Author’s Note: I might be some hours late, but I still managed to post it today! Honestly, I should have managed to post it sooner, but I’ve been having health issues and work issues and a number of other issues. I also started taking anti-depressants which have left me feeling kind of weird too.
I’m still dedicated to trying to keep to the 3 day release schedule, but please don’t be surprised if I take an extra day or two here or there.
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Chapter 17
It had taken me longer than necessary to get to the Merchant’s Guild. I had decided to take some time to test something now that I was in a populated town again. I was currently observing the building, which I assumed had to be the Merchant’s Guild based on what Seran had told me. She was definitely correct about this place being the busiest around. Tons of people were currently moving in and out of that particular building. Are most of the buildings nearby warehouses for the guild building? They look like they are and that would make sense, I suppose. The docks are very near too, which is probably the main reason why the Merchant’s Guild was even at this location.
Well, no reason to stay standing here. I looked over myself for a brief moment. I definitely still had that vagabond look going again. That wouldn’t help negotiations, but that’s only if I was planning on playing fair or taking it lightly like I had with Malcolm in that other town. I had mistakenly thought I was still in a game then so some money problems wouldn’t really matter, but that’s no longer the case. I still had Empath set as my Subclass after all, and I was going to use it a bit mercilessly.
I wrapped Coa more tightly around my neck and pulled my cloak up to cover her and my shield choker as thoroughly as possible. Then I whispered to her, “Coa, you need to be quiet for a bit. So try not to make any noise.” She tilted her head and crooned softly at me. I really wish she was a bit older so it didn’t feel like I was talking to a baby, though I think that’s exactly what I am doing. I just had to hope she understood well enough.
I made my way inside the building and looked around for what passed for the reception. I blanked for a moment when I saw the length of the line, but I hurriedly got in as well. I was a bit surprised by the number of people I saw carrying weapons and wearing armor in here. Quite a few of the people in line ahead of me looked much more like adventurers than merchants. I suppose I fit in that descriptor as well.
Thankfully the line moved pretty quickly and I was in front of a receptionist after only maybe thirty minutes to an hour. To my disappointment, none of the receptionists were cute girls, so I found myself in front of a young man. I’m sure a normal girl would find him attractive with the smile and look he was giving me, but all I felt was disgust. This guy was giving me the vibe that he was one of those types that was used to girls falling for him.
I swallowed those feelings and spoke. “Hello. I am here to conduct business today.”
The man replied. “Would you be seeking to charter passage to the capital, Miss?” He gave me an even brighter smile after he finished.
Charter passage to the capital? Ahh, I see. No wonder there were so many obvious non merchants in line. They require people to charter passage on the merchant ships here. How sly. The merchant ships get extra guards from the adventurers being on board, though I’m sure they don’t rely on only that for protection or they’d be robbed pretty often, and even get them to pay for it. “No. When I said I am here to conduct business, I meant it. I wish to sell certain items and I believe the Merchant’s Guild would be interested in them.”
The look on the young man’s face changed slightly. Maybe the fact that I didn’t respond at all to his smile irked him? Oh well, tough luck buddy. “May I examine one of the items in question, Miss? Also, do you happen to be a member of our establishment?”
“I am not a member of the guild. What does it take to register as a member?” I asked.
“For one, every member must have the Merchant Class. If you do have it, then I can provide you with the documents to fill out to register.” He answered.
Merchant Class requirement, huh? Oh well, not that big of a loss. “That’s alright. I do not have the Class. As for your previous question about what it is I am looking to sell…” I slipped a gem out of the pouch in my pack and held it tightly in my hand making sure no one could see it. A repeat of what I did in that other town would probably create much more drama here. I held out my hand toward him and he likewise reached toward me. I dropped the gem in his hand. Oh, this time it was a diamond.
