Raile led Attie into the back office, which was a small, but quaint style room. Hanging on the wall was a deed for a cart, which held some form of significance to the merchant. Littered around the edges of the room were a variety of trinkets and old looking artifacts that had, in some cases, started to collect dust.

“Sorry about the clutter. It’s been a tad hectic of late, and I haven’t had the time to really sort through some of the new merchandise,” he said as he walked around the desk in the center of the room, moving a set of tonfas, made of beetle legs of all things, from his chair. It took him a moment of rifling through his desk before he found his notebook, and he opened it to the page that held a pre-written contract.

“Please feel free to look around if you would like. This won’t take long. Otherwise, you’re welcome to sit. Just uh…” He glanced at the chair opposite of him. In it was a beautiful, almost perfect blue, crystal violin. To any average passerby, it might have looked almost priceless. “You can put that on the floor over there. I promise it’s sturdier than it looks.”

He dipped his quill, and started to fill out the details of the contract, laying out terms, quantities, and a variety of other important details. It wasn’t long before he spun the notebook around, offering Attie the quill. “Please take as much time as you need to read over the document. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.”

Raile was a man of his word. Ever since he had started all of this, he had always held to the belief that a merchant should be honest and up front. Loyalty over coin. The coin would always come, so long as the merchant was fair and honest.

The second that the door opened, Attie was curious about every single item in the room. She ran over to the first thing she saw on the wall which was a deed for a cart. Perhaps this was the man's first cart? Maybe that cart was where his merchant career began? These were only guesses running through her mind as she inspected the piece. Around the edges of the room were trinkets and artifacts that caught her attention. Attie was careful to not touch any of these things but she inspected them thoroughly. Her eyes were lit with curiosity as she had never seen some of these things before. 

"It's fine! I like seeing things like this. They are fascinating!" Attie said with crystal clear enthusiasm.

The moved tonfa interested her as she had never seen anything like it. She walked over to the moved tonfa and inspected it, allowing herself to touch them. They felt similar to the legs of a beetle yet she didn't now why. Beetles were small and this was so big! She didn't know about the large bugs except for her wasp friend. But that was a wasp. Large beetles were completely different. After she was done inspecting the tonfas, she headed over to the chair and spotted the beautiful blue crystal violin. She delicately picked it up and inspected it. 

"Whats this?" Attie asked then pointed to the tofas, "And what are those?"

She had seen them before but never had the chance to ask about them. Attie didn't touch the strings and placed it gently on the ground. Anything that sparkled was valuable. Or at least that is what she learned after somebody yelled at her for playing with rupies like they were rocks. She hopped into the chair, placing her hands and feet on the comfy part of the chair and looked at Raile expectantly. When he handed her the contract, she read every bit of it. Not because she was doubtful of the offer but really because she wanted to know what it said. She'd never signed a contract before. Attie took the quill and began to sign the contract. Her handwriting was almost illegible and her signature looked as though it was made by a baby. The only letter readable was the letter A. However, Attie was utterly oblivious to this and simply smiled as she handed the quill back.

"So is that done? Is there anything else?" Attie asked curiously. 

Raile chuckled at her excitement over the many things he kept in his office. It wasn’t often he had people back here, and it was almost refreshing to have someone interested in the various rarities he had come across during his trades and travels.

“Those are Beetle Tonfas. They’re quite durable, and can definitely do some damage in the right hands. That particular set was…erm…a gift from Ayaa’s friend, Lewis. The boy has a bit of a screw loose, but his heart was in the right place. Said something about it being a trophy from when the insects invaded.” He paused. When he said it aloud, it sounded a bit odd. But, alas, the whole this was the truth of the matter.

“Ah, and that, is a Skyshard Violin.” Raile smirked. “That…well, to be honest, I don’t know where I got it. It’s a crazy thing though…makes a beautiful sound when you play it right. Thing is, it’s less about how skilled you are at the instrument, and more on how well you control your emotions.” The merchant shuddered. “Once let a berserker try playing it. Never again…let me tell you.”

As Attie signed the paperwork, Raile took a moment to look it over. No mistakes on my end, and everything seems in order. He took a moment to file the paperwork away, and smiled at Attie.

“Ayaa should be finished at this point,” he said as he pulled out a small pouch and started counting out the coin. Once the agreed upon amount was placed on the table, he put the pouch away, and offered Attie to count the silver he had placed down. “Once you’ve got that, you’re free to go. If you want to stay around longer, feel free. Jayou has quite some sights…a few good bath houses as well as taverns and inns if you need a place to stay.”

He paused, “I would recommend, though, staying away from the gambling barges. They’re in a bit of a shakeup as of late due to a shift in management, so if gambling is your thing, you should probably head to one of the land based ones…”

Attie didn't know much about the insect war, as she had been in a forest following her mother. However she had heard plenty of people speaking about the war. What she could gather was that bug people fought and lost fighting them. Her attention went back to the Skyshard Violin as he described what it was. Attie didn't dare try to play it, in fear that she would end up breaking it somehow. 

Attie looked at the amount of money on the table. It seemed to be around the right price so she didn't bother counting it. Counting was a bit of a challenge for her anyways. Once she was done putting the coins into the pouch, she looked back to the merchant to listen to what he had to say. He described bath houses, taverns, and inns. All of these things sounded pleasant to her although she hadn't ever stayed in an inn before.

"What's a gamble? That sounds like a food!" She said enthusiastically, "Can I eat a gamble?!"