Three figures stood waiting for us at the southern entrance to the town of Green’s Peak. Fyera was the first I recognized from the shape of the figure alone. Fyera wore another simple taupe colored dress cinched with a white apron tied around her waist that swept around her bare ankles. She came running out to meet us and threw her arms around me.

“Mica you’re safe!” She said holding me out at an arm’s length checking me for injury.“Thank goodness you’re not hurt.”

“Oh I’m fine too, thank you for asking.” Iagan piped up from beside me.

“It’s your fault she had to go rescue you to begin with. I hope you thanked her properly.” Fyera snorted turning to face him.

“He has.” I butted in, easing the tension. “We even made up from yesterday and now he’s agreed to join my party.”

“And what of the bear?” Waelen asked as he ambled up behind Fyera. He wore well maintained light leather armor, a long sword hung from the waist of his tanned pants. Iagan summoned the roll of the (Great) quality bear pelt from his inventory into his arms.

“Mica killed it, I helped.” Iagan said.

Fyera and Waelen’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads as they turned to stare at me. Plyne clapped politely as he approached with an impressed nod of approval.

“Very well done [Tourist].” He complimented. “You both have done a great service for Green’s Peak today and so [Friends of Green’s Peak], come. Let us take care of you for having taken care of us.”

My ID pinged as a text box popped up in my HUD.

[New Title Earned: Friend of Green’s Peak]

I looked to Iagan who seemed to be seeing the same thing I was on his own HUD as he met my gaze with a grin. Plyne led us all back to The Dapper Crate and set Iagan and me up on the chairs in front of the fireplace on the ground floor. He ducked upstairs to work on some food while we rested.

“Show them the picture you took!” Iagan fussed excitedly as Fyera and Waelen crowded. I pulled out my camera and moved to the photo I’d taken of his rodeo with the bear.

“You rode the bear?” Waelen asked, his jaw slack.

“Yeah. I rode the bear.” Iagan said smugly putting his arms behind his head. I left them to it as I got up and poked around the tchotchke stand at the counter top in the Dapper Crate. Several new postcard varieties became available, the bright plumage of the black warbler, Iagan’s cannonball into the lagoon and lastly his tangle with the bear. I picked it up admiring the gold foil border as it glinted in the firelight. I brought it over to pass around as a larger detailed version instead of the tiny screen on the camera.

“There’s postcards?” Iagan asked, his brows raising. He made the motion to get up from the chair but his body disagreed and he sank back down with a groan. I passed him the print and he studied it intensely. Never taking his eyes off the photo he called up the stairs. “Hey Plyne, how much for a postcard?”

“2 gold each or six for 10.” Plyne called down.

“10 gold for six postcards is ridiculous!” Iagan tore away from the postcard to crane his neck to look up at the stairs at Plyne as he poked his head out of the kitchen. “What the fuck are they made of GOLD?”

“You don’t have to buy it if it’s too costly [Adventurer].” Plyne ribbed him. “But yes that is gold leaf thank you for noticing. I put pride into my work.”

“Greedy geezer!” Iagan tsked as he passed the photo off with a sulking pout. Waelen took it and stared at it intensely. Those were definitely not the prices Plyne had told me the day before after he brought out the Crate Merch. Another sense itched my brain, I could definitely get Plyne to back down on price. I had to say something.

“We both know those weren’t that expensive yesterday.” I called up the stairs.

Plyne’s head poked out in the corner of the wedge between the ceiling the stairs wearing his coke bottle goggles that magnified his eyes.“Demand suddenly skyrocketed, 2 gold each or six for 10.” He said sternly. “I have to make a living Mica.”

“As do I.” I said as I crossed the room to the bottom of the stairs to face him properly. I leaned against the hand rail my heart beginning to race as I had a card to use up my sleeve. Playing it would take some delicate phrasing and maneuvering as I didn’t want to completely offend the brand I represented. My [Insight] skill revealed an item in compendium that I could use as leverage. Something that Plyne wanted almost as much as the Yellow Curry Leaf plant from my skill challenge.

“How much could you realistically give me for the bear pelt?” I asked simply.

