Sinking into the worn cushions of the workshop couch, Sam pulled up her crafting and enchanting class levels. Beast Accessory Weaver and Beast Armor Smithing were both idling at Level 2. She couldn't immediately brainstorm new, specific necessities for her tames, but she mentally noted that general beast armor, especially saddles, was a clear next step. She at least had the patterns for feline and canine breastplates down pat.
She walked over to her primary workbench, and sat down on the high, wooden stool. Turning on the Mana-pad—a smooth, glowing slate embedded in the wood—she scrolled through the available pre-existing recipes.
"No way!" A genuine smile split her face.
Listed under accessories for beasts were things she figured were more likely used for pampered pets than massive fighting companions, but they were brilliant for business.
{Beast Tame Training Gear:
Agility Training Course - This product consists of hoops, hurdles, and slalom posts. A entertaining way for you tame to increase agility.
Strength Training - A multi-pocketed harness that allows for the storage of heavy, lead-weighted pouches to increase strength.
Beast Tame Comfort Items:
Beds/Pillow - A collection of various cot-like, low-to-the-ground beds fit for any tame that enjoys sleeping near their Tamer. Also includes additional forms in the shape of traditional pet beds, only supersized and reinforced for your tames.
Stuffed toys - Made of thick, puncture-resistant materials, these toys can be shaped into any form you choose.
Leather toys - Perfect for young, teething beasts, as well as for stress relief in adult beasts, these toys are durable and enjoyed by many.
Avian Perch - A sturdy wooden perch suitable for birds and other flying beasts. Contains a rack for a food and water dish, as well as a circular tray to catch any falling debris or droppings.}
Looking over the new possibilities, Sam first hammered out a few personalized items for her own tames. She then began manufacturing a new, wider array of products for her eventual shop. Now that she had a more exotic selection of resources—the goblin leather and hydra scales proving unexpectedly useful—she added richer, higher-quality stock to her regular inventory.
Her core goal, however, was leveling her enchanting skills. Her highest-value items would always be weapons and armor; these were the most lucrative sale items she could offer.
She contacted Terrance, and secured his help with the eaglets while she worked. She managed to get another shelf crammed with her regular stock—mostly bowls, cups, and sturdy home goods—and included a few more decorative, brightly colored items.
By mid-afternoon, she transitioned to weapons. These took considerably longer than a simple utility bowl; each new piece required specific shaping, cooling, and meticulous preparation before the enchanting process could even begin. The rhythmic CLANG of her hammer against the anvil became the constant soundtrack of the late afternoon.
It was late in the evening by the time she finally felt satisfied with the sheer volume and quality of the finished goods. They ranged from simple, perfectly balanced throwing knives to massive, brutally heavy war hammers and sturdy shields. Each item she made received a different flavor of enchantment, typically an elemental buff paired with a stat or mana enchant. Some were left unenchanted for custom orders.
As she finished the last one, wiping a streak of soot from her cheek, the familiar, rewarding sound of multiple notifications finally chimed.
{Ding! Your active skills Mana Enchantments and Elemental Enchantments are ready to upgrade! Would you like to upgrade these skills?}
{Ding! Your passive skills Mana Charge and Arcane Conservation are ready to upgrade! Would you like to upgrade these skills?}
{[Yes] / [No]}
Sam stabbed the [Yes] button mentally and received a rush of new information.
{Ding! Your Secondary Class Enchantress is now LVL 3 You've gained the following skills:
Active Skills:
Multiple Enchantments LVL 1 – Stack enchantments of the same skill on the same item. Mana: +15MP per enchant | Cooldown: Variable.
Enchantment Removal LVL 1 – Removes enchantments; disrupts enemy gear. Mana: 35MP | Cooldown: 45s.
Passive Skills:
Enchantment Rush LVL 1 – Reduced casting time.
Hyper Focus LVL 1 – Boosts enchant success}
"Finally!" she shouted into the empty workshop, a tired but triumphant grin stretching across her face.
Sam mentally clicked [Yes] to all the impending notifications, savoring the dizzying, brilliant rush of new knowledge.
{Ding! Your active skills Item Creation, Accessory Weaver, Weapon and Armor Smithing, Beast Accessory Weaver, and Beast Armor Smithing are ready to upgrade! Would you like to upgrade these skills?}
{Ding! Your passive skills Enhanced Durability, Ambient Workshop, Efficient Crafting, Material Manipulation, Waste Not Want Not, and Mana-Forged Crafting are ready to upgrade! Would you like to upgrade these skills?}
{ [Yes] / [No]}
"Ooh, yes please," she whispered, already anticipating the new capabilities.
