I turn my mind back to projects of more immediate concern to me, as I receive a reminder in the form of Nawoja who drops by the shop with a cloth wrapped bundle not long after I return with Elzbieta and Ulryk. I have just finished opening the shop when she knocks at the open front door.

  “It seems I have come at just the right time.”

  My eyes widen as she comes over to the counter to unwrap the bundle she brought. It's the refurbished, ancient shield I left with her and sitting there at its center, firmly anchored in the gem socket is one of the pebbles I got from the creek. The milky quartz has been polished and shaped too, to properly fit and to be honest it looks like the shield was made for it.

  “Marvelous!”

  That word sums it up pretty well. There is nothing much else I can say. Thus I disappear under the counter for a moment to get the agreed upon payment from the strong chest. A moment later I place a silver Crown in Nawoja's hand.

  “Here you are. One silver Crown, as we agreed.”

  She smiles and puts it into her purse before we shake hands to finalize our deal.

  “It's been a pleasure doing business with you once again! Drop by the smithy if you need anything else!”

  I nod, a little absentmindedly as I still marvel at the shield. It's only when the rest of my little adopted family drops by the shop that I manage to tear both my mind and gaze away from the refurbished piece of equipment. I'm quick to enter the transaction I just concluded into my ledger.

  Elzbieta's little boy is wide awake for a change, looking around the shop wide eyed and I manage to elicit a happy gurgling baby laugh from him when I lean in close to place a brief kiss on his cheek after I finish with the ledger.

  The huntress on the other hand checks out the shield Nawoja just brought. I have several more like it in the back, thus I'm not surprised that she recognizes it. She too nods in appreciation.

  “I know it's just a polished quartz pebble, but it still looks mighty fine for something that supposedly is downright ancient. Anyway, we'll be outside, probably out front now that the sun has moved around.”

  I nod and blow the two another kiss, as they leave to sit on the bench out In the front.

  Once I'm alone again I grab my notebook and start designing the enchantment for the shield. I'm tempted, so very tempted to go all out, but I'd have to auction the shield off through the guild if I do that. No one around here would be able to afford it in all likelihood. No, for the local adventurers I need to design a simple and pragmatic enchantment.

  I sigh. Just a soft light emitted by the polished quartz then. No self cleaning and self repairing enchantments on top. It's too bad. I'm pretty sure those would all go very well together.

  My brows furrow as I pause. Alright, I'll make one simple and down to earth enchantment for this particular shield. And once I'm done I'll draft up another with all the bells and whistles. Not just because I can either, but because Iw ant to know what kind of price it will fetch in an auction.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  I'm not worried about selling it at a loss, because I'm pretty certain that it'll make at least back the money I spent on it. I'm pretty sure that I'll at least break roughly even. I simply have no clue how much of a profit I could make though, even if just with ancient second hand equipment, if I put my mind to it.

  The design for this enchantment is more complex than usual by default due to using a trigger. I use the enchantment for Danuta's staff as a reference, except I optimize this one for the shield with its polished quartz.

  At the same time I can't help but remember the old wizard's words. Is this really already the halfway point to enchanting wands? What if I were to commission a plain wooden wand with one of the smaller polished quarts crystals set into its tip? Would Nawoja and Olgierd be able to make something like that? Would I be able to enchant it to create a light not like my other enchanted items so far but at the same level as a light spell cast by a wizard or a witch?

  I shake my head and slap my cheeks lightly to drive away all these stray thoughts. One thing after the other. First I'll finish this shield. Everything else will have to wait. Besides I need more projects for other days anyway.

  In the meantime I hum along with Elzbieta who sings one of the many songs about Ksawry the catfolk adventurer she seems to know. Or maybe she is just making them up on the fly? I honestly can't tell. If she does, she is pretty good at it. Good enough that I can't tell any difference to an actual bard's work.

  Urszula drops by a little later, to help out with feeding the very hungry little Ulryk too. The boy really has an appetite. I'm almost, but really only almost, sorry that I can't help out in that regard anymore. The effect of the curse I put on my by accident has worn off by now after all. Never mind though. I'll leave that to women who actually know what they are doing for the time being.

  Besides, it's probably for the best if the boy gets used to Urszula. That way Elzbieta can leave him with her for a short time at least when she decides to start adventuring again. That way she should be able to do at least some basic quests. Ones that do not involve my mana mill or the as of now still very hypothetical enchanted ice cream bucket.

  I can't help but chuckle at the thought. Even more so as I'm pretty certain that she really wants to go back out, exploring ruins and hunting monsters. That will still be a while though. She is more likely to do simple gathering quests or less monstrous local hunts first.

  At long last I finish with the design for the enchantment. I look it over again and then once more for good measure. I like this little shield and don't want to screw it up, thus I better make sure I have not made any mistakes. Satisfied, after not finding anything wrong, I close the notebook for now and head outside to join Elzbieta and the napping again Ulryk on the bench in the shadow.

  Neither of us says anything, as we just sit there and enjoy the slight breeze on this warm summer afternoon.

  It can't last of course and not just because I have to get started on the enchantment. No, Bogomil the barbarian, Danuta's father comes down the street, almost certainly on the way back from some quest. The two dead, over sized crabs he carries tied to a thick, long stick are a solid giveaway. At first I assume that he'll head back to the inn, but he makes a detour as he spots me.

  I'm quick to place a finger against my lips to hush him before he can even think about greeting me in his usual boisterous way. Thankfully he is quick to understand. I motion towards the door and head inside just ahead of the aging warrior.

  The reason for his visit becomes obvious pretty quick, as he puts a handful of potion bottles on the counter.

  “I'd like to return those.”

  I look them over. They aren't damaged and while they are not magically cleaned like the ones Tamara and Odolan tend to return, they certainly are clean enough. I nod satisfied. I get the coin for this transaction from the strong chest.

  “Six bottles. That's six bronze Crowns. By the way, are those rock crabs? I had no idea that they can be found along the creek. Do I need to worry?”

  He lets out a soft chuckle as he accepts the coin in exchange for the returned potion bottles.

  “Yes, two rock crabs. Tough little buggers. Their shell really is something else. I'm still hoping that I'll come across one that Nawoja can turn into a nice shield one of these days. These are for the inn though. We'll have crab pot tomorrow.”

  He winks at me at those last words. Then he continues to address my worries.

  “And no, you probably don't need to worry. They don't come this far downstream. Not even close in fact. You'll usually only find them much further upstream on the outer fringes of the Twilight Forest at best. In fact that is where I found these two beauties. Anyway, thanks for doing business. Now I really need to get to the inn though, so they can go in the pot.”

  We shake hands and he is off again.