Crystallis Verdantglass's Arc

Chapter 4 of 18

The owner stepped behind the counter and pulled out a leather folder. He opened it, glanced at the glassblower, then at Crystallis. "I'll need pricing by end of day," he said. "And a timeline for installation." Crystallis nodded, already calculating how many panes they could produce in a week. The door opened. A woman in a traveling cloak stepped inside, shaking rain from her shoulders. She looked around the dining room—taking in the tables, the windows, the owner—and her eyes locked on Crystallis. Her face went still. "You," she said. "You're the one who tried to sell enchanted glass in Thornwick three years ago." Crystallis felt the room shift. The glassblower turned to stare. The owner looked up from his folder. "I had a stall there," the woman continued. "Right next to yours. I watched you set up for two weeks. Big display. Promises about durability. Then your partner vanished with the deposit money and the whole thing collapsed." She reached into her cloak and pulled out an onyx locket, its intricate engravings catching the light. "Someone left this behind when they cleared out your booth. I kept it, thinking maybe you'd come back for it." She set it on the counter. "But you never did." The owner's expression changed. The glassblower took a step back. Crystallis picked up the locket, turned it over in his hands. He remembered the stall, the partner, the hollow feeling when the money disappeared. He'd walked away from that failure and built a list of backup plans so he'd never depend on one person again. But here it was, following him. He looked at the owner. "That deal fell apart," Crystallis said. "This one won't. I've got a contract, a workshop, and a product that works. You want guarantees? Test the glass yourself. Break it if you can." The owner studied him for a long moment. Then he closed the folder. "Pricing by end of day," he repeated. "And I want references." Crystallis nodded. The woman picked up the locket and left without another word. The glassblower waited until she was gone, then turned to Crystallis. "You didn't tell me about Thornwick." "It wasn't relevant," Crystallis said. "It is now," the glassblower said. "We get him those references, or this deal dies too."