Chapter 389: Misplaced Superiority (1/2)

”Your Majest-”

”Don't. Please, just call me Aiden. I don't know who this figure you are confusing me with is.” Before the dwarven blacksmith could finish, Aiden spoke up. With a slight frown on his face, he explained again, hoping to finally clear up this confusion.

However, the dwarf, Gluri shook his head.

”I cannot, your majesty. You are a dragon, perhaps the last remaining member! You may not know because of this, but we dwarves revere your kind… Dragons are like gods, the natural-born leaders of our race. Legends say we were created by the Ancient Dragons of the past to be their servants!”

The blacksmith managed to grab Aiden's attention with the mentioning of his exact race. Still, from the way he phrased it, it felt like he wasn't certain about Aiden's exact kind, but only the fact that he was 'supposed' to be a dragon.

”Created by Ancient Dragons? That's quite a wild tale…” He muttered with a wry-looking smile. He then looked at his sister who was now once again ignoring whatever was going on and was patting the heads of her dogs instead.

”Anyway!” The old dwarf clapped his large hands. His smile was a bright contrast to his surly demeanor just a few moments ago. ”What can this old blacksmith do for you all?”

—

Sometime later, the team finally left the Gluri Wyvernslayer's the funny named dwarven blacksmith's workshop.

Still, puzzled by the fact that how could a dwarf be allowed to set up the shop, Drake and Scarlet were mostly silent through the whole ordeal. Drake really wanted to ask the old master about how was he here, but as he already tried twice without any luck, he managed to whole his burning curiosity back and just remain in the background.

For Aiden, he didn't really care how or what trickery this old man had used, what he focused on was to get the right armament for his team members. For Galina, he got something called a 'Runic Mace', a one-handed war hammer inscribed with a few dwarven sigils, mostly to increase its sturdiness.

For Lily, she got a quiver full of arrows made by the dwarven master and something that vaguely resembled the brass knuckles, but instead of being obvious and bluntly presented, it was made into gloves. Its material was also quite strange, as it was clearly not metal, but something similar in terms of strength. It was wyvern scales!

As Drake, like him, did not want to use any other weapon than his artifact, Mort, only his sister, Scarlet got a pair of new daggers, as he was still relying on the one she 'borrowed' from Sara.

They also had to force some payment on the dwarf as he was adamant to gift everything saying that it would be his way of apologizing for his previous behavior. Still, after some back-and-forth, they paid a measly 1gold and 50 silver coins for what was probably worth hundreds if not thousands of gold.

After escaping from Gluri's workshop and promising to return when they can, the rest of their afternoon shopping spree went relatively cleanly and without any significant troubles. Although some brave (and quite idiotic) guys tried their luck with the ladies (even the shy and masked Galina had to suffer through a few brazen attempts), they eventually got everything they planned to get, and as the sky began to darken, they found their way back in front of the inn.

Standing in front of the wooden structure, a group of youngsters wearing brand new-looking, dark brown, reinforced, studded leather armors beneath their usual clothing could be seen.

With heavy, somber looks on their faces, they looked at the entrance, hesitant, quite reluctant to step inside and embrace its warmth. The chitter-chatter that escaped through the cracks and windows, were not so inviting anymore, instead, it served as another layer of discomfort, further fueling their disinclination.

They knew that they should look for a new place, but they had no time so far today.

It was clear that their relationship with the innkeeper and his wife was chaotic at best, but still… This place was the best in terms of service, food quality, and distance. Truth be told, Aiden didn't really want to switch.

Still, with a sigh, Aiden stepped forward and pushed on the door, the team following shortly after him.

As soon as their familiar silhouettes appeared on the doorway and their gazes met with the innkeeper serving some drinks to the tired adventurer's standing at the counter, a look of worry flashed through the aged host's eyes for a brief moment before he managed to give a slight nod and return his attention to the job at hand.

Aiden could only sigh at this.

”Brother… I think we should…”