Plyne thought for a moment. “Within all fairness I could probably part with 125 gold for it since it’s in decent shape. You were lucky not much of the carcass tore otherwise it would have downgraded the quality further.”

I nodded, having surmised that myself when I found the quality quantifier attached to the pelt in the first place. His hints felt almost stale to me now. I sent a quick message to Iagan using our private chat.

“‘Decent shape’?” I asked lowering my shades at him as a window popped up not a moment later. Click. It didn’t have time to hit my inventory before I summoned out into my arms the neatly rolled brown fur pelt of the bear. “This could grace the floors of a castle and you want me to sell it for 125 gold? My (Great) quality pelt is worth way more than that!”

I had to ease back on the theatrics just a little bit to not make it too campy and over the top. Plyne looked back to the kitchen and back to me.

“Are you really trying to [Haggle] with me while I’m in the middle of making your dinners?” He asked looking bored. “They’re going to get burned.”

“You’ve been nice to me Plyne, but I know when I’m being intentionally lied to.” I sent the pelt to my inventory keeping my eyes locked on Plyne the whole time. I wasn’t strong enough to carry it and walk so being propped up on the wall worked in my favor for this push. “This isn’t a haggle, this is an undersell.”

Plyne’s comically large eyes narrowed. “What are you saying [Tourist]?”

I smiled and pulled my glasses back up my face facing his glare with a dazzle. “What I’m saying is you’re the lifeblood of the town and these people depend on you as the local general store. A pelt like this COULD fetch you a ton of gold if you took it to the right place, like Dawnrise. If you buy it off me for cheap and resell it that would end up as pure profit for both you and the town.”

“Are you chastising a local businessman for doing business?” Plyne asked.

“I’m not selling the pelt for less than 500.” I said plainly.

“200.”

“500.”

“275 and I can’t go higher.” Plyne tried again.

“500 or I take the pelt and walk.” I stood my ground and Plyne let out a low grumble of a groan. I wanted him to push it one more time, to see if he would stand firm or actually give in to my price. With his tenacity he could get a good turn around for it if he put some thought into where to sell it.

I knew he wanted it but still ended up surprised when he stuck his nose up, “I am not paying 500 gold for that bear. It was more trouble than it was worth alive and it sure as hell ain’t worth the trouble now that it’s dead. You want to haul that carcass around the first Floor, you be my guest.”

He turned on his heel and went back to the kitchen, his voice calling down as though nothing had happened. “Food soon.”

Iagan, Fyera and Waelen watched me wide eyed as I sent the bear pelt back to Iagan. A pink message popped up in my HUD immediately after I sent the pelt off.

Mr.BigwIggy whispered to [The Group]:

MykaReviews whispered to [The Group]:

“So— Iagan, Dapper Crate has an amazing [Secret Recipe] you might like called Rainbow Curry.” I said loudly, moving the conversation away from the awkward failed haggle for the bear pelt.

“Yeah, one of your shirts had something on it about that if I remember correctly.” Iagan said slowly, staring at me to gauge my reaction.

“That’s right. It’s a [Secret Recipe] you won’t ever be able to find on any other floors. I was thinking of heading out to Seamyst tomorrow to keep filling my compendium. I think you might like it if you tried it.” I led further, arcing my eyebrow as a signal to Iagan. He stared at me as I pulled out my postcard of the snapshot I’d taken. “Doesn’t it look delicious? Apparently according to the owner Plyne, you can eat it two different ways for two different experiences. He says only the bravest try from the center of the bullseye out to the rim since it’s so spicy.”

Iagan’s face changed from cautious confusion to actual intrigue. “How’s that work?”

As I explained the nuances of the curry leaves to him, Plyne interrupted us as he came down the stairs with two bowls of soup. He’d kept some of the leftover boar meat from yesterday and added it in. A hearty stew with braised pork, potatoes, carrots, onions and celery. A half torn chunk of bread crust sat carefully draped over the edge. I snapped a picture of it.

Ker-chunk.

“Eat up.” Plyne said with a smile.

“What’s this I hear about a Rainbow Curry?” Iagan asked, holding up the photo I’d taken. I didn’t need to be a part of the conversation any further, I’d done my job of talking it up. I only hoped that Iagan would count toward our agreement.

