The strange man glared at Lydia with glowing red eyes, “Come on, try smiting me.” He smiled, “I will let you get a hit in,”

“Lydia, calm down.” Arad stood between them, “I don’t sense any malic or bloodlust from him. And we’re in Lyla’s shop.”

Lydia stared at Arad and then at Lyla, “Sacrifices must be made,” She growled, and her sword burst into golden flames.

The man smiled, “Well then, let me show you something,”

He lifted his palm, igniting it with holy flames and staring at Lydia with a smile, “I can also use divine smite.”

CLING! The holy flames faded from Lydia’s blade as she sheathed it, “Damn you! Say that earlier,” She sighed.

“A quick change,” Jack stared at her.

“Evil people will never be able to use divine smite,” Lydia looked at Jack, “He’s a good one since he can use it.”

The man laughed, “I study undead to learn how to counter them.”

“Fighting fire with fire,” Lydia smiled, “Dedication to good light cannot be underestimated when one has to dip in the filth of evil firsthand.” 𝘰𝑣𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The man nodded, “Lady Lyla,” He looked back, “How much is this tea set? And this ornament old robe?”

“Ten and nine silver, respectively,” Lyla replied with a smile, and the man took them, paying on the spot.

“See you later. I do want to check on my dad,” The man walked out of the door, leaving everyone stunned for a second. It’s not every day they meet a good necromancer.

“So, what brought you to me?” Lyla looked at Arad with a smile.

“Well, we are going on a trip and need saddles. Big ones.” Arad said, scratching his head, “My scales are hard and painful to sit on for a long time,”

“Well, I’m sure that two ox saddles would fit you nicely. Let’s hope we don’t need elephant ones.” She giggled.

“What do you think I am?” Arad laughed, resting his fists on his hip.

“It depends on the thickness of your neck, but I will get it done in a second.” She pulled a ledger and looked at it, “I don’t have ones here, but I can send you to someone who has.”

“Thank you, it will help.” Arad smiled.

Aella looked at Lyla, “By the way, how did that thing go?”

Lyla blinked for a second, “I was trying to keep it a surprise,” She looked at Arad, “Your armor is ready,” She smiled, closing the ledger and heading to the back rooms.

After a few minutes, she came back dragging a large stand with a suit of armor.

“It’s quite light but durable.” Lyla said, showing the red and purple armor to Arad, “A scale mail made from the red dragon scales mixed with your yours. The effects are magic resistance, fire resistance, and cold resistance. It’s also quieter than it looks, so you can still sneak in it.”

Arad looked at the armor. It looked beautiful. “But, I’m wearing my scales.”

“More layers are always better. You wanted to take less damage, right?” Lyla smiled, and Arad sucked the armor into his stomach.

“I also managed to get this,” She pulled a medium-sized crate and opened it. “Fire quiver can add a temporary fire attribute to arrows. And this one here is shadow eye made by dusting your scales on a pair of black glasses. It grants some night vision.”

Aella took the quiver while Jack took the glasses, “Nice, I didn’t expect you to have some left.”

“I hired someone efficient as the materials are rare to come by.” Lyla scratched her cheek, “Ableit it cost a fortune,” she looked away.

“How much?” Arad looked at her.

“Fifteen gold coins for the armor, four for the quiver, and four and fifty silver coins for the glasses. A total of twenty-three gold coins and fifty silver.”

“Fine by me,” Arad smiled, “Here is the money,” He pulled the gold coins from his stomach and handed them to Lyla. “Don’t forget to ask Mira for money if you needed more. She has access to it back home.”

“There is no need,” Lyla waved her hand, “But I will ask if I needed,” she smiled.

“So, what about the saddles?” Jack looked at Lyla, “I don’t want to start a mission with back pain,”

“Ah!” Lyla opened the ledger again, “There is this shop called Leather Works of Dodori. They make leather shoes, Jackets, and saddles. I will give you an order by my name so they won’t suspect you’re the one using the saddles.” Lyla pulled a paper and started writing a letter.

“Do you think they would have saddles ready?” Arad looked at her.

“Of course, They always have a lot in stock.” Lyla smiled, “Here you go, give it to them and pay what they ask for. If you felt it to be expensive, tell them that I would pay, and I would haggle the price later.”

“How much should I expect?”

“Around fifty silver for a low-quality one. A decent one would go for around one gold coin and twenty silver. A premium one can reach upward of two gold coins. Those are large ox saddles, after all.” Lyla looked at Arad, “For your purpose, I would suggest low quality for Lydia as she’s wearing plate armor and won’t feel a difference. Medium quality for Jack and the best for Aella.”

“No, I would get the best for everyone then.” Arad nodded.

“I don’t really mind a low-quality one.” Lydia looked at Arad, “As Lyla said, it won’t matter.”

“I would buy it so you can switch seats with ease. I don’t want everyone to start thinking about it too much.” Arad decided to buy the best. ^I also intend to carry Mira on my back, and probably Tina as well so I need all seats to be suitable.^

Lyla handed the letter to Arad, and they walked out heading to the Dodori leather works.

The large shop was built right behind the adventurers guild, close to the city horse shop. Arad pushed the wooden door, “Excuse me, is someone here?”

“I’m here. Did you need something?” Arad heard a woman’s voice, but he couldn’t see anyone.

“Where are you?” He took a step forward and tripped on something falling on his nose.

“Aw!” The woman’s voice cried, “Be careful, idiot!”