Auntie Merry, more than scary, always tsun and never dere . . .Justin thought, amused. When did you ever watch the Red Green Show?
It was very in character for her last words to him to be a spiky ball of of criticisms wrapped around a tiny lump of grudging but sincere respect. Justin didn’t mind, though. While they were more alike than she would ever have admitted, he felt rather proud of it. She’d been an admirable woman, in almost every way, and in particular, an excellent model of integrity for him since his childhood. The only adult he could remember who had ever apologized to him for being wrong about something.
Which was the main reason he was taking her bizarre claims seriously.
He put the exquisite handwritten letter down and stared at the small leather folio lying on his desk. His eyes slid to the right, where a small freestanding picture frame held a headshot of a young woman, more cute than beautiful. Her dark hair was cut in a blunt chin-length bob, and her expression overlaid fondness with a smirk.
Then he looked down at the two black mourning bands around his upper left arm.
He picked up the folio and untied the leather strap holding it closed. Inside it was a sheaf of small, pale parchment pages, barely larger than his two hands put together. They had borders of gold foil, which in turn were covered in celtic knot designs that glittered like powdered gemstones. A dense mass of tiny characters filled the first page, written in thin lines of purple ink. Justin didn’t recognize the writing, but as he studied it, the meaning entered his mind regardless.
AS YOU COMPREHEND
SO ARE YOU WORTHY
AS YOU CHOOSE
SO ARE YOU GIVEN
AS YOU SIGN
SO ARE YOU BOUND
Huh, he thought, putting the parchment down and leaning back in his chair. He rolled his head up and stared at the ceiling. So. . .magic is real.
It was certainly far more believable than the first alternatives that came to mind, such as some kind of conspiracy theorist black-bag operation hypnotic programming in his past. Or ‘Gray’ alien telepathy, like in Close Encounters of the Third Kind – no; Occam’s Razor clearly said call it magic and move on!
He sat up and looked at the parchment again.
Hail, stranger.
he read;
I do not know the origins of The Magic Item Shop. Many decades ago, as I crawled dying through the wreckage of my city, I found its Contract. In the desperate hope of survival and with my last moments of breath, I made my unalterable choices and signed my name.
I was transported to another city, in another world, and granted skills and powers beyond my imagination.
I regret nothing. Managing The Magic Item Shop has afforded me a life of meaning, happiness, and wonder greater than I ever dared to dream. But I have also learned that with enough time, even The Magic Item Shop can become a source of boredom, frustration, and eventually resentment.
Therefore, I have chosen to exercise the unwritten termination clause before these consequences become unbearable. After copious research, I have concluded - as was claimed in my predecessor’s message to me – that my remaining life will power the next iteration of The Magic Item Shop Contract, while my soul passes benignly into the unknown.
Whether you seek escape, or adventure, or just an honest and virtuous career in supernatural crafting and retail, The Magic Item Shop can provide it. I will not recommend this to you, as I do not know your circumstances, but I will assert again that I, personally, regret nothing.
You will leave behind everyone you know and everything you possess, other than your clothes, but you will be healed of all illnesses, curses, and other malign conditions, and either returned to your peak physical condition at the end of your adolescence, or advanced to it.
I cannot tell you more than this. I can only leave you with my best wishes, and the greatest words of wisdom I have yet acquired:
To a mind of sufficient discernment, everything is negotiable, and a hint is as loud as a thunderclap.
Oh yes. . .message received, my predecessor, Justin thought. ‘Unalterable choices’, but ‘everything is negotiable’, plus ‘unwritten clauses’. And I’m sure there’s more hints in there that I haven’t sussed out yet.
He carefully extracted the top sheet from the folio. The parchment was surprisingly stiff in his hands, and he set it down on his desk, then grazed a fingertip along the glittering design on one edge. It was barely gritty to the touch, like ultra-fine sandpaper.
I think those really are powdered gems, he thought. The idea of selling it to a collector of mysterious uniquities passed briefly through his mind and was instantly discarded. He had already decided to sign. There was nothing keeping him in this world any longer.
