Touch of Fate

Chapter 42: Business Venture

Morris walked back into the inn common room, thoughts dark. He had been job hunting for two days now, and the only potential employer who offered to hire a washed up, crippled knight was a shipping company in need of basic manual labor. However, they didn't make the offer in any manner that Morris could accept. The manager actually had the gall to offer him half the pay of other laborers because he 'could only do half the work.'

He gritted his teeth, silently cursing the lot of them. He had some money left from the generous severance pay the Order of the Wheel had given him, but he knew that if things didn't change in the near future he would have to depend on Mike's generosity, an idea that was tearing him up inside.

After heading down to get breakfast, Morris had discovered that his young friend had ensured that their living and meal fees were covered for much of the foreseeable future. Mike had stumbled across a bevy of valuables in his short trip into the dungeon, and had evidently used some of his resulting earnings to pay the inn.

It embarrassed Morris that a younger man, even one who made all kinds of difficult and impossible things look easy, was essentially taking care of him.

[If things don't change soon, I'm going to have to resort to desperate measures.] There were still a few people in this city he could call on for help, but he knew that any assistance he could get would come with some strings attached.

"Hey, Morris! Over here!" A cheerful looking Mike called from one side of the room. It was a little after lunch, and he had evidently been sitting there for a while.

Morris forced a smile while walking over to his friend, not wanting him to worry.

"Hey Mike, how was your day off?"

"Excellent! I picked up a new set of armor for a very reasonable price, tried some unusual food, and even got involved in a clichd scenario. It was great!" He answered with a grin.

[Clichd scenario?] Mike had a tendency to say unusual things or use words that Morris had never heard of before. He had long learned to ignore the odd speaking habits of his friend, chocking it up to whatever traumatic event caused his memory issues.

"Well it sounds like a productive day."

"That it was. My only regret was that I kept finding things I wanted to buy, but didn't have the money for."

Morris frowned as a twinge of guilt shot through him. "Well, wasn't that the reason you became an adventurer?"

The younger man sighed and flopped his head and arms on the table. "Yeaahhh, but all the request I can take don't really pay all that much. Dungeon delving is a little better, but it is really dangerous to do it alone. Until I find a decent party to work with, I'm going to hold off on going back in."

He sighed again. "I just wish there was an easy way to make money that didn't require much effort."

Shaking his head at Mike's antics, Morris replied. "You know, as a mage capable of healing magic, your services are very much in demand, especially for adventurers. I bet you, if you set up shop either in the Guild or outside of the dungeon, you'd make a killing.

Mike stared at him for a good ten seconds. Morris could almost hear the mental gears turning, before his friend grabbed his head in apparent anguish.

"Holy crap! Why didn't I think of that?"

He stood up suddenly. "I'm going to get started right now. Thanks, Morris."

Morris just smiled and waved as his friend rushed out the door.

[He's always so exuberant. I wish I could enjoy life half as much as him.] Morris frowned again, now that he was alone.

He ordered a drink and started contemplating his options. By the time he finished it, he'd come to a decision.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Mike was standing outside of the Guild, trying to figure out a good way of setting up some kind of stall to sell his healing services. After confirming with a slightly nervous looking Talin that it would be alright to set up shop in front of the Guild, he now had a new challenge to face.

He ran here directly from the inn, but had not put any thought into how to advertise.

[I suppose I could make a sign somehow, although I'm not too sure how common literacy is here. I'm also not too keen on standing here for long periods of time, so I'd like somewhere to sit.

He created a mental list of tasks to accomplish in order to kick off his new business venture. First, he needed a location. Apparently, the area in front of the Adventurer's Guild was a popular place for street vendors of all kinds. Eventually, he was able to carve out a little section for himself between a stall selling roasted meat skewers and a fortune teller's tent.

Second, he needed to create a sign to advertise. With a little bit of effort he managed to scrounge up the side of crate, and paint a message on one side using the additional effect of his Intermediate Water Magic and some reddish dirt.

