The Night Rose

"Mark, I think that I heard that Timothy has a wife, right?" Arwin leisurely asked as she continued to look around.

She was feeling nostalgic as well as sad, since she could not help but remember the good old days.

Arwin was pretty familiar with how black markets work. As a previous captain of a pirate, where else could they sell their stolen goods? However, this time sadly, she was not the seller but a buyer.

"Yes, her name is Rosa, and they have been together a long time now," Mark answered emotionlessly, but still curious as to why she asked.

She nodded her head with a hum, "Hmm, do you know anything that she would especially like or that Timothy would like that we could use as a bribe?" Arwin asked with a sweet smile on her face.

"Though, they mostly have everything they need, a promise of cash is still a good option. Some sweets like chocolate that's a rarity here also could work for Rosa. Otherwise, they both are quite straightforward and honest types that you cannot bribe that easily," Mark answered honestly after he thought about it for a while.

"Hmm, too bad, then. Oh well, I guess we just have to wait and see Timothy today and his plans." Arwin responded with a blank expression, completely hiding her emotions.

"Yes, don't worry. I will promise that he will come today and give us his answer," Mark said while walking forward and turning to the left. He then added casually, "We are at the blacksmith now. Be prepared, though he is one of the best, he is also very famous for being a mean old dwarf. Despite that, he still means good even with his rude attitude."

"Boy, I hear you! With that attitude of disrespect with elders, do you think you can get items cheaper? Bah! No chance even when I know you!" Suddenly someone shouted, very unhappy. His voice was deep, that seemed to come from the building. It did not take long for a dwarf without a beard came out.

"Good to see you again, Mark! What would I do without my favorite customer with the head I would want to place at the anvil and swing my hammer down immediately?" The dwarf said sarcastically while looking at Mark.

"My friend, who thinks he is a dwarf but doesn't even have a beard! How could I leave my favorite smith alone? I was just busy lately," Mark said as if it was normal to hear the dwarf 'kind' welcome. He then introduced Arwin, "This is Arwin, my friend, the one who will help me get away from this cursed place, so  I'm working under her now."

The draft looked at Arwin with narrowed eyes, "Really, Mark? That's interesting. If you share this story and idea to me inside my shop, I may consider selling some items to you." The dwarf said before getting back to the inside of his shop.

"Mark, can we trust him at all?" Arwin asked while suspiciously.

"Even before coming to this continent, we used to work together. We were all captured together on our last mission that didn't go well. However, I will trust my life to this dwarf's hands even when he's a mean one," Mark said softly and sincerely as they walked inside the building.

Arwin knew that dwarfs were honest, usually, except money and business. In the money aspect, they were often shrewd. She remembered the dwarf at her headquarters, who did teach her the methods to do business.

'Arwin, remember there is beauty in the numbers, so if you don't even know them or the basic idea of how to do business, you will just have to blindly trust the merchants who will try to swindle you all the time. Here is a good rule to haggle, the merchants say a higher price to test the grounds and see if the customer is stupid or a complete idiot and will buy the product immediately. The haggling is a game to them. But if you are smart enough not to take the bait, they will actually give their last price to you, and that will save you a lot of money. So don't give up learning and be confident!' The dwarf had said that to Arwin before when she had been younger.

She had been a wild one when she was younger. Only being interested in the airships but still, the captain had wanted her to learn the other necessary things like the numbers, reading, and writing. However, she used to skip those lessons often and was scolded a lot because of this.

However, the dwarf had been patient with her and tried to show the world of a number by using airships and the prices to fix them. So Arwin only had good memories of the dwarfs as she had often seen that they are more honest than humans, and she wanted to trust Mark as well, so she followed him inside to the shop.