Saiya Dewsong was sitting cross-legged on the floor of the room she had cimed next to her sister’s. They were in the embassy dorm they had gotten upon their arrival in Tulimeir. Technically, they were seen as foreign dignitaries, which came with certain benefits along with restrictions. One benefit was the nicer room, while a downside was that it was located in the outer city’s southern International District, where most people who were neither cinderen nor runeforged seemed to congregate.

  She didn’t mind the location since it was the same district as her new party Defender and Mage, and it was right next to the Martial District where the AOA was located.

  Rayna, on the other paw, often compined about the distance from the nicer shopping district within the inner city. Her twin was much more passionate about spending their money than she was. She was ever grateful for the dimensional bag Rayna bought to hold her various treasures; otherwise, their dorm might look more like a Dragon’s hoard.

  Saiya was enjoying her quiet downtime by plucking on her new guitar constructed with her [Accompanion] Passive while Snowbelle lounged in her p to steal the occasional tummy rub.

  Phoenix’s attempts at singing while they traveled hadn’t been what she would consider stelr, but the melodies gave her some new ideas as she pyed with the variant instrument. Her tails provided a bit of rhythm as they patted against the floor in time, which was the best sitting location for her because the chairs in this city were all voxen-bane.

  The International District was better than most pces, but the standard items given were all sized for the taller species that didn’t have tails to worry about sitting on or getting caught in a doorway. She was just grateful that she was able to find a tailor that could handle the type of clothing she and Rayna both needed and preferred.

  Saiya’s ears perked up at the sound of a soft knock on their front door, and she heard Rayna call through their shared wall, “You got that, or want me to tell them we don’t want to join and to take a hike?”

  She shook her head with a soft sigh, dismissing the conjured instrument and lifting the plump Familiar into her arms as she said, “I’ll check it out. Not everyone wants us to join their clergy, organization, or party, Rayna.”

  “Tell that to the st thirteen people that have knocked randomly on our door,” the bard loudly compined as Saiya exited her room and walked into the common area attached to the entryway, where a few chairs and side tables were strategically pced for hosting their non-existent company.

  When Saiya pressed the rune on the back of the door to make it a one-way window, she was surprised to see an amethyst gemite standing there alone in the hallway. As she opened it, trying to keep Snowbelle from flying out of her hands to tackle the shiny pats-giver, she greeted him by asking, “Dazien? What are you doing here?”

  “Ah, hello, Lady Saiya,” her party leader greeted in return and fshed a brilliant smile, “I was just curious if you and Rayna would care to join me in a little shopping adventure?”

  Her amber eyes searched up and down the hall as she inquired in confusion, “Alone?”

  Dazien chuckled, “Well, the idea was that I wouldn’t be going alone. Uriel does participate in certain activities without me, you know,” he added, pulling a cookie out of his pouch to offer to the gluttonous Familiar.

  She gave him a soft smile and prodded knowingly, “He has his meeting with Priest Jacob right now, doesn’t he?”

  “Yes. Yes, he does,” he said with a sigh of resignation, also indulging Snowbelle’s silent begging for a tummy pat, “Seriously, though, we are separate people with separate lives. I do go pces without him, and today, I need to get a new shield. So, would you and your sister like to come with? I thought it might be nice to have a guide show you where the good deals were.”

  Rayna’s bedroom door suddenly smmed open, and rge amber eyes stared at them both as the bard practically lunged at their party leader and wrapped her arms around one of his own –making Snowbelle give a little bark of annoyance at the ceasing of pets– as she begged, “Yes! Please, yes! All the yes-es! We just got all those Bits from the Call to Arms for the Berg Sirens on top of the mission spree, and now I need a different kind of spree.”

  Dazien ughed at her sister’s antics and reassured the shopping-deprived woman, “Yes, yes, I know just the pces. Have to be thrifty when you don’t have a rge family backing you, so I’ve managed to sniff out the best locations for getting the biggest bang for your Bit,” then his gem-like eyes met hers as he asked, “Will you join us, Lady Saiya?”

  Despite the activity not particurly appealing to her, she did want to spend more time getting to know her new leader, and she knew Rayna would also appreciate her presence. So, she gave a gentle nod of acquiescence and resigned herself to the shopping adventure.

  They went north towards the inner city walls, making their way through the congested streets made worse by the blood moon and towards the heart of the city. Saiya and her sister had never seen buildings so tall before, as the few settlements in Epa Toivo were much smaller in scale and more spread out. The Sapphire Caste desert storms were inhospitable to most pces, and it took dedication to constantly rebuild after a storm passed. However, their capital, Viimeinen, did have a slight magical advantage with the cost spent to implement the enchantments to guard it from most environmental hazards.

