Solo [The Fence] What will it be?

Night Eyes come into the Fence to sell.

(This is a thread from Mizahar's fantasy role playing forums. Why don't you register today? This message is not shown when you are logged in. Come roleplay with us, it's fun!)

A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]

Moderator: Morose

[The Fence] What will it be?

Postby Farris on July 18th, 2018, 9:00 pm

Image
38th of Summer, 518

Summer continued to trudge on in Sunberth. Gangland violence continued to increase, with the Daggerhand and the Sun's Birth engaging in a battle for supremacy. Farris was, for the most part, isolated from it, but members of the Night Eyes often came to the Fence to trade in goods and their expressions were often grim. It was rather infuriating, the clerk often wished they spoke of their misgivings and experience with the violence, but he was sorely disappointed each time. A pair of such people stood before Farris, and on each of their backs were bags. By the strain visible on the straps of each bag they were full, their contents as of yet unknown to Farris. He looked over each of the gang members in turn. One was a short woman who Farris wouldn't judge as older than twenty. She wore leathers dyed in black, strapped to her hip a long, curved dagger that Farris figured was put to use on a regular basis. Her companion was similarly dressed, several inches taller and male. Strapped to the male's back was a bow, a quiver beset with arrows beneath it. They both had a look that meant business and Farris was by no means one to hinder such efforts.

Two bags fell onto the table, the till shaking with the weight and bringing to the ear a heavy rattle of mizas. Zeke clearly expected a wide scale of business this day and Farris was certain that he'd get it. Both Night Eye members began to pilfer through their bags, setting a wide expanse of varied finery for the store clerk to see. Farris saw such treasures on a regular basis, but these were different. Some of the items were flecked with what Farris could tell was dried blood, and the wizard was fairly certain he knew how the pair had come across their treasures. The violence seemed to grow with each passing week, though it was kept quiet and bodies were hidden away from the public to see. The anarchy within Sunberth was quite intriguing, in that murder and looting weren't prohibited by any governing force and yet human nature compelled such practices to be hidden.

By the drying of the blood on a particular dagger, Farris could assume that their work began much earlier, perhaps even last night? He didn't bother expressing his thoughts aloud, waiting without speaking or acknowledging the pair until the entirety of their loot was brandished for Farris to see. Several necklaces of silver and copper, some beset with a jewel and other left bare. A number of weapons poked out of the opening of each bag, and these items looked far less bloody by comparison.

Ah, they got the drop on someone. That's good for them. Makes the job easier, I suppose, he thought as his gaze continued to flicker across the table. A number of rings were also set on the table, most of which were different sizes but all made of a gleaming, bloodied silver that, if sanctified might even be appealing to the wizard. When one spent so much time around such metals, they came to grow on a man. Farris never thought himself to be fascinated with treasure, but there was a covetous nature coming about him and even a temptation to pocket one arose in his thoughts.

Stop, you fool. Their ill-gotten gains already caused the deaths of a few people. Adding yourself to the list is stupid. The slow reassurance was met with the woman at last parting her lips to speak, addressing Farris with an air of superiority. An air that Farris detested immensely, but could do nothing about. She was his superior here. While Farris himself was not a Night Eye, the Fence was bound to their gang and thus he tolerated it with great displeasure.

"We're selling, obviously. What's your best price, clerk?" she asked, clearly not of a mind to mince words with him.

"Give me a moment," he'd reply, letting his fingers brush along the unbloodied material of one of the necklaces as he formed some calculations in his mind.
Last edited by Farris on July 18th, 2018, 11:02 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Farris
Player
 
Posts: 101
Words: 128087
Joined roleplay: July 10th, 2018, 8:47 am
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets

[The Fence] What will it be?

Postby Farris on July 18th, 2018, 10:18 pm

Image
There was an abundance of goods on the table and Farris found it difficult to express his displeasure about it. The feeling arose by the lack of care that the two Night Eyes took in the situation. First, their callous disregard for the items as they shoveled them out of bags and onto the table. Silver and copper tangled into one another and the unmitigated disaster upon the surface of his table was annoying him greatly. Rather than express his concerns (and likely receive a beating for doing so), he took his time. He could see the impatience building upon the Night Eyes' expression, but the job Farris had afforded him the luxury of taking his time. By his count six silver necklaces were entangled, and he took great pleasure in slowly pulling them apart and spreading them vertically along the surface. Following the six there was a single gold chain, a copper pendant, three copper necklaces. Twelve gemstones that Farris couldn't identify off hand were also present, as well as six rings, each tinted a slightly different color but all made of silver. The clerk assumed that the tint was due to wear on the material and thus, did not bother to look over them just yet.

