Is it wrong to fleece adventurers at the item shop?

The sun is shining. It's warm and a pleasant breeze is blowing in from the sea. It's a pretty nice day by just about any standard. Well, maybe unless you're a dark elf or another creature of darkness.

I'm not able to enjoy it though. My mind is on the letter in my backpack, the future ahead of me and all the possibilities I leave behind, by accepting grandma Iwona's inheritance.

I wanted to become an adventurer and see the world. Just a few days ago I would have told as much to anyone asking without a moment's hesitation. Now though? Now things are different. Very much so.

The letter is from elder Jaromir, the mayor of Clear Brook, the small village where grandma had been living. She ran a shop there. One catering to adventurers. Apparently she left it to me in her will.

Well, at least I don't have to walk all the way from Barter Town to Clear Brook. I'm reminded of the fact, as the ox cart I'm riding on hits another pot hole in the dirt road.

Agnieszka, the woman holding the reins of the two oxen pulling the wagon, turns around with an apologetic smile and a straw tucked into the corner of her mouth.

“Sorry about that. That road really is bad this year. Much worse than usual.”

She obviously isn't fazed by the bumpy ride, despite being quite a bit older than me. I on the other hand am left with a growing bruise on my battered backside. Of course she notices as I rub my aching ass. She laughs out loud and pats the seat at her side.

“Why don't you join me up front? That way you can see Clear Brook when we get there. It won't be long now.”

I nod and climb from the mostly empty bed of the cart to sit next to her. Just as I sit down we hit another pot hole. It is bad enough to almost lift me off my seat. I just barely manage to hold on. I don't manage to hold onto my sparse lunch though, as my stomach does a somersault. At the last moment I turn sideways to spread what little I had in me across the flowers growing at the wayside.

As a result the first glimpse of my now home is the one I catch as I straighten back up, wiping my mouth on the short sleeve of my blouse in the process.

Agnieszka chuckles again and hands me a wicker wrapped bottle.

“Motion sickness, huh? Have a drink. It'll numb that stomach of yours a little. It's some of the last your grandma distilled.”

I take a careful sip and look over at her, one eyebrow raised.

“She distilled spirits as well?”

The woman brushed some of her graying hair back behind her ear and accepted the bottle back from me to take a sip herself.

“That she did, among other things. Better to leave the distilling to someone who really knows what they are doing. Better than half the village going blind from bad moonshine for sure.”

I cant argue against that. It is sound logic after all. Thus I take the chance to properly take in the view instead.

Clear Brook is a pretty idyllic hamlet. Only a few buildings are clustered up around a big tree at the village square. More are spread out along the hills all around. Low dry stone walls and hedges divide up the landscape. There are fields and pastures. Various animals, mostly sheep though, dot the latter. There are plenty of small groves as well. In the distance I can see the edge of the Twilight Forest.

There are plenty of people of all ages up and about. Most are farmers but there are some adventurers as well. The latter is no big surprise. There are some dungeons nearby in the Twilight Forest after all.

It is, overall, a pretty pleasant and lively place.

I stare down at the sandals on my feet for a moment before speaking up.

“It almost sounds like I will have to fill some pretty big boots.”

Agnieszka takes another swig from her bottle and waves me off.

“Oh, don't worry sweety. A little alchemy and a little witchery. Running a shop and distilling some sweet booze. I'm sure you'll manage.”

I blanch as she lists all the things grandma had been doing. I had no idea. I still have no idea to be honest.

The woman passes me the bottle again and I take another sip. It actually doesn't taste half bad and my stomach isn't acting up anymore either.

As I raise the bottle, to take another quick sip before handing it back to Agnieszka, she pats me on the back. Well, no, her pats are veritable slaps and I almost do a spit take.

She breaks into roaring laughter.

“Like I said, sweety, don't worry too much. Everyone starts small and everyone knows that. No one expects you to replace your grandma, gods and goddesses bless her soul. Not right away anyway.”

It takes me a moment to stop coughing and get my breathing back under control. By the time I can speak again we are about to reach the village square.

“Agnieszka, you wouldn't happen to know where I can find Elder Jaromir. I still need to take care of some formalities.”

She looks up to check on the position of the sun.

“This time of the day, or rather the afternoon, you'll probably find him at the inn.”

She points at the building in question. It is the second largest here at the village square, after the temple. The sign above the door suggests that it might be named The Prancing Pony, or something like that. A surprisingly common name for inns.

