I awoke the next day to the faint humming sound of someone trying to get my attention. I wiped the sleep from my eyes and sat up. The melodic wake-up call was much better than the loud alarms back home, but they were just as annoying. I got up and quickly threw on a robe and made my way to the door. When I opened I found a trio of people. The first was a woman wearing the insignia of the lodge. I assumed it was she who led them here. The other two were androgynous and wore fine robes. Their robes were the color of sand. They had serpentine eyes with white and brown scales going down their arms. Their skin was a light brown color, and they had their hair braided close to their scalps.

They were standing in front of a cart that was nearly as tall as they were. It reminded me a bit of one of those clothes racks you would see at a store. Only this one floated off of the ground and was made out of wood. “Hello, my name is Shekla.” The shorter of the pair said. “This is my companion Elsu. We are here to deliver your garments.”

I smiled and opened the door wide. “Come in, come in.” They stepped into my home with the cart trailing behind them. I was a bit curious as to how it was moving. They didn’t carry any buttons or drag it with anything. I turned to say goodbye to the lodge worker, but she was already disappearing down the path. I shut the door and rubbed my hands together.

“As you requested, we have broken your gear into two broad categories. The first is for more formal occasions, such as dinners and galas. While the second is more general use. It took a bit more effort, but we could provide additional padding around the shoulders. We have made each of the garments with a variety of fabrics to give you the most diverse set possible.”

I grew more and more excited and Shekla explained. Twenty outfits should be enough to get me started. I made a mental note to go back to that shop and order more things the next time I was here and had the coin to spare. “Let’s start with the everyday gear. For now, that’s what I need”

Elsu reached over and pressed a finger to the cart. A moment later, the fabric covering fell off, and I could see my prizes. The ten outfits were in a variety of colors, ranging from foresty greens to snow-like whites and dark browns. The garments were diverse as well. Some of them looked a bit like dresses, while others were an entire outfit with pants, a shirt, and an outer robe. All of them were the thin and loose fabrics of fantasy desert cultures, which was great. “We assumed that you would want something favoring style and appearance. We operated from the base assumption that going unnoticed was not a priority for you. Due to your size, dragons, and the rumors about you relying heavily on magic.”

I heard what they were saying, but I paid little attention. One of the outfits had drawn my eye. It was a gold and white mix that came with golden chains. Its back was open, which would reveal the emblem for my place of power. It was somewhat like a dress at the bottom. Its sleeves were the strangest parts. They looked like roiling clouds. I half expected my fingers to pass right through them. “Ah, we were a bit hesitant to bring that one. The design is a bit more common amongst the upper nobility and high-class courtesans than with practitioners of the arcane.” Shekla approached and pulled the garment off the rack.

“Why?” I asked and ran a finger down the golden chains. They felt surprisingly strong for jewelry. I was going to ask a second question when the outfit’s item prompt appeared.

You have found: Gold and White Sarnet Otaba Details: +8% to Allurement.

Durability: 100/100

Item Quality: Superb

Item Rarity: Super Rare

Item Weight: 7lbs

Once I read the item’s details, I figured it out. Assuming that “allurement” was like attraction then a sex worker would want it as high as possible. I was about to ask why they thought I would want it when I decided it didn’t matter. Ultimately, I did want it. “Thank you. Do any of the other garments have allurement enchantments?” Shekla shook their head.

“No, Sarnet is a rather difficult fabric to obtain. If we come across more, we wouldn’t mind making more garments, of course. Assuming that you would be able to pay for them.” I nodded and turned my attention to the rest of the clothes. None of them were the equals of the otaba. They lacked magical enchantments, but they offered actual defense. Not much, between 3 and 5 points, but when it came down to not getting killed, that could make all the difference. As much as the logical part of my brain said I should wear the more armored ones, the rest of me said the Otaba should be worn every day. Once they explained each of the outfits in detail Shekla and Elsu left. I gave them each a gold as a tip, which earned me a hundred relationship points with both.

