Enoch wandered through main thoroughfares and side alleys, the sights living up to their reputation. Velocity, also known as Script City, was known for making use of incredibly abundant but structurally lacking materials. But this city had withstood multiple sieges and monster waves for the same reason it had gained its rep: nearly every square inch of the city was covered in inscriptions and talismans. The inscriptions all did different things. Some strengthened, some protected from outside impacts, others prevented material degradation. There were detection, offense, barrier, utility and all sorts of other inscriptions that made life safer and easier for all the citizens.

  In Enoch’s opinion, though, their best function was probably that they made the city look like a proper mixture of medieval architecture mixed with high-rise construction, sprinkled with a wizard’s whimsy. The limestone buildings also looked rather exotic with glowing runes carved all over everything.

  After a lot more gawking and a little more actual notation of the city’s layout, Enoch made it to his goal by way of a candy shop: a tailory. According to Ripley, Enoch ought to sort out his wardrobe before meeting the mayor. Ripley had wanted to guide Enoch to the best spots, but Enoch had declined, instead wanting to explore for himself. There was no question that a city this size was safer than one might be on Earth. Also, the fat bag of coins he’d coaxed out of a guilty Ripley would have been awkward to spend in front of his face.

  As he chewed on some leopard taffy, which was a strange name for pineapple flavored taffy, he made his way inside. As he walked into the building there was a desk with a wall forcing you to go to either side to see the inside of the shop. At the desk sat what Enoch could only call a model of a man. Or elf, if his shallow fantasy knowledge was accurate.

  “Hello? This is a tailor, right?” Enoch asked, looking at the backsplash on the wall behind the desk. It was the right half of a suit with huge cross-stitches connecting it to a left-half of plate armor, with a big gleaming needle coming out of one side.

  The man looked up, his blue eyes stark enough to make Enoch feel inferior. He offered a million-dollar smile as he stood and extended a hand to Enoch over the desk, “Yes sir! One of the best tailors in Velocity, in my opinion. May I have the pleasure of your name?”

  Enoch took the man’s hand firmly, “That’s good, cause I like good clothes. Name’s Enoch Aadland. I was told to seek out good clothing as well as a set of enchanted garb to serve as my main outfit. I assume it's good advice?”

  The man’s already bright eyes practically glowed at the mention of enchantments. “Great advice! You must be in need of a new wardrobe entirely, eh? Ah! And my name is Vitro, by the way.”

  Enoch nodded, “Yeah, even the clothes I’m wearing aren’t mine. I kind of got flung from some far-off place and arrived naked in a pretty generous guy’s house. I don’t think he’d press me to return them, but I couldn’t take them in good conscience.”

  Vitro gestured to Enoch to follow, “Good man. Wearing someone else’s clothes isn’t really comfortable, is it? Well we can fix that! What’s your budget, if you don’t mind my asking? And what kind of enchantments would you like on your everyday set?”

  Enoch followed the man to an open floor with racks upon racks of cloth, leather, ribbon, and more exotic materials Enoch couldn’t name. There was stuff from raw materials all the way to nearly completed pieces. Enoch quickly felt stifled as he knew he’d need help with his choices. “Ah, well you certainly don’t lack variety… How about you give me a little lead? I don’t really know the local fashion, and I don’t really kno– You know what, could you just act like I know nothing about what I need. Because I don’t.”

  Vitro smiled, “Sure thing! Well, I would recommend either one enchanted set with three others, or two enchanted sets with three others. Are you a merc or scout, or any other combat profession for that matter?”

  Enoch furrowed his brow, “Why would that matter? I thought you were a tailor?”

  Vitro laughed in a way that suggested pride, “We aren’t just tailors, but also armorsmiths. I take it you aren’t a combatant?” Enoch nodded, and Vitro continued, “In that case, I say get your everyday clothes as an enchanted pair, then get a formal set, work set, and lounge-wear. Shoes, you’ll want all enchanted if you have the funds for it. Which brings me back to your budget?”

  “Ah! Well, I’ve put aside thirty gold for this. Is that enough for some quality?” Enoch asked. He knew it should be, but he wanted to know if they would prey on his ignorance. Money was thankfully similar in value to American dollars. They used bronze, silver, gold and platinum coins, then diamond Studs after that. One silver was worth a hundred bronze, and that was the same all the way until Studs, which were worth one-thousand platinum coins. And one silver coin was worth a dollar, roughly enough.

  Vitro nodded, “Hmm… In that case, you can easily afford some higher-tier enchantments on your clothes. I would also recommend enchanting of your shoes. It makes life much better. Of course, the price could go up or down based on the enchantments you want. What might those be?”

  Enoch gave him a sheepish smile, “Like I said, I don’t know. I don’t even know the basics of enchantments.”

  “Ah, yes. Forgive me. Well, the most common enchantments are climate control, self-clean/repair, and basic durability and strength enhancements. But if you’re willing to push your budget a little, you can add a spatial pocket.”

  Enoch blinked, “Spatial pocket? Like, it's bigger inside than outside?”

