2017-04-27: A Meeting of Merchants
- Log: 2017-04-27 A Meeting of Merchants
- Cast: Jacqueline Barber, Rose
- Where: Adlehyde - Fairgrounds
- Date: 2017-04-27
- Summary: Rose visits Jay's shop to fill a few orders and get a new backpack.
===========================<* Adlehyde - Fairgrounds *>=========================== Located in the northeast quadrant of Adlehyde, the Fairgrounds are situated on a large open space traditionally used to train soldiers in march and maneuver. As a result of the Ancient Culture Exhibition, however, a large number of tents and other temporary buildings have been set up to showcase the latest in ARM discovery and advancement. Paths between the tents and buildings have been set up more or less at random in the area, making it a bit difficult to navigate, particularly with hawkers and visitors clogging the arteries. The central focus of the Fairgrounds is a large plaza set up for demonstrations, as far away from anything flammable as practicable. A raised platform occupies the centre of the demonstration area, with a (probably not scale) model of Adlehyde's Golems - Diablo, Lolithia, and Barbados - occupying three corners. The fourth corner is taken up by a similarly-scaled model of a gender-neutral individual with an expression of dull surprise, holding a model torch in an upraised hand. A plaque at the bottom of the statue helpfully explains that this is meant to symbolize the concept of INNOVATION; it is accompanied by a smaller plaque that explains innovation means coming up with new things or ideas. Onlookers generally remark that it's nice that the sculptor tries hard, anyway. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MQRL7xws7w
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
'Jay's Curatives and Curios': a one-stop shop for traveling supplies and other odds and ends - from tools, to ammo, to potions, and even books and jewelry of all kinds.
At least, that's the claim made on the fliers that could still occasionally be found posted around Adlehyde and the surrounding areas.
The store itself, located alongside a road just off of the main street, didn't look like much on the outside...except, that is, for the sign.
It was painted with an almost gaudy assortment of bright colors and bearing the store's name surrounded by a bubbling potion bottle and something that looked like a vaguely humanoid statue - the last two seeming to be recent additions. Overall, it was...rather difficult to look away from, even if you wanted to.
The inside, thankfully, was markedly different. The shelves were arranged neatly and efficiently, and the whole store carried a clean, but worn and aged look - though closer inspection would reveal that this look was entirely intentional.
In fact, if it wasn't for the potion display on the west wall it would almost seem possible that you had somehow walked into the wrong building.
Many bottles were arranged and lined up by color and effect, with the wall and shelves around each row painted to match the liquid in the bottle.
Overall, Jacqueline - the eponymous Jay - was quite proud of the store. When she wasn't out on some sort of adventure or hawking her wares on the road, she could usually be found there.
This was the case now, as she could be found sitting behind the counter. Several empty bottles were set nearby, which she was currently in the process of cleaning off for later use.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Today, Rose is... not at the Fairgrounds! No, she's left Eguille in charge of the Sparrowfeathers' own little store, or rather temporary tents and tables while the festival is on. This MIGHT, but doesn't necessarily, have something to do with ghosts and Seraphim stressing her out. And so instead of continuing to play clerk for the guild, she's decided to grab the pile of orders she has to make and look into and deal with that instead.
At the top of the list were countless orders for healing and curative items, from herbs, fruis and berries to potions and gels. Demand was high, as it ever was, and the Sparrowfeathers ended up stuck with a pretty large set of orders to fill that they'd not had any luck handling. Especially not after that disastrous dive into the Berry Cave. The less said about that the better.
This brings Rose to Jay's store, the merchant attracted to the bright colors of the sign and displays. The moment she's in she's announcing herself with all of her energy too. "Heeeeello!" She hops in, practically dives for the counter, and looks intently at the slightly taller woman behind the counter. "I'm Rose, from the Sparrowfeathers Merchant Guild! Are you the Jay from the sign and flyers?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
As usual, Jacqueline looks up when she hears the familiar sound of the door opening. Even if she hadn't though, Rose had gone to the trouble of announcing herself and coming to her anyway.
Jacqueline thinks for a moment, pausing in the cleaning of the bottle currently in her hands. Sparrowfeathers... they were that new Guild on the rise, weren't they? She hadn't met them personally, but she'd heard about them. It always paid to keep tabs on things like that.
Eventually, she smiles and nods.