Once they were gone, I went about getting ready. A quick bath and breakfast of sosaski balls had me and my familiars ready to go. It took me twenty minutes to get the Otaba on. The biggest issue was getting the chains connected behind my back. Every joke about the complicated nature of women’s clothes went through my mind. Once I figured it out, though, it was worth it. The otaba went down to just above my feet and gave me enough room to move comfortably while keeping my legs covered. The open space in the back revealed my tattoo and bareback. The chains were slack and hung low to just above the small of my back. There were five in total and from what I could tell, the chains didn’t do anything besides look good. The fabric on the shoulders was thicker than everywhere else. When Sanaa and Tenebris took up their perches, they were more than pleased. I couldn’t feel their claws until they actively pressed them into me.

I placed the rest of the outfits in the ring. Now that the gold had been removed, the ring was pretty empty. I sat down and was about to start piecing together my next steps when I heard a knock on the door. I stood up and flexed my fingers. I ordered Tenebris and Sanaa into the air while I prepared to open the door. I used the door as a shield, threw it open, and prepared to send light and fire at whoever entered. Instead, there was no one. I stepped from behind the door and looked around. There was a scroll tied with a piece of black string. I retrieved it while giving the area another glance.

I didn’t relax until I shut the door, and I was back in my seat. “Who sent it?” Sanaa asked as she returned to her perch.

“Is it dangerous?” Tenebris asked as he did the same.

I looked down at the scroll and gently placed it on the table. I wasn’t sure if anthrax was a thing in this world, but no reason to take a risk. I found a letter opener in the room and quickly removed the string. I then let the scroll roll open. Thankfully, there were no powders, plants, or puffs of smoke. A quick casting of Lesser Revelation didn’t reveal anything, so I started reading.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

I have been made aware that you are looking into a mutual enemy. If you would like to deal with the menace plaguing this city. I would propose a meeting. If you are interested, come to the Nine-Tailed Lion. Order a rum and take the booth furthest in the corner. Come alone.

As soon as I finished reading, the scroll began to fall apart. I had already memorized the contents, so it wasn’t a great loss. The more concerning part was that I hadn’t known the paper was magical. I wondered if it was some sort of spell. The weakness of my revelation spell was making itself known more and more. I made a note to look for more spell tomes at the auction. The lack of willing teachers was a pain in the ass. That was going to be one of the big things I changed in Radiance. Everyone would be free to learn whatever they wanted. Within reason, of course. With the mystery of the letter on hold for now, I decided it was time to go and find Zakia. I needed some backup, and well; she was the only person I knew.

Finding Zakia wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Once I started asking questions, I was guided to “The Arena”. It was very reminiscent of the Roman Colosseum. This place was filled with people. Ranging from minotaurs to whatever the elephant humanoids were called and many others that I hadn’t seen before. The entranceway featured a ten-foot-tall statue of a four-armed man. Most of the statue’s head was shaved, but there was a single braid that reached down to the man’s ankles. The detail on the statue was amazing. The man’s skin and muscles almost seemed real. Not in the same way that the basilisk victims were thankfully. I looked around until I found a desk manned by one of the cat-eyed people.

“Hello, I am looking for an Ifrit woman. She goes by the name Zakia. I was told that she has spent a few days here?” The man looked up from the scrolls in front of him. Did a double take, stood up, and stammered for a second before straightening his robes.

“Ah, you are the dragon guy. Great, great, magicians are required to pay an extra fee to fight in the arena. You are forbidden from killing your opponents. If you intend for your companions to fight, you will have to do so in the appropriate group.” The man continued droning about the various rules and regulations I had to follow for another two minutes before I stopped him.

“Hello! Did you not hear a word I said? I am looking for an Ifrit woman named Zakia. Do you know where I can find her?” I did my best to keep the irritation in my voice at a minimum, but I was pretty sure I wasn’t doing a great job.

“I don’t know where this person is. Someone like that was here ear—” A familiar voice called out to me while he was talking and I immediately lost interest in the man.

“I leave you alone for a day and you come back looking like you are made of gold,” Zakia spoke with a laugh as I turned.

“What can I say? Drawing attention appears to be my thing. Do you have the rest of the day free? There is something I would like your help with.”

She nodded and waved me to follow. “Yeah, I am free. Is this about your investigation?”

I shook my head and waited for us to reach a quiet corner of the room. “Not quite. Well, it’s related I received a scroll this morning from someone wanting to meet with me. According to the letter I am supposed to go alone but I would feel better if I knew someone had my back. Most people know I am a spell caster at this point and they know about these two.” I said while nodding to my shoulders. “They probably know about you as well, but better safe than sorry.”

