The first thing I did the next day was visiting the Adventurer's Guild again.

There were more adventurers than yesterday but fewer than there would be during peak hours. They were all clamoring excitedly around a map that'd been posted up in the main hall.

"Good morning, Alice," said a short, halfling woman with light purple hair tied back in a ponytail.

I waved at her, "Morning! Are these people all here for the new dungeon? What's the rush?"

She sighed and shrugged, "Well, most of them are here for the dungeon, but there are also a lot of jobs going up about another group of bandits terrorizing the local villages."

I nodded, "Yeah, I heard about that. That's pretty bad. The crowds for the jobs have gotten pretty large, huh?"

Lori did plan to hop on a quest to find a missing child, but I'd managed to talk her out of it as there was a swarm of adventurers in town to take up jobs with the bandits.

Truth be told, I was also being very selfish about it. My personal sense of security just...wasn't there anymore after my near-death experience.

The halfling woman let out a soft sigh, "I know. If they catch the bandits, maybe the villagers will stop complaining so much about how little protection they have."

I tilted my head curiously, "Protection? I didn't realize that there was anything wrong with their security."

The halfling woman laughed softly, "Well, you know how it goes: everyone wants to live in peace and harmony with each other, but nobody really wants to pay taxes or fight for the kingdom if they don't have to. So, the king makes sure that the villages are protected by having guards patrol the area regularly. Every country on the continent has been sending annual garrisons to the Ukidian front in preparation for what's coming, so we've been stretched thin. "

I frowned, "Makes sense."

"So, what are you doing here today?" she asked me with a curious look.

That drew a smile out of me, "Say, you wouldn't happen to have an inkling towards how the potions I used to sell are remembered by adventurers today? You know my family fell on some pretty hard times and I lost my sourcing and lab, amongst other things, so I haven't been able to supply the guild in the last eight months."

The halfling woman nodded, "Yeah, I heard about that... Truth be told, your potions were pretty useful! We had a few of them when I was an apprentice burglar joining my first Rank E party."

I blinked, "Really?"

She chuckled, "Yeah, the Gaseous Form, Climbing, and Water Breathing ones were a real hit with my crew! They made climbing walls easier and gave us a way to sneak past guards without being seen. The water breathing one helped us avoid getting caught while swimming around underwater to escape pursuit. Your prices were really good for what we got too."

I scratched my chin thoughtfully, "What if I were to come back to market with....more mundane things, like high quality tents and rope? Would you buy those?"

The halfling woman looked thoughtful, then nodded, "Sure, I guess? It might not be as flashy as your old potions, but we could always use more supplies. The Liddell brand still has some weight in the Cheshire Capital region, although your pops did his best to overextend and blow up a good thing."

That caught my attention, and I nodded slowly in response, "Okay, well, I'll see if I can make something happen before the big rush."

The halfling woman smirked, "You do that. But, remember: don't go overboard! I'll trust you not try to pull one over on us."

I flashed her a brilliant smile, "I definitely won't. See you later!"

I walked out of the guild hall and headed towards the Adventurer's Guild storehouse. Several people were waiting outside the building. Some seemed to be talking about what they wanted to purchase, and others were just milling around.

I approached a young man wearing simple leather armor and carrying a sword strapped to his waist. He had dark brown hair and light green eyes.

"Excuse me," I said politely, "Do you mind if I ask what you're looking for?"

He turned towards me and smiled, "Well, I'm here to get some new equipment since I just finished my promotion to Rank D."

I nodded, "Ah, congratulations! What kind of things are you interested in purchasing?"

He thought for a moment, then shrugged, "Well, I do want to get on that dungeon rush, so I guess the usual? A flint, lamp and oil, a ten foot pole, rope, and the usual food and drink."

"Gotcha. Do you have any particular preferences for material, weight, size, and so on? For example, would you prefer a rope that's more flexible and elastic, or one that's coarser and harder to break?"

He thought about that moment, then replied, "I'd say a coarser rope. Something like this."

The boy pulled a rope out of his pack and tossed it to me. It was about four feet long and very thick. It felt rough and prickly.

I grinned at him, "Nice choice. This is perfect!"

I tied off the rope's end and handed it back to him. Then, I reached into my bag and pulled out a small pouch filled with dust.

I held the pouch towards him, "This is a special powder I've been working on. If you find runes, a map, or riddles, you can turn them into a paste and use it to take a clay imprint.

The young man took the pouch, opened it, and sniffed it curiously. He glanced at me and asked, "Is this stuff safe?"

"Yeah, it should be fine. Just don't breathe in too much of it," I warned.

He nodded, "Alright then, let's see what happens."

"Hey!" he shouted, running excitedly towards the crowd, "Anyone have a map of a cleared dungeon?"

