Kynos had shown up in her life less than two months ago, surprising her with his ability and tenacity. She was terrified of his gaze at first, struggling to keep herself still in his presence, but as they trained together and time passed, she found that he calmed her when he spoke. There was no fancy praise and references to her mother's authority, or scorn at her sheltered position, just a simple, straightforward response to any question or request.

She glanced at Kynos, leaning against the side of the carriage and looking out of the window. The moment when he had asked her to go on an adventure with him flashed in her mind and she fought the blood rushing to her face. Elise didn't understand her own feelings, but before now, she would never have let anyone aside from her mother coerce her into leaving the safety of the college campus.

As she collected her emotions, the horses slowed to a stop and the coachman swung open the door of the carriage, announcing that they had arrived at the market district.

Elise had been here before, but only with her mother. They always gone to the same tailor, followed by tea at a fancy cafe nearby. Her mother's personal butler usually delivered them and waited outside as well, so Elise had never walked much on the cobbled sideways.

He pushed open the door to a shop marked with the magic crest of Incanta. Kynos had done his homework; shops with these crests had a general selection, but the real prize was that mages could see an additional inventory others were not allowed to browse. Kynos was hoping to pick up some trappings that offered good protection against the elements as well as some pieces of light armor to protect vitals for the two of them.

Elise saw him handing his ID to the clerk, who instantly bowed and lead them into a door behind the sales counter. The new room revealed a series of cloaks and small metal and leather armor pieces, as well as a diverse selection of specialized weaponry lined up on the back wall.

Kynos had himself and Elise measured, then asked her to find a weapon as he went to pick out traveling cloaks and armor. Elise walked over to the long table near the far wall to take a look, but in actuality, she had never swung a sword or shot a bow before. She gazed at the various items, eyes glazed over with confusion, until the clerk that had shown them in walked to her side and asked, “excuse me miss, you look troubled, may I ask what combat style you prefer to assist you with the selection of one of our high-quality armaments?”

Elise nodded shyly and squeeked out, “u-um, I just s-stand in the back, since I use magic...oh b-but, I don't know how to shoot a bow...”

The clerk nodded and stroked his goatee in contemplation. He reached for what looked like a metal shortstaff with a split crescent at the end and a silver knob at the other. Elise found that it looked elegant, but she wasn't sure how it could be used as a weapon.

“Esteemed customer, I assume that as a back-line mage, you won't be needing a weapon for offense. This is, in its current form, a short demilune. The concave bladed crescent is designed to catch weapons, teeth, and claws and can be braced on the ground or a nearby wall, so you don't need much strength or training to use it defensively. However...”

The clerk shifted his grip to below a silvery ring around the shaft and pulled the knob at the base of the weapon. A thin chain was pulled out, attached to the knob from from the bottom, and the concave edge split into two halves as a sharp, curved blade swung out from the side of the weapon and clicked into place under one falcate half.

“Like this, it becomes an exotic weapon called a kusarigama. This hidden blade is extremely sharp at the tip and the edge is in the concave, allowing blood to be drawn with the slightest pull or swing. The blade will be locked in place until you push this switch back up.”

The clerk retracted the chain with a small switch near the base, which pushed the blade back into the shaft, then handed the weapon to her.

“This is a rare item an adventurer brought in some months ago. How does it find your fancy?”

Elise held the weapon out lovingly as Kynos returned with two cloaks, one gray and one black. He also had an assortment of chestguards, armguards, and so on in a bag slung over his shoulder. The clerk whispered to price to Kynos, who nearly gagged at the thought of how many cakes he could've bought instead.

Kynos was now down five gold coins, mostly from the weapon.