The secret to my success? Knowing when to make a sale and when to set sail.

- Basen Koh, moments before closing his shop for a three week extended vacation

Basen walked into the shop, and two people walked in behind him. The newcomers looked around and started browsing the shelves, but Reid didn't pay much attention to them. He was distracted by the burning torch Basen held casually in front of him.

"Good morning, Reid! Look at all these people!"

"Hey, Basen...why do you have a torch?"

It was a bright, beautiful morning with light, fluffy clouds and a fresh spring breeze. Maybe Basen had just climbed out of the sewer.

Basen grinned and walked up.

"This was a gift! Sent by the Blinding Arrow as congratulations on my victory over him in the arena. Maybe I was wrong about him. I first got to know him on campaign, but that was over ten years ago, I suppose. Here, take a look."

Basen thrust the burning torch at Reid, and he took it with some trepidation.

The torch didn't feel magical, and marking it did nothing. But he didn't feel any heat from the flames either.

"What is it?"

"Ever burning fire. The handle just holds the flame."

"It's an item?" Reid asked. He looked at the flame at the end of the wooden handle. It was bright, and the flickering flames were roughly the size of his hand. He didn't feel any heat from those flames, but he wasn't about to reach his hand into the fire to try to mark it.

Basen scrunched his face in thought.

"Not exactly. Or at least, it's not a magic item in the way you think about magic items. You might consider it one of the old magic items. Magic items created when the world was full of magic that wasn't granted by items. I've heard them referred to as 'fragments' before, but they're rare enough that the naming hasn't really stuck."

Reid was interested in the old magic. Basen has said a few things about it here and there, and Reid knew about the magic familiars of Corvas, but he was otherwise ignorant of it.

"So the torch won't go out?"

"It will not! At least, it won't as long as our world still has some magic. It doesn't really burn in the classic sense. It burns magic and turns it into light. I was thinking about putting it on the back wall to brighten up the shop a little."

Reid handed back the torch. "As long as it doesn't start a real fire."

Basen and his torch disappeared into the archives for a minute. When he came out, he had a kind of sconce that he attached to the wall by unknown means. He tipped the fire at the end of the torch into it, and the burning flame dropped into the light fixture. It was literally touching the wall, but the flames didn't spread.

Basen walked back, and Reid nodded his approval. The back of the store had always been a little dark. The light from the front window illuminated the space pretty well, and the soft glow from items helped, too, but the back wall had always felt a little gloomy. Now, the space was bright, and the visual presence of open flame made it feel warmer despite the flames not producing heat.

"There we are. Now, I must say," Basen said, joining Reid behind the counter and pulling out his stool. "You've done a great job getting people in here! Who knew I could just tell people about my shop!"

Reid shook his head.

"I was honestly a little surprised. There was a line when I got here, and we're up to three items sold already." He told Basen about the earlier sales and his suspicion of the woman who'd acted a little odd.

"That is marvelous. I should have come in sooner. I would have liked to meet the man who bought the flute. As for our other customer, you know I haven't been great at selling things, but when I have made sales, I've found that people tend to worry about negotiating. Sometimes, they're nervous, and sometimes, they're just not sure if they really want what they're after. I've had a few who've heard stories about how negotiations work and try to force deals that no one would ever agree to. I wouldn't stress yourself about it. As you say, we can't question the motivations of everyone who walks into our shop. Our diligence can be focused on the more destructive or powerful items."

"That's what I was thinking, too. I had negotiation tactics in my head and was probably overthinking a little. I just found out the meeting to sell the binding potential necklace is this afternoon. Speaking of that, do you want to come to the meeting?"

Basen shook his head.

"I trust you to handle it, and with it being a guild sanctioned trade, there's no danger to you. Besides, we might need to keep the store open all day at this rate!"

The customers moved around, and the pair of excited customers finally worked up the nerve to talk to Basen. They'd been at the arena match yesterday and gushed about Basen's unbelievable performance. Reid couldn't argue with them about that. He still wanted to ask Basen about it. The True Mage deflected questions from the customers about his fight and what he'd done, instead focusing on the spectacle and asking about the battle between Arvind and Lucian.

Reid excused himself to check on the other customers since it seemed the pair at the counter were more interested in Basen than Basen's collection.

One of the new people left the store without touching anything or trying to talk to either him or Basen. The other person was a young man, a little younger than Reid, flipping through the stack of books in the passive items section. The couple that Reid thought would buy something still held an item each, and Reid walked up to them.

