Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 37: 37. Dragon Hunters

Read chapter 37 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

37. Dragon Hunters I am Ren Drakemore, age 8, the 2nd Prince of the Kingdom of Arcadia, and I am building my power and influence so that one day I may become King of this land. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/94d9f12d-768f-4ec3-a12d-51b487be4617 Let me get this straight,” Lord Griswald sighs, rubbing his temples with his thumb and forefinger. “You just happened to run into this kobold on the road to Ashford.” He gestures across the dining table toward Jade, who’s perched atop two pillows on her chair to boost her high enough to see over the table. The way the chair dwarfs her, she almost resembles an oversized version of the stuffed animals often given to children—if such toys were ever made in the shape of kobolds. I wouldn’t know; the cuddliest thing Willow ever gave me was that giant spider. “Yes,” I lie confidently. Lady Willow sits to my left and Jade to my right. The three of us are seated at the end of Griswald’s grand dining table, with Griswald himself at the head. Silfy and Diana sit across from us, both looking just as unbelieving as their master sounds. “And this kobold just so happens to speak Common?” Griswald adds, removing his hand from his temples and leveling a skeptical look at Jade, who cowers slightly under his gaze. “Correct.” “Where did you learn Common, little one?” Silfy asks, her voice weak. She looks pale—tired, even more so than usual. Jade flinches, clearly bothered more by the term little one than Griswald’s stare. She shoots Silfy a sharp glare, and her tail swishes rapidly from side to side, before answering curtly, “My Queen, the great dragon Tiamat, required me to study Common.” “And she brought you to this dragon?” Griswald asks, his disbelief mounting. “Right.” “And this dragon has been secretly living in a cave within my domain?” “We were here first! Hundreds of years before you!” Jade corrects excitedly. It's clear, however, that she is merely trying to be helpful, rather than trying to start an ownership dispute. Griswald mouths the words silently. “For hundreds of years,” he repeats, incredulous. “And you managed to… convince this dragon to sell mithril to us exclusively ?” “That’s right,” I say, beaming. Griswald may be shocked, but I doubt he’ll be upset. He slumps forward, resting his head in one hand, elbow propped on the table as he tries to process the absurdity of it all. “And… the kobold—” “Her name is Jade,” I interrupt calmly. Griswald sighs. “My apologies, Jade. How much are you asking for a pound of mithril?” Jade clears her throat and sits up straighter, clearly reciting a well-practiced demand. “We require twenty silver coins for each one-pound ingot of refined mithril.” She raises three fingers on one hand and two on the other for a total of five, emphasizing the number. “However, we only accept payment in gold coins, so purchases must be made in sets of five ingots.” Griswald blinks at her, gears clearly turning in his head. After a pause, he turns to Diana. “Diana, is that a good deal?” “Yes,” she replies flatly, though it is clear she is holding something back. She scribbles a note in her ledger, then slides it across the table to him. Griswald reads the note then mutters, “Quite good… apparently…” He continues to consider the paper for a few more moments, rubbing his fingers through his beard, before looking back up. “Too good to be true usually means there’s a catch. What’s yours?” he asks bluntly. “There are a few requirements behind the favorable price,” I admit. “But I’m confident you’ll find them agreeable.” Griswald shakes his head, muttering. “Boy, I’m still struggling to believe any of this—that you met a dragon and not only lived , but somehow convinced it to command its tribe of kobolds to sell us refined mithril… at an insanely favorable price.” He tosses the ledger back onto the table and leans back in his chair with a sigh. “But sure—lay it on me, boy.” “Tiamat wants your protection. She does not want any humans approaching her c