Unconsciously, his right hand rose to the double black bands on his upper left arm.
Beneath the topmost parchment in the folio were more of the same. These sheets, however, had obvious checklists, and signature lines at their bottoms. Justin removed them all and spread them out on the desk.
If there was ever a time to RTFM, he thought, this is absolutely, positively, categorically it.
# # #
The choices were easier than he’d anticipated.
He was. . .not transmigrating; trans-emigrating? Close enough - to Ribe.
LOCATION Welcome to the kingdom of Eternia. It's known as the most serene, albeit strange, place of all the kingdoms, but adventure is easy to find here if you seek it out. The temperate climate makes for a relaxed and casual place for people living in it, and it reflects in the soul of its inhabitants. Choose a location for your shop.
DEWFORD
A town surrounded by verdant green where the wind tells of impending change.
Dewford is a recent settlement located on a major trade route, with various migratory species giving it a plethora of wildlife. There doesn't seem to be a lot going on in this peaceful town, other than a few strange incidents within the mysterious woods. Stick to the road, and things will be just fine.
RIBE
A city blessed with pristine waters and a natural serenity.
Ribe is a beautiful and bright city widely known for its hot springs and enchanted waters. The city thrives on tourism, and encourages new businesses. Rumor has it the city lies on top of a network of underground crystal caves inhabited by slimes - if you believe such a thing.
ELLEND
A city where you can hear the melody of the sea.
Ellend is a large port city skirted by the ocean shore, connected to several islands via a network of ships. The way of life in this place relies heavily on the ocean and on its trade, and there is plenty of both, with a wild variety of customers from both the mainland and island settlements.
CARNA
A city with a fresh scent in the air. It feels like a place where adventures start.
Carna is a bustling city sharing its border with the wild lands; unclaimed territory filled with monsters, ruins, and dungeons. There are plenty of quests and opportunities to go around, and many looking to spend their hard earned coins seeking out taverns, gambling halls, and shops.
MAGMANA
A city strong in its founding traditions as the rocks it was carved from.
Magmana is known as a mystical and historical city, named after its mountains. There's a strange aura to this place, where many ruins and their secrets of old are still left untouched. Its isolation makes for a mostly local market leaving only limited contact with other cities.
BELICE
A city rich in life and resources as there are colours in the rainbow.
Belice is the vibrant and energetic capital situateed in the heart of Eternia Kingdom. As its capital, most of high society resides here to enjoy the many wonders the world has to offer. The city is decorated with aqueducts used not only to transport water, but infrastructure as well.
Hot springs? Tourism? Serenity? Encouraging business environment?
There were supposed to be other options?
Not for him. An asian-themed para-Venice swimsuited him right down to the water.
(He paused to add an entry to his new Purchases spreadsheet: Complete Down To The Bone discography)
Supplies obviously had to wait on his crafting picks.
CRAFTS In order to create high quality wares to earn more profit, you'll need to research, refine or combine the raw materials inside your packages. As per the contract, you'll innately learn and develop skills in your selected crafts as well as generate the required tools within your shop. You should keep in mind to factor in what your customers can afford. If you pick less than 3 crafts or skills, you may choose 1 extra Shop Upgrade or Special Item for every point leftover. Choose up to 3 Crafts or Skills
Smithing
Smelting, forging and smithing are the trades of a working man. While demanding in effort, the rewards you yield are equally great. Fan the flames! Mold the metal! Your craftsmanship will build the tools that last through the ages.
Weaving
A talented clothier makes more than bolts or pieces of clothing—her true profession is fashion. The skills include weaving fabrics, sewing, and tanning hides, giving you copious amounts of freedom to design the next trend of fashion.
Artist
Being an artist demands a steady hand and an eye for detail; to carve, shape or paint your designs into reality. From paintings to sculptures to jewelry, these decorated and clearly ornamental items represent the beauty and treasure of this world.
