I manfully resisted my initial urge for how to spend my treasure, my spendthrift loins pushing me in one direction, even as I shuddered and closed my eyes, images of twi’leks and togrutas in my head. I just needed some more time and effort, and that sweet, sweet sexiness could be all mine from my own efforts. With no need to pay to visit a shady brothel run by a half drow. Soon my V-card, soon we shall part ways, but not now…
So I sighed, even as my mind turned to matters far more mercantile. After all, I had some art to trade and a magic shield to trade in, all of which should net me, and by extension the clan, some more breathing room. So I took the items from my cart, his eyes looking on them with interest. Truth be told, I only had a rough idea of how valuable they were. Okay, I had a good idea of how much the shield would go for, because I actually had the books and knew the prices. Kinda. It was at least two thousand gold, and hopefully the art would bring it up to four.
Which on the one hand was a lot of cash, it would also be eaten up quickly by the family. Maybe not literally, I had a good deal of supplies, but at the same time... yeah, we had largely been using tools we had on hand as weapons... though as the clan opened up the starter packs, it seemed that was less and less of an issue. Same on the armor front. And actually, my stash of canned food? That could have gotten me through a few weeks, maybe a few months. But the entire clan? It was not going to be anywhere near enough.
Granted, same time actually storing the food in the needed quantities could be a pain. In no small part because all the various seeds I had in and planted? Those were going to take time to actually grow and be ready for the harvest. And in the case of the grains? Some was going to need to be held back to act as seed rather than ground into flour for cooking. The simple thing was, as I looked over the goods on offer, was that what I needed was the basic shit. Survival over glory basically.
Which made the sale of the art and shield easy. Of course... "I won't need any coin." Oh, I can already hear the bellows of 'Matt, you need to manage your money better' or 'Matt, you need to take the damn money', as the family comes closer. But the long and short of it? We need the supplies over the cash. "I'll be taking it in trade goods, minus the containers, assuming they are fifty five gallon drums?" Oh, they seemed to be unsure, as they went and checked, whispers that I was not really able to hear, before one of them nodded.
"Yes, we have those. Three gold each." Which all said and done, was inside the realm of expectations, as they looked at me, something like amused wariness on their faces. Still, best not to disappoint. Best to place a big grain order and hope they were good for it.
"So then, do you have thirty barrels of wheat? Should come to... a hundred and ninety five gold?" Which honestly, as I considered some things... yeah, smile creeping across my face, I may as well continue the order. "Actually, double that. Sixty barrels loaded with wheat should come to three hundred and ninety and still leaves us with a good balance for the rest of the goods. A barrel of salt, ten barrels of beans, two hundred pounds of garlic and two hundred and ninety pounds of powdered milk in a barrel."
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
I carefully considered just how much all of that was. "Should be one thousand, nine hundred and fifty two, so still leaves us with around two thousand. If of course, you have the goods." And a thought suddenly occurred to me, as frankly, the women would kill me if I did not at least ask about a very important product. "Oh, and chances of having two hundred pounds of soap on hand?"
Just a little shopping before the crash and nap.
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Cathi
There are times she wonders just what goes on in that boys head. Granted, as she looks over the supplies that were 'donated' to the 'clan coffers and supplies', she was no longer able to simply say he was a strange young man that would grow up and mature as time went on, that he would pet aside his fascination for video games and actually hone some employable skill and talent. Because they were living in one now.
And as far as his habit of trying to stock up on supplies and all but hoard things? Frankly, they had gotten far too used to supermarkets and relied on the common sense of the world, a sense that seemed to be less and less common as time went on. And now? He seemed to be possessed of some sort of manic energy, as he moved barrels, as the strange elf people seemed to be somewhat annoyed, as they left after making some trades and we all stocked up on beer and wine.
But Matt was leading a charge to dig grain pits, to begin digging root cellars, because the food needed to be stored... though that may have been an excuse to send the kids off to search for suitable cliffs and hills. Still, it was time to sleep, as it had been a long night, and it was poised to be another, if the dead kept coming. She would leave all this excitement for the younger crowd, when they worked the worst of the energy out and were ready to be directed towards more productive tasks.
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Jake
Frankly, we needed to head into Thunder Bay. Matt could likely have picked up some tools and supplies, but he didn't. Ideas were burning in my brain, but I needed materials, needed the supplies. So, it was time to grab a bike and head over to the hardware store, before heading into town. Sure, the engineering I studied for was no longer available to me. But now? Now I had the punk engineering of World of Warcraft at my fingertips, and i was not going to let it go, not if I could help it!
So what if it was supposedly less reliable than what I was used to. It was not art. It was not magic or supernatural bullshit. It was science. It was technology. It was something that made sense in a world gone mad. And I was going to make sure that I had everything I needed to get back to how things are supposed to be.