“The Cat Shack… Not the name I expected for a weapon shop.” After heading through Shelter—which was growing ever more festive as the day went on—we arrived at the weapon shop Fi had wanted to take me to. There was a big sign on top of the building with a cute smiling kitten wearing a helmet and holding a sword on it. It was very unfitting.

“BC’s an idiot through and through, but he makes quality products. Can’t knock him for his questionable naming choices. And…” Fi trailed off, averting her eyes.

“And what? That was a very reluctant sounding “and”. Don’t tell me… Did “and” commit some kind of crime?! How could he do such a—” It was rare for Fi to hesitate with saying something. Therefore, I decided to capitalize on it, and poke some fun at her. ...Only to receive a quick chop to the back of my head. Despite being much smaller than me, Fi had no trouble reaching my head.

“And he’s my father, okay?!” Fi was now red in her face from a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. After taking a deep breath to cool herself off, she grumbled under her breath and headed in.

For once, Fi opened the door normally. It felt ominous. I’d grown accustomed to her usual process of slam and then go. I could only imagine that she wanted to enter more stealthily, in an attempt not to alert her father. Sadly for her, it didn’t work one bit.

Not even a second after the door opened, a middle-aged man with spiky red hair, a spottily shaven face, and a chiseled build came waltzing over to us, absolutely beaming. Fi’s body visibly tensened at his approach, and her face grew an even brighter red.

At first, I didn’t understand the issue. Her father looked like a pretty average dude. Nothing to get embarrassed over. If anything, he dressed a bit weird, but other than that, nothing. It wasn’t until he spoke up that I understood what was bothering her.

“Ay-hey-hey! Did my daughter actually come to visit her old man? On a work day, no less? I’m on top of the world! The BC’s utterly overjoyed that his daughter missed him!” He was the complete antithesis to Fi. Words flooded out of his mouth like second nature, and he didn’t seem to care about seeming respectable. Furthermore, he’d throw in a third person statement or two every now and then. It was clearly an unintentional behavior, but an odd one, nevertheless.

“Hold it, pa, don’t get ahead of yourself. I actually have an order for you, that’s all.” Fi put her father’s enthusiasm to an immediate halt. However, my mind wandered elsewhere.

“Pa?” I hadn’t expected Fi to use such an abnormal term for “dad”. I guess it kinda fit thought.

“Can it.” Fi’s eyes shot daggers at me, and I instinctively shut my mouth. Fi was scary when she got upset.

“Now, girls, settle down. Just tell the BC your order and I’ll take care of it immediately. And because it’s something for my daughter’s pal, I’ll even give you a discount on a custom order. Pretty generous, aren’t I?” BC instantaneously shifted from loving father mode to businessman mode. His eyes already intent on analyzing me.

“Yeah! That’s very kind of you, thanks!” I didn’t know how much money I actually had, so I’d take any discount with stride. Fi just nodded, she seemed to be thinking over something her father had said.

“Now let it spill free. Tell me all the juicy details about your order!” BC was pumped up and pushed for information. I really didn’t know what to ask for, so I let Fi take the lead.

After a moment of thinking, it was obvious Fi had a clear idea for the weapon in her mind. She unleashed all the information at a rapid speed, and somehow kept up. Taking notes, nodding his head, asking questions… Despite how embarrassed Fi might’ve been of him, they played off of each other well.

As for me, I had no idea what was going on. I was a social person, but I was also slow. No matter how much I tried to stay on top of the conversation, I couldn’t. The only things I caught were stuff that I already knew. Two daggers made for quick attacks, flashy (presumably so I wouldn’t lose them again), and then just a whole bunch of design stuff. Fi’s sword was incredibly simple in design, so her ability to talk to such an extent about my daggers shocked me. Maybe, she just preferred the simpler design, or perhaps, BC couldn’t balance such a big sword properly if he added too much intricate details. Either way, it fit Fi.

When all was said and done, BC gave us an estimated price. “500 Thrintel. Add on the daughter’s friend discount, and that’d make it… 350. Take it or leave it.”

“Not happening. This is a special request. I want it for free, father.” Fi chimed in without even giving me a chance to respond. I didn’t know how much 350 Thrintel was, but I knew I didn’t have it. The pouch left on Peak’s counter was full of coins, but it couldn’t have contained any more than 100. From my knowledge, Peak was next to broke, so 100 was likely a lot.

“The BC doesn’t do freebies, not even for his family. Even if it’s for my daughter’s pal, I can’t go lower than 300. Setting the base price at 500 was already being generous.” BC was growing visibly agitated. For a craftsman of any type, having your work undervalued was likely insulting.

“Pa, I understand that. However, this request isn’t mutually exclusive to me. This request actually comes from your best friend, too. Your poor old best friend who’s been out in the forest working for the town for the past five years, without pay or camaraderie. I’d told him you’d cover the expenses. You wouldn’t let him down, would you?” Fi wasn’t the smartest, but she knew how to work her way around a deal. That skill almost definitely came from her father. It was a classic case of the student surpassing the master.

