Makin' Dat Papa'

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

The sun, in all of its eternal glory, rose steadily. From his never moving position, like a statue or some sort of ‘staunch defender’, the merchant glad in thin cloth and metal-plated bandana, could seemingly calculate the movement of the sun down to its very inches. With the single piece of flavor-ridden cinnamon tucked safely in his cheek, the one known as Rashn, or Bakr to the other merchants, sat silently in his appointed docking station, peddling his wears to those who would come by and stop. It was not a particularly honest living: it was all about exaggeration. Though some thought it to be about lying… no, those were the ones who had no clue. If you ever deal with a good merchant and lie, you’ll be instantly ignored and will thus, lose. Merchants know the truth, and can sniff it out. If your ideas and claims do not have at least some grounding in the fabric of reality, then there is no hope for it to be ever taken at face value. Not that it ever would be anyway, honestly.

And once again, like a statue given life, movement returned to his tired body, sweat glistening on his body in a none-too-sexytime-way. It drenched his cloth and caused it to hug against his body, though it had no effect on his visage. The only thing that mattered, was the similarly clothed man who had approached his carriage with one of his own. Agh, two travelling merchants doing business with one another? This was a cause for much annoyance. Without question, it was common for the richer one to win simply by show of force. Were they not to get the better end of the deal, they would end up using their superior forces and size, their girth, if you will, to ambush the less powerful one in the desert, unprotected by the laws of the city-states. It was thus not uncommon for merchants and bandits to intermingle their careers with one-another.

But this one seemed to have no such relations to the harsh reality. Like Rashn, he was just another peddler. Another man. Another soul. Another, merchant. While a beautiful thing to him, that did not mean he would go easy on him, as the other soul would of course not do either. Casting their gazes upon each other’s wares, Rashn noted he had mostly knickknacks and small jewelry. Things which would look good on a woman, and things which could be simply salvaged for parts at a blacksmith. They both nodded, seemingly in unison, and began to discuss pricing. This for that, no, that was a steal… normal merchant banter. “You’re not too experienced in what these go for around here, are you then?”
“It doesn’t matter what they go for around here. Only what they’re worth.
“But if you sell them around here, it IS what they’re worth.”
“What they sell for and what they’re worth are two often different things.”
Being a seasoned veteran, Rashn was able to point out that most of what he was looking for would only get price for its base components, which would cost extra to reduce them down to. With that logic, he was able to grab more of a… ‘healthy deal’ with the man. Trading his remaining supply of ores, and a bit of grain, he was able to procure much for his little. Thus was, as always, the way of the merchant. Just another day.

EXP 637
Job for June06: Merchant

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

I REMEMBER TO ROLL FOR JOB COMPENSATION... SHUT UP.

Veteran Rep! : 5

The member 'Kiun' has done the following action : Dices roll

'10 Roll' : 1

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

“It’s unfortunate,” came a voice, whose tone was like that of gravel, “much of what you sell is so limited in quantity. I prefer to trade in bulk.”
“Well, that is unfortunate, because I prefer to do small number trades.” Amidst the desert heat, and the blurry sands, both of which spawned from the overhead sun, two men quarreled civilly and babbled on and on endlessly. One was dressed in ornate robes, his hair spilling out of a large hat, whose rim blotted the sun from nearly his entire body. Behind him was a carriage of some detail, lead by three camels, along with two small donkey-like creatures who held mostly tools and non-sellables. Two of his comrades sat in the front seat, holding the reins to the beasts which lead his wagon. He was obviously quite the rich, and thus lucky, merchant.
To his opposite, however, was the down-dressed, scowling face of ‘Bakr’, travelling merchant ‘extraordinaire’. His robes were by no means detailed, and were clearly torn at places. In facts, they were not truly even robes: just a cloth shirt, and a loose-fitting top to a ripped robe worn like a vest. He had no special hat; just a piece of clothing fastened to the back of a steel plate wrapped around his skull. Sweat soaked his entire wardrobe, unlike the crisp and clean appearance of his ‘competition’. The two, as of current, were arguing over trading for exotic foods brought by the well-furbished carriage group. Rashn had nothing in bulk, which was what they seemed to want. But, he had his eye on that crate of theirs, and would not stop until it was his. He knew of a man who, upon hearing of its existence, would pay any price over it. Thus, it was natural, he had to have it. Buying and selling was the name of the game, and he could afford to go a little ballsy as such.
“Then, two barrels of wheat, and a box of spices. How about that? Surely that will be enough ‘bulk’ for you, hm?” the auburn haired one started, looking for the weakness in their eyes. Unfortunately, there was none that was obvious. Rethinking his strategy, he changed pace before they could respond, bringing up spiced meats in addition to it, though he would be taking off the second wheat barrel.
This argument continued, for one full movement-phase of the sun. In other words, it had been an hour. Finally they came to an agreement, and though he lost much, it was going to be made up for quite easily upon finding his ‘special buyer’. It was, as Rashn decreed, a success.

