Open The Grand Opening

[Shakune]

The Grand Opening
1st Summer, 515AV

"Are we ready?"

"Not yet."

Havzi smiled. She'd never known Shakune to be so stressed before, or to obsess so much on minute details. Such as the layout of cheeses, which currently seemed to be the sole focus of Shakune's attention. With an extended finger, the courier pushed back one cheese chunk so it lay in line with three others.

A tick passed.

With a frustrated growl, Shakune pulled the cheese back, returning it to its original position. "Does that look good?" She asked, for probably the hundredth time that day. Details, no matter how minute, were of the utmost importance to her today.

"It looks fine." Havzi sounded exhausted already, despite the evening still being young, "people won't care about the cheese. You're not opening a cheese shop."

The girl had a point. Shakune sighed. She was incredibly exasperated. She disliked this pressure, this intense burden that was her desire to do well tonight. In truth, the evening would bare little influence on the success or failure of her business. That would be down to her performance over the next few seasons. No Questions Couriers was the trade name that she had been working under for the past two years. Despite this, there had never before been a shop front before now, or a blue-coloured sign that hung over the doorway of aforementioned shop. The courier thus felt that she needed a way to ensure that her business remained at the forefront of Sunberth's mind, and would not seep away like a memory from a drunken night before.

And how does one attract the attention of Sunberth's humble denizens?

"Free alcohol and food." Had been Shakune's decision two nights ago, accompanied by a conclusive nod and smirk. At the time, the slave Havzi had only smiled meekly and agreed to the idea, having learnt early on in her young life that a smart slave did not disagree with her master. But in truth, the girl had serious doubts. The natives of Sunberth were messy, aggressive, and in some ways incredibly selfish. They wouldn't care if they completed destroyed Shakune's store if it meant they could have a good time and copious amounts of ale. The courier's reply to Havzi's well-worded and tentative warning was simple: "we'll provide only cheap cheese, stale bread and skimp on the alcohol."

But even such meagre offerings were still far superior to what some Sunberthians would otherwise eat.

"I think we're ready. Do you?"

Havzi tried her best to smile encouragingly to her mistress, but the girl couldn't shift the nerves in her belly. Shakune knew some honourable people - as honourable a person as one could find in Sunberth, at least - and hopefully should trouble start brewing, her associates and pals would gang together to defend the courier's property.

And that group, of course, included Havzi herself.

"Let's open shop!" Shakune gave a nod, and Havzi swung open the creaking entry door, revealing to them both the general hustle and bustle of Sunberth's market, as well as the small group of individuals who stood waiting just outside.

And with that, Shakune's dream became a reality.

"Welcome to the grand opening of No Questions Couriers!"

oocSo the way I always approach open threads is that if nobody joins within 1 or 2 weeks, I'll continue this as a solo. If you want to join, but are not sure when you'll be able to post, please let me know!

Ledger-4sm for 2 gallons of ale,
-4CM for 2 loaves of bread,
-3SM for 3 chunks of cheese

TOTAL COSTS: -7SM, 4CM.

[Ashe]

Ashe was wandering about in the bustling city streets just outside the new storefront armed with her trusty iron staff and she at first was startled by the creaking sounds of the front door. There was a blue painted sign that indicated a storefront, but Ashe didn't recognize the name, and this piqued a sense of curiosity as to the nature of this business. 'What's this store? I haven't been aware of this yet...hmm' Thought the young woman as she wandered curiously towards the front door before stopping to find the inside of the store. She could make little sense of what to do at a courier's office even when there was only two visible workers, one clearly appeared to be a foreigner but assumed to be related to the business by the way she announced the name of the business, and the other that seemed to be around her age but seemed a little less nervous than her. 'What if someone wanted to send something outside the city? How would that be dealt with?' Ashe asked herself and she nervously scratched her head at the thought of being in two places at once even though it could be possible only with the manipulation of djed. But considering that the vast majority of the other natives considered her practice taboo it was not possible and she wanted to learn more of this store. So to start learning Ashe walked inside, letting her hands rest in the pockets of her pants, and allowed her eyes to wander the start of business operations. Not even a moment passed, she started trading glances with the owner, and what could be assumed to be the assistant or perhaps a slave allowed to run with her mistress. The store had a clear assortment of cheese, ale, and what could be seen as two loaves of bread about the area. The young woman was tempted to start tasting the cheese and ale but what seemed to be a conscience kept her from doing so. Instead of enjoying the food she started to listen for explanation as to what was being done so that Ashe could come to them if she needed assistance with something if anything that needed to be moved.

[Shakune]

The dozen or so people who entered the store soon filled up the small space. Most of them were friends of the businesswoman, but others were complete strangers who had clearly caught wind of the free food and ale.

Still, Shakune stood in the corner of the shop with her arms folded, the vision of contentment and pride. This was it, all the planning and hoping and bartering for loans from Goldfinger. Gently, her hand skimmed down her left leg to touch her calf. Just mere seasons ago, she had suffered a grave injury whilst fulfilling a bribe for the loan shark. It had damned almost killed her, and only now Shakune was reaping the rewards.

"Oi, nice one Shakune!" A large fellow called over the crowd, "nice t'see ya actually fulfil something for once!"

The courier battered his casual insult away. Lenny was a good friend after all, and the two often shared such banter. She watched her audience through black eyes, a constant smile on her lips. It was impossible for Shakune to hide her happiness.

It was a celebration, after all!

She began to mingle with the crowd, receiving many back slaps and congratulations as she did. Havzi was also receiving much praise, and the young slave had no clue how to deal with it all. She smiled sheepishly and quietly said several thank yous. Coming face-to-face with an unfamiliar female, Shakune extended her hand and greeting the young woman with a pleasant smile. It never hurt to expand one's social circle, after all.

"Hello, welcome to No Questions Couriers." She swept a hand briefly around her, indicating the small and somewhat tatty shop around them. Turning her attention back to the young woman, Shakune continued: "are you from Sunberth? I don't think I've seen you before."

[Ashe]

Ashe glanced away to peer into the crowd forming in front of the shop to the sound of a voice calling out to the odd-looking businesswoman. It was a large fellow, whom shouted out "Oi, nice one Shakune! Nice t'see ya actually fulfil something for once!" and for a moment Ashe turned her attention to the business woman whom was also watching the audience with a smile that gleamed with happiness. It was almost impossible to not tell that the woman was excited to see the opening of the new storefront and the air around the building was ripe with celebration. And so, to fit into the occasion, Ashe wandered with the crowd around the shop to find ale ready to be served on a platter next to a clearly thought out assortment of cheese. Little thought was taken as Ashe picked up a mug of ale and started to sip from the rim of the container. The drink was clearly not the best she has tasted but at the same time it wasn't the worst considering many other drinks that could be had in her hometown of Sunberth. The young woman wanted to cringe at the thought of her precarious situation, her desire to learn more about magic, and possibly make a living from it's potential dangers given it's vast rewards. Ashe was starting to get self absorbed into her own thoughts until the business woman, Shakune came to her and said gesturing to the rest of the shop "Hello, welcome to No Questions Couriers. Are you from Sunberth? I don't think I've seen you before." "Yep, I live in th' Sunset Quarters and I haven't been here 'till recently" Ashe answered with a warm smile.