“If you save enough room after the soup I’ll make you one.”

Iagan passed his bowl off to Fyera and sat back in his chair. “Mica said it’s really good so I’ll wait for it.”

“Me too Plyne.” Waelen piped up. Wide-eyed and shaking her head rapidly Fyera snagged the extra stew wasting no time digging in. Plyne gave me a glance with a nod.

“Sure, I’ll have those ready soon.” He said going over to the rounded window where the three curry leaf plants sat in the sill. He gathered a good amount of leaves from each and headed back upstairs.

[Skill Increase: Brand Ambassador level 1]

I snorted out a breathy chuckle in surprise. Was being a [Brand Ambassador] really a trackable skill in this game? I clicked further into my HUD to read what advantages it gave me.

[Skill: Brand Ambassador- Persuasion bonus if wearing merchandise of patron store. Skill does not work on the patron store owner.]

A persuasion bonus for wearing things I already intended on using? Oh that was so nice. I finished my food at the same time Plyne came back down stairs with the two bowls of [Secret Recipe: Rainbow Curry] and set them down in front of Iagan and Waelen.

“Eat toward the bullseye if you don’t like heat. Eat out if you do.”

“I love eating out.” Iagan said with a grin as he tucked in. Fyera turned a bright shade of red and I laughed. I summoned my camera and waited as Iagan took the first bite with no regards for himself. Straight from the center of the bullseye and straight into his mouth. It wouldn’t be too much longer.

His brows shot up and his eyes tried to pop out of his head, for a slight moment he looked like he was choking on his food. His face turned a slightly redder shade than his hair and he swallowed hard as tears sprang from the corner of his eyes letting out a ragged gasp.

Ker-chunk.

“Iggy’s first [Rainbow]!” I chuckled, dismissing the camera. Iagan glared at me and went straight back in. Plyne seemed satisfied that the four of us were taken care of and he sat down at the head of the small coffee table.

“Good job back there.” He said simply. “When it comes to [Tourist] above all else: trust your judgement. [Haggle] won’t steer you wrong so listen to it when it notifies you if something is going on. You made the smart call on calling me out on my prices. I do have to make a living but the disadvantage of living in a smaller town means I won’t be able to pay as much as a large town would.”

“I figured 500 might be a little out of your price range, but I knew how badly you wanted it.” I told him, “I wasn’t sure how deep your grudge with the bear went so I wanted to price you out.”

“Good. Use the details you learn to your advantage, always. If you can get an upper hand on someone just from hearing the right thing at the right time, then take it and don’t let go.” Plyne thought for a moment, his stare returning to Iagan and Waelen who both had tears dripping down their chins. “I believe I owe you some finder’s fees.”

->|

Iagan got his ‘I survived the Rainbow!’ shirt. Black, short sleeved and shown off loud and proud since he didn’t have a breast plate like Waelen did. The bullseye sat smack dab in his chest as though to taunt those who might do him harm. He loved it anyways.

Plyne paid out for both Iagan and Waelen since they’d both bought a bowl. Four gold wasn’t too much but ten more key chains meant more ways to get my name out into the world. They shot away to my inventory and we came to our goodbyes when I remembered something.

“Hey wait! How much does it cost to send mail?” I asked producing my three key chain combined postcards I’d written to Balder. Plyne took the group by the keychain with an amused smile.

“Mail’s by weight. 5 gold should cover it.” Plyne said. My [Haggle] skill buzzed angrily in the center of my chest like bees. I arced a brow behind my sunglasses. Oh no, sir.

“2.” I countered. They were literal letters and a key chain, not a bear pelt.

Plyne smirked, “4.”

“2.” I repeated

“3.” He ended. The bees subsided, the deal was fair. I accepted and shelled out the money from my credit card. Which reminded me, the rewards I’d received from all my quests were also in gold coins. I’d have to find some place to exchange later, probably Dawnrise if Seamyst was small like Green’s Peak.

“You got a credit card?” Iagan exclaimed jealously watching our transaction.

“Class perk.” I smiled, sending it away.

“For how much?” He demanded.

“Enough, nosey.”

