Chapter 56

Chapter 56<~> Chapter 56

I sat back up on the couch when I heard Jacob and Mary come back to the room. Mary brought two simple hooded robes and handed them off to the girls while Jacob approached me with a silver tray. On the tray was a bag of coins and a gold medallion next to it.

"As agreed, 50 gold pieces and a gold slave token. If you would return the silver slave token I left with you on your previous visit we can complete the transaction."

Without a word I pulled out the silver medallion I had from our last visit and handed it to Jacob. The bag of gold coins was heavy and I tucked the bag away into my pack for now. I should probably give Mimi some of them to hold on to. Both in case I lose my pack and to give Mimi a backup to rely on if she is about to run out of magic.

I also took the golden slave token. On its face were weigh scales with embossed edges featuring plant motifs. The only hint about the trade this medal was related to, was the hint of chains in the background of the scales. I put the token away with my other things and stood up.

"It seems this completes our business."

Jacob nods. "It does indeed. My business with you has been rather fruitful. It is clear that my profession is a business that is not to your tastes but if you come across another unique individual I would be happy to trade with you again. Please come to me personally if you have any further business with the guild." He nodded at me and shook my hand.

I looked over, Bella was standing next to the two twins wearing their hooded robes. They both looked uncomfortable but I didn't know if it was because they were basically naked under their robes or because of our new relationship. Worried about my mood now that I had even more power over them.

"Are you three ready to go?" I asked.

They all nodded to me.

We left the building. All four of us were silent, though likely for different reasons. Ameliana's shop was near the Adventurer's guild, it would be good to stop by there after I get the girls properly dressed and outfitted. Then we'll have to find a weapon shop to replace Torien's bow and daggers. Luckily Morrigan could take the Staff of Manaflow we had found in the dungeon. I was already planning on giving it to her once everything was sorted out anyway.

The twins walked close behind me, their robes cinched tightly closed. These outfits didn't hide the shape of their bodies as much as their previous clothes did, their breasts weren't as large as mine or Bella's but they looked a lot bigger than when they were hidden under their previous outfits. I'm not sure if that was by choice or not though.

I went through my notifications while I had the time.

[Haggling has increased from level 1 to level 15]

[Novice merchant has increased from level 1 to level 7]

[Learned Merchant Skill Calculations]

*[Calculations - Common Merchant Ability]

You're on the road to making money. Now you're able to better keep track of the amount of money you've made! Calculations lets merchants do arithmetic accurately in their head. The speed of calculations scales with merchant level.

I got a lot of levels in both Merchant and Haggling, I guess that's further proof that I did pretty well in those negotiations. Taking those two as slaves just ate away a huge chunk of my Karma though. I was now down to 700 bringing my Luck stat all the way down to 90, and my Charisma down to 80 when using Karmic Seduction. I got 6 levels but only one merchant ability. Though I'm sure I would have killed for an ability like this in college. At least I think I would have. It's all still very fuzzy. Maybe there are less merchant skills because it's easier to level them up outside of combat, maybe there are just fewer merchant skills, or maybe I was just unlucky for once. The system seems rather random sometimes, I haven't really been able to discern a pattern. I sighed and kept walking.

It had been a long fifteen minutes by the time we arrived at Ameliana's shop. It seemed like everyone's emotions were still running high but I wanted them to be in proper clothes sooner rather than later. Allowing them to walk barefoot through the city naked under their robes bothered me, I suspect more than it bothered the two of them even.

Unexpectedly Ameliana was awake this time, not that she looked any less bored than before. With a snap the front of her chair caught the ground and she jumped up. "Lilith, Bella! A pleasure to see you two again! Oh, and you brought friends this time? Hopefully these ones are dressed better than Bella was here last time. Let's see!" Without waiting for a response she pulled open Morrigan's robes revealing, nothing underneath.

"Hey!" Torien forcibly closed Morrigan's robes, only for her own to fall open as well.

I just put a hand on my face and groaned.

"Lilith, you didn't tell us your seamstress of choice was a Sprite! A little bit of warning would have been nice!"

I looked over at Ameliana. "Sprite? I thought she was an elf."

"Hey! I am NOT an ELF! You're lucky I like you or I would throw you out on your ass." Ameliana suddenly jumped up with a fervor I hadn't seen in her before.

"Woah woah, I'm sorry! I've never met either before a few weeks ago."

"That's what you get for pulling my sister's robes open!" Torien exclaimed.

"I... don't know."

Bella rubbed her hand against my back. "We talked about this already but don't let me hold you back. If you like her, I don't mind. If she's open to it we can even share."

I smirked at her. "It almost sounds like you want me to go after her, just so you don't have to do it yourself."

She turned away from me but her cute deer ears gave away her blush.

I patted her back in turn. "We'll see. I think we'll need to clear some things up and share some of our secrets first before we start thinking about that."

"Yeah, that's true," she replied.

Ameliana came back up to me. "So, let me show you the patterns we have available and you can give me any alterations before I start."

"I would prefer it if you let them choose. As long as it will pass for servant's wear I have no other requirements. I want them to have whatever they feel is most appropriate for themselves."

She nodded. "That's not how it's normally done but I have no issue with that. Do you want them to match each other at least?"

I shook my head. "Leave it to them. If they want to match that's fine but I don't think it's necessary."

She clapped her hands. "Good! What's your budget? It would be good to keep in mind before we start."

"Hmm, what would be on the high end for something like this? I recall Bella's dress was only 1 gold with everything else included."

"Servant's wear demands a bit higher quality fabric, and with the swatches they chose their gear would likely cost somewhere between 4-6 gold for both. Upwards to 10 if we went particularly extravagant."

It was kind of only hitting me now just how much 100 gold was in addition to the two of them.

"That sounds fine, can we do a rush order on them too?"

She scratched the back of her head. "I'd really rather not to be honest. These clothes can be delicate work so I would prefer to take some time with them. Can I have at least a few days with them?"

"Sure, once you pick a style for the two of them give me a quote and I'll give you extra if you can have them done in three days. Would that be enough time?"

"That sounds fine to me." She nodded.

"Oh, and some underwear and work clothes for the twins too. I'll also need some replacement work clothes for myself. Actually now that I think about it, some casual clothes for the four of us would be nice as well. I'd rather no one go naked while waiting for their equipment to be ready. Do you know a good place for boots?"

"All of that sounds like no problem. I'll point you in the right direction for some quality boots when you're ready to leave."

I nodded in reply.

She went to one of the backrooms and returned with a binder mixed with parchment and paper. Rather than come to me with them, the girls were surprised when she zipped over to the two of them with the binders.

It was another bell before the four of us left Ameliana's shop, in total I gave her 10 gold in advance. The twins looked satisfied in their work clothes, they looked a lot more confident and relaxed now that they weren't walking through the streets in nothing but a robe. Plus I now know from experience that us girls need support, that alone probably made them more relaxed.

We also quickly picked up some new boots and cloaks from a nearby store before it was time to head to the adventurer's guild. Morrigan and Torien were now laughing and talking with Bella again which made me smile. Bella was probably right.

Maybe things would be okay after all.

End of Book 1