Dawn had come and the first of the sun’s light began pouring over the low walls of Flousshire. Calling Flousshire a city was quite an overstatement when considering its sparse number of residents. But while there was a lacking quantity of citizens, they made up for it through their work ethic. Even at this hour the town was bustling with activity. Farmers harvesting their fields, alchemists producing their various concoctions, artisans crafting high class furniture or Shopkeepers putting their products up for sale.
Somewhere within a moderately sized room of a rather quaint building, one such worker was soundly sleeping on his soft bed, covered in silken sheets. While the average inhabitant of Flousshire was not very well off, one could clearly tell this man was the exception to the rule based on the fabrics he wore.
*RRRRRIIIIINGG* *click*
Time to get to work.
His success by no means made him lazy. If anything, he was one of the hardest working people in the whole town. He stepped out of bed, into his soft, fuzzy slippers and walked to the bathroom to brush his teeth. His bright blonde hair was cut short and he sported a neatly trimmed goatee. He spent 10 minutes every morning making sure he looked as well-groomed as possible. After all, keeping up a good image is half the battle when it comes to owning a prosperous business.
Alright, step one complete.
He made his way downstairs to the kitchen and ate his usual breakfast comprised of multiple slices of wheat bread with some ham and cheese, and two pickled eggs. After finishing his breakfast, he cleaned up the dishes and walked out the front door.
It was another wonderful day. Comfortably warm and not a cloud in sight. Truly a splendid Summer day. His neighbors were already busy at work or on the way to their jobs. Even though they weren’t all as fortunate in their professions, he wasn’t the subject of anyone’s ire. If anything he was a shining symbol that even the Gemeen were able to achieve greatness, and was treated well because of it.
“Mornin’ Goldie”
“Good morning Bob, truly beautiful weather we’re having today"
“Heh, when is it not?”, Bob replied.
“You got me there, Flousshire is truly a wonderful place”, he mused.
“Too true”, Bob agreed. “Have a great day at your shop!”
His way to work was full of such short conversations, Goldie was well known within the district. Even people he was barely aquainted with gave him a formal greeting.
He nervously checked the time on his pocket watch as he reached his destination. He was, however, well accustomed to the many interruptions on his way to work and arrived at precisely 7 o'clock. He took out his keys and unlocked the front door, flipping the entrance sign to 'open' on his way in.
He had a wide range of valuable products. From spices and minerals originating from across the desert, to fine furniture locally crafted. Only the best for his customers. Any less would be shameful for the proud owner of “Goldie’s Cornerstore” and future CEO of the “Pyrite merchant's association”. That’s right, he was finally moving up in the world after all those years he had finally saved enough to pay for the state-required “merchant’s permit”.
This has been his dream ever since he was little. After his father’s death he vowed to expand his family’s small business, and after over 30 years of hard work it was finally within reach. He had enough capital and had forged enough friendships across borders to start expanding as soon as he received the needed allowance from the minister of commerce. The minister had to award it personally and only visited Flousshire every three months, however it was only another week before his arrival. Goldie could barely contain his excitement.
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“Good morning Goldie.”
“Ah, good morning mister Bloom, the usual order?”, he asked as he took out a pen and paper.
“You know me far too well”, the customer chuckled.
Frederik Bloom was one of his regulars, as Goldie’s shop was the only place he could buy medicine for his bad back.
“You really ought to have a doctor take a look at that”, Goldie mentioned as he scribbled down a receipt.
“Of course, right as soon as I can afford to leave my fields unattended and travel to Siellous”, Frederik snorted. “I’ll survive. If it were something bad then I wouldn’t still be around.”
He’s been saying that for the past few years. Not that it isn’t true of course. Can’t leave your clients unsatisfied.
This just goes to show I have to work even harder.
The hours flew by just like any other workday. Some faces very familiar, others less so. However all customers were welcome. If anything unfamiliar customers were Goldie’s favorite, since they were often merchant’s from other cities and quite interested in the rare items he had for sale.
However the most prized customers were the Sahíl. Most of them were quite wealthy, but the chances of meeting one were astronomically low. It just so happened, however, that today was Goldie’s lucky day.
“Excuse me mister, uh, Goldie?”, the blessed foreigner asked.
“Ah no, Goldie is merely my nickname. My actual name is Gordon Pyrite”, he explained.
Although Goldie’s hair was blonde, it was far too bright to be comparable with gold. In actuality the nickname stemmed from the golden streak flowing through the otherwise brown iris of his left eye.
“Ah, I see…” the man started. “So what have you got for sale?”
“Of course, right this way Sir”, he eagerly replied.
Goldie spent the next half hour showing off his most prized wears and intently listening to everything the man said.
Everything about the stranger demanded attention. A full set of shiny steel armor covered his muscular body and he was nearly 7 feet tall. He had long wavy hair and a scar across his left cheek.
He wasn’t necessarily very attractive, but he was practically oozing Charisma.
“So have you seen anything you like my good sir?”
“As I can see you have quite a lot of valuable goods”, he started. “Do you mind telling me where you got them from?”
“No no, of course not”, Goldie interjected. “I would be happy to tell you. The fact of the matter is, that while Flousshire isn’t a very large city, and doesn’t export a lot of raw material, they are the closest city to the southern border. I merely took advantage of this opportunity and established trade with the foreign merchants. So, to answer your question: The rare goods you see before you come from across the desert.”
“I see, you must have made quite the killing with such an exclusive deal.”
“You are quite right”, he boasted. “In fact, I will soon be getting my merchant’s permit from the minister of commerce. After that, my exclusive wares will hopefully be available all over the empire.”
“How very interesting…”, the traveler muttered. “I believe I have heard enough. I’ve decided on what I’d like to buy. Firstly I’d like two grade C amithyan crystals, and five grade D crystals. Next I’ll take thirty grams of the dried seribic spice. Lastly, I’ll buy the tarkinium dagger.”
“Oh, I’d be happy to get that thing off my hands”, Goldie sighed. “I impulsively bought that dagger years ago, and hadn’t considered how little the town's residents need such a pricey weapon. Considering this fact, I’ll give you a slight discount. The weapon combined with the aforementioned items come to a grand total of 300 gold.”
“Oh…”, the warrior frowned. “Sadly I only have a platinum coin on me at the moment, I hadn’t expected such a bargain.”
“A pl-platinun coin!?”, Goldie stammered. “Oh that’s not a problem, I’ll just go get some change from the back.”
A few minutes later he returned with a small chest full of gold coins, of which he took out 700 and handed them to his customer, accepting the platinum coin in exchange.
“Thank you very much Mister Pyrite. Could I bother you to store it in my bag while I hold it open?”
“Of course not a problem”, he instantly replied.
Wait, is that what I think it is?
“It’s a bag of Holding!”, Goldie gasped.
“It is, but not a very good one. I need your help filling it since the portal isn’t very stable.”
“Please excuse my rudeness, I was just astounded since I’ve never seen one before.”
After having safely stored his recent purchase, the attention grabbing man walked out the door, his aura of astoundment disappearing with him.
Wow that was intense. I can’t believe I made so much money. If he haggled hard enough I might’ve just gifted him the dagger.
He wrote down the transaction and stored away the rest of his money, a dumb smile spread across Goldie’s lips. As soon as he closed the chest, however, he noticed something was amiss.
Where did the platinum coin go?