Timestamp: The 74th of Winter, 518 A.V.
Kelski arrived at the docks promptly. Living close had its advantages, as nothing in Baroque Bay was very far away from anything else. It was just a simple walk to the east, past Tall Johnny’s, the Drunken Fish, and out onto the series of boardwalks and half run down docks that made up the small port and warehouse district of Sunberth. She’d heard the rumors, in fact first thing this morning, when The Gem had let her know a small urchin was on the doorstep. He was a boy, not a man, though she wasn’t sure his age. Ebon pinned him at eight or so, though Kelski wasn’t sure Ebon knew any better than she did. He was bigger and taller than her niece, though Ember was Kelvic and that too complicated tings. She’d met the boy with a smattering of coins, a bit of breakfast in the form of an apple, and had traded the coin and food for what he’d overheard.
“A ship has come in… stolen by the looks of it. But it has an interesting cargo and they are going to sell it off down at the dock rather than part it out in the market. The captain wants a quick turnaround, or so the word is…. and its got raw ore, cut and uncut gems on it, Miss Kelski!” The youth said, one of Yadra’s Fountain lads. It also has rare pieces, all the way from Eyktol I hear… jewelry. We were told to spread the word, especially to the jewelers who might be interested. He’s going to start parting out wares at the midday high sun bell.” Kelski nodded, thanked the boy, and sent him on his way.
Then, deciding she’d investigate alone without Duncan or Ebon since the shop had been busy and Kelski hated taking either one away from The Gem to do errands…. she set off for the docks herself near the right time. Well-known as the owner of The Midnight Gem, the Kelvic greeted the locals she knew. Sailors came and went, but the lumpers who unloaded and loaded cargo were always the same people. She checked with a few, got pointed to a ship called The Sunchaser, and then at the ship got pointed to a warehouse opposite of the dock where the goods were laid out for quick liquidation. The warehouse was under heavy sailor guard, which was to be expected, but she was let in immediately partially due to the cut of her clothing and partially due to the fact she mentioned the magic word ‘jeweler’.
The warehouse was a small one, with storage areas the captains could rent to house goods. Each storage area was thirty by thirty… close quarters by anyone’s estimation. A main hall led into the warehouse and then the areas were walled off with heavy doors once inside. There was enough room for hand carts and wheelbarrows to pass each other down the halls, which made loading and unloading easier.
The guards outside the area gave away The Sunchaser’s rented space. She nodded to them as she passed through the big heavy interior door. Glancing around, it was about what any liquidation sale would be. There were tables set up around the parameter with sailors manning them. Each table held items, crates and boxes of raw ore, some already made up pieces under heavier guard, and tables and tables of cut or partially cut worked gems. It was a few box-stalls big, more of a storage area than anything else. There were other goods too… things Kelski wasn’t too interested in and didn’t pay much attention too. She needed no raw ore or equipment. And there were both present. Instead, she headed for the raw gems and started sorting through crates, sometimes offering for just one or two pieces of stone in each, and sometimes making an offer on the whole crate. The worked gemstones she was less interested in though she browsed through them as well. Being the first there, she got the pick of the litter jeweler wise, but there was so much Kelski knew her shopping wouldn’t put a dent in it.
Her hands, encased in fingerless gloves, passed over the gemstones, looking for that tell-tale buzz that said the stone was something special, something unique. Embeded in the back of her hand was an opal the size of her thumb – a gift from Semele – and she used the mark shamelessly, picking the stones that she wanted that were something extra, or showed potential to have extraordinary clarity or color if only cut correctly.
When she had her findings sorted and crated, she headed to a far table and started talking money with the Captain. Her rhetoric started out all the same. “I’m a Master Jeweler. I know what these things are worth. I’ll offer you a fair price. If you won’t take it, I won’t be flushed into the Brat infested sewers and ripped off. If you make me a good deal, I’ll take even more off your hands because this is the cream of your crop, but the rest you have left is far from useless and every bit of it has potential.” She said frankly to start the negotiation. The Captain listened and then as expected launched into his counter speech, the rigors and dangers of the trip outlined clearly, even though they both knew the Captain had procured the ship probably locally AFTER someone else had made the ‘dangerous trip’. The two of them stood there bartering back and forth, the Captain asking outrageously high prices for his stolen goods, and Kelski dropping her offer coin by coin in counter offers, starting to walk away several times.
The song and dance was as old as time… it was in fact fun to the Jeweler. Half her business depended upon good negotiation and she knew even though the man and his crew hadn’t made the trade journey, stealing the other ship had been dangerous and they did deserve compensation for that danger. That didn’t mean she would pay full price.
There were other trade goods in the bunch… furs, ingots of various precious metals, even cookware and fine porcelain dinnerware manufactured in Eyktol’s Kilns. Kelski wasn’t interested in anything but the potential raw stock for her shop. She knew the routine… hit the sales first… drive a hard but fair bargin, then return at the end of the day and make an offer on the rest of what he had left…. that one would be her lowball ‘get rid of it’ price… and odds are he would take it.
They had concluded on a handshake when a middle ground was reached, with him promising to see her choices delivered and payment due upon delivery either that evening or the very next morning. Either was fine with Kelski. They both knew she would be back for the dregs at the end of the sale… no gemstone truly worthless, even those low-quality stones could be made into street jewelry for some of Sunberth’s poorer folks. The Midnight Gem had all sorts of pieces… from low to high end. She wouldn’t overlook deals when she could find them.
Kelski was turning to leave when she paused. The sale was crowded now… other buyers from other areas looking over some of the other goods. There was even a man in the shop talking to another man about the specs of the ship. It was an ugly thing – the selling off of stolen ships – but it happened. When she’d been down at the dock where it was moored, she could still see the fresh bloodstains on its side. Making her way towards the door, something made Kelski hesitate. There were people here that didn’t belong… younger poorly dressed males that were highly armed. They were dispersed throughout the group trying to be less obvious.
The Kelvic bit her bottom lip. A robbery? Revenge killing? She wasn’t sure exactly. Slowly, she made sure her weapons would come easily to her hands… and she got in a better position away from the doorway, but in place she could easily flee if necessary. Then she began searching the strangers eyes, trying to figure out who they were, and what they exactly wanted. By now, even the sailors were more alert, sensing something wasn’t right.