EXP 493
Job Makeup for June05: Merchant

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

Gripping the box at his side, Rashn grinned deeply to himself. Inside of which there were several colored dresses, robes, and cloaks which would go for a fair price at the central market. It was worth a small fortune, and anyone would be lucky to have it in their possession. Women would clamor over it, and good husbands, looking to appease their wives/achieve nooky status, would buy it with pleasure. While each garment itself was fairly cheap, the sheer number of the lightly woven, thin cloth was staggering. Even if each only went for a tenth of a barrel of wheat, that was still enough to fill his carriage with grains twice over! It was definitely a good find.
Which is why one might find it curious that Rashn was giving it away. Lumping it over the side of another merchant carriage, the man inside had a grin nearly as deep as Bakr’s. The two of them seemed to believe they had the upper hand in the deal, though in all honesty they both came in fairly well. As stated, the clothing was very ‘expensive’ in the town, and all Rashn was getting for it was four crates of, essentially, rock. Rock was one of the most common things in the whole of Rajeh, though it was special because of the contents of which. It was a stone not found in the desert (or at least, was not known to exist there), but was still fairly important: iron.
Mostly it was accepted that it came from deep in the mountains, but Rashn was able to convince the man it came from the desert’s quarry in large numbers. He was clearly not a commoner. As is an important rule, you must always only partially lie: it was true iron was found in the desert, though it had not been seen for quite some time. Mostly it was remnants of whoever lived before the ‘Dawn’, though nobody really knew that. Still, Rashn was happy with it all, so there was no reason to question. It made him get a nice deal, so, to whoever left that iron there in the first place, thank you kindly.

EXP 389
Job for June07: Merchant

Veteran Rep! : 5

The member 'Kiun' has done the following action : Dices roll

'10 Roll' : 8, 9

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

With the sun gone for the day, the area of much business was lit with torches and candles as opposed to the normal solar power. Dusk had long since settled in, and most of the city’s denizens were fast asleep in their bedcovers, fleeing the freezing temperatures of the night. Rashn, the auburn haired merchant, was not one of them. He had been contracted by one of his colleagues in another city to deliver something on his behalf: this was his job, naturally, as a member of a loose-knit merchant guild. There were times when he would take a trip on behalf of the entire organization, and then be paid an extra bit of the profit. It was not unusual. The only difference between that and normal merchant-eering, was that there was very little bartering going on at the spot. Most of it was done between long distance travelling convoys employed by the men. It was comforting to know that if he ever failed as a direct merchant, Rashn would be able to do something like that. That said, on the spot negotiating was not truly rare: it was simply done in such small numbers and over trivial things like an extra package or two of spices thrown into a crate, or another set of clothing, that it was mostly not worth mentioning. Rarely, however, it came down to a total breakdown in negotiations, and when that happened, it was dark times for both parties involved. They would be forced to strike a deal between the two of them with the entire weight of their groups on their back. The stakes would be even higher than normal, as one might expect.
On this night, however, that was not to be. The two men exchanged pleasantries and admired the other’s wares. Respect was shared between Rashn and his fellow merchant, and mere, light bargaining was done. Rashn ended up agreeing to throw in an extra set of cloths – as a prior example stated might happen – for another set of wooden carriage spokes. This was more personal flavor, and something he would be able to get away with selling to someone else down the road. They were of good quality, so anyone who would want wood would like them for their raw materials. That said, the deal was pretty much finished instantly.

