Chapter 72. Drow trading

"That would be most generous." Ventress thanked and did an amazing job of stopping her teeth from chattering. "You heard the woman! Get some firewood ladies!"

The Drow all scattered heading for the treeline. Any that didn't move fast enough had Ventress on their ass with some 'encouragement' in the form of a stick.

In her defense the movement was probably what was going to keep them all warm until the fire was ready.

Tarakona even joined in by shaving a few large branches off some different trees to join. It did not escape my notice however that she primarily picked the same tree Voras had made her second nest on.

Zeldi took the opportunity to go get her milk as they were easy to find and also got one of Tarakona's eggs. We'd decided previously that if we could cook one of her eggs up into multiple dishes we could sell it for more. We would probably be giving Ventress a whole one as well just as thanks for their hospitality and the dress but we were still going to try and get as much as possible. No sense sending anything of value they have back if we could find a use for it.

I gathered a few stones from around the stream using my inventory for the big ones. My father had always told we to ring a fireplace with stones to stop it from spreading. Something I definitely didn't want to happen as I doubt I'd ever be able to afford rebuying the house.

Voras had also yet to make an appearance, not surprising after all that had happened but I do hope she comes out of her shell a bit more with time.

Once everything was set up one of the Drow brought out their equivalent of a flint and steel, something I was thankful for as I had been eyeing some of the firestarter kits in my store and they weren't cheap.

Collectively the Drow all let out sighs when the fire took hold and even Ventress herself tried to get as close to the flames as she could.

At this time however the sun was dipping towards the horizon. Not enough to be a problem but if Ventress did want to spend the night I was going to have to change the trespassing conditions.

What I was surprised about however was that Tarakona put herself behind the house once the fire was lit. It was something I should have known in advance that she would be against fire but I hadn't thought about it in time. Noticing me looking at her my Dragon put any worries to rest.

[Your land will stop me from being harmed so worry not Master. I just don't like the warmth as you do. I can still watch from here and in the unlikely event that they try something stupid that small spark will not stay lit as I attack.]

And that was another thing sorted out. Security.

I think I have some of the best there. What kind of trader would try swindle someone a bloody Dragon looking over their shoulder?

After giving the Drow a few minutes to warm up Zeldi brought out some of her milk and a plate of what looked like scrambled eggs still warmed from the stove.

"Now as discussed here is proof we have Mana regeneration." My mare called out pulling out a fork that she put a small amount of the eggs on. She then presented it to Ventress who took and ate it.

Collectively we all held out breaths. I didn't know why I did as I knew what Tarakona's eggs did but still.

"Okay that's just... How in the Matriarchs left tit do you have eggs that give Mana regeneration?" Ventress tried to say calmly but broke at the end. "These are absolutely amazing. We could be having a meeting with another Matriarch and the simple meal being served as an appetizer could be fueling our own Matriarch in case something happens."

"All livestock on Clovek's farm produce resources that are incredibly beneficial. You know about my milk after all." Zeldi replied with a giggle.

"So what, you suddenly started to lay eggs now?" Ventress asked returning the fork.

"My resource is milk." Zeldi smiled then pointed to Tarakona. "But I'm not the only Producer that lives here."

"Oh." Was all Ventress could say as all eyes turned to the Dragon.

[Glad you like my eggs. Now I do hope you have something of equal value to trade for them.]

"Dragon eggs." Ventress whispered to no one before shaking herself out of the surprise. "Right. Ladies prepare our wears!"

The Drow all broke off from the fire with some reluctance and headed for the cart. With the chill in the air they moved rather quickly to get everything set up so that they could return to the warmth.

A thick blanket was set on the ground with the four heavier items they brought placed on each corner and a lot of smaller things placed in-between.

I stepped to the side so that I could see everything but not so I was in the way. Zeldi had previously traded with them so she was going to take the lead. This was also because I didn't quite know what everything was worth and I hoped Zeldi did.

