21 A Respectable Trade (2/2)

Before I could complain at the overpriced tag on the coat, Aura placed a hand on my shoulder. ”It's alright, Dean. I'll handle this.”

I saw the fierce determination in her eyes, the same kind I would see on my mom or aunt Lena whenever there was a sale at their favorite shopping center—and I gulped nervously. I'd never seen Aura look so serious. Not even when we were fighting Azuma.

”You're testing us,” Aura smiled appreciatively. ”An electrum-grade middle-tier armor would sell at a hundred gold at best.”

Aura glanced over at the ghostly coat hovering over me before turning back to face Kallista with her eyebrow rising.

”And that would only be if this was a piece by the very best fairy designers,” Aura added. ”I don't see a designer's symbol.”

Kallista uncrossed her legs only to recross them again with her other leg. ”And they say royals don't know how to haggle...”

A smile played on her lips as she dropped the bomb that she knew who Aura really was.

In response to this revelation, Edo took a step toward Kallista with his glaive front and center, but Aura sent him a warning glance to stand down, and he obeyed her despite the deep frown on his face. Although, if looks could hurt then the evil-eyed glare he sent Kallista would have been a critical hit.

Having such a giant send you a death-stare would have made another person shiver in fear, but Kallista didn't seem to care about the violent waves emanating from Edo or the alarm she'd caused in the rest of us. We were all wary now. All of us, except Aura who looked calmly back at Kallista.

Aura removed her mask and hood before responding. ”Alright, you know who I am... doesn't change the situation. Let's make a deal.”

An hour of haggling passed before Aura was able to chop down the price of my new coat armor to half of Kallista's original offer. In that time, she was also able to add an electrum-grade scale mail for Luca, as well as a metal shoulder piece that covered the left chest area for Edo despite his protests that he didn't need armor. Aura also got herself a new elven magician's robe. Sleeveless like mine with a metal neck guard and shoulder piece crafted in autumn leaf designs. All priced at a discounted rate of two hundred and fifty Leprechauns with a promise that the Trickster Pavilion would become patrons of this particular auction house. So, I guessed they both got what they wanted.

Varda declined new armor as she was already happy with her dwarven-forged chain mail shirt.

Aura had forgotten about Qwipps, but I didn't feel the need to remind her as I figured he could just wear the lower-tier gear Fort Darah provided its soldiers. Obviously, I wasn't over him selling me out to Vardoom.

After armor came the weapons.

Varda didn't want one as she was already satisfied with arcane components. ”I don't do close combat.”

While Edo's glaive was already a silver-grade weapon of mass destruction in his hands and Aura's Hearthwood Staff was a unique gold-grade relic.

It seemed the only two members of our group who needed new weapons were me and Luca.

Luca was a simple kid at heart. He knew what he wanted, and after only a few minutes of searching,he hefted the new steel-grade broadsword he'd chosen.

”I can feel its weight even if it's just a demo fairy dust version,” he sounded delighted. Clearly, he wasn't over the fairy version of a holographic model.

The new broadsword didn't have the same knight sword design of his previous weapon but was more like that of a Viking blade with a wider shadowblade toward the hilt that narrowed as it reached the tip. The guard was thicker. As was the rest of the sword hilt. The pommel was a thick round ring that helped balance the weapon.

When it was my turn to choose a weapon from Kallista's offerings, I couldn't decide. Eventually, I pulled out my falchion and thought about how it was a gift from Aura at the beginning of our adventure together. For me, it was a symbol of our partnership and I was reluctant to part with it.

Noticing my hesitation, Aura placed a hand gently on the falchion's crossguard. ”You don't have to change your weapon's hilt. Why not just change its shadow crystal core to make it stronger?”

Inspiration flared in me, and I looked over to Kallista and asked if this was possible. She explained that it was but it would be more expensive. Aura didn't hesitate to answer for me when she said it wouldn't be a problem. It seemed she was just as reluctant for me to let go of the falchion, too.

When Kallista asked me what core I wanted, the answer was obvious. Silver and gold grade shadow crystals were way too expensive. A steel-grade one would suffice.

”Very well,” she smiled her sultry smile at Aura like they were now friends. ”I will make sure you receive a great-quality steel-grade crystal core at a reasonable price.

”Thank you, Lady Kallista. This is much appreciated,” Aura bowed her head slightly.

”No-no, Princess Aurana... the pleasure is certainly mine,” Kallista bowed back. Then she glanced at me. ”Of course, you will also need a quality arcane focus to ensure the shadowblade is stable.”

While she browsed through a catalog of arcane focuses necessary to forge a stable shadowblade core, Fool's Insight took note of a peculiar object momentarily formed from the fairy dust, and I immediately stopped Kallista from changing what was displayed in front of us.

I grabbed the circular object that was roughly the size and shape of a thick ring. What I found surprising was how this ring wasn't made of the usual metals associated with fairy weapons. it was the color of a dull dark grey reminiscent of the massive front gates found at the canyon's entrance. This ring was made of iron.

I held it aloft. ”I want this one.”