Saintess Summons Skeletons

Unlike the empty display outside, the ones inside the shop were already full and well lit with custom-fitted colored lightstones that made the items shine brightly under the clear glass.

It’s really a charm shop. I thought I would go to the Arege union but it turns out they already came to me!

Sofia nodded, “I have seen Aregian charms before but never heard of crests. Not in that context at least,” she said, taking a few steps into the shop.

“Oh, shall I show you some of the most popular crests, then?”

Seeing Sofia nod again, the wool-ball shopkeeper waddled toward one of the display cases. It only showed three items, as the name suggested, the were crests, like larger flat metallic badges with detailed ornaments that would not look out of place above a noble’s front door.

“They are much like our charms but slightly different,” the shopkeeper explained, “they are meant to supplement items, much like the catalysts on a mage’s staff. As they are generally quite wide and heavy, they are most commonly used on shields and breastplates, but smaller ones can be applied to just about any magical item.”

Sofia looked at the three crests with some curiosity, so the shopkeep continued his sales-pitch, “Those are from our latest elemental series, the fire, ice, and wind crest, fitted on a weapon they grant additional damage of their respective element while one a shield they provide resistance to it instead. Only fifteen thousand gold each!”

“Fifteen thousand?” Sofia repeated, “Not to be insulting, but the materials on those look a bit shabby, are you saying the craftsmanship is worth that much?”

“No offense taken, dear customer, truth be told, these are indeed low quality materials. This particular series of crests, despite being very popular, is something only a beginner craftsman would ever ‘waste’ days producing, as such the supply is always low, hence the price.”

“Wouldn’t many craftsmen jump on the occasion to make a lot of money if the demand is so high?” Sofia asked.

The woolen shopkeeper wobbled left and right, “The competent craftsmen are much too proud for that, and not short on some gold either. When a single one of their works can sell for a million gold why would they return to these meager profits? Truthfully only a handful of masters are that dedicated.”

“Like TLDR?” Sofia commented.

“Like the storage master indeed. Bless his soul for the endless good his rings do to help our Union’s logistics.”

“Interesting. Well. I was here to look at the charms originally, do you have anything good?”

“Of course! Again feel free to browse through the displays, or should you have any specific effect in mind or a budget I can suggest something directly.”

Sofia looked the shopkeeper up and down, rubbing her chin. “Well… What if I said… A budget of two old stones?”

The shopkeeper’s four bright orange eyes shone brighter through his thick wool for an instant, as he took a wavering step back.

“O- Old stones?! T- Two of them?! Are you– Did– The– Errr, uh, please wait here a moment! I will be right back!!!” the shopkeeper stammered before hurriedly running up the stairs behind the shop’s counter.

I suppose that’s actually a fair reaction.

There’s no chance this shop has anything that expensive, though, right? That would be just as shocking.

Sofia could use her mana senses to follow whatever the shopkeeper was doing upstairs, but stopped herself and started looking through the displays instead. She really wanted to try to spy on the people in her city a bit less from now on, especially after having unwillingly witnessed some very private acts that way earlier during her walk. It turned out that having extremely sharp mana senses was not always a desirable thing.

The shopkeeper came back down after about ten minutes, holding a small rolled-up scroll.

“Dear customer!” he called out, out of breath, “Here, these are all the premium items we have available. My apologies for the delay, we needed to confirm your identity before sharing these, I hope you forgive this indiscretion, city lord. Additionally, I must apologize again, but these are only available in person at the headquarters.”

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

“In the Arege Union? Well, I wanted to visit eventually anyway,” Sofia answered, picking up the scroll the shopkeeper held out on four wooly hands.

There were three item descriptions on the scroll, although they did not go into great detail.

[Power Loop Repeating Charm] -17 Stones-

Projectile skills trigger three weaker echoing salvos after the first one.

Refunds a small portion of all mana spent on active skills.

