Solo [The Fence] Five Finger Discounts

A thief comes in to sell Farris his prizes.

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[The Fence] Five Finger Discounts

Postby Farris on July 16th, 2018, 7:06 am

42nd of Summer, 518

It was astounding, really, what a bit of perspective added to things. Little by little, the mindset that Sunberth and its people were terrible was diminishing. If only just. Farris still lived in fear on a daily basis, but the days spent at the Fence brought the mage to the realization that at the end of the day, these people could be his own. He'd found an easy banter with the patronage, and he thought fondly of what the day might offer as he held a rag in his hand. The Fence was not yet open for business, as the Reimancer took an opportunity to clean the place. Zeke had other pressing matters to attend to and thus left Farris to his own devices. If Farris was a guessing man, he supposed that Zeke realized that the young man's wit far exceeded the job he'd placed himself in. Would Zeke question it? No, as it provided him with an employee that was more than capable of keeping the place in working order. Satisfied with the notion, Farris wrung out a rag outside the store. He'd press it to the grime infested windows and with a steady push, a shining streak of clean space was left behind. Another four of them and the window was almost transparent again, and satisfied with the effort Farris made his way back inside.

Following his efforts in cleaning the window, he began to purify the desk that he stood behind, ridding it of grime that might have been there for years. Cobwebs were subsequently tracked down and eradicated, Farris employing the use of a broom to reasonable effect. Farris wasn't a maid but he was also organized in his own home and detested seeing his work place in such disrepair. He'd, perhaps, in a jest of tongue and cheek bring up his efforts to Zeke and ask for a raise, but it was by no means a pressing concern. Once he was satisfied that the place was cleaner than it was outside, he'd push open the door. Setting a rock at the entrance to coax a breeze into the storefront, Farris set his efforts to the other tasks he had for the morning. He produced his journal from his rucksack, placing the back behind the till before he decided to create a list. Organized was the best way to approach everything, and his job was no different. The easy strokes of a pen were quite relaxing, and Farris looked up every few ticks to make sure that no one was making their way through the entrance as he inscribed:

To Do List - Opening.

1. Wipe down the front window.
2. Broom and Dustpan.
3. Count the till.
4. Create a ledger for daily transactions.
5. Bugger off until customers arrive.


Zeke didn't bother giving Farris tasks or tell him how to run the place, leaving him to his own devices so long as the mizas kept pouring in. The young man appreciated the freedom, and found that perhaps the greediest, seediest Sunberthians were the best ones to befriend. A strange realization given how he'd hated those same attributes just days before.

Things change and there's no reason to be so adamant. This place isn't new to me, but my outlook certainly can be. Logic is your friend here. It provides a hard counter to the brashness of the city.

An easy chuckle escaped the mage's lips as his musing poured freely into his thoughts. It was chimes of mental back-and-forths before the monotony was broken and a customer entered the storefront. By the teenager's shifting gaze and hunched posture, Farris assumed that he was selling. But, what were his wares? Only time would tell. A smile cast upon the bearded man's lips as he leaned forward, too tall to reach eye level with the boy but making an honest effort to meet his gaze nonetheless.

"What'll it be, boy?" he asked, forgoing the politeness and poise that a normal shopkeeper might be compelled to possess. This was the petching Fence, and everyone knew what was going on here. It was... liberating, to say the least.
Last edited by Farris on July 16th, 2018, 7:43 am, edited 1 time in total.
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[The Fence] Five Finger Discounts

Postby Farris on July 16th, 2018, 7:37 am

"Uh... um... I have some items to sell!" the boy said, his voice changing in pitch, a clear indicator that he was nervous. But... why? The Fence was very open about what it was. Thieves came to the place to pawn off anything that they took. Murderers came to exchange their spoils for the same. The place was a den for the amoral, the business model built around the notion that thieves were by far the easiest people in the world to scam. Farris nodded his head, waiting for the boy to continue on, and when he merely continued to stare at Farris, the older man gave a groan of dissatisfaction. He stretched out, losing the intimacy that was being bent forward and facing the boy. Maybe it was best to stay rigid? Did his height provide a sort of intimidation factor? Perhaps it did, but with the boy's knees trembling as they were he very much doubted that the kid had any notion of what to do at all.

"Sure. Let me see what you have, kid, and I'll give you an offer." Upon hearing the request, the boy nodded, turning out his shirt on top of the counter. A number of items spilled from the makeshift 'bag', and Farris couldn't help but be somewhat impressed. Six items hit the surface with soft individual thuds. The gleam of silvery metal shone into Farris' eyes, causing the man to squint for a moment before raising each item in turn in order to get a better look. A half-filled bottle of cologne, a used traveler's pipe, a copper pendant, a metal tooth filling, a set of silver dice, and a tin tankard? The combination of items couldn't be more random, and yet, they seemed to go together, in a strange way. Several of the items he could give a quote on off-hand, his initial days in the store spent learning a ballpark figure on certain items. Others, however, he'd need to get more creative. There were, also, other considerations to be noted.

