Inside a small basement in the Mountainend town, a singing dwarf ran from one side to the other, regulating wooden contraptions used to move a mixture through some brewing stages. The state of the equipment looked less than ideal, with a few handles and tanks at the fringe of crumbling. Still, the happy dwarf didn’t measure his strength when dealing with those.
Dorgh finished adjusting the process of his fifth batch, then moved on to check the contents of the keg that rested on the corner of the basement. He had been struggling to keep the liquid cold, but fortunately, winter was here, and the first snow fell this morning.
The dwarf opened the lid and allowed the iced fragrance to assault his nostrils. The tiredness of a poorly slept night and its accompanying headache magically disappeared with the relaxing effect of the brew. A silly smile appeared on his face as he deemed the drink ready for consumption. It had taken two weeks more than he expected, probably because he couldn’t keep it appropriately cooled. Hopefully, winter would change that.
The amateur brewer knew that leveraging the coldest season wasn’t a definite solution, especially considering that the drink would be better appreciated in summer. However, he was hoping to get earn money from his first batches to afford a few cooling enchantments. Either way, it would be better to test the drink's acceptance before investing more money into it.
With dexterity worthy of his race, the dwarf filled a dozen bottles of the mystic brew without wasting a single drop on the floor. The light blue drink danced inside the bottle, revealing sparkling bubbles in shining white. The appearance of the brew would make it easier to convince others of its magical effects. Dorgh prepared the bottles in a basket and quickly left for the only place where his drink would be thoroughly appreciated, the bookstore.
***
Anne was having a strangely busy morning. It all started with Spring panicking into her room even before the first rays of light. The treefolk dragged her to the backyard yelling “Cold” while also waking up their two guests and Moruh. Once the young woman had woken enough she could pretty much guess what was frightening the former homunculus. Winter wasn’t exactly the best time to grow plants, even less, flowers.
The fact that Spring’s gift could defy the cold winds of late autumn was already remarkable, but the imminent withering outcome would come sooner or later. And when Anne saw the timid snowflakes dropping from the dark sky, she knew that the time had come. The bookmancer spent a good ten minutes trying to explain the ‘nature’ of it to a terrified Spring, but the other insisted that her plants had to be saved.
Actually, saying that plants couldn’t be grown in winter wasn’t very accurate. Usually, the cycle of most plants would end or pause in winter, but there were a dozen or more ways to keep them going. One of them would be using something similar to Spring’s gift to keep the greens healthy, though her powers seemed to be failing against the frost.
In the end, Anne and her two guests couldn’t bare to see the sadness of the treefolk when looking at her dying crops. So, they started to build some makeshift wooden and fiber covers for the plants, much like the shades that Anne tried to make in summer. Fortunately, with the help of Dorothy’s expertise and Spring’s instantly self-grown plant fibers, the covers were built in less than five hours.
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Then, when they were a few meters from finishing the job, Moruh requested his mistress's presence in the study room. The bookstore only Clow customer had come, and the familiar was short-handed to deal with her. The haughty girl was wearing a hat and a veil that kept her hair and facial features hidden, while clad in an expensive but inconspicuous matching set of coat, boots, and gloves. Nobody would assume she was from royalty unless they already knew.
Anne offered the Clow some polity greetings and even a cup of tea, while the other just nodded conceitedly without taking her eyes off Moruh. She knew how much a familiar could cost, both in coins and contacts, especially one who could talk and had this level of intelligence. In fact, she had never seen one like this.
“Miss Yana, as I told you yesterday, I need two days to make a copy of the book. So, come by tomorrow afternoon and I should have it.” Anne said with some irritation.
“And as I told you, I want it today.” The Clow replied sarcastically.
“Well, we all want things that we can’t have, don’t we?” The bookmancer matched her tone.
“I’m a Clow…” Yana stroke back but was cut short by Anne.
“I do have another book, ready to sell, that might interest you. The ‘Clow Wars’ would give you I new perspective on your ancestry. What do you think?” Anne was done playing, so she moved on to business.
“I… could be, interested.” The Clow still wanted to antagonize the storeowner, but the title indeed caught her attention.
“Well, help yourself. It’s the red-covered book on the third shelf…” Anne gave the instructions to get the book from the free section while serving her more tea.
Yana struggled to keep herself from lashing back at the daring bookmancer before turning back to see the bookshelves around the study room. She had wondered why those books were exposed instead of stored like the one she requested yesterday. According to the other woman, the books were there to be chosen and taken by the customers. Wasn’t she afraid of being robbed?
Thankfully, while engaged in her doubts Yana forgot about the insult of urging a Clow to get the book by herself. She moved through the shelves curiously, taking not only the book entitled ‘Clow Wars’ but also others that caught her attention. Uncertainly, the young woman even gave Anne some glances to see if the storeowner would reprimand her.
Anne, on the other hand, was more than happy to indulge the Clow’s unrestraint literary appetite. After all, the books in the free section could be sold without any restrictions. If the girl wanted to send coins in her way, why would she refuse? Moreover, most of the books on the shelves had copies, so she would just have to refill them later.
Sadly, the wealthy girl stopped her expenditure at five books. In addition to the ‘Clow Wars’, Yana also got ‘Compendium of Crafts: 50+ Magic Occupations’, a syllable of simplified draconian, a minding book, and a binding journal. Altogether, the books cost the Clow 70 silver coins, which she paid without a second thought. Then, she left the bookstore after exchanging a few more impolite words with Anne.
On her way out, Yana crossed paths with a seemingly drunk dwarf holding a covered basket that was exhaling some ice magical feel. The Clow got curious about what was hidden below the cover but left nonetheless. She didn’t want to risk being recognized by others and could just demand an explanation the next day.
Dorgh entered the bookstore so excited that he failed to notice the young veiled woman who passed through him at the entrance. The only thought on his mind was presenting his masterpiece to the appraisal of the bookstore owner.