The man reacted much better than that girl back then. What was her name again? Well, that’s not really that important. He quickly closed his hand over the gem with only a brief moment of being shocked. I guess working in a big trade town like this isn’t just for show. He opened his hand slightly to examine the gem then returned his attention to me. “Would you mind waiting while I get this appraised?” He asked.
“No, go right ahead. Shall I just wait here?” I replied.
He looked torn about how he should reply. His eyes were flicking between me and the line behind me, though there were other receptionists so it’s not like it’s a large problem. Maybe he was more shaken up about the gem than he was letting on? If so, I’m not surprised. The gems Lynn had made really were too perfect. It looks like he made a decision because he spoke up, “I’ll take you to one of the small rooms, if that’s alright?”
“Sure. Lead the way.” I said.
He led me upstairs and then to one of the first rooms up there. The room was pretty much identical to the room I had met Malcolm in, just a table and some chairs. There was an addition of a flower pot that I kind of thought was amusing. He left the room right afterwards and I took a seat to wait for whoever I would be haggling with. I decided to review some of the information I had gathered.
One of the things I had asked Seran about was the general exchange rate for currency between the empire and the kingdom. She had mentioned that usually the empire coins were worth about half again as much as the kingdom coins. The main reason for this is that the empire coins are purer. This is sort of an unofficial exchange rate though, so I’m sure merchants have a more precise one. What it does though, is give me a general idea of what my pouch of gems is worth. Lynn made sure to make the contents of the pouch identical to the previous pouch I had sold. Taking what Malcolm said was half market price and the converting it with that exchange rate value, my gems would be worth about 110 empire gold coins. I don’t expect to get that much, but it is something to aim for. Unlike the problems Malcolm had with selling the gems, a town as trade focused as this one would have absolutely no issues reselling or getting them to a jewelry crafter to process them. <((If you are reading this series on any website other than royalroad.com, then you are doing so without the permission of the author, Xacual. If you have paid money and bought the story on Amazon or some other store, please file a report and request a refund as it has been stolen and is being sold illegally.))>
The other important information was what I had tested as I made my way here after separating from Seran and Gormon. I had used my psi links on just about everyone I had passed or seen and not a single person had even reacted to the intrusion. I wasn’t even being subtle with those links and had tossed them around willy nilly. I couldn’t believe the low level of mental defenses the people of this world had. I had waited until I was in a populated town just in case of some reaction, since it would make it easier to hide my involvement if I was caught, but this was almost pathetic. Even basic low level NPCs in the game had better defense against psi! Does this mean that psi truly doesn’t exist on this world at all? That tiger resisted it easily enough, but that might have just been a level and status thing. It was a boss after all.
Well, the key point of the results was that if the people of this world have basically no protection against what I can do with my psi, then it opens up possibilities for me to develop new tricks that wouldn’t have worked in game so I never tried them. Of course, I’ll have to be careful with it. I remember reading a story once about psychics, where someone tried to take knowledge out of another person’s head and reduced them to an invalid. That kind of aftermath would be really conspicuous in a bad way.
I waited for probably about ten to fifteen minutes before someone knocked on the door and then came in. I was a bit surprised to see it was a woman, but being surprised over something like that is stupid. I’d estimate that she’s in her mid to late 20s and looked pretty much human. At least no long ears or horns. Well, it was surprising that the outfit she was wearing really put me in mind of a female business suit, glasses included. They really have clothes like this here? She wasn’t accompanied with the guy I had been dealing with before, so I assumed she was the one I would be dealing with. I tossed a link at her and then for good measure reinforced it with another two. I never would have used a multi link like this before, but theoretically it should strengthen what I can pick up from her thoughts.
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Her thoughts were in a bit of chaos despite her calm face as she walked toward the table to sit down. Wondering where I had acquired such a perfect gem. Wondering if she can get me to reveal that in this negotiation for a better deal. Wondering how many other gems of such quality I might possess. All the while, as her thoughts were bouncing around, she was keeping up her prim attitude. I had to give her some respect for not showing any signs of her internal dilemma.
