《The Adventures of the Merchant Mage [Cozy Fantasy LitRPG]》


 Unpacking

    My mother always told me that ¡°the practice of magic does not have to be exciting to be important.¡±


    Everyone in my family of elves has been born a mage. My brother Tehlmar for example, is a respected cleric often requested by parties for combat missions to serve as a healer. My sister Alaris has a photographic memory and endless patience, making her a natural professor.


    And then there¡¯s me - I¡¯m a good tailor.


    It¡¯s not that I have no other magical skills. Over the years, I have slowly been able to level up some arcane frost spells. They are not strong enough to be useful in combat, but have helped me keep myself safe when travelling in unsafe areas or doing fetch quests.


    But the mastery of even these simple abilities had taken longer then it did for most, and perhaps more importantly, had never filled me any sense of excitement or motivation. I had abandoned many quests half-way through and returned tomes to the library without even completing them. My siblings meanwhile, were always training and happily discussing their levelling over dinner.


    In fact, it was one such dinner that helped me find out I even had a subclass at all.


    My brother had come back in a bit of a mood. In some sort of tussle with a kobold, his favorite cloak had become singed. He had a training session the next day with his arch-mage and did not want to admit of the damage, as the cloak had been a gift only weeks ago. ¡°I do not wish to disappoint him,¡± he explained, looking to the family for advice.


    ¡°Fanwen, weren¡¯t you just learning some clothing repair magic?¡± My mother asked me, putting down her glass.


    ¡°Well yes,¡± I replied, ¡°But shouldn¡¯t he bring it to someone more experienced, perhaps in town? It¡¯s quite a rare piece of equipment.¡± The truth is, I had only even been experimenting with the magic as a favor to a friend, who didn¡¯t have time to do a side-quest and was wondering if I would pick it up.


    Tehlmar immediately perked up. ¡°Oh sister, would you? Even if I left now, there¡¯s no way I would get back it from that seamstress in time, you know how busy she is this time of year.¡±


    And so that night I found myself at my crafting station, specifically the sewing table, with an ultra rare cloak. I expected to be nervous as I reviewed the impressive stats of the fabric, but strangely I wasn¡¯t. Instead, I simply focused on channeling my mending spell and then began to sew. After only a few minutes, the cloak was as good as new. In fact, if my eyes did not deceive, it seemed nicer.


    I excitably brought it to my brother, who confirmed it was in fact improved. He pulled up the stats. [+5 INT, +6 Defense, 15% mana regen per second when out of combat]. ¡°That¡¯s 5% stronger mana regeneration!¡± He exclaimed. ¡°Thanks Fanwen."


    And so I unlocked by subclass of [Tailor].


    -


    After that night, I took on every small quest I could to save up gold. My siblings even joined me on a few, helping me with combat as I did fetch quests and gathered rare materials I could resell. I had worried that my family might be embarrassed that my sub-class was not that of your typical noble background, but just the opposite was true. My mother proudly wore my designs and even my no-nonsense father let me outfit him with some new tunics. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    I worked with the dryad seamstress in town, who helped me level up my crafting and let me keep excess fabric to experiment with my own designs. She even gifted me some pattern books when I was ready to move on.


    Those years of grinding all paid off as I stood in that empty storefront in Windglen. My hands had shook a bit as I clicked [Purchase] for the space and watched the gold leave my inventory, but I knew this was the right move. Earlier that morning, I had officially signed up for the [Merchant] profession, and the specific quests had loaded into my journal. As I improved my rank, I could unlock more space and aesthetic improvements, as well as get discounts from local suppliers.


    Windglen was an adventurer¡¯s town, close to a nearby forest that many low levelled fighters and barbarians frequented. After years of waiting, a space had finally opened up that I could set up shop. It was close to a tavern and a well-respected potions seller, making it a natural stop for travelers with lots of foot traffic.


    ¡°We¡¯ve done it, Rune!¡± I exclaimed to my familiar, a black cat with white spots. She immediately started sniffing the space and checking for any materials or loot the previous owner might have let behind.