Farris let his fingers slide along the bloodied silver, careful to let digits pass along specks that he could see. By his untrained eyes, the silver looked genuine and after a wash, they'd sell for a lovely price. While the usual objective in his dealings at the Fence was meant to exploit as greedily as possible, Zeke cautioned the young mage about not doing so with the Night Eyes. He seemed to say it reluctantly as if the prospect of losing out on mizas broke the old man's heart. Such was the ley of the city, it seemed. If one wasn't directly involved with one of the gangs, they were by extension. True neutrality seemed almost impossible with the mage wondering if it could even be done, but the moment wasn't right for such concerns to cross his mind. He parted his lips at last to speak, his words clearly anticipated with eagerness from both of the gangsters.

"I can give you three mizas on each of the silver necklaces. For the three copper ones I'll give you an additional gold mizas. Moving on to the good stuff... The gold chain is worth a good thirty mizas by itself, and I can give you twos on each of the rings."

"Three, two? Thirty for a gold chain?" the woman blurted out, almost appalled. Farris shrugged his shoulders, pointing to the door.

"These items are flecked with blood and have signs of use. I can't budge on the price. Either sell them here or go elsewhere."

He let breath flow into his lungs as he waited for the two Night Eyes, who began a heavy discourse about profit sharing that really was none of the clerk's business. The argument came to violence in his store, and rather than tell them to stop or discourage it in any way, Farris kept one eye on them only to make sure they didn't ruin the store. The brawl between the two was in the woman's favour, with her short arms flinging heavy punches at the man's gut. Farris, while he watched, fished out the pricing diagram that Zeke left for him to look over. A brief description of gemstones was on the back of the diagram, with prices to offer on each one. The fight in front of him seemed to be drawing to a close, with the man hunched over and coughing small droplets of blood onto the floor that the mage would need to clean later. It seemed that Zeke also left a note detailing a bit of information that the young shop clerk might need to know.

You'll need a gem scale. There's one in the back room. Put it back after every use. Transactions for jewelry is measured in coins per carat.

The man figured that someone like Kelski was able to do so without the use of such tools, but since Farris' living wasn't always measured in gemstones, he'd use the tool.

"I'll be right back..." he'd say to the pair of Night Eyes. The woman, who was standing but somewhat breathless and beaten nodded before bending forward. Her hands moved to her knees as she sought to collect herself. A smile was present upon her face and Farris figured it was because she was getting the lion's share of the loot. The clerk didn't leave the two in the front room for long. He quickly found the scale and set it on the counter before consulting the pricing guide that was below the small note.

Looking back and forth between the gemstones and the guide, he found that he struggled quite a bit to properly identify the minerals. Petch. Zeke didn't give a good description of any of this shyke. I guess basic colors and shine will have to do? He took several moments looking over the gemstones in turn, sorting them into three distinct groups based on similar characteristics that they possessed.

If it's got black veins on blue, it's Akalite (9gm per uncut carat. 27 for shaped stones.)... Shiny purple gems are probably Amethyst (9sm per uncut carat. Two and a half gold for shaped stone.)... If ye don't know what a diamon' looks like you're fired (Don't buy these. Tell em to come back when I'm around.)

Well, that's reassuring...
he thought, pursing his lips. At the very least, he seemed to have gotten the groups right. A single diamond was pushed back towards the woman, who in Farris' absence seemed to have shoo'd her compatriot away. All the better for Farris, who preferred to deal with one customer at a time.
Last edited by Farris on July 30th, 2018, 12:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
Farris
Player
 
Posts: 101
Words: 128087
Joined roleplay: July 10th, 2018, 8:47 am
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets

[The Fence] What will it be?

Postby Farris on July 18th, 2018, 11:00 pm

Image
It was a slow process, weighing the gems for accuracy. The mage couldn't claim to have used one before, and the experience was tedious at best, miserable at its worst. Gently he nudged the one-carat increments onto the opposite side of the scale, hoping for the tool to reach equilibrium. It looked to Farris like an odd abacus, but a small, flat bed on one side where the jewels were apparently supposed to be placed. The alakite pieces were weighed first, Farris going on a miserable cycle of placing the gem in a position that could remain balanced. Next, he nudged the increments from one side to another, often stopping two or three nudges too late and requiring him to begin again. Five chimes passed with the same tedious effort before, at last, he'd weighed each gem in turn. One three carat gem and two four carat akalite gems were presented before Farris. Surely the Night Eyes were proud of themselves. They'd made themselves quite a lot of money, even if it took blood and death to do so. After weighing the gems, he let the numbers course through his mind. It was simple arithmetic, and so the calculations weren't difficult to come to.

