A beautiful interior greeted Jennifer as she entered Serfield Wings, glancing about in curiosity. The inside was densely saturated with mana, even the air felt fresher somehow, a slight smell of flowers present in it.

“Sure is hella impressive I’ll say that, I’ve ran for a noble once and even he didn’t have this much magic in his house,” Gavril remarked looking around the shop. Jennifer stopped gawking around the store, coughing once to hide her embarrassment before she turned towards the old man.

“Umm, I was sent here by Nathaniel- an adventurer. He said I could tell you his name. I just want some simple gear for a quest,” Jennifer said, eyeing the various enchanted armors, accessories, wands and such on display throughout the shop. The mana output of some of them was as high as a Tier 5 spell. There was no way she could afford these.

“Ah, Nat sent all of you? I see, I see. It's rare for him to send friends home like this. The boy's shy at his best. How is he doing? I haven’t seen him in a good few weeks. Not since the dungeon business. Just keeps sending the same old message scroll,” the portly man said as he walked around the counter.

Jennifer frowned, slightly confused at his remark when she remembered. Nathaniel Serfield, his family name was Serfield. I’d completely forgotten...She stared at the man, who she assumed was Nathaniel’s father as he pulled some gear from behind the counter.

“Well, then. I assume you’d want some light armor. Perhaps a [Detect Danger] accessory, along with something like a Tier 3 Protection Field. Maybe an Ironskin bracelet,” the man said going through the pile of stuff as he waved some away into a dimensional storage.

Jennifer looked at the price of some of the items on display, her breath catching in her chest at the large figure on display. “Can we look into something a bit uh, cheaper perhaps? I don’t have too much to spend,” Jennifer said as the man paused. She felt a bit awkward at his look, but he returned a polite nod.

“I’ll need to look around a bit. It's been a while since I sat at the shop. Usually my employees would be taking care of it, but with the recent commotion and all, I decided to give them a break for today. A good excuse to get out and work a bit,” the man said with a light chuckle.

Jennifer nodded politely, her eyes turning towards her friend swooning over a short enchanted dress nearby, covered in light scale armor that was beautifully woven into the cloth itself.

Gavril stood inspecting a brace of curved daggers displayed on the wall, and Jenn wanted to punch him when she saw him reaching out to touch them. He was thankfully stopped by an invisible barrier covering the daggers.

“Alright, let’s see. A simple leather armor. Minor enchantment for durability. I assume you can tell that already. The leather also has minor mana resistance, so it’ll hold against magical projectiles and attacks as well,” he said, laying the armor onto the counter.

Jennifer touched the leather armor, feeling the enchantment on it, interwoven carefully across the whole armor. She couldn't help but notice that it was sized for someone twice her size as she held it up in front of her.

“You can try it out as well, hold on. [One Fits All],” the man intoned and the armor began to shift beneath her hands, changing its shape.

“Try it on now,” he said, and Jennifer flipped the armor, sliding into it like a sweater, placing it over her clothes. A single strap on each side secured the armor snugly and she felt it hug her body like a second skin.

“Hold this crystal, it’s a Skill stone. [Minor Detect Danger]. You can bind it to you by sending your mana into the stone. Make sure it's touching your skin at all times if you want the skill to work properly. Maybe tie it around your arm,” he said, handing her a small red crystal. Pouring her mana into it, the shard lit up with a soft crimson glow. She looked at it for a second when an idea struck her.

She dug in her pocket and pulled the blood shard out. Focusing on the glass she put it next to the crystal. She coerced the glass into shifting to form a second layer encasing the crystal. As the skill stone came in contact with the blood glass she felt the skill activate.

Skill Stone - Minor Detect Danger

Capacity: Tier 2

Status: Bound

A Skill Stone with the [Minor Detect Danger] Spell, able to detect danger to the bound owner of the skill stone and grant them the [Minor Detect Danger] skill.

Jennifer formed another layer of glass around it, floating the stone within her glass. The skill remained active even enclosed in glass. She formed a small hinge at the top as she smoothed the glass to a small cylindrical shape suitable for a necklace.

“Blood and Glass magic? That is a very rare and impressive form of magic you have, young lady. I think I’ve only known a handful of people who've had the affinity,” the man remarked, raising his bushy eyebrows.

“Jenn! Come here for a second!” Rumina shouted excitedly and Jennifer turned to see her friend holding out a dark crimson dress, black cuts and patterns decorating it with ribbons hanging from it’s sleeve.

“How do you think this looks on me?” Rumina asked, holding the dress in front of her. A subtle magical aura wafted off the dress, and she felt her new skill [Minor Danger Detect] flash for a brief second.

“I don’t know...it looks great, but maybe a bit too violent? A tad bit mature for you as well,” Jennifer said, eyeing the dress sceptically as Rumina pouted, waving her away as she returned to fawning over the dress.

