The next day starts very much like those before. We wake up. We get up. Sour Cream receives treats and cuddles. Then we head to the bathhouse. Little Ulryk actually enjoys the warm water there very much. It seems he is already well aware that this water isn't quite the same as the water fresh from the creek.

Everything considered I'd dare say that we are settling into a nice routine. That is, of course, reassuring. It eases the mind quite a bit if you can estimate what to expect of just about any day reasonably well. At the same time this makes me feel a little uneasy too. It's when you get too complacent that something unexpected will trip you up or you make some kind of mistake you would never have made if you had stayed watchful. Thus, in a way, I'm glad that Elzbieta has already decided to shake everything up a little today.

She prepares her full kit before she leaves today, a sweet baked treat from the inn in her mouth. She wears her armor, which still fits a little ill and she has her bow and quiver with her too.

And of course her little boy is quite fascinated from all of this. Everything he can reach gets grabbed and, if possible, put into his mouth. My laughter as I get to behold the spectacle only seems to encourage him more.

I resign myself to eating my own baked treat while Elzbieta prepares for the day. I pour both of us some tea as well. It's made from rose petals, but it's not any alchemical brew, as it doesn't use any other ingredients, not even sugar or honey. As a result its taste isn't exactly exciting either, but it's not totally bland at least and most importantly, it's warm. The tea doesn't distract from the baked cinnamon treats either.

Once the hunter is ready, gear, baby and everything for the day I see her off with a quick kiss. She'll drop the boy off with Urszula. Well, she probably will. Unless, Urszula has other plans. Then the baby boy gets to come along for a little trip and she won't venture all too deep into the surrounding woods. It's not like she has planned to venture deep into the wilds anyway, as she can't leave Ulryk with anyone else for too long yet.

I finish up my cinnamon roll too, while I watch the two disappear up the road in the direction of Urszula's home. I lick my fingers clean too and wash the last crumbs down with the last of the tea. Then I open the shop. Unlike yesterday I don't get any brews for potions started though. I focus my attention on grandma's collected notes for a while instead, while I wait for any potential customers to drop by. Not that I expect any. The new group got everything they need for their first trip already after all. And everyone else should still have more than enough potions too.

I make notes in my own notebook too. Grandma's notes are much too valuable to bring along after all. My own notebook, by comparison, is still quite expendable. At least until I expand and rewrite it considerably. That's still in the future though and not a concern for right now. For now I note the best places to find bitterleaf. That isn't all I look up though. I take note of any places where I might find wild juniper and purple mountain flowers too. If I can find some of all three I could easily replenish my dwindling supplies of ingredients for healing potions.

Next I consider ingredients for stamina potions. Sure, I could go out into the woods and look for some honey from wild bees, but that hardly would be worth the hassle. No, most ingredients for stamina potions are more easily acquired from farmers, or traders. Birch sap, honey, sugar, various spices like clove and cinnamon or even pumpkins. It's for the better to inquire with Agnieszka, or while she is over in Barter Town maybe with Maryla and Patryk. The latter too should be able to get me in contact with someone who can provide one or the other of that lengthy list of ingredients. I'll ask them. Not at lunch though. They'll be too busy then. Not at dinner either. They are even more busy then. Maybe some time in between.

In the meantime I make plans for slightly more exotic alchemical concoctions. Fire resistance and strength boosting soaps are the first that come to mind. Probably because they are used as examples for such potions at the academy. Maybe because at least the ingredients for the strength boosting potion are still moderately easy to acquire. Actually getting your hands on dragon fat for the fire proofing soap is quite a bit more dangerous. Oh! The cure poison jellies! I almost forgot about those again. The ingredients for those should be easy enough to acquire. For adventurers anyway.

I nod to myself and resolve to post four quests in total. One for slime jellies. Another dryad blossoms. A third for ogre teeth or maybe minotaur horns and a last one for troll fat. This will cost me some coin. Hopefully it'll be worth it. Well, both the cure poison jellies and the giant's strength soap should keep well on the shelf, so I probably don't have to worry.

I leave for lunch a little late today, as to make sure I don't drop by when the place is busiest. And after having some hearty stew I visit Krystina at the adventurers' guild counter first to spend some coin on quest rewards. I place requests for slime jellies, dryad blossoms, minotaur horns and troll fat. It's enough of a change from my routine to earn me a raised eyebrow from our local guild official. I shrug and flash her a smile in response.

"It's time to put some more exotic alchemical concoctions on the shelves. Something other than the basic potions."

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She blinks in surprise at first. Then she shrugs.

"If you have the coin and are sure about this. Give me a moment. I'll have to look some things up."

Without losing any time she grabs her big guidebook from below the counter to look up the rewards and fees for my current requests. She grabs four quest forms too while she is at it and starts filling in the details on those as she looks them up.

I add up the numbers as she fills them in on the papers and am suddenly quite glad that I brought quite a bit of money for this little errand.

The slime jelly request and the dryad blossom request both have a reward of eighteen bronze Crowns with a fee of six bronze Crowns attached each. The minotaur horn and troll fat requests are a little more costly. The reward for them is two silver Crowns each while the guild fees are eight bronze Crowns for each quest.

The total is nine silver and four bronze Crowns. Just a few weeks ago this would have made me sweat. Right now I can afford the expense, but I better still remember to calculate my prices accordingly. And of course my heart aches a little as I count the coins onto the counter before putting my seal on the papers and shaking hands with Krystina.

At least Krystina's gets a little excited by these requests too. Her cheeks are slightly flushed and her hands tremble a little as we seal the deal with the handshake. She too doesn't see that many well paying requests all at once every day. It's a little reassuring that I'm not the only one nervous about this.

While she enters the transaction into her ledger I head over to her parents, or rather Maryla who pours drinks at the counter right now.

She greets me with a smile.

"What can I do for you? You aren't just here for a drink, are you?"

How can she tell? Well, never mind. I nod to confirm her suspicion.

"I wanted to ask about potential suppliers of some basic ingredients. Mostly spices. I'd usually ask Agnieszka, but since she is out, over in Barter Town right now, I thought I might ask you instead."

She doesn't exactly frown, but her face falls a little as she shakes her head in response.

"I'd love to help. Really. But we purchase our spices through her too. If it's anything else you can ask Patryk. He is on good terms with just about all the farmers. If it's spices though, sorry, you'll have to wait for Agnieszka to return."

My shoulders slump a little. It's to be expected though. I immediately cheer up again though. Spices aren't all I have come to ask about after all.

"Well, maybe he can still help me out. There are some other things on my list too after all. Honey and maybe birch sap. Oh! And pumpkins!"

The female inn keeper breaks into laughter.

"That sounds like things you might be able to get around here. Birch sap and pumpkins are both very seasonal though. The former you'll only get in spring while the latter are most abundant in autumn."

Even as she speaks she leans through the door into the kitchen.

"Patryk! Could you come over here for a moment."

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