EXP 463
Job Makeup for June02nd: Merchant

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

Compensation Rollz

Veteran Rep! : 5

The member 'Kiun' has done the following action : Dices roll

'10 Roll' : 1, 2

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

With outstretched arms, the merchant known as Rashn would wait out the deliberation being held by the two companions merchants at the end of his carriage. Their wagons – drawn by horses and not camels – contained many rare and interesting things, mostly due to their coming from over the mountains, where woods and grass are common sights. It was these horses which drew Rashn to them in the first place: thinking easy pickings due to them obviously not being from around these parts, he learned very quickly that the reason they used horses was not because they were novices, but because they were so good, they were rich enough that they could afford to feed and care for horses in the desert.
What was with his luck, honestly? Dealing with largely successful people so often. It wasn’t fair. There was an innate advantage in their favor, since they had the ability to say ‘no’ to pretty much anything that didn’t directly benefit them. They did not need to make a trade as they had the stock to back up their growing hungers. This was unlike Rashn, who needed to trade every day if he wanted to eat. He had no backup money stored away. Luckily though, they had taken a liking to some of the common spices found in the desert, and he had a fair supply of it. They were making sweeps through the city, buying as much as they could carry. It was clear they thought it would do well back over the mountains, and Rashn thanked himself for being so lucky as to have them on him when he did, but he secretly was upset that that was the only thing they apparently wanted to trade for. Had he not lucked out with that, he likely would’ve missed a good opportunity here. It reminded him to remain humble: even if he was without a doubt the best merchant of all time, he could still get better.
But, again, this was lucky to him, even if it was something of a defeat. The two men agreed that they should do trade with Rashn, and the spices would be given for some already handled bread and water. This would cover Rashn’s eating requirements for at least three days, and could fill the bellies of his camels for some time, though he himself would not get any water were he to do that. It was fine, however. He was planning to travel soon anyway, and as such, a full stomach was needed more for his ride than was for he himself.

EXP 464
Job Makeup for June03rd: Merchant
OOC: It would help if I posted both of the job RPs instead of just 1 lulz.

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

Despite the heat, and the cold, the desert was an economically sophisticated place to be. Most outsiders had the predisposition that desert dwellers were too busy dealing with the extreme temperature changes to worry about good market sense, or they thought the people of the lands of the sands were just idiots and could be taken advantage of. It made some sense, though. You’d have to be fairly stupid to live in the desert for no reason. And, really, there was very little reason to remain in said desert. Its harsh terrain, the deathly heat and bone-chilling cold. Yet, these same people overlooked the most obvious fact about that desert people: They Lived In The Desert.
And they survived in the desert.
While it was assuredly stupid to live in the place which would shift between Múspell and Niflheimr freely and daily, with little to no warning, the fact that they could do so was evidence to their intelligence. Perhaps, a stupid variety of the intelligence, but there was nobody more fearsome than a dumb smart person, or a wise fool. Regardless, the underestimation was welcomed by those who traded freely with the outsiders, who would quickly learn their lessons in not to underestimate the dwellers of sand. Rashn, naturally, was one of the merchants who loved their presence. Whenever a new person arrived on the scene, who had not been to the desert regions before, they were rightfully swooped in on and torn apart like vultures. Some merchant guilds would send novices here on purpose, just to give them a taste of what underestimating your opponents in a bartering battle could do to you.
On this day, however, there was no such reason behind the arrival of a young man and his woman, riding in on clearly thoroughbred horses. Or, at the very least, as thoroughbred as horses could be after the events of the dawn. Their carriage was filled to the brim with exotic goods, which, as was pointed out in an earlier merchant outing, always sold well here. This combination of easy-pickings and high-selling goods made Rashn’s mouth figuratively salivate. By playing dumb, he quickly lowered the guard of his merchant opponent. It was simple, really. Speak slower, in a lower tone of voice. Do not refer to much of what you had with specifics. Call them ‘rocks’, and not ores, ‘oats’ and not grains, ‘knicknacks’ instead of trinkets or baubles. It was not until when the offer was made, did he reveal his true savvy nature. The man, somewhat taken aback, tried to argue back.
“W-What? Surely, you don’t think that your bit of rocks and such pretty stones, as nice as they are, are really so valuable?” He insisted. Rashn smirked at this.
“Of course not. They’re fairly common. Yet, with the ore caves mined out at the moment-“ a lie, naturally. “-you won’t find them anywhere else for some time. First they’d need to find somewhere to dig, and then excavation wouldn’t start for another week or so. Then, it’s another two to three weeks to find anything big, like a collection of good rocks. So, for now, their price is up. And what’s more, even if they were still commonplace, your things have little value here anyway. While I’m sure people where you come from love those tasty spices and the like, with so little experience in them, the people down here won’t be looking to buy them. Rare or not, if nobody likes them, nobody will buy them.” Forced with this logic, the opposing and underestimating merchant would grit his teeth and calculate in his head for a short while. His ‘wife’ would whisper him in consultation, and, with heads hung in defeat, they would seek a deal they thought was more fair for both sides. Luckily, Rashn had no intention of being fair in the first place. The original deal itself was fair, but the readjusted one was much more skewed in his favor. Of course, this was the way a real merchant liked it.

