Is it wrong to fleece adventurers at the item shop?

Krystine is, as a matter of fact, able to make some time for me despite everything else that is going on. A little surprising considering the various groups of adventurers that have gathered at different tables to check their gear and talk about the procedures of dealing with feral Pixies. Well, hopefully this will be a one time thing. None of us, adventurers and residents alike, needs disaster to strike every day or even just every other day.

Either way, Krystina makes some time and room for me at her counter without delay. It might, at least to a degree, have to do with the rather sizable bag of coin I have with me. It certainly draws the gazes of several of those assembled here. No wonder. After all most of the coin I leave with our resident guild official will eventually end up in their hands.

I hug her briefly, before we sit down to talk business.

“I'd like to place a few more collection quests before everyone heads out. Maybe they can take care of them on the side while dealing with the feral Pixies.”

She nods, opens her book to a page that seems to contain the essentials on collection quests and gets a few empty quest papers ready.

“Alright, what were you thinking about?”

I lick my lips and start counting off the ingredients that are on my mind.

“First up are purple mountain flowers for health potions. They bloom in waves from late spring to early autumn, thus I'm pretty certain that there should be some.”

Krystina starts out the form.

“The usual amount your grandma usually asked for?”

I simply nod and she finishes filling out the rest of the details.

“That will be ten bronze Crowns. Seven for the reward and three for the fee. It's a little more since whoever takes it will have to head a little further inland. They are called mountain flowers for a reason after all.”

I nod and pay up after signing the paper.

“Next up would be juniper berries. They are for health potions as well. I have some growing in my backyard and I'm even able to get at them now that it is cleaned up, but I might still need more.”

She nods and gets started on the next quest note.

“The amount? Same as before? I mean, the same your grandma used to request? This one should be easier anyway, as we have a lot of juniper grow wild around here.”

As I nod in agreement, she finishes this next quest paper within moments as well only to inform me of the cost right away.

“This one will be six bronze Crowns. Four for the reward and two for the fee. I'm pretty sure you'll get those berries by the time the first adventurers return from this emergency quest.”

I laugh and move on the next request.

“Next I'll need some twilight lichen for mana potions. That one is a little more tricky as it only grows in the Twilight Forest and usually not exactly at the edge either.”

Krystina laughs out loud as she gets the next sheet of paper. This time she actually has to consult the book. Maybe grandma didn't use it for her potions?

“You're right. This will be the first time we talk real money. Thankfully that lichen seems to grow in pretty dense swathes though, so you should get plenty enough with a single quest.”

I bite my lip again, as I watch her fill in the details. Real money? That worries me a little. My heart misses a beat as she tells me just how much it will cost me.

“That will be eighteen bronze Crowns. Thirteen for the reward and five for the fee. Are you sure you want to place this quest? That is step up from the others after all.”

I take a deep breath to calm my nerves.

“I'm sure.”

I pay up and sign this quest note as well.

Krystina takes this chance to put these three quests up on the board.

I'm not done yet. Not entirely anyway.

“One last thing. I want to post a mana mill request again as well, since I'll be needing a lot more enchanting dust soon.”

She raises an eyebrow, as she gets another empty form and starts to fill it out.

“You already know the details for that one. It'll be two bronze Crowns. But, if you don't mind me asking, what will you be needing all that enchanting dust for?”

I don't mind answering, but I don't want to share too many details either. Not yet anyway.

“First I'll need some to enchant some potion bottles. And I'll need even more to enchant a second mana mill. And, of course, some will go into any mana potions I make as well.”

As she finishes I sign the paper and pay up once more. My heart grows a little heavy as I listen to the tingling sound the coins make as Krystina deposits them in the guild strong chest.

My feelings must be plainly visible on my face, as she flashes me a grin to cheer me back up.

“It sounds like you have plans. You probably will be pretty busy.”

Her smile sure is contagious. Is that another skill at work? No, not quite. Maybe it is a gift instead. Those tend to work in more subtle ways after all. Either way, I don't mind.

