I blink in surprise at the suggestion, but in the end I'm quick to accept. I nod without hesitation. Relief fills me, although I hardly even considered the possible problem so far. I have to make sure she really wants to do that though. It isn't like she has a quest or any other obligation after all.

“You would?”

She just nods and pats the mana mill.

“Sure. Just help me move this to the counter before you get started. And maybe the chair too.”

She winks at me and pats her belly.

“I might need a sit down every once in a while. Lugging around this little one all day is killing my feet, you know. Can't wait for this to eventually be over with.”

She doesn't sound too serious, but I bend down and stage whisper near her baby belly anyway.

“Don't listen to your mother. There is no need to hurry, and besides, she won't get out of carrying you around anyway. So, take you time.”

Elzbieta chuckles and lightly taps the back of my head in warning.

“Don't give the little one ideas! They should very much always listen to their mother!”

We share a quick laugh after that. Then I help her move to the counter in the shop out front. After I make sure she is comfortable, or as comfortable as she can be anyway, I retreat to the workshop.

It is time to continue with my big project. And afterwards I need to look into getting that potion for Nuutii brewing. If it is true that the wicked are not deserving of rest I must have been pretty wicked recently. I blush a little. Then I slap my cheeks. No! I need to focus!

I take a moment to thoroughly clean the enchanting table. Then I get my notebook so I can get started with the supporting lines and circles for the wreath's second enchantment. I check my numbers once more just in case, although I already checked everything several times.

I have decided on something different this time around for the second enchantment. At first I considered a protective enchantment, maybe something to increase my willpower further, but in the end I decided against it. The idea just doesn't seem to fit this kind of wreath.

Instead I'll apply an enchantment that should harmonize well with the one on grandma's heirloom dress. I'll add an enchantment to boost my charisma. It isn't anything fancy, but it certainly should boost the charm effect of the dress. Yes, that is much more suitable.

Only when I do not come upon any mistakes do I grab the enchanter's chalk. I take another deep breath to steady my nerves. Then I get started by drawing the first rune. And it is like before, as I draw one rune after the other I descend into a meditative trance once more.

The melody Elzbieta hums nearby fades until it is nothing more than a pleasant background noise. Even the flow of time seems to loose all meaning. Maybe even time itself and its passage becomes a mere suggestion. It is a weird experience, but I decide not to focus on it too much. I need to focus on the enchantment anyway.

I draw rune after rune, completing the circle bit by bit. As I draw close to finishing, I slowly begin to emerge from my trance like state too. And as I place the last rune, the softly glowing circle is drawn into the wreath once more. And like before the enchantment takes without a hitch.

I'm tempted to sigh in relief, but I take a moment to take in my surroundings instead. They have subtly changed. Or maybe not so subtly? Even without turning around I can tell, that the sun is setting already. And while Elzbieta is still happily humming along, the reassuring sound isn't coming from the counter anymore. No, she is closing up the shop right now. Sour Cream is gone too, but the state of her bowl suggests that she already received her treat before heading out. It seems like Elzbieta has been quite busy.

I take another moment, or maybe two, to steady my heartbeat as well as my feet, which are aching almost as bad as my swollen breasts. I guess we'll have to take care of that too. Again. Ah well, one thing after the other.

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I move to the front room to check if my housemate needs some help, but as I step through the door I stop in surprise. There is a pile of old, and in some cases almost downright ancient, gear piled on the counter a little to the side.

“What …?”

The pregnant hunter looks over at my exclamation, but finishes closing the shutters of the windows anyway, before she answers, while I start picking through the pile.

“The youngsters are back from their second trip. They brought a whole pile of things beyond what they need to finish their quests too. Tamara wants you to have a look at it. I hope you don't mind. You don't mind, right? For one bronze Crown per piece of gear, right?”

I nod absentmindedly, as I divide the pile into several smaller, just to get a better feeling for the additional workload. It is quite a bit of extra work, but not too much.

“It should be alright … I just hope she doesn't expect it all to be appraised by tomorrow morning though. Right?”

Elzbieta laughs out loud.

“She initially wanted it done by then, but I talked her out of it. They are staying here all day tomorrow anyway at the very least. So, tomorrow evening should be fine.”

She chuckles some more.

“You should have seen them. Poor Szmuel looked like he just wanted to curl up in front of a nice fireplace, any fireplace really. And the others weren't much better either. It seems their second stint took quite a bit out of them. But hey, they got their quests done and then some. This should set them up nicely for the future.”

Then something else comes to her, just as she closes the last window.

“Oh! And Agnieszka is back from Barter Town too! We decided that she should talk with you personally though, since she has more than just coin from the sales you commissioned her to make.”

Of course. I asked her to get me notes on additional runes for the wet nurse enchantment I messed up. The mention of coin from sales is nice too though. I nod as I finish sorting through the gear left by Tamara and the others.

“Think we'll able to meet her down at the inn?”

Elzbieta joins me behind the counter and wraps an arm around my waist. Tension I wasn't even really aware off leaves my body and I relax a little.

“Yes, probably. She tends to have gossip to share after her trips to the city after all. The tricky part might be to get her alone for long enough to talk business.”

Then she nods in the direction of the wreath which is still resting on the enchanting table.

“Did you check it out yet?”

I wrap an arm around Elzbieta in turn this time, as I shake my head.

“No, not yet. I think I'll wait until after we had dinner. It will probably be a long night anyway. I still have to make custom potion for Nuutii.”

She brightens up considerably at the mention of dinner. We don't dawdle around any longer after that either. I just take a moment to make sure I have enough coin on me to pay for our meals.

Today's dinner, as it turns out is sour cream porridge with boiled eggs. It is quite tasty, but I'm left to wonder what my feline housemate would think of it. Ha! That actually is an easy to answer question. She probably would say that it would be better with a little less porridge and some more cream.

Getting a moment alone with my neighbor is, as it turns out, a little more tricky. There really is a lot of people who want to know the newest gossip from the city. At least this gives Elzbieta a chance to spend some time with Zofia and Czeslaw instead for once.

Agnieszka greets me with a heartfelt hug.

“Valeria! So good to see you. You really were absorbed in that enchantment when I dropped by earlier.”

I can't help but blush.

“Yes, I guess I was. I earned another skill upgrade recently. It has some curious side effects.”

She pats my back as we sit back down and winks at me.

“As long as you don't forget to eat, dear. But you have someone to look after you for now, so I really shouldn't worry too much, right? And I have the notes you requested back home. I'll drop them off with you a little later, if you don't mind? Oh, and the money from your sales too! My, that turned into a little adventure! Who would have guessed that a few vials with well preserved virgin milk could get these alchemists so excited. Some of them started a real bidding war once they realized what I had there.”