{Ding! Your Support Class Master Crafter is now LVL 5 You have gained the last four skills of your class:
Active skills:
Crafting Repair LVL 1 – Repairs damage to gear, weapons, and anything craftable. Mana: 15MP | Cooldown: 15s.
Disassemble/Reassemble LVL 1 – Dismantles items for repair and reassembles them. Note: Can also be used in combat situations.
Mana: 25MP | Cooldown: 30s.
Passive Skills:
Tool Symbiosis LVL 1 – Build affinity with tools for better results.
Forgemind Sync LVL 1 – Crafting restores mana and boosts inspiration.}
Turning immediately to her Mana-pad, Sam checked the list of unlocked features. "Yes!" she exclaimed, her fist pumping the air with quiet triumph. "Alchemy and Artificer workbenches!"
The Alchemy Bench materialized first in the opposite corner from the forge. It was comprised of a sturdy wooden table with a high shelf for the various plants and herbs she would eventually collect. On the table's smooth, dark surface was its own dedicated Mana-pad, a simple mortar and pestle, and the heart of the setup: an adjustable cauldron.
Sam appreciated the practicality—while having a massive, bubbling cauldron would certainly look dramatic, it would consume absurd amounts of resources. Luckily, her cauldron was perfectly reasonable. Before brewing, she simply entered the quantity and type of potion into the Mana-pad, and the cauldron would efficiently shrink or expand to the perfect size.
The Artificer Workbench was more of a modular addition. It could be placed directly near the forge, serving as a specialized upgrade rather than a separate station. She'd need to spend time forging all the necessary new specialized tools, but that was a task for later.
The next day with her new workstations set up and a rush of inspiration flowing through her, but first, business stuff. Sam sent a quick message to Terrance letting him know she might be gone for the day, but would be back sometime in the evening. She stepped out into the afternoon sun, Syn, ever faithful, was at her heels, while her four cats were left to "train" in the safety of the backyard. Bringing Sunblaze out of her beast space, the magnificent horse materialized with a shimmer of golden light, and they made their way toward the dungeon gate district.
Just as she remembered, down a cobblestone side street nestled amongst other struggling stores, was the perfect target: a fairly large, empty building. It commanded a prime corner lot. The front entrance was situated on the short side of the rectangular structure, flanked by two expansive, dusty display windows. After circling the entire building, she didn't find any obvious structural problems. She would find out more once she got the official purchase information.
The registration office was, thankfully, a source of good news—at least for her. The previous owner, a weaponsmith, had gone bankrupt. Poor-quality resources and shoddy items had led to his ruin, which was now Sam's win. The shop had only been empty for a year or two, and the structure itself was still in perfect, sound condition. The reason it hadn't been snatched up yet was the ambitiously high price tag. It was larger than most shop owners could afford while still maintaining a profit. Sam, flush with gold from her dungeon runs, had no such issue.
After a little spirited haggling, Sam purchased the building outright for the whopping sum of seventy-five gold. This included the permit to sell. Once the clerk slid the heavy iron key across the desk, Sam was delighted by the shop's condition. All it really required was a thorough cleaning, a bright, fresh coat of paint, and a little decorative flair to make it truly hers.
It was late afternoon, giving Sam just enough time to sweep and clear some of the dust motes dancing in the high, empty space before heading out. She securely locked the heavy iron door, activating a basic sealing enchantment she'd quickly placed on the frame, and made her way to Mary and Red's for a much-needed late lunch.
Over a comforting meal, she excitedly told them about her new shop, her plans tumbling out faster than she could speak. She couldn't wait until it was ready. She asked if they could provide some sweet and savory snacks for the grand opening, and they happily agreed, their enthusiasm mirroring hers.
It was well into the evening by the time Sam got home. She thanked Terrance, whose face lit up as he played briefly with the eagle chicks. It had only been a couple of days, but the young birds were noticeably bigger, their feathers showing more definition beneath the down.
The next morning, Sam completed her daily routine, then packed up her main workbench, her specialized Tailor's workbench, and a carefully selected variety of resources. When she arrived back at the shop, she set up her equipment in the center of the massive, echoing room. Since her bag replaced the need for a stockroom, the entire floor space was dedicated to displaying the items she manufactured. She noted a small room in the back she could use for custom orders, though watching the store would be difficult from there.
