Is it wrong to fleece adventurers at the item shop?

Agnieszka accompanies me back home after our little talk and I'm quite grateful for it. After all I'm still a bit shaken. Talking about last nights chance encounter and its consequences certainly helped though. Even more so the help Agnieszka promised to organize.

Just as I see her off again with a relieved smile Elzbieta arrives. Her presence too helps ease my mind a little. I might just be getting used to her presence a little. The days just seem to pass a little faster when I'm not home alone.

Together we head inside and while she gets busy with the mana mill I check on my most recent creation.

By now the glow has faded a little, but when I stir the foamy substance up, it gains new strength as well. Very curious. I'm not quite done experimenting yet though. I still need to figure out if I can use it for my chalks before I use any of the expensive new ingredients I ordered just a little earlier. Thus I get ready to make new chalks.

Elzbieta doesn't mind either. Quite the opposite is true in fact, as she is rather appreciative of the fire I start to melt the wax.

I have to suppress a grin. Another few weeks and she'll probably be wishing for an enchanted tool of some kind to cool off instead.

The thought gives me pause. There might just be interest for something like that. Something like that might just come in handy at the inn during the worst of summer's heat. Maybe Nawoja and Olgierd would like something like that for the smithy as well? Well, I can ask one of them when my new blackboard gets delivered.

I think about the idea a little more while I stir the mixture, using my most recent creation instead of regular oil, for the new chalks. So far it looks promising. The glow even intensifies a little more as I stir the mixture before pouring it into the molds.

Afterwards I can only wait while the chalks cool. Well, at least Elzbieta can see the result of her work put to good use. I in the meantime listen to her singing while she keeps cranking the mill's handle.

When it is finally time to remove the chalks from their casts I'm getting a little giddy. I pick up one of the new chalks right away and use my appraisal skill on it.

[Ghosttouched enchanter's chalk, Quality: Rare, A piece of advanced, surprisingly light and eerily glowing Enchanter's Chalk used for more potent enchantments. Smells like beeswax as it is the main ingredient. Ghosts can touch and manipulate this item!]

Oh! I almost drop it, at the surprising revelation. I might not even need the precious stones I ordered. Although, no, I might be able to do even better with those!

The surprising result leaves me wondering though. Could I use the Night Candle oil mixed with ectoplasm to create some other interesting potions as well? Maybe I could brew something that lets the user interact with ghosts? The thought is both scary and exciting at the same time.

Maybe I shouldn't follow up on that idea though. The stories about the restless spirits of the departed I know almost always end badly after all and I don't really feel like finding out just how much truth there is to that.

Also, considering the intense smell of the Night Candle oil it might not exactly be suited for any internal applications. Just thinking about it, is enough to elicit a silly giggle from me. Well, maybe more than just one.

Elzbieta shoots me a questioning look.

“Sorry. Just had a silly thought.”

I grab the bottle with the rest of the night candle oil based mixture and open it, so she can catch the smell.

“I was wondering if I could use it for any potions. But, well, the smell …”

She goes a little white and pushed my hand with the bottle far away.

“Ugh! Yes, the smell. Please don't! Any potions using this probably would leave your breath smelling like you just had a bottle of perfume. I … uh … I need some fresh air!”

With those words she hurries outside. Apparently her sense of smell is a little more sensitive than mine.

Anyway, I nod vigorously, as I cork the bottle again before putting it away. Then I join her outside for a quick break and to catch some fresh air as well. A quick glance at the sun suggests that we might as well have lunch. I nod in the direction of the inn.

“Want to have an early lunch?”

She looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you want to have an early lunch?”

Is that so out of the ordinary for me? In the end I just shrug.

“I wouldn't mind since I was up pretty much all night.”

That seems to be good enough for her.

Today's menu comes in a bowl and with a spoon, as it is stir fried rice with equally stir fried vegetables and chicken meat. It comes with plenty of delicious sauce on top as well, thus it goes down both easily and pleasantly.

While Elzbieta gets a cup of tea to go with it, I get myself a mug of beer. As my companion shoots me a questioning look I wink at her.

“I can make us some coffee a little later.”

I sigh at the thought.

“I just wish I had some cake to go with it.”

The pregnant woman ponders that idea for a moment. Finally she nods as she apparently comes to a conclusion.

“Yes, some cake or another soft any juicy sweet treat would probably go pretty well with that coffee of yours.”

I nod in agreement, as those are pretty much my thoughts as well. That is when another thought strikes me.

“We could try some mana spiked coffee today for a change. I have been meaning to make some for a while now, but I never got around to it.”

Just as we finish, elder Jaromir approaches us, or rather me.

“Do you have a moment?”

I simply nod and he sits down with us.

“Yes? Marvelous! I have that contract finished. Would it be alright if I dropped by your place with Maryla and Patryk once the lunch rush is over? In an hour maybe?”

I perk up at that and nod again.

“Sure! I have no objections. I should be home whenever you drop by.”

“Very good. Very good! Now, if you would excuse me, I need to share the news with these two as well.”

He nods in the direction of the couple running the inn, currently busy serving meals and collecting the dishes afterwards.

I help him back up and once he is on his way I leave together with Elzbieta. Once we are out of earshot she speaks up.

“A written contract? Doing some big business already?”

A can't help but grin as I answer.

“Well, it could get big. I'm selling them the ice bucket and the recipe to make iced coffee.”

I pause briefly as realization dawns upon her.

“You'll have to get it at the inn in the future.”

She perks up.

“Right! You are right, this iced coffee could become wildly popular! So you get a share on the sales?”

“I do.”

I don't want to discuss the details right now though. Thus I take the conversation in a slightly different direction.

“Lets hold off with the coffee until they drop by. That way I can show Krystina's father how to properly roast the beans while we are at it.”

She pats her bulging belly.

“That's good with me. I'm feeling a little full right now anyway.”

I'm tempted to groan at the pun, but hold back at the last moment. Well, at least I assume it is a pun. Or maybe not? Her portion did look a little bigger than mine after all. In the end I just grin, as we get back to work.

Elzbieta resumes work with the mill by the fireside and I put on a new log just in case. I want the fire to be nice and ready for when the innkeepers and the elder drop by.

Until then I plan to busy myself with something slightly more exciting. First I get the now self cleaning dagger from the shop which I enchanted not too long ago. I put down on the enchanting table.

I really want to give these new chalks a try. If I can do double enchantments with them, I really want to know. No, I need to know! Otherwise I have to wait until Agnieszka can get me the things I ordered.

I can't hurry this though. As the second enchantment I pick a pretty common one. One we learned at the academy. One I have used before and more than once at that. The second enchantment should make the dagger self sharpening.

Curiously enough the enchantment does not reduce the blades durability, like a regular sharpening would. You can only sharpen any edge so often with a whetstone until not enough metal is left after all. This makes the enchantment pretty popular as blades with it tend to last longer.

Still, although I'm familiar with it, I don't rush the process. Instead I grab the design board first to make the necessary adaptions and calculations. I really don't want to mess this up through some careless mistake after all, since this is an important test.

Even Elzbieta seems to feel the change in the mood, as she stops singing. Instead she resorts to humming. Good. The bawdy rhymes of the songs she tends to pick can be a little distracting after all. I flash her a grateful smile, then I grab one of the new chalks and get going.