Solo A Shield For A Friend

[Amon Torque]

Fall 22nd
The floor quietly creaked under the weight of his footsteps, but in the silence of the shop it sounded more like skyscrapers falling. Calvin stood behind the counter, peering up at Amon every once in awhile. It was one of Amon's random visits that he tried to fit into his day every once in awhile, and it turned out the store was empty when he had gotten there, so he decided to stay and give Calvin some company. Sometimes Amon wondered how the store stayed in business, but when it came down to it, friendly social interaction seemed to be the driving force bringing customers back again and again. But it was strange right now, Calvin had not uttered a word or witty comment yet. "Whats botherin' ya Calvin?" Amon asked, trying to break the silence that had settled over them like a blanket of ice over a lake in the winter.

It was unsettling to see Calvin's only response, a shrug, followed by a sigh. "Amon, you still use that magic stuff don't you?" Calvin finally asked. Bit of a strange question, but why not tell him the truth. Amon wondered why he had been asked, situations going through his head, is Calvin on danger? He saw many things that could have been endangering his uncle, but the scene that showed in Amons head the most was fire burning down the shop. I need to make sure he is safe.

"Yes, of course I still use it. Why? Do you need a shield?" Amon ended up talking faster than he had intended, showing a bit of urgency in his tone.

"I do need one. Maybe even two or three. But not for me, for the shop" his uncle told him nervously, it clearly hurt his pride to have to ask his adopted son to do tasks for him. So thats it then. Security? There are always thieves out there. Hut why just now? Calvin's voice went to a whisper, making a gesture encouraging Amon to do the same, "the back room. It needs to be light and sound proofed."

"I see, I can do that without much trouble, no problem.," Amon whispered back confidently, "Im going to have to ask you to close up shop first, cover the windows and lock the door."

Calvin obliged quickly, moving toward the windows. He had a interesting system of locking the windows that he had custom made by one of his friends who happened to know a thing or two about metal working. To open the windows every morning you pulled the wood back, then pushed upwards. The wood sheets were on hinges, and lifted up with ease, then all Calvin had to do was put the nail in a hinge to lock it, keeping the board above the window allowing light in. And at night, you remove the nail from the hinge and jump back, for the board swings back down, covering the window again. Calvin let the boards down one by one, and nearly no light came through into the shop, forcing Calvin to light a lantern simply to see his hands.

Amon walked to the door, turning the lock dramatically to show Calvin he had forgotten to do so. How forgetful can he be! Then Amon proceeded to follow Calvin toward the back of the shop, hidden from view.

[Amon Torque]

His hands opened the knob, turning quietly and gently as if not to disturb the dust on the shelves of the store. Of course, the store was closed with only him and Calvin inside, windows covered with them standing in the dark, conversing quietly."The door will not come unlocked?" Amon questioned, doubting his uncles promises, a valid suspicion considering his uncles forgetful nature. Calvin's chin bobbed as he nodded sincerely, showing complete and utter focus on Amon, a strange phenomenon rarely seen to anyone but the most interesting people who demanded full attention when talking to him.

Calvin's chapped lips opened, letting the words slip out quietly to deter any eavesdroppers curious of the sudden store closure immediately following Amon's entry, "So you can do it then? Nobody will not see the light or hear the sound?" He never did understand shields... Of course it will work, Amon thought to himself, slightly agitated by his uncles doubt in him, I guess he did not simply grow up around magic. Calvin glanced around before lighting the hearth built in the back wall of the room, as well as an overhanging lantern. Furniture was erratically scattered through the room with no particular pattern other than the table in the center of the room used for occasional interrogation.

Amon ran his hand across the familiar walls, knocking once or twice, listening to the echo of metal reinforced plates behind the wood outside. "I can do this easy. Give me an hour and consider it done," he said to Calvin confidently, "I could even work on your safe if you want." The older man nodded gratefully, he needed to be able to truthfully tell his customers that they were safe, even if that meant using lesser known strategies. Plus some of the louder situations disrupted business, never a good thing.

Amon walked toward the door taking deep breaths in and out, clutching his mothers bracelet and embracing the good memories that came with it. The world began to fade out, noise becoming murmurs, sight becoming simply color. His eyes closed and he pushed his djed out through his palms, where it pooled in a glistening puddle. He took the hand and slowly moved it down the side of the door frame, bonding it to the door and walls themselves. His hands did this several times, caressing the gap between the door, walls, and floor while excreting djed, intertwining them to remove the gap itself. He gave the shield its first task, absorb djed, which was the necessary function for regular maintenance that he would need to do without accessing inside the room itself.