EXP 770
Job Makeup for June20th: Merchant

Veteran Rep! : 5

The member 'Kiun' has done the following action : Dices roll

'10 Roll' : 10

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

With the onset of sunset, Rashn knew he should begin the procedure of packing his goods for the road. Yet, be it a twinge of possible oncoming fate or perhaps just pure intuition, something pushed his inner voice aside and told him to stay set up in camp. The darkness had since fallen around him, but Rashn remained steady, not wanting to give up his rather good spot that this day had brought him. It was nice that he had been assigned a stall so close to one of the entrances to the city: it afforded him the ability to have ‘first dibs’ on people passing by. While he was not one to yell and holler to attract people to his store, there was another quality that seemed to drag them in of their own accord. Was it that his silent-type persona was both mysterious and sexy? Or was it the pretty red hair? Needless to say Rashn was fine with it so long as it didn’t go away, though he honestly doubted either of those prior statements to be the case.

It would not be long after nightfall that he would be rewarded with the appearance of a young woman, dawdling around after dark in all of her feminine charm. Well, her non-existent feminine charm, that is. The woman was both rough and scarred, an amazoness-type, so to speak. It was clear she was not lost, and she had every intention of being where she was. In the times before the dawn she probably would’ve been a feminist. And not even one of those good feminists, but those feminazis who never shut up. Regardless her goods were perfectly welcomed at Rashn’s stall. At the time, it seemed she was looking for a large stone of sorts, and some cloth. Cloth was easy to come by, and they made quick dealings over it, but the stone was a mystery to Rashn. Upon further inquiry into her desires, he quickly discovered that it was a sharpening stone she was after. Nodding in understanding Rashn would fish around in a box for just the thing. He himself carried one to be used with his merchant tools, but it just so happened he would have one suitable for weapons which killed live game. The woman was happy with this, and although Rashn’s deal was not very good at the end, he was lucky to have stayed out so late as large-scale sharpening stones did not sell often for him and he likely would’ve ended up selling it to a smithy who would already be rolling in them. Still, since it was a special item, he would get a decent amount of money from it, even if the ‘deal’ was not particularly grand in scale. It worked for him.

EXP526
Job Makeup for June24th: Merchant

Veteran Rep! : 5

The member 'Kiun' has done the following action : Dices roll

'10 Roll' : 10

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

Updated Up To Here!

Intern Rep! : 10 Location : GARhalla

Sitting high upon his carriage, Rashn would gently hold his head in his hand, deep in thought. In front of him, an oddly-small gnome-like creature wrapped in heavy cloth stuck out his hand. Resting in his palm was a small, ornate box. Its contents were a mystery to the larger merchant, and normally he didn’t deal in such gambles as this, but he was doing well at the time and the man was not asking for much. All he wanted was seven servings of bison meat, or otherwise known, as approximately two days worth of food. Sure, Rashn was a fan of bison meat and didn’t want to give it away, but there was a chance of the box containing something lovely. There was also a chance it did not have anything. Judging by the size of the small one’s carriage, he had done well for himself, so it was either the truth that he was a good merchant, or a good swindler.

“Five.” Said Rashn, apparently arguing over the exact number of servings. “Seven” was the answer he had been countered with. The man didn’t back down an inch, not even half a serving. Rashn had no idea if he was travelling with anyone, and if he was, six and a half would’ve been a fair negotiating point. Most travelling women or children did not eat as much, so half a serving for them was as good as a normal one. Pity he couldn’t use that point.
“Six?” It was said more as a question than an offer, but the little man shook his head slowly. Rashn groaned at this, and paused to look away for a moment. Thoughts raced through his mind as how to deal with this. Not the normal situation he was in. “Five.” He seemingly went back to his first offer for some reason, despite the fact that it had not even scarred the other man’s desire to trade. This caused the smaller one to emit a cute, almost child-like laugh, but he still shook his head and insisted on seven.

Rashn was obviously annoyed, and he really just wanted to settle things at this point. “Alright, I’ll give you seven, if… you let me hold it. If it feels like there’s something worthwhile in there, I’ll give it to you for seven.” The little man seemed to furrow his brow, despite the fact that it was indiscernible from the rest of his features beneath the thick cloth cloak he was wearing. After a moment, he said “Sounds fair,” and handed Rashn the box. It was fairly heavy, but he could tell that was mostly the actual box itself. There was certainly some girth to it though, and that meant that just maybe something worthwhile was actually inside. Deciding to take a gamble, Rashn agreed to the deal and handed over the box half full of meat. Upon inspecting its contents and being satisfied, the little man would bow and leave. At this point Rashn would crack open the box, to find a very pretty looking bracelet. It was not made of diamonds or anything, but its wooden craftsmanship was impressive. It’d sell for an okay amount.

Veteran Rep! : 5

The member 'Kiun' has done the following action : Dices roll

'10 Roll' : 6