  The trio continued northeast towards the more commercial area with stories of open balconies and skyways bridging the towering buildings together for easier travels through the shops on every level. As the smells of the various restaurants hit them, Rayna turned to ask their guide, “Why haven’t we come here yet to eat with the others? Are they not as good?”

  “No, some are quite good, but… well, it might be silly,” Dazien said with a slight blush as they entered one of the tall structures, and he admitted, “I just thought that a Wayfarer like Phoenix might enjoy exploring more of the world outside of what they can normally find here on the tundra. I figured we could give that to her by focusing on her meals with us to be at the more exotic pces.”

  Saiya smiled reassuringly at him, sensing his embarrassment more from his aura than the slight body nguage, “That’s really thoughtful of you, Dazien.”

  “You don’t think it’s silly?” he asked, and she could feel his trepidation lessen before it returned with her sister’s next words.

  “Oh, it’s definitely silly,” Rayna interjected with a grin as she looked through the gss shop windows at the items on dispy, “If she only ever eats with us, then that means she’s never tried the local food either.”

  Dazien ughed, shaking his head, “I hadn’t thought about that. I figured her mentor would be providing more local cuisine when they were together.”

  “Have you met Paul?” the bard asked him with a ft look, “Any time they have together seems to be spent training, learning, or pouring over that magic book of hers. I’m surprised either of them even remembers to eat anything. Oh, look, they have stamina potions here. We need more of those, right?”

  “Not here,” he replied almost automatically, “There’s a shop further in that sells them for only five Crystal Bits.”

  “It’s only a couple Bits more,” Rayna argued, pausing to read the sign posted by the door and causing Saiya to stop as well as she continued holding her sister’s furred hand, “These are listed at five Crystal and two Mundane.”

  “A couple of Bits saved now can add up to a nice meal ter,” Dazien pointed out, not stopping as he moved past the storefront and further into the building. Leading them to a gss lift that would take them to the other floors.

  Saiya observed him for a moment before asking gently, “You’re rather frugal, aren’t you?”

  He gave a curt nod as he crossed his arms over his chest a bit defensively, “I’m frugal by necessity and logic. Why would I pay more for something I can get cheaper elsewhere? I might as well throw the Bits away at that point,” he expined pragmatically.

  “Convenience? Saving time?” Rayna pointed out, gesturing to the lift whose doors had just opened to dump people out before they walked on to repce them.

  “It’s not like I waste that much time searching for the cheapest things,” Dazien continued quietly in the confined space, “I still care about quality, but in the cases where the quality is the same, then it only makes sense to get more value out of your Bits. Taking advantage of the little savings means that when I need a new shield that can survive a strike from a Crystal Caste monster, like now, I’ll have the money to afford something of better quality that ideally won’t need repairing after each battle.”

  “Well, we’ll definitely want a self-repair enchantment then,” the battle-loving bard pointed out.

  “Definitely,” Dazien agreed, then added thoughtfully, “I can probably get away with foregoing the self-cleaning, but I wonder if the cost of supplies in the long run outweighs the upfront cost now.”

  “I am so gd my weapons are conjured,” Rayna stated emphatically at the mental image they all got of cleaning off monster goo and ash. Sometimes, the abilities the monsters had were not fortunate enough to turn to dust upon their death and subsequent looting. The mention of her sister’s ability made her remember the dispy Phoenix’s book had granted them earlier.

  Passive Ability: Gem Encrusted

  Type: Utility (construct, elemental, gem)

  Current Caste: Crystal 1

  Crystal Effect: Construct gem gauntlets and tail covers that inflict additional Gem damage and accrue instances of [Kinetic Force] with each normal attack.

  Kinetic Force (boon, elemental, gem, stacking): Consume all instances to inflict Gem damage that scales with the number of instances. Instances are slowly lost over time.

  Saiya wondered if they should take the time now to start looking for a Sapphire Caste Spirit Gem to potentially feed into that ability once Rayna crossed that threshold soon. She knew that both of them would cultivate their Caste again and ascend before the blood moon ended at the increased rate they had been going tely.

  “I definitely share that sentiment,” Dazien said in response to her sister, “Luckily, I don’t have to worry about my sword getting destroyed or dirty during a fight, but my shield is another matter. This is us,” he added, gesturing for them to exit the lift as the gss doors opened on another floor.

  As they exited onto the less crowded hall, Saiya adjusted her grip on her Familiar, trying to lift the slightly hefty winged seal cub higher up. Snowbelle surprised her slightly by giving a few more fps, attempting to nd up on top of her head between her long furred ears, and she scolded, “No, Snowbelle, I’ve told you before that just because Ta can ride up there doesn’t mean you can!”

  Saiya heard the ughter from her companions as her party leader tapped his shoulder and said, “How about you ride over here, Snow? Is that alright, Lady Saiya?”