"Good morning! Excuse me for interrupting, but I was just asking our customers how they heard about the shop. If you wouldn't mind, how did you hear about us?"

The man wore loose pants the color of sand and a dark blue vest over a white shirt, and the woman wore a similar outfit, but the vest covered more of her chest. The man looked at Reid and then glanced at the woman, who spoke for them.

"We heard about the arena match yesterday. A friend went and mentioned Basen Koh and something about a shop. We wanted to try to find it, and we happened to see a poster on our neighborhood notice board."

Reid guessed he could count that as a point for both kinds of advertising. He wanted to ask what they were looking for, but he kept his idea about getting his customers to tell him a story in mind—ask a question that can't be answered with a simple yes or no.

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"Thank you, that's really helpful. I see you picked out a couple of items. What drew you to those?"

The woman held a small flask filled with blue liquid. The flask didn't have a mouth, and the liquid couldn't be removed without breaking the item. Reid didn't remember it specifically—there were a few different items on the shelves shaped like potion bottles. His eyes returned to her face, and she looked reluctant to answer.

The man with her looked between them again. He rested a hand on her shoulder and sighed. He looked back to Reid.

"We're just looking for a way to defend ourselves."

It wasn't quite the explanation Reid was looking for, but it was a start.

"May I take a look?"

Reid took the flask and frowned.

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Magic Flask of Water Control

* 4 Star Elemental Controller

* Bindable

* Binding grants the ability to conjure a globe of water that can be controlled with mental commands and shift between water and ice.

* Grants the binder mental control of mundane water, but water controlled this way cannot be turned into ice.

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The flask was a powerful magic item that allowed a great deal of offensive and defensive capabilities as well as real utility. Unless the people in front of him actively used magic, he couldn't tell if they were mages, but it didn't seem like they were prepared for a four star item like this. He handed it back and took the item from the man—a small, featureless grey box.

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Fog of Lost Souls

* 3 Star Weather Container

* Bindable

* Binding grants the ability to open the container, releasing fog that obscures mundane senses.

* Summoned fog actively disorients and slows anyone who enters it willingly.

* The fog slowly dissipates when the box is closed or after it drifts 100 feet away from the open box.

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"These are both fantastic items. Do you have any questions about them? I can also recommend other options if you know what you're looking for, but these aren't quite what you wanted."

He worried the woman didn't have four stars of potential, but he didn't know if asking was rude.

"No," the woman said, regaining her voice. "I think these are exactly what we wanted. How much do they cost?"

Reid priced out the flask first. No aspect and no free abilities without binding left him at his baseline price of six gold. The flexibility was great, so he thought seven would be fair.

Fog of Lost Souls was an interesting one. It wasn't as widely useful but could be very good for escaping danger, as it seemed these two were interested in. Why they were in danger was another matter, but it was one Reid wasn't equipped to do anything about. He let that thought go. The fog box was worth around four gold, he thought.

"For both of them, twelve gold. Seven and a half gold for the flask and four and a half for the box."

They didn't look shocked at the prices, but they didn't look happy about them either.

"Would you give us a minute?" the man asked.

"Of course!" Reid said. He glanced at the front desk. Basen waved farewell to his two fans as they left the store. "Just come up to the counter when you're ready."

Reid pulled out the second stool and sat next to Basen.

"Those two were just here for the spectacle," Basen said.

"I didn't think you'd get them to leave."

"All they wanted was to say hello and get an autograph. I said hello but had to send them off disappointed. I don't do autographs."

"Why not?"

"Would you believe I never learned to write?"

"No. I've seen your signature on some contracts."

"Blast, you have, haven't you? Can't sneak anything by you. Truth be told, the King doesn't allow his True Mages to sell themselves like that. I needed special permission from him to fight in the arena and mention the shop."

"Really? Why?"

"I think it's mostly tradition. The King values equality in his society, so he tries to limit our ability to give ourselves unfair advantages."

"Interesting. I like that. So why did he let you mention the shop? I can understand why he let you fight."

"Because I've been a loyal servant to the Avennish royal family for a long time, and I've never taken advantage of my station. I guess you get a pass after a few decades of service."

"That does seem fair. You have given a lot of your time and effort in that service."

Basen nodded and let the conversation lapse. They watched their customers browse and speak in hushed tones.

"Are they going to buy those items?" Basen asked.

"Maybe. I wasn't sure if they could use them. Can you sense their potential? If that's not rude."

