My trusty little feline companion wakes me the next morning well before any of the village's roosters get a chance. I pet her a little until she gets impatient about her treat. Once she has her bowl of delicious cream I grab my things for a quick trip to the bathhouse.

There is no time for a long luxurious soak today, as I need to see the village elder about my new business plans before it is time to actually open the shop. Well, at least ideally I would like to get that out of the way before it is time to open. I'll find out soon enough if it'll work out that way. I'm not the only one with plans after all.

After a quick bath and another stop at my home to drop off my things and get some coin, I head down to the inn.

Since the elder apparently is not in yet, my first order of business is with Krystina instead. She is already behind the guild counter although adventurers are only beginning to trickle in.

There is no big rush of quest givers today either, thus I don't have to wait for long until it is my turn. My business with her is quickly taken care of as well, as I'm only posting the new mana mill quest once more.

I sign the papers and pay her, then I get myself some sweet gruel, apparently sweetened with sugar instead of honey this time around, for breakfast, while I wait for the elder.

Thankfully he arrives not much later and I greet him with a wave. After getting a bowl of sweet gruel for himself he joins me at my table.

“Valeria, dear! Good morning! To what do I owe this pleasure?”

I wait for him to actually get started with his meal before I answer.

“I was pondering some plans to expand business last night and I have come up with something. I would like a second opinion on it first though. And it would involve your services regarding written contracts too, thus your opinion on the matter is doubly important. Could you drop by my place after breakfast, so we could discuss matters in private?”

He chews his next spoonful of gruel more carefully than strictly necessary, it is gruel after all, before he replies.

“Certainly. It won't take too long? Or am I mistaken? I have to be available to others here at the village square for consultations as well, as you probably know.”

I nod. Of course I can't monopolize his time.

“It shouldn't take too much time. Not right away at least. If you need more time to think on matters, I'm not in a hurry.”

He matches my nod with one of his own.

“Very good, Valeria. Don't let me keep you. I'll visit you right away, once I'm done with my morning meal.”

I get up and we shake hands. Then I'm off and on my way back home.

By the time I arrive there, Sour Cream is already gone, her bowl neatly cleaned out once again. I take it down to creek to wash it anyway since I'm not exactly in a hurry today.

Afterwards I enter the expenses for today's mana mill quest into the ledger, to make sure it is properly up to date.

I doubt the elder will waste time to check on it, but I feel a little more comfortable with that taken care of anyway. Especially now that midsummer isn't that far off anymore.

Just as I close the ledger again, after letting the ink dry for a moment, a knock at the back entrance pulls me out of my thoughts.

“Please come in!”

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

There is only two people I expect today, and this knock does not match Elzbieta's. Thus I assume that it is the elder. Thankfully I'm not wrong either.

With careful movements he makes his way from the back entrance through the workshop and around the counter into the actual shop, where I take a moment to open the windows to let in a little more light and some fresh air.

I don't even need to say anything, as his gaze is drawn to the blackboard with its faintly glowing white and red lettering right away. After a moment he nods in comprehension.

“Payment in rates for double enchantments? But not just for anyone who might show up out of the blue? And with a written contract to back it up since enchantments like that usually involve a great deal of money? Does that sound about right?”

I simply nod, as his words sum up my intentions pretty well.

He nods as well.

“You certainly can do that. You probably should expect people to be a bit skeptical, at least at first, though. Around here, out on the frontier, people aren't really used to doing business like that. This isn't a big city after all. I see no harm in trying though.”

He taps a finger against his lips, as he thinks about it some more.

“You should be aware though, that you bear a considerable financial risk like this. I don't expect people to make a run for it after only paying the first rate, especially as your terms restrict this offer to registered adventurers. Adventurers live a dangerous life though. Especially the ones who would have a need for advanced enchantments like this. Sometimes they stay in the forest or one of its dungeons, to put it mildly.”

He pauses again, tapping a finger against his lips once more.

“Maybe you should add interest to the second and third rate?”

I give it some thought but end up shaking my head in the end.

“Lets not call it that. Words like that scare customers away.”

We share a chuckle, before I continue.

“I'd rather just add a moderate markup to the price up front before calculating the rates, since the enchantments and their price are already subject to negotiations.”

He nods in understanding.

“Sounds reasonable enough. About the contracts, how do you want to handle that?”

“Hmm. Could you prepare a contract similar to the quest papers of the guild? A form where we only need to add the names of the involved parties, the enchantments to be performed as well as the price, the rates and the payment dates before we sign and seal it?”

Again he nods.

“I can give it a try. Short and straightforward? It doesn't really need to look fancy, right? In duplicate, one copy for you and one for the customer?”

Now it is my turn to nod, before he keeps going.

“Very well. I'll create a draft for you. It won't be for free though. I hope you understand. How do three bronze Crowns for the draft sound? And afterwards four bronze Crowns for two copies of the contract for each sale?”

It sounds reasonable enough as far as I'm concerned. And, its not like I have much of a choice. He is the only one around here offering this kind of service after all. In the end I don't have to think either long or hard before I shake his offered hand.

“Very well.”

He smiles pleasantly and I grab the three bronze Crowns for the draft of the contract from the strongbox after entering the expense into the ledger.

“Pleasure doing business with you, Valeria dear.”

I open the front door for him, since I'm about to open the shop anyway, so he won't have to go around back on his way out.

I'm just in time to welcome Elzbieta too, who has of course, grabbed the mana mill quest once more.

She whistles softly as she sees the new blackboard, and more importantly what is written upon it.

“That is what you wanted to see the elder about, isn't it? Well, damn, you certainly are dreaming big! And it even looks damn tempting, with those glowing chalks!”

I grin sheepishly as I show her to the back.

“I guess we'll see how it works out eventually. Just don't expect me to go easy on the negotiations for deals like that. And I'll ask Danuta to put a curse on anyone who decides to dash without paying up in the end. I'll ask her for sure!”

The pregnant archer laughs out loud as she makes her self comfortable with the mana mill.

“No doubt about it!”

As she starts working the mill I busy myself as well, preparing to make another batch of chalks.

I'll be able to make more exquisite enchanters' chalks soon enough, with the ingredients I ordered through Agnieszka. For now I decide to experiment some more with burned ocher, as I pondered just last night. I wonder how this will turn out. Ah well, it is no use wondering! I better hurry so I can find out!