    Yes, the space was mine. There was a bit of dust, and the wooden floor had a couple cracks in it, but all in all was a great deal. The previous owner had sold hats and helmets, so there were some mirrors I could repurpose into dressing rooms and a coin keeper already built into a front counter.


    As I started to unload some materials and spell scrolls, there was a knock at the door, which I had left slightly ajar.


    My unexpected visit turned out to be a male half-satyr, lacking the hairy goat legs but sporting the traditional horns sticking out of a tussle of brown hair. He was dressed well in a satin tunic that clearly communicated wealth. ¡°The new merchant appears,¡± he stated, giving me a look up and down.


    I found myself stealing a glance at one of the mirrors to see if my blue hair was still in place after a day of travelling. Nothing seemed amiss, although there were bags starting to form under my silver eyes.


    ¡°Yes, Fanwen, pleased to make your acquaintance,¡± I said, holding my head high and trying to look confident. First impressions were important.


    ¡°Enos,¡± replied the satyr, offering me a firm handshake. ¡°Welcome to Windglen. Perhaps you¡¯ll have more luck then the last tenant.¡±


    I frowned. ¡°What a strange thing to say to someone you just met. How do you know what happened to this place, anyway?¡±


    He leaned against the open doorway. ¡°So you haven¡¯t heard of me, how interesting! My family runs the armory down the road, the Brass Forge.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t say that I have.¡±


    This seemed to amuse him. ¡°Well you see, we are kind of the respected name around here for worn equipment. Heavy armor, medium armor, shields¡­¡±


    ¡°I suppose it¡¯s a good thing I make cloaks, robes, and light fabric armor then,¡± I responded. I smiled, trying to remain pleasant even though I didn¡¯t really like Enos¡¯ tone.


    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± he said, tapping his foot lightly. ¡°We don¡¯t have as many of those to be fair. People just tend to prioritize getting stamina and health point boosts over¡­whatever those do. I only say that because of the unfortunate fate of the hat and accessories place that was here before. Poor halfling ran out of his investment funds and had to go back to his hometown.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate the warning, but I believe I will be just fine.¡± I was ready for him to leave. ¡°If that is all, I would like to return to my unpacking.¡±


    ¡°Of course!¡± He started to walk away before turning around. ¡°Just wondering... what¡¯s your shop name going to be?¡±


    ¡°Fanwen¡¯s Fabled Fabrics,¡± I said proudly.


    ¡°Your designs inspire fables?¡± He raised an eyebrow.


    I made sure to look him straight in the eye as I made the promise not just to him, but myself. ¡°They will.¡±


    --- Stats Sheet, Fanwen The Elf ---


    Class: Mage, level 8


    Sub-class: Tailor


    Profession: Merchant, Rank 0


    Quests Completed: 9


    Agility: 5


    Strength: 3


    Intelligence: 7

 The First Customer

    [Merchant Questline, Task 1: Sell to 1 Customer]


    I started the morning rather confident. Yes, no one in Windglen had likely heard of the shop but with the daily stream of adventurers, it didn¡¯t seem far-fetched that one curious person might wander in and realize that a cape would be a great addition to their equipment set. On top of that, I had added a nice flyer to the quest board advertising an opening sale.


    The night before, I had spent hours carefully arranging the displays, organizing by clothing type and then by skill buffs (agility, mana regeneration, intelligence, etc.) When posting my flyer, I read through some of the quests and then carefully selected some of my best pieces that would help with the needed abilities. My rank didn''t come with a lot of built-in signage options unlocked, but I made sure the equipment was in good view of the window. All of these tactics I had learned from my dryad mentor - I was set up for success.


    And yet no one came in.


    The first couple hours, I attributed the emptiness to the rain that had started only minutes after the town¡¯s establishments started to open. Rain was bad for visibility and often made adventurers delay the start of their journeys, the most common time to stock up on equipment.


    But then the rain cleared up right before lunch, and I still hadn¡¯t a single patron even enter, let alone make a purchase. ¡°Time for a more direct approach,¡± I said to Rune, who was busy playing with some loose yarn and had little concerns for my plight.


