"That's right. A keystone portal is like a magic door that links two places together. In this case, these keystone portals link to the Elves Alliance. Since we had been dealing with the trade union of Jewellers in the Elves Alliance, we have access to these portals."
"How would I obtain access? I don't have any connections," Vy asked.
Mrs Rudy smiled, "Do not worry about that, I can arrange that for you. You just need an endorsement and you will be all set to go."
While Vy wondered how she could get hold of an endorsement, Mrs Rudy took out another scroll and placed a wax seal on it. She took out an ink pen and signed off on it. Then, she handed it to Vy.
"There, now you are endorsed."
Vy was taken aback, "Wait, are you sure?"
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well for one, we barely know each other."
"True, but I think you're trustworthy. And a friend of a friend is a friend indeed. I'm sure you won't let me down," Mrs Rudy said with a smile.
Vy was extremely grateful with the endorsement. Now all she needed to do was to plan for her journey to the Elves Alliance. The properties and makings of the emerald seemed to get more and more intriguing. With the endorsement in hand and her profits from the sale of the ring, Vy thanked Mrs Rudy and went back to the market.
Before she left, Mrs Rudy told Vyrena that she would always be welcome in any of their stores.
"If you ever find yourself in need of any assistance, just walk into at Rudy Jewellers. A friend of Rudy's is always welcome," Mrs Rudy said with a smile.
With that, Vyrena bid Mrs Rudy farewell and headed back towards the market.
All the shop assistants were quite surprised by what they had witnessed that day. After all, Baron Koufer has been one of Rudy Jeweller's frequent customers. Could this mean a drop in sales in the future? Would their reputation be tainted by what had happened that day?
It was as if Mrs Rudy had already thought about it, for what she said and did next was a true reflection of that. At the end of the day, all the shop assistants would have a meeting with the owner. If she was not around, then they would be having a meeting with their store manager instead.
Firstly, Mrs Rudy bowed to all of her employees out of gratitude for their hard work, "Thank you for everyone's hard work today! Today had been an eventful one. In light of what has happened, I would like to make an announcement."
Sometimes during these meetings, the list of notable customers would be reviewed. Sometimes due to certain events or new business dealings, new names would be added. It was rare, but sometimes a name could also be removed.
"I would like to announce that Baron Koufer will be permanently removed from our list. Please take note of that. I have sent out messages to all stores that he had been taken off."
Everyone gasped in shock. Was this real? All the shop assistants knew about the notoriety of the Baron. None of them dared to offend him because of the backing he had; and the fact that he was on the list.
"Mrs Rudy, are we hearing it right? You not only took Baron Koufer off the list but permanently? By the guidelines of our store that would mean…"
"Yes, that's right. We would no longer be serving him or any of his associates. Baron Koufer is permanently banned from all of our stores."
~
After the excitement of discovering the value of precious stones, Vyrena became intrigued by them. In her free time, she went to Rodrick's book store and would read through the books he had on gemstones and their value. In the early mornings, she would enter the Green Forest to spend some time in her wolf form.
With each passing day, her grasp on her form improved. She was more aware of her surroundings, the strength she possessed and the extent of her abilities. There was nothing more exciting than the day she found out how fast she could run in her wolf form. Vyrena took a day off from her work at her stall, leaving everything to Lycster to handle.
"Are you certain, Miss Vyrena? You want me to run the stall tomorrow, all on my own? For the entire day?"
Vy nodded, "That's right. I trust you, Lycster. And do not worry, Carole would be here to help you too."
In the wee hours of the morning, while most of the town was still sound asleep, Vy gathered a small number of items and set off into the forest. After about an hour of walking, she stopped in her tracks.
Using her heightened senses, she made sure there were no other humans in the vicinity. Once she was certain, she transformed into her wolf form and leapt into a sprint.
She pushed herself beyond her limits and sprint as fast as she could towards a direction she has chosen. From the outside, it was as if a gust of wind blew past. But it was Vyrena in her wolf form, covering as much distance as she could.
After keeping her speed up for close to an hour, she slows down a little. Vy realised the scenery around her has changed. The forest was less dense and she could smell smoke in the distant.
-Dotty, is there a village up ahead?-
Vy decided to head on and have a look around the village. When she reached the edge of the forest cover, she did not move any further. Vy chose to remain hidden, while she observed. The villagers were slowly waking up from their rest and had already begun to tend to the fields.
The harvest might have been completed, but there was still much to be done.
It was at this point, that Vy started to regret not bringing a map with her. She knew the way back to Timbretune, but everything else was a mystery.