[The Midnight Gem] The Grand Opening

[Kelski]

Timestamp: 30th of Summer, 518 AV

It was nerve wracking hanging a shingle out and opening a business. Kelski had spread word around the market and talked to dozens of vendors about her new business in hopes of happily supplying them with things they needed for some of their sales. She’d paid little urchins to spread fliers and cry about the grand opening on the corners of streets until Kelski was sure that the whole of Sunberth had heard that a new jewelry store was opening.

The hardest part of opening was deciding what type of clientele to cater too. There were a lot of diverse people in Sunberth. Kelski wanted to bring in the most income to help pay off her debt to Goldfinger the fastest, but the truth was, those sorts of people – the affluent – weren’t completely commonplace in Sunberth. There would be a lot more commoners and gang members than there ever would be rich people. So her inventory had to reflect that. So rather than only carry high end items, Kelski had set out to include a wide range of things to appeal to all types of folks. She’d even ended up adding in some collar items for dogs and slaves and bridle tags for horses. The engraving services she offered added a nice personal touch to any piece someone wanted to select. She could put names on them, sayings, or even oaths. The examples in her shop were varied and she made sure that one income bracket flowed into another so that there were no shabby portions flanked with high end items.

She also hired a guard. The Akalak had done wonders for Kelski’s piece of mind. So too had the Kelvic Night Lion that now acted as her shop clerk. Ebon’s story was sad, bonded to a healer who had been killed on the streets of Sunberth moments before Kelski and Aer’wyn had met him and each other, all joining forces to defeat the men that had killed Ebon’s bondmate and had almost taken their lives as well. That had brought their little family closer together with the Midnight Gem providing shelter for all of them. Kelski loved it and felt really …. Ready… when opening day came about.

The Sea Eagle hadn’t expected a line at the door or anything when she turned the sign to open that morning and it was a good thing since there wasn’t a flood of customers that rushed right at the break of dawn. Instead, however, there was a steady flow of curious folks looking to see what she offered and if she had any opening day sales. She did. Kelski was giving a small gold trinket to each woman that shopped until they were all gone. They were tied to silk ribbons and could be worn in one’s hair or used as a bookmark in a novel or journal or even a woman’s ledger for her household expenses. The idea was ingenious because word got around and soon there was a flood of customers until all the little heart shaped trinkets were gone.

[Kelski]

Kelski was glad of the business and was even more thrilled when the first hesitant young man had come through the door carrying a mask. He’d laid the mast on the counter and asked her to decorate it for him for a certain special occasion that was coming up on the 55th. Kelski had readily agreed, discussing placement of gemstones, varnishes, and even some overlay gold across the face of the wooden monstrosity. She’d thought the request unusual until five more people came in, word spreading, and her counter had five more mask inlays and embellishments ordered and promised all by the 50th. After the tenth Daggerhand – for that’s who they were – had come through the door Kelski had to simply start turning them away. There were just too many to all handle in the short amount of time. Plus, after ten masks her creativity was beginning to wane and she had no more ideas for how else to decorate the items.

Ebon had half a dozen questions for her, and Kelski was slowly educating him on where things were, what they cost, and what she could alter. At first, the night lion had had a hard time believing that she could for instance change the size of a ring or alter a bracelet to fit a bigger or smaller wrist. He was so skeptical that she had to demonstrate sizing on one of her own stock rings, changing it from a five to a six by heating it and gently tapping it down the mandible in an even uniform manner. The Night Lion was astonished and seemed to take up an immediate interest in the gemstones he was going to be busy selling. Kelski was delighted. Because the more Ebon was distracted from his loss, the faster he would get well and perhaps even start sleeping again at night.

