Harold Abramson ran a rather successful tailor shop on one of the more prominent streets in Academy town. He had been lucky to inherit a shop that was in a truly great location and had built a very good reputation both within the Academy and among the merchants frequenting the bustling town. This had allowed him to increase the quality and pricing of his family's premium clothing despite not having close connections with the nobility. It had taken a lot of work however, as Academy town was unlike any other town. Here any one of the students dressed in their uniform might be either the son or daughter of the high nobility or a commoner. This meant that the many merchants and restaurants that catered to the Academy had to by necessity learn to judge their customers not only on how expensive their clothes were, which would have worked at any other town. Instead they had to take into account overall appearance, bearing and how they spoke to determine the status of their customers. Those that failed to do this did not last long.

Harold did however after years of experience considered himself quite adept at judging his customers, Yet. Looking at the group that had just entered his shop he was at a bit of a loss. The first girl that entered was clearly a high noble, probably from the east. Her clothing made Harold swallow hard as it might have cost more than his entire inventory. The girl that entered with her was harder to judge. Her clothing was clearly very well made, almost equal with his best. Yet the colours were muted and he could not see any heraldry. Her bearing was also a bit overshadowed by her friend but Harold would guess that she was from around a midlevel noble family, daughter of an earl at most. The boys that enter a few paces behind where the real problem. First problem amongst the boys was the dark skinned boy. He was dressed in a very fine silk shirt that even Harold who had never dealt in silk could tell would cost several gold Imperials. But his bearing was that of a warrior and his accent sounded foreign, Harold concluded that he was likely from one of the Isles or one of the countries in the west. Harold soon decided that it did not matter if he was from an outrageously rich family or one of the nobility as he clearly had money. He was also clearly not dressed for the weather and even if he did his best to hide it, the slight chill was clearly getting to him.

Entering next to the dark skinned boy was what Harold had to guess was either the brother of the first girl or a close cousin. Fortunately for Harold’s heart he was not as extravagantly dressed as his sister. The last two that entered were the largest problems for Harold. One was a head taller than the rest and lanky. His clothing was clearly tailored for him and Harold had no confidence in finding fitting clothes for him. Then there was the last boy. Harold was not sure he wanted to look for clothing for him, as he was dressed in the Academy pants and what was probably a hand me down leather tunic. Had the last boy entered alone he would have not paid him much attention as he was without doubt from a family of little means or one that cared very little for him. All his observations were sadly not that relevant, as he had learned that as a merchant he would have to treat the entire group as the highest ranked person. Otherwise he risked angering the high noble lady. So he put on his best smile and addressed the first girl.

“Good day milady. My name is Harold Abrahamson, owner of his humble shop” He bowed quite low and spoke in a friendly but subservient voice that he had perfected over many years. “Is there anything I can help you and your friends with this day?”

“Ah, yes. All of us but Morgan here are from further south and therefore are in dire need of proper winter clothing.” Her dignified tone of voice confirmed her station to Harold.

The girl did not introduce herself as he had expected but Harold was however a bit surprised by the astonished looks that the dark-skinned and tall boy shot the girl. As he bowed to the others in turn, he was rather curious about the boys’ expressions but by the time he had finished greeting them all they were wearing stiff and somewhat frightened smiles.

He looked back at the girl and thought for a moment he saw something other than the plastered on noble’s smile she wore so well when she turned back to him.

“Well, I can certainly help you with that, I have several wool and fur lined sets of winter clothing.” As long as you are not expecting something of the quality you're wearing he added in his own mind. “What kind of winter clothing are you looking for? Is it for Academy purposes or for social?” He said this hoping they would not say social as he was not at all confident he could manage that.

“Functional.” The girl said without hesitation. “I would prefer not to be cold when doing our winter outings.” She made a nonchalant gesture as if going to a place like this for social clothing would never have occurred to her.

“Then I have several items that might serve.” Harald said and smiled professionally. He was feeling both relieved and a bit miffed as he led the group further into where he kept the higher end winter clothing. He directed them to the multiple rows of folded winter clothing and took out a few lined jackets to start with. What Harold did not expect was that the poorly dressed boy, Morgan, he remembered he was called, would look at the clothing so unhappily. Apparently the noble girl noticed as well as she turned away from Harold and asked him what was wrong.

“Well, these clothes… they will probably be fine in the city. But we have to go to the mountains for survival lessons and even to the labyrinth next winter.” He paused and showed the inside of the clothes to the rest of the group. “This is normal sheep wool, and unless you wear multiple layers this alone will probably be insufficient especially at night.”

“Ohh is that so?” the girls said and looked over at Harold.

“That is so.” He did not dare lie and now was certain that Morgan was a northerner. “Normally people choose to wear an additional layer when going to the mountains or when going north.” He paused and launched in a well-trained sales pitch. “That way you are able to get clothing that can be used not only in winter but fall and a spring as well.” He glanced at the boy and was annoyed to see that he still looked unconvinced. The boy did not say anything but Harold was noticing that the girl was looking at the boy with an unreadable expression. As he was contemplating how to best pull back her attention she spoke to the boy in a somewhat rebuking tone.

Stolen story; please report.

“Stop doing that.” Her voice sounded slightly angry.

