In the late afternoon, Val arrived at Altimus Pier. Everything looked the exact same as when she had been here with Ross in that vision of the past. Not just the boardwalk, but also all of the colorful tourists who milled about remained the same. Different people could make up a crowd just as well.

While she had expected a lot smaller crowd, the number of tourists did not seem to dwindle much in comparison to the height of summer. She supposed that this fall happened to be abnormally warm, drawing a large number of people for their final chance to enjoy the beach until spring. Plus, the water always reached its warmest and most pleasant in the fall.

Alas, Val did not come here to enjoy a day at the beach. Merry people walked around Val with a wide girth, likely due to Foofy pulling at the leash as if to take the lead as a guard dog. Her serious strides brought them to the plaza overlooking the shore where Lady Margus had set up shop. Already, she could hear the old lady belting out her advertisements.

“Authentic magical wares for the most reasonable prices in all the world! Come find an illustrious charm, perfect for you. There is something for everybody among Lady Margus’s wares!”

Val followed the voice until she found Lady Margus. From there, she continued to follow her around until she gained a chance to speak to her. “Hello, Lady Margus,” she said alongside a careful approach.

“Why hello, my dear. What can I help you with?” Lady Margus touched a gentle hand to her elbow.

From what Val had observed of Ross’s interaction with Lady Margus, she assumed that the end of their conversation had been some kind of a code. When Lady Margus had asked where Ross would go next, he had informed her that he was homeward bound in that depressive manner. Therefore, Val would force that cryptic line into their conversation.

“Could you help me get somewhere?”

Lady Margus drew her eyebrows into a line of annoyance which was understandable, considering how many lost tourists she must deal with every day. “Where?” she asked in a snap.

“I am headed for home, as I am weary of this world.”

“Oh, really?” Lady Margus raised her brow at her. As communicative as she was with her facial expressions, the unfriendly look on her face confused Val a bit. “You know what I’m weary of? Self-important demigods thinking that they have a right to my time! What? Do you think that my time is free? I am trying to run a business here, but you cannot even be bothered to buy a charm!”

Purchasing a charm had been necessary to win Lady Margus’s favor? Now that explained why Ross had so gracefully paid extra for that feathered ornament and accepted it being tied into his hair. “Oh, uh, sorry. I didn’t know better.”

“The last person of your kind that I had helped had much better manners. I wish that everybody could behave like that young gentleman.”

Assuming that Lady Margus referred to Ross as the last person who she had helped, Val could feel her face turning pink out of embarrassment. Ross had better manners than her? As his sister, she could not accept this because Ross was Rosamer.

He happened to be an awkward, anti-social type even more so than her. In this one counterexample though, Val really did happen to be the one who lacked social graces. Why did everyone always like Ross more than her?

“Could you help pick out a charm for me?” Val asked, a tight smile on her face and an apologetic tone in her voice. Hopefully, Lady Margus would forgive the deviation from her expectations and allow Val to make up for it.

With a hefty sigh, Lady Margus said, “Fine. Do not be surprised if I fetch you a charm with the opposite effect that you ask for and curse you with a little hex instead!”

Val could feel herself go slightly pale, but on second thought, an object with a small curse could be just as useful as one with a small blessing. She only had to think of a practical curse that could somehow benefit her when used against others.

Before she could think about this too hard, Lady Margus let out a hearty laugh. “You should see the look on your face! Try to lighten up, dear. That serious, morbid look on you just makes you look ugly and scary.”

Val flinched to attention. Again, she had to take offense at Lady Margus’s insult because she did not think that she ever looked ugly or scary in the least.

“I promise that I won’t give you a curse,” Lady Margus said with a wink. “That would be bad for business.” As Lady Margus laughed at her own joke, Val stood there in the realization that she had been made the butt of a joke just as Ross had been.

Of all things, Val should have been more prepared for this, given how she had witnessed Ross interact with Lady Margus already. Upon this realization of her naivety, Val started laughing too.

“There we go. I am glad that you have a sense of humor after all.”

Since she did not know how to take that compliment, once again teetering so close on the edge of an insult, Val simply said, “Thanks.” From there, she changed the subject back to her purchase of a souvenir. “Do you have any talismans that would help others respect you more?”

A long whistle sounded between Lady Margus’s teeth. “So, you rub a lot of people the wrong way, do you?”

“N-No! Not at all.” Though, that point seemed to be more and more true as of late. That aside, Val wanted to garner more respect for a different reason, valuable to even the most well-liked of individuals.

Plainly put, respect would keep her safe. Having others gaze upon her positively could prove vital to her survival on the Summit of Ascension, while she was still so weak.

Additionally, respect was power. The best way to resolve a fight would be not to begin one in the first place. This was her reasoning for developing Keep the Peace as her primary ability. A charm that would give her more respect would also have the likely effect of magnifying her ability.

A boost to her ability was sorely needed, as Val remembered how she could not even faze that random demigoddess Gina, back in her ploy of a mortal life. Now more than ever, Val would need to accumulate power, especially as she would be surrounded by gods and goddesses hundreds if not thousands of years older and more experienced than her, not to mention magnitudes stronger than her. Val wanted to find herself on more people’s good sides than bad sides.

“Here. How do you like this necklace?” From Lady Margus’s long nails, a silver chain dangled. At its end, an angelic outline of wings was the charm at the end of the necklace.

“I actually, really do like that.”

“Good. It has the exact property that you have described. I think that this would be a fitting item for you to have.”

“Thank you.” Val took out her wallet and pulled out a sum of cash. “How much for it?”

“All of my small talismans cost 29.99.”

Val noted that she did not get a rhyme.

To follow Ross’s lead, she also added in an extra five dollars, though this was a greater amount of money to her, relatively speaking. “This is to make up for being a hassle before.” Val pushed the money into Lady Margus’s hands.

In return, Lady Margus helped clasp the necklace around Val’s neck. “That necklace looks pretty on you. Now, normally I ask my customers where they are heading next, but you have already jumped the gun on that.”

“Sorry,” Val said again, sheepishly.

Lady Margus waved her apology away. “You already gave me an acceptable and much more appreciated apology in the form of money. Let me just give you the passport that you seek.” As she had done with Ross, her hand pressed against Val’s chest and a magical energy seeped through her clothes and into her skin. “There you go, darling. Now, off you go. Head to the Old First Pier at sundown.”

“Thank you, Lady Margus.” Val bowed out of gratitude now that she had finally gained permission to head to the Summit of Ascension. "Does my dog Foofy need a passport too?"

"No. Animals are always welcome to travel with their masters, both mortal and divine. Now off with you!” Lady Margus swatted a hand at Val as she walked away. Like that, she disappeared amid her crowd of patrons, continuing to help other customers with whatever they might need.

“That went well enough, I guess,” Val said as she looked down to Foofy.

He stared up to her with some bland look and the occasional blink. His gaze shifted back to all of the people in their surroundings, assessing passersby with critical eyes as a watchdog would.

Together, Val and Foofy walked off toward the beach to enjoy the rest of the day in the meantime. They had some good hours until sunset, plenty of time to have some fun before heading to the Old First Pier and from there, the Summit of Ascension.