[AVALOR – THE NEXT DAY]
"Oh my…look at that…that's dragon armor! That's worth a fortune!" Wain said in amazement as the group walked into the Golden Parlor.
There were many famous shops in Avalor…among them was the Golden Parlor. It was conveniently located in the center of the city and made a name for itself as being the only place to carry a SSS-mythic sword known as "Calibur". Once this little detail became public knowledge; the shop was an instant success. Crowds of players swarmed the shop attempting to buy the sword, with no success. Oddly, the item appeared to be "non-transferable."
"Good morning! Welcome to the Golden Parlor, we have the finest…" The shopkeeper said as he abruptly stopped mid-sentence. The group expected to hear some condensing comment about scrubs not welcomed or a polite 'we don't serve your kind.' Instead, the shopkeeper simply remained silent while staring at Arthos.
After a very uncomfortable silence, the shopkeeper cleared his throat and said, "apologies…I don't believe we have met before. Can you tell me your name sir?"
"Me? Oh, I'm Arthos…this is my family Kristan, Wain, and Hector."
"Arthos…Arthos…" He repeated the name as if in a trance…lost in deep thought.
"We came here to redeem these gear and weapon tickets." Arthos said as he interrupted the awkward silence.
"Yes! Yes…of course…whatever you need, we will provide. From now on, this shop will be your exclusive shop for amor, gear, and whatever else you may require. If we don't have it in stock, we will scavenge the world over for you," the shopkeeper said with earnest.
"On top of that, we offer you a 15% discount on any items in stock…you will not find a better deal anywhere in Avalor," the shopkeeper said with confidence.
"Awesome…thank you. For now, we are just interested in redeeming these tickets." Arthos said as he handed the tickets over to the shopkeeper.
"Pompy! Pompy! Where is that blasted assistant! Pompy!"
A short and stout grumpy man walked out from the backroom. His face and expressions were too course and scary to be "customer-facing".
"What do you want?" Pompy answered rudely…not caring that there were customers in the shop.
"Raid tickets! Here…fetch the gear immediately or I will have your head." The shopkeeper commanded.
A few minutes later, Pompy returned with one Turtle Shield, Bear Claw Longsword, Bear Staff, and one Blaze tome.
"If the gear does not fit well, please come back to see us…we have close ties with the best tailors and craftsmen." The shopkeeper said as the group departed from the shop.
[…]
"Who was that?" Pompy asked.
"That is the future…HE is finally here...at long last." The shopkeeper said with excitement.
"You mean…"
"Yes…and we must prepare."
[…]
"Was it just me…or was that very weird?" Kristan asked the group as they walked into the crowded street.
"Very weird." Hector replied dryly.
"Yeah, but we managed to score a nice discount and this new gear." Arthos replied with a smile of appreciation as he looked at his inventory.
"So, what do we do now?" Wain asked the group.
"It would be great if we could raid the next dungeon while the 2x coin drop event is active…but last night I was reading the terms and conditions on the Dungeon Raid ticket. It says that a 24-hour notice must be given to the Guild & Dungeon Registration Office."
"Really? Can I see the ticket?" Wain asked surprised by the unusual condition.
Arthos handed the ticket over. A group of heroes sitting at a nearby café glanced over at the party…then resumed their conversation.
"It say's here that in addition to giving 24-hour notice, a minimum party size is required to enter a dungeon. For C-rank dungeons the minimum is 4 people, B-rank is 5, A-rank is 6, and S-rank is 7 heroes." Wain said as he examined the raid tick inside his inventory screen.
"Is tomorrow ok for everyone to raid the next dungeon?" Arthos asked the group.
They all nodded in agreement.
"Even though we can't enter the dungeon today…we should go check out the locations. We can complete our daily quest on route…then decide on which one to tackle." Kristan suggested.