That being said there were already some things I liked the look of already.

One of them was a crossbow.

Not fancy but I've missed not having a shotgun for pests on the farm.

"This is everything we thought you might be interested in. Unfortunately we didn't get the opportunity to ask before..." Ventress winced. "Well you know. We are still looking for the Jumping rainbow. Hopefully we can give you her head as a gift."

"No need. The jumping rainbow or Voras has been delt with." Zeldi waved her hand dismissively. "So what do you have for us?"

Ventress briefly looked at a loss before regaining her footing. "Right well the first things were protection."

Bringing us around to the top leftmost corner I realized they'd specifically put different items together with one of the Drow standing close to each section.

"This is my specialty as I don't have any natural magic. I can however still use magical weapons. I will admit these are of the lower end of what my Mother actually has but it is a small selection to make sure the promise you have said is correct." Ventress quickly brought her arms up. "Not that we think you were lying but..."

"No need to be apologetic Ventress." I said. "We all heard that your mother only gave you access to the first vault or whatever. If anything we all want you to have access to the more fun stuff so let's make this profitable for the both of us."

That caused a smile from the Drow leader but I also caught Zeldi's eye. Lower end items ment cheaper but also that we could get a lot better later.

"Then we have a selection of blades each enhanced with a small durability enhancement." Ventress started pointing at daggers, sword's and what looked like a fencing thing that I I had no idea how to use.

"I never got a chance to see if you had any skills with a blade?" Ventress directed the question at me as Zeldi started to browse.

"Absolutely none at all." I replied.

Zeldi discarded most of them after a quick look much to the disappointment of the Drow woman but she did stop at a axe.

It was definitely a war axe and not something a lumberjack would use as the skull behind the blade and the spike were horrible for felling a tree. That being said if it had a durability enhancement we could use it as one. I still had many things I wanted to build so an axe would be great.

Zeldi didn't even need to look back at me for a decision and picked it up along with three smaller ones designed for throwing. "Do you have a second blanket we can put everything we want to buy on? I don't want to remove everything from this one as we might come back to them."

Before a reply could be formed Mavalk brought over a few sleeping mats to make a makeshift place. Zeldi happily but the axes down on it as I inspected the other blades.

A few of the daggers I could use as stand ins for farm equipment but I'd probably have better luck in town so actually picking them up here seemed pointless. As for actually using them to defend the farm? Tarakona and Voras were both going to be a hell of a lot more effective that a stabbing stick with their natural advantages and pursuading them to let me help was probably not going to go well.

That reminds me of my spear, where the hell had that gone?

With the axes now in the 'things we want pile' Zeldi moved on to the next corner of the blanket. This one was more ranged weapons and was where the crossbow is previously seen was.

"Overa." The Drow in front of it said with a bow before pointing at her selection. "I specialize in ranged weaponry so if you have any questions about what you see please ask, though these are not tremendously impressive each one has the same durability enhancement as the melee ones."

This time it was obvious Zeldi was at a loss. She had no idea what she was looking for and no use for a lot of them. Bless her none violent soul.

"The crossbow." I said coming up beside her. "And the bolts for it."

"A good weapon." Overa complemented. "But one that requires a bit of strength to reload between shots."

I flexed. I couldn't help it. "No problem there."

Zeldi tried to contain a giggle while she picked up the crossbow and the ten bolts. Not a lot but it's a start.

Like the melee weapons there were a few more that I would like to try like the bows but the little archery I'd done at home spoke of how hard they were to use for someone of no skill. Thus they were left.

There was also a few more throwing things  but we left them for now. Every reason I could come up with for wanting them was offset by both Voras and Tarakona.

[Master. Voras is in the house. She is waiting for you as she doesn't want to cause a fuss.]

Ah. Right.

I could have said to wait till we were done but if there was something she could use in this line up I'd hate to miss the opportunity...

Guess it's time for Ventress to meet the Jumping rainbow.