The shop was just as it had been when Rowan had left. The cashier still stood at the counter, her face now noticeably more tired as the woman in front of her continued to point at the boots that had evidently not yet been purchased, her volume having increased since Rowan had departed the shop.

She still hasn’t left yet? Rowan thought in surprise. After an hour and a half spent haggling at various shops, he wasn’t sure if he should be in awe of the woman’s perseverance, or disgusted at her hardheadedness. Little from column A, little from column B, probably.

“You’re back!” Sloss called out, appearing from the back, most likely summoned by the sound of the chime. “I just finished preparing your stuff. Head over to the fitting stool and I’ll be right over.”

As Sloss disappeared once more, Rowan followed his instructions, setting his bag down by the stool and massaging his shoulders as he waited for Sloss to reappear. A moment later, the shop owner arrived, his arms full of leathers that he carefully placed in front of the stool.

“One set of sparring leathers,” Sloss told him, sorting through the pile and grabbing a sleeveless leather shirt which he held aloft. “Breastplate, bracers, helmet, gloves, and greaves, and you wanted a pair of boots as well, right?”

Rowan nodded.

“Good,” Sloss continued. “Let me just make sure I’ve fitted this correctly, and then we can find you some boots.”

The leathers fit snugly, molding to Rowan’s form like they had been made for him. A far cry from the mishmash of Girscaw armour he had worn when arriving at the academy. Admiring himself in the mirror on the wall, Rowan smiled. It felt good to have something made just for him for once.

Seeing Rowan’s smile, Sloss grinned. “I do good work, don’t I?”

“Can’t complain,” Rowan replied, not wanting to give off the impression that he liked the armour too much. If there was one thing he had learned in the past half hour of haggling, it was that giving away how much you wanted an item only made the shopkeep want to charge you more.

“Try moving a bit,” Sloss directed. “They’re sparring leathers, so you’ll want to make sure they’re comfortable in a fight.”

Dismounting from the stool, Rowan stretched, limbering up as he began to move, first jogging slowly from one side of the room to the other. Satisfied that the armour would not shift during his movements, Rowan began to practice the movements Tethis had taught him. With a pleased expression, Rowan mimicked an overhead slash, noting that the leathers did not obstruct him all, the entire thing felt as natural as it would have without leathers. A minute later, he came to a halt, a slight sheen of sweat beading on his brow.

“Is to your satisfaction?” Sloss asked.

“They’re perfect,” Rowan responded.

“Good. I measured your feet earlier. They’re a little on the smaller side, but I should have some boots that will fit. Give me a moment.” A minute later, Sloss returned, a pair of dark brown leather boots in his hands. “Try these on.”

Kicking off his shoes, Rowan slipped his feet into the boots, marvelling at how easily they fit his feet. He had been wearing the same shoes since Taureen, a pair of old leather sandals that had to be bound tightly to his feet in order to not slip off. These boots did not have that problem. Wiggling his toes experimentally within the boot, Rowan nodded at Sloss. “They fit fine.”

“Walk around in them a little, make sure they fit.” Sloss cautioned. “I don’t want one of my customers leaving in a boot that isn’t perfect. Bad for my reputation.”

Rowan stood up, walking a few paces before turning and walking back, rolling his ankle from side to side as he tested the boots. No matter the angle, the boots landed comfortably, producing a pleasant clacking sound as the soles met the wooden floor.

“All good?” Sloss asked as Rowan returned, receiving a nod in response. “Excellent, follow me to the till and we’ll get your payment sorted out. Did you want to wear your purchases out?”

“I’ll wear the boots,” Rowan replied. Although he was loath to part with his new armour, the heat outside would quickly turn the armour into a furnace. It would be better to take it off for now.

With an understanding nod, Sloss left, heading for the till as Rowan began the process of removing the armour. After a few minutes of struggling out of tight leather, Rowan finally managed to extricate himself from the armour, piling it into his arms as he made his way to the counter. Heading to the right side where Sloss was waiting at the register, a contraption of metal and magic hummed slightly as Sloss prodded it to life.

At the other end of the counter, the cashier seemed nearly in tears as she attempted to deal with the woman in front of her, evidently still not satisfied with the price for the boots she was attempting to buy.

“The total will be three gold Vlends, seven silver, and three coppers,” Sloss intoned, clearly doing his best to ignore the pleading looks his employee was sending his way. “Since you’re a Faebrook student, I’ll knock ten percent off as a student discount, so long as you agree to continue shopping here for any leather equipment you may need. If you agree, then the new price will be three gold Vlends, three silvers, and I’ll knock off the coppers. That sound alright?”

“That sounds fine,” Rowan agreed, his mind running through calculations as he attempted to figure out if it was okay to haggle. From what he could tell, having checked out the prices at the other leatherworker down the road, Sloss was giving him a fair price for the armour and boots. And with the discount thrown on top… I’m benefitting from going to Faebrook already. Rowan thought happily, conveniently ignoring the fact that he would not be buying anything in the first place had he not needed it to attend Faebrook.

