“Come on, Mother!” Nyx laughed happily as she grabbed my hand and pulled me down the street. Dozens of adventurers were milling about in the morning sun, and some spared us quick glances. Others stared at us from the shadows like hunters waiting for their chance to strike. As if I would ever allow something like that to happen. If any of them touch her, I’d kill them.

I passively activated a few of my aura abilities to scare some of the worst ones off, and thankfully, they backed down. Nyx seemed oblivious to it all, which was good. For all her bravado, I knew it would get to her. But I was here to protect her. Mostly since she begged me to take her out. Sadly, she just wanted it to be me and her, so Alessia has to cling to the shadows. Though I would have loved for it to be the three of us.

Nyx was in a mad dash for the magical shop that we passed by earlier. The child was dead set on whatever goals she had in mind, and I was helpless to deter her. I held her back slightly as she rushed forward, and I kept my eyes on everyone around us. I couldn’t let her get too far ahead of herself now.

In what felt like mere seconds, we reached the front door of the magical store. Without hesitation, Nyx pushed the door inwards, revealing a large room filled to the brim with various objects. In a way, it was like I was staring at a recreation of Hogwarts.

Azure flames sat above scones that were attached to pillars, casting a baleful blue light into the air. The faint hum of magical energy touched my ears and brought with it a faint headache. My body hated magic, and I didn’t know why. I did nothing for magic to hate me, yet it still does.

Nyx, on the other hand, was staring at everything in wonder. Her eyes were as wide as plates, and the largest grin I’ve ever seen split her face from ear to ear. “Mother, it’s perfect here! Can we have a place like this back at home?”

I thought it over for a moment before I nodded my head in response. After all, there was no real reason that we couldn’t have a place like this. Maybe one day, once I have the resources, I would construct a magical academy. Not just for my daughter, but for the undead that live in my domain. It would be a large building that would put even the largest castle to shame. Yes, that would be lovely indeed.

Nyx giggled in response and rushed ahead. Her first stop was towards a bunch of strange goblets that were centered on the table. The first one was gold, and it was studded with brilliant rubies that twinkled like young stars. The second was a silver goblet that was as scratched to hell, and could barely reflect any light that graced its surface. Then the third was the color of polished bronze, and a faint golden fire radiated from its depths and licked the air.

“Mother, what are these?” Nyx peaked over at the table, but I held her hands away from the cups. I didn’t want her to just up and grab magical items out of the blue, as that is a recipe for disaster.

“Cups, but don’t touch them. Let’s see if we can find a shopkeeper to help us out, okay?” I asked as I steered her away from the table filled with magical goblets.

“Okay, mother!” She allowed me to guide her down the aisle, and past all the many objects.

We turned the corner and saw a small countertop, with a bell sitting on the ledge, and a few quills lying across its surface. I reached out and pressed the bell. It rang gently in the air, and a few seconds later, a gruff voice broke through the still air. “Aye, one moment, ladies.” A gruff voice came from the back, and the accent seemed familiar. I could detect a faint touch of Irish, but there was something else there. It sounded close to Irish, but I couldn’t place it off the top of my head.

A few heartbeats later, a head covered in scraggly brown hair popped up from behind the desk. “Ello and welcome ta Nesdrel’s Arcane Emporium.”

As my eyes focused on him, I picked out more and more details. His eyes were like small grey storms that flickered in the arcane light. A large beard braided with silver ribbons broke into three separate pieces rested on top of a large bush of facial hair. In a moment, I instantly knew what I was looking at. This was a dwarf! “Hello, my name is Calixa, and this is my daughter Nyx. We stopped in to look at your wares.”

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“Hello!” Nyx spoke up and waved at the man, who glanced between us. A few indistinguishable emotions danced across his face as he did so, before it faded, and a more professional demeanor took over.

“Aye. Welcome. I see ya daughter is a budding young mage. Tell me, young miss, what are ya lookin fo?” The dwarf pushed himself away from the desk and ambled around it.

