Chapter 19: Hunh, OK, and Alright

“Six scrolls of [torchlight; common], as ordered.” I handed them over to a smiling Kolin.

“Thanks, Book,” the newly minted adventurer told me.

We were standing outside team Brawn’s guild house, a small bungalow in great need of repairs. Shingles were missing from the roof, like gaping holes in a mouth full of busted teeth. I don’t think there was a single window without a crack or chip marring it, and the three wooden steps up to the front door were splintered and sagging. A really nice place to rest your head.

The city of Oakheart set aside a dozen blocks of real estate to house adventuring teams, as part of the Matriarchy’s civic duty. In return, the teams had the required responsibility to act as militia if called upon. It had been a couple of centuries since a foreign enemy had threatened the capital city, but the law still lived in the minutia of the founding charter the Matriarchy had sprung from. In current times, the teams were used to clear dungeon breaks and the odd quest.

“Come on in, Book.” Kolin’s face fought with competing emotions. The embarrassment of the run-down quarters warred with his pride in his place on a Guild-recognized team. “Rolf wants to talk to you.”

“What about?” I could guess, but didn’t see the harm in letting Kolin feel his importance. OK, the guy was growing on me (like a wart). He had an earnest quality that invited others to like him. I was starting to understand what Tess saw in him. Besides the square jaw and abundant muscles.

“Business, what else, huh?” his smile grew, and he waved me to follow him inside.

I obliged, rubbing my thumb and forefinger together on some imaginary coins. Nothing makes a person greedier than humble times. Also, I imagined my payment was inside.

The inside was, in a word, small. And another word, dirty. Five people lived here? I’m not sure it was any bigger than Tess’s and my apartment. I couldn’t live in such a tight place with others. The two of us—and don’t forget the cat—were enough. It could be a cultural thing or a claustrophobic thing. Kolin lead me over to a big elf holding court from a sagging armchair with stuffing poking out of it. And by big, I don’t mean overly muscled. I could guess where the team’s loot winded up, and it wasn’t a gym.

“Rolf, this is Book. He is the [Scrivener] I told you about. Book, Rolf is team Brawn’s leader."

“[Scrivener; apprentice], actually.” I held my hand out to the large man. Rolf reached forward with a grunt, enveloping my hand in his meaty paw. He squeezed; I winced. There was strength, there.

“Hunh. Those are common quality, right?” He gestured to the bundle Kolin now held. “I won’t accept anything else.”

“Absolutely, I understand. If they don’t work like advertised there is a money-back guarantee.” What was I saying? I had just left myself wide open, and the gleam in his eye agreed with me.

“Hunh. Here,” Rolf dug a small bag from between his bulk and the ripped fabric of the chair’s arm. He tossed it, and I caught it out of the air one-handed. I gave the bag a gentle jingle, feeling the coins rattle inside. I wanted to, but there was no way that I was going to count them in front of this guy. He didn’t seem the type to appreciate it, so I took it on faith

“Thank you,” I gave a slight nod of my head, enough to appear appreciative but not enough to appear obsequious. If I wanted his future business, and I did, then I couldn’t start on the back foot. It was hard to bargain from a position of inferiority. I wasn't a total noob.

“Un-hunh. What else can you do?” Rolf was all business. There was nothing small about the man, not even his 'talk'.

Kolin relaxed his shoulders a bit, seeing the exchange going well. Not only had he put himself out there, vouching for me, but was still the new guy.

“For now, I can do [torchlight] and [heat] scrolls,” I told him. “I’ll have more options, soon.” Then I took a chance that might bite me on the ass. “Do you have anything specific in mind? I can shoot for that, next.”

Wait for it…”Hunh. Something for combat. Warming a kobold’s tootsies with a little [heat] won't help much.”

There was something about hearing the word ‘tootsies’ coming out of such a large specimen that made my brain hiccup. I tried to keep it off my face, but it was established I needed to work on that.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

“What?” Rolf squinted at me. “I say something funny?”

“Not at all,” I smoothed my features, not wanting to offend my first customer.

“[Heat] is good when we don’t want the light from a fire to give us away.” Kolin inserted himself, eager to please both sides.

Rolf looked to his greenest member, then back to me. He tried to raise one eyebrow, but instead, his unibrow reached for his hairline.

“I’ll see what I can do,” I told the team leader. I did have a few ideas rattling around in my head.

“Hunh.” I took that as a dismissal.

“I’ll walk you out.” Kolin must have heard it too. He gestured for me to follow.

It was a good thing he showed me the way, too. Otherwise, I might have gotten lost along the twenty paces to the door ([mini-map] to the rescue!).

“Thanks, Book. You OK if I stop by your place for dinner?”

“Not as long as you bring those kabobs, Kolin.” It was nice of him to ask, instead of just showing up like usual.

