Stepping into Cawl’s shop, Lan was greeted by a bored-looking Cali resting on her hand at the counter. She was still wearing the overalls like the first time they met, but now she had her hair down. With a glance, she went back to daydreaming before realisation hit her, and she shot up.

‘No way, You’re back! Oops, didn’t mean to say that part out loud.’ She blushed.

‘That’s alright. It wasn’t for lack of trying,’ Lan laughed.

‘Really, well, I’ll go get my father. I'm sure he will want to hear this,’ She said, jumping from her chair and disappearing down the stairs. Returning a moment later with Cawl, who she had clearly not told him who was waiting, or he hadn’t believed her as he grinned when he saw Lan.

‘You made it back.’ He said. ‘I won’t lie; a part of me thought you would sell the armour and run.’ He shrugged, and Lan smiled.

‘Funny, that never even crossed my mind.’ Lan shrugged back. Cawl must have seen something in his expression as his face softened.

‘Somehow, I don’t doubt it. You have to be a special kind of crazy to want to be an adventurer; obviously, you are. Well, what are you waiting for? Tell us about the job.’

With no small amount of embarrassment, Lan told them the story of his first hunt.

‘You what! Salt and stone Lad, what were you thinking going on a guild quest!’ Cawl snapped before tapping his finger on the table as Cali looked at Lan as if he was crazy. ‘Remind me to never give you an item without pay again.’ He added before seeming to calm.

Lan wasn’t sure how to respond. Moreover, he was taken aback by how much what he did bothered them.

‘Sorry, I didn’t know what I was getting into but seeing all the adventurers heading in the same direction, it just felt like the right thing to do. And I have already been told how stupid I was to do so and shown just how stupid it was by the Razerwolves too.’

‘Too bad cause I am going to say it again, remember I was the one that sold you that weapon and armour. That means your safety is partly my responsibility…’ Lan looked down, his father's words coming back to him. ‘Even still… what kind of Level one faces a Razerwolf and still has the will to fight? Most normal people would pass out long before then.’

‘Which means you are not normal,’ Cali added before both stared at him.

‘It’s… not that weird, is it?’

‘No, it’s weird,’ Cali confirmed without a moment of hesitation.

‘In any case, you made it back. So what can we do for you?’

‘Well, I wanted to pay for the armour and get a new one too.’ Lan said, catching Cawl’s eye.’

‘Oh,’ he said slowly, ‘so you gained some levels then?’

‘Four,’ Lan smiled weakly, still not believing it was true.

‘You don’t say?’ Cawl said as if seeing Lan in a new light before his eyes changed colour.

‘See, I told you. Weird,’ Cali smiled.

‘Well, at least we can find some slightly better gear that should work for you now. Were you looking for anything in particular?

‘I wouldn’t even know where to begin. All I know is that I wouldn’t have made it back without the armour. So I was hoping that you would be willing to help.’

‘Well, that’s why we make it,’ Cawl huffed, satisfied at having his work noticed. ‘In any case, we should start with what you are planning to be.’ Cawl looked at Lan, and all he could do was stare back. ‘What combat class, an archer, a lancer or a scout,’ Cawl numbered off as if talking to a child. ‘Hell, what are you spending your attribute points on.’

‘Uh, yeah, I still haven’t decided.’ Lan tried saying casually, even though he was anything but casual about it.

‘Well, it wouldn’t really matter at your level anyway. I wanted to know just so I could get something ready. For now, anything that will keep you alive should work,’ He said before pausing and shaking his head, ‘Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have something ready for you.’

At this, Cali perked up and Looked at Cawl, who pointedly ignored her. ‘Place your hand on the stone,’ The mountain of a man said, retrieving a stone tablet from under the counter. As Lan moved over and touched the stone, it glowed with blue light before an image of him carved in light, along with his measurements, appeared.

‘As for a new weapon, I would say wait and see what jobs you plan on taking before you decide.’

‘Right,’ Lan nodded, ‘that’s a good idea,’ he finished hoping that there would be a job that he could do.

‘And it would help if you knew what you planned to do when you return,’ Cali added, getting a conspiratorial look on her face, one that Cawl tried even harder not to notice.

Remembering their first meeting, Lan had to stop himself from asking what stats he needed to use that odd armour she had been in before. But guessed he would not be able to afford it anyway.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

‘Sure… oh, about the armour you gave me,’ Lan reached for his coin pouch.

‘You aren’t going to use it again anyway, so just bring it back, and I will charge you the difference from buying it back,’ Cawl shrugged.

‘Yeah, about… that,’ Lan thought about the hunk of caved-in metal. ‘You're going to want the full price.’ he said, getting a snicker from Cali as he pushed the gold over to him.

‘Hm, guess it really did do its job then,’ Cawl sighed as he took the money. ‘Well, we will be seeing you around, Lad.’ The smith said as he started back down the stairs as Cali waved. Lan stood there momentarily, unsure of what he was feeling.

‘Right,’ he nodded and turned to leave.

Still having more money than he wanted to carry around, Lan kept trying to spot people as he looked for the stop he needed to go to next. Not knowing which one, it took some time, but eventually, Lan found the right trade shop.

It looked like all the others he had visited, with an assortment of items arranged on many shelves and a long table in the middle of the room with more valuable items on it.

Although if he knew anything, they only looked valuable, with anything of actual worth being on the shelves behind the counter. Where a large round woman with her hair in a bun that made her look like a cookie jar stood smiling at him.