  She nodded, and the furry feathered Familiar did a little hop and glide over to the rger frame, perching happily on the shoulder of the spoiling pats-giver, “You know that you can drop the honorific titles, Dazien,” she said softly, taking her sister’s hand once more as they continued following him.

  “Those titles are an honor that you deserve to be addressed by, midy,” he replied as he led them further while indulging the pats-beggar.

  “It’s not like we’ve truly earned them yet,” she pointed out, trying to do her best to pull Rayna along from the many distractions in the various windows they passed.

  Dazien gave her a little lopsided grin over his unoccupied shoulder as he said, “From what I’ve seen, I think you have. Despite the unfortunate circumstances for why you were bestowed them, I’ve met many other nobles who don’t come close to being as kind, compassionate, loyal, and dedicated to protecting others as the two of you,” he gestured towards the few customers in the shops as he added, “These aren’t your people. This isn’t even your country. Yet here you are, protecting them nonetheless. If that’s not deserving, then I’m not sure what is.”

  Saiya could sense the sincerity of his words and fell silent as her sister decided to fill the lull, “So are we getting potions or a shield first? I vote potions, but if we go with the shield, I’m hoping whatever hole in the wall you lead us to has got some other armor options. I could do with an upgrade or fifty.”

  Dazien ughed, “I’m not sure fifty items would function properly at once,” he pointed out.

  “Just wait until I get a few more tails,” the bard retorted with a grin.

  He raised an eyebrow, “Does that actually work?”

  “No,” Rayna answered with a dramatic sigh and grumbled, “A girl can dream, though.”

  Saiya joined in Dazien’s ughter that time and looked around curiously as he turned into a rge shop that looked like a hoarder owned it, with how full it was of random assortments. However, there did appear to be a strange order to the chaos around them.

  “Mister Dazien Smithson!” a raspy feminine voice called over as they entered, and a rge cinderen woman appeared before them, “Please tell me you’ve thought over my offer?”

  “Sorry, Madam Malik,” the ever-charming gemite said with a respectful bow, hand over his heart, as he added, “You know that both Phoenix and I are going to be assisting as Adventurers until the end of the blood moon and most of our free time is spent in making sure we survive the ordeal.”

  “Right,” Madam Malik grumbled, putting her hands on her hips, “Well, be sure you do survive and think more about the offer once this bloody moon is done with. Both of your skills are being wasted as part of that organization when you can accomplish much the same while making a lot more Bits under my enterprise. Now, if not for my offer, what might you be on the hunt for in here today?”

  “The usual potion resupply, and I am in need of a shield that can survive stronger monsters,” he gestured back towards the bard, “Lady Rayna here is also in search of some armor that might suit a mobile Striker when her speed might not save her from a hit.”

  “My speed saves me plenty,” Rayna retorted, tail bristling slightly before crifying, “I just thought if you had something that might make it save me more often, that might be worth the Bits.”

  “Well, I have just the thing for you,” the proprietor stated with a wave towards the Defender, “I remember that sorry excuse you had for a shield before when we first met. Follow me,” Madam Malik gestured for all of them to go further into the hoard of precariously stacked treasures. Saiya idly wondered if there were enchantments in pce so that they wouldn’t fall if someone walked too fast and caused a slight breeze.

  The boisterous woman led them into a smaller back room and lifted a rger metal shield with a slightly blue sheen to it onto a nearby table that had a bit more free space than the other surfaces in the room. The merchant next pulled out a stone tablet and a matching orb, which she pced on the shield. She held the ste out towards them, and they read the glowing text that appeared upon it.

  Item: Frostiron Shield

  A heater shield made from Frostiron mined in the Razorteeth Mountains.

  Caste: Crystal.

  Avaibility: Uncommon.

  Type: Weapon, shield.

  Requirements: Crystal Caste or higher.

  Effects:

  Slowly repairs damage over time.Resistant to grime and rust.Increased resistance to negative Ice effects.

  “You have a Knowledge Tablet and Identification Orb?” Dazien asked incredulously, “When did you manage to acquire one of those?”

  “A friend of a friend of a cousin of a noble that decided they didn’t need it any longer and were willing to part with it in exchange for a hefty sum,” Madam Malik expined, “Worth every Bit, though. Not only can I guarantee the authenticity of the items I procure, but the assurances I can give my customers are also a boon. Now, does the shield interest you, Mister Smithson?”

  Dazien gave another of his most charming smiles that Saiya was beginning to recognize and match to the pyful emotions he was projecting to her. It caused her to smile in turn as he said, “I guess now we haggle with the knowledge that you can’t cim it’s more than what this little tablet says.”

  “And you all will know just how good of a deal you get when you come to Mother’s Cupboard to buy anything and everything,” the merchant said, matching his smile with a wolfish grin of her own. Saiya gave a slight sigh as the negotiations began, and she felt they would be visiting a lot more in the future.