by Pirateaba
“That will be—”
“Hold on, you can combine that with my next order.”
“Next order?”
“I want you to do some research! I think you can make this one thing I want right away—it’s called a ‘match’, and I need you to make it for me. Ryoka says it’s simple, but this other thing is really hard. It’s called ‘penicillin’, right, and—”
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
Octavia glared at Erin.
“I said no. I’m not doing any more research for you. You’re trouble. Every time I do something for you, I end up with a melted cauldron, or a hole in my shop, or a hole in my wall. I’m not helping you.”
“What? But—I can pay.”
“Too bad. It’s not worth the cost.”
“I think it is. Here—”
Erin reached for her money pouch, but Octavia snapped at her.
“Erin, no. I have several orders I need to fill, not to mention a gaping hole in the front of my shop! I won’t just let you—”
She broke off as Erin produced a fistful of coins. She slapped them on the table. They were heavy, thick coins. All gold.
Octavia swallowed. Hard. But she held her ground, though the luster of the softly glowing gold had fixed her eyes on them.
“A few gold coins won’t—”
Erin reached into her pouch and pulled more out. Octavia’s mouth stopped working for a few seconds.
“Look, I have a job to do and—”
Erin kept placing gold coins on the counter. She had to pile them up; she was counting. It wasn’t like she was made of money, but she had to make this right for Octavia.
In the end, thirty six gold coins sat in neat stacks of six in front of Octavia. The [Alchemist] gaped at them, and then looked up at Erin.
“That’s for your door, and hiring you. You can sell what I’m going to have you make, but I want to hire you. Is that okay?”
Octavia stared at the coins, and then looked at Erin. She glanced over Erin’s shoulder at the hole in her wall, and went back to the coins. Coins, Erin, broken wall. And then she threw her arms wide.
“Always a pleasure, always a pleasure to help my best customer! Hole in the wall? What hole? I was thinking I needed a new front for the shop anyways!”
Erin smiled. She looked Octavia in the eye.
“I’m really sorry, Octavia. I haven’t been a good friend to you.”
Octavia paused, and grew a bit more genuine as she raked the gold coins into a drawer.
“Well, it’s not like it wasn’t for a good cause. And the publicity! I suppose I can let it go. Especially if you’re paying me like this. Actually, for this rate, knock another wall down whenever you want! Now, what’s this about some experimentation?”
Erin smiled. She opened her mouth and then stared hard at Octavia. The [Alchemist] paused.
“What?”
“You haven’t eaten yet! Don’t pretend! I can tell when you haven’t—Lyonette!”
Erin opened the door to her inn and yelled into it.
“Get me some leftovers for Octavia, stat!”
Five minutes later, Octavia was eating from a plate as if she hadn’t eaten all week while Erin explained what she wanted.
“So what I want is a match stick, see? The thing you strike and the match box. Now, Ryoka says that the thing to make the side of the box is phosphorus. Um, red phosphorus.”
“What’s that?”
“I have no idea. It’s red, and uh, a rock, I think. It’s good for…igniting things?”
Erin raised her hands as Octavia’s face clearly showed what she thought of Erin’s description.
“I’m sorry! I don’t know! Ryoka could tell you more—ask her if you need details! But the match head is simple. It’s sulfur and other stuff. It just…lights up when you rub it on something. Like this.”
Octavia watched with interest as Erin demonstrated. She already had a sketch of the matches and matchbox, and she was tapping her fingers thoughtfully as she turned to look around her shop. At last she nodded.
“I can do some research and see what might work like this ‘phosphorus’. But look, Erin. Anyone can make fire with a flint and steel. Or a spell. And fire starters do exist. Ever seen a blaze bomb? Nasty. It’s made with the scales of a Ignition Salamander and Corusdeer horns you see, and when it explodes it—”
“I know it’s possible. But I bet it’s not cheap, right?”
