Chaotic Craftsman Worships The Cube

With the day nearing its end, Ben was sure the effects of the potion he'd made had worn off which felt confirmed with the way the shifter was acting. Tossing and turning where he laid, it was clear that the depths of his rest were gone, letting the effects of his dreams spring too close to the surface and knowing that the man didn't want others knowing about the nature of his sleep problems, went over to wake him.

"Foast, come on, time to get up," Ben said as he reached out to gently shake him. "Your armour's all ready, just needs to be-"

His words froze as the part of himself he let interact with the world at normal speeds was brought up to its maximum by a faster instance of what he was in reaction to Foast's body shifting, a single large spike being formed and aimed directly at Ben's face.

Instantly his mana was being spent, materializing a saw at the base and slicing through it, leaving the horn to clatter to the ground and a small trickle of blood running down Foast's face that the shifter rubbed at as he awakened, yawning out as he did.

"Ugh, what happened?" He asked, still too groggy to notice anything himself. "I don't know how long that knocked me out but it left me with a hell of a headache."

"About six hours, but what left you with the headache was definitely something a little different," Ben said, picking up the horn and wiggling it in front of Foast's eyes. "You sleep shift often?"

Instantly he was awake, a grimace on his face as he changed his body structure to get rid of the small injury. "Occasionally, ever since I first started having my, er, problems," He said, casting a small glance to Abel and Delair to see if either noticed but finding both too invested in their work to pay attention. "I didn't injure you, did I?"

"No, but that's only because I had the speed to be able to react to it, if my apprentice had been close by she definitely could have been hurt."

"...I apologize. This has been a more recent symptom and since I've noticed it, well, I haven't been sharing a bed with anyone but I should have considered it might happen here."

"So long as you're taking proper safety precautions normally then it's fine, I just really would rather not hear any news about you skewering a lover."

"No, I'd rather not either," He sighed. "I thought, well, it really has only been a couple of times so far and since I already owe the inn you directed me to the cost of some new bedding, that it wouldn't happen again so soon but it looks like that was too hopeful. As this endless bloodshed makes me worse I suppose I need to be more prepared for the symptoms to get harder for me too but… wait. Did you say I got six hours of rest?"

"You did, does it feel like it?"

A little groggy though he was from just waking up, he did in fact notice the difference. The world was just a little brighter and he already had more energy. There was no problem keeping awake just then, his mind and body were feeling the most rested they had in months.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"I've already made you some more potions," Ben said offhand. "I'll be tacking the cost of them onto your bill for the armour but I'm comfortable assuming you'll be happy to pay? Considering how concentrated they are, they aren't exactly cheap."

"Happy might be a stretch but so long as I remember to alter the structure of my mouth, nose, and digestive tract a bit before consuming… Yes. Yes, I am very happy to pay whatever the cost is. Thank you, Ben."

"Don't worry about it, just remember this if you're ever around the next time someone tries to give me shit about something. In the meantime though, give yourself a minute to get sorted and then we can run our final tests because I have your armour done."

"Genuinely? Considering how it went with Abel I did have my hopes but to be done already-"

"Well, I did my best but it still needs your seal of approval. I also had to make a couple of concessions that I'll talk to you about when you're ready."

"Ha, I've spent the last few weeks exhausted, a bit of grogginess won't bother me. Let's see it."

"Alright then, catch."

Tossing it over, Foast looked at the metal ball he'd been given in confusion, not fully understanding what he was seeing as he rolled it around in his hands.

"This is my armour?"

"And my first concession," Ben clarified. "What you're currently seeing is it at its minimum size, I couldn't make you anything for any creatures smaller than that so if that's a dealbreaker then as sad as it is, we'll have to stop here and I genuinely doubt I'll be able to make you something that would work."

"No, I'd be a fool not to expect some limits and this is already below what I'd been hoping for as far as minimums go. Don't worry, you haven't lost a customer yet."

Excellent, in that case, shrink down and put it on. Just try to contort yourself so that your head will fit out of the hole I left for you and start shifting to different shapes and sizes. We'll see how it works out."

"Well, if you say so."

Shrinking down to something far more rat-like, Foast wiggled his way into the armour, his head poking out of the end before he started to grow, expanding up and out as he changed back to the form he had been using and looking down at the tight metal suit wrapped around him as he did.

"My second concession," Ben went on. "Is that while it's going to protect your extremities to an extent, the main focus is going to be on your core."

As designed, the shifter's arms and legs were mostly covered, leaving his hands and feet exposed, along with his head. Points of exposure to be sure and areas that could be injured in battle but there wasn't much other way for him to make it. Foast fought with the forms he took, he couldn't have claws or horns covered despite being parts of his body as well.

"Not a concession either," He said as he flexed, feeling the suit hug him comfortably. "This is perfect. It's beyond perfect. I don't know what to say."

"Well, change a bit more so we can see if it holds up to you. Do all you can so we can really test the limits here."

"Got it."

Before his eyes the man started to warp, changing as fast as he could think as his body plan repeatedly morphed from something more human-like to different quadrupedal forms, growing up and out before shrinking down as more limbs sprouted out at one moment and then disappeared entirely, the armour consistently keeping up to the demands of the man's strange body before he returned to his first shape, a grin stretched out across his face.

"I can see why the yeti likes to brag about you," Foast laughed out as he grabbed Ben by the shoulders and spun him around. "I imagine that if I'm ever going to need something made again, I know where I'll be going."

"Well, always happy to bag a repeat customer," Ben said. "But we're not quite done yet. Come on."

"Where to?"

"Training ground. You tested shapes that fit in the shop, we need to see how it holds up to some of your bigger forms."