The Understudy of an Alchemist

71. Sleeping On A Bench

By the time I re-entered the tavern, almost everyone had fallen asleep upon chairs, tables and some even on the floor. Mothers clutching their sons, and men clutching their wives, almost no one was sleeping alone. Frowning, I scanned the room, but there was no sign of Varian or even Quirin.

They must already have gone to sleep.

As I scoured the room one final time, I realised that my satchel was still sitting upon the bar countertop. Groaning, I cautiously stepped over a man's head as he snored as loudly as an evening steam train. Shoving a bar stool aside as quietly as possible, I looped my arm around the strap of the bag, and prepared to walk over to the tavern's back room and locate Varian-

"It's a nice pair of shoes that you have."

The hairs upon my neck prickled in shock, as I whirled around to where Feldspar was sitting upon one of the barstools, drinking from a dented looking Bierkrug. I blanched in surprise, confused by this statement. My eyes moved down my feet, at which I tapped my toes against the brick layered floor. I'd gotten the boots second hand, and as of which they were two sizes too big, and leather was stretched. And despite my best attempts to be careful with them, the toes and heels of them were scuffed as a result of the many times that I would trip.

Not exactly something that I'd consider nice.

He took another sip from the metal mug before continuing. "It's a shame that the sole is broken." Within an instant I realised, and opened the flap of my bag and sorted through the contents. My black flats were still in there since I'd put them in my bag and forgotten about them the day that Cassandra had gotten her hands on the third incantation.

"Oh." I held up the broken one, before looking back over at Feldspar. "Thank you." He shrugged at my reply. "No problem. You know, I could fix them if you'd like." My heart skipped at beat at the sheer idea. I looked back down at the shoe nestled in my hand. Despite it looking impractical, they were probably the best pair of shoes that I'd ever owned. I'd choose to wear them over my boots any day.

But it was a luxury that I couldn't afford. I slipped the shoe back into my satchel and closed the flap. "I'd like that. I'd like that a lot, but.....I wouldn't be able to pay you. And it's unfair for me to waste your time and effort like that." Feldspar shrugged once more. "Unfortunately, I am unable to perform under my usual work practises, since we're currently in a full scale evacuation. And I myself tend to quite enjoy doing my work. That shoe of yours, it just needs a new sole. That would take ten minutes to fix at the latest. If anything, you'd be giving me an opportunity to do something that I enjoy than let the boredom consume me."

I hesitated once more. His offer was incredibly tempting, yet the guilt that may come with that offer swarmed over any other thoughts that I may have. "But I won't have anything to give-" I started once more, but the shoemaker waved me off before I even had the chance to finish. "This could be a one-time thing. No strings attached at all, under the condition that you don't tell anyone that I did this for no charge." He gave me a sly smile. "Offering my services for free isn't exactly a good business practice."

His beam was infectious, at which I finally nodded and re-opened my bag, placing the flat upon the table beside him; before a realisation suddenly hit me. "Wait, but you don't have your tools with-" But he dumped a large carpet bag upon the counter before I could even finish my sentence. "I have some essentials with me." Feldspar then patted the stool beside him. "The thing that you can do to repay me is at least keep me company."

Obliging, I scrambled upon the chair and leaned forward slightly, so I could see him removing the miniscule little nails holding the flat's sole in place with a pair of pliers. I had to admit, it was quite mesmerising to watch.