Is it wrong to fleece adventurers at the item shop?

My lunch consists of a big bowl of hot and spicy broth with both vegetables and some finely cut meat atop some fresh made noodles. Not exactly what I was looking for, but I enjoy it anyway. It certainly is quite tasty and filling after all.

It is the dish of the day at The Prancing Pony. Apparently they always offer one of those. Anyone willing to settle for it can get an affordable, filling meal that way. Anyone who wants something else will have to dig deeper into their purse though.

I don't mind. Another two bronze coins for a delicious meal, even if it isn't exactly what I want? There is no way I would say no! Maybe I should try to figure out if they have a fixed rotation of dishes they make? That way I will be able to avoid anything that really isn't to my liking.

Finally I'm done and I push the empty bowl away. Barely a moment later the inn keeper, Krystina's father, comes over. He isn't in a hurry and has time to spare as the place isn't terribly packed around noon as most adventurers are out and about at this time.

“Can I get you anything else, darling?”

I blush a little at the familiar address and glance in the direction of the counter where the man's wife is pouring drinks for a pair of farmers, but either the woman hasn't heard or she doesn't mind.

I'm about to shake my head when I remember the other reason for coming here.

“I need to talk with Krystina about Quests. Is she around?”

He lets out a laugh and nods. There is some mirth in his voice as he answers.

“She is. She usually eats her lunch out back, so people don't bother her with guild business on her lunch break. How about I get you something to drink while you wait for her? Shouldn't be too long. A beer? Some wine? A cup of tea?”

A drink sounds good! There is something else bothering me though. A tingling sensation I can't quite place.

It isn't the first time I have felt this feeling either. As a matter of fact, I think I felt it just a little earlier as well, when those adventurers dropped by the shop. Finally realization hits me like a brick wall. He just used a skill on me! And one of those adventurers, probably the pregnant ranger, had as well!

Gods I feel so dumb right now! I almost want to scream. Instead I just groan and bury my head in my hands for a moment.

“Is everything alright?”

Krystina's father looks a little worried, as he inquires about my well being.

I raise my head again and sigh. I sigh once more, as I notice that some of the other patrons are looking my way as well now.

“I'm alright. Just feeling a little dumb.”

I dig another coin from my purse.

“I'll have some wine if its not too much of a bother.”

The inn keeper just smiles and nods as he accepts the coin.

“I'll be right back with your drink.”

True to his word he returns with a jug and a simple mug only moments later. Instead of heading off again after placing them on the table, he sits down opposite of me. He even pours me my first drink.

“You felt me use my skill? Didn't you?”

I take a sip to cover my insecurity. It is surprisingly sweet. This isn't like the wine I had in the past in Barter Town when going out with the others. It isn't sour and it isn't watered down either. My gaze shifts to the jug and widen slightly, as I realize that there is enough in there for two or three more mugs. I not quite sure I should drink this much. Especially not since I still have work to do later. Well, first things first.

I take another sip to wet my lips and clear my throat before answering.

“Yes. Its not that I never felt it before. I just never spent much thought on it at all.”

Now he laughs out loud and pats my shoulder. It takes him a moment to calm back down. His wife at the counter just rolls her eyes.

“Sorry about that outburst. I just never expected Iwona's granddaughter to be such an innocent sweety. Hah!”

He shakes his head in disbelief and wipes a tear from his eye.

“I guess I shouldn't be surprised though. It is pretty common for young people who just started their own shop to be a little surprised when they realize that it takes more than just crafting skills of one sort or another to run a proper business.”

He refills my mug I haven't even realized I emptied, as he finishes. Then he takes a sip directly from the jug himself.

“My skill is called [Incite appetite]. I picked it up when I quit adventuring and settled down here with my dear Maryla. It does just about what the name suggests.”

He pauses briefly to let the revelation sink in. Then he goes on.

“You probably have been on the receiving end of some skills in the last few days already without giving it much though, right? Something like [Haggling] maybe?”

I nod meekly.

He in turn just pats me on the shoulder.

“Don't worry and don't feel ashamed. It happens to just about everyone at least once. Anyway, if you have some Karma to spend you probably should visit the temple sometime soon and pick up a skill yourself. You could get [Haggling] yourself. Plenty of merchants do. Or you could pick up something like [Iron Will]. My dear Maryla and Krystina both have that one. Keeps people from talking them into anything! Very useful!”

I nod along with his quick lecture, taking little sips of wine in between nods. Thus my mug is empty again before long. The inn keeper doesn't get a chance to refill it again though.

Somehow Krystina snuck up behind him. I almost jump of my seat as she clears her throat to make her presence know.

“What are you doing dad? Trying to get her drunk? In the middle of the day and right in front of mum?”

The big man blanches a little at the accusation. Before he can say anything that would upset his daughter even more though I speak up instead.

“He just gave me an invaluable lesson on skills. Its good that you are back from your lunch break though. I wanted to talk about quests with you.”

She deflates visibly.

“Oh. Sorry to keep you waiting. Come on over!”

She nods to another, currently unmanned counter next to a big board with lots of papers pinned to it.

Her father takes his leave with a nod and as I get up Krystina immediately pulls me over to her domain. She flashes me a bright smile as she slips behind the counter.

“I have to admit, I have been looking forward to this! So … what quest did you want to talk about? Anything special? Or did you just want a run down on how the system works?”

I was a little stumped by her enthusiasm at first. I nodded though.

“I'd appreciate a quick explanation. And I'd like to post a quest about creating enchanting dust.”

She nods in understanding.

“Ah! The mana mill quest! One of our basics! Your grandma posted it pretty regularly. Lets use this as an example!”

She pulls a stack of papers from below the counter and starts rummaging through it. After a moment she finds what she is looking for and slaps it on the counter in between us.

It is a quest notice, like the ones pinned to the big board. It is a quest for creating enchanting dust which grandma posted only a little more than a month ago.

A moment later Krystina slams down a similar but empty form next to it. She has pulled an ink well and a quill from below the counter as well.

“Here we go! As you can see these forms are standardized. A short description of the task goes up here. Then I grade the difficulty of the quest and note it down over here and the reward down there. Don't worry I have a book for determining both.”

As she talks, she fills in the details she mentioned on the empty form. Essentially she copies the details from the quest grandma posted. It is a [Trivial] quest to produce two ounces of enchanting dust. And the reward is three Bronze Crowns.

“Does this look about right? You can offer a higher reward, but this is the standard according to the book. It is a pretty simple task after all. Just about three hours of cranking the handle of that mill, right?”

I look the details over and nod. This looks just like what I wanted. My brows furrow slightly.

“You aren't using a mind reading skill on me? Right?”

She almost bursts out laughing aloud.

“No, nothing like that. Just experience. Anyway, if you are satisfied you sign the quest with your name over there. Then you deposit the reward plus one additional Bronze Crown to cover the fees with me and I can put it up on the board.”

I nod, sign my name on the paper where she indicates and hand over the coins.

“You really only charge a single Bronze Crown?”

She pauses briefly as she pins the paper in place on the board.

“For the trivial ones. Harder or more dangerous quests come with higher rewards as well as higher fees. Anyway, if an adventurer drops by your place to do the quest they should have this paper with them. Once they are done you stamp it with your seal and when they return it afterwards I can pay out the reward. Pretty simple, isn't it?”

I breath a sigh of relief.

“Yeah, I was worried it would be more complicated.”

We shake hands as I get up again and she pulls me into a quick hug before I can depart.

“Just drop by again if you have any more questions.”