    I went over to the door and propped it open, letting the sunlight pour in right on the featured table in the front. I then stood just outside and began to greet people as they passed by with pitches such as - ¡°Looking for some lightweight buffs?¡± or ¡°Opening day sale!¡±


    A few people smiled, a curious orc even looked behind me a bit, but they all quickly broke eye contact with me and kept walking as I tried to usher them inside.


    I frowned and started pacing around the aisles. Had I done something to offend the townsfolk? I had stayed at an inn while my house was still under construction, and everyone had seemed perfectly friendly. I had tipped well when I grabbed a scone at a street vendor this morning. Was there some sort of cultural norm I had missed in my research of the area?


    My pondering was interrupted by the sound of the bell at the door. I almost jumped in excitement. ¡°Welcome in!¡±


    My first patron was a goblin holding a huge bow and arrow set. Her hair was in a tight black braid to stay out of the way of her armor, and I could tell she was fashion conscious as the tint of her light chainmail complimented her light green skin quite well. ¡°Figured I¡¯d see what all the fuss was about,¡± she said cheerly. She had a regional accent I didn¡¯t recognize.


    She flashed her stats card at me in a further way of greeting, and although I wasn¡¯t quite sure what she meant by "the fuss", I was going to assume she meant someone had told her of my pitch or she had seen the flyer.


    [Name: Lithia


    Class: Barbarian, Level 15


    Sub-Class: Archer


    Profession: Adventurer, Rank 6]


    As I assessed her current equipment set, Lithia began looking sound the shop. She took a peek at nearly every aisle from a far, but didn¡¯t walk down any of them. It seemed like maybe she was looking for something? She almost seemed nervous. Was she just shy? But she didn¡¯t seem so with her boisterous greeting and general confident demeanor. You didn''t get far as a shy barbarian, after all.


    I decided to jump in. ¡°Feel free to keep browsing on your own, I can unlock any of the glass displays if you want to something on." This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She just nodded, continuing to look around, even peering at the corner I hadn''t filled yet as if wondering why. Truth is, I just couldn''t afford to start with more inventory.


    I had finished my assessment of her armor. "You know if you don''t mind me saying, I believe I¡¯ve got just the cloak for you. Your hair is so beautiful, wouldn¡¯t want that to get scratched up on that metal there when you¡¯re running around. And it¡¯s got a nice agility buff as well!¡±


    Lithia smiled, clearly surprised at my compliment. ¡°That¡¯s so nice¡­sure, I¡¯d love to look at some cloaks.¡±


    My relief was nearly palpable as I started to look through some drawers for a good recommendation. I decided to make conversation. ¡°Starting a new quest?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, I really should though, rent is due next week. You¡¯d think my landlord would trust me after nearly a decade in this town, but for some reason she still expects her payments on time.¡±


    ¡°Wait, we have to pay by the date on that contract? Every month?¡± I joked. ¡°I suppose I should make a few more sales then!¡± That part was serious.


    ¡°Yes, well maybe I could advise on that actually¡± Lithia replied, pushing in an arrow threatening to fall out of her bag.


    I raised an eyebrow at the idea of unsolicited advice, but at the same time I was clearly not in a place to refuse.


    ¡°So, I assume you¡¯ve met Enos,¡± she continued.


    Yes, quite impossible to forget that smug face. ¡°He introduced himself last night.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really supposed to tell you this, he¡¯s my brother¡¯s best friend and he''s helped me out of a few jams, but he¡¯s also a prick, so¡­¡± She leaned against the wall. ¡°Fanwen, right?¡±


    I nodded.


    ¡°Well, Fanwen, the truth is Enos has been spreading rumors about your shop. Last night, he came into the Torchlight Tavern, down the street? A lot of locals frequent there on weekends. Anyway¡­he has been sort of telling everyone he can find that this place is¡­haunted.¡±


    ¡°Haunted?¡± I scoffed. ¡°That¡¯s ludicrous!¡±


    Lithia sounded a little embarrassed. ¡°Yes, it certainly sounds that way now, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°What kind of ghosts would be haunting a clothing store anyway?¡± I asked, trying to wrap my mind around this intel.


