“I have this whole little conversation I wanted to have to coax us into the topic, where I mentioned how I noticed how many guards you had, where they were, their equipment, and then I was going to ask what kind of magical weapons they wielded, since they definitely wield magical weapons if they are guarding a place like this, but instead of that, since we’re doing business together, and depending on if you are willing to sell to me, or those in our business, we can also offer our own business, that of magical weapons.”

Farah stared at the half elf, whose eyes darted to the side, as though checking to see if he had done well. Her eyes darted to Dunes, who just bowed his head towards the half elf, who beamed brightly as though he had worked hard to not be an utter buffoon. 

‘…’

It wasn’t long before he appeared, causing the half elf to tense up lightly. He was tall and lean, his skin pale, though tanned by decades under the sun. His two horns curled up and back, but it was the gleaming silver scales which caused the half elf to sweat slightly, for he only knew one family which held silver scales. He wore a cuirass of silver scales, which provided him protection from the sun’s heat, and at his side he wore a longblade, as though made of liquid silver, encrusted with blue gems. The sun amulet gleamed brightly.

“Asaym, Brothers,” the half dragon greeted, reaching out a hand to shake their forearms, flashing a cool smile. 

“Walay,” Dunes replied, a greeting that was more formal than shukhur, but less so than the typical religious blessings. 

“Walay,” Adam replied, having heard the phrases once or twice before. 

“I am Kal Tawid, one of the owners of the Fountain of Fragrance,” the fellow introduced himself, before motioning a hand to the side. “I wish to invite you for tea.”

Dunes swallowed, but he found himself within the small room, cooled by magical runes which glowed around them, not pressing upon them with a chill, but alleviating most of the heat. Uli stood beside the door, his wrists crossed in front of himself, and though he would try to oppress upon the half dragon, the slurping of the tea broke their attention, as the half elf let out a small sigh. 

“Not quite like the Grand Duchess’ tea,” Adam admitted. “It’s a softer cold, more like… a cool glass of water on a noonval day, rather than a cube of ice in nightval.”

“The Grand Duchess’ tea?” Tawid asked. 

“Yeah. She invited me for some tea, and then we offered to sell her a weapon worthy of the Knight of Death.”

“What kind of weapon is worthy of the Knight of Death?” Tawid asked, leaning in slightly, suddenly far more intrigued. It was one thing to sell magical weapons, it was another to sell something to the Grand Duchess of the North.

“Uh, well there was the…” Adam turned to face Dunes, trying to recall what they had offered. “You know what, I don’t think she’s made a request yet. Various Counts, Countesses, even the Duchess of East Port, but the Grand Duchess hasn’t asked yet. That being said, we do have this sword.”

Dunes revealed Thunder’s Triumph in all it’s glory, offering it to the silver scaled half dragon, who plucked it from his fingers, inhaling deeply as he did so, feeling the tingle of magic run through him. He closed his eyes for a moment, allowing the sensation to run through him, before swinging the sword to the side, feeling its weight. 

“Greater Enhanced?” Tawid asked. 

“It is a weapon similar to one we sold to dragon, Karza,” Adam said.

“Karza?” Tawid asked, vaguely recalling the name.

“Uh. Blue dragon. A friend of Prince Morkarai, the fire giant.”

“I know of Prince Morkarai,” Tawid said, as though it was obvious one might know the Prince of the Fire Giants. 

“Yeah, he’s a good guy,” Adam said, nodding his head. “That’s how we met Karza, actually. We were-,”

“Adam,” Dunes said, raising his brows. 

“What? I can’t even talk about a friend of mine?”

“Karza is your friend?”

“No, Prince Morkarai.”

Tawid furrowed his brows, his eyes darting to Dunes, who let out a soft sigh, nodding his head lightly. 

“It is best not to speak of royal matters to others, and when you say it, it does not sound true, and more like a boast used to sell weapons.”

“Yes, but it’s true!”

“We know it is true, but to others, it is harder to believe.”

“Yeah, but it is more believable than, you know,” Adam said, raising his brows.

“It is, but that is just because those things are even more unbelievable.”

“Anyway,” Adam said, smiling innocently towards the half dragon. “Are you by any chance related to the Talias?”