“Wait, are you talking about Peak?! Since when did he ever have any part to play in this transaction?” BC was rattled at hearing Peak mentioned. Evidently they were really good friends. As Fi said, best friends.

“Eheheh… maybe this is where I should step in and introduce myself. My name’s April Fallow. Peak’s been looking after me for the past couple of weeks… There’s a long story to everything, but if you have the time, I’d be happy to tell it.” I figured it was my time to interject. I went forward to clear the air and explain my situation to BC like I’d done for Fi. It didn’t need to be kept secret, nor did I want it to be.

Plus, the more I explained it, the easier it became to do so, and the more interesting my storytelling became. At the end of it all, BC was thoroughly invested, nodding his head and prodding me with questions about stuff from Earth. Weapons, vehicles, places—he was curious about them all. I made sure to appease every last morsel of intrigue that spilled out of his mouth. I had a hunch that if I did so, it’d prove useful in getting the daggers’ price lowered.

“Phew… that was a lot to take in. It’s been quite an eventful few weeks for you, hasn’t it, Ms. April?” BC seemed at ease as he spoke. This had to lower the price. “Still, the BC can sniff out tall tales from world’s away, so I know you’re telling the truth.”

I let out a deep exhale of relief. So far, I was three for three with people believing my story. I was truly lucky the people of Shelter were so open minded. “Thank you, BC! So… about the price.”

“Toss me that pouch of yours, okay? Let me take a gander inside.” I did as BC told. He then proceeded to poor the pouches contents out on the counter and sort them into groups of five. When all was said and done, he rattled off the amount of money I had. “That makes 88 Thrintel… Geez, Peak, how broke can a guy be?”

“You’re still going to do the order, aren’t you, old man?” Fi glared at BC with the might of a lion.

“Yeah, yeah, I will. Considering it’s a favor from you and Peak, that’ll make it 100 Thrintel. With the addition of the information I was able to pry out of Ms. April there, I’ll take 60 Thrintel for the order. Make me go any lower, and I’ll hang you out in front of the store front as an example to all the other pesky hagglers of Shelter.” BC’s words were harsh, but his soul was soft. He could’ve asked for all 88 of my coins, but he refrained from doing so. He was a good man.

“That’s perfect! Sounds like a deal!” I held out a hand towards BC, and after some slight hesitation, he took it and shook it.

“So, pa, when do you think the daggers will be done?” Fi broke the mood and stayed as objective focussed as always.

“I get what you’re trying to say. You need them as soon as possible, correct?” BC sighed. Fi just wouldn’t let up on him, even for a second. “Leave it to me! The BC is a master of the crunch! Give me until tomorrow. I won’t rest until they’re done. ...It’s not like I needa prepare and stand for tomorrow, anyways.”

“Thank you so much, BC! For everything!” I tried to flash the man my most charming, thankful smile. One that I’d been training for an occasion just like this one.

“Aww… shucks. It’s no biggie. Anything to help someone out.” BC rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. My charm worked perfectly.

And with that, Fi and I turned tail and left The Cat Shack.

“That wasn’t so bad. Certainly nothing to get flustered over.” Outside of the store, I decided to address Fi’s hesitation from earlier.

“Well we caught him with his business face on. He’s normally like… that.” Fi pointed to the storefront window, her face red once more. When I looked in, I saw BC joyously dancing around his store, rearranging weapons in a careless and carefree fashion. It was a completely different side of him that I hadn’t seen while negotiating.

“I don’t know what you mean. I think that’s kinda wholesome.” Seeing a man so far into life still filled with childish joy and energy… It put a smile on my face.

“He’s owns a weapon shop. He shouldn’t be “wholesome”.” Fi shook her head and then continued on throughout the town. “Now that we’ve got the two main things out of the way, I just want you to stop me whenever you find something that interests you. I told Peak I’d show you around town, so that’s what I plan to do.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around town and window shopping. I only had 28 coins left in my pouch, but it didn’t deter me. Sadly, most stores were closed and replaced with stalls in front of them. Stalls for Talon Day that wouldn’t be opened until the next day. Still, I managed to snag a small bottle of ink, a unique quill, and a few sheets of some old yellowed paper, leaving me with roughly 15 coins.

Regardless of how lame it was, I wanted to try out my new ability. Just knowing I had the capability of doing something special, it filled my stomach with butterflies and my mind with dreams. So, as the sun set and Fi and I settled at a small outdoors cafe for dinner—a cafe with much more normal sounding food items than the ones Peak had been able to make—I whipped out the materials and went to work.

“So… how do I do this again? I just needa make contact with the paper and…” I dipped the quill in some ink, and drew it towards the paper, pressing it down on it. I didn’t yet know proper calligraphy with an old fashioned quill, but that shouldn’t have been a problem. From the sounds of the ability, it should’ve acted automatically. Yet… “Nothing’s happening.”

