The Adventure Shop

Gelatinous Cube

The evening sun shone through the window as the shop went from noisy to silent. Though peaceful, Dahlia felt as if she was missing something.

She loved what she did and would not want it to change, but she missed the adventurer's when they left her shop.

The sudden exit felt like a void.

Stirring from her thoughts the evening lights made the disarray of her shop noticeable.

New Adventurer's.

Wide eyed. Often all her throughout her shop, would pick things up and misplace them like curious children. She put away the nick nacks left about, some even on the floor as if the prankster wanted to catch his friends off guard.

Luckily none had gone off.

After finishing with that she moved on to cleaning the stacks of books and scrolls left on the floor. Kneeling down, she began going though, organizing, and returning everyone to its place.

The bell above the door rang as the door opened, "Be with you in a minute!" She yelled standing.

As she walked over to the front she heard a scream.

Growling in frustration she knew she missed one of the knick knacks. As she went to go save the unsuspecting customer she made a mental note to talk to Aster about his new protege.

She got to the front where a gelatinous cube had the customer trapped as they were struggling to free themselves.

"Don't struggle. Relax and the block will spit you out." She told the man with brown hair.

The man stopped moving and laid still. As a result the block spit him out. Green covered the man's blue robes and clung to his brown hair and goatee.

"I am so sorry. A new adventurer left these all over my shop. I thought they were all cleaned up. Are you okay?"

The man stood slightly wobbly, as the cube decided to explore the shop on its own.

"I'm fine, Dahlia, don't worry." He chuckled and continued as Dahlia wondered how he knew her name, "I'll have to talk to Ronny about respecting your establishment and keeping his mischievous tendencies away from any of your potential future customers."

"Have you been here before?" Dahlia asked using her bar towel to try to help remove some of the green left behind by the cube.

The stranger looked at her with mischievous and a familiar look in those eyes she would know anywhere.

"Aster?" Dahlia tilted her head with a smile, "Is that really you?"

"Guess you are seeing the real me."

"Really?" Dahlia looked at him thoughtfully, "I never would have considered you being close to my age."

"Technically," Aster said, taking the towel from Dahlia to run through his hair, "I am. I just tend to change forms for my adventurers. It helps others respect the role I need to play in the guild. There has not been one situation that has made me lose the form I chose, except your new guard dog." He said, tilting his head to the cube.

Dahlia smiled as she looked behind her as the cube continued to slowly make its way around the shop.

Keeping it around wouldn't be the worst thing and would be fun to have around.

As long as it didn't snack on any more adventurer's.

Her attention was brought back to the man beside her.

"So the real you huh? Are you certain you are my age?"

"Yes, and also yes. Unless you have another meaning?"