“Alright, where are you supposed to meet them? Is it private or public?”

“It’s a tavern. I am supposed to go in the evening and find a spot in the back and wait to be contacted. I assume that whoever it is owns either the tavern or is close to the owner. Either way, I am assuming that I will be outnumbered as soon as I enter.”

She began pacing back and forth. “Things will be difficult for you either way. I wouldn’t put it past them to take you somewhere else after you arrive. Alright, this is what I am thinking. You can connect with your companions, right?” I nodded. “You should keep one of them outside. Should you get into trouble, the dragon can let me know and then I come in swinging.”

It was a pretty good plan and I couldn’t come up with a reason to go against it. “Tenebris, would you be okay with that? I think you would be better able to hide in the night sky.”

“I can do it, Master. It should not be difficult.” Tenebris replied while determination flowed through our bond.

“Perfect. I will leave that to you.” I replied. Next, I turned my attention to Sanaa. “You and I will have to be even more alluring than normal.” She didn’t respond to me. Instead, I felt her smugness through our bond. I rolled my eyes at the Dragonette before turning my attention to Zakia.

“Alright, we will break up later. If I am pulled away, then the pair of you will have to search the city.” I ignored Zakia’s unasked question. I wanted to keep the details of our plan hidden just in case someone was listening. It would also be good to restrict those who knew the limits of my abilities.

“Right, well, how much time do we have before you have to be at this meeting?” Zakia asked, bringing me back to the present.

“I won’t need to be there until later in the evening, so I have a few hours. “

Zakia smiled. “In that case, do you want to watch some fights?”

My first instinct was to refuse, but when I thought about it for a moment, I changed my mind. I didn’t have anything better to do. “Alright, why not? What does it cost to watch?”

She gestured for me to follow her before heading back toward the front desk. “Knowing your desire to burn all your gold, you can buy us a private room. For a gold per fight, assuming no one special shows up. We could get the price down to a few silver if you are willing to.” When she saw the look on my face, she abandoned that line of thinking.

“We will get the more expensive option. It would probably be better for us to avoid drawing attention. It will be hard for people to ignore us if I am standing there dressed like this with my dragons.” She looked like she wanted to argue, but after a beat, she decided against it. We arrived at the desk and this time, the conversation went a bit smoother. He still wasn’t in a good mood, but when he saw that I was willing to spend some coin, he felt better about talking with us. They led us to a room at the bottom of the Colosseum. The area was a bit like a baseball dugout, only there were no windows. Instead of being able to see the arena, the image was projected onto the wall. We could then shift and move the angle. It was like watching TV back home.

“How much would it cost to get one of these built?” I asked while taking my seat.

“Huh? Oh, I have no idea. It would require a powerful enchanter to build one. Probably a lot of rare stone or metal. Even with your gold, it will cost you a bit. You also don’t have an arena to make use of it.” I couldn’t argue with that. I sat back in my chair and focused on the screen.

As the fighters came out, I decided to take advantage of the situation and cast Lesser Revelation on each of them. I learned the names of several species. The cat-eyed people were called “Daphan” and they were similar to elves, though they didn’t live as long. The elephant people were called “Procideans”. They were well known for their long memories. They had a high affinity for the knowledge skills. Lastly, there were more elemental people, including the “Terran” who were earth elemental-like people. “Sylphs” were air and cloud-like people who seemed to always have a breeze at their back. It was like they were in a movie or hair commercial. Lastly, there was the “Mara” who were water-aligned people. The only Mara we saw was a water magician. She was the most interesting and used a combination of ice and water spells to confuse her opponent. Unfortunately, I couldn’t learn any spells just by watching her. There was one last benefit to my constant casting. My Lumos magic increased from level 14 to level 15. It wasn’t enough to get me any more bonuses, but every step mattered.

I stopped casting an hour after sundown. We waited for my magic to regenerate before we sat out for the tavern. When we arrived, we split up. Zakia took up a place about a block away, keeping an eye out for anyone who might be following me. Tenebris took to the sky. We agreed to let him circle the block while using the night sky to hide. Once everyone was in position, Sanaa and I made our way inside. Ready to see what was waiting for us.