Basen shrugged. "For something to be rude, society must collectively decide that it is rude. The ability to sense potential is restricted to certain items and True Mages, so people probably don't think anything about it."

Basen studied the man for a long moment.

"The man is a Mage with a three star item bound and no open potential. The woman..."

He shifted his gaze and cocked his head.

"Now that is curious."

"What?"

"Five stars of open potential, but she's not a mage. No items bound, and her body is unchanged by essence, as far as I can tell."

From what Reid understood about magic, that shouldn't be possible.

"Can you have five stars of innate potential?"

"Anything is possible with magic, Reid. I don't make a study of such things, so it is merely a curiosity to me. Whoever you're meeting with this afternoon, however, would be exceedingly interested in learning more about her."

Reid smelled an opportunity.

"They said they were looking for a way to defend themselves...I didn't ask about it, but maybe you could?"

Basen gave Reid a sidelong glance.

"I do believe that's your "I have an idea" voice. I certainly can, but why me?"

"Because you're the self professed guardian of the entire nation. They'll talk to you and maybe agree to help us if we help them. What's better, selling two items worth ten gold now or having leverage in a negotiation worth two hundred gold later?"

A black stone appeared in Basen's hand, and he began polishing it with a cloth from his pocket. "You're saying I should offer them some measure of protection."

Reid fixed his gaze on the black stone, remembering the fight. With some effort, he tore his attention away and settled it back on their customers.

"Maybe. Let's find out what the problem is first."

When the pair came up, they looked pained. They'd returned the flask to the shelf and set the grey box on the counter.

"Just the box today," the man said.

"Good morning to the both of you," Basen said. "My associate explained your interest in some of my items, and I have to ask, why is it that you're looking to defend yourselves?"

When Basen said, "My items," the pair lost some composure. They bowed to him slightly.

"It is an honor to meet you, True Mage Koh," the man said, not meeting Basen's eyes.

"No need for all that. We're all just people in here. You may call me Basen."

The pair shared another glance, and the man couldn't help but bow slightly again. "Of course, Basen. We've been having some problems recently."

That didn't explain anything, but his companion had lost a little color. She shook her head and tried to pull him away.

"Vesh. We shouldn't have come here," she half whispered.

The man turned and shook his head.

"Vesa le fanno, Ebre?" the man said.

Reid didn't understand the words or recognize the language.

"Tiea viessemanno co beh con Aquar. Tiem effereo co beh con Avennia," the woman replied.

Basen cleared his throat.

"Iffem effereo co beh con Avennia, quan colle welenno. Yishtel co beh con Aquar, ect co beh con Urish. Yishtel se Avennia Iffea essemanno."

The pair froze when they heard Basen speaking their language. Reid turned to Basen and raised an eyebrow.

"You have nothing to fear about telling me your problems," Basen said in Avennish.

The woman flushed and bowed her head. Reid didn't know what they'd said, so he didn't know why. He guessed embarrassment.

"I apologize for my sister and her doubts. It has been hard on us. We moved to the city a few months ago. At first, things were great. We both found work, and we were able to save up and establish ourselves enough to buy an apartment. Around a month ago, on our way home, just a block from our apartment, we ran into a group of travelers from Aquar. We spoke with them on the street for a time and invited them to share dinner with us in our home. It seems people finally noticed we are not Avennish. Since then, we've been harassed, threatened, and robbed more times than I care to remember. We just want to live our lives without the constant fear."

Basen kept his face neutral, but Reid could hear the tension in his voice.

"There is nothing for you to apologize for. It is I who should apologize to you. This is unacceptable."

The man shrugged hopelessly. "I hope I am not overstepping, but what should we do? We thought that maybe if we had power, they would leave us alone. I am a mage, but my power is useless for defense or fighting back."

Basen ran fingers through his beard with one hand and picked up the Fog of Lost Souls box with the other. He casually tossed it away, and through unseen force, it found its way back onto the shelf against the wall.

"That won't do. If you fight back, you risk escalation. Where do you live?"

The pair looked at him, shock plain on their faces.

"You would intervene on our behalf?" the woman asked.

"I'm retired. It's boring doing nothing all day. I haven't had a good reason to threaten someone in a while. Besides, I can't stand this kind of behavior."

They both bowed low.

"We can never repay you for this," the man said.

"Actually..." Basen said. "Reid here has a favor to ask. If you agree, then we'll call it even."