Crystallis Verdantglass's Arc

Chapter 5 of 18

The glassblower left to check his workshop inventory, promising to return within the hour with a list of past clients who might serve as references. Crystallis stayed in the dining room, watching the owner arrange silverware at empty tables. The owner moved through the room with practiced efficiency, straightening chairs and checking table settings. Crystallis followed at a polite distance, noting the layout. The dining room had new glass panes in every window. The bar area had replaced cracked tumblers last season, judging by the uniformity. But when the owner opened a service door near the kitchen, Crystallis glimpsed a back parlor—smaller, older, with shuttered windows that looked original to the building. The owner closed the door quickly, but not before Crystallis saw dust on the sills and warped wood frames. He pulled out a leather-bound journal from his satchel and flipped to a blank page. The embossed cover caught the light as he sketched the inn's floor plan from memory, marking the main dining room, the bar, and now this back space. He wrote a single line beneath it: *No supplier has touched this room. Why?* When the owner returned to the counter, Crystallis closed the journal and approached. "That parlor in the back," he said. "You planning to use it?" The owner's expression shifted—not defensive, but tired. "It's been closed for years. The windows are too far gone, and I can't afford to replace them until the main room pays off." Crystallis tapped the journal against his palm. "What if I gave you a quote for that space too? Same durability, same terms. You wouldn't have to pay until after the main room proves itself." The owner stared at him. "You're offering to gamble on my business." "I'm offering to solve a problem you've been ignoring," Crystallis said. "If the main room works, you'll want more. I'm just making sure you come back to me instead of someone else." The owner considered this, then nodded slowly. "Get me those references first. Then we'll talk about the parlor." Crystallis left the inn with the journal tucked back in his satchel, the sketch of the unclaimed space already shifting his calculations. He'd come in trying to close one deal. Now he had a foothold for two.