The set of dice looked to be in good condition, perhaps somewhat worn from use, but clearly well cared for. The metal filling, in truth, Farris didn't even know if he could gauge a price for. the tankard was next to worthless, and with the bottle of cologne half empty, was there a reasonable price to be given? In the end, it was the pipe and pendant that caught the mage's attention best. Those items he could move rather efficiently, given the value and rarity of the pipe in particular. Pendants were just an easy sell to begin with. Shiny things were met with great appreciation, after all. Farris didn't understand it, but he didn't need to understand his customers. He just needed to 'get' them.

"Okay, we'll go through it all one at a time. Let's start with the dice. For the full set I can offer you six silver mizas."

To Farris, it was more than a reasonable price. After all, silver dice sets sold at 4 mizas for a set, and these had some degree of wear on them. There was also the consideration that they were stolen, just as everything else that came through the Fence was.

"Silver mizas? C'mon guy! These are worth at least two gold ones!"

The boy had a measure of spunk. That much Farris could give to him. However, it wasn't a matter of being spunky. Or a kid. The pressing matter at the moment was that the boy needed money and Farris had funds to provide him. A fact that, of course, the young man was happy to inform him. As an added measure, Farris took a moment to gather his djed. As he did so, he continued his conversation, quite at ease and able to multi-task. His speech was a tad slower as his djed flared to life from the depths of his soul. It soared from his spine and began to coalesce behind his eyes. A slight burn came across the senses as he heard his own words pour from his lips.

"If they were in good condition, you'd be right. Clearly your mark was a gambling man or something, because these are beat to shyke. I can offer you one gold and two silver."

The statement was followed by grumbling, and Farris took the moment the boy took to consider the offer to let the djed flare within his gaze. His Sight was active and he took the opportunity to look over the items in question, curious to see what aura might inhabit the pipe in particular.
Last edited by Farris on July 29th, 2018, 11:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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[The Fence] Five Finger Discounts

Postby Farris on July 16th, 2018, 8:05 am

While the kid was making his decision, Farris completed the last of the steps needed to get a taste of the pipe's aura. A rather unremarkable object to begin with, there was nothing that immediately came to light as Farris turned the object in his hand. The Sight offered him a foul taste in his mouth. If he was inclined to smoke, he'd know that the tobacco used in the pipe was of a sub-par grade. But, left unaware, he was instead left with the impression that it was well-used. Different tastes melded together on his tongue, creating a foul cocktail that Farris wished he hadn't forced upon himself. Doing his utmost to disguise the visage of digust that sought to contort his features, he was left with somewhat puckered lips, his gaze leaving the pipe and instead turning to the seller. The child was no older than thirteen and no taller than 4'6", clearly malnourished by his seeming. There seemed to be an air of loneliness about him, and the Sight offered him a chance to notice the put-down and beaten quality to the bare emotions coming from the boy's person. Ill-disguised as it was, clearly the child was suffering. But it wasn't Farris' problem and he had every intention of squeezing as much as he could for as little as he needed to give. He'd dim his Sight and proceed with his analysis.

Turning the pipe in his hand, he estimated the item, if new, was worth about 40 mizas. It was in decent shape, aside from the years of use, but his thoughts were interrupted his thoughts. "One and two...? That's fine, I guess. But what about the rest?"

"I'm getting to that," he responded. With a final look at the pipe, he set it back onto the table before he said, "I'll give you ten for it." The price was rather low, to be fair, but Farris very much doubted that the kid knew what this even was, let alone what it was worth. With a simple wash, one could get the smell out and be sold almost as new to the right buyer.

"Ten? For a piece of wood? You got it, man!" was the boy's elated response. Farris concealed his grin. So was the ignorance of children, it seemed. Quite eager to exploit it, he continued onward with the offerings placed, getting to the pendant next. He turned it over in his hands, feeling for dents and damage to the surface. Satisfied that the item was good as new, he placed his offer.

"For this, I'll give you a two and a half copper."

"... What?"

Clearly, the child was uneducated or incapable of doing math. Farris parted his lips to speak again, slowing the rhythm of his speech as he elaborated, "Two and a half copper mizas, kid," he assured the boy. To him, that prize was more than fair. Perhaps, even, a bit high? He was getting a twenty copper profit margin on the item if he sold it at full price. Which he most likely wouldn't. However, Farris was feeling somewhat generous, given that he'd screwed the kid out of at least ten gold mizas on the pipe.