A thoughtful hum left her lips, yet her eyes flared like a predator who was close to jumping its prey. “What books do you have?”

“Are ya lookin for grimoires? Spell Books? What are your affinities?” Nesdrel asked as he ruffled his azure mage’s cloak for a second and motioned for us to follow him.

“I’ll take whatever you have. Oh! Also, do you have alchemy supplies?” She bounded slightly ahead and grilled the dwarf with various questions involving magic.

I hung slightly back and watched the two talk amongst each other. It’s good that she has a passion to keep her focused. The best I could do now was just keep pushing her forward.

The two wandered over to a large bookshelf filled to the brim with hundreds of books. Some looked like they were plain, while others seemed to radiate sickening auras of color.This really was a beautiful place, but esoterically. It made me wonder how much different Earth would have been if magic existed there, instead of just in movies or books. I crossed my arms, and sauntered down the aisle we were in and looked at some books out of curiosity.

There was a book for everything, really. Magical theory, magical history, rituals, affinities, and much, much more. Perhaps I should buy everything that I can and move it to the domain and give it to Kharon. He was the minister of magic, so I’m sure he would enjoy having it all.

“Mother, look!” My daughter’s voice tore me from my thoughts and I glanced down at her.

She was proudly holding up a large brown covered book that had a single teal colored rune in the middle. “It’s an arcane grimoire! Can I get it?” Her eyes glimmered hopefully at me as she clenched the book.

“Of course, get whatever you want, love.” I smiled back at her, and she damn near keeled over in sheer happiness.

“Thanks mother! You’re the best!” Once again, she vanished to pester the dwarf shop keep.

I turned my attention back to the shelves and kept walking down them. Let’s see what I could get for Kharon and the domain while I’m here.

Well, for starters, the question would be, what magic is my domain lacking? Out of habit, I tried to access my menu, but nothing was responsive. Ah, shit, that’s right. I guess I have to operate off of memory then. I knew for sure that we have dark, lunar, fire, water, earth, and air. But my overall knowledge of magic was rather lacking.

“Excuse me. I have a question.” I walked over to the dwarf, who was busy opening up a spell book, and was explaining to my daughter the use of runes in a spell.

“Yes, lassie?” The dwarf glanced up at me and ruffled his beard slightly.

“Do you have anything on affinity cultivation, or anything of the sort?”

“Aye, we have a collection of grimoires for most basic affinities, as well as complex ones. What would ya like?” He handed the book over to Nyx, who happily added it to the pile of books in her hands.

“Honestly, I’ll take whatever you have.” I wasn’t sure what a complex affinity was, and it sort of piqued my interest. I just didn’t want to ask questions that would make me look stupid.

“Nyx, if ya like, ya are more than welcome to place those books down on the countertop over yonder.” He told her as he motioned for me to follow him.

“I’ll be okay.” She replied with a curt nod as she clenched her stack of books like a dragon hoarding its treasure.

I followed him through the store to another set of bookshelves. This time, it was a quarter the size of the others, and only a large handful of books existed here. “Here ya go. I try to keep a copy of grimoires for every affinity that I can get my hands on. I have most of the basics, as well as a few complex ones. Sadly, I can’t get my hands on any of that higher tiered stuff. If ya have any more questions, let me know.”

“Thank you.” I replied as I looked through the books. Naturally, I crossed off the affinities that I knew we already had, and looked for others, and thankfully the book shelf was broken into magical sections. The first one that I was looking at was elemental. I reached out and ran my fingers across the cover of the books, reading over each of the names. The selection was small. It was near abysmal once I crossed off the affinities that I already had.

Let’s see here, I would happily take the light magic off of the dwarf’s hand as a basic affinity and lightning. Then I’ll match it with storm magic, and ash magic. Sadly, however, that was all that was offered, but that was alright. Anything is better than nothing, and I will put all of this to excellent use in the domain. Now let’s see what magical artifacts I could get my hands on for everyone else.