"EARLY IN THE MORNING!" the crowd roars.
A tiny golden bell jingles from the door opening and the smith behind the counter looks up from his work. "Ah. Welcome back Mr. Parker." he greets, removing his eye loupe. The gentleman shrugs lightly in a so-so manner. "For the most part. The sketches you lent me, while a bit rough, did go a long way in helping me visualize the components. I'm still having a little trouble with the internal spring but I have a mockup you can look at."
"Sure." I chirp. "Let's see what you got."
Pascal reaches down to the space beneath his counter and plucks a small item from inside of it. He holds it up to me and I whistle in appreciation.
'Yep. That's a speedloader.'
"Well color me impressed. I didn't think you could manage it in less than three days."
The smith shrugs again. "Ehhh… business was slow. And I wouldn't say I managed it. As I said, the spring still isn't right. Right now this is just a metal ring with six holes in it. Not really good for much." I reach into my pocket and pull out my wallet. "Still. It's good progress. I'm sure you'll have it down before I leave. What do I owe you?"
The tinkerer frowns. "Typically I don't accept payment for custom work until its finished. There's also the matter that this item is so much...smaller than my usual orders. Cost of parts was practically negligible. I'm honestly not sure what to charge you."
I lick my finger and start thumbing out bills. "Then how 'bout we say...25,000 and call it even?"
"T-that's way too much for something this small!" He objects somewhat frantically.
"Nonsense." I reply, laying the money on the counter. "You'll be really helping me out by getting this done." 'With pre-filled speedloaders available I'll be able to cut reload times down to two, maybe two and a half seconds. Actually, considering my DEX, I might manage even quicker than that. That kind of leg up on a potential enemy is worth well more than a measly 25,000.' "I'll swing by tomorrow afternoon to see how it's going."
"Yes yes of course." The man agrees. "While you're still here, I meant to ask. How many of these do you actually want? Just one for each gun?"
"I was thinking more like...nine or ten. Maybe a dozen. However many you can make really."
Both of his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "A dozen? Don't you think that's excessive?"
The golden bell jingles again as I open the door back to the street. "Luck favors the prepared. I'll see you tomorrow Pascal."
I step out into the sunlight and replace the black shades over my eyes. In my new holiday ensemble of khakis, sunglasses, and aloha-style shirt I can barely recognize myself in the reflection of other store windows. "Now then...what next?" I ask aloud to myself, strolling down the sidewalk.
I'm at a bit of a loss on how to wrap up this little get away. I've eaten at a different restaurant every day. I've fished. I've drunk. I've shopped. I've fished again. I've proven to Laika that having superhuman VIT is no trifling matter in the bedroom. A performance I'm hopeful of repeating tonight when she gets off work.
All in all, a pretty successful vacation. We hit just about everything on the checklist.
Baterilla's got a jungle on the other side of it. I suppose I could close out this little holiday with some exploration while Pascal finishes his work. As a side note, can I just say really quick how lucky of a find he was. I had pretty much resigned myself to whittling speedloaders out of wood at some point. A project that not only would've been time consuming, but I'm almost certain I would've screwed it up. I mean, just think about it. I'd have to implement some sort of peg system for the locking mechanism and then...bah too much hassle. I'm glad to have found a metalworker deal with it for me.
"Watch where you're going old man!" A boorish voice booms from the other side of the street.
"Uwah! Sorry! Sorry!" A lanky senior citizen stammers back as he tries to balance five flower pots in his hand. The back of his heel slides off the curb and I can already see the impending crash in my mind.
Two pots begin to spill from the pile but I've already crossed the distance to catch them. "Whoa whoa. Easy there. I got ya gramps, don't worry."
The elderly man sighs in relief. "Oh thank you sonny. I couldn't quite see where I was going." "It's no trouble. Where do you want these?" I ask, holding up the flowers in my hand.
He nods his head to the right. "Just drop 'em in the wagon over there please. I appreciate it."
I slide them into the back of the large rustic cart, packing them snugly next to the several dozen that have already been loaded up. "Why so many flowers old timer? Filling a big order?"
"Oh no," The shopkeep chuckles warmly, "The town pays me a little each month to make sure there's always something fresh decorating the cemetery. Not terribly exciting I'm sorry to say, but it's work. Anything to keep these old hands busy."
The florist turns his head up to me with a wrinkled smile, "Say now... You seem like a strapping young lad. Would you mind helping me deliver these? I hate to impose but my usual assistant is off island at his brother's wedding and it's much easier work with two people."Ding!
New Quest Alert!
Quest: It's always polite to assist your elders. Be a swell guy and help the old man deliver his flowers to where they need to go. Reward: 100 Exp.
[ACCEPT/DECLINE] I skim over the words and consider the task. 'Mmm...I told myself I wouldn't be doing any quests this week..' I check my watch to confirm the time. 'Though there is a little time before dinner I guess.. we can manage a quick 30 minute errand. "This won't take very long will it?"
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