Chapter 7

Eglos said, “We can leave for Hell Mouth anytime you want. I have enough information for a safe jump, but I recommend that we wait until tomorrow when there are fewer monsters around. I have seen two Cyclops, and I think that there is a third nearby. Also there are 40-50 of the small demons waiting to enter the cave. I wonder if there is only a small gate back in the shadows so that only one creature can use the gate at a time. I can’t see the gate because of those shadows, so the size of the gate is purely speculation on my part.”

“You must be tired, so let’s wait until tomorrow after you have had some rest. Besides, there is something else that I want to talk to you about.”

“Okay, shoot.”

“You know that we have those three lummocks pelts, so I was considering having someone make us two suits from them, one for you and one for me. They should make for excellent camouflage while we are hunting. We both noticed how hard it was to see the lummocks the first time we encountered one. There is a seamstress in town who claims that she can sew things from animal hides, so I think that we should talk to her about that.”

“Oh, yes, Linc, that sounds like fun. I can’t wait for the men to see me in such an outfit! They should be jealous enough to turn green with envy! Imagine a woman wearing such an outfit! I can hardly wait!”

“Okay, I’m glad that you like the idea. Now, to the wizard. I want him to cast a spell to make the lummocks hide impervious to any sort of missile or hand weapon. What I have in mind is arrows, spears, knives, or clubs. Of course, I want that protection extended to whomever is wearing the outfit.

“There is another problem, too. The outfit I have in mind could be very hot to wear, so I want it to have a spell that would keep the temperature of the wearer held at a comfortable level no matter how hot or cold it is outside the suit. I don’t know what temperature that is, so we might have to experiment with it. Let’s talk to the seamstress and wizard tomorrow about that. We can go into the cave any time, but I would like to have the protection of the suits beforehand if it were possible.”

“Okay, I see your point, Linc. I think that you are correct.”

We worked out what we wanted in our new hunting suits and went to talk to the seamstress. It was a pretty straight forward meeting. We told the woman what we wanted, with Eglos doing most of the talking. My only real contribution was that I wanted a hood and a lot of pockets for miscellaneous storage while we were wearing the suits. We showed her the pelts that we wanted used in the garments, and she examined them thoroughly. After a careful examination, she agreed to make the two suits. We were to come by tomorrow for our first measurements.

Okay, that went well, and the price was reasonable, so we went to the wizard. I wanted the suits made, even if the wizard could not manage the spells that I wanted. It turned out that the wizard insisted that he could cast the spells that I wanted, but I did have to bargain with him over the price. Finally, I lost patience and turned to storm out of his shop, but he stopped me in time. He backed down on the price a little bit, and I agreed to pay his fee if he would give me a demonstration of the protection that we would get.

Well, he was able to cast the spells on samples of hides, and the spells worked. I did warn him that I expected these spells to be permanent. If they weren’t, he was to be prepared for a return visit from me or from Eglos, and we would not be in a good mood! Yeah, I was not my usual affable self when talking to the wizard; he managed to rub me the wrong way somehow, but Eglos was able to cool things off. We left with the understanding that we would be back when the new clothes were ready.

I was still fuming when we left the wizard, but Eglos was able to find a gang of red demons who were easy to reach without a lot of worry. She teleported us to near where they were, and I attacked before they knew that I was anywhere near. I managed to wipe them out with Eglos acting as cover for me, and that did make me feel a whole lot better.

The next day we went to have our measurements taken, and the seamstress said that she should have both uniforms ready within two weeks. She would know a more exact time once she actually started cutting the material. Those hides were very tough, not nearly as easy to work as londor leather, so all she could say at that time was that she would need more working time than if we would settle for a more conventional working material. Of course, I would do no such thing, so we had to leave the finish date as an open question.

Meanwhile, we went after the local demon gangs over the next two weeks in between going in for more measurements and the actual tailoring. The seamstress worked on the pants first, why I don’t know, and had them finished a day ahead of schedule.

Wow, those pants were a work of art. I was amazed at how well they fit and how easy it was to move while wearing them. Each pants leg had three pockets that were in the “cargo” style, as I was to learn as my memory improved. Everything was in a heavy duty mode, so I was sure that I would get a long life from the pants.

The shirt was also finished ahead of schedule, and was of a quality equal to the pants. The shirt had four pockets in the cargo style. All of the pockets were held closed by a fold-over flap that was sealed by a magical means similar to Velcro. We were so happy with the job done by the seamstress that I added a 15% bonus to what I paid her.