“Why are you suddenly looking into these and wait... are those ribbons knives?” Jennifer asked as she looked closer at the strands of ribbon hanging from the dress, gleaming in the light.

“Just having a look, there’s a lot of interesting dresses here. It’s not like you'll have any interest in this stuff. So I went ahead and had a look for myself. I do need gear as well after all, since I decided that I’d form an adventuring team with you,” Rumina stated calmly, turning away as she went around to inspect the accessories in a different section of the shop.

“I just don’t care about clothes- wait, what? Rumina you're... forming an adventuring team with me? You can’t just drop that on me all of a sudden! I don’t want you doing this Rumina, not because you're scared something will happen to me or anything like that. You don’t have to follow along, I’ll be fine on my own” Jennifer said, surprised at the suddenness of her friend’s declaration.

“It’s not- I just want to be there? And if you’re going to be an adventurer why can’t I be one? I’ve gone in the dungeon before, you know? Especially the sewers. Guild business. And I know how to handle a knife,” Rumina said, as she twirled around with the knife ribbons in her hands.

Jennifer eyed her friend, watching the stern expression on her face before she felt Gavril pat her shoulder.

“Just accept it Jenn, she won’t listen to you. She’s been harping me to join her little adventuring party for the last week to convince you. The quest thing's just made her certain it's time,” Gavril said with a shrug.

Jennifer turned towards her red-headed friend, “I just, I don’t want to dictate what you do Rumina. I just-”

“Perfect!” Rumina exclaimed, clapping her hands, “In that case you have no issues right? Awesome, now I need to find gear for myself too. You can’t be the only one who gets new stuff!” Rumina clapped Jenn on the shoulder, giggling as she fluttered around the store once more.

Jennifer looked towards Gavril for help but the taller boy just gave her a shrug as he walked off to wander around the store. Jennifer sighed, turning towards Nathaniel’s father.

“Can we get some gear for both of them?” She took out the gold coin and placed it on the counter. I only have this much on me right now,” she said awkwardly.

“I have the money-” Rumina protested but paused as Jennifer glared at her.

“I'm accepting your choice. So, you’ll have to accept mine. I’m paying for this, no arguments allowed,” Jennifer said, putting steel in her voice and Rumina deflated like a scolded puppy, kicking her leg as she turned around.

“I ain’t gonna complain y’know,” Gavril said, giving her a cheeky smile which Jennifer ignored while Rumina stuck her tongue out at him.

“Hoho, a new adventuring team is it? Very exciting to see. Tell you what, I’ll prepare something for all three of you. In the meantime, you head on inside and have some tea. I'd love to hear a bit more about Nat, miss,” the man said, laughing pleasantly.

“I’m Jennifer. And thank you for all your help,” she said, nodding back politely.

“Markus Sterfield. Plain old [Merchant] and father to a few adventurous sons,” Markus replied with a smile.

Someone who owns this place is anything but a normal [Merchant]. Jennifer thought, as she made her way to the inside of the store. A small, but tastefully decorated room awaited her, four wooden chairs around a low table. Each chair looked as if they'd been woven by taking individual stands of wood, then weaving them together one strand at a time.

She took a seat, discovering the chair was practically made of cloud as it absorbed her weight. Extremely comfy.

“Gavril stop jumping on the darn thing like a kid,” Rumina scolded and Gavril huffed as he stopped bouncing in his chair.

“So, you're gonna follow me on my quest tomorrow? Do you even know how to do any adventurer... stuff?” Jennifer asked her redhead friend as she leaned forward, not letting the comfortable chair lull her.

“Well, you don’t know either. It shouldn't be anything I haven’t handled before. My guild doesn't coddle people. And most of my clients aren't as nice as you are, Jenn. I’ve had to deal with more [Thugs] than you've enchanted blades. I know how to handle myself,” Rumina said with a serious voice glancing towards Gavril as she added, “Oh. And Gavril's good as well.”

Jennifer sighed at her friend's words, still conflicted about her decision. I'd prefer if they didn't follow me into this mess .It’s too dangerous- I’m doing this again aren’t I? Trying to keep them away from my problems to keep them safe.

She turned to Rumina, clenching her hand. “Fine, I trust you Rumina. You're right. You’ve got a better handle of yourself than me,” Jenifer paused, eyeing the tall boy next to them who seemed to be curiously inspecting the table cloth on the small tea-table in front of them.

“Although I’m not too sure about Gavril here. He’s flighty at his best,” she said, and the boy sniffed.

“I ain’t no booksy like you. I’ve run around plenty of not so safe runs before. Keinor has some nasty monsters on the way. It’s why I avoid city ta city runs. Better to leave em to the higher level folks. The older runners don't like me prowling in their business anyways. Cheapskates the lot of em." He leaned back crossing his arms with a huff before leaning back in. "But even in Lienmont I’ve seen my share of combat. If that’s what you're worried about.”