Alchemy
Alchemy is more than just recipes; it's a process of experimenting and understanding how to make potions, cures. To learn is to improve—refining and brewing reagents to eventually create a concoction better than the sum of its parts.
Fragrances
A pleasant odor is more than just scent if touched with a little magic—It puts a spring in your step. Imagine a wax candle to soothe the stress away, hair care with a literal touch of fresh spring meadow, or perfume to rival the allure of a succubus.
Baking
Does making sweet confections sound like your cup of tea? Speaking of—sweets go great with tea. Exotic and monstrous ingredients will make for the finest of cooking dishes, but cakes and other baked goods specifically are currently all the rage at high society.
Spellcraft
It requires a scholarly mind and the accumulation of centuries worth of research to customize spells to your liking, or fundamentally make a spell with a brand new effect. Masters of spellcraft can also etch spells into scrolls or tomes for simple usage.
Enchanting
Enchanting demands meticulous and precise rituals, where reagents are used to assist or enhance the process, but is worth every second in the end. You can etch items with the effects of practical spells, or animate items such as brooms to sweep your shop.
Divination
A wondrous, mythical and vague profession—to read the hearts of men, to obtain knowledge and to predict the future. Divination can be difficult, especially where free will is involved, but it can be honed with the help of reagents such as tea leaves.
Breeder
Hatch monster eggs, handling them for produce or training them for a variety of uses. It's a profession suitable only to those with a strong arm and a wild spirit. Though some locations are not too enthusiastic about having monsters in their midst.
Alchemy was a no-brainer – it explicitly listed cures in its description. Straight to the top of the list. Even in a potentially competitive market, healing was still too personally useful to let past.
Of the remaining options, only Spellcraft and Baking stood out to him. The rest either seemed like excessively repetitive drudgery, or simply didn’t appeal. Spellcraft. . .yes, it was definitely second in line. Scribing scrolls and tomes, storing up magic for later use, plus customizing and innovating spells? Word magic? Irresistible! Baking, though. . .unexpectedly, he liked the idea, but did he really need the Shop’s magical enhancement to do it?
Well, what about these Upgrades and Artifacts, then? Was an extra one worth the trade? He turned to the last pages.
SHOP The next section of the contract specifies various upgrades, additions and alterations available to your shop. It gives the place a more unique look. Choose 3 Shop Upgrades
Bigger Shop
You may select this option multiple times, each time doubling your indoor area. More room. More displays. More storage. By default, your shop would make a cozy, little corner store.
Warped Space
Your shop's exterior is much smaller than the inside would suggest. Does a cozy, little store actually contain a superstore? Is your store a cute, little dollhouse you could carry around in one hand?
Mobile
Once per year, you may choose to have your shop teleport to a different random city. Despite other upgrades, you may not take your shop out of your city without having this option.
Transform
Your shop is no longer a mere shop. Instead, it is a more specialized store such as a bakery, tavern, hot spring resort, or a cafe. Your shop will have all the required facilities installed.
Automated
Your shop has been improved with skilled enchantments, automating various services and chores such as cleaning; accounting, repair, or specific tasks such as waiting tables.
Improved Housing
A complete redecoration of your private, living area allows it to be much more spacious and luxurious. It comes with refillable comfort items such as soaps and other toiletries.
Deluxe
Your shop's interior is of a much higher quality than the standard. Whether you have gilded, high-class decor or you have finely crafted, mundane furniture is up to you.
Library
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
A library is added to your shop. It contains various encyclopedias and almanacs to explain rare creatures, substances, and phenomena. It also contains a set of magical grimoires.
Assistance
A cute, helpful worker will show up at your front door when your shop opens and work up to eight hours a day before going home. She's highly skilled but insists upon her privacy.
These. . .some of them didn’t make sense. Assistance and Automated stepped all over each other, with Automated the clear superior. Once he had enough of an income stream, he could hire a cute, helpful, highly skilled worker. Or two, or more. Could he buy and/or create the skilled enchantments for Automated? Unknown! And private personal life or not, employees meant entanglements. Responsibilities. Obligations. No, Automated was the way to go.
