Dungeon Item Shop - Chapter 133: Product Development (Patreon)

Fresh plays around with a ball of kobold fluff, trying to figure out what to make out of it. But she can’t really think of too much. It’s soft and fluffy and warm, so it’s great for tailoring with. Maybe Jubilee can make some clothes out of it? Should they sell clothes?

“Jubilee? Should we sell clothes?”

“What? Like robes and stuff?”

“Mm,” says Fresh as she nods back at Jubilee, who is standing next to her just behind the counter. “What’re you doing?” she asks curiously, watching as Jubilee walks along the ‘wall’ of the solid stone staircase that leads upstairs and knocks on it.

“Looking to see if we can bust this up a little,” says Jubilee.

“Why?”

“You’re gonna do your work in the basement, right? So I figured we could just put a shaft here that slides down,” they explain, gesturing down to the floor. “That way we won’t have to carry armor and weapons down the stairs a hundred times a day, we can just chuck it into the hole and it will fall down into the basement where we’re going to lock you inside of.”

“Huh?!”

“It’s a joke, goo-brain.”

“Oh.” Fresh thinks for a second, but then nods. “That’s a really good idea, Jubilee! If we make it big enough, we can slide on it too!”

“Yeah, no, we’re not going to do that,” says Jubilee. “Or do you want to end up like chimney-guy?”

Fresh frowns, a little disappointed and returns to her work of making new items. She sets the fluff down, still not sure just yet. Maybe some stuffed animals? Maybe she could enchant some stuffed animals with moonwater? She wonders what that would do. Pushing it to the side, she slides the small magical crystal towards herself and looks at it.

It’s a small shard, about the length of her hand from her longest finger down. It feels almost like glass, but it’s warm to the touch. She had asked the salesman why these were nowhere else to be seen in the other city. He explained to her that they only worked on the mountain. Something about mystical energies or whatever, she didn’t really get it. But if you leave the mountain, the crystals lose their magic. They weren’t so expensive either, this small one in her hand was only about twenty Obols. Though, she supposes that the price is relatively cheap for her now. Back during her first days here, it would have seemed like an impossible fortune.

Her eyes wander back and forth between the two things and she gets her idea, jumping up excitedly to run up the stairs. Basil and Shamrock are sitting outside on the balcony and Fresh waves at Basil, who turns around to look at her as she runs past them towards the pantry. She’s glad that the two of them are getting along, even if they’re just sitting outside without saying a word to each other.

As she opens the pantry door, the lantern flies out and heads straight towards the balcony. Grabbing some fabric rolls from the shelf, she quickly runs back downstairs and sets to work, carefully retracing the steps in her mind, as she begins to make a stuffed animal. Just like she did together with Jubilee back in the old house. Ignoring the surprised squeak from the balcony upstairs, she sits there hunched over and begins fiddling with her latest project.

Jubilee sits down next to her, writing a list for something.

First she takes the roll of beige cloth and cuts out a few large pieces, then she starts sewing them together to make a roundish shape for a head and four similar tubes for the legs.

(Fresh) uses: [Craftsman: Tailoring{Snip}]

(Fresh) uses: [Craftsman: Tailoring{Sew}]

Afterwards, she grabs the crystal, holding it tightly in her hands. It radiates a deep warmth out into her and she tries to do the same back to it. Closing her eyes, she thinks of all the warm things that she can. She isn’t sure if it does anything, but she feels better having done it. She wants the crystal to know her intentions for it, if it is even capable of such a thing. It continues to glow with a gentle, spring shade that covers her hands and glows no brighter or dimmer than before. But it’s continued calmness is a relaxing sight for her and it puts her mind at ease.

Grabbing some fabric, she wraps it gently around the crystal, making the naked body. After that, she sews the head on to the front of the long-end and then the four legs beneath it. Then, grabbing a couple big pieces of kobold fluff, she attaches them to the body, wrapping them around the crystal.

