#maxwell pollack

The suit of armor has taken center stage and is ready to be taken home by a happy buyer!

But being a pricey purchase, Tom and Roland knew to only pitch it to their more well-off customers. Roland went for travelling merchant Charity Osborne, while Tom approached Prince Feanor.

Many curious customers queued to see the shiny new item, but not many seemed willing to shell out the needed simoleons. Even Queen Aruena pondered whether or not it was a sound investment, and despite Tom's best efforts to sway her, remained on the fence about it!

In the end, the suit of armor didn't end up finding a new home, but Tom and Roland still made record sales! Also, they only have 17 stars left until The Smithy reaches max level! So close, yet so far!

Tom worked full speed, too busy to realize he was being watched. A young woman in pink was following his every move. When he finally turned around, their eyes met by chance; she averted her gaze timidly, but Tom couldn't seem to do the same - she was breathtaking!

Feeling a sudden surge of confidence, he walked up to her. He noticed her lingering near the cast iron pots, clearly unsure; he was only being a helpful salesman. Nothing more to it!

Tom: "Are you finding everything all right, miss?"

She paused before meeting his gaze with big, hazel eyes. Tom could feel his knees buckle from their intensity.

Tabitha: "Actually, I could use some help. I was wondering which of these pots was better suited for an open fire…"

That night, as Tom lay in bed, sleep slowly creeping in around the edges, his mind kept wandering back to the girl in pink and her big, hazel eyes.

Business powered on as usual, with Tom and Roland making some serious sales every day. No, really - the dough was so good that even Rufus got a memory about it! 😆💰

The Smithy is only one (!) star short of reaching Rank 10, and Tom & Roland are giving it their all on the salesfloor!

Tom in particular was on his top game, schmoozing and charming the customers to the best of his (admittedly introverted) ability. He even successfully networked with Lord Maxwell Pollack, ending the shift on a high note.

A couple days later, Tom heard the news from Phillip: Annika was back home!

Thankfully she was unharmed, but Gabriel hadn’t been so lucky. According to Phillip, his wounds were pretty severe; but he had no details beyond that and Tom didn't want to press. He was relieved for Annika but concerned for Gabriel, vowing to visit him soon.

When that might be, though, he couldn't tell - business thundered on with no end in sight. Tom and Roland were really feeling the pressure, working themselves ragged to satisfy every order.

Having had enough of his daughters' constant fights, Adam wrangled them out the door one day for a family trip to town.

It may have seemed odd to reward the unruly girls with an outing, but Adam knew his daughters' misbehaviour was caused by sheer boredom. He knew the move was tough on them and they weren't making friends as fast as they'd hoped. His attempts to bring the townspeople into their home didn't quite pan out, either.

So he figured, if he could break the rut of their daily routines even for a moment, surely they'd feel less inclined to bicker. And he just so happened to hear that Gatehouse Inn was the IT spot in town!

Wynn gave herself a final approving look in the mirror before heading downstairs to join her party guests. Everyone was already there, waiting for the Birthday Girl so they could begin lunch.

The entire menu had been strawberry-flavored, as per her request: strawberry cake, strawberry booze, and even a strawberry feta salad which the guests were now happily gobbling down on. Strangers, Wynn thought with disappointment as she looked across the table, donning a fake smile. Dad's 'no boys' rule had put a big dent in her party plans, but he'd refused to budge on it.

Lunch was followed by gift-opening. She finally got the designer handbag she'd wanted so much, a new makeup palette, a pretty necklace... Even though each gift had a name on it (and one had come anonymously in the mail), she suspected they had all been by her dad. Even if Adam denied it.

As the evening progressed, it was clear that they were looking at a repeat of the lousy party from last time. The guests were stiff and awkward, refusing to interact unless interacted with. Even Beatrice was still giving her the silent treatment, for Watcher's sake!

Blowing out the candles on her cake, Winona was suddenly hit by the realization that nobody was having a good time at this darn party, herself included. It was supposed to be her perfect day, how had it all gone so wrong? Angry tears began streaming down her cheeks. She'd had enough of this farce.

Winona surveyed the room in front of her with a big grin. She was told the inn had a dedicated 'music room' with an in-house bard, but it was really looking more like a medieval nightclub. Not that she complained! She was itching to hit the dancefloor. Fortunately, it didn't take much convincing for Marcus to do the same.

Not long after, Adam entered the room, complete with lord Pollack in tow. Wynn noticed him come in but made no attempt to stop what she was doing. Dad had promised he'd let them have fun so long as it was safe and appropriate for their age, and her dancing with a friend broke none of those rules. She mentally dared him to try and challenge her, though her gut told her he wouldn't. Judging by the glass of wine in his hand, he had better things to do anyway.

And she was right. Adam had spotted his daughter dancing with the headache-inducing boy, but he's had a few glasses of wine already and Maxwell was telling him of some top-secret VIP room with the most devilish grin, so clearly that took priority. He made a mental note to corner the boy later as he followed Maxwell down a flight of rickety stairs. What he saw at their bottom made him forget all about the boy or his plans.

A VIP room? More like a WooHoo dungeon!

Maxwell grinned, glad that his surprise had worked. He pointed at the hexagonal table at the far end of the room.