"That's certainly an...interesting way of saving on workload," Dathyra said, rather fascinated by the idea. Really, until meeting Jodon, she didn't have all that much experience with people who used illusions on a regular basis. "I assume that was a few years ago. That version of you seems a bit younger."

 "Pardon me sir, but we never caught your name? I was sent here by Mr. Kelbin. He mentioned that you were the best around, as your outside self also said."

Jodon is standing in the doorway, trying unsuccessfully to make a younger looking illusion of himself move like the advertisement outside.

 Holg: The man comes off as immediately friendly and extends his hand to shake Holg's. He replies, "The name's Holoman to most everyone now. I own this establishment, and it's good to meet you. Kelbin, huh?" The man laughs and continues, "Last time I saw him we were day drunk as skunks in the park chasing after squirrels! How's that old man doing these days?" Holg notices that this man has at least ten years on Kelbin.

Dathyra: The younger man walks around to various shelves, collecting the requested items while talking to Dathyra. "I suppose it is. It was really cool for a long time, but now it's just normal. Still the reactions we get from it are priceless. There are so many stories. Haha." The man thinks for a minute on the last question, seeming to count invisible things waving the piece of chalk in the air. "I guess it was almost three years ago now."

Jodon gives up on his attempts to create a moving illusion, and joins Holg inside the shop.

Holg chuckles at Jodon's attempt to make his own clone in front of the store. His playfullness and light-hearted approach to things reminds Holg of his friend Scrag. "Hey Jodon, what all do we need again? I think we should have something to heal ourselves should be find ourselves in some serious trouble."

Turning back to Holoman, "Kelbin is doing good. He actually sent us here to get some supplies for a task he asked us to do for him  He mentioned that you would just put it on his tab and he would take care of it when he comes in again."

Jodon nods at Holg.  "Agreed - something that would help us heal would be most useful," the halfling says, as he turns to Holoman with an ingratiating smile, "both to us and to our mutual friend Kelbin, on whose behalf we are risking such harm, if not our very lives."

How humans changed so much in a short period of time still fascinated Dathyra. It was logical to assume it had everything to do with having shorter lifespans, but that didn't change that it was something unusual to behold. "I suppose that is a good conversation starter. It certainly took us by surprise. Anyway, thank you so much for your help. As your illusion-self says, it is the last shop we'd ever need."

With all the items collected, the younger man brings them to the counter so his father can complete the deal. He asks, "Anything else?" addressing no one in particular. He quickly amends his statement talking to his father, "Oh, right. They wanted some healing potions." Holoman was already moving, which in all actuality, probably probed the boy into remembering. Holoman pulls a small lockbox out from behind the counter, unlocks it, and looks to the party. "Hrmm. There's four of you. I have seven left, which you're welcome to. Kelbin is going to love this bill." He laughs a little and pulls out seven small, stoppered vials filled with a reddish liquid and hands them to Holg.

Trying his best to sound casual, Jodon says "thank you.  Between you and your advertisement, it's clear you have been successful for some time, so I am curious - how do you adjust your stocks year over year?  Take wine, for example - a product whose availability and even quality can vary season to season, depending on harvest or even on the vinter.  Outside our lodgings, an older - I guess you could politely call him a "wine connoisseur"  - swore by the Kristoff label, whereas his younger companion told us not to trust that swill.  How does a proprietor keep up -- what signs do you see that might tell you to stick with, or avoid, a label, when potential customers so clearly have differing opinions?"

"Thank you sir. Hopefully this will help offset Kelbin's bill." Holg reaches into his pocket and places 10 gold onto the counter as he collects all 7 potions and places them into his backpack.

A cloud comes over Holoman's face at the mention of Kristoff's brand of wine. He seems to silently question where the conversation is going and then replies, "That brand of wine is good as long as it's old - anything from recent years is questionable. Personally, I don't buy the brand anymore because you never know what you're getting. You see, that company has a bad reputation nowadays and that's all a merchant has - reputation. Once you soil that, you're left with a mess that's nigh impossible to fix. I suppose the answer to your question is that I pay attention to the market around me and make adjustments when needed." He nods at Holg in a manner of thanks and says, "Oh, yes. Certainly. Thank you, good sir."

Dathyra nodded as she paid only half of her attention to the conversation. It didn't surprise her in the least that Kristoff had let his business fall by the wayside in lieu of whatever it was that he was really doing now. She slid five gold pieces to the younger man. Gladly, she probably would have paid any price for the powdered iron and silver. It wasn't exactly like just any shop carried those sorts of things around, and after the past few months traveling on her own, she was running low on the supplies she had started with. "Gods bless you both. You've been a wonderful help. It's very hard to find some rare but important necessities."