A couple of eyes turned in our direction, and some adventurers raised their hands. One was a tall, muscular human with short blond hair and grey eyes. The other was a dwarf with black skin and white hair. They had a Rank C and Rank D insignia, respectively, and the blond man looked like he was in his thirties.

"Here," said the blond-haired man, "I've gotta map of a dungeon that we went through two months ago here on a stone tablet we kept as a souvenir. What's it to ya? You looking to see the new dungeon, kid?"

The young man nodded eagerly, "Yes indeed! That sounds great! Can I borrow this map?"

The blond-haired man shrugged, "Sure thing kid, what's the interest though?"

I waved at the man shyly, and he finally noticed me, blinking in surprise, "Little Alice? Ya wouldn't be comin' back to the potion biz by any chance?

I heard ya family got caught up in some kinda trouble..."

I shook my head as I walked up to him, "Nope! Probably not for a good while! But I've come up with some nifty things that could be useful for you guys soon."

He blinked at me in confusion, "What kind of things?"

I smiled brightly before I picked up a small canteen on my belt. I poured the putty dust all over my hands and got to work kneading. Then when I was satisfied with the consistency, I pressed it firmly down on the tablet. Once it hardened, I peeled it away and handed it to the young man.

Then, I created a ball of fire in my hand and held it underneath the paste.

"This is Dungeoneer's Paste," I explained to the group, "It's made from crushed up quartz crystals and other minerals, and I'll be bringing in a batch in compact, portable pouches. It'll harden up if you heat it up for a few seconds."

The young man took the newly minted map and stared at it with wide sparkling eyes. He seemed impressed.

"Well, thanks Alice!" said the blond-haired man thoughtfully. "That sounds like something we definitely need! Let's talk about a price later!"

I watched him go until he disappeared into the crowd waiting outside the storehouse. I turned to the young man, whose eyes had literally turned starry-eyed, "Hey, would you be okay if I took that back as a sample?"

"Sure thing!" I smiled at him and handed him a free sample pouch for his trouble.

I sighed softly, "I wonder how many more people will be interested in this stuff after today."

Hopefully, they'd spread the word around town and help me get more money for my goods. I thought about including a free ten-foot pole with each one I sold, and I planned on pricing it at one or two silvers in a pouch. The cost of making it was a bit of cheap quartz and some mana from me, and with no competition, I could come away with a couple hundred gold from this.

I turned to head into the Adventurer's Guild, trying to think about what else I could come up with that would be unique for these adventurers.

 

◆◆◆

 

As I walked past the counter, I saw the same halfling woman who had helped me earlier. I approached her and said, "Hello again! How are you doing?"

She smirked at me, "Well enough. What can we do for you, little Alice?"

I grinned, "I didn't know you worked behind the counter! Umn, I just wanted to ask you some questions about the guild's rules and regulations regarding...supply sales?"

The woman leaned forward on her elbows, "You're serious about going through with it?"

I nodded slowly, "Yeah, I'm very serious. I've been thinking about coming back here to sell some supplies, but I don't want to cause problems for anyone, or upset the system too much."

The halfling snorted, "The system? Don't worry about that! It's pretty easy to make money here without breaking the rules. Especially for a Rank C adventurer and past prolific seller like you. You'd get bloody fast-tracked."

"So, what should I do?"

She looked up for a moment, pursing her lips, then replied, "Well, first off, we need to find out what kind of items you're selling. Are you talking about Rope? Runes? Maps? Equipment? Or something else entirely? If your product is approved by the Guild, it'll be available at the storefront so long as you meet demand quotas. The house takes 10% for any high ticket items like enchanted equipment and 20% for common consumables such as potions, torches, and glowstones."

"Okay, so what kinds of things are allowed?"

"Anything that doesn't harm others inherently is okay. So that means food and drink, bedding and other personal effects, clothing, weapons, armor, and so on. Anything that can be used as a weapon or tool is also permitted. However, anything that has an effect on magic users is forbidden unless specifically stated otherwise."

I scratched my chin thoughtfully, "Got it! So if I were to make a burn salve or something along those lines, that'd be fine right?"

She nodded, "Sure! But if you have any ideas for new products, bring them in and we'll see if they're worth considering."

I smiled brightly, "Thanks! I'll be sure to let you know! I do have one today that I'd like to get approved."

She raised an eyebrow curiously, "Really? What might that be?"

I pulled a small leather pouch out of my bag and handed it to her. She opened it up and sniffed suspiciously. Then, she reached inside and removed a pinch of the silicone dust.

"This," I explained, "Is Dungeoneer's Paste. I'll be bringing in a batch in compact, portable pouches if you could send it in for approval."
I demonstrated how it worked by pouring some onto my hand and pouring some water on it. I handed it over to her, and she started kneading it around in curiosity.