Similarly, Bigger Shop and Warped Space were in direct competition, with Warped Space likewise the preferable choice. So many possibilities with the latter! How much extra space did it afford? He was reading a language he didn’t actually know, which likely meant superstore was closer to his own understanding of the term than not.
Wait. How well did he understand the term? Just how big was a superstore?
A few moments online later, he was sarcastically thinking to himself, Oh very well; I suppose a quarter of a million square feet might suffice.
Sure, that was way out on the high end of the range, but on the other hand. . .Warped Space’s entry hadn’t changed.
So. At least three out of nine Upgrades to choose. Library was a must-have, even without the potential synergy with Spellcraft; Mobile a must-not. And he could purchase the effects of both Deluxe Shop and Improved Housing through mundane remodeling. If anything, he would prefer it. Better for the local economy, better for his reputation, better all around. Eliminated, then.
That left Automated, Library, and Warped Space, and. . .possibly Transform? How did choosing that even work? Oh, now there was space for it! A title box and a few lines for a simple description.
Maaagic, he thought. Put it aside for later.
Artifacts.
ARTIFACTS Lastly, the contract allows for you to select a few magical artifacts specifically chosen from your benefactor to help you along. Choose 3 Special Items
Miracle Garden
This small indoor or outdoor garden plot contains miracle soil—a perfect mixture of self-replenishing nutrients to make wholesome plantlife thrive.
Magic Fountain
This fountain contains pure, mana-infused water that's great for farming, as a potion or food ingredient. The water heightens existing magical effects.
Amorous Heart
This glowing, winged heart of light fills the room with a pink glow that showers all it shines upon with amorous intent. Letting this float up to your ceiling is a great way to bring people to your shop on dates, or to buy romantic gifts for their lover!
Aquarium
This aquarium, pond or river that could even be indoors, is a one-way Portal to a plethora of vibrant, aquatic environments. You'll have to use your fishing prowess to pull the exotic and magical fish to your side.
Cursed Fountain
A Magic Fountain under a terrible curse. It curses anything it is mixed into, worsening any effects it may have. Healing potions become poisons. Speed potions slow or cause paralysis.
Chandelier
This multi-color chandelier will illuminate your shop in a symphony of soft, yet beautiful lights. The light makes all it shines upon more appealing, as if the one viewing it were wearing rose-colored glasses.
Rare Draught
After filling it with a liquid, it will magically refill with the same liquid at dawn each day. Interestingly, filling it with turpentine and then washing it out will reset it.
Mana Well
This deep, blue well of raw, wispy mana will make the use of magic less tiring in your shop. Enchanted items that need to recharge will recharge more quickly, and casting spells will be less tiring for all those nearby.
Pink Vouchers
A small booklet containing pink slips of paper that return at a rate of one per day. Burn one in a fire, and an eager companion will show up at your door to love you for the whole night.
Crystal Ball
This crystal ball allows to you to scry on nearby public areas such as streets and parks. It also allows you to concentrate to make temporary, illusory signs appear, to scout out customers and advertise your shop.
Light Fairies
A few magically-created, artificial fairies live in your shop. They have a keen sense for interests, able to direct customers to whichever wares most resonate with them. Unlike real fairies, they're made of pure light and are terrible conversation.
War Armor
A suit of enchanted armor—perhaps that of a monk, assassin or sorceress, rather than a knight—protects your shop. An emotionless apparition manifests within the armor to channel the power whenever you need him. You can also call the armor to your own body, allowing you to bring out the full potential within.
Bank Note
This magic notebook contains all your financial information. It can only be used by you, and you can summon it at will. By writing out transactions, you can conjure or deposit money, changing the amount in your account accordingly. It makes a great cash register and even files your taxes.
Ancient Grimoire
This archaic tome contains various rare and forbidden spells, and it helps with translations of older texts. It may have an eerie appearance, but you can't judge a book by its cover.