  Vitro nodded, “Yes. It isn’t staggeringly large, but it mostly eliminates the need to carry a bag with you. There are larger pockets, and of course actual spatial storage crystals, but those are unreasonably out of your budget if you still get clothes.”

  Enoch smiled and cast his gaze about the shop once more. There was nobody on the large floor except for them. He turned back to Vitro, “Well, now you know what I need, I think. Let’s get to the style and color of it, right?”

  Vitro laughed, “Yes, yes! Come along and let me show you the best fashion in all of Aordia.” He took them over to a side room, which had a couch facing a curtain. They took a seat on the couch, Vitro grabbing a small crystal from the table in front of them. He clicked it and the curtain parted, showing a wooden mannequin. Enoch had no time to be surprised by the modern touch, “So, this room is helpful when dealing with browsing customers. Tell me, where should we start? Lounge-wear, formal-wear, work-wear, or everyday-wear?”

  “Formal,” he said decisively. Vitro clicked the button, the curtains drawing for a moment before parting again, revealing a fully outfitted row of six mannequins. Each were adorned in diverse levels of what Enoch would call ‘strange’ clothes. They were definitely designed with a blend of conformity as well as individuality, and only one of them looked similar to Enoch’s mental image of formal wear, which was a suit.

  Vitro gestured at the far left, which was almost a robe with a black lace capelet. It had two wings coming up from behind each shoulder, giving the thing a rather angular and aggressive or sharp appearance. “That is probably the most, eh, piece you might wear. I personally think it is a rather fitting outfit for a bold person, but it also comes with challenge, unlike any others.”

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  Enoch frowned, “What kind of challenge? It looks like it keeps itself out of the way.”

  Vitro shook his head, “No no, no physical challenges. Social ones. You see, this is the formal wear of the animus houses. Well, it once was. Now it simply originates from them. But some of them will get, eh, let’s say offended when they see a non-animus wearing it. It certainly isn’t illegal though, in spite of what many might say. Does this style interest you?”

  Enoch shook his head, “No. I have a decent idea of what I want for formal wear.” He pointed to the one just right of center, “I want something like that, but with some more color and a few stylistic changes.”

  Vitro was impressed, “Good choice.” He called the curtains again. When they parted there were three mannequins now, each wearing different variants of a suit, which was what Enoch had pointed at. None of them had quite the same vibe as typical suits from Earth, but he felt like he could communicate what he wanted to Vitro. Enoch got up and walked up to one of them that look pretty close to what he had in mind. The lapel was thinner than usual, with three cuts instead of one, and the tie was in a strange cross shape.

  After some back and forth, Vitro understood Enoch’s vision. He wrote something in a notepad, “Alright. And what kind of colors or patterns were you thinking? I’ve always found muted but complex color palettes to be best with suits, but some brighter ones look good too.”

  Enoch shook his head, “Can you make the tie the same lace as on that first one you showed me? But it needs to be thicker and orange. And the jacket should be teal, with white buttons and white lining. The pocket square can be striped orange and white. Make the pants match the jacket, with an orange stripe down the side. And the shoes… maybe a grey-muddled cloth? I’ll defer to you on those.”

  Surprised, Vitro closed his eyes and envisioned it. “Interesting… Rather bright, but it certainly would stand out. It isn’t a bad color combination… Ok, I can do that. And boots would be better I think. Is that okay?” Enoch nodded and Vitro made the mannequins vanish again. “Very good. What next?”

  “Everyday clothes.”

  “Very good.” He called the curtains, “Now, are you going to be doing a lot of travel everyday? By that, I mean will you be living on a private manor outside the city and commuting in.”

  Enoch pursed his lips, “I don’t think so, but I want something travel-ready. Would that make anything else more difficult?”

  Vitro shook his head, “No, but outfits for inter-city and out-of-city people are different because of altitude, wind, sun, and more factors. I’ve always been fond of out-city clothes.” The curtain parted, showing three mannequins with vastly different outfits. One was a form-fitting robe with a messenger bag across it. It had green tones, with some cream trimming. It had a large hood over the back, and it looked like it was protected from the sun. Or suns.

  The next was a baggy bunch of cloth, with tall leather boots, baggy pants, a caplet, half-cloak, and cowl. There was a hood as well, but this one wasn’t the same material as the piece it was attached to. It looked to be leather. It had a messenger bag as well.

  The last one was similar to military dress. It was tunic, blouse, pants, short, hardy boots, with sleeves either rolled down or up. A rucksack hung off the back. It was the most plain yet functional looking one.

  Enoch like the middle, baggy option, “How about that? It looks good, and heavy duty. I don’t really know if I’ll be flying around that much, but I ought to be prepared for it, right?”

  Vitro nodded, “And the colors?”

  “Mostly cream, but I want the hem of that cloak to be navy. And make the cowl ash gray.”

  “Simple and versatile. Very good. Any design changes?”

  “Nope. I like the way it looks.”

  Vitro wrote it down. “All right! Lounge and work clothes honestly aren’t that diverse unless you are talking to less common races or exotic professions. I don’t take it you will be a sky-island face gardener?”