It read:

Healing Services for Sale

3 Gold to treat any Injury

5 Gold to cure any non-magical poison or disease

Satisfied with the crude signage, Mike bent himself to his third task. He at least wanted some kind of chair, so he didn't have to stand for the rest of the afternoon. After that, some sort of shelter to shield him from the sun, and a work area would be the priority.

He mentally reviewed his skills, but couldn't think of anything that would help in this circumstance.

[If I could learn Earth Magic, I should be able to create some permanent objects. I've seen a few novels where the main characters became famous for the way they build things using Earth Magic.]

With sign in place, and nothing better to do than to wait for customers to approach, Mike decided to try his luck unlocking another skill.

He was standing there, eyes closed, trying to figure out how spontaneously generate earth, when a familiar female voice interrupted.

"Elemental Earth is by nature, static. Unlike other magic, you need a strong mind to control it. Feel the earth beneath you. How solid and unmoving it is. Bring that feeling to mind when channeling mana, then bend it to your will."

Mike smiled lightly, and tried to concentrate on Tal's guidance. He began to sense a connection with the ground underneath him. A sense of solidity encompassed him, and briefly, he felt connected to a vast, unchanging realm.

With surprisingly little effort, he managed to create a handful of soil. His smile morphed into a grin as he dropped the clump of dirt, focused on the ground next to his feet and shaped himself a simple chair made of compacted earth. Unlike the other varieties of elemental magic, Earth Magic was simple. He just had to exercise his will to a sufficient degree, and the results would come naturally.

He turned and looked at his advisor. "Thanks again. This is the second time you've given me timely advice. I'm going to have to buy you a meal or something."

It was hard to tell, but Tal seemed a little taken aback by his suggestion, but still agreed.. "..Very well. Sounds good. Let me know when."

Mike noticed a new set of bound armor following in her wake. "Is that MelMalMej?"

"Mejimanethial, yes. I remade the binding. It worked well." Mike felt that she was smiling. He also noticed that her strange verbal tick seemed less problematic when she was talking about magic.

Mike grinned again. The elf seemed emotionless at first, but after paying a little attention, he could read her emotional state.

Tal was studying his notice board curiously. "Healer now?"

"Well, I'm taking a break from adventuring for a few days, but I still wanted to make some money. A friend of mine recommended that I try selling healing services, but I haven't had much luck yet." He was speaking absently while mentally planning on the small structure he was going to build.

"Little expensive. Also hard to believe from sign."

He parsed that statement for a few seconds. "Hmm, I see what you mean, but I didn't have a lot to work with when making a sign. As to price, how much do you think I should charge?"

The elf tilted her head while deep in thought. "One and two?" She said hesitantly.

"Well, alright." It was a steep reduction in price, but he figured she had her reasons.

At that point there was a loud 'Oompf' of expelled air from the street in front of them. Mike turned to look and say a heavily wounded young beastman, collapsed in front of his sign. He moved over to check on the individual, and as he got closer he recognized Brenden.

[This is a regular class reunion]

"Hey Brenden, you alright? What got you so tore up?" Mike called while activating his Healing Magic on the wounded man.

There was a muted and pained reply, "Training."

After a few moments of healing, Brenden was able to stand up, causing a general stir from the crowd that had formed around the pair. He looked over at Mike and gave him an feral, almost manic grin.

"Good. I found you again, Mike. Let me tell you. I'm getting stronger every day. When I'm ready I going to fight you and prove once and for all who is better!"

With this dramatic declaration he turned on his heel and started walking back towards the guild, but Mike caught his arm.

The beastman looked at him questioningly.

Mike held out his hand, palm up. "Three gold."

"What?" Brenden looked completely confused.

Mike pointed at his crudely made sign. "Healing injuries costs three gold."

Brenden was struck speechless for a good minute, before turning bright red in embarrassment. He dug around in his belt pouch, produced two gold, and placed them in Mike's hand.

"I. I'm a little short at the moment." He looked away, shamefully. "Uh..Can I pay you back later?"

"Tell you what, since we are old classmates, I'll give you a one time, one gold discount." Mike said with a mischievous grin.

Brenden nodded, ears flat against his head. "Thanks." He mumbled before slinking away.

"Come again!" Mike waved to his retreating figure.