Thud! Arad stopped beside a large wooden door on the main street. Chiseled stones adored the only walls. The engraving around the door’s frame seemed awfully familiar.
“Potions and scrolls for the mages, pay only with gold,” Arad mumbled, reading the engravings.
Aella stared at him, “You can read that? It looks like mere scribbles,”
“I Didn’t know you understand the dwarven tongue.” Eris approached Arad with a smile, “You like reading or something?”
Arad shook his head, “Doma read them for me. I felt I saw it before, at the blacksmith in Alina. Some of his weapons have similar engraving.”
“Want to check it out?” Aella asked, but Arad shook his head, “Let’s keep looking. Your clothes come first,”
As they walked away, the shop’s door opened, and a dwarf stared in their direction, “I smell an Artifact,” He mumbled, glaring at Arad.
After walking for a bit, they finally saw a shop that sells clothes. A small brick building with wooden doors and windows, a lemon tree growing beside the main door, and a cat stared at them from the second-story window.
Arad grabbed the doorknob and turned it, pushing the door open. RING! RING! “Is someone inside?”
A woman stared at them, “Men aren’t allowed inside. Scram.” She growled, “Only women may enter,” She approached Arad, a broom in her hand.
She glared at him, “What are you waiting for? Leave!”
Arad stared at her face, “You seemed to sell clothes,” He asked, ignoring her threat as he walked to her side.
“Women clothes, get out, or I will kick you myself,”
Arad looked at the woman’s face, smooth and glossy. Her blue eyes glittered under the magical light in the ceiling, and her black hair danced with the faint wind coming from the window.
Aella walked behind Arad, looking around, “A women-only shop?” She looked at the shopkeeper.
“Gods bless you, my daughter. Is this man with you?” She stared at Aella’s face, “If so, they tell him to remain outside.”
“You could at least tell me why?” Arad glared at her.
“You’re denser than a brick?” She approached Arad, “Only women are allowed here. So they can pick their clothes with ease. You don’t want another man staring at your wife picking her underwear.” She poked his chest, “If so, then wait outside.”
Arad looked back at the girls and at the women. She’s right. ．
“Ah! Here you are!” A voice came from the door, and everyone instantly stared at the source. Gojo stood there with a smile on his face, walking inside to Arad’s side.
“Ah! Gods!” The woman cried, “Another one? Are you two brothers or something?”
Gojo stared at Arad, “Yeah, you can say that.” He smiled, “Mind if I took him out for a second?”
“Anything, just take him out.” She sighed, and Gojo grabbed Arad by the arm, “Come, I have a place we can visit. Let the girls shop as they want.”
Arad nodded, “A moment,” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large purse. He then gave it to Aella with a smile, “Buy whatever you want,”
Aella eyed the purse in her hand. The weight alone made her sweat. She opened it, and quickly closed it back up. “All of this?”
Arad noded with a smile, his thoughts seeping through her and into Zephyr, [Protect them at All costs]
A giggle came from Aella’s mind, the spirit inside laughed in excitement. [Worry not, for I cannot let Aella get angry at me.]
Arad then stared at Eris, “I don’t need to tell you, do I?”
Eris smiled, “Come on, Master Arad.” She approached him, “You know how much I like my work. I can’t wait to find a reason to get back to it,” Her mouth got closer to his ear, “Cremating people is fun, so don’t worry,”
Arad smiled and left the shop with Gojo.
****
As Arad left, Aella stared at him close the door and then looked at Mira, “We should pick something quickly,”
Mira smiled, “Don’t worry, he’ll go for a walk with Gojo, might even forget us here,” She approached the shelves, “How about we focus on finding something useful,”
Mira pulled out a tiny piece of clothes and threw it at Aella, “Check this out, might help at night,”
Aella grabbed the pink piece of clothes in her fist, lifting it up toward the light and opening it. The thing was shaped like the letter V if the base had a cut in it.
Aella stared at it, confused for a second, “Those are torn, look, there is a hole in them.” She showed the piece of underwear to Eris.
Eris smiled, “How do I explain it?”
^[Aella, well those are supposed to look like that for…]^
Aella paused for a second before throwing them back at Mira, “They suit you more!”
Mira caught them with a smile, “Suit yourself. Don’t cry if Arad keeps coming back to me,” She turned to look at more clothes.
Eris walked past Aella, “I’m also picking some. I might end up taking your place if you don’t act quickly,” poked her shoulder.
Aella stared at them, her eyes glowing green, she wanted to blow them away but had to contain herself. “I will pick something more decent, thank you.”
She went to the back, searching the shelves and her eyes stopped on a semi-transparent piece of garment. She picked it up, it was a nightgown.
“Is this supposed to be a nightgown?” She looked at the shopkeeper.
“The blade dancer’s wits. The blade maidens of the dark elves dance wearing them under the moonlight, usually as an offering to the sword goddess, or to their husbands.” The shopkeeper replied, “You can see both as a nightgown or a holy clothe. Depends on your use case.”
Aella stared at the clothes, “Dark elves? Been a while since I heard about them.”
The shopkeeper nodded, “They do live on the other side of the sea of death, I got those nightgowns five years ago from a traveler. I’m sure this emerald-tinted one would fit your eyes nicely.”
Eris walked around the shop and soon stopped at a strange shelf. Several bottles with multiple colors were arranged in a perfect line.
“My lady,” The shopkeeper approached her, “Those are a replica of the witch’s nail polish. They have the same mystic glow, but lack in magic.”
Eris approached the bottles, staring at them. “You say they are fake?”
As she looked closer at the bottles, a whiff of magic danced around one of them. A genius one was mixed in between them, it was the black one.
Eris looked at the shopkeeper. ^Should I tell her? No, she might raise the price…^
“I already paint my nails black, so I’m taking this one.” She picked the bottle that had magic flowing through it.
“I will pack it up for you,” The shopkeeper smiled.
“Can I try it?” Eris smiled, and the shopkeeper nodded, please use that chair.
Several minutes later. GRWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! A loud scream filled the shop, and everyone rushed to check on Eris, seeing her holding her hand, and sweating.
“Are you all right?” Aella asked, “What happened?” The shopkeeper looked around.
Eris shook her head, “I’m fine, sorry for scaring you. I just stabbed the inside of my nail,” She stared at Aella, signaling for her to take the shopkeeper away.
As Eris was left alone, she stared at her right palm. The nail of her index finger smoked, a gust of magic coursing from it. “Damn it, it hurt as if my fingernail was pulled off. Arad would be surprised,” She giggled.