“There are banks that you can deposit your coin into. Once you sign up you get a gold card which can be used instead of.” Plyne said as though reading my mind.

Fantasy debit cards. Sweet.

Plyne blatantly flipped through the postcards reading them in front my face.

I stared at the audacity, “Hey—!”

“Written communication through the mail is never safe from prying eyes. You’d do well to remember that.” Plyne interrupted, not looking away from my writing, his voice serious. A warning.

I clamped my mouth shut and typed furiously into my notepad for later. I let out a breath, he was helping me and there wasn’t anything bad written in it. “Is it too cheesy?”

“Not for Balder.” Plyne muttered, disdain apparent in his tone, not everyone was a fan apparently. Iagan looked between us.

“Who’s Balder?”

“In world podcast.” I said, summoning my smoothed river rock of a [Listening Stone] to my hand. Iagan nodded in understanding until I summoned the rock.

“A [Listening Stone]?” Plyne asked raising his brows in amusement. “Well, I’m sorry Balder was the first one you found. There are many other great stations out there with much better spokespersons. However, this is a very good foothold. Balder is a bit of an exaggerator and your descriptions of the town are the right amount of tantalizing for a rock jockey like him.”

“Are [Listening Stone]s common?” Iagan asked. I held it out to him to examine for his HUD.

“They’re certainly more common than [Broadcast Stones] which is what Balder managed to get a hold of somehow.” Plyne responded. “I have a few myself. Not a lot of foot traffic comes through the town so I don’t get to be a source for rumors outside of what I hear from these.”

“Any chance I could snag a picture before we head out?” I asked. Plyne nodded and retreated upstairs momentarily, returning with three small stones, they were also flat but smaller than my palm stone. One was a near perfect disc a five pointed crack emanated from the center, the other a hag stone with a hole through the top of the oval shape and the last had streaks of dark obsidian tracing throughout.

Ker-chunk.

My compendium updated [Listening Stones], the trio becoming a smaller sub picture in the article.

[Listening Stone- Station:???]

[Listening Stone- Station:???]

[Listening Stone- Station:???]

Plyne pointed to the small rounded circle, anticipating my next question. “The Evening Star. Plays on Sundays, strict journalism accounts from their center on Floor 3. The most professional of the ones I have. They report on other floors too so having one of theirs is a great way to keep in the loop overall.”

The compendium updated accordingly as Plyne moved to the next. “Hag’s Herald, tells weekly fortunes. It’s a fluff stone I got on sale so I’m not complaining. She gets it right occasionally though which is why she’s worth keeping. She plays Fridays in the morning, dunno what floor she’s on, just that she’s around.

“This last one here is from Floor 6, and is an entertainment troupe called Rock Audio Expression who puts on dramatic readings and skits. They just started a new serial called Love’s Lost Mysteries that plays on Thursdays in the evenings. You’re welcome to join tonight if you’d like.”

Today was Thursday, it had only been two days since I’d gotten here but it felt like a month had flashed by. I was more tired than I thought which left me to wonder just how exhausted Iagan was having pulled an all nighter with the bear. I caught him mid yawn. For now we needed rest.

“We’ll be by later then.” I said thumbing to Iagan. “We’re gunna go rest up a bit.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then [Ambassador].”

We left the shop and Iagan let out a low whistle, “[Ambassador]! How in the hell did you manage to swing that title?”

“I’m a [Brand Ambassador] for the Crate now.” I explained, summoning one of the key chains and handing it over to him. “Anyone I send back to Plyne that mentions my name I get a finders fee and some key chains as payment.”

“Holy shit!” Iagan’s eyebrows shot up his face. He tried to hand it back but I waved his hand away.

“Keep it, I’ve got like fifty.” Not too far off from the actual amount I’d accumulated. I was surprised I hadn’t cleaned Plyne out yet but I wouldn’t complain so long as I continued to get them as payments.

Thanks to my [Party Leader] status I got Iagan set up with a room for cheap. My ’s text changed to which was surprising but it looked like my class perks extended to my party as well. He thanked me and was asleep before he hit the bed. I could have gone to rest too, but I had another plan on my mind: I was going back to Roqor’s Tower.