Then, I placed the tablet with the map on the counter and gave the same explanation I had given to the adventurers earlier.

"Well," she said after staring at the paste for a while, "Niche, but nifty. Seems like a no-brainer to add in the consumables section!"

I grinned happily, "So, does this mean I'm all set?"

She laughed softly as she replied, "Yup! Also, my name is Calphina Summereye, for future reference. Good to finally meet you in person."

I extended my hands towards her and took hers gently into my palms as I shook them lightly, "It's nice to meet you! Alice, just for formality's sake."
We shook hands, and I left a few pouches before departing for my home.

 

◆◆◆

 

I walked back through town, thinking about other easy ideas I could come up with that would sell well in this world. Getting minerals was pretty easy for us. Charles had that supply chain set up, and I'd rummaged the product out of literal junk from the basement and garage.

I'd learned that the Liddells were in the equipment and supply business, and Charles - well, my father, I guess, had made a classic mistake many successful businessmen made. He'd found success after he retired from adventuring, and then he'd gotten overzealous and overleveraged himself to the hilt, not bothering to have a backup plan if something terrible happened. He hadn't even looked at ways to cut back his risk. When a bad product launch built up like that, it almost always blew up hard.

Now the family business was on its last legs, and his company was worth almost nothing, or rather it had just about been sold off to satisfy creditors. The land his minor noble family had grown on for generations now belonged to a merchant, who had basically gouged it for as much as he possibly could. Charles Liddell had hired most of our family and our relatives into his business to create something for us. Unfortunately, with all this borrowing and equipment buying, there weren't any assets to fall back on when the company began to go belly up.

The whole family was just staring down the barrel of being kicked out of the only place that was left of a budding empire, our modest three-bedroom house in the equivalent of Berkley or Bridgeport.
I sighed. Maybe if we took in enough to buy a house with a foothold in some more rural village? With a stable source of income, I thought we might be okay for a while, but we would have to work hard to improve our fortune, and there would be some difficult changes ahead.

Well, time to go back home. It had been a long day, and I still had plenty to do in terms of brainstorming.

Suddenly, I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end and a familiar prickly sensation in the small of my back.

I looked around the street and noticed the shadows stretching out along the ground. It was a beautiful late afternoon for a walk. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. I slowed to a stop. The hairs on the back of my neck continued to itch with the same sensation, and the tingles ran across the small of my back.

My body stiffened, and the urge to flee took over.

It was probably just a random passerby walking by that triggered it; nothing sinister about it at all...

But somehow, I knew that wasn't true.

As I walked through town, I realized that even in this city which had always struck me as calm and laid-back, many people actually carried weapons. But there were far more than usual here. A lot of people wore leather armor with various designs painted on them. Their faces bore tattoos and scars, and they moved with purpose as they stalked down the streets with their daggers and short swords.

They made no effort to hide from view, instead strutting down the main thoroughfares boldly with menacing stances. There must have been ten or fifteen of these types moving slowly through the crowds. They definitely added a lot to my paranoia.

I picked up my pace, running towards my house while I still could. The instinct that I was being watched or followed got stronger, and I started sweating and feeling nauseous.

I didn't know why I was so scared, but I had this odd, nagging feeling like something terrible was about to happen. I quickened my step again and suddenly found myself tripping on an uneven stone in the middle of the street. I tumbled forward headfirst into the cobblestones wit-

A strong arm caught me in the fall and gently pulled me back onto the ground before helping me stand back up. I heard a giggle behind me as I tried to catch my breath.

"Hey there, sport." She spoke softly, "You alright?"

"Uh...yeah," I gasped out between gulps of air. It felt like every part of my body was tense and ready for flight at any moment. I looked around frantically at all the people, shops, buildings, and streets I had passed.

I turned around with a gasp, only to see a familiar redheaded catgirl with aquamarine eyes standing there with her arms folded, eyes full of mirth as she helped me off the road.

Her body language screamed friendly and safe, but there were definitely a lot of people nearby chasing me who carried weapons. And those people were following me right now. My heart raced, and it seemed like I had been holding my breath this time until just that second when it came pouring out of my mouth as I took a massive gulp of air.

She held her position with a slight smirk on her lips, watching me breathe in and out heavily with a look of amusement on her face.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" She asked teasingly, with another little chuckle in the end.

The catgirl pulled out an arrow from her quiver. Then she turned around and shot her bow up over the roofs of the houses.

The arrow flew into the sky where the setting sun gave it a crimson hue glow, and the bowstring snapped loudly through the quiet early evening air.

I heard a cry of pain, and then a man fell off the roof. I cringed as he hit his head hard against the cobblestones below him when he landed awkwardly to a thudding sound. She was already in motion, nocking another arrow.

"Get ready. Me-nyeow!"

 

...

 

I groaned. Loudly.