While Rayven was making a rough blueprint about the mixer he wanted to build to create mayonnaise faster, the quills-and-ink district had grown quieter than usual.
For decades, scribes, students, and merchants alike had flocked to the same rows of shops.
They were buying goose quills, silver-tipped styluses, and jars of thick ink.
It was steady, reliable trade, the sort of business that passed from father to son without much change.
But now, those same shops stood with their shutters half-closed, and the owners leaned behind counters with frowns written into their faces.
Their customers had dwindled, lured away by the popular new store with its bold name painted in gold: Eterna Script.
Inside that new shop, the atmosphere was the opposite of the old quill and ink shops.
The sound of coins could be heard together with the laughter of satisfied customers… Then, the lively voice of Hannah greeting yet another student followed.
Their business was doing great.