“No…”
“This would be cheap. Really cheap. And easy! Okay, maybe people can use magic, but how many people use magic? And flint and steel is a pain to carry. Matches are useful—and sort of fun! I mean, I liked matches when I was a kid. Just try it, okay?”
“You’re paying me.”
Octavia shrugged and reached for her cup. Erin smiled.
“Now, the second thing I need is for you to experiment with mold.”
“Okay. Which kind?”
Erin paused. Octavia stared at her expectantly.
“I’ve got several growing in the back if you want any one particular kind.”
“Of course you do. Well, this one’s green and sort of blueish, and it grows on oranges and bread…”
“How much do you want? I don’t grow that, but I think I’ve got a loaf of bread in one of my cupboards that probably has that kind of mold.”
“Just…wait a second, okay? I need something specific. You see, I need penicillin, which is a special type of mold. It works like this…”
Octavia frowned as she listened to Erin’s description. When Erin was done, Octavia was willing to admit that penicillin might be very useful, but she had no idea how to figure out which mold would work like that.
“I guess I can experiment on myself? No? Well, perhaps a test subject. I guess I can get a pig or sheep or something and…no? Aw, come on. How about a rat? Aw, Erin—okay, I’ll do all I can. But I still have to run my shop. And brew potions. Honestly, the brewing is easier than the shop keeping—I need to stay behind the counter at all hours. But that’s going to cut into the amount of time I can keep researching, just so you know.”
Erin blinked at Octavia and a little candle lit up in her head.
“I can help with that. Come to the inn tonight for dinner and we can talk details.”
Octavia eyed Erin and then raised a hand.
“No way. Sorry, Erin, but no. Honestly, I appreciate the thought, but you’re no expert saleswoman, and I can’t just turn my merchandise over—wait, where are you going? I didn’t finish! I’ll let you try to sell my stuff if you’re willing to give me a cut of—”
Erin waved at Octavia as she exited the shop. The [Alchemist] frowned as the door—or rather, hinged piece of plywood—swung almost shut. She went over to it and pushed it closed, muttering under her breath.
“Gotta improve the pitch, Octavia. You have to get them hooked faster. Fifty percent? Hah! Eighty percent cut, and then you start laying on the little extras. Market value purchase plus city taxation, labor costs, regional import fees, cauldron taxes…”
—-
A minute after Erin had left Octavia’s shop she stopped and slapped a hand to her forehead. A passing horse and rider looked at her weirdly, but that was alright.
“Healing potion slimes! That’s right!”
Erin snapped her fingers and fished around for the piece of parchment to write that down. Then she went on her way.
There wasn’t enough time in the day for everything she needed to do. From Octavia’s, Erin made a beeline to the Frenzied Hare in Celum. She was a bit leery of inviting Agnes to the Christmas party, but happily the woman was out.
Unhappily, everyone was out of the Frenzied Hare. The doors were locked, and Erin had left her key to the building back in her inn. When she asked why it was closed, she learned that Miss Agnes had taken a holiday with her sick husband. That essentially meant spending all the coin Erin had helped her earn by staying at someone else’s inn and eating lavish food.
Erin just shook her head when she heard that and asked where she could find Wesle, Jasi, and the other actors. She was pointed to a building that had been bought out by the troupe of [Actors]—a freshly painted sign advertised nightly performances.
“Presents?”
Jasi blinked at Erin as she turned from their rehearsal of My Fair [Lady] to talk. Grev, hovering backstage with water and the scripts for the actors, looked up sharply.
“That’s right!”
Erin smiled at the younger Drake as she explained about Christmas for the umpteenth time. By the time she was done, Grev was a new convert to the dream of getting presents for free, and Jasi and some of the other [Actors] including Wesle were happy enough to join in Erin’s present-giving program.
“So you’ll tell us who we’re getting presents for, right? Can you tell us now? If it’s in two days, I’d like to get started shopping right away.”
“Uh—I’ll have a list by tonight!”
Erin promised the troupe as she tried to figure out how best to do that. She’d probably need a list. Or a diagram. She should have bought more parchment and ink!