Shadow Guard
The very shadows within your shop keep a constant watch on everything. Should anyone try to pickpocket or steal, inky, black hands will rise up to slap the would-be thieves on the wrist. It also 'scares' off monsters to stay away from your territory.
Artificer's Loupe
Rather than magnifying light, this lense magnifies the color of magic, essentially allowing you to see magical effects as auras glowing around things. With a little practice, you can easily identify magic items.
Golden Toolset
This is a bundle of all the tools you'll need for one craft of your choice. They're all enchanted gold. They'll never wear or need cleaned, and they'll magically enhance your skill in the craft. You may select this multiple times for different crafts.
Miracle Garden, pass; gardening, magic or not, held no interest for him. Magic Fountain, starred; the synergy with Alchemy went without saying. Amorous. . .Heart. . . .
Chloe.
Bean.
He. . .hadn’t thought about them. Hadn’t remembered, hadn’t missed them. Not for hours.
Justin sat back in his chair and scrubbed at his face. For the first time in months, his eyes stayed dry. Oh, it still hurt; the emptiness was still worse and more painful than anything else he’d ever felt, but. . .maybe he finally had a way forward. A way out. The money was just an occasional cold drip of satisfaction into the void within him, a mere token gesture, but this. . .a new- no, a second life. Not – a new one.
Never that. Never again. Gone, forever.
He swallowed convulsively.
A second life. Away from everything, from all the little reminders - the places they’d gone together, the moments they’d shared in them. . . .
He looked around the room with fresh eyes. Bare walls; all her art missing. Donated or given away. Half-empty book-shelves, the same.
He thought of the room down the hall. The door he never opened anymore. The air would be stale in there. The impressions in the carpet from the – furniture – would be long gone.
I hate this place, he suddenly realized.
Then. . .don’t stay here any longer, something deep inside him said.
Right. He’d be selling the house, too. That meant moving out. Packing up – no. He wasn’t taking much with him, was he? There were companies that handled that. Estate sellers. Yes. He’d need a rental. Something private. Cozy. With a good kitchen? He could start learning to bake? Yes. Why not. A crash course, a deep dive, a good distraction.
But not too distant. Nearby. He needed to reconnect with his friends, his colleagues, again, if only for a little while. He didn’t want anyone wasting their time looking for him, once he’d left. He didn’t want them thinking he’d gone off to die.
Heh. He could annoy them with his early attempts at baking. They wouldn’t dare refuse. Amusing.
And the mild irritation it caused would make their parting smoother, too. They’d have an easier time rationalizing his absence, his lack of communication.
He took a deep breath, blew it out, and looked back down at the last parchment sheet. Get back on the horse, kiddo, his father’s rough voice echoed in his memory. Better the world should hurt you than you hurt yourself.
Aquarium, no; Cursed Fountain, hell no; why was that even in there!?
Chandelier, no; Rare Draught, interesting, but probably no; Mana Well, starred, more Spellcraft – and perhaps Alchemy – synergy; Pink Voucher let go of the chair before you break something Justin!
He stood up and walked around the house a few times, clenching and unclenching his fists, before stopping in the kitchen. That. . .hadn’t been fun.
He opened the refrigerator. Leftovers. Second Story Thai. He dumped the rice in a bowl, poured the chicken yellow curry over it, put it in the microwave.
While it heated, he thought about going back into therapy, during the time he had left. Maybe he would. He put the idea on hold in favor of a glass of water.
When the curry was hot, he ate in the kitchen, standing up, leaning against the counter. Then returned to his office. Back on the horse.
Crystal Ball, no, and also creepy; Light Fairies, probably not, insufficient superiority to employees; War Armor – he paused to consider his overflowing rage of a few minutes ago – hard no; Bank Note, no, not least because he enjoyed doing his own books; Ancient Grimoire, starred, for even more synergy; Shadow Guard. . .no, there were probably spells for that sort of thing, and who exactly defined ‘monsters’, anyway? Not him, apparently; no extra lines appeared for it as he tried to give it fair consideration. And besides, if ‘monsters’ had the money – or goods to barter, or services - why not sell to them, instead of scaring them off?