Agnieszka's hand on my shoulder pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Maybe you shouldn't disturb him with official business right now though. I'd bet, he will already have had a few mugs by now. Better do it tomorrow morning, when he officiates under the old oak. Parchment is patient anyway. Your grandma's will and the deed for the house won't run away over night.”

I nod meekly, as she steers the cart past the inn and onto one of the smaller paths leading away towards some of the outlying homes.

We ride in silence for a little while as the oxen pull the cart up the gentle slope of the hill along the curving path of the dirt road.

Finally Agnieszka pulls on the reigns, prompting the beasts to stop near one of the nearby homes. She nods in the direction of the house.

“This is it. Your grandma's home, shop and workshop. There is a little garden out back as well.”

She pauses for a moment, shifting the straw in her mouth from one corner to the other.

“You can stay here if you want or you can come over and stay at my place. I wouldn't mind some company. House has been too quiet ever since my husband passed and the children left.”

As she says that, she points in the direction of the last house at the end of the road.

I have to admit, I'm a little tempted by the offer. In the end I shake my head though.

“Thanks, but no thanks. I think I should take the chance to get a good look at what I'm getting myself into.”

I grab my backpack, the only luggage I brought, and get off the cart.

“Thank you for the ride and I guess we will see each other.”

She in turn nods and flicks the reigns to get the oxen going again. Before she disappears down the dirt road she addresses me once more though.

“Suit yourself. And if you happen to change your mind, my door is always open.”

I just stand there at the roadside for a moment and wave as she leaves me behind. Then I turn to properly take in grandma's house. The house that will be my new home.

It is a half timbered house with rock foundations and a slate roof. Wild roses and ivy are growing up the walls. There are flower boxes under the windows as well. Overall it looks pretty charming and well taken care off.

The only hint that not all is well is the sign, showing some herbs as well as a mortar and pestle combination, which has been taken down. It leans against the wall besides the door instead of swinging in the breeze. It's a sad sight.

A wooden board has been affixed to the door as well. It's short and crisp message lets anyone who knows their letters, which is by far not everyone, know that the shop is closed until further notice.

I try the handle of the front door and it opens without problem, allowing me a glimpse at a cluttered, mostly dark room. I don't enter though, closing it again instead.

Instead of entering right away I turn left to make my way around the house once. Bees, bumblebees and various other insects buzz all around me as I walk past the plants clinging to the walls. I slow my steps a little not to agitate any of them. I really don't feel like getting stung right now.

As expected I find another door in the back. It leads out to the garden. I grimace a little at the sight that greets me. It is a little overgrown. I'm sure that most of the plants are still various herbs but they haven't been properly tended for some while at least. Fixing this mess will take some work and time.

I stop at the fresh grave under one of the trees at the garden's edge, kneel and brush my fingers over the headstone. An actual stone with neatly engraved letters! In the city only rich people are able to afford something like this.

“I'm sorry Grandma. Gods and goddesses bless your soul. I wish I had come a little earlier.”

I kiss the stone and brush away a tear as I rise again.

After I discover the stairs leading down to the creek to which the village owes its name I turn around and head back to the house. The back door opens as easily as the front door.

Are the people here really not in the habit of locking their doors? No, that isn't it. The door has no lock, the same as the front door. There is only a bar on the inside. It is actually pretty solid. It can only be used to block the door from the inside though.

Well, that is one little mystery solved. I look around the backroom. It is too dark to see much though. I open the shutters on one of the windows to let in a little more light.

The room is far more orderly than the front room. Most of it serves as a workshop. I can see most of the basic tools an alchemist needs as well as some gear used for enchanting. Cauldrons, pestles, mortars, various bottles and jars as well as an enchanting table and a mana mill.

There is none of the much more extensive and fancy equipment I'm used to from the academy in Barter Town but what I see will certainly be good enough to get me started. More importantly everything is well taken care off despite the obvious age of some of the pieces. Especially the biggest of the cauldrons seems to be truly be ancient.

Agnieszka's words come back to me as I brush my fingers over its rim. Some witchery indeed. It wouldn't surprise me if this particular cauldron were old enough to have been standing here back then when witches and druids still practiced a much more ancient, intuitive kind of magic so very different from what we work today.

It is enough to put a smile on my face even as more tears trickle down my cheeks.

I leave the workshop behind, to peek behind a wall that partitions off part of the greater room. It quickly becomes obvious that this is where grandma lived. Or rather this is where she spent what little time she didn't spend working or minding the store.