Craftsman: Master Hong Bo Du

[Bend Reality Infinite Bloom Charm] -22 Stones-

Magic touching you that you are immune to, magic that you negate and magic that you dispel is instead turned into a cloud of mana petals that linger in the air and heavily damage those hostile to you that touch them.

Passively creates mana petals around you at a slow rate.

Touching the petals allows you to absorb their mana instead.

Craftsman: Master Thousand Flowers

[DBGRQ Chaos Coral Charm] -25 Stones-

Gives your signature skill a random powerful effect that is different for each wearer.

Gain a 50% overall bonus to two random sub-stats that are different for each wearer.

Craftsman: Master Zurug-Et Thu’ul Nak

Oh, a name I recognize. This one was in the list of people who applied to be my holder, I think.

Sofia looked up from the scroll. “Say… Can I ask what ‘DBGRQ’ means?”

“E-Erm, it is… It is a shorthand for ‘Dragon Bait Get-Rich-Quick’...” the shopkeeper shamefully explained, “Master Thu’ul Nak’s creations have strange names, but rest assured that the effects are always the real deal. Additionally, all of these charms are made of top-grade materials and enchanted for self-repair and durability on top of the advertised effects.”

“Honestly, the effects by themselves are nice, but compared to the price, they seem a bit… Lackluster?”

“Dear customer, I assure you that these charms are all fairly priced and certified by the Union’s craftsmen’s guild itself. In fact four of the Chaos Coral charms were produced together just two years ago and three have already been sold at this exact price.”

“Is that so? Maybe it’s the lack of precise effects and numbers that is giving me that impression, then… If I go to your headquarters in person, is there a chance I can test the charms before buying?”

The wooly shopkeeper seemed to nod under all the wool, “But of course. Please do note that you would be under heavy supervision during said tests.”

“Of course, of course. I’ll try all three, then, I think they could all have potential, but it depends on how well they really perform. That being said, it will probably be a while before I can go.”

The shopkeeper demanded the scroll back with an extended hand, all the while he answered her, “Anytime is fine, although I cannot guarantee these will still not be sold by then.”

Sofia nodded along, chatting with the strange shopkeeper a bit longer and buying a fairly useless but cute crow-shaped charm to wear as an accessory before leaving the shop.

“What was I doing before I got sidetracked again… Oh right, the palace. I’ll quickly go collect the production at the bone factory and then…”

When the city’s residents woke up the next morning, they found a new huge palace of bones in the city-center casting long shadows over the ground.

Truthfully, it was still just an empty shell, looking halfway decent from the outside with tall towers and ornamental bone statues decorating the walls. Meanwhile, the inside was a mess of supportive columns and beams, with no floors, no walls, and no obvious delimitation for rooms.

The exterior walls still need work especially on the colors and texture… But I’ll worry about that later. For now… The obvious start is an entrance hall leading to the ‘throne’ room, right?

Not that I’ll use it often but I’ve already made a bone throne for everyone, would be a waste not to use them. It can be a ball room the rest of the time, I guess.

Behind the back wall of said throne room was space for a narrow garden, then the annex Sofia currently lived in, with direct access to the city’s central plaza, while the entrance to the palace was on the opposite side, at the end of the artisan’s alley, next to Erredis’ workshop.

Drawing markings directly on the bone slate foundation of the city beneath the palace, Sofia started planning all of the first floor’s rooms.

This space here, Skelem guard stations on both sides so the place is still defended when I’m not around. Then that entire left side, it’s behind Grandma’s workshop so it’s the safest. The living quarters for Beatrice and the other future employees can be there. Also the kitchen.

Sofia drew a few lines, then stopped.

Hmm… Probably need a bigger kitchen. Brighthall’s would be too big… Maybe the size of Skyreach’s holy see’s kitchen would be fine? It was just right for a few hundred paladins. I need at least that if I want to host nice banquets I bet. Then, individual bedrooms, closest, restrooms… I can’t forget anything…

She took a good hour to get to a design she thought was good enough for just one half of the first floor.

Then on the other side!

Sofia roughly split the space into two halves. Done.