Robert jerked on the door to make sure it was locked securely, then, taking a breath, turned to leave. This was the first time he had left the store unattended since opening it a month ago.

"It's fine, Robert," said his father, rolling his eyes as he waited. "I applaud your dedication, but this is important if you want the mission board in your store."

"So, you think it's a good idea?" Robert asked, stretching his legs to keep up with his father's fast stride.

"I don't know that it's a great idea, but not a bad one. It would make the adventurers happy with you, so that should improve your sales, but I'm not sure you can handle the extra people coming and going. They might start stealing more stuff from you when you get distracted."

"I was thinking about moving some of the stuff away from the door, placing the mission board there, and maybe looking into expanding?" Robert glanced at his dad as he said the last. He had been giving his father all of the extra money he had been making, keeping only enough back to be able to make change.

His father didn't wince or look annoyed at the thought, only nodded thoughtfully.

"You've made enough, that we can start improving the store you have. I was thinking you might want to expand. That back room isn't being used, beyond storage, but you don't really need that much. If we fix up the floor upstairs, and the stairs themselves, then you could store your stock there, and expand your store back into that room. You need an actual counter, too. That one you made from the shipping boxes was cute for a while, but you need a real one."

Robert couldn't believe his ears. His father was actually talking business with him! Jumping in, before the moment passed, he said, "Is that where we're going? To get supplies to fix up the store?"

"Not first. First, we're going to see the Merchant Guild Leader. If you want the mission board, then we need to make sure it's okay with him first. Jack is a pretty decent guy, so I don't think it's going to really be a problem. Then we need to discuss a few things. You had mentioned the other day that the poor had bought up that old bread like it was candy. I was wondering if you could sell other things too. If I could find an outlet to still sell some of the things that the nobles think off, then I wouldn't have to spend quite so much on the trashmen. Those thieves have been coming by almost daily asking if I had any refuse to get rid of."

"Why do they care so much for your trash?" asked Robert, knowing that his father had mentioned the annoyance before.

"That noble rat, Clark, has decided that the city must stay clean, in case the king might stop by in the future. The City Lord is in agreement, only because his daughter married Clark's son."

"Why would the king come here?" exclaimed Robert, excited and terrified at the same time. The king would bring throngs of people from far and wide, to see him. And included in that throng would be thieves and murderers they didn't want.

"His son is interested in Clark's daughter. She's too young in my opinion to be wed, but no one listens to me. It's a good thing I wasn't gifted with a daughter," he huffed.

His father suddenly slowed their pace and looked at him. "You're almost thirteen, you know. You could marry yourself, soon. If you were interested?"

Robert blushed, trying to hide it with a cough. "Dad! I need to build up my business first! I could never marry a proper girl with things as they are. Besides, I'm not aware of any girls my age.."

"Good answer. I was hoping you thought that way. I only married your mother, because it was necessary to get you, not that I didn't love her.." he paused as the words seemed to stick in his throat. "She seemed to think that you needed to find someone soon, but I assured her that you could find a wife when you were in a better situation to afford one."

Robert thought about his mom as they walked a few more steps. She had barely crossed his mind since he had been so busy with the store. "Did she have anyone in mind, when she mentioned I should get married?" he finally asked, softly.

"She did, but she got so mad at me, she wouldn't tell me who. I'm sorry," his father replied, just as softly.

Then as if a switch had been flipped, the two of them picked up their paces again, and the somber mood was left behind, because the guild hall stood before them. Merchant Guild Leader Jack looked up as they approached him. He had a stack of papers in his hands, where he was reading through them. Three boys, about Roberts age, stood around him, waiting for orders. They didn't miss the age similarity, as they gave him hidden looks of disgust and hatred.

"Hector! How are you doing? Is this your boy?" asked the skinny man, as he gave Robert a warm smile.

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"Sure is, Jack. Robert, this man dictates everything us merchants have to abide by," said his father, with a twinkle in his eyes, that Robert hadn't seen since his mother died.

"Aw, you don't have to be that way," Jack laughed, his bright eyes oddly dull.

Robert dutifully shook his hand, suddenly understanding the political dance he had just entered. These men pretended to like each other, though both knew they didn't really. His father made it clear to the man that Robert was on his side of the playing field, and wouldn't be a pawn used by others, while Jack tried to wheedle information out of him. By the time they left the guild leader, Robert was very confused.

Nothing except words had been exchanged, and yet, his father was in a good mood.

"Remember Robert, information is usually worth far more than coins could ever be worth," his father said as they headed towards the builder's guild.

"Is that what you just got?" asked Robert. He had thought they were there for permission to let him have the mission board.

"You can have the mission board, because the king likely won't travel near the west gate, Clark doesn't like the adventurers any more than he likes the poor people, and with you taking the mission board over there, it will make him very happy indeed. The fool doesn't realize that the money travels with those adventurers. They are the whole reason this city is still here. They keep the monsters back, and crime at a minimum."

Robert nodded, finally understanding how his father had gotten that information from Jack.

They spent an hour at the builder's guild, discussing with the board makers what they needed for the stairs, upstairs landing, and the new counter. Robert was willing to do the repairs and construction himself, but his father told him he had made more than enough in the past month to hire out the labor. Getting a definite time when the workers would arrive in the morning, they turned to leave.

"We'll make a quick stop at home to pick up some supper, before heading out to see my other stores. I want to show you some of the things that I've been throwing out, that I think you could sell."

"Alright," Robert readily agreed, thrilled at how his father worked out a method where he was getting rid of unwanted garbage, and yet benefited them both by giving Robert things to sell, and cutting his father's trash bill.

As they sat down at the supper table, Robert asked, "How do you intend to ship the goods over to me from your other stores? That will cut into the money you would save from the trash bill."

"It may, but I would still be saving money. I'll probably just use Rupert and Hugh again. They're dependable."

"The two men who brought me those crates in the beginning?" asked Robert, stirring his food around on his plate with a frown. It was a casserole with meat and potatoes, and a thick gravy to hold the bread crust on.

"Yes, why? Do you know something?" Hector asked, stopping in mid-chew to look at the boy.

"They mentioned something odd while they waited for me to come down the stairs. I'm not sure they intended for me to overhear it. You know how sound travels kind of funny in there, before the shelves went up."

"Really? What things did they say?"

Robert thought about what they had said. It had been a whole month since he had heard them whispering to each other, but their words had stayed with him, because of how odd they seemed.

"They mentioned something about needing to report to their boss, that the store wasn't as destroyed as they thought it should have been."

His dad finished chewing in silence as he thought about that. Robert ended up finishing his meal in silence as well. Maybe that adventurer would show up tomorrow with something interesting to tell him.