Dorgh walked leisurely on the dirty road, observing the ordinary withered landscape as he recounted the ins and outs of the town managing book. The money they earned from the naïve girl was already spent on paying a few debts and repairing the main road to the province capital. He understood the mayor’s ambition and even sympathized with it, but he couldn’t help but sigh. Trying to revive the town was futile.

To calm the dread in his heart, he decided to forget these matters for an afternoon while he checked on the bookstore. The girl should already be despairing after not receiving any clients, he thought as the building appeared in his sight.

This time, he had walked here since paying for a coach would be an unnecessary luxury. The dwarf went to the side entrance door, already simulating how he would comfort Anne for the poor business. However, the scene inside paralyzed him. Someone was sitting at the farthest table on the left side, reading. A costumer, she got a costumer. All his previous assumptions were shattered in a moment. The red-haired manager stood by the door, without knowing what to think or say.

“Welcome… Oh, Mr. Dorgh, it’s you. Come in, come in. Don’t stand on ceremony, come and have a cup of tea.” Anne said calmly, trying to hide the excitement and curiosity. Had he come to try a book or for town matters? She wouldn’t dare to assume that another customer would come so soon, though she was already hopping for it.

Of course, the bookmancer noticed the confused visitor staring at the hunter, who was too focused on the syllable to note himself. However, interrupting one’s reading for nothing was amongst the worst offenses in a bookstore. Hence, she decided against calling Rick. Still, this was an opportunity to hook the town manager into becoming a regular too. So, a cup of tea and some light gossip were in order.

Thankfully, the invite for tea broke Dorgh from his improper staring, and he quickly regain his usual bearing. Forcing his mind away from the mysterious customer, he walked to the counter and thanked the storeowner before sitting. A warm cup was already waiting for him, so he didn’t have a chance to refuse it. He wasn’t a big fan of tea; he would take a mug of beer instead, regardless of the time and place. However, he wouldn’t hold this against the kind lady since he knew many frowned upon dwarven drinking habits.

“How are you faring, Miss Anne? I must say that I’m surprised that you already have customers… Our town tends to be… a little slow to attract business.” He said while observing the cup. Being a direct person, he wouldn’t hide his surprise, though manning his words was still necessary.

“Well, I still have a lot of work to do, but things are settling just fine… It’s a slow start, but I’m confident that it’ll work out. Rick is a wonderful customer, quiet and eager to learn… Don’t you know him? He seemed like a local…” She said unpretentiously. Being her target a civil servant, she would need to lay a bigger net. Patience was the key now.

Dorgh’s browns arched as he matched the name to one of his fellow citizens. Then, his expression lighted up in understanding. Now, he knew how she got a customer so fast. It seems that his previous judgment was right and his old experiences were still reliable.

“Oh, indeed, indeed. Young Rick is an eager boy, without a doubt. His family is one of the original settlers. They own a carpentry shop in town, his father is one of the best builders around, and his mother is especially good with carving. Actually, I was going to recommend them to help you with any complex work, but it seems that you no longer need a referral.” The town manager said in a kind tone. He had already recovered from the earlier embarrassment.

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Anne was particularly good with details, so she didn’t miss the condescending expression when the man talked about Rick. It seemed that her customer had a difficult relationship with his parents and even with the town, they sure underestimated him. This was also amongst her speculations, thus she didn’t dwell on it and just continued.

“How do you like the tea?” She said plainly, pretending not to notice his resistance to drinking it. Usually, making a potential customer uncomfortable was against her line of action, but the tea was still her strongest weapon against restraint.

Dorgh forced a smile and looked at the cup, annoyedly. If it wasn’t for the girl’s seemingly innocent attitude, he would have refused and explained his dislike for non-alcoholic drinks. But her honest face coupled with some tiny guilt for gloating about being right about the bad business situation compelled him to at least try the tea. So, he dragged the cup to his lips and braved a sip of it.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t as bad as he expected. A refreshing flowery smell, prepared his buds before the liquid entered his mouth. Then, a slightly bittersweet taste caressed his palate before prompting him to swallow. The pronounced aftertaste and the pleasant warm feeling that the drink brought to his stomach remembered him of home and his dreams of youth.

Confused, Dorgh took another sip to check his impressions. If prompted, he wouldn’t be able to explain how it differed from the other soft drinks that he despised, but it was inexplicably good. Those feelings brought back a memory of a royal drink, but he quickly dismissed the possibility.

The manager always prided himself on being fair in judgment. But admitting he liked the non-alcoholic drink was difficult. After hesitating for a minute, he said:

“Good, very good. Lass, this tea is so different from others! I won’t lie to you, aside from water, I don’t drink anything that wasn’t fermented. But this… What is it?” He said excitedly, letting go of all prejudice and embarrassment.

Anne didn’t expect such a strong reaction. It seems like his senses are stronger than those of others. She would need to tread carefully with him. Since things had already moved to this point, she could only explain the uniqueness of the tea.

“Oh! It’s similar to a drink with mystic properties, no wonder it tastes like this. No wonder, no wonder…” Dorgh repeated understandably.

Noticing that he was reminiscing about something, she took the cue and proceeded:

“Did Mr. Dorgh try mystic drinks before?” She asked curiously.

The rarity of mystic drinks was given, so her question was normal and Dorgh couldn’t fault her. He could only blame his blabbering for revealing something he would rather forget.

“I did. Although it’s rare to find it outside the Emperor Seat, it’s not so in dwarven lands. We’re not good with potions but mystic brewing can be said to be a dwarven craft, so I tasted it a few times. I quite like it, but it’s too expensive and difficult…” He explained with some regret.

Anne could take out one or two books that would challenge his statement about the origin of the craft, but this wasn’t important. History, especially when passed through popular belief, would seldom survive unaltered. What truly picked her attention, was a spark in his eyes and the regret while talking about mystic drinks. Of all her interpersonal abilities, digging up dreams was the one she was most proud of.

“You’re right, it’s very difficult. I tried to follow the instructions of some of the easiest recipes but failed miserably. It takes talent and some serious effort to brew anything…” Anne recalled unassumingly. This trap was too crude, but she failed in coming up with something more elaborate. She cursed herself for being too impatient and prayed he would fall for it anyway.

“Miss Anne, you have instructions for brewing mystic drinks… How? It couldn’t be, right? This is too valuable…” Dorgh said without thinking. Suddenly, the situation had become a little strange. He couldn’t help but look at her suspiciously.

Damn, she had been too eager and made a mistake. After taking a deep mental breath, Anne explained.

“Mr. Dorgh, could it be that you forgot about my job?” She said sullenly and continued without giving him a chance to answer.

“I’m a bookmancer, an archivist. My duty is to record and spread knowledge. Even though it’s special, like other crafts, mystic brewing can also be taught, right? I can’t lie to you and say that I recorded it myself, but I did come across an ancient book with recipes.”

The dwarf’s eyes widened and started to shine like they hadn’t for a long time. Right there, Anne knew she had caught another customer in her net.