The dragon looks at the gold and utters a quick spell. The coins levitate for a second before settling down. He hands him 40 scales.
You were short for the full 50.
The dragon thinks for a moment, before handing him 10 more.
The witch will come back to buy more scales of mine. Ill just have her cover the expense. And I have a whole cave full of the damn things. Need to make room.
After a while Emily rushes into her tower, and heads back to the dragon, with several large heaps of gold. She comes back with about 300 scales. She closes the portal after everyone is back, and the power goes back to the giant cocoons. She smiles quite proudly.
These scales will be a great bonus to my work. You all can go and spend time with your crew and family. I have some very important work to do.