The middle-aged man

Once our break was over, it was back on the road. With the new seating arrangement of me in the middle and Ami and Tal to the right and left of me, we all had proper leg and dress room, making things way more comfortable. Now the only issue I had was how we were going to get over the mountains coming up, but I got my answer to that the moment we reached them. 

"Wow, there's a path that cuts directly through the mountains?" I gasped. 

"One of Blintz's greatest engineering feats before my time, or at least before I started inventing things," Ami grumbled as she pulled out a map. "Originally, if you went out the east gate, you'd need to continue up a bit through central before you could cut east to avoid the mountains, but after the town of Tzeitel was founded, a path was carved directly east through the mountains." 

"Quite a funny story with that one. I heard it was founded by a supposed lover of Princess Tzeitel, the missing princess," Tal giggled.

"Mmm... I don't think I've heard of her," I frowned.

Ami let out a sigh. "So according to the history books, there was a princess named, Tzeitel, who ran away from the castle and was never seen again. I guess people were madly in love with her as the town of Tzeitel was founded by self-proclaimed lovers of her in hopes of wooing her to return. Of course, when they broke ground on the city, they discovered a dungeon, a big one, with a fair amount of treasure floors, and well, builders were bashing a path through the mountain within minutes of the news. And once the path connecting it to Traditsye was finished, people flooded to it and to this day, it continues to be one of the fastest growing towns in the country." 

"And with a reputation like that, it's worth stopping by in order to pitch my wares," Tal smiled.

"I mean, you are the client. Not much we can do about it," Ami grumbled.

"Do you have a problem with the town?" I asked.

"Yes, which is why I'll be hiding in the wagon-"

"Please don't. It's already stocked to the brim with perfume," Tal smiled.

"Ugh, I'm going to request extra for this."

...

About 10 minutes later, we arrived at a large town surrounded by crystal sculptures.

"Travelers, travelers, oh! It's the great witch of the amethyst!" a middle-aged man called out.

Townsfolk quickly gathered around the wagon as Ami forced a smile. "Oh, you don't need to revere me so much," she chuckled.

"But with your long white hair, you remind us all of sweet Tzeitel so much. Oh, sweet Tzeitel."

"No, no, it's just her hair. Her chest is too small," an old man with a walking stick grumbled.

I could see a vein popping on Ami's forehead. Yeah, think I get why she has a beef with this town.

"Hey Tal, why not do your pitch to all these people here?" I smiled.

"Ah, but of course," Tal nodded as she climbed down from the coach's seat.

"Need any help?"

"No, no, I can do things just fine myself," Tal smiled as she went to the back of the wagon and unlocked the door.

Sure enough, there really were tons of perfume crates packed inside, so much so that Tal barely had enough room to put her foot in as she grabbed a crate and set it down on the ground. 

"Wow, you're stronger than you look," I whistled. 

"Simply a result of all the work around the manor I do alone," Tal smiled as she opened the crate and pulled out a bottle of red perfume.

Come to think of it, we never got a whiff of her finished product. I hope it's better than what she had us smell.

"What's with the fancy woman?" the old man asked.

"Ah, I'm Duchess Twin D' Tal of House Twin D' Tal, and I'm en route to Sto to pitch my perfumes to the shops there. Since I'm here, it's not a bad move to try pitching my wares to you as your town is quite the hub for travel."

"True, our town is seeing many more visitors thanks to our bustling economy and nearby dungeon," the middle-aged man began. "However, I've never heard of you before. How do I know you're real."

"I have the official crest of House Twin D' Tal-"

"I've never heard of such a house."

"I have," the old man sighed. "It was one of the smallest branch families of the royal family, but years ago, it was wiped out by a raid from Ova Sfongian inquisitors."

"Yes, and I was the only survivor," Tal frowned.

"Then why are you trying to sell perfume?" the middle-aged man scoffed.

"Why, to raise my house's capital and expand my clout," Tal smiled.

The townsfolk began murmuring as they turned to each other.

"How does the perfume smell?" one woman asked.

Tal gave a slight nod as she picked up a bottle and squirted out a little bit of perfume. Everyone began sniffing the aroma before going silent and then...

"IT SMELLS AMAZING!"

Curious, I took a whiff of the stuff myself, and they really weren't kidding; this stuff smelled amazing.

"How'd you do it?" I asked.

"Trade secret," Tal winked.

"So do we have your first sale?" Ami asked.

"I believe we do," Tal smiled as she wiped away a tear.

Once the paperwork had been signed, Tal began unloading crates of perfume which me and Ami then carried over to the shops. When enough had been stocked, we were on our way out.

"Why are we heading out the north exit? Isn't it faster to get to Sto if we head east then north?" Ami asked.

"There's more towns if we take this route, and I do want to expand my reach as far as I can," Tal chuckled.

"Well, you are the client," Ami sighed.

"Fear not, we'll reach Sto before nightfall, and should you lack the funds, I'll pay for your rooms at the inn."

The next town we reached was a place known as Volf. It was much smaller than Tzeitel, but still a fair size.

"Travelers! Oh, happy day," a familiar middle-aged man smiled as he came to greet us.

"Uh, didn't we just meet you?" I asked.

"Hmm? Oh, did you pass through Tzeitel? The mayor of that town is my brother. See, we both grew up here, originally, but when Princess Tzeitel vanished, he decided to found a town in her honor, and well, he discovered a nice dungeon and now his town's the hottest new thing in Blintz. Volf here used to be a big place for travelers to rest as going through us from Traditsye is the fastest way to get to Sto, but because Tzeitel's such a hot thing, it's more profitable for everyone to take the nice fancy route they blasted through the mountains before reaching Sto. At least we still get travelers from Flódni and Lokshen passing through frequently," the man snarled. 

"Not the warmest relations I see. Well, then how about I offer you the same offer I made to your brother," Tal smiled.

"And that would be?"

Tal happily held up a bottle of perfume. "I'm Duchess Twin D' Tal of House Twin D' Tal, and I'm here to sell my wares."