The interior of the store had not changed at all, it was still the same dusty place full of junk. Sometimes Allan wondered how anyone could find something here.
"Hello Roderick"
As soon as he entered the tent, Allan turned around to see the robed figure of which only a pair of glowing eyes could be seen behind him.
"May I know what you have come for?" Roderick asked without deigning to start a conversation with him.
Of all the people Allan has had frequent contact with in town, Roderick is the only one with whom his relationship has not reached Friendly.
It is obvious that Roderick is different from the rest of the inhabitants of the city and perhaps becoming friends with him will give some reward as the players who arrived before him have thought.
Still, in Allan's opinion, no matter what reward he might offer he wasn't worth making friends with this guy.
"I have something to sell." Allan knew that if he asked Roderick for a favor, he wouldn't stand a chance, therefore he could only use another method.
"Show me" Roderick said without any emotion in his voice as he made his way to a table where he could examine the product.
Allan pulled the Big Gray´s skeleton out of his inventory without saying a word.
When he saw the skeleton Roderick said nothing. After looking at it carefully for a few minutes in which they were both silent, Roderick said:
"I offer you five gold coins"
In other circumstances Allan would have taken the skeleton and left. After all, Allan was going to leave here soon so he didn't have to put up with this thief. However, Allan said:
"Fine, but I don't want money."
"Mm? And what do you want?" Roderick asked in a dangerously low tone. Allan knew why.
During the time that Allan had been in town, countless players have ended up at Roderick's shop begging him to teach them alchemy.
These players have used countless methods to make you accept them as a disciple, from displaying excellent behavior to threatening him.
One of the most used methods is to tempt him with gifts and valuable things to accept.
The fact that he hasn't cut Allan in half yet shows that the skeleton is worth more than he thought.
"Alcohol"
For the first time since Allan had met him, Roderick looked genuinely puzzled.
"Explain," ordered Roderick.
"I want to organize a banquet," Allan began. "Unfortunately, when I went to Felix's liquor store to get some liquor for my party, I realized that I didn't have enough stock. Apparently, the mayor buys all the bottles that Felix sells "
"And you want me to convince the mayor to give you something from his private reserve," Roderick completed when he realized where the conversation was going.
"Right, can you do it?"
Roderick said nothing and stood silently.
After a few minutes of waiting in which both looked into each other's eyes, Roderick said:
"I can." Hearing what Roderick had said, Allan breathed a sigh of relief.
Before coming here Allan had gone to visit other places where alcohol is sold, and although they could sell him the amount needed, none was as good as Felix's store. If there is a choice, Allan wanted to give his friends the best of the best.
"But" Allan celebrated too soon though.
"What can you do for me?" Roderick finished.
"Isn't the skeleton enough for you?" Allan asked hoping that Roderick didn't ask for too much.
Obviously, Allan was dreaming if he thought something like that was going to happen.
"Not enough," Roderick said as Allan heard the sound of his shattered hopes.
"What do you want?" Allan asked helplessly.
It may have been his imagination, but Allan could swear he saw a small smile unfold behind the robe.
…
On a small train heading to its destination there were crowds of people talking, laughing, or simply lounging in their seats.
In one of the train compartments, a couple was talking calmly while they watched as the landscape constantly changed from the train window.
Both passengers were older, in their fifties and obviously not used to traveling by train due to the nervousness of the couple.
The woman is short, with long, curly brown hair. She has a round face and small, emerald green eyes. She dressed her in muted colors of hers so that whoever looked at her felt that it gave her a touch of humility.
The man on the other hand is tall and robust, with a broad face and very large black eyes. He has an aquiline nose and a round mouth. His small movements made the observing eye appreciate that he was not used to wearing the clothes he had on and that instead of him he preferred to wear more comfortable clothes.
"Do you really think this is a good idea?" the woman asked with a hint of concern in her eyes.
"Silly stuff! How is it not going to be a good idea? Besides we are already on the way, even if we wanted to turn around it is too late" the man replied.
"But going to visit him without warning is not a bit strange? What if he is busy? "
"Bah, we are his parents, what could be more important than receiving us? Besides that rascal did not come to visit us on vacation, we have to teach him a lesson "
"But he calls us every day" the woman try to defend the woman to her son.
However, the man was not going to let any of that pass.
"What if he calls us every day? It is the least he can do. Or is he not even able to offer us a few minutes of his time? " When he thought about all the time that they had been waiting for his son to visit only to realize that he was not coming she made the man explode with anger.
"Also, don't forget our true purpose to visit you" the man reminded him.
Seeing the attitude of her husband she could not say otherwise.
"It sure is just a misunderstanding, there's no way Allan would do something like that."
"He had better, otherwise we will take him back home. Virtual classes, what was he supposed to be thinking about?" said the man.
The real reason why Allan's parents were going to visit him is to confirm the email from Allan's university where the next course he was going to take the virtual classes.
"If they want to attend so much, he can virtually, do it from our house, he doesn't realize all the money he spends when he's in town, when I see him, I'm going to give him a reading for life"
While the man complained about his son and the woman tried to calm him down, the train slowly approached its last stop.