Fresh looks at her creation, smiling a giddy smile. But it’s still missing something. Something important… “Ah!” says Fresh as she realizes, running back upstairs and then down a second later, carrying two black buttons and some thread of the same color. Carefully, she sews the eyes on one at a time, making sure that the buttons are firmly attached and then, taking the thread, she starts making a big, goofy smile on the stuffed creature’s face underneath a black nose.

(Fresh) uses: [Craftsman: Tailoring{Sew}]

Though as she works, she turns around, hiding the project from Jubilee. To cap it off, she reaches back and snatches the inkwell from Jubilee, dipping each of the bottom of the legs into it once to paint the feet black. Delighted, Fresh holds out the little stuffed sheep before herself, its glossy button eyes staring back at her, together with its wide smile. She lets out a noise, that is either a gasp or a delighted squeal or a mixture of both, as she looks at it. Remembering what the salesman had told her, she leans forward and purses her lips, blowing gently onto its face as she thinks about what she wants it to do.

The stubby legs of the tiny, stuffed sheep, filled with kobold fluff, start moving back and forth stiffly, as it tries to walk in mid-air. Barely able to hold her giggle in, she sets it down onto the counter, planting her head flat down behind it with her cheek against the wood, as she watches it march straight forward along the counter in an awkward locomotion.

Jubilee hasn’t noticed yet, still engrossed in their work, whatever it is.

The little sheep marches forward and Fresh smiles, unable to hide it any longer as she eagerly awaits Jubilee’s reaction.

“What the fuck?” Jubilee looks down at the fluffy thing walking across the counter, leaning back in surprise.

“Bleeeeeeh~!” bleats Fresh from the side, as the sheep passes Jubilee, walking over their papers as it runs straight along the counter. Jubilee turns their head, watching it walk away without a care in the world.

“The fuck is that supposed to be?” asks Jubilee.

“It’s a sheep!” says Fresh both excited and at the same time let-down, since Jubilee didn’t recognize it.

The sheep, having moved at a slight right-ward angle, walks off of the counter and flops down to the ground. “AH!” Fresh jumps to her feet, looking at the thing. It simply lands on its side, its legs still moving in the same mechanical rhythm, but now finding no ground to walk on. Fresh sighs in relief, seeing that it’s okay.

“You know - ” Jubilee looks back at her as they talk, but then stops abruptly, as their eyes run along the counter. Apparently, having now seen the smear of ink from the sheep’s wet feet, they follow the trail towards its end, their eyes lowering down right before themselves, as they stare at the list which they had been writing for the last half hour. A trail of ink, of smeared, tiny footsteps runs across it, ruining the entire top half of the page. Jubilee’s head shoots back up, looking at Fresh who has already begun sneaking up the first stairs in a bid to make an early escape. The girl freezes the second their eyes reach her. “YOU DUMB-ASS!” yells Jubilee, pointing a finger at her angrily. “GET BACK HERE AND CLEAN THIS UP!”

Fresh yelps, running up the stairs as Jubilee gives chase. “Nooo~!” Frantically, she tries to run away, already making a mental plan to escape to the pantry and lock herself in until Jubilee calms down. Sprinting up the stairs as fast as she can she nearly reaches the top, just as something grabs her ankle from behind. She falls forward, catching herself at the top of the staircase. “Basiiiiiil~!” yells Fresh, dramatically reaching for the distant balcony door.

Basil turns around, looking through the open door from her chair to look at her. “Yes?”

“Jubilee is going to eat meeeeeEEEIAH-!” Fresh yelps, as something drags her back down the stairs. The last thing she sees is Basil waving an uneasy goodbye to her, not having bothered to get up from her chair outside, leaving the girl subjected to her horrible fate.

The next day, Fresh makes several more stuffed plushies, starting with a chicken. But that project was quickly scrapped as soon as the others found out. She sighs, deciding that maybe she should just stick with sheep for now. She takes extra care to let their inky feet dry first this time, before setting them to life.