Jennifer waved the boy away, a part of her relieved her friends had her back. I guess this isn't such a bad thing after all.

While Jenn was reappraising her friends, Markus walked into the room, a single tray with a teapot and a few teacups upon his hand. Jennifer got up, offering to take the tray from him but was refused by the older man as he poured a cup of tea for each of them.

“Have a drink please. And don’t mind my presence, I enjoy the work. Not much else to do at my age besides count numbers and direct people. So a change of pace is just what I need,” Markus said, as he took a seat at the table. With a wave of his hand, multiple items appeared beside the teapot.

“I’ve got a few enchanted daggers for your [Rogue] or whatever roguelike class for your friend here. And a thin armor-dress that'll allow her to blend in the shadows better. A simple fireball ring for the [Runner] here, along with a simple barkskin ring and a tiny storage ring with a few healing, mana and stamina potions,” Markus said, as his gaze landed on each of them around the table.

Jennifer stared at the man. Appraisal spells again? I guess I know where Nathaniel got his habit from.

She turned towards the items on display, confusion evident on her face as she saw the various expensive looking equipment.

“Hmm, nice daggers. Better than mine for sure,” Rumina said as she spun the dagger, the blade curving back towards her as it returned to her hand.

Jennifer turned towards Markus, confusion tinging her voice. “Is all of this really just for one gold piece? A storage ring? Don't they cost at least 50 gold pieces? Even the smallest one. I just-” Jennifer paused at Markus’ laughter.

“Well, I may have miscounted a teeny tiny bit. But if you don’t feel comfortable then perhaps we could trade?” the older man said with a small smirk.

Jennifer tensed, straightening her back. There has to be something he knows, is he going to ask about the delve? The marks? Some other guild information?

“In return for these items, perhaps you could tell me more about Nat? It's been a while since he was home. My brother Zaress keeps him in the guild most of the time, and Nat has a tendency to get lost in work as well. I don’t remember the last time he came for dinner,” Markus said, as he looked at her.

Jennifer stared at him, her mouth dropping at the revelation but she quickly took a hold of her expression. His uncle is Zaress, the Thunder Blight? No wait, maybe someone else is named Zaress-

"Uhm. You don't happen to mean the guild head, do you?" Jenn asked, unable to keep the question in.

Markus nodded, glancing at her as he sipped at his tea.

“I-I umm, how? He... isn’t his name Nathaniel Serfield? From what I know the guild head’s name is Zaress Keinor…” Jenn trailed off as she stared at Markus, unsure of what to say.

“It’s a long story, and I married into my wife’s family. Taking up her last name. Some people did not like that, let me tell you. Ah, I see Nat hadn’t told you. That boy never liked talking about home. Should’ve expected that. Anyways Miss Jennifer. Would you be willing to trade?” Markus asked once again.

Jennifer paused, trying to sense if he was using any skills on her. She’d heard of High level merchants having skills to make trades lean in their favour but if he was using anything she couldn't sense it.

“I..don't know Nathaniel too well. I'm not sure what to tell you about him,” Jennifer replied hesitantly.

“Isn’t he your mentor Jenn?” Rumina asked, twirling her new daggers in her hands.

“Oho? The boy’s teaching you? That's very interesting. And please, feel free to share whatever you'd like Jennifer. This is just a small gift. Partly because I too wished to form a team and go down adventuring ages ago. Perhaps, if I'd done so, my family would’ve been more pleased with me. Yet, in the end my calling was to be a merchant. So here I am, working in a shop to help young adventurers as they chase their dreams of glory,” Markus replied, picking his cup of tea from the table as he took another sip.

Jennifer nodded, bowing her head slightly. “Thank you,” she said to the man.

“Oh, don’t think too much about it. And I wouldn't want to distract you kids any further. Have you picked a name for your new team?”

“Dumb trio is all I can think of for this bunch of misfits,” Gavril said snorting, prompting Rumina to elbow the boy before she turned towards Jenn.

“How about Meifor’s Wings? In folklore the beast Meifor had three wings after Sera clipped his fourth before taming him. And there’s three of us,” Rumina said, looking around excitedly.

“That is certainly an excellent name!” Markus said.

Thinking for a moment, she realized she didn't have a better idea. Jennifer turned to look at her friend smiling cheerfully at her. “Sure, let’s go with that then.”

“Let me add a little something then,” Markus said, snapping his fingers as three small leather patches plopped onto the table. “[Real Images]” he said, and she watched as Meifor's Wings was etched in a beautiful design on the leather piece, three wings joined at their edges forming a triangular shape.

“I can add these to your armor and gear. Just a little trinket,” he said, handing her the patch of leather.

Jennifer grabbed the piece, the leather soft to her touch. She stared at the name written on the patch, dull light reflecting off of it’s surface. A small smile tugged at her lips as she looked around at her friends.

Perhaps being sent back in time wasn’t all that bad afterall.