A Gunslinger’s System in a World of Magic

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—One Week Later—

"Incredible," Louis said with wide eyes as he did a little twirl around as though to better take in the sights.

Henry rolled his eyes and looked to the side to share an uninterested look with Andor only to see the Fighter's expression was quite similar to the Mage's.

He let out a sigh.

This comment by Louis was not the first he had made since they had been on a walk through the Alvareen City streets. It didn't matter how many times Louis saw the structures, he made it clear how impressed he was every time.

Henry didn't —couldn't— deny that Alvareen was beautiful. The massive buildings with varying districts and bustling streets reminded him of Saint Claret except for the light sheen of snow all over the buildings with the snow always getting thicker as the day went on.

Alvareen had a wintry beauty about it. It was certainly different from the far warmer Saint Claret and its environs.

Anyway, it had been days since they had been in the City but this was the first time Henry was actually walking through the streets.

The Lotus Inn had been very welcoming with all of their needs catered for. They had learned in the past week that the cards they had been given were keys to so much more than doors and accessing Elevators. They could even be used to communicate their needs and wants.

They were fed as many times as they cared to be fed and Henry knew paying for it was going to be on Eloise which was why he tried not to abuse the hospitality. He, however, did ask specifically for meals for Nyx.

He was very aware that the horse had technically not fed for days and while she had spent most of those days asleep, she was awake now.

The clerk who responded to Henry's request didn't seem to find it out of place at all. In fact, she was all too eager to comply so now Nyx could fold her feet just a foot from Henry's bed, munching on a palate of feed that was just right for her. There was no need to worry about waste because she handled that business within her ShadowScape.

Henry wondered how that worked. Was the shadow just another dimension that had unlimited space for waste or maybe the shadow was intolerant of waste and disintegrated every bit of it before it could fester and pile.

Henry asked Nyx but she gave her equivalent of a shrug either not sure of the answer or not interested in giving a detailed explanation of her poop.

Anyway, life had been good for Henry in the Lotus Inn and the other two seemed to be enjoying their time there as well but, unlike Henry, they had ventured into the city. They had seen the sights all on their way to find where to sell off the Loot from the Dungeons.

They seemed savvy enough at it because all the weapons and equipment were all sold off now and the price for them all came back to many tens of thousands of Gold.

From the news Louis and Andor brought back with every successful sale (they sold each at a time so they could get as much profit as they could for each piece of loot), Elminster had been right about those on the outside. The eyes of all buyers glowed with desire for the loot once they realized they were from Dungeons.

It was generally known that Dungeon equipment was just better than the ones on the outside even if the overall build looked similar and, the desires made sales easy for Louis and Andor.

The Antiquities gotten from the Lich's Chamber had sold for the most Gold and according to Louis, that put even more into perspective just how much more they stood to gain from the Lich's books.

But they were holding off on plans to sell them mostly because Eloise had yet to visit them and, at least for now —especially since they were still at Alvareen—, Henry wanted to honor the compromise she had brokered.

In the meantime, Louis read the books and announced they were not all nefarious. There was dark magic certainly but some were more 'elemental' dark magic as opposed to the morally 'dark' magic. Of course, the line seemed to so easily blur so Henry told him to be careful.

Anyway, Henry thought this walk through the street was long overdue. While he didn't awe at the structures like the two with him, he did have needs that he hoped the City could soothe;

For instance, he had sighted at least four Potion Shops where he could refill his supply of Healing and Mana Potions since Elminster's supply of those was quickly dwindling.

As he walked, Henry's mind was on his Quest. The one that the duo of Louis and Andor had offered assistance with. While they went about selling the loot from the Dungeon, they had sourced information about Ralph Gribbo but they quickly found that they had been wrong about how easy it would be.

People did have a lot to say but it was what they knew already; Ralph Gribbo was important in Alvareen, commanding a lot of wealth and influence. They learned he used to be an accomplished Fighter before focusing more on his businesses but learned nothing about how those businesses ran.

To go after him, they needed more than what was generally known and they had so little resources, that getting it would be difficult.

And then, Henry suddenly stopped walking.

In his right palm, Elminster's brand was burning as it was promised to do whenever Henry was close to any of the old man's creations.

Henry knew where the brand was directing him and almost automatically, he turned on the spot and was now facing the door into what appeared to be an Antiquity shop. That was at the very least what had been alluded to by the illustrations on the door and walls.

Without speaking, he turned toward the door and pushed it open. Louis and Andor shared a look but followed.

There was a lot on display but Henry's eyes were only on the one thing and it hung on the wall behind the thirty-something-year-old-looking man standing behind the clerk slab.

Even without the brand pulsing and indicating it as the target, Henry was sure the weapon would still have caught his eye had he just happened to enter the shop.

Why? Well, because it was a gun and looked quite different from all else on display.

It looked like a Repeater with a black and bronze scheme and just a bit of gold that gilded it all around in just the right places. There were designs etched into it as well… A certain level of detail and attention that reminded Henry of 'The Hydra's Sting' currently in his Inventory. Even without the brand in his palm, it was so clear that this was that Old man's creation. It had to be.

"Hello," said the store clerk with a bright welcoming smile, "How may I help you?"

The voice pulled Henry out of his gun-focused thoughts as he looked at the clerk and returned the smile before pointing at the gun,

"That gun?" he asked.

The clerk raised a brow and then looked back even though it was already obvious what Henry was referring to. He eyed the gun and then looked back at Henry with an uncomfortable smile,
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"I'm sorry, it's not really for sale," he said, and then as though to be more accommodating, he added,

"I don't think you'd even want it. Damn