Is it wrong to fleece adventurers at the item shop?

Visiting the temple to spend some of my hard earned, accumulated Karma. The thought is very tempting right now. So very, very tempting. I can't give in though. Not yet anyway. I really should wait until the last vestiges of the Scarlet Rash have faded at least.

A bath in the salty water of the sacred pool won't aggravate it, but it would be considered bad manners to visit the temple while sick. When sick and in need of the attention of a priest of priestess you usually call for them to visit you. I really don't want to upset Wislawa over a trivial matter like that. Not when I can just a wait a few more days anyway. That would be so very silly. Oh well, at least it's something I can look forward to in the next days.

In the meantime I put a tag on the jar with the fresh balm and take it to the shop, where I put it on the counter.

Elzbieta is quick to raise an eyebrow.

"More balm?"

"More balm. Just in case anyone else catches the Scarlet Rash."

She nods and grabs the jar, to put it on the shelf with the other alchemical products.

I take care of the ledger in the meantime, entering my most recent putchase of ingredients. There is a small pile of bronze Crown sitting atop the strong chest below the counter too.

"Oh, did someone drop by while I was out?"

She nods, as she returns to the counter. As she speaks up she sounds a little wistful.

"Zofia and Czeslaw dropped by to get some stamina potions, one for each of them, before heading out."

I flash her a smile and enter that sale into the ledger as well.

"Thinking about rejoining the group already?"

She scratches the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Maybe. A little? Not right away, but … you know, eventually?"

It's a feeling that is both understandable and relatable, thus I simply nod without saying anything. I just pull her into a hug after closing the ledger again. For a moment we just stand there like that, then a soft whimper from the other room reaches our ears.

Elzbieta hugs me back tightly once more before letting go.

"I better check up on Ulryk. It should just about be time for his next meal. Can you take over here again for the time being?"

Since the boy is already awake, and by now calling for his mother a little more vocal, I laugh out loud, which in turn seems to startle Ulryk temporarily. Enough so to turn his crying into sounds of curiosity and wonder instead.

"You go. Don't let him wait."

I don't just stand behind the counter though. That might still be a little too much for me in the long run. Instead I get a chair, my enchanted lantern and my notebook and make myself comfortable. There are still some fever dream distorted vestiges of that enchantment for a hearthstone spooking around my mind after all. I better put them down on paper before they really drive me mad.

Ulryk quickly quiets down, as his mother takes care of his needs. That she sings him a song about another of Ksawery's curious adventures probably helps too. These songs may be all time favorites among slightly drunk adventurers at inns or campfires, but the tune, the verses and rhymes certainly have been crafted with a much younger audience in mind as well. One doesn't have to understand the words to know that it's quite cheerful.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

I listen in a little as well, while I note down some of the basic ideas I have for this new enchantment. My notes are still a chaotic mess so far, but that's alright. I'll have to go through several circles of design, analysis and redesign first before I can even think about giving this a try anyway.

Enchanting a hearthstone that only ever heats the house's hearth as much as you want it to when you want it to, is not exactly a trivial project. I need to consider not only triggers but general environment conditions as well. And of course it's supposed to last. I don't want to renew an enchantment like that every winter.

Of course, in theory that would be easy money, but only until my customers get fed up with it and just go back to using their fireplaces the old fashioned way. And besides, I don't want to go around the village renewing the very same enchantments time and again either. I can think of a great many things that would be more fun than that. Yes, I'd much rather focus on ever new projects instead. That so much more productive and fun.

In the end I decide to use a double enchantment approach with quadruple circles each. It's quite possibly my most complex enchantment yet, well beyond even my triple enchantments that only used comparatively simple circles so far.

One enchantment will be for heating while the other will be for cooling. Each will be triggered by a key phrase to make sure there will be no accidents. And each of the two enchantments will work relative to the ambient temperature, while being variable in regards to how much they heat up or cool down and for how long they do so. I don't add an effect that changes the hearthstone's temperature back to the ambient temperature after its active phase ends. That would be overkill. If it cools down or heats back up at a natural pace it'll be good enough. At least for me and a first prototype.

There is just one thing still troubling me. Well, one thing other than the countless individual runes I still have to work out. I'll need a potent object upon which to place the enchantment.

Any heat resistant stone would do for a simple enchantment that just raises or lowers the temperature a little, permanently. But for something more potent and as complex as what I have in mind? No, that needs something else as an anchor. Something rare. Something carefully refined and shaped.

A dragons core would do for sure, but let's not go there. Most dragons would take offense at the idea alone. If word got out that I used one for a hearthstone, I would risk drawing the ire of any dragon near or far. The only thing that would irk them even more would be actual dragon scale armor. Oh my, yes, that gets them really mad.

Well, that idea is out. What other options do I have? Petrified heartwood of an ancient dryad? Well, yes, that might just work. It's not like I'm building an actual furnace after all. Dryads might have strong opinions about my use of such a rare and treasured material too though and as an alchemist I can't really risk drawing their ire either.

I'm half tempted to just drop the idea. There is a reason why most houses, even mansions or keeps of nobles, do not have a hearthstone. I run my fingers through my hair and sigh long and hard.

It's enough to draw the attention of Elzbieta who is still nursing her boy. Holding him carefully she comes over.

"Something the matter?"

I flash her an embarrassed smile.

"Nothing you need to worry about. I'm just wondering what I could use to anchor the enchantment for a hearth stone. It's proving surprisingly tricky. Most materials that could easily take the heat of a fireplace without suffering any damage are either hard to get or have other downsides. Sometimes both. You know, things like dragon cores and petrified dryad heartwood."

She snorts in amusement.

"Uhu. I can see how those might be tricky. Let me guess, a normal brick won't do?"

I shake my head and close the notebook for now.

"No. Not for the enchantment I have in mind. A rather fancy hearthstone that can either warm or cool the house."

She chuckles softly and rubs Ulryk's back as he finishes with his meal.

"Knowing you that probably isn't all there is to it. So, if a normal brick won't do, but the real fancy monster materials aren't an option either, how about the core of an earth elemental? Possibly a rather powerful one, so it'll be large enough? Olgierd could probably polish it into shape or maybe he could even fashion some kind of sturdy setting for it, not unlike the quartz for that shield."

I blink in surprise. An earth elemental's core or heart might just work. It will still be tricky to acquire one, but nearly to the same degree as the one of a dragon. I nod slowly.

"That might just work."

I nod again, but this time with a mischievous smirk.

"Since you are so full of wisdom today, I have another question for you."

She blinks in surprise, but before she can say anything I continue.

"What do you want with the cucumbers for dinner tonight?"