“They’re pretty cute. But what do they do?” asks Basil, looking at the sheep that Fresh is holding.

“What do you mean? It’s a sheep,” explains the girl. “What’s it supposed to do?”

“I don’t know? Does it… does it give stats or anything like that?”

Fresh blinks, looking at the sheep and then back at Basil. “Bleeeeeeh~” bleats Fresh at the priestess, setting the sheep down and letting it walk towards her across the floor. It bumps into the priestess’ leg and topples over, its own legs still flailing helplessly in the air. All they can do is walk straight ahead. But Fresh thinks that’s already impressive enough, even if the others didn’t seem to think so.

Regarding the mushroom snacks, she’s also managed to figure out the trick to keeping them hard. By coating the exterior with a thick, sweet syrup and then hardening it over fire, they would get a solid, non-sticky glaze that holds the dough in place. She forms each of them into balls that are about the size of the gap between the tip of her index finger and her thumb. They come in the usual orange, green and purple variants. What’s very exciting for her is however, the fact there are also blue and red mush-mushes which apparently live down on the other side of the mountain. So she ends up buying some of those as well, though they’re a little more expensive.

[Dungeon Snack] {Green}

A ball of dense, hearty sweet-dough. Coated with a crystallized honey-jam lacquer.

+ [5 DEX]

“That’s a terrible name,” says Jubilee.  Fresh sticks her tongue out at them and proceeds to make the rest. Each color of ball corresponds to a different raised stat and most importantly, because of the lacquer and dry dough, they have a long shelf-life.

“See?” she says, sliding the bowl over to her friends. “We can sell them individually for a few Obols a piece, or - !” she pulls out a little sachet that she has decorated with a ribbon. “We sell little baggies like this one, that have one of each color!”

Jubilee inspects the bag, handing it off to Basil and Shamrock. “These could work, good job,” says her friend and Fresh smiles, feeling pleased with herself. She even remembered to put a little salt in each of them, so not only do they taste better, but that also helps raise their shelf stability even more.

“I like them too,” agrees Basil, playing with one of them.

Shamrock takes one, lifting it up to his helmet. He presses it against one of the slits. It doesn’t fit. “Ah!” says Fresh. Seeing this, she gets up to help him. “Hold on, Shamrock. I’ll get a kni-“ He just presses harder, crushing the ball into the slit and breaking off the sides of it that crumble down to the table. He nods once, apparently also approving.

“Tasty.”

+ [Stat Boost] (Dungeon Snack) {Red} + [5 STR]

“Are you ever going to take that fucking thing off?” asks Jubilee.

“No,” says Shamrock, grabbing another one and getting up.

Fresh raises a finger, explaining to him. “The buff only works once. If you eat a different one it will replace the old buff.”

He looks down at the thing in his hand and shrugs indifferently, cramming the next one into his helmet. “Tasty,” is all that he says, as he walks back towards the balcony.

+ [Stat Boost] (Dungeon Snack) {Orange} + [5 LOV]

“So, let’s get down to brass-tacks,” says Jubilee, tapping a single finger against the table.

“Huh?” asks Fresh.

“We have candy and we have toy sheep, what about some equipment?”

“Equipment?”

“Yeah? Goo-brain. We’re the ‘dungeon’ item shop, remember? People who go into dungeons need weapons and armor.”

Fresh thinks, scratching her cheek for a moment. “There aren’t any goblins here, but I can make glass weapons? But I’ll need a lot more glass from you then, Jubilee.”

Jubilee gets up. “Okay, let’s get to work. We’re opening soon.”

“Huh? We are?” ask Fresh and Basil at the same time. Jubilee nods, grabbing some of the candies as they head back to their room.

“Yeah,” they say plainly, waving both of them off with their hand full of candy. “Tomorrow.”

“HUH?!”