“Well, duh. You have to make a conscious effort to use it. Otherwise, you’d never be able to write on paper ever again, you’d just be able to make maps.” Fi, who was previously leaned back in her chair and looking up at the night sky, leaned forward and reprimanded me. Then she went on to instruct me. “I guess, now’s as good of a time as ever to explain how Rituals work. Unlike Magic or Skills, you don’t needa say anything for them to activate. You just need the materials and the thought to use the Ritual. Which means, as long as you focus on using Spirit of Adventure, it’ll activate.”

“That seems pretty obvious! You think I was just putting the pen to the paper, and not thinking about using my ability? Of course, I was thinking about using it!” Fi’s unnecessary instruction tilted me a bit. I was oblivious, but not stupid.

“Sheesh calm down. You’re a pretty distractible person. Perhaps, your mind wanders too much if you try focussing on something. Just keep at it, and you’ll probably get it. Worst case scenario, we buy more paper and try a few more vain attempts.” Fi had returned to leaning back in her seat as she spoke. She’d stopped really caring.

“Mmm… I got it. I just need to stop getting distracted! C’mon, April, you’ve got this.” I slapped my cheeks to ensure focus and got to work. Attempt after attempt I blew through paper. Failing, failing, and failing. Our food had even come, but I didn’t bother letting up. I’d make a map.

“I’m paying for this food. Eat it, already.” Fi’s eyes were narrowed and devoid of hope. She clearly just wanted to get going. Something about that pissed me off and got my blood boiling.

“I’m trying my best, you see?! The least you could do is wish me luck!” I was still trying as I snapped at Fi, my hand shaking from my irritation.

“Good luck, then.” Fi didn’t care. She did as I told and went back to watching people pass by on the street.

“That. Didn’t. Even. Sound. Genuine!” I only grew more irritated. As a result, as I put the quill to my last bit of paper, I clenched it too hard and it snapped. However, the impossible did happen. From the snapped quill ink splattered on the paper, and from that ink appeared a highly detailed map of Shelter. Complete with a title, building layouts, paths, and everything. I could even make out the route we’d taken today.

“I-I did it! I made a map!” On my very last attempt, I’d succeeded. I’d collected all my anger from the previous attempts and put them into the quill, and the result was a map. My outcry caused Fi’s attention to jolt back to me, and for a select few bystanders to look at me with curiosity. I was new around town, so I’d gotten plenty of curious looks throughout the day, anyways.

“Holy shit, you really did it. Damn, didn’t think you had it in you.” Fi’s expression was filled with surprise, and my stomach uproared with pride. It was nice to put her in her place. It showed her for doubting me. “And this thing’s really detailed, too. Can I see it?”

Fi reached for the map, but I quickly yanked it away, remembering what the skill had said. “No! Don’t touch it! I can’t give it away, or else it’ll clear itself, remember?” I’d just narrowly avoided a tragedy.

“Oh, that’s right. That would’ve sucked.” Saying “That would’ve sucked.” was about as much of an apology I’d get from Fi. She was respectable but not the most polite. “Now hurry up and eat. I’m ready to turn in for the day. You’re a hassle to be around.”

Not bothering to object, I scarfed down my food—actually enjoying it for once—and got ready to go. By the time we’d paid and left, it was already night, and the skies were filled with wisps. It wasn’t until heading home that something came back into mind.“Oh crap! I totally meant to ask you something!”

“Hmm…?” Fi looked up.

“About that medicine you used on me earlier… where can I find the guy that made it. I wanted to thank him.” It’d just occurred to me that I hadn’t found an apothecary throughout all of our day’s travels, and there wasn’t one listed on the map either.

“How do you know him, April?” Fi dodged my question. For some reason, she seemed hesitant to tell me anything. Normally she was the type who liked to get things over with and move on, so I was a bit taken aback.

“Uh… I got lost in the tunnels heading over here. I ended up running into him and he threw me that potion along with a special elixir for making light.” I told Fi all that I knew.

“I see… If that’s it, then there’s no problem.” Fi paused for a second before nodding then continuing. “He works down in a windmill at the base of the village. He’s not typically up during the day, so if you wanna catch him. I recommend visiting him now. I’ll let Peak know that you went to meet someone if you want to do that.”

“I probably should, shouldn’t I?” I was tired, but also full of life. I had no reason not to go ahead and go. So, I pulled out my map and located the windmill Fi was talking about. “I think I’m gonna go, so can you do that for me?”

“Mhm, no problem. Will’s a decent friend of mine, and I owe him a good few favors, so try not to get on his nerves too much.” Fi was more relaxed now, as she got ready to see me off.

“Gotcha! Then I’m gonna head out! See you at tomorrow’s festivities, Fi!” I wasted no time in dashing off. My destination—the apothecary’s windmill.