Her first major order of business was crafting the fixtures: sturdy, plain wooden shelves, tiered racks, and heavy display tables. The front of the store was strategically planned. She constructed tall, freestanding racks for armor along the left side and mounted specialized weapon hooks on the right. These were her "big money makers," and their prominent placement signaled the shop's focus. She then quickly carved and assembled a couple of simple changing rooms on the armor side, which would also serve the clothing section positioned in the middle of the floor plan.
Next, she crafted a thick wooden counter and a makeshift display wall that anchored the entire layout. This wall housed the more expensive items—higher level pendants, talismans, and charms. Since the wall was powerfully enchanted to only release items touched by Sam, she wasn't overly concerned about shoplifting. The counter itself had a polished glass front, much like a traditional jewelry case, which held the rings, bracelets, and smaller accessories.
Continuing down the left side were all the beast tame items. She'd arranged the avian perches and small accessories along the wall, reserving the sturdy back wall for beast armor. She knew that beast armor required more tailor-made precision than human armor, so she'd displayed only finished examples rather than ready-to-buy stock. The vast, wide assortment of different beasts made mass production difficult unless one dedicated an entire store to the niche.
In the area directly in front of the beast accessories and armor, she'd arrange the specialized beds and a few glistening incubators. Being relatively expensive, like the pendants on the enchanted wall, Sam made a mental note that she would need to personally retrieve and demonstrate these items for customers.
The entire back right side of the store was dedicated to home goods, ingenious gadgets, potions, and general adventuring supplies. Like the jewelry case, the potions and complex gadgets were housed in glass-fronted, locked display cases to prevent casual tampering.
The front right would be dedicated to weapons. Wooden barrels to hold the less expensive spears, pikes and staffs. While along the wall were reinforced racks for the higher priced, more popular weapons. With tiered tables housing the smaller weapons like knives, daggers and short swords.
The act of crafting the necessary display items—from the simple shelving to the complex, enchanted counter—had given Sam a decent burst of experience. As the last shelf clicked into place, she received a satisfying series of notifications for skill upgrades. All that remained was installing the mana lights, hanging the signage, and stocking the now-empty shelves. She still needed a few exotic resources for the mana lights and hadn't yet started brewing the new potions or assembling the new gadgets.
Sam decided that was enough for one day. Exhausted, her muscles stiff from the physical labor of building, and thoroughly hungry, she locked up the shop again, activated the sealing enchantment, and made her way home.
She decided to walk, leaving Sunblaze in her space for the night. With Syn's low-slung, vigilant presence at her side, they cut across a few streets, using the maze of quieter alleyways as shortcuts. They had just turned into a more residential alley, where the brick walls smelled faintly of rain and old refuse, when she heard a strained, shaky sniffling coming from behind a stack of weathered wooden crates down the path.
As they rounded the barricade of crates, they found a young girl huddled against the damp wall. She was alarmingly thin and disheveled in a way that spoke less of injury and more of sustained neglect. Startled by the sudden appearance of the tall woman and the massive wolf, the girl immediately snatched up a sharpened wooden stick, about two feet long, gripping it like a dagger.
"What do you want! I don't have any money. Just leave me be!" The girl snarled, her voice cracking as fresh tears tracked clean paths down her pale cheeks.
"Whoa, no need for that," Sam said, mentally telling Syn to back up a few steps and adopt a non-threatening sit. "I just wanted to see if you were okay. Are you?"
"Do I look okay?" she retorted, the question lost in her sobbing.
"You don't." Sam paused, her gaze taking in the hollow fear in the girl's eyes. "Are you hungry?" she asked, already retrieving one of Red's leftover meals from her inventory—a still-warm grilled sandwich wrapped in waxed paper. She kneeled down slowly, offering the food out of arm's reach. "Here, one of Red's famous roast boar sandwiches." She unwrapped the sandwich, letting the rich, savory scent drift on the cool alley air. Sam then sat down, leaning back comfortably against the opposite wall, and took out an identical sandwich for herself along with a metal canteen of water.
The girl, who looked no older than sixteen, fixated on the sandwich, then darted a wary glance at Sam. Slowly, she lowered the stick and accepted the food, her fingers trembling slightly as she unwrapped it. The enticing smell made her stomach emit a loud, embarrassing grumble. She stared at the boar filling, then glanced at Sam again.
"Why?" she asked, her voice raspy, still not quite trusting the strange woman and her silent wolf.
