After
Blue finished talking, Rurail would remember the freshly-opened treasure room, and make his way there.
Only one item on the pedestal, but it was pleasing to the eye- an oval shield about 2 feet wide & 1 & a half feet tall, with alternating bands & waves of silver & black.
Prominently featured in the center was some kind of clear glass gem, 5.5 inches long & set on it's side, surrounded by orderly coils of jet-black metal snakes. Around it rose six low
geometric studs, each of which sporting their own black snakes. The studs had clear black hexagonal centers an inch or two wide, the color similiar to the main gem, while the surrounding half-inch facets glittered faintly.
Just above the rounded lip of the shield, slightly confused due to the color & texture of the metal, intricate patterns & geometric engravings danced their way around the shield, interlaced with two embossed damascus snakes which coiled loosely around each of the studs in-turn.
Rurail picks it up to inspect the gems & carvings, feels the heft, but then places it back down on the pedestal. He unslings his shield & leaves the chamber-
He'll leave his old shield in the main room before returning to claim the new piece of equipment.
Re-entering the chamber, Rurail dons the shield properly, slipping his forearm through the solid metal band and interlacing his fingers with 3 of the 4 leather hand-bands. It was made for a five-fingered species, each of the bands looping around a finger to leave the palm open. Convenient.
And then the shield shifted.
The gemstones sank into the metal to re-appear on the underside, the lip of shield near his hand came back to allow wider wrist movement, the snakes disappeared into the fold but the geometric patterns spread and consolidated, covering the shield but becoming less complex. The center became somewhat thicker than the edges.
Holding the shield up as if to block a hail of arrows, the shield changed again, becoming round and then much more ovoid as its upper and lower lips extended another foot & a half in their respective directions, the metal thinning as it expanded.
Again thinking of his weapon, again the shield changed. The crystals remained on the underside. Hm.
He also felt a slight warming sensation from the shield, some sort of magic, though he didn't know what.
He heads back out into the lobby.