    ¡°That part of the story seemed to have evolved by this morning. Some say it¡¯s the previous owner, others think it¡¯s a cursed object or something? Although the idea you¡¯d unknowingly have a cursed object is also rather nonsensical of course¡­¡± She trailed off.


    ¡°To be clear,¡± I said, crossing my arms, ¡°The previous owner did not die. He simply returned to his hometown, very much alive. And as for cursed objects, I am a mage with purification spells, not to mention I made everything in this shop by hand.¡±


    Rune chose that moment to walk up to the goblin and start meowing, asking for attention.


    ¡°My apologies,¡± I said, lightly shooing her away. ¡°She¡¯s not used to the idea of lots of people walking around that aren¡¯t here just to pet her.¡± Truthfully, I was glad for a break in the tension. Although the news of Enos¡¯ rumors was upsetting, showing that was not going to help me win anyone over.


    ¡°All good,¡± she assured me. ¡°My pup is the same way. Well, if it helps, I can tell this place isn¡¯t haunted. I have a talisman that picks up on that sort of thing.¡±


    ¡°Well, one person is a start I suppose,¡± I responded. ¡°You said your brother is close to Enos?¡±


    She nodded. ¡°Yeah, we all did some quests together a while back.¡±


    ¡°Do you know why he would do this?¡±


    ¡°Other then just being a prick?¡± Lithia responded. ¡°I think he¡¯s just¡­scared of competition. His family has been here a long time, but he¡¯s always paranoid about losing customers. Truth be told, he probably messed with that halfling you mentioned went back to his hometown, not that I can prove it.¡±


    I filed away a reminder to reach out to the halfling when I got a chance. Maybe had left a forwarding address with someone. ¡°Why tell me this? If he¡¯s your friend and your brother will be angry as you described.¡±


    ¡°Truth be told,¡± she said. ¡°You strike me as someone from a noble family. So you¡¯ve probably been told certain, stereotypes about goblins.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t wrong. There was a lot of prejudice around goblins in my region - my own grandmother had warned me to keep an eye on my coin purse when they were around, and the old man in town we bought bread from was always claiming they had stolen a loaf from him. But I paid things little mind - I preferred to come to my own conclusions about people, and I would never judge a race based on an individual¡¯s actions anyway.


    ¡°Right,¡± she continued, seeing the confirmation in my look. ¡°And yet, you¡¯re brand new to town, and you immediately offer to show me anything I want, on top of complimenting my hair. Why would I judge you based on some baseless claims if you aren¡¯t going to?¡±


    ¡°I¡­appreciate that.¡± I sighed. ¡°Listen, I¡¯m clearly not going to get any customers anyway, and I¡¯m feeling a bit worn out. Think you could show me this Torchlight Tavern and we could grab a drink?¡±


    Lathia smiled. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to be. But first - I¡¯m going to buy a cloak!¡±


    And so, Fanwen¡¯s Fabled Fabrics made it¡¯s first sale.


    [Merchant Questline, Task 1: Sell to 1 Customer- COMPLETE! XP+ 10]

 An Elf, a Goblin, and a Priest Walk Into a Tavern

    I wanted to dislike Torchlight Tavern. In fact, as Lithia and I entered I tried to pre-load some sort of insult on my tongue, but I couldn¡¯t. The place was actually very charming. The tables were slightly different in size, shape, and some even color - giving the impression putting the place together was a sort of community effort rather then an individual.


    True to the namesake, there were torches everywhere - no harsh overhead lights. A performed was strumming on a lute in the corner, but it wasn''t overpowering and the main sound was the chatter of the various patrons. A dwarf noticed us at the front door, running by with a pile of plates balanced precariously in one hand and some empty cups in the other. He used his head to motion to some empty tables on the left. ¡°Aye, welcome in, get seated and I¡¯ll be with ya soon as I can!¡±


    ¡°He seems a bit stretched thin,¡± I noted as we sat down at the one of the spots he mentioned.


