Brisa spent most of the hour in the shuttle’s various shops looking at other items.  She had no idea there was so many amazing things there; bags, parachutes, weapons, and armor.  There were tons of shops filled with whatever a traveler would want.

The fear of discovery had faded completely.  She had just spent a few hours with Catlin without any hint of being discovered by Jaquan or his entourage.  The chances that she would have to worry about the BigBad Crew were small as long as she stayed in crowds.

She saw her past mistake clearly now.  On the platform, she was quite suspicious.  She was standing behind a pillar peeking at Jaquan’s crew and taking notes.  If she were a passerby she wouldn’t trust someone behaving that way.  Someone in BigBad must have seen her at some point.  In the shops minding her own business, she should be safe from discovery.

Thanks to Catlin, she had the confidence to truly enjoy the flight.  She really was on a grand adventure.  She had met an incredibly clever and helpful traveler.  She was going to experience a completely different culture.  Who knows where this road will take her?  If she gets too uptight during the journey, she may miss something truly important.

Brisa headed to the food court were Catlin was waiting with a cart full of weapons and armor.  She seemed slightly, different.  Her eyes were slightly wilder than before.  She had a huge grin on her face and was bouncing slightly in her seat.  She smiled even more seeing Brisa and waved her over to the seat.  “Sit, sit, sit you’re gonna love this,” Catlin started.

Brisa didn’t know exactly what to think.  Catlin seemed a little strange suddenly but she was a fan.  Perhaps fans act like that?  Maybe?  Catlin had genuinely helped her a lot in the last few hours and for free.  Maybe she was just excited to show Brisa how helpful she could be.

“I put a strength enchant on your maul,” Catlin continued, “It should be a lot easier to lift now.  Also,” she added without taking a breath, “it won’t look suspicious because everyone with big heavy weapons adds strength to them.”

Brisa lifted her maul.  It was indeed much lighter but, everything else was too.  She lifted a plate from the table.  It seemed weightless!

“That’s right,” Catlin noted, “It works on anything.  As long as you have the maul with you, you benefit from the enchantment.”  Catlin pointed at a spot on the maul.  Brisa turned the maul around and looked at that point.  There was a Hanja there that she had not seen before.  It was possibly responsible for the strength enchant.

“I changed the color of your armor,” Catlin said as Brisa admired the Hanja, “It’s more of the same color but it still doesn’t match completely so you still won’t stand out too much.  I added a few special things too,” Catlin was talking a little faster than before.  Brisa began wondering how she kept breathing out for so long.  That didn’t stop Catlin from talking though, “Put it on later and I can help you practice with it.”

“This is what I wanted to show you.”  Catlin was singing now and talking much slower.  She was obviously very excited as she shoved Brisa’s sheathed daggers into Brisa’s face.

Brisa sat down her maul and took them.  The first thing she noticed was that they were much, much heavier than before.  Catlin was grinning again, obviously excited that Brisa noticed the difference.  Brisa sat one of them on the table.  Catlin’s eyes widened as Brisa began to draw out the dagger.

Even after the dagger was clearly out of the sheath, it felt as though it was stuck inside somehow.  Brisa kept drawing until the hilt was a full two centimeters away from the sheath.  The weight of the dagger disagreed with her eyes.  She had to test the illusion by poking beyond the blade with her finger.  Sure enough, her finger hit an invisible blade.

Catlin just kept grinning.

The blade didn’t stay invisible for long.  Black “smoke” seemed to radiate from the visible dagger blade filling the invisible blade.  Before long, Brisa noticed she was holding a two centimeter pitch black machete.  No, it was darker than pitch black.  No light that went into the area of the blade escaped, no reflections, no designs, nothing, just a blade of no light.  Then she realized that her other “dagger” was still on the table.  She had two of them!

“They’re better than enchanted blades,” Catlin sang, “They’re blades of enchantment.  Do you like them?”

Brisa’s look of amazement was all the answer she could give for a few seconds.  She finally muttered a positive response.

“Great, go put on your gear.  I’ll order some food.  My friends should be here soon.”

Brisa stuck the tip of the machete into the sheath and pushed.  The enchantment blade obeyed and disappeared as she sheathed her “dagger.”  Still amazed, she took the gear and went to her cabin.

——-

Returning from her cabin, Brisa looks much more the warrior: she walked easier; her armor was properly enchanted and colored; and her many dangerous weapons are properly equipped.  The youthful inexperienced face was gone, hidden under the frightening veil.

As she reaches the table, Catlin says teasing, “I wouldn’t want to meet you in a dark alley.”

“Yep,” Brisa responds while taking her seat, “I know I can’t fight worth anything but I do feel pretty tough in this.”

“Oh, my friends are here too,” Catlin says while looking behind Brisa.

Brisa turns around to see Jaquan and his crew standing right behind her.  The fear hit her immediately but there was nowhere she could go.  She was caught.  Whatever punishment they had for her, she would have to accept.

Before she can say anything Jaquan speaks up, “So Catlin, is this my new body guard?”

#1 – Opportunity #18 – Opportunity #20