“Will do,” Tess’s boyfriend gave me a short laugh, waving as he turned to head back into the bungalow.

I set out along the dirt road, heading towards the Guild square. As I walked, the street began to change as I trudged along the blocks. First came gravel, then uneven cobbles, and finally meticulously laid paving stones. The quality of the city-provided guild houses rose with the street quality. Bungalows became small houses, which evolved into two-storied homes, culminating in multi-level McMansions. The guild teams’ hierarchy was obvious to anyone with eyes. Team Brawn had a long climb ahead if they managed to last long enough.

As I crossed the main courtyard, I made a slight detour to pass by the notice boards. Looking for more teams to sell to, obviously, not a certain redhead with ivory skin.

I still didn’t know her name!

----------------------------------------

“Book, I need you to make ten scrolls of [heat].”

“Yes, Master Alric. For one order?” Not that it mattered. The work was the same.

“Eight to go into the street maintenance supplies, two for back-stock.”

Another part of my Master’s contribution, the scrolls helped to keep the cobbles from icing over in the winter. Happy customers, happy ‘keepers (worked hard on that, didya?). Shut up, brain. Winter was about two months ahead, and it would be Tess’s and my first one here. I loved winter, the cold and the snow invigorating me. We’d soon find out how intense the season became on Elf Home, compared to Colorado.

“I got it, Master,” I gave him a quick bow of the head and headed to my ‘office’. Master Alric didn’t appreciate how casual I could be, so I subtly lengthened my strides to make a clean getaway.

“OK, Book, think.” Yes, I talk to myself. Sometimes, I even answer (wanh-waw). I tell myself jokes, too. Did you hear the one about…? Sorry.

Master Alric wasn’t going to trust me with anything related to combat, not yet. So, what could I do for Rolf? Could I twist something I already knew? I left my mind to work the problem, while my hands got to work on the scrolls.

On scroll number nine, I heard the most wonderful of sounds. *Ding!*

*[Skill]s->…

…4. [Heat; common]*

Woohoo! One more [Skill] to achieve, and two spells to discover. I had the feeling the [Spell]s would be much harder. I finished the ten scrolls, using my [Skill] for the last one to get a feel for the cost. Checking my [mana] bar told me that the shortcut cost something like half again as much as doing it manually. It was a smidge better than my [torchlight] quickie had been the initial time. Practice makes efficient.

Shocker.

(Wait, did you actually use ‘quickie’? Dude.)

I think my mind had a good thought. Work that one out. [Heat] was a function of combustion. Overcharging the cells in a parchment created micro explosions. If I combined the two, charging to the brink and adding an exothermic reaction as the cherry (bomb!) as the topper, then…he-he. But not here, in the workshop. Master Alric had too many volatile ingredients in storage, and the chain reaction could take down the whole building. That was probably why most [mana] users did not experiment a whole lot.

I bundled up the eight scrolls, setting aside the two to put on the shelves. I was eyeballing materials to ‘borrow’ when I heard a call from the front room.

“Book, you have a visitor.”

I did? Tess would be at work, and besides, she had never been to Alric’s place before. Magali would just be waved to the back. I did not know anybody else. Kolin was a definite no. There was no reason to wonder, so I followed my feet to the front of the store. I quickly placed the two [heat] scrolls in their place under the glass top of the display case built into the sales counter. As I popped back up to my feet, I saw who my visitor was.

“Book, right?” a young elf maiden stood in front of me. She had glowing skin and a fiery mane.

I nodded, trying not to look like a fish out of water. ‘O’. Master Alric made a point of going back to his desk under the window.

“I heard that you were selling some scrolls to teams for a discount.”

I shot Alric a look, worried he’d take note. “Un-huh.” Brilliant repartee. “Did you find a team to join?” Excellent recovery.

“No,” this time she was the one to cast a glance at my Master. What worried her?

“Sorry,” I said.

She bobbed her head in a quick nod. “Do you think that you will have any more scrolls soon? Discounted?”

“I might. What are you looking for?”

“The basics, for now. I want to be prepared if…something…comes up.”

I took the hint. “It might be a couple of days, is that OK?”

“Yeah, OK.”

“Do you want to meet me here?” I gave her a minuscule shake of the head as I said it. This was the last place I wanted to do business. “Or your shop?” She returned the head shake. We were on the same page, so it seemed.

“The boards.”

“Alright. Two days?”

“Alright.”

That was a lot of nothing talk. It was becoming a staple of mine. 'Is there anybody out there that could help me with conversations?', I asked the universe. She turned and strode out of the store. I started to raise a hand in farewell, but she was already gone.

For acorn’s sake, I forgot to ask, again! What was her…

“I see you know Tak, eh Book?”