    Lithia nodded. ¡°His sons are supposed to help out, but they are always running out on quests or spirits above knows what else, and he¡¯s too cheap to hire real help.¡± She laughed. ¡°We¡¯re here to relax anyway, right? No hurry.¡±


    That much was true - I wasn¡¯t exactly in a rush to get back to an empty shop. ¡°So you said you¡¯ve been here a decade?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Yeah, feels a bit odd to say I¡¯ve been out of school that long, but I trained in the military academy and then decided I wasn¡¯t quite cut out to take orders.¡± She grinned. ¡°So I came to Windglen and would take random quests and bounties. Staying in the inn all the time was getting pricey, so I found myself a little cabin right outside the city limits, and the rest was history!¡±


    "That inn is quite pricy," I agreed. "Did you meet the owner of my store before me? Enos mentioned something about them failing in a rather big fashion.?I know you mentioned he might have messed with him, did he seem competent to you?"


    Lithia smirked. "Of course he put it like that. Honestly, the half-ling was quite young. I stand by the fact Enos did something, but I think the lad wasn''t as equipped to deal with it as you are. You give me the impression you''re made of some thicker stuff."


    Before I could ask anything else, the barkeep came over to us, still with the cups in one hand but the plates exchanged for a notebook he took out of his pocket. ¡°What can I getcha¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Now WHERE are your manners Rugan?¡± Lithia teased. ¡°Don¡¯t you want to give a proper greeting to Windglen¡¯s newest merchant?¡±


    The dwarf rolled his eyes, but did slow down and put the empty cups on an empty table behind us. ¡°I ¡®spose she¡¯s right. Hi elf miss, my name is Rugan like she said, and this my tavern.¡± He held out a hand.


    I shook it. ¡°Pleased to make your acquaintance, My name is Fanwen and I have opened the new clothing shop just down the street.¡±


    Rugan looked a bit taken aback at that. ¡°Oh! The new clothing shop. I uh, yes, I ¡®spose I heard about that place, haven¡¯t I?¡±


    ¡°Yes, your patrons seem to be spreading that it¡¯s haunted?¡± I asked coyly.


    ¡°Er, well¡­¡±


    Lithia laughed. ¡°You aren¡¯t afraid to just get right to it, are you?¡±


    ¡°My patrons don¡¯t start rumors, miss, they were just repeating what they heard from Enos.¡± Rugan said. ¡°Then these things sort of take a life of their own¡­¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yes, I know Enos is responsible, and I plan to speak with him. I would just appreciate if you¡¯d perhaps correct anyone else who mentions it?¡±


    ¡°I can confirm the lack of haunting part,¡± Lithia chimed in. ¡°My talisman confirmed it, and you know how particular that thing is - if they was a bad spirit in there, it would¡¯ve found it.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°Yes I do believe it would. I apologize miss, I know better then to let that boy run his mouth, but he does spin a good tale when he wants to. I¡¯ll say something if I hear it, and how about a free drink to smooth thing over? A welcome to Windglen if you will!¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    I smiled. ¡°Sure, I appreciate you hearing us out.¡±


    As he walked away, I looked around. While the tavern wasn¡¯t currently full, it was still quite busy for the late afternoon, easily hours before the dinner rush. A lot of people could¡¯ve heard Enos¡¯ stories in the past day or so.


    ¡°Want to wait until night time and then I can announce you aren¡¯t haunted to everyone?¡± Lithia asked, guessing what I was thinking about. ¡°I¡¯ll do it too, I can stand up on the bar and make a show of it, everybody will be talking about it! People like me too, which always helps. As long we keep buying drinks, Rugan won''t mind.¡±


    I laughed. ¡°That¡¯s nice, but there¡¯s no way we catch everyone who was in here last night and anyone else they might have told in town at one time. There has to be some other way to get the message out¡­¡± I watched the crowd for another minute, trailing off, when I noticed a priest sitting alone by the back window. ¡°Wait, Lithia, do they do blessings in this town?¡±