Upon taking a seat, the woman greeted me. “Good day Miss. My name is Ellen, and on behalf of the guild I will be doing business with you. It’s a pleasure.”
“I’m Seri, and likewise, a pleasure to do business with you.” I answered.
She sat the diamond on the table between us before continuing. “Now, according to my associate you were looking to sell a number of items like this?” She asked.
I nodded. “Yes, I would like to sell a quantity of eighty gems. The gems are of a mixed variety.” I took the pouch out of my bag and sat it on the table, but for now kept the pouch closed.
She was eying the pouch with calculating eyes. “May I examine them?”
“That’s fine. Go right ahead.” I handed her the pouch. She opened it and started examining each and every gem. Her thoughts were once again a mess. She couldn’t believe how perfect the cut of each and every gem was. She was also trying to calculate out how much to offer me and what the guild would make reselling them after using them in jewelry. I decided to interrupt that line of thinking by tossing out a price of my own. “I was thinking 120 gold coins for all of them. Of course, that would be in empire coinage.” Her alarm shot up hearing my price.
She was now desperately trying to calculate how much the gems were worth. After another minute she decided that the gems would be worth approximately 105 gold coins. Sightly less than my guesstimate but that’s ok. She was also thinking that once processed, the guild would stand to make 150 to 180 gold coins total so a profit of 45 to 75 gold coins at her estimated price. She didn’t think I really knew the value though, so she was going to offer me less. She was hoping to make enough off this deal to impress her superiors. “I believe that 120 gold coins is too much. My offer is 80 gold coins.”
I decided to act like I was thinking the offer over. Of course 80 gold coins is too little. I wanted to get at least 100. I decided to use the knowledge I had gleaned from her thoughts to make my next counter offer. “I think they are worth much more than that. At that price the guild could stand to make more than double that in profit. I’ll lower my suggestion to 110 gold coins. How about that?”
She was shocked that I understood the value after all. She had been looking down on me because of my appearance and hadn’t expected this. I felt a little bad about it, but it serves her right for underestimating me. She pulled herself back together and decided to ask me about the source of the gems. “I’ll accept that price if you toss in where you acquired the gems. Otherwise the price is 90 gold coins.”
“I refuse. Revealing my source does not benefit me in anyway. My final offer is 100 gold coins. If you don’t accept this price then I’ll be ending the negotiation here.” I decided to take a hard stance here. Make her think she’ll lose the potential profit entirely. She doesn’t know I actually need money since she’s been too focused on the gems to ask any questions. It seems like her thoughts are moving towards accepting, too. I’m a bit disappointed with how easy this went.
She took another few minutes before finally replying. “I’ll accept that price of 100 gold coins. Would you like that paid in that form or would you prefer silver coins?” It seems like she wanted me to accept getting paid partially in silver coins. Maybe 100 gold coins is a lot for the guild to lose at once?
“That’s fine. How about 80 gold coins and the rest in silver coins. I believe it was 20 silver coins to a gold coin or am I mistaken?” I said.
“You are correct. The total would be 80 gold coins and 400 silver coins. Please wait here a moment and I will return.” She stood up and inclined her head to me and then left the room.
Well, that should solve my money problems for a while. I still have the other pouch of gems in case I run out and the kingdom coins too to be exchanged if possible. I wonder if I can purchase a bag of holding anywhere here in town.
I waited for about ten minutes before Ellen returned with my money. Afterwards I counted out all the coins, or well I had Lynn count the coins. I just dumped the pouches I was given out and let Lynn tell me if the right amounts were there. It probably looked ridiculous from Ellen’s point of view but I don’t care. I slipped the two new pouches into my bag.
“By the way, I needed some help looking for some stores. Do you know where I can find a store that would sell oil like for soothing cracked scales. My tamed beast requires some. Also I need to know where Huvreck’s shop is.” I directed the questions to Ellen as I was getting ready to leave.
