After we left the eagle at Master Hanish’s place, we went to a local stall to get some street food on our way to the bank. When we finished eating sandwiches called ‘gyros’ from an Ionian stall – which were much more delicious than I gave them credit for – we arrived at a bank and set up a basic checking account for me. The receptionist looked at me a little funny for a bit, since I hadn’t had a coin to my name to deposit, but she did as she was told anyway. It wasn’t long before we headed for the shopping district.

“How am I supposed to pay for new clothes if I don’t have money?” I asked Nico.

She shrugged.

“I’ll pay for the clothes you get and take it back from your half of the earnings from the eagle.”

“But you already didn’t take a dime from it. You even paid for everything I needed today! I am starting to pile up a debt to you, and I don’t like it.”

I whined as we finally made it to the bazaar, with a bunch of stalls and rugs packed with goods on them.

“You didn’t take much of the eagle either. You only took the mana core, and that’s because no one else can make good use of it. Some feathers were left for your armor, but we have enough of those to cover over twenty sets anyway. Even if I take my expenses from your half, you’ll still have plenty of coins leftover to deposit in your bank. And even if that wasn’t enough, we’ve got four months being stuck together in a party for you to pay me back. Oh, and you’ll need one of these.”

She stopped at a local stall near us and picked up a simple coin purse on a table.

“That’s going to be a silver and three coppers, Ma’am!” the teenage merchant from (probably) the Republic said.

Nico clicked her tongue.

“That’s a rip-off. Let’s go, Kiara.”

“Wait, wait, wait! I was just messing with you, dear customer! I’ll give you a generous price of eight coppers as a way to make up for it!”

“I’ll take it for three.”

“Now that’s way too far, ma’am! Seven coppers should be good enough!”

“I’ve got five coppers for it.”

“Six coppers, final offer. You drive a hard bargain, lady, but that’s as far as I am willing to go!”

Nico and the merchant engaged in a fierce round of negotiations over the simple coin pouch, which I found fascinating. Why was she willing to drop large amounts of money on some things but not on others?

“Wait, Nico. I don’t want a drab coin purse like that one anyway. I want that one over there.” I said, pointing to the fanciest coin purse at the end of the rug. It was ornamented, and it had patterns of dragons on it!

At my words, Nicotris cringed, and the merchant smiled greedily, but the two hid their reactions so quickly that I could be convinced I imagined it all.

“Well, you see, dear customer, that coin purse was very difficult to procure and was made by a master craftsman deep in the forests of the republic. I am sorry to say, but its price is rather exorbitant to match at three gold shekels and six silvers.”

Nicotris rolled her eyes and looked at me.

“Why would you want something this conspicuous? Are you trying to get robbed?”

I grinned dangerously.

“Yeah, thieves are welcome to try and take my money. I’ll chase them to the ends of the earth and make a mat for my front door from whatever’s left after I skin them alive. In any case, I want something nice like that, not some boring brown leather coin purse.”

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The merchant shuddered as Nico was thoroughly unimpressed.

“…After some consideration, I’ll give you a discount and sell you this coin purse for a gold and eight silvers. Counting on your future patronage would make this worth it for me, if you don’t mind!” he said, winking at us.

Nico sighed.

“That price is far too much. We’re taking it for seven silvers and three coppers.”

***

Another round of negotiations later and I walked away with the coin purse that cost a gold and four silvers. Nico was rather upset with me, and she wasn’t trying to hide it.

“Kiara, next time, don’t sabotage my haggling attempts in front of merchants. I am making you pay every coin we had to spend today on extravagant and useless trinkets like this one.”

“Why do you haggle so fiercely anyway? Its not like you’re in desperate need for money.”

She shook her head.

“Its kind of a tradition in local markets to haggle for just about everything. It’s part of the fun in shopping for both the customer and the merchant, though I guess it wouldn’t make sense to a dragon.”

I scoffed.

“But you’re a noble and just as far removed from these markets as I am!”