“I'll sure be. That reminds me, I need to head over the smithy. Danuta's new staff needs to be enchanted and she might appreciate it if it gets done before everyone heads out for the emergency quest.”

Laughter from one of the busy tables in the common room suggests that the witch in question might have heard me.

Krystina and I shake hands and then I'm off. I'm not off to the smithy right away though. Since enchanting that staff will take a while I get myself a quick meal first. Thankfully the meal on the menu today is something that can be eaten on the go. A delightful mix of finely chopped, fried meat and equally fried vegetables with some fresh salad, all wrapped in some thin piece of flat bread.

It certainly serves as a good distraction. With this tasty treats in hand I barely think about how my heart is heavy while my coin purse is too light.

Nawoja and Olgierd are quite busy in the smithy as well. It seems there are plenty of weapons and some armor to be maintained before everyone heads out.

I wait patiently until one of them has time for me. Once again it is Olgierd who approaches me while Nawoja minds the irons in the forge.

“Welcome! Are you here to see about enchanting Danuta's staff?”

I shake the calloused hand he offers me.

“Indeed! I already tested the enchantment on my trusty little crutch here.”

I pat the staff I'm still using as a walking aid, before I continue.

“Could you show me to the spot you mentioned? I want to get this done while the weather is as fine as it is now.”

He flashes me a big grin and grabs a familiar cloth wrapped bundle.

“Right! Follow me, please!”

He leads me out the backdoor of the smithy to the fenced in yard behind it.

Very good. This way I won't have to worry about anyone or their pigs trampling my work halfway through. As he unwraps the bundle my breath catches. Apparently he wasn't quite done when he showed me the staff earlier. The staff was a piece of art before. Now it is a true masterpiece.

It still looks mostly the same, as far as the general shape is concerned. Now though the wood has been dyed, or possibly lacquered. I'm not quite sure, but it doesn't really matter anyway. What matters is that the top end of the staff now looks like the raven with the crystal in its beak is about to come alive any moment.

“Oh my!”

That is all that comes over my lips and the craftsman in turn just grins even wider. I take this chance to activate my appraisal skill.

[Staff of the Raven Witch, Quality: Rare, A masterwork staff fashioned from the heartwood of a weeping willow from a dryad's grove. Its head end has been shaped to resemble a great raven which holds a carefully cut crystal in its beak.]

I swallow hard, as I open the pouch at my belt to get out the enchanting supplies. I have two whole pieces of chalk with me today, as well as my notebook with all the essential details noted down in it. I have brought a piece of string and a piece of coal as well, just in case.

Olgierd hands me the staff and pats me on the back.

“You'll take care of things here, right? I'll need to get back inside. The forge doesn't wait on anyone. Got to work those irons while they are hot.”

I just nod, still a little dumbfounded, and get to work while he heads back inside to rejoin his wife.

I start with the coal circles and the markers, the same as I did for my own staff. Then I lose myself in the process of writing the runes, filling the circles one ancient letter after the other.

I'm so focused on the work at hand that I don't take any note of the passage of time. And I only notice Danuta sitting on an old crate by the door when she enthusiastically claps her hands as I finish and the staff draws in the slightly glowing runes, as well.

For a moment we just grin at each other, then she hops off her perch.

“Come on! Let's give it a try!”

I pick it up and activate the appraisal skill once more.

[The Raven Witch's staff of Illumination, Quality: Epic, a masterwork staff fashioned from the heartwood of a weeping willow from a dryad's grove. Its head end has been shaped to resemble a great raven which holds a carefully cut crystal in its beak. It has been enchanted to provide various forms of illumination upon command.]

It is then, that another divine whisper reaches my ear.

[Great Success! Great job creating your first epic piece! Keep at it! For you not even the sky has to be the limit! The Dusk Maiden gifts you 1 point for the World Arcana as a reward.]

Oh my! That is a little unexpected. I'd didn't expect a second reward after the one I already received after finishing my prototype. And points for the World Arcana are pretty rare as well!