  Enoch recoiled, “What even is that?”

  Vitro shook his head, “You tell me. All I can tell you is that they have some strange requirements for their clothes. I take it you want them in a color that won’t show too much dirt, and the lounge set as just normal, loose clothes?”

  Enoch shrugged, “Sure. I probably won't use lounge clothes that often, though.”

  Vitro smiled, “You say that, but once you pet them on I have a feeling you’ll find excuses to wear them.”

  “Well, hopefully it is that good. I’ll take what you think is best.”

  “Very good. Here they are.” He gestured to the stage once more, where two mannequins sat wearing different clothes. One was a set of hardy canvas material with lots of breathability. It was orange, brown and black, in a flannel pattern. The pants were dark navy, with lots of bagginess and pockets all over. There was a cap, and the boots were thick leather that went up to just beneath the knee.

  The lounge-wear was essentially sweatpants, slippers, a long tee, with a big scarf that seemed excessively long and thick. Enoch raised an eyebrow at the sight. It was pretty much his normal everyday clothes on earth. Minus the scarf. Vitro looked searchingly at Enoch, “Is it to your liking?”

  Enoch nodded, “Yeah, all good. I have to say, I thought your lounge stuff would look different, but it’s really just what I used to wear where I came from.”

  Vitro smiled happily, “Very convenient then. Now, all of the clothes have been tailored to you, and the enchanted set should be ready tomorrow. You can take the other three sets now, though.”

  “How do you even know my measurements?” Enoch asked, confused.

  “Ah, we have our secrets, good Mr. Aadland. I guarantee the clothes will fit exactly how you want them to.” Vitro gave a conspiratorial smile, and Enoch felt a bit stifled.

  He cleared his throat, “Alright, how much do I owe you?”

  Vitro pulled out his notepad, scribbled a few things down, then squinted, “Well, normally the price would come out to twenty-seven gold and fifty-three silver, but I can knock it down to a flat twenty-five gold if you make a promise to do business with only our tailory in the future. Of course contingent on us providing you with satisfactory service through each transaction.”

  Enoch thought for a moment, and wasn’t really sure he wanted to hitch himself to one tailor, even if by word alone. He shook his head, “Nah, I’ll just pay the full price. I’ll probably come back here in the future, but I’d like to see all the shops around here before I make a commitment like that.”

  Vitro stuffed a wry smile, “No problem. Are you using coins or card?”

  Enoch raised an eyebrow, “Card?” It was a jarring thing to here in a fantasy world.

  Vitro nodded, “It is a new service the Crawling Bank is offering. They’ve pioneered a new kind of small, long distance enchantment that is connected to the main vault, where it reads how much coinage you’ve deposited there, and gives it to the merchant on your behalf when you make a purchase.”

  Enoch laughed, “Wow… That’s cool, but I don’t have one. I’ll pay coin, but thanks for telling me about it.” Enoch pulled out his bag, opening it up and snagging a handful of gold coins. He counted them out, twenty-eight, and handed them over, “Do you have change?”

  Vitro took the coins while nodding, reaching into an unseen pouch at his side and extracting forty-seven silver, handed them to Enoch. “I’ll go fetch your purchases. Feel free to peruse the floor in the meantime.” He turned heel and left, Enoch following him out the door and instead of sticking around, just walked to a visible spot by the front door. He passed the time by counting how much gold Ripley had given him, and it was far more than he’d initially thought. It was nearly four-hundred gold, and one platinum. That was nearly fifty-thousand dollars in American value. Enoch vowed to return most of it right away, and the rest paid back later.

  Vitro came up with three covered hangers with clothes on them. “Here we are. I just spoke with our inscriptionist and he says he will be done tomorrow morning. It will be waiting for you to pick up.”

  Enoch took the clothes, “Ok. You have a good night, Vitro.”

  “You as well.”

  Enoch threw the clothes over his shoulder and made his way back to the mayor’s office. It was on top of a massive tower in the middle of the city. If Enoch was remembering his time in Chicago right, the mayor’s building was taller than any building he’d seen in the windy city, and quite a bit more architectural as well. It wasn’t the same boring limestone as its surroundings, instead using what looked like yellow bricks. Each one had an enchantment that was extended to the bricks around it, which basically formed a mesh of enchantments that strengthened each other.

  He stepped inside a bathroom nearby, changing into his brand-new suit, and then walked up to the front of the building. Ripley was sitting, eyes closed, on a bench, and opened his eyes as Enoch got within earshot. He looked Enoch up and down, raising his eyebrow more and more at the bright suit, “Certainly didn’t go with the usual, eh? A suit is an interesting choice already, but in those colors, you’re bound to stand out.”

  Enoch looked himself over once more, “I think it looks good. And standing out isn’t so bad, right?”

  Ripley wobbled his head side to side, “Well, it's only bad if you don’t perform like someone who stands out. Come on, it’s nearly time for the meeting.”

  Enoch nodded and they headed into the building.