“Clearly not; you’d have no problem being played like a fiddle, paying the asking price without a second thought.”

Oof.

Nico looked to me and smiled.

“In any case, the bazaar isn’t our destination, but just in our way. Our destination is a particular boutique I am rather fond of – it’s about time you wore something besides armor anyway.”

It wasn’t long before we made it to a fancier shopping area, or as fancy as a place can be on the serpent’s throat anyway. It had actual buildings for stores, with plenty of people walking in and out. In fact, I’d spotted a familiar face.

“Ati! Over here!” I yelled and waved at him.

He was wearing a new outfit and carrying a bunch of shopping bags with him when he turned to look at us. He waved with a hand full of bags as he walked towards us.

“Hey, Ati! Did you get everything you wanted?”

“Yeah, I did. In fact, I was just about to go to the guild to have them store it for me and meet up with you guys.”

“That’s great. Then do you mind if you come with us to get some clothes for Kiara?” Nicotris said.

“By the way, when we’re done, you should come with us to see the old man making your new armor. He wants to take your measurements for it, and I am going to drop my armor there for modifications anyway.” I added to what Nico said.

“Sure, I don’t mind. I’ve got nothing else to do.”

It didn’t take long for us to reach the store that Nico was talking about.

A large sign on top of the store said ‘The Fair Maiden’ in pretty handwriting, and the building was made out of stone. It even had large glass windows.

“I thought people didn’t build with expensive materials here because of all the monsters that come out of the abyss that wreck everything. Why’s this one different?” I asked.

“This store is only satisfied with the best, both in its products and in its buildings. They just rebuild this branch every single time it gets torn down. But we’re not here to discuss their business decisions; let’s go get you some clothes.”

Nico strode in confidently, and Ati and I followed her in.

“Welcome, Lady Sept! We are thankful for your continued patronage! How can I help you today?”

A lady dressed in a strange, yet pretty outfit with flamboyant hair greeted Nico. Just how many frills and accessories were on that dress?

“I am glad to see you again as well, Melita. This time, I am here to get clothes for a friend instead. Can you help us pick something for her?” Nico gestured to me.

Melita looked at me thoughtfully.

“Hmm… I’ve already got several ideas for what we can get for you. I can already see you stunning people and looking gorgeous in a few selections I’ve got! But do tell me what you’re looking for; do you want formal wear? Beautiful, yet practical outfits for traveling and adventuring? Perhaps even mage robes if you are versed in spellcraft?”

Nico smiled.

“Yes.”

***

“Turn around and walk to the end of the hallway, Ms. Azoth!” the store’s proprietor said.

I sighed and did as she asked, as the other three looked at it.

“That’s great. We’ll take it!” Nico said with an overly enthusiastic nod.

“Nicotris, this is the seventeenth outfit you’ve made me try on! And you’ve taken them all! How do you think I am going to pay for all of this?!”

The Tameryian noble got me all kinds of outfits for different purposes, and poor Ati was so buried in shopping bags that I could barely even see his face anymore.

Nicotris shrugged me off.

“If you’re not paying for this, then I will. I won’t have you embarrass me with shabby clothing. You need to wear things that match a being of your power and status. Now get out of that dress so that we can package it and try the next one.”

“But I am not a noble!” I whined, only to get a glare in return.

“You know exactly what I am talking about.”

“Urrrrrggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh…”

Fortunately, Ati came to my rescue.

“If I may, Lady Sept. As entertaining as dressing up Kiara is, I suspect the others might be arriving at the guild soon. We’ve still got to drop by Master Hanish to drop off Kiara’s armor and take my measurements too.”

Nico sighed regretfully.

“I guess you’re right. Kiara, go and change into one of the adventuring outfits or mage robes we got for you. We’ll be back later to try out the rest. Melita, please be a dear and get me the bill for everything we got.”

Melita smiled at the noble.

“As you wish, Lady Sept.”