{-Farrar-}
This was the last customer before he would be able to close shop.
And he was not expecting it to take this long.
“You say this isn’t fused with your Fleyw Bresh’s alchemy?” the goblin asked, his accent much thicker than most. It would still be a few more years before Farrar was able to completely understand it, despite the amount of goblins and fairies he’d meet before then.
“I guarantee that I would not make the mistake of trying to deceive you,” Farrar said. “We pride ourselves in being the best blacksmithing shop in the Province of Andrea that goblins and fairies can rely on. I know I, at least, have no intention of breaking that tradition.”
The goblin observed the sword a little longer then walked back over to the counter. “This’ll do nicely for my needs. I assume this will cover the costs?” He placed three silver coins down and left with the sword in hand without ever making sure.
Thankfully he wasn’t one of the customers Farrar would later need to hunt down to pay the rest of the bill.
He put the coins with the rest of what he’d earned today then immediately went to close the shop; he’d do everything else once he was sure that no one else would randomly walk in on him. But, unfortunately, a familiar face walked through the door before he was able to lock it.
The words left his mouth quicker than he could consider stopping them, though really it didn’t mean much. “Oh, gods, not you…”
“That’s right, pipsqueak, I’m outta money and you’re going to get me more.” Tess wandered in with the same annoying flamboyance she always did. Farrar did, briefly, consider lighting a part of her expensive-looking dress on fire—before remembering there were things in the shop he didn’t want to get burned on accident.
“Can you believe that old man wasn’t home?” she went on, picking up several of the display items before tossing them on the ground. “You know, you should invest in some jewelry. I’m sure you’ll have a lot more business.”
“Dad’s out of town for a few days,” Farrar grumbled, picking up everything and putting them back in their proper places. “He’ll probably be back in another day or two.”
“Great, but I don’t have the money to spend at an inn right now.” She went back behind the counter and began rummaging through it. “Aureus keeps all his earnings in here, doesn’t he? I’ll just take a couple and come back when he’s here for more.”
“You mean you’re going to take whatever I’ve earned today and probably waste half of it in an hour.”
“Please, you make it sound like you’re worse off than I am. I’m sure you’re not even going to notice if a little bit of pocket change goes missing…”
“Dad might listen to your stupid whims, but I’m not going to.”
“Why not? I bet you’ve got more than enough money laying around here. Must’ve been the only thing Reseda was good for.”
Farrar held back what he really wanted to say in favor of, “The shop’s closed. You know some of our neighbors check on me if I don’t come home after a while whenever Dad leaves, right? I’d advise you to get going before one of them shows up. They only need me to tell them you’re trying to steal from me and you’re gonna wish you never walked in here.”
Tess gave one look at him and laughed. “Come on, boy, I know you’re just joking. You’re not going to do anything to me. There’s only one way to get me out of your little shop, you know.”
“I hope those friends of yours find out who you are one day,” he sighed. He gestured her out from behind the counter and went through it himself. It took him a moment to find the right bag of coins from the mess she’d created but, once he did, he handed it to her. “There, that should be the same amount Dad gave you last time.”
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“I’m actually going to need a little more than this…”
“Sell that ring of yours, like you did with hers.”
“It wasn’t ‘hers’ if Aureus gave it to me. I don’t know why you insist on caring so much—it’s not like the dead have any right to complain about the living.”
“Just get out.” When that alone didn’t encourage her, he pulled out a silver coin that he’d earned today.
She smiled, waved, and walked towards the door. “Don’t tell Aureus I came by. I’m going to come back when he’s here and get even more out of him…” Then, thankfully, she left.
He hated acknowledging that this definitely wasn’t the last time he would need to deal with her.
Once again he tried to close shop, and once again someone came in.
“For the love of Orestis, we’re closed.”
“I just need some directions.”
The unfamiliar voice got him to actually pay attention to who’d walked in. A girl that couldn’t have been any older than he was.
“Why do you need directions this late at night?” Farrar asked cautiously. His father would warn him of the more suspicious types, those involved in the less-than-good portions of the city. But she didn’t look like she was a part of that. Sure, her clothes were a little worse for wear, though everything else suggested she was a normal kid.
Of course, her answer didn’t necessarily help things. “I need to get out of the city.”
“Why do you need to get out of the city?”
She stayed silent, though warily gave a glance to the side.
He had a feeling tonight was going to go from annoying to downright weird. “What’s your name? I’m Farrar.”
“Rhenei.”
“Where are you from?”
Another question she didn’t answer.
“Are you hiding from something?”
After a moment, she nodded.
“Do you want to tell me what it is?”
She shook her head.
He looked her over. “You’re not going to be able to get very far if that’s all you have.”
She looked up at him with a look that spoke of her fear. He couldn’t tell if it was completely unintentional on her part or if she meant to make him sympathetic.
“My house isn’t far from here,” he sighed, “and my dad’s gone for a while. Am I going to regret letting you in for the night?”
Rhenei perked up and shook her head vigorously.
“In exchange, you’re going to have to tell me what you actually plan on doing,” he continued as he made the final preparations to leave.
“I want to see the world,” Rhenei said after a moment of thought. She let out a bit of nervous laughter. “I just don’t know where to start.”
“Well, for one, you might want to dress a little warmer. It might almost be spring but that doesn't mean there aren’t still some cold days left.”
She gave him such an interesting expression and he realized this was the first time she’d ever heard such advice. He, with only his common sense, must’ve sounded like he knew everything in the world.
Farrar closed up everything he needed to in the shop before walking out and guiding Rhenei to his house. If anyone noticed them, they didn’t say anything about it. Honestly, they probably assumed he was helping her find her way back home.
“Don’t touch anything,” he warned as he unlocked the door. He absently waved to the neighbors before ushering her inside and locking the door again once they were both in. “Don’t snoop around, either. I’ll get some blankets from upstairs for you, but you’re staying on the couch. I’ll start dinner in a minute.”
He lit a nearby candle with his magic before going to do the same with the fireplace. The second was what she noticed.
“How did you do that?” she asked, something in her tone saying that she really didn’t know.
“It’s magic,” he explained as he wandered over to the kitchen. “I’m from a family of blacksmiths. As long as we’ve got the talent for it, we learn fire magic to make our lives a little bit easier. Not like anything I just did was anything different than they usually teach kids.”
“I never learned magic,” she admitted. “Dad said it cost too much and didn’t want me to leave the house for too long.”
“The church hands out basic classes for free, as long as you show up after service,” he pointed out. “They say it’s one of the ways people can get closer to the gods.”
“Oh…” She glanced to the side again and sighed. “He lied.” She said it like she wasn’t truly surprised, yet disappointed in it anyway.
Deciding it might be better to give her something else to think about, he asked, “What do you want to eat? I’ve got plenty here, name it and I’ll make it to the best of my abilities.”
She honestly seemed like she wasn’t expecting the offer. “Whatever you want..?”
“I’ll just fix something quick and easy,” he decided after a moment.