“No, I am, I was informed, related to the Snows, though I have never met them, nor my human parent, who I presume is dead now, since I am sixty.”

“Oh,” Adam replied, slowly nodding his head. “Sorry to hear that.”

Dunes was certain Adam had no idea how impressive it was to be related to the Snows, even if his children were technically related to the Talias by blood. 

“I was blessed enough to be brought to the Shen by Lady Laffscale, who then sent me here to be raised and now, I am one of the part owners of the greatest place to work within the capital.”

“Laffscale,” Adam said, recalling the name. “That’s the dragon who… no, no, give me a second, I know who it is. It’s not Lord Veisswing, who is the Slumber Claw’s adopted son, who is the brother of the Princess of the Red Dessert, but also Lord Keswing. Then there’s Queen Silvari, Entalia, the Wraiths, too, then the Burgs, and then there’s Vandra, Forgryn, Karza…”

Tawid’s eyes fell to Dunes, who shrugged his shoulders. 

“Is Laffscale the Ancient Dragon that, uh, was not allied but then was allied to Aswadasad?”

“No, Lady Laffscale is the dragon who is near Manamgabba, the forest people, who were once part of Aswadasad and are now in Aswabayad,” Dunes informed. 

“Oh!” Adam leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes, annoyed he had missed the obvious one. “Yes, yes, I remember now. Wow, I’ve only heard good things about her. You think we should give her a magical weapon as a gift?”

“We could,” Dunes said. 

Tawid understood quickly Adam was one of those. 

“Sorry, uh, right, we’re here to see if you’d like to do business with us, to sell us the uthur we would like to buy, and if you want to procure some magical weapons, either for yourself, the elite of your guards, or just all your guards, depending on the nature of the magical weapons.” Adam beamed brightly towards the owner of one of the wealthiest businesses in all the land. 

Tawid could feel it too, a hint of arrogance within the half elf’s smile. The pair, half bloods, each who were good at fighting, and each part owners of great businesses. The half elf sat tall, for though his business perhaps held less land, freedom, heritage, wealth, and was also worse in other metrics, he still dealt with magical arms, and what with the world was it was, the Reavers causing Chaos. He did not need to bow his head towards those who dealt in scents, for he dealt in security. 

‘Why is he acting so hostile?’ Dunes thought, glancing between the half dragon and the half elf. 

“Why are you behaving so hostile?” Tawid asked. 

Adam smiled wider, letting out a gentle scoff, reaching down to sip his tea once more. He leaned back within his chair and closed his eyes, letting out a soft sigh. “You know, we had another with us. She’s… retired now, but she held the title of Executive. Executive Jaygak, the grandniece of Flame Brand, who you may be familiar with.”

“Yes,” Tawid admitted, the recognition glowing within his eyes. 

“At one point in time, the Duchess of East Port thought she could treat our Executive Jaygak in a particular matter. Jaygak who came from the most troubled family within the Iyr, whose name had long faded from history, did not allow the Duchess to treat her in such a way, to the point, surrounded as she was by the Duchess’ knights, stood tall and proud. Now, I’m no Iyrman. I’m a Brother of Death. I’m the High Alchemist of the United Kingdom, an Executive. The most power I hold is that my grandfather is the Mad Dog, my grandmother, Flame Brand, my granduncle is Butcher Marmak, my wife is a Ray of Life’s Rose, and perhaps my greatest strength is that I have a daughter who is more vicious than anyone I have mentioned so far.”

Dunes’ nostrils flared, doing his best not to crack a smile while Adam was acting the fool. 

“Now, if you were the Shen, the Amira, or the Faro of a region, I would be more than happy to speak politely. I tried for King Merryweather, but we have our own issues. I don’t do the same for Grand Commanders or the various Fariqi across the land. Save, of course, the Mustashalur of the Black Lions, who was so polite to me.” Adam smiled innocently. 

“So you believe, because we are not such regal figures, you consider yourself equal?”

“If you knew whose head I cut off with that sword, you would understand why I wouldn’t consider myself equal, but to be polite, I shall say yes.”

Dunes hid his head, letting out a long sigh. 

Charisma Save

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Adam can't be vegan with all this beef.