Mixwell was caught off-guard by her question momentarily. "Ah, we're, er, traveling salesponies," he managed to fumble out. "We sell our, er, products out of these. Are they in your way? We'll be moving them just as soon as we're done here, you know, getting our sales permits, here, from city hall..."
By Celestia, he needed to calm down. She didn't seem to be judging anyone at all, so there was nothing to be so afraid of. He took a deep breath. "Is there anything you need? I'm Mixwell Grayham, by the way. Pharmacist."
Nobody will see through my disguise... this time..."Oooh," Rose said, "I see. No, you aren't in my way - at least, it doesn't look like it." She peeked around the side of the wagon, just to check if it was blocking the door at all - it wasn't. "No," she said, "I was just here to sell some maps, actually. I'm a cartographer, you see - what about you? What do you sell?"
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes."Me, or us?" Mixwell asked. "The caravan sells all sorts of things. Trinkets, gadgets, lucky charms, other products, all of... a varying degree of usefulness." He tried not to say that too loudly, so as not to be overheard by his companions. "Myself, I sell certain types of medicine. I keep some... rare... herbal solutions... on hand." Now he was fighting back a self-reprimand for bringing those up. Even caffeine pills were more useful than the herbs the caravan kept him stocked with, but it was what the others wanted him to sell. "And other things."
Nobody will see through my disguise... this time..."Herbal solutions, huh?" Compass Rose asked. She had run across a few snake oil salesmen in her time, and a lot of them had touted the same expression. Needless to say, she wasn't particularly taken. Still, she had seen a few that had actually worked, so she decided to give him the benefit of a doubt. "So what sort of medicine do you carry? Like, what's it cure?"
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes."Um," Rose said, taking a few steps back from the pony, "Why? I mean, why can't you just tell me out here?"
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.Mixwell was momentarily stumped as to what to say to that question. He couldn't very well say that he preferred not to talk about business in front of his business associates; in fact he was having a hard time thinking of something that would make him sound more dishonest than that exact thing. He winced slightly as he finally replied, "Well, I've just gotten into town, and I need to walk around a bit and see what's where while my companions are securing their permits." In his head he was already berating himself for the disingenuity, but at least it was partially true. It was a new city he had to learn about, even if he'd only be here for a few days. "In fact," he added, "didn't you say you're a cartographer? If you have, perhaps, a map of this city, it would be a great help. And it would really help me over there."
Nobody will see through my disguise... this time..."Actually," Rose told him, "I don't have any maps of the town yet. That's why I'm here actually; I just got into town a couple days ago and wanted to get a contract from town hall," She gestured to the building hidden behind the caravan, and put her hoof down, looking carefully at Mixwell. "...But I've got a pretty good look at the town...alright, I'll go with you."
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.After having left Square Root and Tick Tock, Cyclone Black went back up, said farewell to the professor and left the building. He was thinking that he'd might have to sleep outside again tonight, as neither of the two ponies he asked knew of any inns or hotels in the village.
He couldn't help but laugh. He didn't mind sleeping outside, actually. The fresh air and the feeling of freedom... It was a thousand times better then a soft bed.
He was fairly surprised to see a pegasus fly out a window as he turned a corner; again, he had been taught that flying out windows is poor manners by his parents and tutors. He snickered as he saw how 'normal' ponies behaved and imagined his parents seeing him do such things. At times he was almost tempted to go back to North Cloud just to fly through a window like that. It was first then that he noticed the caravan further down the street. It seemed the pegasus and his friend were interested in it.
He walked up behind the two ponies and cleared his throat softly to catch their attention. "Hello? Excuse me, but can you tell me whether you know of any... hotels or anywhere I could shelter for the night?"
Vir Sapit Qui Pauca Loquitur"I only got into town a couple of days ago, like I said," Rose told him, shrugging awkwardly, "So I don't really know if there are any real sights to see...I can take you to a big hill, though. You can see most of the town from there, so if you're looking for something specific, you can probably find it from there." She started to walk in the direction of the hill, and asked, "So, you never did say what sort of medicine you sell. Or why you can't talk about it near the caravan."
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes."Can't talk near the caravan? What would give you that idea?" Mixwell said, a little too quickly, as he followed Rose. He might as well have punctuated it with a nervous chuckle, convincing as it sounded. He sighed. "Alright, basically... I can make most anything, but, well, I can't sell most anything. My accomplices are concerned about profit margins, first and foremost, so they only want me to sell the stuff I can make cheap... or free." He glanced back in the direction of the caravan - he thought he saw something moving, but realized it was just a dog. "You can imagine they wouldn't be happy to hear me talking about that part. It's fine for gadgets, and trinkets, and charms, but not my line of work. So, I want to be sure you understand this, you and anypony else who needs to, really; if you need something, anything, please, come by during lunch, or at night, when there's nopony to see me using the good ingredients. I got in a lot of trouble with the caravan last time, if they catch me at it again they might just toss me out."
Nobody will see through my disguise... this time...

Compass Rose had been inspecting the wagons, trying to see if she could find some indicator as to what they were for, when a pony climbed out of it. She shifted her attention to him, waiting to see if he was going to speak to her, when suddenly she realized it must seem as if she were staring. Taking a few steps forward, she asked, "Um, hello. What are all these wagons for?"
Birthright: an original web novel about Dragons, the Burdens of Leadership, and Mangoes.