Jasi caught Erin as the girl was getting ready to get back to her inn—this time to get ready for dinner.
“If you’re making everyone give gifts for each other in secret, do you mind if I ask that you let me buy a gift for Grev?”
“Of course!”
Erin smiled at Jasi.
“You’ve gotta get one for him, and I’ll make him get one for you! Anyone else you want to put on the list? Maybe Wesle?”
“Maybe.”
Jasi blushed and fiddled with her claws as she looked the other way. Erin had a thought.
“Or maybe Olesm! He’s a Drake, like you! Not that it matters, but it could be a good way to introduce yourself to him. I know you don’t know many Drakes since you live in Celum…”
“Maybe not, Erin. I mean, I don’t know other Drakes. I wouldn’t know what to buy. But maybe instead of Wesle, you could put down that Pisces guy? He’s handsome.”
Jasi smiled. The smile faltered as Erin gave her a look flatter than paper. Without a word Erin backed towards the door and then shut it. Then she opened it again to smile.
“I’ll do my best!”
She paused.
“But seriously, no. Pisces? No.”
She shut the door again.
—-
That night, the Wandering Inn saw a record-breaking number of guests. Again. Word had spread about the game of Go, and Erin had more than a few visitors who came just to sit at the tables and play with the now vaguely-round stones.
There was a lot of competition, and Erin was touched to see the Antinium playing against Drakes and Gnolls with scarcely a second glance. Pawn and Belgrade were among the better players in the room, and that was including the mages and Olesm. Pisces seemed to have a knack for the game, but those who practiced strategy for a living still had an advantage over everyone else in the room.
Except for Erin. She was delighted beyond belief to have actually lost a game—an event which made Olesm race outside and dance about the inn for ten minutes straight—but she was still a better player than everyone else by sheer virtue of practice. But she was happy. Happy, though she was having trouble standing up. Her legs were aching and her arms hurt from hauling a bunch of frozen meat back to her inn.
Klbkch didn’t come that night, but Relc did. He slipped into the inn, hesitating a bit when he saw Erin. But she pretended not to see him at first, and instead helped Belgrade as he played a very close game against Olesm.
“Ooh, an apple!”
Relc spotted a plate with apple slices sitting on a table. After a surreptitious look around, he happily crunched down the slices, still as fresh and as crisp as when they’d been cut, which was yesterday.
Erin stared at Relc, and then smiled.
“Everything going well?”
“Hm?”
He jumped guiltily and then turned to her.
“Oh. Hey Erin.”
“Hey, Relc.”
They stood in silence for a few seconds. Then Erin gestured to the table.
“Want some food? Today’s dish is beef broth, mashed potatoes, roast beef, gravy, mushroom-and-meat skewers, boiled greens—those tube greens, you know—and honey-drizzled steamed carrots. What would you like?”
Relc gave Erin a pleading look.
“Can I have…everything?”
She smiled. Some things didn’t change. In this at least, she was glad.
“Sure. Coming right up!”
When he was eating happily, Erin sat with Relc and—talked. Just for a little bit.
“So you’ve really been good?”
He paused, licking the spoonful of potatoes with a long tongue.
“Can’t complain. That damn dungeon’s spitting out monsters now and then, but Captain Z’s got us guarding in shifts and we’ve built some fortifications. Really, the most annoying part is all the adventurers coming in and out.”
“Why, are they rude to you?”
“Yeah! They look down their noses on the way in, and on the way out they run to us with their tails tucked between their legs, begging us to stop the icky monsters.”
Relc laughed and Erin smiled.
“Sounds like a lot of work. I’m just glad you’re okay.”
“Well…you know me. I’m tough!”
Relc thumped his chest and looked sideways at Erin.
“You got rid of that skeleton thing, right?”
“Yeah. I had to.”
“Good. I mean, it was going to go bad. You can’t trust the undead.”
“I guess not.”
“And the uh, Goblins are gone. I didn’t do anything!”
“I know.”