"You've got a three-carat gem and two fours. I can give you 5gm per carat, which comes out to a total of 35 gold mizas for the akalite lot."

The numbers seemed to throw the woman off, her lips pursed and growing impatient before she nodded her head in acknowledgment. Clearly, she wasn't a haggler or she just didn't care. The monetary value of her haul was quite high. Maybe she just wanted it done with? The statement seemed to ring true, an aura of impatience about the woman. She tapped her foot on the ground, seemingly recovered from her struggle with the other Night Eye who was now gone.

Farris repeated the weighing with the amethyst gems but was lucky to see that they were uniform in weight. Each of them was a single carat, which made Farris' job significantly easier. He put the scale away, letting the small calculations come to mind before he stood before the Night Eye once again.

"Okay, these are easy. Eight carats comes out to a buying price of five silvers per unit. I can give you four for the lot."

The Night Eye nodded again, her voice when it came out clearly laden with frustration,

"Yeah? Then how much is it, hm? I've been here all day, it feels like! Hurry it up, old man."

Farris was rather astonished by what she called him. He didn't really look old, but perhaps his beard gave off the impression? He didn't really care and let the comment slide, shrugging his shoulders. The numbers he'd rattled off to her were still in his head but he needed a moment to figure out the total.

3 a piece on the silver necklaces. So that's 18. With the gold one, we go to 48. Six rings at two per is another twelve. So 60. The copper ticks it up by one. Adding thirty-five for the akalite and four for the amethyst puts it up to exactly 100. How about that?

If Farris was selling this allotment the totals would come out much different, but he was buying and it seemed like the total had come to 100 by some miracle of Xyna's. Satisfied with his math and eager to shoo the woman out of his store, he parted his lips to answer her.

"I can give you 100 gold mizas for everything," he said with a smile, his gray eyes looking over her shrewd countenance. She simply nodded her head, and Farris looked down to the table. He placed the items underneath the till while he retrieved the coin. Placing it in a coin sack, he pushed the sum towards its recipient. The Night Eye left without a word, and Farris was glad for it seeing as he had the task of shelving the product in the back. He locked the front door before doing so, throwing the allotment into a tray next to the till before conducting his inventory. A neat person by nature, it was a simple task for Farris to assemble the collection and then divide it by material and worth. He shelved necklaces along with others of their kind. The rings were left in a box adjacent. The gold chain he left visible for Zeke to get a good look at. Joined with the ring were the akalite gemstones, with Farris stowing the less valuable amethyst ones in a shelve on their own.

The transaction took at least a bell to complete, due to Farris' insistence on keeping his calculations correct and there was the task of cleaning the bloodied jewelry with a rag. It wouldn't do, after all, for him to get fired for neglecting the menial details. Quickly, the mage swept the floors and emptied the till, placing its contents in the back of the store before Zeke arrived to relieve him for the day.

"Good haul?" the older man asked. Farris shrugged his shoulders somewhat.

"For them? No. For you, definitely. You have a pretty hefty profit margin for most of it, Zeke."

"Good. Just what I like ta' hear, boy. Now, git. I gotta count me money." And with that, Farris vacated the room, quite eager to leave the Fence behind and begin his studies for the evening.
Farris
Player
 
Posts: 101
Words: 128087
Joined roleplay: July 10th, 2018, 8:47 am
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets

[The Fence] What will it be?

Postby Kynier on August 7th, 2018, 8:48 pm

Grades!


Skill Rewards
  • Cleaning +1
  • Mathematics +2
  • Negotiation +3
  • Observation +3

Lores Learned
  • Negotiation: Don’t exploit Night Eyes at The Fence
  • Negotiation: Using a scale for pricing gems
  • Self: A covetous nature coming about
  • Zeke: Doesn’t want Farris buying diamonds

If you have an questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to PM me.
Kynier
Player
 
Posts: 851
Words: 1156083
Joined roleplay: May 13th, 2018, 3:14 am
Location: Sunberth
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 7
Featured Contributor (1) Featured Thread (1)
Overlored (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) 2018 Mizahar NaNo Winner (1)
2018 Top NaNo Word Count (1)


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests