Flor was annoyed. Fetch quests were obnoxious, but without another idea of where to go, she thought it her best option. Other than chasing down Alastair and apologizing. She wasn’t nearly ready for that. She checked her notifications and saw that Sparks had replied.

  Sparks - Flor: The keep? It’s probably how we get out of here. I expect it is more challenging than beating the city. Because rumor has it that there are traps and multiple painful ways to die.

  Flor - Sparks: We have to go there, don’t we?

  Since Flor didn’t expect an immediate response, she walked to a small chronographer’s shop near the Angry Onion. Perhaps their prices would be extortion. Or cheaper. Or maybe there would be the need to buy more blueprints or something else. Regardless, Flor felt she had already spent the money she had earned that morning, making the thoughts of better gear disappear.

  The shop was small, clean, and orderly, covered with clocks. A small man, Vendor - 3, was looking at a chrono. She coughed to get his attention.

  “Yes?” said the man, looking up.

  “I’m in a bind. I have a friend who wants a display piece, but I only have the parts for a personal chrono. Is there a larger case that works with my blueprint or another blueprint that would incorporate a larger case?”

  He blinked. “Show me what you have.”

  Flor pulled out a sample of a spring, escapement, case, and gear.

  “And your blueprint,” he said.

  “I don’t know how.”

  “Hmmm. So it’s one of those. Okay. Do you want your answer fast or cheap?”

  Flor felt the coins in her purse disappearing. “Fast. Wait? What’s involved with cheap?”

  “You can find a large case, but not frequently. It is uncommon loot.”

  “So I imagine fast is expensive?”

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Only uncommonly so. But you shouldn’t need a different blueprint if your insides are proper.”

  “Do you have any? How much?”

  “Ten coins.”

  “Ten? That’s the cost of a night in a bad tavern.”

  “Ten is my cheapest.”

  “How much is a full display chrono?”

  “They start at twenty.”

  “Give me a second.” Flor dug into her inventory and pulled out a handful of springs, escapements, cases, and gears. She put them on the counter.

  “What’s all this worth to you?”

  The shopkeep had disgust on his face, but carefully started to sort through the loot. As he sorted, she looked around the shop at the various clocks on display. Some were simple but elegant, others complex and flashy. They all showed the same time: 1514. There was plenty of time left in the day to accomplish something else.

  “Miss,” he said. She turned away from what reminded her of a coco. “I’ll give you 16 coins for the items.”

  “I could combine those into several chronos that would be worth much more than that.”

  “You could,” he replied.

  Flor considered what was more important. Her time or her money. She had three options. Buy a large case for ten coins, build a large chrono, and be out ten coins, but still have more chronos she could construct and sell later. Sell her loot for 16 then buy a large chrono for 20 and be out four coins, which seemed like a fast but awful option. Or she could buy a large chrono for 20 and be done with it. If she found time later, she could recoup her costs by building and selling chronos, since it didn’t seem like loot disappeared, unlike coins, each night she slept.

  “Does it take longer to build a chrono with a larger case?”

  The shopkeep shook his head no.

  “Is it more challenging?”

  “You’re just swapping out a small case for a large case. The rest is the same.”

  What was the value of buying Nikolete’s friendship? Did she even know? What would she provide in game terms? Would it just be a friendlier disposition? A good wine rather than a cheap wine at dinner?

  “I’ll take my items back. And a large case. I’ll build it on my own.”

  Puzzle complete. +1 to Nonograms.

  Attempt puzzle again? Yes/No?

  Your disposition with Nikolette changed from Neutral+ to Positive.

  Nikolette seemed to take pride in displaying the large chrono behind the bar. “This is the first thing someone has given me without being forced into it.”

  Flor felt forced, although by necessity. It made her recall some philosophy-thing Alastair used to say about actors and action, but she couldn’t remember the details. This wasn’t something she had to do, it just seemed like the easier route to do what she needed to do. Was it the scenario playing her or her playing the scenario?

  After a moment, Nikolette turned from the chrono back to Flor. “Now, what do you need?”

  “Information on what to do next.”

  Nikolette sighed. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? Your princess is in the next castle. You need to beat the next boss.”