“Welcome to Inkar’s Shield Emporium! We deal with shields, shields, and more shields. If we don’t have what you’re looking for, our boss will personally get eaten by a dragon. That’s how confident we’re that we’ve got what you want,” blabbered a finely dressed man, standing right inside the shop. His combed hair and tidy robes signified this was not a place that Vesper belonged. It was definitely not a place that Grunkor belonged to either, but Grunkor was not here.

“Ah, wonderful! This is my, well, umm, coworker Vesper. He needs some sort of flying shield.”

“Ahh, it’s lovely to see you Siora, like always. We’ve got a few flying shields but they are pricey,” mentioned the finely dressed man. He glanced at Vesper.

“Nonsense, last time I checked flying shields only went for 100 gold pieces,” Siora countered.

‘That may be true, but can he afford a 100 gold piece shield?” asked the salesperson.

“Probably? I don’t see why he couldn’t.”

The salesperson’s eyes bore into Vesper as if knowing just how poor Vesper actually was.

“What do you have that’s throwable for a few silver?” Vesper asked.

“Inkar’s Shield Emporium doesn’t deal in silver. I’m afraid you’ll have to look elsewhere, somewhere more fitting of your income I suppose.”

Siora turned to face Vesper, a curious look covered her face.

“I didn’t know you were homeless?”

“I’m not homeless. One silver a week is an acceptable salary for any individual, and is a generous offer compared to my previous employment.”

Siora gaped. Trying to work out how someone could live off of so little. How could one even afford shoes for anything less than five silver? This was more mindbending than the magic of the higher druids. She barely understood complex plant biology, but at least she could understand that.

“Previous employment? What were you making before one silver?” Siora asked, astonished.

“5 Copper. It did the trick, but it wasn’t much to live off of. Now, I’m living like a King.” Vesper grinned.

Siora nearly passed out as her mind tried to comprehend living off five copper. She grabbed Vesper’s arm to steady herself. It was too much to think about.

“You’ll have to look elsewhere if you’re wanting a shield,” insisted the salesmen. “Frankly, there isn’t enough room in the shop for the two of you. Vesper, was it? If you could step outside for paying customers that would be terrific.”

“That’s outrageous. I’ve never heard of Inkar’s Sheild Emporium kicking out anyone!” shouted Siora.

Vesper ducked his head in embarrassment. As much as he wanted to stay in the building he knew that he didn’t belong certainly not as a low-level [bookworm] with no family.

“Don’t worry, Siora. I’ll step out. I’m sure there are better places to buy shields in my price range.” Vesper reasoned.

“Nonsense!” Siora shouted. Her face was red, as she clenched her fists and harrumphed. There were temper tantrums and then there were princess temper tantrums. It was like comparing a tornado to a hurricane, or a wave to a tsunami. Even the salesperson flinched as he realized what was coming, and he’d dealt with many such tantrums.

“When my Dad finds out you kicked out my friend and I spread the word that Inkar’s Shield Emporium is run by a bunch of crooks, you’ll be sorry that you ever turned away Vesper!”

“He can’t affor-” The salesperson was cut off.

“To think I recommended this place to Jordan!”

“The [Paladin] was provided an excellent shield.”

“You’re a crook! I’m gonna do any business here again.”

Vesper walked outside. He was, frankly, too embarrassed to stay inside. 10 minutes? 70 minutes? It seemed as if an eternity passed before Siora left, her face still a deep shade of red, her fists still clenched. It was unbecoming for a princess to snarl the way that Grog would snarl, but Siora was just too angry.

“Unbelievable,” Siora snarled through her clenched teeth.

“I find it believable. What good is a poor [Bookworm] to them? They make shields out of the highest quality material, and that’s something I just can’t afford. We come from different worlds, I suppose.”

“Well, where do you suppose we look for a shield?”

Vesper pointed down a dingy alleyway, where the rhythmic banging of hammers could be heard. Sweat poured down coal-covered blacksmiths, as they focused on the flames from the furnace. In and out, in and out their tongs were thrust into the flames, heating the metal they were working.

“That alleyway? It’s filthy,” said Siora.

“Ah but filthy is where you find the best deals.” It was a place for people like Vesper, like Grunkor, not like Siora. She was a princess, and princesses didn’t walk down dirty, disgusting alleyways. They sat in towers or palaces or towers on top of palaces. This alleyway was neither a tower nor a palace or high-end store. Therefore, alien to Siora.

She followed behind Vesper closely, making sure that none of the other grimy greasy men laid a finger on her. It wasn’t that she’d never seen a grimy or greasy man before. She worked for the adventurer’s guild. They had every type of greasy, dirty, mucky person come through their doors. Siora, however, felt it was entirely different to see these people in their natural habitat.