‘Oh my, a new customer, come in, come in.’ she smiled.

‘Uh, hello. My name is Landrin. I think my mother came by a few days ago and pawned a hairpin. I was looking to see if I could pay for it.’

‘Oh, what a sweet boy you are,’ she cooed ‘, and I know just the one you are talking about. How could I not? Your mother has such lovely eyes, and you have them too.’ she said, vanishing through a door in the back.

Returning a few minutes later with his mother’s hairpin. ‘I hope you will forgive me when I say that I was hoping that I would be able to keep this one. I have never seen anything so beautiful.’ Lan smiled even as the woman’s words raised red flags.

‘My father made it for my mother, so I really can’t grant that wish.’ Lan smiled, picking up the hairpin and making sure it was real. Nice as she may seem, a merchant was always a merchant. When Lan was convinced that it was real, he grinned, feeling an odd sense of completion with having it back.

‘Lovely, do you have the chit?’ she asked.

‘No, my mother doesn’t know I’m paying for it.’ Lan said, looking at the gem that matched their eye colour. ‘This is great. And the fee is thirty per cent, right.’ Lan added, reaching for his coins.

‘Huh, thirty per cent?’ she asked, stopping him. ‘The agreed fee was three gold, bringing the total to six Dragons.’

‘Six gold! You cannot do that, nor would my mother agree to pay that.’

‘And yet she did…’ the woman shrugged and smiled, growing satisfied with herself.

Lan paused. Even in the situation that they… that he was in. There was no way his mother could have agreed to pay that much… Unless she never thought she was getting it back. Despite knowing better, Lan allowed his anger to show.

‘Are you saying that if I was to bring back the chit, it would say the same thing?’

‘If you could have brought the chit, then you would have it now. I am doing you a favour by allowing you to buy it back. I know a few people who have already shown interest in this peace. The way I see it, I am taking a risk in giving it to you, but I will do so, seeing as it means so much to your mother. And a good son should be willing to pay anything to see their mother happy.’

‘What risk? You said it yourself as you could tell she is my mother.’ Lan said as He tried to fight against her higher charisma with fact. Finely trained words had a way of tilting a conversation in favour of the one with the highest charisma, but there were only a few places where it was more noticeable than with a merchant working their craft.

‘Perhaps you are right,’ She shrugged, ‘but the magistrate won’t see it that way. Just because you look alike doesn’t mean you are even related. No, without the chit, I think I am going to stick with the stated price. At this point, she would know that her charisma was higher than his.

No matter what he said, it wouldn’t matter.

‘I am asking you to reconsider? Lan tried. Gritting his teeth and dropping his head when she just smiled at him. Taking a deep breath, Lan retrieved the coins.

‘oh, dear! I would have said nine gold if I knew you actually had it.'

‘That’s funny because that’s what I was going to say to you.’ Lan said, feeling his anger focus as he picked up the hairpin.'

‘What was that love?’

‘Oh, it’s going to be nine gold.’ Lan repeated, going on when she just looked at him. ‘Well, don’t you want to buy back the chit?’ Lan said, making the woman's smile fall away. ‘Remind me, what is the penalty for selling an item that is still under the power of a chit again. One hundred times the trade-in price? The way I see it, I am going to be doing you a bigger favour than you did me by ensuring that chit never walks into this store again.’

‘What are you talking about! You said you were getting it for your mother. That is the only reason I gave it to you.’ She protested, leaving out that she had only done so, thinking he didn’t know about the penalty. Because most normal people wouldn’t. Like most other laws governing merchants, they weren’t written down anywhere, and no self-respecting merchant would tell a target.

‘Perhaps you are right,’ Lan shrugged, ‘but the magistrate won't see it that way.’ He finished, watching as her face twisted at having her own words turned on her. ‘Now that I own this, what’s to stop the former owner from walking in here the moment I leave.’

‘Lies! You said that you were buying it back for your mother. Only a common thug would try something like that.’ Once again, Lan felt her charisma press and try to twist and influence his mind. Only this time, Lan had the upper hand, and no amount of charisma stood a chance against undeniable fact and the rule of law. Even though her charisma was higher than his, he had facts and the law on his side.

‘Oh, you are an awful young man.’ She whined, ‘You better make sure I never see that chit again.’ She added, slamming the six gold on the table before retrieving three more from behind the counter.’

‘It was a pleasure doing business with you.’ Lan nodded, plastering on a big smile as she turned on the waterworks. Lan had to say the sweet old lady act was a new one for him. But it didn’t change the fact that it was an act. And she had tried to take advantage of his mother, three gold for a fee, Lan thought, deciding that he had been too fair.

If that had really been what she had charged, then she could have been looking at a much greater cost than three hundred gold, including imprisonment or having her title stripped.

Despite pouting at Lan the moment he turned to leave, he saw a smile on her face that he dared to say looked almost pleased, and she had every right to be. A real merchant would have taken the item and had the chit-owner come in after. Hell, a good merchant would do so even after taking the payment.

[On the nature of charisma – like all other attributes, charisma has both passive and active effects on the world. Someone with high charisma may not only be more beautiful but find themselves the centre of attention and have an easier time convincing people. However, one’s charisma can not overwrite another’s will. Only give weight to your own. No matter how high your charisma is, if someone has a negative opinion of you, they don’t know or want to do what you wish they will not.]