Wandering through the guild, you find a gnome sitting behind a counter, humming happily to himself as he counts a fortune in gold pieces. Looking up at you, he gives a bright smile.
"Greetings and happy returns to you, my young friend! In need of a magicked mount, or perhaps some conjured armor? Can I interest you in a potion, perhaps? I have a brew here that is unique, unequaled, and available only through my humble establishment within these walls!"
After explaining that you are new to this part of the guild, the gnome gives you another broad grin and leans back into his well-padded chair.
"I am certainly glad to see a new customer, and you will be a customer, friend. Any and every wizard on their way up in this great guild becomes a dedicated customer eventually. My name is Baac, and I'll tell you how the gods came to smile on me so."
"You see, once upon a time I was just another medicine maker and part-time distiller scratching for a living down on Copper Walk. I was running the same sagging shop my father and my fatherís mother's aunt had been running since time out of mind. Family trade, you see. Pop loved to tell every customer about the time King Pellinore came in once and bought some heartsweed and willow bark for a headache when he was a young gnome only so tall.
"Anyway, I was keeping the shop since my father retired, mostly living on what the factory workers and their families could pay me, plus what I could get away with charging those rich adventurers who would wander in every so often. I would brew ale and some of the rougher drinks for some of the taverns on the side, but business was still bad. (You wouldn't believe the taxes the city wanted for a half-sized lot in the worst part of town. I could have built a palace in Stormport for that much gold!)
"I knew I needed something to give me an edge over my competitors. There are a lot of herbalist shops and apothecaries around Moorgate, plus the competition the monks give us storekeepers. If you canít find something you can do that the store across town can't, or you can do better, then you are finished in this market. I knew my Alchemy and I knew Herbalism. I even had a smattering of Arcana I picked up in school. If I couldnít find some powder or potion that would do something extra special, then I just wasnít trying hard enough. I was working round the clock, all day in my storefront and all night in my laboratory, for three whole years. Almost every copper coin I wasn't spending on running the store I spent on strange substances from all over Cosrin, even exotic, mysterious goods from ships coming in from across the sea.
One day, in Weeping Skies, I think, I knew I had something. It was a rather foul-smelling sludge, true, but something told me that it was special. I tested it a few times to make sure that it wasnít poisonous, then I closed my eyes and took a drink. It tasted as bad as it smelled (and this coming from a fellow who lost most of his sense of taste after his first three experiments) and it gave me the feeling of butterflies in my stomach. But when I opened my eyes, something was different. I watched the night watchman walk by outside, and it seemed every footstep took an eternity. When I knocked over a tumbler of hydra's bite I had made for the Salty Seadog and was able to catch the liquid in a bucket before it hit the ground, I realized what I had.
"I spent the rest of the night cleaning up its presentation and taste, adding plenty of honey and straining out some of the sludge. Taking a sip of the potion every so often let me get a week of work done in the few hours left before daylight. When the sun rose over Moorgate, I had a banner over my shop proclaiming "FIRST TIME EVER! BAACíS NEW, SOON-TO-BE-WORLD-FAMOUS ZIPPY BREW !" I wasn't happy with the last part, but I figured I could change the name later. With the first hour I had a line down the block, all clamoring for a bottle. I was making money hand over fist, when all of a sudden a mage was at the door.
"Not just any mage, either, but Archmagi Gent himself! I thought I was done for. Mages are renowned for bad tempers, or so I thought at the time. He came in, closed the door, and said to me, "Shopkeep, I come to you with a proposition." And he did have a grand one. I donít remember all the details, but he offered me a shop and quarters in the big, impressive guildhouse, rent-, room-, and board-free. The security there was impeccable and the best part was, I would even get free lessons in magic from the other tutors! In exchange, Iíd join the guild and keep the new potion of mine out of general circulation. I thought about it for a bit. After all, this shop has been in the family for years. In the end though, I took his offer. I took up selling a few other goods, of course, diversifying my inventory, and I teach a bit now and then too. But my lovely elixir is my pride and joy.
"Been here for decades now, never regretted it for a minute. I think back on how I used to sell pills and poultices for ten to a gold piece and I laugh!"
Baac looks back at you with a sparkle in his eye and says, "All you need to succeed is determination, skill, and a dollop of luck, my new friend. Keep that in mind as you work on your studies. Remember old Baac and his wonderful potions!"
Alley back to the library foyer.
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