His heart beat pounded musically, and he focused on it as he put himself into a deeper trance-like state. Amon's thoughts focused on tasking the shield with its other purpose, to block in light from the fire and lantern. This was harder, and he dragged his hands across the door frame one more time, sealing light itself into the shield, which prevents any more from seeping out through the seams. Satisfied with his efforts, he breathed outwards steadily, hearing and sight returning to him little by little.

His legs decided to take a break planting him on a nearby couch to rest for a moment, preparing him for his next task.

[Amon Torque]

He stood up, making a small grunt and laughing, I'm already sounding fifty at twenty. He played with an image of his face plastered on an old man in his head, wincing at it, lets hope I can find an herb to keep out wrinkles. His mind wandered back to his task, soundproofing. To complete this, the whole room truly needs a shield. He sighed, distressed slightly, "this may take awhile Calvin" he said to the man, who was trying to feel the shield blocking light but going right through it, dumbfounded.

It took a moment for a response, and Amon watched his eyes, seeing the gears in his head slowly turn before Calvin said; "huh? Oh, alright. I think I want to stay and watch." [i]Never had someone watch before. Well, here we go. Amon felt a bit of a delight at the fact his uncle wanted to see how it worked, but he tried not to show it. He laid his hands onto the wall, thinking of the best way to do this shield. No need to layer it, not like its going to be pounded against. Large surface, and need to only cover the walls. Gas will be the best. He took in a deep breath, and he breathed outward, forced the djed out with it, watching it settle against the wall. It was rather thin, and Amon changed his mind about the layering, deciding it needed at least one more.

He took another deep breath, then djed out with it, this time he forced the gas to condense a bit, weaving it through the other shield to strengthen it. His mind objected at his complete and utter focus, aching a bit. Must keep going. The two condensed gas shields merged slightly, making sure they were one and could be tasked together to save Amon some work. He gave it two tasks, to absorb djed, and to block the vibrations of sound in the air. The weave stayed there for a moment, before disappearing into thin air.

Amon clutched his head, attempting to ease the pain, turning to see Calvin's jaw dropped and eyes widened toward where the large shield was. Amon took a bow, adding a few comments coated with sarcasm. Calvin did not even respond, simply staring at the wall, most likely thinking 'things do not just disappear' over and over in his head like a broken record. His feet led him to the next wall, coming to a stop within a foot of the wood. He sighed slightly at the fact he needed to repeat the step two more times even after this. At least i have the process down now. But even so, each individual shield took him around ten minutes until all four of the walls had been tasked and were up and running.

His mind was exhausted, this had been a true test of his size capabilities as a shielder. Calvin approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "Good job Amon. Now, for your reward." Calvin grinned, clearly feeling like he had something great to give Amon in exchange, "I would have given it to you earlier, but I thought you knew edible plants well enough to eat for a bit," he said, opening his safe, "the food shortage may kill us, but you will live past it. Here take this." Calvin took out a basket from inside the safe, and when Amon peeked over the edge of it, he realized it was filled with dried fruit and nuts.

"Calvin! You greedy petcher!" Amon said, laughing, "you have been holding out on me I see. Thanks." He took the basket, also taking off his cloak, and covering the basket with it, hiding the precious food. Calvin placed the food on the counter, and Amon immediately grabbed a few nuts and tossed them into his mouth, satisfying his rumbling stomach slightly. "For this, you deserve one more shield. Close the safe and hold out your hand," Amon said, taking out his kukri, "I need a bit of blood."

Calvin reluctantly did so, wincing at the pinch of the kukri's sharp edge pricking him slightly, a drop of blood on the tip of it as Amon pulled it back. Amon reached took off his backpack, reaching in and taking out a jar. He popped the lid off and scooped a bit of the balm from inside, applying it to his uncles wound. "That should stop the bleeding and clean the cut. Leave it on for another ten minutes or so." Amon allowed the drop of blood to fall off the wound into his hand, where djed was pooling up already. "You know, I could really use some brushes, would make this a lot easier." He made sure that the blood was stirred in thoroughly, then smothered the front wall and spinner of the safe, making sure the shield was relatively thick. He tasked it with absorbing djed and only allowing Calvin into it, watching it form then disappear. "Alright, time to test," Amon said, reaching out to turn the dial, but unable to do so, watching the shield show itself momentarily, "perfect, you try."

Calvin turned it with ease, slightly confused at what had been done to his safe. "Good," he said, "thanks Amon, come see me again soon." He returned to work, watching his adopted son walk out into the harsh streets of Sunberth holding precious cargo that many would kill for.