Over the next few days, Trevor fell into a comfortable cycle.

Mr. Tiggles would wake him up in his locked home no matter how well fortified it was. The young man attempted to block the doors and windows, but the cat would always make it inside with no evidence towards tampering. It was always moments before the magical alarm would sound, too, with lots of purring and face rubbing the moment Trevor said something.

Next, at 7 o’clock sharp, he would be in the communal space. Adabelle had eventually informed him that the building was what the map indicated was the Hero House, and their homes were just adjacent to it. She didn’t tell him that in the morning, of course. Nothing changed there.

Just as the clock ticked over, Adabelle emerged from outside, barely awake. Every morning she’d look at him and ask if he wanted eggs, and he said yes, before she got cooking. Once she was done, she took an apple and left. Trevor had seen people essentially sleepwalk through work before, retail wasn’t very exciting, but watching this supposed noblewoman from another world go through the motions was oddly intriguing.

Once he was fed, the young man walked to the market district. It took a couple of days, but Gad did notice him and made sure to greet him every morning. The dwarf was usually grumpy, but in a good-spirited kind of way that Trevor didn’t mind.

Trevor’s first destination was always the market district. Wagons came by the daily, he noticed, and he was quick to lend a hand to anyone who needed something heavy moved but didn’t have the labor for it. A part of him knew he shouldn’t work on his so-called break, but he knew he would go crazy if he didn’t have something to do.

Sometimes he would help Thimbleden out and make deliveries so he could explore town. Nothing quest-worthy, just odds and ends for people who couldn’t make it out to the market to retrieve what they ordered, but Trevor was happy to help. It allowed him to get a better understanding of his Power, which he was gradually figuring out about as he went.

He was warned about leaving town without something to defend himself from monsters, and decided to stay inside the walls. They were few and far between, and generally pretty weak, but it wasn’t anything Trevor wanted to tussle with. There was plenty to do in Tosa, anyway.

On occasions he would find himself stopping with the dwarven family of Gad, Froil, and Dag. They were always eating together by the river at the same bench at the same time. Froil apparently had a great fondness for bread, because that was often what she brought. Trevor was treated to the delicious taco bread balls once, but also partook in sandwiches, including one that was essentially a BLT with black tomatoes and yellow lettuce. It was still delicious.

Visiting Drelik was a daily occurrence. Trevor was given permission to use the gate behind the house in case the elderly dwarf didn’t answer, and had to do it often. The sound of sculpting was constant in the backyard pavilion, and the young man would often pull up a chair without the craftsman noticing to watch. The statue was making real headway, though it wouldn’t be complete for some time.

At the end of the day, Trevor would always run home using the Horn of Swift Heroics. It was a good exercise, and the increase to his Stamina stat was incredibly helpful. He had forgotten how great it felt to run since doing so on Earth always had the caveat of causing his knee to hurt more once he was done. Being Summoned brought him no pain, all gain, and he was still silently thankful for the elf that brought him here.

Trevor was only silent on this because Jackson had not returned yet, which left Adabelle becoming colder and colder with every tiring day that passed.

Though he managed to get her to talk over evening meals that he insisted on preparing since she made breakfast, she seemed reluctant to delve into any details. Adabelle insisted that she would calm down eventually, as soon as the mayor returned, and that work was getting more and more demanding. Whenever she realized he was getting her to talk more, she would get that surprised look in her face before excusing herself.

That was something he wouldn’t fault her for. He saw more than one person on Earth become overwhelmed from work, even when it was over things that weren't what most people would consider a big deal. It was perfectly acceptable to be disgruntled after a long day’s work, especially when it had been sprung on her like this. Trevor was happy to provide a warm meal with his admittedly adequate cooking skills to help her wind down.

Besides, there was still no sign of Wayne or Rashie and she was obviously worried despite her insistence that they could handle themselves.

This morning happened the same as any other morning, though Mr. Tiggles didn’t join him. Things had been getting colder and colder despite everyone’s insistence that the cold months were over. Trevor was bundled up tight in a thick red jacket and standing outside of Thimbleden’s Sundries when the man himself came to open the shop.

The gnome regarded Trevor for a moment before speaking. “Would you mind helping me out in the shop this morning?”

Trevor shrugged. “It’s no problem to me. What do you need?”

Thimbleden seemed surprised by the easy affirmative and smiled. “Torlock doesn’t do great in weather this cold,” he explained as he unlocked the shop and gestured for Trevor to enter. It was warm inside from the Heating Stones, and the young man pulled his coat into his inventory. “So he will be late coming in. No fault of his own, of course, he grew up in warmer climates so I do understand, but I need assistance this morning.”

“I got it. Yeah, I don’t mind helping out. This kind of thing is exactly in my wheelhouse. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll get it done,” he said as he looked around Thimbleden’s Sundries.

It was one of those stores where you could find anything you needed, just not easily. Gnome stores, as Trevor had found out, were all odd. They were built in ways that were so far from what he was used to on Earth that he had nearly gotten lost in the small shop trying to find a comb for his hair.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

The typical Earth supermarket was designed to get you to spend as much as they could wring you for. The colors, product placement, and ambiance were carefully crafted in order to make you look at something and go, “I don’t need this, but I want it,” and put it in your cart.

Thimbleden’s Sundries was a chaotic mess. Hammers were next to toothbrushes, nails were next to hairbrushes, and locks were next to mirrors. There was a box full of oddly twisted sticks freshly taken from trees, and the young man couldn’t decide what their purpose was but felt it was too late to ask. From what Trevor understood, the proprietor made most of his money ordering exotic things from far away, such as the Floatstone, but there was enough of a gnome presence in town that he would have stayed in the black regardless.