There is a well made bed with a solid wooden chest at the foot end. Together these two pieces of furniture take up most of the available space, leaving just enough room to move about and get changed.

I take a peek inside the chest. The smell of soap scented with herbs hits me hard. A simple measure to keep moths away from the clothes stored inside. The clothes in turn aren't anything fancy and from what I can see have been patched up in places but they are still serviceable. I'm not sure if any will fit me though. Well, never mind, I'll find out eventually. For now I have what I brought with me.

I check the bed as well. It smells of the same soap. Grandma probably made it herself. The linens are clean and the straw of the mattress is fresh. It is at least as good as my bed in the dorms at the academy.

As I head in the direction of the door separating the back room from the front room I stop as something brushes up against my legs.

“Meow!”

I stop and stare for the briefest of moments. Then I crouch down to pet the black cat that has somehow found its way inside.

“Oh my! Hello there. Didn't see you coming in. Are you grandma's? Or are you just at home in the neighborhood and decided to drop by to check on the new face?”

The cat, of course, doesn't answer. It starts purring though as I scratch it behind the ears. It certainly isn't feral. Did grandma have a familiar? The letters we exchanged never mentioned one. I might have to ask around. Just in case.

“Well, either way, its nice getting to know you. I'll be taking over grandma's shop. Please take good care of me.”

I brush my hand across the little creature's glossy black fur once more, all the way from the head to the tip of the tail and rise again. Curiously enough it doesn't follow me as I open the door to the front room, heading back outside instead. Well, cats will be cats.

It is much darker in the front room. Only a little light falls in through the closed shutters of the windows and the door I'm standing in. It is just barely enough to move around without bumping into anything and there certainly are plenty of things I could bump into. The room is pretty cluttered.

I frown and turn back. I don't really feel like stumbling around in the dark. It takes me a little while to find what I'm looking for. A simple, cheap candle lantern. Well, cheap is a relative term. Good candles are anything but cheap. Bees only produce so much wax after all.

Instead of lighting it right away I decide on another course of action. I head to the enchanting table and take the already half used up candle out of the lantern to place it in the middle of the table.

After a little search I find a piece of enchanter's chalk that will still serve its purpose. It it not actually a chalk at all. It consists of a mixture of wax, chalk and enchanting dust. I'll eventually have to make new ones but that shouldn't be a problem since the workshop has a mana mill to generate enchanting dust. Chalk and wax should be easy enough to get around here.

Never mind that though. With practiced ease I start drawing runes in a circle around the candle. The enchantment I'm going for is one I have used often before. It's one of the first that students are taught at the academy.

I'm having a little more trouble with it than I'm used to this time though. The enchanting table isn't like the ones at the academy after all. Those have a section that can be rotated so you can just keep writing a full enchanting circle without having any trouble. This table has no such thing. Thus I have to adjust to writing part of the circle upside down as I can't even go around the table since it is up against a wall.

In the end I prevail though. As I finish the last line the circle is drawn into the candle, the enchantment taking hold.

[Success! Great job creating an enchantment in an unfamiliar workshop! The Dawn Maiden gifts you 3 points for the Magician Arcana as a reward.]

I bask in the divine message for a moment. Many people go years without hearing one. The gods and goddesses don't hand out rewards for mundane or repetitive tasks after all.

I pick up the candle and look at it from all sides, activating one of the few divine gifts I have acquired so far: the appraisal skill.

[Everlasting Candle, Quality: Uncommon, A candle that will burn for about half a year once lit.]

A small smile finds its way onto my lips. Very good. Of course the candle would last a whole year if it hadn't already been burnt down halfway. Well, it is good enough for now.

I put the candle back into the lantern and light it. With the lit lantern in hand I return to the front room which obviously serves as a shop. One thing that quickly becomes obvious is that grandma was dealing in more than just potions and enchantments.

Among other things I stumble across bins, or rather barrels, with various used gear. Swords, daggers, maces and axes are only some of the things I find. There are some rough cut stands with used armor as well.

None of the things on display are new but they are pretty well taken care off as far as I can tell. Nothing looks like it would break anytime soon. Well, adventurers need new gear every so often and just as often it would be wasteful to just throw the old onto a trash pile.

Then my gaze comes to rest upon a wooden sign put up next to the door. On it I can read three lines written in big, bold letters. Each one ending with an exclamation mark. Coin only! You break it, you buy it! No refunds!

I'm still giggling like a madwoman when I return to the backroom to get ready for bed.