Silence. For once, Erin didn’t have much to say. Relc was a friend. He had been a friend. But after a while, she stood up.
“If you want anything else, just yell. Lyonette and I can handle it.”
“Sure.”
Relc turned awkwardly to his food. Then he looked at Erin.
“That Gnoll kid you’ve got there—I heard some of the guys talking in the barracks about her. White fur’s bad, right?”
Erin hesitated.
“I think so. To Gnolls.”
“Yeah. But they’re stupid. It’s good that you took her in. Real good.”
Relc and Erin paused, full of words unspoken. Then Erin nodded and walked away. Someone was calling her name.
She chanced upon the Horns of Hammerad after she’d helped serve more alcohol. They were sitting at their own table, talking amongst themselves. The topic happened to be the items Ryoka had analyzed.
“We couldn’t get a reply from her, but what she said sounded good. Really good.”
Ceria told Erin as she slid into a seat. The half-Elf sounded like she was half-trying to convince herself. Yvlon nodded, as did Ksmvr, but Pisces looked less sanguine. Ceria began listing off the items, keeping her voice low as she whispered to Erin.
“A magical sword with the weight enchantment—a good one. That’s powerful. A buckler with a spelled defense? That’s Gold-rank gear right there, for Yvlon probably. And that dagger? Valuable. Pisces, you or I could use it, or Ksmvr could wield it in his off-hand…”
“And that’s all.”
Pisces took a deep draft from his tankard.
“That’s all, Springwalker. We don’t know more, so we don’t know if that’s it, or if Ryoka found something truly of worth.”
“She didn’t tell you anything else?”
Yvlon shook her head.
“She promised us that there’s more, but she was only willing to list those three weapons in case someone was reading our messages. I’d worry someone might try to steal the artifacts, but if she’s travelling in Magnolia Reinhart’s coach…”
“It might be that she was trying to spare our feelings.”
Pisces slumped in his chair. He seemed morose. Ceria shook her head.
�
�I don’t believe that.”
“Why not? Those are all of the weapons we recovered. Save for the sword blade—broken. What else could be of worth?”
“Plenty. There was that bag of holding—and the enchantments on the weapons are powerful.”
“I suppose they are.”
Pisces sighed as Ceria began listing the things that might be hidden inside the bag of holding they’d found, or the adventurer’s pack. Yvlon listened, occasionally adding a suggestion, and Ksmvr sat, looking from Pisces to Ceria.
The Horns of Hammerad were more nervous than happy about the items Ryoka had identified. Erin wondered if there really were more artifacts than the three weapons. It didn’t matter. Either way, her goal was to raise their spirits, so Erin interrupted Ceria and began explaining Christmasian theory. Again.
“Presents? I guess we could go out shopping. Only…”
“I’ll lend you some money. You can pay me back. I know you’re good for it.”
“Some adventuring group we are.”
Yvlon shook her head, but she was smiling at the thought of Christmas.
“You know, we did something similar. It wasn’t something as large as a present, but we’d get sweets during the winter solstice. I used to look forwards to that every year.”
“Sweets is a good present! Uh, especially since I didn’t make the list yet.”
Erin winced as she realized she’d have to run around and tell everyone who their secret two people were tomorrow. She left the Horns of Hammerad as she spotted someone else in the crowd.
“Selys! Selys!”
“Erin! Where have you been? I haven’t seen you for ages!”
The two laughed and sat down at another table. Selys was just about to tell Erin all about her troubles managing the guild with so many new adventurers when Erin remembered her magical soups and hurried into the kitchen to get them. She called over Halrac and some of the other adventurers as she explained how they worked.
“What do you think? Can I interest you in any of it?”
Ulrien, Halrac, Seborn, and Selys all stared dubiously down into the jar of blue, thick soup Erin had opened. It did not look appetizing, but after a second Halrac picked up the jar. He sniffed it once, and then gulped a mouthful down. Selys shuddered. Halrac’s face didn’t change as he handed it to Ulrien.