“Didn’t know about Torlock and cold, though,” Trevor started. “He always seemed like the really hardy type to me, I guess.”

“Looks are deceiving, but it’s also unnaturally cold,” Thimbleden said as he moved around to the register. “Things will get better once Jackson gets back, I imagine, but until then we’re just going to have to suffer through it.”

Trevor frowned as he approached the counter. It looked like it was made of sanded and polished driftwood “What does Jackson have to do with the weather?”

“Not so much Jackson, but-“ Thimbleden paused before looking up from the coins he was counting. “You sincerely don’t know?”

Trevor shook his head, but understood context clues enough to figure out where this was going. “Lady Adabelle, somehow?”

The gnome harrumphed as if he had just given away some great secret, and then sighed. “Yes, Lady Adabelle,” he admitted. “I won’t pretend I know all of the details, but the weather always shifts when Jackson leaves town unannounced. This is supposed to be a comfortable time of year, but the weather’s colder. I’ve also seen heat waves in winter and rains that go on for days during droughts. It’s mostly harmless, just inconvenient.”

“Huh, that’s interesting.”

“Interesting as it may be, please don’t bring it up. We’re no doubt sure Lady Adabelle is aware of it, but bringing attention to the weather may make things worse. We’ve learned to ride it out.”

With this information, Trevor couldn’t help but wonder what Adabelle’s Power was. It seemed to be something to do with the weather, and tied to her mood, but there was bound to be more than that. Perhaps it only went out of control when she was tired? Or distracted?

“Well, enough gossip, we have a store to run,” Thimbleden announced with a clap of his hands. “Could you please go and get the boxes stacked in the middle of the stock room? They’re all things that don’t have spots to go, so any empty space will do.”

Trevor looked around. “Any empty space?”

“Any, my boy. That’s the gnomish shopkeeper way.”

Shrugging, Trevor got to work. The back room had an open floor with several of the best sellers lining the wall. Unlike the area for customers, this one was incredibly well organized. Everything was clearly labeled and placed with like items that followed a noticeable theme.

There were a few boxes in the center of the room. As Trevor reached down to pick them up, he realized that the action wasn’t strictly necessary. With an amused smirk, he pulled each of the boxes into his inventory and walked back outside. Thimbleden gave him a strange look as he flipped the sign on the door from closed to open, but didn’t ask.

Once Trevor found an open spot, he mentally unpacked the boxes just as he had the pickles from Jackson’s first quest. After that, it was incredibly easy to stack them exactly how he wanted in the empty spaces. He could pull them out upside down, sideways, backwards, or with the label clearly facing him. They would always come out the way he ordered them to, and that made the process smooth.

So smooth that he got back into his old groove in no time, and without all the existential dread. Trevor never minded the manual labor of retail work. It was always the lack of people on staff, or the customers that didn’t understand that he was a person and not a machine programed to get them what they wanted, that caused issues for him.

His thoughts went out to the people who would be struggling because he was no longer there, but pushed it out of his mind. That isn’t proper vacation thinking, he thought to himself as he worked during his vacation.

People came and went as he fulfilled Thimbleden’s request. Most of them were gnomes, though there was a smattering of other guests that came and went. He wasn’t required to assist with customers, nor did the proprietor ask or expect him to, until one came searching.

“Good morning, Thim,” a man said as he spoke to Thimbleden at the counter. “I’m here looking for Trevor? We heard that he was usually here in the mornings, and I’m hoping I didn’t miss him.”

“Good morning, Greer,” the gnome greeted. “Trevor’s around, but what do you need him for?”

“Dory’s got a quest for him to deliver something to Melvirn,” Greer explained.

“Quest?” Trevor asked immediately, popping his head around the corner to see the Halfling speaking with Thimbleden. Greer looked like the scaled down version of a blond man, and was covered in thick clothes. He turned to face the Summoned.

“Yes, something very important, if you don’t mind,” he said, recognizing Trevor.

“You said Dory, right? Of Dory’s Potions and Alchemical Supplies?”

Greer nodded. “That’s right. The sooner the better, but no rush if you’re busy.”

“Yeah, I don’t mind that.”

Thimbleden nodded. “You go tell Dory he’ll be there shortly.”

“Thank you, Trevor, and you, too, Thim,” Greer said with a bow before running out the front door.

Trevor was intrigued about being called to Dory’s. He had known her shop didn’t have as many customers as the others, and the windows were painted over, but he had wanted to visit someday soon. Apparently, today was just that day. In a rush, he started emptying the last of the stock into its new home before returning the boxes to the back.

“All set, Mr. Thimbleden,” he announced after waiting for a customer to walk away from the counter.

“Thank you, Trevor, you’ve been a big help,” the gnome said with a smile. “Now, I do have to warn you about Dory. She’s a little… different than what you’re used to around here.”

“Oh. But not in like, a bad way, right?”

Thimbleden shook his head. “There hasn’t been an incident since she first arrived here several years ago,” he said, causing Trevor to hesitate. “She’s good people, I just wanted to make sure that you go into her shop with an open mind.”

“Sure, I can do that,” Trevor said. “What should I be expecting?”

“I’m not going to go that far, life should be full of surprises,” the gnome laughed. “Tell me what you think of her next time you visit.”

Trevor snorted, but nodded. “Sure thing, sir,” he said as he started walking towards the door. “Have a good day, then.”

“To you as well, my boy.”