To ease the heavy mood, Anne invited Dorothy to help her prepare some food in the kitchen, and the dwarf was more than happy to. Once they entered the room, Dorothy was shocked by the three enchantments drawn over such… humble materials. The bookstore seemed to be full of similar contradictions; a huge building furnished with old and makeshift craftings; a being who looked exquisite and powerful working in cleaning; a seemingly experienced woman who was too young.

Anne noticed the dwarf’s confusion but decided to ignore it for now. She still didn’t feel comfortable sharing the more ‘creative’ aspects of her craft. So, the bookmancer just grabbed some resting dough, the last chunk of the stored meat, and a basket with parsnip and some long leaves, and started preparing the meal.

Dorothy didn’t stay paralyzed for long, the kitchen had always been a place where she felt comfortable, enchanted or not. She quickly assumed the task of portioning the meat and seasoning it, then she prepared a stone slab spreading just a little oil over it before going to the stove.

After seeing the dwarf going for a grilling tool, which was proper for earth essence meat instead of the most common boiling pot, Anne relaxed and mentally decided to leave the meat preparation to the woman. However, soon she realized that Dorothy was staring at the stove trying to figure out something.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you. The stove enchantment is still missing a fire core. Those guys brought one back, but I still didn’t have time to test it.” The bookmancer explained slightly embarrassed.

“I see… I was just trying to find out how it worked.” The dwarf said before snapping her fingers and muttering an incantation.

Anne almost jumped back in surprise when she saw the small sparks igniting the kindling on the stove.

“Housemancy?” She asked without thinking.

“Nothing that fancy, just a few tricks I picked up for cooking… I’m actually a materialmancer by craft.” The dwarf explained without stopping the preparations. The thin stone slab soon started to sizzle announcing the it was ready for the meat.

Trick or not, it was still housemancy, but Anne wouldn’t hold that against the woman. The utility craft wasn’t very ‘trendy’ unless one wanted to become a servant of a noble house. The bookmancer could imagine people discrediting Dorothy’s ability as materialmancer if the dwarf went around admitting to dabbling in housemancy. But none of that short-minded stupidity would have any hold in her bookstore.

The storeowner held a lot of admiration for the craft. Wasn’t for its functional distance from bookmancy, she would have tried to learn a couple of spells and even strived to create one herself. Housemancy wasn’t a natural power, like most of the other crafts. It had been created on the fringe of other crafts, leveraging magic creatively to make house chores easier.

A good example would be the ‘trick’ used by Dorothy to light the stove. Usually, it would take a primancer, more specifically a pyromancer, to cast the fire. However, some clever sorcerer created a simple arcanistry, which doesn’t require any elements, to make use of a spark produced by attrition to light up the fire. The only challenge of the spell was creating the spark at the right place, while pyromancy would need mastery and essence.

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Another advantage was that housemancy could be learned in parallel to other crafts without much consequence. Materialmancy also wasn’t amongst the most popular crafts. Even though it demanded less mastery than most, it had strict requirements for observation and knowledge of materials. Sadly, an appraiser wouldn’t be paid enough to compensate for that difficulty.

While housemancy could only be learned, most materialmancers were born with the gift. And though undervalued, the craft was essential to keep guilds all over the continent working. Materialmancers, or appraisers, could ‘feel’ quality, tiers, and sometimes even properties of materials, which made them perfect for the task of evaluating loot.

Anne observed the dwarf’s swift movements as she transferred the meat to the stone slab and started preparing the broth. An exciting idea came to the bookmancer, but she quickly suppressed it; matters of her bookstore had to be analyzed carefully. They continued working on the meal, Dorothy focused on performing her best to show appreciation for the help and Anne lost in her thoughts.

Almost an hour later, they left the kitchen with broth and bread to meet with the others in the study room. Alanis had finished her bath and was silently accompanying the trio in a conversation. She was clearly embarrassed, mostly because she caused their hurried escape but also because she was borrowing Anne’s clothes. The tall golden-haired girl hid her face even lower when the storeowner entered the room.

“I bet you guys are hungry. So, let’s eat!” Anne said some words to ease any discomfort the regulars and potential new customers might have in accepting her food. Though it wasn’t amongst the services provided by the bookstore since she decided to treat them, being generous was a must.

There was some initial awkwardness but soon the adventurers were immersed in the food. It was a simple meal, but the essence meat and the bread made from Spring’s blessed wheat grains made it sumptuous to the taste. Even Anne was enjoying some novelty from Dorothy’s exquisite craft.

The hearty meal made wonders for the pain and tiredness of the group, but it also brought awareness of their current state. They were in dire need of rest, especially the unbathed trio. Unfortunately, they could no longer delay dealing with the dwarf and half-elf situation.

Without an adventurer’s card, they wouldn’t be able to enjoy free lodging and food in town. There was also the unspoken danger of staying in a town closer to Riverend. Although the two towns barely had any contact, news of a dwarf and a half-elf suddenly moving in could easily find a way to hostile ears. The best choice would be leaving for a town in another region, but that would also cost coins, which…

The bookmancer noticed the strange behavior of the group, and even without knowing the details, she could guess the core of the matter. She was actually in an internal conflict between interfering or not. Extending a hand would be in line with her character, and might also fit a potential plan. However, if her initial evaluation of the pair ended up being wrong, the consequences would be heavy.

‘Follow your intuition.’, her grandfather would say before adding a warning: ‘As long as it doesn’t break any of our rules.’ Well, how surprising it was that her current conundrum would fall in the gray area of that advice.

Anne took a deep breath and made a decision. She observed the two women again, this time a little less concerned about being impolite.

“Would you girls like to stay here until you decide your next move? I could use the company and the cooking… Before you answer, let me say this. I have the space and your food is really good.” She said while putting on her best smile.

Since she decided to help, she might as well go all in.