We delivered the suits to the wizard so that he could work his magic on them. It took all day for him to complete the work on both suits, and we were so impressed by the results that he also got a 15% bonus. He was startled by that, but did ask us to come back if there were any other spells that we needed. He thought that he could do whatever we desired.

At last we were ready to visit Hell Mouth. As a precaution in case we had overlooked something important, Eglos teleported us to an open space about 500 yards from the cave opening. I wanted a chance to look the place over before we blundered in and started a fight we could not win.

Oh, Man, the camouflage was so good with the new suits that I could not see Eglos unless I already knew where she was standing; that is, as long as she did not move. I could make her out when she moved, but even that was not easy. She examined the area near the cave opening and could find only one monster there, a Cyclops. Well, this was a good opportunity to find out if the new outfits were as effective as I had bargained for.

We walked slowly toward the Cyclops and halted immediately if it looked in out direction. Well, it happened that this was a female, as attested to by the two tremendous breasts hanging from her chest. She was wearing no clothes, so it was easy to see her whole body. As a side note, I was sure that her pussy slit was large enough for me to insert my foot, boot and all. She was truly a giant.

The Cyclops was carrying a huge club that must have weighed over 150 pounds. I figured that was an advantage for me because it would be slow to maneuver in a fight, and I was about to find that out.

Eglos was covering me with her bow, but she had recently added a stabbing spear to her repertoire. We had practiced with it until she had gotten good with it. She was actually able to stab me with it a few times even when I was moving fast. My boots and gloves had protected me on those occasions, so I was not injured, but it did teach me a valuable lesson.

Anyway, I rushed in front of the Cyclops and stopped. I did move a little bit so that she would have no trouble seeing me. That was all of the encouragement she needed to attack me. As I suspected, despite her considerable strength, she did have some trouble swinging that heavy club. I decided to let her hit me with her club so that I could get some idea of what to expect from that sort of blow.

The Cyclops struck me in the side at about waist height. Wow, that blow would have crushed me if I had not had all of that magical protection. I felt and heard the blow strike, but the only effect it had on me was as if I felt a gentle nudge. On the other hand, the club was shattered.

The Cyclops was stunned by that, and she simply stopped and stared at me for a few moments. She could have picked me up and thrown me onto some rocks or something else equally violent, so I did not wait around for that to happen. Instead, I rushed toward her and hit her with my fist in her solar plexus. The interior structure of a Cyclops was near enough to that of a human so that her breath was knocked out, and she reflexively bent over at the waist. That brought her head within reach, and I killed her with a blow with my right fist on her left temple.

I must report that I felt no ill effects from that small amount of exercise, so I was satisfied with the protective effects of my new clothes. Chalk up one for the seamstress and the wizard. I beckoned for Eglos to follow me as I headed into the mouth of the cave. Once we got into the Hell Mouth, the amount of light dropped off quickly and it became very difficult to see. We couldn’t take a chance on the same thing not happening to the demons and monsters we might face, so we needed an immediate cure for that deficiency. We could not even see well enough to recover the gold nugget from the Cyclops’ spleen.

“Eglos, can you immediately teleport us to the wizard’s shop? We need something to augment our vision in the dark.”

She didn’t bother to answer, but suddenly we were standing in the middle of the open floor of the wizard’s shop. The wizard recovered quickly from his surprise and asked, “Ah, two of my favorite customers. Welcome, and how may I serve you?”

“We need some way to see in the dark, either by something you do directly to our eyes or by some sort of charm, such as a ring or an amulet.”

“How about a charm that you carry in your pocket. It will increase your ability to see, but will not increase your visibility to others.”

“That will be excellent!”

The wizard took two small charms from a drawer and laid them on the counter. He mumbled something and passed his hands over the charms. Was that really necessary or was he just trying to impress us with his command of magic? Frankly, that would not have been necessary—we were both already impressed with his knowledge and skill.

“Here they are. All you need to do is to carry them with you in your pocket. The charms will function as long as they are within about seven feet of your eyes.”

I paid the wizard and thanked him for his quick service. “We are about to explore Hell Mouth, and I wonder if you have any other things that might be useful. What I have in mind is protection from fire for the lady and protection from lightning for both of us. Oh, she could also use protection from cold.”