    ¡°You mean official [blessing] buffs? Of course we do, lots of demonic entities out there to fight in the caves! Helps raise your defense against them. What are you thinking? Wanting one for yourself?¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°What if I can get him to bless the shop? If people see [blessed] above the sign, surely they¡¯ll know it isn¡¯t cursed or haunted or anything. If nothing else, I could ask him to run a purification spell on the stock- not that I couldn¡¯t do that myself, but people would trust his over mine.¡±


    She looked impressed. ¡°Not bad elf, not bad. It¡¯s definitely worth trying.¡±


    I grinned. ¡°I trust you know what¡¯s good here, order me something if Rugan comes back before me, alright?¡±


    Lithia nodded. ¡°Of course I do.¡±


    I tried to plan out in my head what I was going to say as I walked over to the priest. I didn¡¯t have a lot of gold to offer, which he might find offensive anyway. I could offer to make some new recruit robes or something?


    The priest looked up once I got close, nodding in greeting. He was a human man with bat ears- I was not sure if that was a purchased cosmetic or a race I wasn¡¯t familiar with. He wore the typical blue robe, but the cross around his neck was gold, signifying he was a high rank within the priest profession quest line.


    ¡°May I join you for a moment?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I am always willing to provide council,¡± he replied.


    I sat down, suddenly nervous. Perhaps I should¡¯ve planned what I was going to say more. What if he only gave blessings to parishioners of his specific church?


    But I pushed through anyway - words spilling out in a frenzy. ¡°My name is Fanwen, and i have just opened a clothing shop here in Windglen. Unfortunately, someone has begun telling the townspeople that my establishment is haunted or cursed. This is certainly not the case, and as I am sure your word is well respected in this town, I was hoping you could provide a blessing on my establishment to show people it is safe?¡±


    He didn¡¯t say anything right away. I wondered if I had talked too fast.


    ¡°Well, our church has upon occasion offered blessings to an establishment as you have described Miss Fanwen, but typically there is an existing relationship¡­¡±


    I figured.


    ¡°However,¡± he continued, surprising me, ¡°You have approached me in a time of need, and I assume you have a class outside of your merchant profession?¡±


    I excitedly flashed my summary card. ¡°Yes, I am a mage.¡±


    ¡°Good, then perhaps you could held us. A relic was recently stolen from our archives and it¡¯s quite rare. We need someone to retrieve it. We have reason to believe it was stolen by an orc who will attempt to re-sell it in Rockburg in the next few days.¡±


    He closed his eyes and quickly generated a quest scroll, which he then handed to me.


    [ Quest: Righteous Relic Retrieval


    Recommended Combat Level: 7 +


    Deadline: 2 Days, or Before Relic Is Sold


    Goal: Return The ¡°Flask of Saints¡± to the Windglen Church


    Reward: Blessing from The Church, 75 XP


    Description: The Flask of Saints, originally used is said to provide a powerful against demons and dark magic when drunken from by a worthy subject. Track down the orc who has stolen the relic and return to the priest for quest completion. With high enough persuasion, there is a chance to avoid combat, but this is unlikely. ]


    ¨C Accept? YES | NO ¨C


    I hit accept. ¡°I will get on this right away,¡± I promised.


    ¡°May the spirits be with you,¡± he said as I got up to walk away.


    I was nearly back to my table to my table with Lithia when I realized I was drastically under leveled to take on this quest alone. Not to mention, I didn¡¯t know anything about fighting orcs or even how to track one down. I tended to avoid fights with beings double my size.


    ¡°I ordered you a sausage roll,¡± she told me, smiling.


    I sat down and informed her about the quest, ending with ¡°...there¡¯s no way I can do this one alone though, I¡¯m way too under leveled on my mage skills¡­¡± Why had I agreed to this? Failing a quest wasn¡¯t exactly the way to improve my standing in the town.


    ¡°Don¡¯t look so glum, Fanwen, you know why?¡± Lithia asked.


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Because you won¡¯t have to do it alone - you¡¯ve got the best barbarian in Windglen on your side.¡±