"Uh... copper? I guess I can do that," he'd say, his eyes staring awkwardly at the ceiling as if he was trying to come up with a total for everything he'd sold so far.

"We're not done yet, but our transaction has us at eleven gold mizas, two silver and seven copper. I don't really see anything else here," he mused aloud. He figured, with the low worth of the rest of the pile, he'd come up with a lump sum offer just to get the kid out of his store.

"If you want to go up to an even eleven gold and three silver and leave the rest here, I'll do that. If not, take the offer and get out of here," he offered simply. The kid's wares weren't worth enough to merit spending more than twenty chimes on. After all, Farris had better things to do, like start making an inventory or create the daily ledger for Zeke.

"Uh, I guess that's fine..." he'd say, leaving the table be and extending out his hand for the money offered. Farris dug into the till, taking exactly what he promised the kid before shooing him out of the place in a hurry.
Last edited by Farris on August 4th, 2018, 11:40 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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[The Fence] Five Finger Discounts

Postby Farris on July 16th, 2018, 8:25 am

Left alone in the store, Farris took the strange compilation of items the child had sold him and placed them in the back with the plethora of other goods. Some day he'd roll up his sleeves and get to inventorying this hellhole, but it could wait. Rather than do that, he heard footsteps behind him, alerting him to the fact that another guest had arrived. Closing the door to the warehouse behind him, Farris made his way back behind the counter, where a stout, drunk-looking wastrel stood before him. It looked to Farris like the man hadn't seen sobriety at all this day, and was rather disoriented. However true that was, however, he was very direct in what he wanted.

"I wa- gimme a good lookin' um... cuptodrk from, yeh?"

Farris couldn't, for the life of him, understood what was just said. The man before him was intoxicated to all hell, and it seemed a miracle that he could stand at all. In fact, if he looked closer the drunkard was swaying, and perhaps a light wind might send him tumbling to the floor. Holding back his laughter, Farris caught the drunkard's gaze, intent on keeping his voice level as he asked, "Come again? I don't follow."

"A petchin' cup you pieca' shyke. I ain't goddalday," he'd say. At least, that time, Farris understood what was said. He nodded in understanding before he decided that he required further elaboration.

"Sure, I can get you a drinking cup. What kind do you want? Something nice? Or functional?"

"Whattehpetch are ye sayin, boy. Just gemmeacup or I'll bust ye teeth in."

Scowling at the notion, Farris deemed it best not to get in a fight with his patronage. He'd make his way to the warehousing space, pulling the door closed behind him before producing a sturdy, silver tankard from a pile of them placed haphazardly into a box. Clearly, it was a staunch favourite. He'd make his way back to the storefront, closing the door behind him before he placed the tankard on the table.

"This suit your fancy? It'll be three gold mizas if it is."

"Three gold? Yerout of yer mind!"

Farris had to do everything to not lose his patience, and squeezed the bridge of his nose in his effort to calm himself down before he answered the concern. "I'm not. This is solid silver. You'll probably be able to sell it for something close if you ever need to. If anything, it's lovely. Here, hold it, boss. You'll fall in love."

Drunks were by no means reasonable creatures, but being given the item in hand might help alleviate the tension. He extended his hand in offering and when the silver tankard left his possession, he quickly pulled back.

The drunk was clearly happy with what was being offered, shown by the fact that he pulled out his coinpurse. He placed two gold mizas upon the table.

"Two, right?"

"No, I said three."

"But two is okay?"

"Fuck it. If you give me five silver, we can call a compromise."

Farris watched the drunk intently, wondering if he'd loose the effort needed to pull out five silver mizas from his pouch. Grumbling in protest, he produced instead a single gold one, throwing it on the desk, where it bounced and fell off on Farris' side.

"Fine ye leechin son of a bitch," the drunkard said before stumbling out of Farris' sight.

"Good riddance, too," he said to himself. The rest of his shift passed by rather quickly after that, and by the end of the day, Farris had doubled his earnings. He wrote the items one by one in a neat ledger, stowing them in the back room before locking up the Fence for the night.
Last edited by Farris on August 7th, 2018, 8:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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[The Fence] Five Finger Discounts

Postby Kynier on August 7th, 2018, 8:05 pm

Grades!


Skill Rewards
  • Auristics +1
  • Book Keeping +1
  • Cleaning +1
  • Deduction +1
  • Mathematics +1
  • Negotiation +3
  • Observation +4
  • Planning +2

Lores Learned
  • Negotiation: Some customers need encouragement
  • Negotiation: Some customers can’t do math
  • Negotiation: Drunks aren’t reasonable creatures
  • Zeke: Leaves him to his own devices so long as mizas kept pouring in

Other Notes
Job Threads-- A useful addition for these threads would be to include a Word Count total as the end of each post.

If you have an questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to PM me.
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