"I thought that would be obvious." Sam laughed, the sound easy and warm, unwrapping her own sandwich fully. "Because you look like a strong wind would knock you over." She took a large, appreciative bite and moaned contentedly. "I swear that man has a secret chef's class. I'll have to ask him if that's his support class next time."
Taking a tentative bite of the boar sandwich, the girl closed her eyes, and for a brief, beautiful moment, it looked as if the weight of the world lifted clean off her shoulders. They ate in companionable silence for a few minutes, the only sound the gentle chewing and the distant city noise.
"So why are you crying in an alley?" Sam finally asked, keeping her tone soft. "Not that it's any of my business, but shouldn't you be at home? I can't imagine it's safe for a young girl to hang out in dark alleys."
The fragile peace shattered. Fresh tears started falling down her face, glistening in the faint light filtering from the street. She stopped eating to answer.
"My... my parents... they're gone." Her voice was a barely audible whisper. "They went into the big tower dungeon and haven't... come back." She spoke between ragged sobs, trying to stifle the sound. She sniffled and wiped the tears away with her worn sleeve. "The... AHA authorities came by this morning." She took a deep, shuddering breath. "They said their party was lost. That none of them came back out." She sniffled again, taking a bite of the sandwich as if for courage.
Sam silently offered the canteen. The girl took a long, grateful drink and continued. "They said I'd need to find somewhere else to live. We rented our apartment." She pointed a shaky finger behind her to the apartment building's back wall. "The landlord gave me a week to get my things together. The only other family I had were my parents' party members. They were kind of like aunts and uncles, you know? Well, most of them lived alone, or have families somewhere else."
Sam winced, knowing what she had to ask next. "Doesn't this town have... an orphanage or something that could help?"
The girl violently shook her head, strands of matted brown hair sticking to her wet cheeks. "I don't want to go there. They said since I'll be eighteen in a year and a half, if I can support myself, they will leave the choice up to me. I told them I'd rather figure it out on my own. I'm old enough to get a job, but... not a decent one that would allow me to keep the apartment."
Sam nodded slowly, chewing thoughtfully, the taste of the excellent sandwich suddenly feeling heavy in her mouth.
"Well, if you're interested, I'm opening a shop soon," Sam offered, her voice casual but deliberate. "I could use someone to keep an eye on things and another set of hands to help out when I'm busy with custom orders. I also have a spare room. Well, it's currently being used by my bird sitter at the moment, but I think I can arrange something."
"Bird sitter?" Fiona questioned, the sheer weirdness of the statement momentarily overriding her grief.
"Yeah, I have some eagle chicks that just hatched recently. I needed someone to feed them when I was busy or away. The little gluttons eat every couple of hours."
Fiona stared at her wide-eyed, her chewing having ceased completely as she finished off the last bite of the sandwich. "Why do you have eagle chicks?"
"Ah... well, allow me to introduce myself first." Sam offered a pleasant, open smile. "I'm Sam, and this magnificent beast is Syn. She's a Grove Warden Wolf, and one of my tames. My main class is Beast Tamer, but most of my XP from hunting and dungeons goes to her and my other tames. So, my main income earner is my support class, Master Crafter. Hence the store."
Fiona nodded slowly, as if she totally understood the logic of the complex class system and the necessity of owning eagles.
"...and you are?" Sam prompted gently.
"Oh, yeah. I'm Fiona."
"Nice to meet you, Fiona. So what do you say? We could both use some help. Why don't we help each other? I can even help you train until you get integrated. The more skills you learn, the better, right?" Sam waited patiently.
Fiona nodded, her eyes fixed on the ground as she processed the sudden, immense offer. After a few more tense seconds, she looked up, a bright, tentative smile finally breaking through the dried tear tracks on her cheeks. She stuck out her hand—no longer wielding the stick, but offering her palm.
"It's a deal."
Sam's grip was firm and honest as they sealed the deal with a sturdy handshake.
"Excellent! I was just on my way home." Sam got up, brushing the faint alley dust from her pants, and stuck her hand out again. Fiona grasped it, letting Sam pull her easily to her feet. "How about we gather what you want from your place and make our way there? You can meet the whole gang."
They walked the short distance back to Fiona's apartment door. Once inside, Sam efficiently and silently transferred everything Fiona wanted or needed into her spacious B.A.G. bag—clothes, a few small framed pictures, and personal trinkets. Once that was done, Fiona paused in the empty doorway, giving the vacated space of her childhood home one long, aching look. Then, with a deep, cleansing breath, she turned and followed Sam, walking away from the shadows to start a new, unpredictable life.