“Well, I’d recommend Fiona’s Apothecary that is located over at the main plaza area for the oil. As for where Huvreck’s weapon shop is located, that’s a bit more difficult. It’s on the other side of town past the Adventurer’s Guild and then down a few side streets. It’s kind of a bit out of the way. Honestly, the Adventurer’s Guild would probably give you better directions.” She explained.
“Thank you. Do I just leave on my own?” I asked.
“I’ll escort you back downstairs.” She replied and then beckoned for me to follow, which I did. The line seemed to be smaller now and not very many adventurers were around. Did I manage to come here precisely during the rush earlier? That would be my luck.
After I left the building, I decided to head for the apothecary first rather than head immediately to the Adventurer’s Guild. Coa was good and quiet the entire time I was in there so let’s reward her a bit. <((This series is only officially posted to royalroad.com. If you are reading this series on any other website, then you are doing so without the permission of the author, Xacual. If you have paid money for this story, please file a report and request a refund as it has been stolen and is being sold illegally.))>
When I arrived at the plaza, I located the Adventurer’s Guild easily enough because of the adventurers I saw hanging around it, but I had to ask someone nearby which shop the apothecary was. Once it was pointed out I made my way inside. The shop had a very flowery scent inside and I did a double take when I saw the person behind the counter. Wearing a stereotypical witch outfit was a pretty, young girl. The most eye catching feature about her was her long bright blue hair.
“Welcome to my shop! In need of medicines or how about some perfume? I have a great selection!” The girl, I guess Fiona, said in a very jubilant voice.
“Hello. Actually, I need some oil for my tamed beast’s scales. Her scales are starting to crack.” I explained my circumstances.
“I see, I see! Do you have your pet with you?” She craned her head to look around me. It looks like Coa is being overlooked because of being wrapped around my neck and covered a bit by my cloak.
“She’s right here.” I reached up around my neck and gently removed Coa from her place. I was holding her in my hands and I brought her down toward the shop counter.
“Oh my! Such a cute tiny dragon!” The witch girl immediately started petting Coa on the head. Coa didn’t mind, she started purring and rubbing her head against the girl’s hand. With her other hand the witch was running it along Coa’s body. Eventually she found a crack and Coa whined when it was rubbed. “Oh, I’m sorry cutie. Did that hurt? I know just what to get you though to make you feel better!” She ran into the back room of the shop and returned a few moments later with a small jar. “Here we go, this oil should work wonders for her.” She opened the jar and stuck her finger in to get some of the oil. The oil had a very flowery scent. Thankfully, it wasn’t that strong of a smell. She then rubbed the oil along Coa’s body. Coa just purred even louder than she had been doing earlier. “See, isn’t that much better for you? I bet you feel so good now you little cutie.”
I laughed a bit. Cuteness reigns supreme I suppose. “How much do I owe you? And is it possible to get another jar just in case for later?”
She stopped petting Coa and went and got another jar. “For two jars, normally it would be about 1 silver and 30 coppers but I’ll let you have both for 1 silver. I got to see such a cute little pet after all.”
I pulled out a coin and slipped it across the counter to her. I picked Coa back up, it seemed like the oil soaked in pretty fast since she wasn’t sticky or anything. I slipped the two jars into my bag too. “Thank you for the help, I was really worried about her.”
“No sweat! This is part of what I love about being an apothecary. Oh, but you can feel free to visit anytime if you want. I’d love to play with her some more. I’ll even bring my familiar around next time if you want to see her.” She pleaded with me.
“Well, I can’t make any promises, but I’ll probably be in town for at least a few days.” I answered.
“Ok, I’ll be expecting you!” She waved me out of her store, but I saw her eyes focused on Coa the whole time.
That’s two errands down. Just two more to go. I hope registering at the Adventurer’s Guild goes as smoothly.