Artificer’s Loupe, no, as again, Spellcraft could probably provide a substitute; and, finally, Golden Toolset - definitely no. He might not be a tenth the handyman his father had been, but he shared the old goat’s principles. The work’s not done until the tools are clean. Never blame them for your own mistakes.
The man’s epigrams didn’t match up exactly as counters to Golden Toolset’s benefits, but that wasn’t the point. The point was how he’d feel his father’s disapproval every time he used it. Not his disappointment – never that – but certainly disapproval. It’d make the work too easy; weaken the foundations of his new skills. No.
So. . .Ancient Grimoire, Magic Fountain, and Mana Well? Yes. Good picks. Things were shaping up nicely.
He took a look at the fourth page, Blessings, before he returned to the others.
SPECIALTY An important aspect of the contract states the choosing of a specialty in the form of a blessing. Not only does this grant you a unique ability, but it also subtly affects the items you receive in your packages, as well as the process with which you craft items. The blessing is primarily beneficial though in some rare cases, your wares may display a temper, aftertaste or side-effect. Choose 1 Blessing
FIRE
A Blessing for those with a fiery will and a temper of an elder dragon.
You gain the ability to breathe long-lasting flame and control the distribution of its heat. This precise control allows you to cook your dishes to perfection, heat any metal you work just right, or better incubate a monster egg. You also become very resistant to heat.
ARCANE
A Blessing for those that follow the eternal path of magical study.
Having your mind opened to the arcane allows you to learn the magical arts more easily, plus you gain a sixth sense for magic. You can always tell when you're about to use a cursed item, or whenever someone is casting a spell near you.
LEAF
A Blessing for those that are in harmony with the very plant-life around them.
This blessing instills within you a vast knowledge of plant-life and a magically-enhanced green thumb. Furthermore, all herb and mushroom packages you receive are of a higher and rarer quality, as if they were blessed by Mother Nature herself.
LOVE
A Blessing for those who wish to arouse feelings of intimacy and pleasure.
This blessing grants you savoir faire, tact, and grace in spades. Your body will be shaped to your desire, becoming more attractive. Seductive. Flawless. Many admirers, and possibly customers, will practically fall right out of the sky.
TIME
A Blessing for those that look at the big picture, beyond what scholars comprehend.
You gain the ability to create pockets of accelerated or slowed time within your shop. These time bubbles allow a maximum of twice, or half normal time. A blessing that's great for those impatient or those looking to sleep in a few more hours.
VENOM
A Blessing for those who with the slyness of a serpent and just as poisonous as a bite.
The best way to know what something does is to experiment it on yourself. You build a formidable resistance to anything volatile, poisonous or any negative effects from imbibing items, instead developing an innate sense of the effect it would've had on you.
SEA
A Blessing for those whose heart is like a pearl of the ocean, who like to swim free.
You're one with water. You can sense it nearby and gain the ability to breathe under-water and telekinetically control it. While you can't move it with dangerous force, you can rinse flasks, dry herbs, measure and handle precise amounts of alchemical fluids.
SUN
A Blessing for those who share their power and wish to grant the desires of others.
This blessing will cause residual mana to accumulate within you. Three times per month, you may call upon your power to grant a minor wish to your customers. Additionally, you instinctively know what your customers desire.
MOON
A Blessing for those who are denizens of the night, soothed by its embrace.
The need for sleep is reduced to only one or two days each week. You can keep at physical tasks for much longer than before, and you're a bit more resistant to ailments. It's perfect if you're looking to keep your shop open even during the night.
Arcane led the list at first, Time was a hopes-dashed bust, and then he read the entry for Sun. Then he made himself consciously understand every word, every sentence, of Moon’s entry afterwards, because RTFM, but while it was almost as good as Arcane, neither of them came anywhere close to the utter fullness of Yes and Win that was Sun.