"That's right! Always a pleasure to meet a fellow merchant. Can I help you with something, Miss Rose?" She asks, setting the bottle on the counter to give Rose her full attention. She can't really match Rose's enthusiasm, but she is at least polite.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
To be fair, there wasn't much to have heard yet either! The Sparrowfeathers just sort of showed up one day about a month ago now with two full caravans of wares from Lunar, got rich off the fact, and used the money to quickly establish themselves as a legitimate guild. Next thing you know they're drowning in orders and partnerships. It's probably a bit suspicious how quickly they set up shop, but that's the power of money for you.
"Yes! Eheh, well, actually I'm not just here for business, we'lll be around Adlehyde for the duration of the festival so I'm looking around to see what the local economy is like and all that. Looking for partners, suppliers or just contacts! I've got some big orders frooooooom..."
A pause, as she drags several pieces of paper out of one of her utility pouches and reads off them. "Nisan, Bledavik, Timney... couple of other nearby hubs the Adventurer's Guild maintains. Potions, heal berries, gels, they want a big variety of restorative items. Truth is, the Sparrowfeathers acquire, sell and deliver, but we don't really produce. How big of an order on those do you think you could fill out? You'd have until the festival ends or so, that's when we're due to deliver."
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Ah, networking, then. Jacqueline knew what that was like. It was an important part of the job. It was easier to do business if you had connections to help you out - which was partially why she was interested in Rose's deal. There could be money in it, sure, but the more valuable reward would be establishing a connection with them. They were just starting up now, but who knew where they'd go?
"Well, welcome to Adlehyde, then." Jacqueline replies with a nod and a smile, then leans back to consider the situation and run some calculations in her head.
"Well, it's largely dependent on our ability to obtain ingredients." She admits. "Besides myself, there's only one other who helps with the potion-making. But in a good week, I'd say we can churn out about..." She lists off a number that is a decently high but fair assumption, partially owing to the effiency of her recipe.
"So, adjusting for the possibility of poor harvests..." She lists off another number.
"How does that sound to you?" She asks.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"Thanks! It's a pretty nice city, but I gotta say that festival with all the ARMs is really something. We don't have many of those where I'm from!" Actually to the best of her memory they don't have ANY ARMs in Glenwood, but she can't speak for the whole of Lunar, and so avoids it. If they had them, the war between Rolance and Hylande would be very different she wagers.
As Jacqueline provides a fair number, Rose eyes her orders, trying to allocate the stock between the locations in her head, factoring in it probably won't be a single trip.
"That'd probably be a good start! Could you do better if we got you fresh supplies from the source? I might be able to cut some deals by buying in bulk, but there's also that cave not too far off where these high-quality berries grow. Last trek in there was a disaster though, can't promise that'll pay off." At least she finally got the stink out of her clothes.
"Oh! What else do you sell?" Might as well check while she's here.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"Not too much a fan of ARMs, myself, but I can understand how someone might be interested in them." Jacqueline replies with a shrug. This could be seen among her wares - though she carried ammo and tools for on-the-go repairs, no actual ARMs were present in the store.
Jacqueline thinks about her next offer for a moment. She preferred to keep her recipes a secret, but...
"Hmm...yeah, that'd probably help." Jacqueline replies with a nod. "I'll have to write up a list of what we'll need. Let me know where you're set up and I can swing by letter and hand it to you." She says.
The mention of the Berry Cave, though, gets a smirk and a knowing chuckle.
"Now, that's a familiar story. I went there a while back, myself. We found some berries, but, uh...we found some other things too that we didn't expect." She says.
The conversation then turns to the matter of her wares. Jacqueline leans forward, and though she tried to hide it there was clearly some excitement about being able to talk about them.
"Oh, I've got just about everything here. Potions are my specialty, of course, and you can see most of what I've got to offer over there." She replies, and points over to the west wall.
"Other than that... Books of all kinds, tools, traveling supplies, jewelry...honestly, if I can get my hands and a price-tag on it, I'll find a place for it in here."
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"I think we might have encountered what was left of what you did. Those things do NOT rot well," Rose says, holding up her nose as she recalls the smell. It'll take more than that to discourage her from a return trip though! Those berries are far too alluring to leave at the bottom of some cave.
Well, back to business. "Oh! Sure! We've got tables set up at the Fairgrounds, you can't miss us, we've got our caravans there and all. You should get yourself a table or a tent there too, it's amazing the exposure you'll get from all the people visiting for the festivities!" Indeed Rose is a bit surprised anyone would be manning their shop in these circumstances, rather than have their wares out for the crowd to see.