Before he could open his mouth to agree to Sloss’ terms, however, another voice cut in. “Three gold? You can do better than that, Sloss. Cut the poor boy some slack, he clearly needs the money more than you.”

Turning, Rowan saw that it was the woman at the other end of the counter who had just butted in, her eyes alight with mischief as she stared between him and Sloss. Now that he had a better look at her, Rowan could see that she was clearly someone of importance. Her hair was well kept, tumbling down over an expensive shirt, the type worn by eastern nobles, though this one was much more low cut than any Rowan had seen, at least in Taureen. Gems glinted from a golden pendant with exquisite craftsmanship, an item that Rowan felt was likely worth more than the shop they were standing in.

With a critical eye, she observed the items upon the counter. “Sloss can go as low as one gold Vlend and seven silvers on those leathers, and eight silvers for the boots. I would haggle until I got that price, but that’s just me.”

Chancing a glance at Sloss, Rowan could see the man’s jaw clench, the veins on his forehead standing out in clear relief. From the looks of it, this woman was telling the truth, which made the shopkeep deeply unhappy.

“Thank you for the input, Sigrid,” Sloss growled through gritted teeth, turning at last to look at the woman he had been studiously ignoring until now. “But I’ll thank you to keep your tongue to yourself inside my store.”

“Now, now,” Sigrid said sultrily. “Is that any way to talk to a customer who just penned a deal to buy more than twenty-eight hundred Vlends worth of equipment from you?”

“All that money, and yet you’re traumatizing my worker for life over a pair of boots,” Sloss muttered, crossing his arms as he gave Sigrid his full attention.

Sigrid shook her head, her long red hair falling in waves down her chest. “Those who don’t work for their money are doomed to forget its value. And those who forget the value of money soon lose their own.”

“I don’t think you’re in any danger of losing it all,” Sloss replied sourly. “Now get out of my shop, before I lose my temper.”

With an indulgent smile, Sigrid turned to the employee she had been dealing with earlier, placing a few coins on the countertop, several less than the total Rowan had overheard her offering a minute prior. “Here’s the price we agreed on. Could I get those boots in a bag?”

“I, ummm—” the cashier stuttered, turning to Sloss for direction.

“It’s fine,” Sloss said, his arms still crossed as he glared at the unrepentant redhead. “Bag them for her. We can’t afford to lose her business.”

“Always a pleasure shopping with you, Markus,” Sigrid said, happily scooping the bag out of the assistant’s arms.

With that, she was gone, leaving Rowan standing there dumbstruck. Like a whirlwind, she had swept in, angered the owner, obtained a great deal for her purchase, and left. A whirlwind that lasted two hours, that was. As her mane of red hair disappeared from sight, the assistant groaned, turning to her boss with an exhausted look.

“Please stop making me attend to Miss Sigrid,” she pleaded. “I have no idea how to deal with her. Bartering with her is impossible. Even if I agree to a price, she instantly lowers it again!”

“Just keep dealing with her as you’ve been,” Sloss replied. “She spends more here in a month than you make in a year.”

“But boss—”

“No buts,” Sloss replied firmly. “Now go stock the backroom. There’s a new shipment in that I didn’t get to inventory yet.”

With a rebellious look, the assistant fled, leaving Rowan standing awkwardly with Sloss. Do I ask for the price she recommended? he wondered. Although he definitely wanted to save the extra coin, it did not appear that Sloss was in a great mood to haggle. If he pushed his luck too far, it was likely he would find himself kicked out of the shop without anything to show for it, and with the carriage leaving in just under two hours, that would leave him without time to get leathers fitted at another shop.

As Rowan grappled with his decision, Sloss turned back to him. “I don’t suppose you heard any of that?” he asked hopefully. Seeing Rowan’s hesitant expression, he sighed. “Damn that woman. Tell you what, I don’t want to sell them at cost, which is the price she recommended. But I will give you them for ten percent above that, so two Vlends, seven silvers, and five coppers.”

“Deal,” Rowan said immediately, fishing his coinpurse from his tunic and taking out three gold coins, he handed them over before Sloss could change his mind.

“I’d say good doing business with you,” Sloss grunted, dropping a handful of silver and copper into Rowan’s hand. “But I think we both know that’s a lie. You’d better come back here again so I can make some proper coin off you.”

“I promise to come here for all my leatherworking needs,” Rowan vowed.

“I suppose that’s all I can really ask at this point,” Sloss said regretfully. "Thanks for shopping at Sloss’ Leathers, have a great day.”

Wearing a bemused look, Rowan left, the bag containing his new armour secure in his arms. For a moment, he just stood in place outside the store, allowing the sunlight to wash over him. Somewhere along the line, this shopping trip had taken a very weird, but profitable turn, and he wasn’t entirely sure what to think of it.

With a shrug, Rowan set off. He had saved some money, and managed to avoid becoming beholden to anyone while doing it. All in all, a good afternoon’s work, even if it had been someone else’s work.