Elzbieta already is at the inn, eating lunch, when I arrive there. After getting myself a bowl of mashed potatoes with butter and some crispy bacon as well as a little juicy ham, I join her at her table.

She flashes me a grin and pats the place on the bench besides her.

“Valeria! Glad to see you back! I was getting a little worried.”

I return the grin, as I sit down besides her.

“It seems Krystof is pretty serious about making shoes. He probably would have insisted I stay even longer, so he can get the lasts exactly right, if Urszula hadn't come to tell us that lunch is ready.”

The pregnant adventurer shoves another spoon full of tasty goodness into her mouth and nods.

“He is! He sure is! It totally is worth it though! I think you'll be in for a pleasant surprise.”

Considering the price I hope so too. I don't mention that though, and only grin instead. Some things simply don't need to be mentioned or discussed in public after all. And if it will turn out to be a pleasant surprise, I won't mind the money spent anyway. Money well spent and so on.

Right now I enjoy the nice, warm meal. A much better use for my time than worrying about things I can't influence any further right now anyway. Oh, so much better! I had no idea that mashed potatoes could be this good!

Compared to this treat the servings at the academy now seem a little lackluster in hindsight. I have to admit, I wouldn't even want to begin thinking about what I would do if we didn't have such a fabulous inn.

We finish eating in silence. Well, we finish in relative silence since we don't talk. It isn't truly silent though, as the inn is quite busy again today.

Afterwards we return to my shop together. We don't get back to work right away though. Instead we sit in the sun for a little, soaking up its pleasant rays.

Agnieszka's black cat joins us for a little, as we sit there, to bask in the sun as well. It is off again soon enough though. Considering the deep black fur the little feline probably can only take so much sun before it gets too hot and bothersome.

Eventually we get back to work as well.

Elzbieta resumes work with the mana mill and, as she starts singing again, I open up the shop once more as well.

Instead of resuming work on the enchantment for my shoes as before, I take a little time to review my notes.

Ideally I would busy myself with something completely unrelated for a while first, to clear my head and return with a fresh perspective. I have no clue though, what I should do to achieve the effect. Not right now anyway. Thus I start reviewing my design as I am right away. I'll manage somehow. Probably.

I can't find any fault with it. I have streamlined and simplified the design as much as I can. There is nothing left to prune and I most certainly shouldn't even think about adding anything else. That would be inviting disaster. This is as good as it is going to get.

I sigh and look everything over once more. I don't find anything wrong this time either. Not that I expected to find anything wrong to begin with. It is better to make sure anyway.

Now it is time to give this a try before I put any more thought into it. I nod to myself and head back into the workshop.

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Elzbieta looks at me as I move to the enchanting table, one eyebrow raised.

I flash her a confident grin in return, although I don't exactly feel confident.

“I'll give the enchantment for the sandals a try.”

She chuckles and resumes work.

“Go for it! Just don't put them on right away. Check them first. Just in case you somehow manage to produce some cursed shoes that make you dance uncontrollable the moment you slip your feet into them.”

As she resumes humming her song, abandoning the lyrics for now, I blink first once, then twice, before I break into laughter. After a moment Elzbieta joins in too. It takes us a moment, or a few, to calm back down. Laughter can be pretty contagious after all. Persistent too.

In the end I'm still grinning, as I try hard not to break into laughter again.

“Alright, alright, I'll be careful.”

I doubt the result she described would be possible anyway, as my enchantment doesn't touch upon the dancing skill at all. If I were to produce a pair of cursed sandals they would be more likely to turn me into a clumsy, indecisive, bumbling fool instead. Which, to be honest, would possibly be worse and not nearly as entertaining. Let's hope this won't be what happens.

Despite all my preparation I'm still a little reluctant to go ahead. Eventually I slip out of my sandals though. I tie up the laces and place them neatly one next to the other at the center of the enchanting table. Nervously I shift my weight from one foot to the other and back, before I manage to reaffirm my resolve.

Elzbieta chuckles again.

“Not used to going barefoot?”

I blush a little. She might be right. It does feel a little weird or rather unusual. It doesn't feel bad though. No, not at all actually. Maybe I could get used to this? Maybe just a little?

The pregnant adventurer doesn't have any thing else to add. Instead she just flashes me another smile and I decide to refocus on the task ahead of me.

The sandals are ready. Next are the circles and other charcoal lines that are supposed to help with the rest. I draw them with practiced ease.

Next I grab two pieces of enchanter's chalk. One is one of the few pieces of basic chalk I still have. It will do for the first enchantment. The other is a piece of the slightly more fancy chalk I made while waiting for the ingredients from the city. It should serve well enough for the second enchantment.

This is all I will go for right now. Maybe I'll try my hand on a third enchantment another day. For now I leave the fanciest new chalk with the crushed pearl and lapis lazuli on the shelf though.

I grab the first piece of chalk, take one last deep breath and start drawing the runes for the first enchantment.

Those are relatively easy and straightforward. An enchantment for sandals that will improve the wearers agility in general. Not by much, since I'm not adding any runes that limit the scope of the effect, but every little bit counts.

I blink, as I add the last rune to this relatively simple circle and the enchantment gets drawn into my sandals.

I blink once more as I put the chalk away. This was surprisingly quick. Just as well. Before I continue with the second enchantment, I focus on the sandals first, to activate my appraisal skill. I seriously doubt that I messed up, but it doesn't hurt to be careful.

[Nimble step sandals, Quality: Uncommon, These sandals have been enchanted to enhance the wearer's agility under all circumstances. Their steps will be just that little bit more sure when they wear these. Curiously enough, the effect is not limited to the wearers steps though, despite the name. These make the wearer a little more agile and lithe overall.]

Huh? I blink again. I'd say, this counts as a success, despite the unexpected note at the end there.

I shake my head, as I can't help but grin at the same time. I really should have seen this coming. Of course! I removed just about all limitations on the enchantment. Of course it would apply not just to the wearers steps.

I grab my notebook and jot down a quick note about this. I might just add the restriction to the wearers steps back in. Or maybe not. I'll have to give this a try first. Maybe I'll get to like this unexpected side effect.

That will have to wait though, since I really want to add the second enchantment first.

I grab my shoes and deposit them on the workbench to clean the table first. Then I draw the circles and secondary coal lines for the second enchantment. Only once I'm done wit those do I place them back at the center of the enchanting table.

Last but not least I switch chalks. Then I get started with the second enchantment before I can second guess myself any further.