187 Magnificent Craftsmanship
"I was wanting to buy some clothes." Aella smiled. "Give us some time to clean things up here." Mira smiled.
Lydia blinked, looking at Mira. "I thought you of all people would have something to wear to a party."
Mira giggled, "Me? Impossible." Waving her palm, "I'm but a humble carpenter. What would take me to noble parties? You're a paladin, weren't you invited before?"
"I was invited once, but I never attended." Lydia scratched her hair, looking at the table with a smile. A butter knife rested with some grilled potatoes and butter. "There was a call for reinforcement for a zombie dungeon and I had to help."
"I went to a party once with your father." Lyla stared at Mira with a smile. "I remember him choking on food."
"Jack will be there as well. We're all invited, including Merida and Abel." Arad said with a smile.
"Those two, a quest from the guild?"
"Yeah. We're in a temporary party to find the vampires who attacked Lyla." Arad looked at them.
"GRWAAA! BRAAAWA! (Lady of the house! We got the items you asked for!)" A voice growled from the cellar. Aella and Arad stared at the trap door, while everyone else jumped.
"This sound. Kobolds!" Lydia grasped the butter knife on the table before her and glared at the trap door. Golden light gushed from her eyes.
"Ah!" Aella rushed to stand between Lydia and the trap door, "Sorry, I forgot to tell you."
Lydia only took a second to figure it out. "Arad's minions? I should have expected it." She put the knife down. "I have almost smitten them."
"You can cast smite with a butter knife?" Arad looked at her.
"Anything will do. It isn't a matter of weapons, but faith. I can smite with my bare fists if I needed." Lydia clenched her fist and it started emitting a golden smoke.
Aella opened the trap door to let the kobolds out. Several kobolds, standing a bit over one meter tall walked out. Carrying large dishes of gold and gems on their heads. They stumbled, dropping the riches on the ground and panicking.
"GARWAAAADD! DADGGGHEREDFD!(The lord's wealth! Pick it up!)" One of them cried.
"Hoi!" Aella stared at them. "Didn't I tell you to not call out? Who did it?"
The kobolds looked at each other. Everyone pointed at the person next to him. "HJKSK! (He did it!)"
"All this gold and gems?" Lyla approached them and glared at the large dishes. "Where did they get all this?"
"They are mining underground," Arad replied. "There is a whole dungeon in the cellar."
Aella picked one of the dishes and searched in it. "You made them well." she smiled.
Circlets of gold and ruby, necklaces of silver, and rings of gold and emerald. The magnificent craftsmanship is unseen anywhere else. "I asked them if they could make jewelry. They are amazing at it."
Aella lifted one of the necklaces and showed it to Arad.
Arad smiled. His horde is growing rapidly as it should. What is a dragon if he doesn't have a bed of gold?
Arad jumped through the window and approached the kobolds. "Good job, He patted one of them. What are the rest doing?" He asked.
"Ah!" The kobold gasped, staring at Arad. "The Axols aren't doing much. But the giant ants expanded their layer deeper into the ground. Their forces have tripled in numbers. The goblins are focusing on training and helping us carry the gems." He explained.
"Wait? Expanding?" Arad gasped. ^Loci, are you okay?^
~It's nothing. They can expand as much as they want. In fact, that is better for me. The dungeons around here feed me with magic.~
^Don't tell me dungeons are a genius loci way of eating~
[I don't know. Never heard of it.]
Aella looked at the girls in the back. "You don't have to worry about jewelry. There is plenty here, we need to get clothes though."
The girls stared at the large dishes of gold. "We can't take from it." Mira scratched her cheek.
"No, you can take it." Arad looked at them. "I should have more than enough in the future."
Lyla approached Arad. "I know how you feel. But you shouldn't be giving jewelry like candy." She patted his shoulder. "You will run out one day with excessive spending."
Arad looked at her with a smile. "My wealth won't be so pathetic that taking a few rings would demolish it." To dragons who take pride in wealth. Assuming they will get poor is an insult.
Some dragons are stingy worrying about every coin like red dragons. While the others take offense when their wealth is taken lightly.
[Void dragon's wealth isn't gold, gems, or anything like that. Their hoard is power, knowledge, and magic they accumulate through their countless lives.]
"Take it, take it." Arad smiled. "Let's head to Merida's shop. You need some clothes as well."
All the girls picked what they liked from the bowls and Arad absorbed the remaining into his stomach.
After packing everything up. They left the house heading back to the city. Lydia rode Mc as everyone else walked.
***
In Merida's shop.
"Father! Is everything out?" Merida rushed downstairs with a large bag. She jumped over the last two steps and landed between the shelves.
"Everything is out. You said your friends are coming, but why take everything out?" He looked at the massive pile of clothes. He then lifted a large shirt. "Who could wear this?"
Merida looked at the shirt. It's too big, but she has a hunch that it will fit Arad with his muscular frame.
Knock! Knock! She could hear knocking on the door. "I'm coming!" She rushed to open it.
"ARAD!" Merida said with a smile but soon froze seeing an unfamiliar face. "Who are you?"
The girl standing in front of the door smiled. "Arad? That's a familiar name. You can call me Roberta." Roberta gave Merida a slight bow. "This is my father, Gerald. Can we get in?"
"No." CLAP! Merida smacked the door closed.
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