The bell hanging over the door of a local potion shop in Mist City jingled as the door opened and closed, catching the attention of the shops' owner - an elderly man with short white hair and a scruffy beard. He wore glasses that fit loosely over his nose and a white shirt under a stained apron. He stopped what he was doing and smiled as he leaned on the counter, welcoming his customers.
"Welcome to Mist City Potions! What can I do for you?" The man asked.
Standing in front of the door, amazed by what he was seeing, was Floris accompanied by Kathrina. The shop was a large wooden building dimly illuminated by strategically placed candles that kept the room dark, but light enough one could still see where they were going and not bump into anything.
The room was filled with row upon row of long wooden shelves that were packed with potions and poisons of all kinds. They ranged from weak beginning potions to powerful and professionally made potions. Poisons were also in abundance but were not anything to be too amazed by. Most poisons were primarily for rodent or pest control - practically useless in Floris' eyes.
As Floris and Kathrina made their way to the front desk to speak with the owner, they occasionally glanced down at the price tags. The potions were all conveniently placed in bundles for the shoppers' convenience. One bundle of potions Floris saw was available for fifty gold pieces while another set that Kathrina noticed was available for two-hundred, which wasn't too shocking considering how ridiculously expensive some potions could be. As she went a little further down the aisle, however, her jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw a single potion available for nearly five-thousand gold pieces.
Kathrina shook her head in disbelief and grabbed the potion to get a better look at the label, which read, "Water Breathing and Increased Swimming Speed". She shook her head again and placed the potion back where she found it before continuing onward, "Good luck to anybody around here affording that thing!" She thought to herself.
As he reached the owner at the front desk, Floris approached cautiously. He had no idea what he was doing but was talked into coming along with Kathrina when she said she'd help him out. His goal was to sell some of his newly brewed potions and see if he could walk away with a decent increase to his coin count. He looked over his shoulder at Kathrina for a quick moment, then looked at the shop's owner again and asked, "E-excuse me, sir, but d-do you barter here?" Floris asked shyly.
The man smiled in a friendly way and nodded at Floris as he answered, "I sure do! What can I help you with, son?"
Floris laid his backpack on the desk and pulled out six potions to show to the man, "I was wondering how much you'd offer for these?" Floris asked.
The man grabbed one of the potions and observed the label, noting the effects of the potion, "Hmm... it's a healing potion... and a powerful one at that. The ingredients used were Aloe Vera leaves and Echinacea. It can heal wounds and can even act as medicine for the common cold or flu. Interesting. There aren't many talented alchemists around here who can make potions like this. Floris Fetcher from the South Swamp is the only one that comes to mind, but I'm sure the Mages' Guild has some talented alchemists as well."
Kathrina glanced at the man for a moment, then looked at Floris. A giggle escaped her lips before she managed to place her hand over her mouth and turn her back to the man. She couldn't believe the sheer irony of what had just happened in front of her. "That poor man. He's complimenting Floris, and he has no idea he's standing right in front of him!" She thought. She clenched her cheeks as she desperately tried to contain her laughter, but tears were starting to swell in her eyes.
Floris stared at the man blankly for a moment, blinking silently, still amazed by how popular and well known his name was, "Er... I... I've heard he's quite the talented one."
The man nodded at Floris, "He is. He's by far the best alchemist around and practically has no equal. His potions have saved many lives throughout this region, and even the military has been known to buy large quantities of them."
A snorting laugh escaped Kathrina's lips, but she quickly caught herself and pounded her chest to pretended she was coughing. She looked over her shoulder to see the man staring at her and smiled as she covered her mouth and coughed, "Sorry. Must be my allergies." She then quickly walked off to another part of the room where she was almost out of earshot and was able to compose herself.
Floris turned his attention back to the owner and handed him another potion, "You might find the effects of this one to be a little more familiar."
"Oh? Well, let's take a look." The man said, grabbing the potion from Floris' hand, "Hmm... another healing potion; this one far more powerful. It can heal a large wound in moments, but has a painful effect when... used..." The man's eyes grew wider and wider as he continued to read the label, and he slowly lifted his head to look at Floris, "The... the label says it was made by Floris Fetcher." The man quickly looked down at the potion again to double-check the name, then looked at Floris again, "Are... are you...? It can't be!"
Floris remained silent but slowly nodded, telling the man all he needed to know.
The man stared at Floris with a look of total disbelief and amazement in his eyes at the same time and stumbled backwards before falling into his chair. "I... I don't believe it. I had heard rumors you were around here, but I dismissed them as false. What are you doing here?"
Floris shrugged his shoulders and stared at the man as he gave his answer, "It's a long story. Our village was destroyed and we were sent to join the Mages' Guild to start a new life."
"Oh. Well, I am truly sorry to hear that." The man rose back up to his feet and reached for another one of Floris' potions to study it. He read the label, then looked at Floris and asked, "How much are you wanting to sell them for?"
"For whatever seems fair." Floris answered.
The man laid the potion down and looked at Floris as he spoke, "Well, I can safely say a "fair price" for one of your potions is no small amount. I'll buy each of them for... how does four-hundred gold pieces sound?"
"WHAT?!" Kathrina shouted from the other end of the store. She quickly ran to the desk and made direct eye-contact with the man, "Did I hear that right?! Four-hundred gold per potion?!"
The man, startled from Kathrina's forwardness, slowly nodded at her.
Floris turned to face Kathrina and asked, "Is that a good thing?"
Kathrina sighed and lowered her head for a moment, then looked at Floris as she replied, "Well, it's not going to buy us any horses. It can, however, take care of a large portion of our travel expenses, if not all of them."
"Really? That's it? I may not know much about this money thing, but I thought gold was supposed to be some kind of rare substance." Floris stated.
"Well, you're mostly right about that. In truth, gold pieces are useful in Fiorra, but no other place." Kathrina replied.
"And why is that?" Floris asked curiously.
Kathrina smiled and pulled a scroll out from her backpack and opened it to reveal a map of Fiorra, "You see these mountains that run up the middle of Fiorra? Those are the Northern Mountains. They're rich with rare minerals that are hard to find anywhere else, but are in a massive abundance in Fiorra. These mountains are packed full of gold, emeralds, rubies, diamonds, and other precious gems that can be used as currency. It's because of these mountains that we use gold as currency here, and the reason why Fiorra is such a wealthy country. Gold is in no short supply, so we use it as our primary source of currency."
Floris studied the map with amazement in his eyes. He had no idea the world was so big and that there were so many places to explore. Fiorra in and of itself was massive with so many different regions, mountains, lakes, and it even bordered an ocean.
Kathrina allowed Floris to study the map for a bit, then rolled it up and slid it back inside her pack. She then looked at him with a smile and nodded, "I'd accept those twenty-four-hundred gold pieces. We'll need them later on."
Floris nodded and turned his attention to the shop owner and said, "It's a deal."