Without a proper schedule I figure it’s easier to just do my shopping now instead of waiting until the night like usual. Hopefully Bridget didn’t send multiple people in the same day … I’ll try to be back as quickly as possible.

  As I approach Bridget’s stall she’s actually talking with Willard. Should I wait for them to finish, or just walk up? As I’m thinking about that Bridget notices me and solves the problem for me by waving me over. “Hey Jez! You’re here early.” So she’s going with Jez this time? She hasn’t picked that one in a while.

  I walk over as Willard glances over at me before turning back towards Bridget. “I’ll try that. It’d be nice to rush, but you’re probably right. Hopefully it doesn’t take quite that long” He turns back towards me. “Pleasure to see you again, I look forward to working with you in the future, but I need to leave.” Is he just awkward around me? I guess that would make quite a bit of sense thinking about it.

  As he turns to leave Bridget turns to me. “Well I can’t say I’m surprised to see you here. Especially since Willard over there already talked to you. It sounds like you two got along pretty well the second time. Or at least better than your first try.”

  I shrug as Willard walks off out of earshot. “His heart’s in the right place, I’m more afraid he’s going to hurt himself pushing too far if I’m being honest.”

  She smiles at that. “So that’s what all that was about. I’m sure he won’t do anything too dangerous, despite occasional appearances he’s been doing this for a while. Of course if you want to keep an eye on him I can think of a way.” She smiles at that.

  I roll my eyes. “I figured it was a consideration, but one thing at a time. I have a pretty long shopping list today.”

  She keeps up her smile as she responds. “Ah, so you’re going to keep up your streak as my best customer. That’s always good to hear.”

  Shopping only takes a few extra minutes, it’s half the reason I started going to Bridget in the first place, even with how much we chat she’s still one of the fastest shopkeepers I know, and I end up with an almost full bag of supplies on the way back. I walk into my former shop, and immediately something’s off … a bit of an understatement for ‘there’s a guy just standing in the waiting room for my shop looking pissed off'. I actually recognize this guy, he’s the barbarian looking person who gave up the opportunity to be my second to last normal customer. “Um … good morning? How can I help you?”

  He stands fully up from his lean against the wall. “About time. I’ve been waiting here for at least an hour. I need that liquid life made as soon as possible.”

  Of course. Why am I not surprised? “Apologies sir. We’re closing shop in fairly short notice, I’m under strict guild orders to finish up my current orders, and nothing else.” Not strictly true, but I’m not about to work without pay for someone this obnoxious.

  “Great! How long are you still working for?”

  I really wasn’t expecting that question … or that intonation. “Four days?” That was a mistake. As soon as it left my mouth I knew it was a mistake.

  “Perfect, then an extra day won’t be an issue. Here’s twenty gold, I’ll pick it up tomorrow.” He turns and walks out without giving me a chance to respond. He did, however, actually leave twenty gold behind. Huh. I mean I still hate him basically on sight, but I’ll take a ten gold profit for one gold worth of work. Plus if my hunch is right if I say no now he’ll just make a massive fuss about the whole thing and toss it up to the guild master who … might be less than charitable about the work I’m already doing. It really is in the guild’s best interest if I can continue to pay for my room, but the guild members themselves probably would need some convincing to see it that way. There’s no reason to worry them unnecessarily. With that in mind, I need to do a bit more shopping. I can at least do all the liquid lives in one big batch. The shelf life on it is measured in decades, so a few days difference means quite literally nothing.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  As per usual Bridget sees me well outside the range for remotely reasonable conversation. “Well hello again! Didn’t expect to see you here so soon. Did you forget something?”

  I wait until I’m at a normal distance for speech before answering. “Something like that. I got a really pushy customer from the guild, and they basically threw down some money before just leaving. It felt easier to just make it for them rather than argue the point while they were already leaving.”

  She gets a concerned look on her face. “I hope they at least paid well, that sounds more than a bit unpleasant.”

  I shrug. “Really well honestly. He paid more than twice the cost of materials for a one day job.”

  “Well at least you’re getting into the spirit of independent enterprise, who knows, maybe you’ll be able to keep this up for a while. It’s not like the church hasn’t changed their minds on rules before.” Once again it feels like she wants to say something more, but cuts herself off.

  “I’ll keep the option in mind, but I’m not going to rely on it. It’s not like there are that many mages I can trust to not be Dark Mages if I’m not selling through the guild anyway. Your friends can’t possibly need a full guild’s worth of equipment after all.”

  Yet again, she seems like she’s going to say something, but stops herself before reconsidering. “You might be surprised … but you’re right. No reason to worry about possibilities that may or may not happen. Still, the extra gold will help.”

  “I hope so.”

  I finish up my purchases and head back to my shop, I might as well get started on the liquid lives now since that’s what I’ll need first. It ends up taking the rest of the day, and a good bit of the night ... It’s not really an issue though, it at least gives me something to do at night rather than messing with more decorations. Once they're done I bottle up the six doses, and separate out the one that looks least impressive for my surprise customer. I might as well get started on the dagger, even if it still feels weird to go from project to project so quickly. It's possible I overestimated the time I’d need to make things since unlike my old job I can actually get paid for night work now.

  As I’m working on the dagger there’s a knock on the door. That’s … weird it’s a bit too early for anyone to be here … I think. I guess I could’ve lost track of time a bit. “Who is it?”

  Whoever it is opens the door and comes in before speaking through the door to the backroom. “Apologies, it’s me. I wanted to talk to you about something.” It’s Willard? He’s very early.

  I pick up the set of five liquid lives and look into the front room. He definitely hasn’t gotten less awkward since he’s just standing there. “Good morning! You’re a bit early for most of your order, but I have your liquid lives here if you want it.”

  He seems a bit startled for some reason, but takes the bottles anyway. “Oh … thank you, although I wanted to ask you about something else actually.”

  I just give a Customer Service nod and he continues. “I was wondering if you could explain the technique of enchanting. With everything I’ve heard about it it seems like it would be useful to learn, and you're the only person I know who could explain it. I’d be more than happy to pay for the help.”

  Alright, the Customer Service smile’s not going to help with this at all. “I’d be happy to teach you, but first you should watch me work on your last two items. It’s definitely not a job for everybody, and learning how to do it properly would take a few years at least.”

  He seems confused at that … definitely not a great sign. “Of course, I’ve never actually seen enchanting done. I suppose I've heard it took years to learn at some point.” I see … maybe he’ll actually be interested in it, but I kind of doubt it. Enchanting is a very … specific taste. Hopefully if he’s going to give up on it he’ll at least have the courtesy to give up quickly.

  I open the door to the back room fully. “Well then, right this way.”