“W-what?” The boy almost jumped in surprise after having been intent on observing the lining of the jacket he was holding.

“If you got something to say. Say it!”

“Umm yeah… sorry.” The boy lowered his head apologetically and spoke rather hurriedly. “If we buy these clothes and put on another layer under, along with the armour for our survival lessons I think it will be fairly hard to move.” He paused. “My father always says that when you are going to fight you have to wear clothing that is as thin and as warm as possible. For beasts and monsters are just as dangerous in the cold as when it’s warm.” The last part he added firmly as if his own thoughts could be questioned but not his fathers.

“So what kind of clothing would you recommend Morgan?” The girl said with a smile. The boy thought for a moment and Harold was hoping that he would say that he did not know so that he could take back control over the situation.

“My father once told me that one should only use bear or wolf fur if you intend to get anything done back home.” He smiled a little as he continued. “But since those are quite rare Highvale wool is the best substitute.” He scratched his head and chuckled. “Well if the merchants that come to buy our wool every year are to believe it is the only replacement.” Harold was doing his best to hide his sour expression, the boy was not wrong. Yet Highvale wool was not so easy to come by. The Highvale sheep were a difficult breed and they would only grow their thick coats in the highlands in the north. In other places their coats would be no different from regular sheep. This meant that the production was low and thus the price high. Not only was the price high but the rich wool merchants had signed long term contracts with the nobles that owned all the Highvale sheep so it was all but impossible to break into that market.

“Then we should find clothing with Highvale lining.” The girl stated and Harold’s heart sank and the girl turned to him. “Do you have any on hand?” The girl asked expectantly, making Harold’s face twitch.

“I am afraid I don’t.” He said unable to keep some of the bitterness out of his voice. “I'm sorry to say that the wool merchants have very strict control over the Highvale wool. Newer shops such as mine are very lucky to be able to secure any Highvale wool at all, much less a steady supply needed to keep such items on hand.” He gave them an apologetic bow and he could sense their disappointment.

“Pity…” The dark-skinned boy said as he inspected a nearby coat. “You have quite the quality wares here.”

“You have a good eye.” Harold said surprised and pleased. “Our shop only employs staff of excellent quality and we are very careful when selecting the materials we use.” It was no baseless boast and Harold was rather pleased to have his wears compliment. Still, it only made him all the more bitter about the wool merchants monopoly on the Highvale wool.

“If you had the wool, how long would it take you to complete five sets of winter clothing?” The short boy asked.

“If I had the wool…” He thought for a moment. “Maybe a week? A week and a half at most.” Harold said confidently.

“That fast?” the short boy said.

“Why yes, as I said my staff is the very best and given the opportunity to work with Highvale wool they would truly give it their all.” He said firmly and was a bit confused when he looked at the determined expression of the boy.

“I have six Highvale sheep.” The boys said and Harold could not help himself as he grabbed the boy’s shoulders.

“Is that true?!” He half shouted.

“Too close.” The well-dressed girl said admonishingly.

“Oh I do apologize!” Harold said as he stepped back and bowed.

“N-no problem…” Morgan said a bit taken aback. “Ehm.” He cleared his throat. “I was given six ewes by my father on my name day. He said I could do as I wished with them and since I did not really know what to do with them I left them with my father’s herders.” The boy looked a little perturbed by Harold’s excitement.

“When was your name day, if I may ask?” Harold only just managed to stay professionally courteous.

“Little over three years ago.”

“And you kept the wool since? It is not spoiled or anything?” The last part probably came of as a bit rude but Harold was unable to help himself.

“None of our wool has ever spoiled as far as I know…” Morgan said thoughtfully. “There should be about forty spools of wool in our storage. Would that be enough to make five sets of clothing?”

Harold licked his lips. Forty spools of wool should be almost twice what he would need but more importantly if this was true he might be able to get a steady, if somewhat small supply of Highvale wool. That would be worth quite a lot.

“If you could provide me with all your wool I would gladly make you your clothing without a fee.” Harold said smiling. “I would even be glad to sign a contract to…”

“Wait!” The dark-skinned boy interrupted.

Surprisingly the boy pulled out a parchment and quill and after walking off a bit with the short boy and speaking while scribbling on the parchment. The other students joined them and after a brief argument the dark-skinned boy presented an oddly detailed contract written on the parchment.

Harold read through the contract and was rather pleased by what he read. He looked up at the grinning boy and reached out his hand.

“You have the spirit of a good merchant.” He said with a laugh as he shook the dark-skinned boy’s hand.

“My father taught me that making both parties profit is essential for a lasting partnership.” The dark-skinned boy smiled back at Harold.

“You were taught well.” He paused and turned to the short boy. “It will probably take close to a month to retrieve the wool from your home but I will arrange for the trip as soon as possible. Is there anything you would like to send back home?” Harold asked, wanting to leave a good impression.

“No… but could you tell my father that I’m doing well?”

“Why of course.” Harold said with a bow as he hoped that the boy’s father was not a man who looked down on merchants too much. “Now it will be a while still but how about we take your measurements now so that we can start making the clothing as soon as possible?”

As the Students agree Harold called over a man and a woman from his staff to help take the students measurements. Once they were done Harold bowed as the left his store and once they were out of sight he smiled and with eyes gleaming he set out to make the necessary arrangements.