Arad opened his eyes, staring at a ceiling he didn’t know. Beside him sat Aella with a smile. “Are you okay?”

Arad sat up and scratched his head, “How did I end here? Did that old man knock me out?”

Aella looked at him, “You were taken by a sleep spell when you took a painful hit.”

He looked around him, “Where is he?”

“The king woke up earlier and left for a meeting with the nobles. They need to find a way to deal with the elves now that the tension is lessening,” She helped him stand, “Shall we go?”

Arad smiled, “We delivered Isdis, we can head out,”

Aella giggled, “I thought you would want to wait for a reward,”

“Gold be damned, I need to get you, Eris, and Mira some new clothes.” He smiled, “Also, I’m sure Baltos would do something about it later.”

Arad walked out of the healing quarter, seeing Eris and Mira waiting at the door. Both of them rushed at him, “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine,” He looked around, “Did Jack and Lydia already head out?”

“Yeah, they left.” Mira replied, “They should return later at night,”

“Those two maids have prepared rooms for us. We can stay in the castle as long as we want.” Eris approached Arad, “They have a nice bath here.”

Arad smiled, “We will check it later at night. For now, let’s head to the city.”

***

Arad and the girls walked through the hallway and to the guards. The guards saluted them before they reached the castle’s gate.

The moment the gate guards spotted them, they yelled, “Drop the bridge!”

Aella looked back at the garden as they walked across the draw bridge, “Arad, can we get some flower seeds? Maybe an apple tree as well?”

“Of course, as long as they can survive the trip.” He looked at her with a smile as they entered the streets, “You want to plant some in our garden?”

“It would be amazing to have some roses, and a fruit tree can never hurt.” She replied.

Mira looked at Arad, “Since you own a lot of land and you’ve been declared a baron by the king, why not put that land to use?” She smiled, “A vineyard or a sprawling emerald grove of fruit trees.”

“That sounds like a good idea, would be nice to get a winery as well.” Eris looked at Arad with a grin, “Baron Arad’s beer. Now that could be fun.”

“If we wanted to do it, I need to hire farmers and someone to manage things. I can’t stay with them all day long,” Arad replied, thinking as they entered the market.

“You might end up building a second city beside Alina, depending on how successful you’re domain would be in the forest.” Eris tapped Arad’s shoulder.

Arad looked around, “We’re in the market. Anything you want? Besides clothes, of course, we will get those when we find a decent shop.” He stared around, and his eyes stopped at a small stall at the end of the street.

“Look there,” Arad said, staring forward.

Aella looked, seeing an old lady sitting on the ground, selling a bunch of strange trinkets and baubles.

They approached the old lady and looked at her wares. “Young man, want something for the ladies?” She smiled, “It’s rare to see a man with more than one woman around here,” She giggled.

Arad looked around him, “You’re right,” He smiled and looked at what she had, rings, necklaces, hair combs, and…ropes and rocks?

Arad picked one of the rocks, a yellow one with a strong acidic smell, “This stone, what is it?”

The old woman smiled, “Brimstone, picked from the eastern volcanic mountains. People like to throw it in their bathes,”

Mira stared at the stone, confused, “This thing? Stop joking. I might throw it at someone as a weapon.”

Aella picked a hair comb, “This one is made from fur wood, an elven craft?”

“I don’t know, I bought it from a traveler. But it looks nice,” The old woman replied.

Arad looked at Eris, “Want something?”

Eris shook her head beneath her hood, “Nothing caught my eye. They are all mundane objects, no magic in them.”

The old woman giggled, “If you want magic objects, I’m not the person to look for.” She lifted one of her necklaces. “My prised item is but a silver necklace.”

“How much is the hair comb?” Aella asked with a smile.

“Five copper coins,” The old woman replied.

“I will give you four for it,” Aella pulled the money.

Arad stared at them, “Aella, give her six copper coins.” He smiled, and both stared at him.

“Why do you say that?” The old woman asked.

“You bought that thing for five copper coins and was selling it for the same price.” Arad replied, “I can see that in your face.” He lied. He did read her mind to check for the real price of the comb. Had she inflated the price, he would have taken the lowest price.

After paying the old woman, they head deeper into the market, looking around for something to buy, “As big as the capital, they don’t have that many things on sale. Interesting ones at least.” Arad sighed.

“They do,” Aella looked around, “I see a section there where they sell monster parts, hides, bones, and even poisons. And look there, someone is offering healing with magic for a low price, and over there they are selling a lot of fruits and vegetables.”

Mira stared at her, “Arad said interesting things,” She smiled, looking at him, “What do you mean by that?”

“Weapons, magic items or spells, and clothes as well.” He replied, looking around.

Eris sighed, “You won’t find weapons in the main market. We should look for a blacksmith for that. And for magic items, they are valuable. So no one would put them on display on the streets.”

Thud! As they walked, a woman bumped into Arad and fell on her back, “Ow!” She cried, scratching the back of her head, “Look where you’re going!”

Arad stared at her and extended his hand, “Let me help you up,” He sighed, “You’re all right?”

The woman took a deep breath, “Yeah, sorry for lashing out. I’m the one who was rushing,” She looked at the three women beside Arad. 𝒃𝙚𝙙𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝒍．𝒆𝒕

Aella glared at her with a terrifying smile, and Eris already pulled a knife. Only Mira looked at her with a worried face.

Arad looked at the woman’s face, “If you were rushing, you should go,” He kept walking, and the girls followed him.

The woman stared at them and then rushed away, slipping between the building and stopping in a dark ally.

“That was close!” She sighed, “Strolling with four women, he must be noble of some kind,” She pulled a leather pouch from her pocket, “Let’s see what he had on him.”

She opened the pouch she snatched from Arad, looking inside to find it filled with nails and chainrings.

“The hell is this? Is he a carpenter of some kind?” She looked at the pouch, disappointed, “Might be worth selling,” She turned around to see two red eyes glaring at her from the darkness.

“Who!” Before she could scream, a hand blocked her mouth, pulling her into the darkness.

Thud! The woman smacked onto the ground and looked up, seeing Eris glaring at her, “What do we have here? A thief, a pickpocket?” She smiled.

“You! That dagger woman from earlier!” The woman cried.

“It’s me,” Eris pulled the dagger, spinning it between her fingers, “My husband noticed your trick, Care to check your own pocket?”

The woman panicked, reaching into her jacket to find her pocket missing.

Eris laughed, “You tried to steal from him, and he stole from you.” She pointed her dagger at the woman, “Well, I came on my own. Shall I kill or leave you?”

The woman stared around confused, “Get away from me!” she stood to run away.

“Calm down,” Eris glared at her with glowing red eyes, and the woman felt her chest grow heavy. Her will to run away faded.

Eris approached the woman, touching her neck with a grin, “I haven’t fed in a while. Your blood will do.”

“As you wish,” The woman mumbled, her eyes sleepy and glowing red.

****

Several minutes later, Eris returned to Arad, “Did I miss something?”

Arad stared at her, “Where did you?”

Eris smiled, “I dealt with that thief. Her blood didn’t go to waste,”

“Killing her is wrong for attempt pickpocket, and leaving her alive would spell trouble.” Arad glared at Eris, hoping she didn’t just suck her blood and leave her wandering the city.

“Worry not,” Eris smiled, “My bites numb the senses and soul, She won’t remember anything that happened today, and neither she would have bite marks.”

Arad sighed, “I hope you’re right. I don’t want any trouble while we’re having a nice time. And this place is filled with paladins. It’s our death if you caused were discovered.”