At first, Kelski had thought she was the only one that had nightmares. But that wasn’t the case. It seemed everyone that lived at The Midnight Gem that could switch out their fur did so. Ren often tossed and turned, crying out her fear in the night. Kelski suspected it was from a premature loss of parents, something the Sea Eagle was well familiar with. Ebon cried for his lost bondmate, which Kelski knew he’d been close too. Healers were gentle folk and it was a mazing that Ebon had found one just like himself to bond with. She just wasn’t sure how he’d ended up in Sunberth and how they’d had the misfortune to be on that street with those thugs so tragically.

And then there were Kelski’s own nightmares. She often dreamed of being drugged and paraded about. She dreamed of killing people, stalking them in the night, and eating their eyeballs for pleasure. It wasn’t something she’d do without just cause. But it was often something she feared she’d turn into. But truthfully, all of them were slowly relaxing under the roof of The Midnight Gem, and now that it was a fully functional jewelry store in full operation, Kelski was a lot more relaxed about it.

[Kelski]

She was just glad the grand opening was doing so well and she was making a profit today. Well, profit was a loose term. Being in debt to Goldfinger to the tune of 10,000 mizas meant it would be a long long time before Kelski turned an actual profit that didn’t belong to Goldfinger. But she was fine with that, because so far the man hadn’t done anything but assist her in getting her business up and running and had even sent some business her way in the form of pre-ordered gift items for his clients who were finally paid off on their loans or who were getting married or having anniversaries. She had been startled when the first order came in, well ahead of the stores opening, but when she’d promptly filled it and he’d been pleased, more orders had come through. She’d probably turned a thousand gold just on his needs alone, and it had motivated her to cut some of her raw stock ahead of time so she would have gemstones on display when she opened.

Clients loved having the ability to pick a band, select its size and metal, add or subtract designs from it, and then get to select their very own stone from a selection of stones cut just for such a purpose. It was one of Kelski’s very favorite things to do. It took the stress of her having to pick designs, metals, and stones that would all go together that would suit enough individual tastes to make her rings and earrings sell quickly. When a client came in, got to pick the combinations for themselves, then they felt they were more in control and got a better selection of what was available to add to their settings.

Kelski loved the smiles on the brides when their rings were chosen. She also loved telling them stories about gemstones and what they meant. She loved showing a bright golden piece of amber and telling her clients that amber represented warmth, wellbeing, and nurturing. Amethyst meant protection, cleansing, and intuition. Carnelian stood for vitality, confidence and personal empowerment. Emeralds were always for love, compassion, and abundance. Even if she wasn’t good with people, Kelski was good with gemstones and understanding their meaning. If someone came in looking for a stone to help them calm down, she’d always recommend a hematite ring because it tended to settle people down and help them figure out what they wanted in the world. As silly as it sounded, Kelski believed stones had meaning and powers. Some she had yet to discover, but she was certain they were out there.

And occasionally, going through her inventory, she found some sort of stone that stood out for a reason she couldn’t put her finger on. Those stones she set aside, in a ‘special’ tray in her vault for further examination later. Kelski trusted her instincts and her jewelers good sense. Many many things passed through her hands, and even on opening day, people walked in with things to sell. Some she took in, paying good coin for because the stone was good or the metal was excellent. Some she passed because what people thought were good quality stones were simply glass. It was hard telling the latter that they’d been fooled sometime in the past by someone passing off a glass gem as something good quality. But it had to be done, and she’d do it simply and quietly, where no one would overhear their conversation and the client would be embarrassed. Kelski, on opening day, knew immediately that she’d chosen the correct career and that she was headed down the right path. In her shop, talking jewelry, she was in her element. Everything here made sense. It was an environment she could control, and it was a work she loved doing.

Happiness, the thirtieth of Summer, was a tangible thing for Kelski.

[Kelski]

G R A D E S

Kelski

Business +3, Leadership +3, Teaching +1

The Midnight Gem: Opening A Businesss, Business: Advertising For A Grand Opening, Business: Customer Interaction – What They Like/Need, Business: Catering To A Clientele, JC: Some Stones Are Unique Among Their Types

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