Crystallis Verdantglass's Arc

Chapter 2 of 18

The glassblower set down the enchanted pane and looked at Crystallis with a different kind of attention. Not the polite wariness from their first exchange of letters. Something sharper. He tapped the glass twice with his knuckle, listening to the ring. "I want to show this to the Silverbrook's owner," the glassblower said. "Tomorrow morning. He's been asking for new windows in the dining room." He paused, studying Crystallis. "But I've been thinking. Why do I need you at all? You just said you'd teach my apprentices. Once they know how to make this, I could supply the inn directly. Cut you out entirely." Crystallis had expected resistance from druids who thought selling was beneath them. He hadn't planned for a buyer who understood the value too well. The glassblower was right. Teaching the craft meant losing control of it. But keeping it secret meant no one would trust it enough to buy. He needed the glassblower to demonstrate the product's worth, and the glassblower needed him to make it legitimate. Neither could move forward alone. "You could," Crystallis said. "But the Silverbrook won't buy from you based on a promise. They'll want proof. Tomorrow, when you show them this pane, I'll be there to explain how the enchantment adapts to stress. How it gets stronger in winter instead of weaker. And when they ask who created it, you can say your workshop did—with a druid partner who guarantees the quality." He met the glassblower's eyes. "We go together, or the inn buys nothing." The glassblower was quiet for a long moment. Then he nodded once. "Together. But I want a contract before we walk through those doors." He pointed toward the window, where the Gothic cabin of the Silverbrook Inn rose against the hillside, its stained glass windows already glowing with afternoon light. "And I want half the profit from anything they order." Crystallis had won the meeting. But the price was splitting his first real sale with someone who now saw the same opportunity he did. He'd proven the market existed. Now he had to share it.