Chapter 5 Possible Sabotage

"Can you believe what he wanted me to do?" asked one of the adventurers to another, as they browsed the newly restocked shelves of Roberts store.

"That old farmer guy just outside of town?" asked the other.

"Yeah, the one who was almost bald."

"No. I was wondering what it was, for such a small reward."

"His scarecrows were missing. He wanted someone to find them, and the guy who stole them dealt with."

The second adventurer gave the first a look.

"You mean, instead of just building some new ones, he was willing to pay someone to find the old ones?"

"I thought it was pretty fishy myself, but I needed something to get some cash really quick. There really needs to be a mission board in town. The last one got taken down."

"So, did you find the guy?"

"Yeah, it turned out to be the guys own kids. They were scared of them. Claimed they danced around at night, with the crows. They burned them."

"Crazy. I hope he still paid you."

"Yes, he did. I wasn't about to leave that place without something for wasting my time."

Robert watched them carefully, knowing that they could be so caught up in their story that they might 'accidentally' try to leave without paying for something. Though, it was normally the poor people who tried that, and not the adventurers.

"I'm sure glad your dad brought you some food stuff to sell here. It's so much easier to grab something, even if it's day old stuff, than it is to walk all the way into town," said the adventurer who was just telling the story about the farmer.

Robert counted out the cost for the items he laid on the counter, and he paid for them.

"Are the bread loaves only a day old, or are they older?" asked his friend, holding up one of them.

"The oldest were three days, but I think I sold all of them earlier this morning. That one should be either a day or two days at the most," said Robert, taking the coins from the first guy, and watching him place his things into his bag.

"That's not too bad, thanks." The second guy placed his items on the counter for Robert to count out the cost, then paid and left.

Watching the door shut behind them, Robert noticed something odd on one of the shelves they were standing beside. With the store currently empty, he hurried over to check it out. Stuffed underneath one of the cloaks, was a small pouch. He quickly pulled it out and returned to his spot by the counter. No sooner had he turned around, then one of the guards came inside.

"Good morning, young man. I was wondering if you had any crystals for sale?"

The man's deep gruff voice seemed loud in the empty room, and he quickly lowered it after the first couple of words.

"No, I'm sorry. Perhaps one of the other stores would carry such things? I merely sell simple things for the poor people and the few adventurers that come and go through the western gate."

The guard nodded, and started looking through the things laid out neatly on the shelves. Robert watched him, his eyes narrowing as he saw the guard pay close attention to the cloaks.

"Did you have a few customers just now? A couple of adventurers?" asked the guard, scratching his head.

"Yes. They purchased a few items. Would you like to know what?" asked Robert, wondering if they had left the pouch for the guard, or if the guard had heard of something going on.

"Yes, please."

"One, purchased a waterskin, two torches, two loaves of bread and a chunk of cheese. The other bought one loaf of bread, a tinder box, and a cloak."

"Hmm, alright. Thank you."

The guard nodded to him before leaving. As soon as the door shut, Robert hurried up the stairs to where he had his bedding and clothes. Shoving the small pouch into the hollow he had the dagger and the ring hidden in, he hurried to return to the counter. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he had a feeling it wasn't anything good.

Only a few moments had passed, once he returned, before the two adventurers returned, with the guard.

"I saw it just here," said the one who had done the mission for the farmer. "It was just underneath the cloak."

Robert watched as he pulled up on the cloak that Robert had found the pouch under, and the guy paused. The guard crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow.

"I saw the same thing, sir, it was right there," said the other, pointing to the pile of cloaks.

"Is something wrong?" asked Robert, staying on his side of the counter.

"These two guys are claiming that they saw some illegal items in your store. I didn't find anything of the sort when I came in, but they insisted they saw some," explained the guard, before turning back to the two. "I don't know what you're getting at, but I'm going to keep a close eye on you two. I don't take kindly to false accusations in our city."

"I swear to you that I saw the pouch of crystals right here!" cried the first guy, gritting his teeth in annoyance.

He looked all over the shelf, moving things around and looking under everything he could reach.

"That's enough. I'll thank you to leave before I arrest you for causing a disturbance," growled the guard.

The guy threw a dirty look at Robert, before turning to leave.

"The kid must have taken it!" exclaimed the second guy, causing the first to pause.

The guard all but sighed in frustration as the two swooped around and charged to the counter where Robert was standing.

"You took the pouch! Where did you put it?"

"I'm sorry sir, I…" started Robert, stepping back so they couldn't reach him.

The guard grabbed them both by their shoulders and all but threw them out of the store. Robert watched as another came running to help him arrest the two.

"Crazy day, huh?" asked another adventurer, who slid past the activity outside the door, and gently shut the door.

"Not too bad," said Robert, managing a weak smile. If he had been a second later in stepping back, that first guy would have grabbed him.

"You have a nice place here, and a lot of us adventurers really appreciate the effort you've put into the place, but I wonder if you're safe all by yourself. Have you thought of hiring guards?" the guy asked, glancing around at the disheveled shelves.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid my income doesn't allow me enough overhead to be able to hire anyone," explained Robert, trying to sound more grown up by throwing in those big words he had heard his father use.

"I understand. Look, I like you kid. I've bought stuff from you almost from the very beginning. This past month, I've watched you increase the things you sell, and your customers. I just don't want to see anything bad happen to you. How about I find out what that was all about," he said nodding towards the door where they could both still hear the men arguing with the guards, "and I'll share the knowledge for a price. Would that work?"

"I appreciate your concern," began Robert, but the guy held up his hand.

"Look, I'll give you a tidbit right now. There's a lot of adventurers in this city. We've all come here for one thing, and that is to make money. There used to be a central location where people would place missions for us to accept, and make that money, but Lord Richmond thought it took away from the beauty of the city, and had it removed. You are about to have a lot of unhappy people coming and going in here, because they can't afford to get the things they used to."

Robert didn't see how it was his fault that Lord Richmond was causing the adventurers problems, but he did understand that things had a tendency to walk away when people didn't have money to buy them.

"Do you think Lord Richmond is behind those guys out there?" asked Robert.

"Could be, but I don't know just yet. I can find out though. Do you have a mission for me?"

Robert thought about what this could mean. If the adventurers found out he had missions for them, then he would have more people coming into his store, but he had to have a way to pay them. What other missions could he come up with? If more people came into his store, he might sell more things. Then an idea popped into his mind. What if he put in a mission board here, in his shop? While an exciting idea, he knew he had to focus on one thing at a time; the board idea could wait.

"How much would you charge for this mission?" Robert asked.

The adventurer rubbed his chin while he thought about it, then shrugged. "I'll do it cheap for you, how about a couple silver? I'm not really doing much until they find a new place for the mission board, and that would pay for a couple days down at the inn. I still think you could make a killing turning this place into an inn," he said shaking his head at the shelves that had the cloaks.

"Look," said Robert, "I'll pay you two silver to check on that mess out there, so I know if there's someone trying to sabotage me, but I don't have the money to change my business into an inn. I'm only twelve. My dad gave me this place to run it. How could I possibly change it into an inn? I don't know the first thing about cooking or drinks, or anything."

"I know, I know. I guess it's just wishful thinking."

The guy cheerfully headed out the door, to follow after the shouting men who were being dragged away by the guards, and Robert wondered what he had just gotten himself into.