Three minor wishes to sell – or gift - per month, and instinctual knowledge of his customers’ desires? Never mind how either of those alone was practically a license to print mon– right, fantasy universe; a license to mint coinage, instead - the sheer power Sun granted overwhelmed every other option available. Sold!
Now that he’d decided on Alchemy and Spellcraft for his product lines, his Supplies were obvious:
SUPPLY The contract specifies that a package will be dropped off by a mysterious benefactor each month. It's randomly filled with rare and exotic materials often found in dangerous environments, so how they even gather the goods is a puzzle on its own. You'll get by easily enough selling as is, but with effort and skill you can easily turn your shop into a lucrative opportunity. You may select the same package multiple times if you would simply like to receive more of that resource. Choose 5 Packages
Herbs
Fresh or dried, these herbs are produced from rare and exotic plants exclusively found in the deep wilds. They're highly sought after for their healing properties and the ability to cure ailments. Additionally, some of these herbs can temporarily enhance the physique, while others possess unique flavors to be used as spices.
[Usable in Alchemy, Baking, Divination, Fragrances]
Mushrooms
Found inside dark and dangerous caverns deep underground, these odd mushrooms can have eccentric effects if ingested. Some mushrooms will drastically alter a person's body, or possess mentally suggestive or hallucinogenic properties. Research and caution is advised in handling these magical and strange fungi.
[Usable in Alchemy, Baking]
Ores
An assortment of rough ores mined from rich deposits in the mountains. These ores can be refined into precious metals, or some contain gemstones or crystalized mana. The contents of this package can turn a tidy profit depending on your luck, but seeing how heavy the ores can be, the quantity in a package is often low.
[Usable in Artist, Enchanting, Smithing]
Relics
Ancient artifacts and arcane tomes written in forgotten languages, these relics are filled with knowledge from days past. They can be sold for its archeological value, but their true potential lies in the knowledge that can be extracted from them. Be careful—some items still possess deadly curses!
[Usable in Artist, Divination, Enchanting, Spellcraft]
Monster Produce
The produce of monsters is difficult to come by for obvious reasons. Phoenix feathers. Fluffy wool. Delicious milk from monstrous origins. These are some of the items you can expect—each with its own unique magical properties and effects. The quality of goods made from monster produce is often greater than their counterparts.
[Usable in Alchemy, Artist, Baking, Fragrances, Weaving]
Monster Parts
If you've wondered how a monster obtains its innate magical abilities, then look no further than their monstrous parts. For instance; dragon scales grant resistance, minotaur horns grants strength, succubus tails grants attraction—and they all make for very potent reagents. They won't miss them. Besides, they grow back.
[Usable in Alchemy, Enchanting, Fragrances, Smithing, Spellcraft]
Monster Eggs
A monster egg is a mystery wrapped in a shell. From a slime to a succubus, anything could hatch from it, where only a keen eye and a keen mind could reveal its contents. Society generally considers them to be a delicacy, as they are rich in magical nutrients and taste, but you could hatch them just as well.
[Usable in Baking, Breeder]
Herbs, Monster Parts, and Monster Produce. Between the drug implications and the blatant warning of caution is advised in handling, Mushrooms were on the No-Fly list. Same with Relics and their deadly curses bullcrap. Not even once!
As for Monster Eggs. . .no, in the end, going mundane with baking wasn’t a hard choice, and Breeding wasn’t even in the running. Three words: baby monster poop.
And he knew what he wanted from the Artifacts, so he’d substitute an Upgrade. Transform. There was something lurking there, a vague idea, less than half-formed. . .not a bakery, not a resort, definitely not a tavern.
He took a couple of deep, calming breaths, in through the nose, out through the mouth.
A cafe?
Wait.
Coffee.
Was coffee even a thing in this other world? No, it had to be. A cafe wouldn’t be an option if it wasn’t. That’s what the word literally meant. But. . .what about chocolate? And vanilla?
This bore deeper thought.