Is it wrong to fleece adventurers at the item shop?

I close the shop once the trio leaves and do a little cleaning. The shelves and bins, as well as the wares on display need a little dusting. This isn't the kind of work I'm fond of, but it needs to get done anyway. There is no way around it. Not unless I decide to enchant the whole house.

I shudder at the thought. It is, in theory, possible, but the scale is still mind boggling. I would need to draw a circle around the whole house. The amount of chalk necessary for an endeavor like this alone is mind boggling. And of course I would need to prepare a suitable surface beforehand.

That isn't all though. I would have to make sure there is nothing else within the circle to which the enchantment could attach itself. Sure, things inside the house would be fine, but there can't be anything else in between the circle and the house. Nothing like benches or even just a broom.

There is a good reason why house enchantments, even the most basic ones, are beyond rare. There are songs about haughty lords going mad due to the many mishaps that can come to pass during such a foolish undertaking.

Foolishness. Pure foolishness. Plain and simple. It's much better to do your cleaning by hand or at worst, to hire someone to do your cleaning for you. It's much less of a hassle and headache that way.

I pause at that thought. Is it possible? Could I outsource work like that through the guild? Is house cleaning a viable quest? Dusting? Floor sweeping? Could it be that simple? I quickly shake my head to terminate that line of thought. Maybe another day, when I can actually afford to hire someone to do that kind of work without any worries, but not right now.

I do some more cleaning in the workshop afterwards, in preparation for tomorrow, since I very much expect the trio of adventurers to return. Especially Tamara seems really determined about this quest.

Well, I wish her, or rather them, the best of luck. If they pull it off this could be a serious boost both to their capabilities as well as their self esteem. And, while I'm worried, I don't want to stand in their way. If anything, I should provide them with the best enchantments possible to soothe these worries of mine, thus this is what I will do.

I carefully clean the enchanting table to make sure it is in the best possible condition. There are, of course, no traces of enchanting dust. There are a few faint coal lines though. Those need to go, so I can focus on the new lines and circles tomorrow. I set aside the chalks I will use already too. As far as I'm concerned, I could get started.

Now it is only Tamara and her group that need to make up their mind. I have no doubt how that will go though. The outcome of that discussion is pretty much set in stone. If there will be any discussion at all that is.

I'm just about to get ready for bed, as a good night of sleep will help with tomorrows enchantments as well, as a knock from the door interrupts my thoughts.

I'm a little perplexed at first, but I manage to catch my self soon enough. Without any further delay, and most importantly, before my visitor has to knock again, I head over and open the door to welcome them.

The visitor of course is quite familiar. It is Agnieszka, who is back from the city and she is carrying a small cloth wrapped bundle.

Immediately I perk up.

“Agnieszka! Welcome back!”

I pull her into a quick hug, which she returns, before I motion for her to come in, so we can talk business.

“You got what I asked for?”

She chuckles as she unwraps a small wooden box.

It is a pretty simple thing, but it isn't the box that matters anyway. No, what really matters is inside this box. It contains a number of pearls and several pieces of lapis lazuli.

The pearls aren't best quality, which would be used for jewelry. I don't mind that they look a little misshapen though. I'll grind them down anyway. No, all that matters to me is the color and the sheen and those are fine enough.

I initially asked her for one piece of lapis lazuli, but several smaller pieces are fine too. Those will get crushed in the mortar as well after all.

Agnieszka sounds a little pleased with herself as she speaks up, after giving me a little more time to get a better look.

“As you can see I had to get a little creative to get you a good deal, but I hope the goods meet your expectations.”

I nod.

“It looks fine. How much do I owe you?”

“Five silver Crowns.”

Short and to the point.

I don't feel like arguing or haggling either. I'm just glad that she managed to get these things on such short notice.

“Right. Just a moment. I'll get the coin right away.”

Not only do I get the coin from the strongbox, I enter the purchase into the ledger right away too, since I'm already there.

This is my biggest purchase so far. Especially considering that the goods I purchased fit into such a small wooden box. I hope it will pay off in the long run.

As I return I count the coins into my neighbor's hand. Afterwards we shake hands to finalize our business.

“Pleasure doing business with you!”

“Thanks for getting these on such short notice!”

Agnieszka doesn't leave right away though. It seems she has at least one more question.

“Say, do you know? Is Danuta already back? And how did you fare during your second dance lesson?”

I groan a little as the reminder seems enough to rekindle all the numerous small aches I'm suffering after those dance lessons with Lotar, Rafal and Feliks.

“The lessons went well enough. They worked me tirelessly until I managed to perform that crazy jump. It seems for now I have a little time off to recover, before I'll receive a little refresher.”

I sigh, but at the same time I grin. It was pretty fun after all.

“I don't know about Danuta. I haven't seen her today and the youngsters, Odolan, Tamara and Szmuel seem set on heading out on a big quest without her soon. So she is really getting a new dress made? By you?”

Agnieszka laughs out loud, as she nods.

“Only if she gets back with the fabric in time though. Not even I can make a dress like that overnight. That takes a little more work and consideration. Anyway, if you haven't seen her, she probably is still not back yet, as I haven't seen her at the inn either.”

We exchange another hug. Then she is off.

I still accompany her back around the house to her oxen cart and see her off with a wave. Then I return inside.

For a moment I consider getting started on the newest iteration of my enchanters' chalks with these new ingredients, but in the end I decide against it.

I already have the chalks I need for tomorrow and I really need my sleep. The contents of the small wooden box won't run away either.

Thus the small box goes into the trunk at the foot end of the bed for the time being. I'll deal with it tomorrow or maybe some other day after taking care of more urgent things.

In the end this means that I wash up and get changed for bed, but only after seeing Sour Cream off for the night. With one last mighty yawn I slip under the covers. This time around it doesn't take long for sleep to claim me. It is not a dreamless sleep though.

No this night dreams haunt me. Or maybe that isn't the right word? They aren't exactly unpleasant dreams after all. They are dreams of dangerous and daring dances, probably based on what I experienced in the past few nights.

Or at least that is the best explanation I can come up with whenever I wake up, my heart racing, when the dreams become a little too exciting. I don't get to actually think about it much, as I always fall back asleep quickly. And as soon as sleep claims me again, I slip into the next dream to send my heart racing once more. No, it really isn't unpleasant. It isn't exactly restful either though.