Further wares attract Rose's attention, as she follows Jacqueline's finger to inspect everything on display. "I'm way too familiar with that policy! So I take it you're an alchemist first and a merchant second? ... say, could you make a potion that makes ghosts leave you alone? Or maybe you've got some jewelry or accessory that can do that?" She hadn't thought about that coming in, but now that she has she really hopes the answer is yes.
"Hm, I could use some rope and bags now that I think about it too. That's always in demand and my old backpack's all stinky now." That one was a loss, thanks to the corpse explosion.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Wait, it was still there?
"Nah, that wasn't us. It was like that when we got there." Jacqueline replies, waving a hand dismissively. "Though, one of the people was I with said he was looking into the guy who did deal with it." It took her a second to recall that.
"I've thought about setting up a stand, but my potions tend to be a bit on the...fragile side. My first experience with the grounds themselves was a tide of moles charging through the place, if you can believe it. They probably would've gotten broken..." She comments with a shrug. "...So I've just been marketing to the Drifters coming in from out of town." This is added with a wink and a chuckle.
An eyebrow is raised at the mention 'ghosts'.
"Ah...no, I can't say I have anything like that, sorry. You'd probably want to ask a priest, instead." She says apologetically.
"You're right, though, for the most part. I started out just learning how to prepare potions, but then I realized I could make a name for myself by selling them. So now the two jobs go hand-in-hand - my works funds my hobby, which supports my work by giving me more things to sell." She explains, leaning back with a fond look on her face.
At the mention of rope and bags, she's brought back to reality and helpfully points out where they could be found.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
"Oh." Well, it didn't change much. That body was still made of pure stink. It's exploded now, maybe it'll be gone by the time they go back in. Ha, if only.
Rose happily picks one of the many backpacks on display, and then an extra two just to be sure she has spares. None of the fancy ones; the sturdy, simple leather ones that look built for extended adventures and which can fit everything you need in them. Rose prefers utility over looks, by far! For rope, she goes with a safe number. A hundred feet to start. It's useful for the caravans, but also for many other things. She'll come back for more if that isn't enough.
Setting the plunder on the counter, she beams a smile at Jay. "Right then! That's too bad about the ghosts, but I'm sure I'll find something somewhere. Not sure I want to go bother the clergy for that, it'd probably cost me an arm and I won't have a way to know if it's working or not. Ah, that's right! There's the matter of splitting the profit."
Rose places the papers she'd taken out back into her pouch while she remembers to not lose them. "I usually go fifty-fifty with producers, that way there's no haggling required. You get your name out and probably repeat business to places it'd be inconvenient for you to deliver to, I get to fill the orders I've got on stand-by, everyone wins! Plus if I can get you a batch of those rare berries it should drive the production cost down and net more gella. How's that sound?"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Jacqueline observes Rose as she collects the bags and the ropes, but doesn't say anything until she's gathered everything and placed them on the counter. She lists off the price, then turns her attention to the other business at hand.
Jacqueline leans forward a bit, and turns the idea over in her head before nodding.
"Hmm...sounds like you've got yourself a deal, Miss Rose. I look forward to working with you." Jacqueline replies with a smile of her own. It was fair, considering that they might have to go through some trouble to both get her the ingredients she needed and to actually do the deliveries.
"You can expect to receive the list in a few hours, though if I'm busy I might have to send my apprentice over to drop it off instead. It's been a slow day, though, so...doesn't seem too likely." She admits with a shrug.
<Pose Tracker> Rose has posed.
Rose shells out a pouch of gella, covering the expenses and even a bit more. It's good to celebrate new partnerships! Also new non-stinky backpacks, those are very important to celebrate too.
"Right! I'll have you the ingredients as soon as possible. And of course, it's our secret, nobody has to know what goes into your potions but us! ... and honestly, none of the Sparrowfeathers are alchemists, so you might as well hand us the formula to turn lead into gold and it won't do us any more good."
Rose spins on her feet, because she's got this absurd surplus of energy at all times and just can't stand to let it build up. "Well, I'm glad that's settled! Now I just have... a whole bunch more things to take care of, but that takes care of the biggest one by far! So thank you very much, Jay!"
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"If only such a thing existed." Jacqueline comments with a chuckle. It would make things easier...but then again, it'd also be fairly boring, so maybe it was better that she didn't know how to do that yet. It'd take all the excitement out of things if she could just generate money. She picks up observes the gella, and after looking into it seems satisfied.
"And thank you! Pleasure doing business with you and the Sparrowfeathers. Good luck with the rest of your orders." She replies with a wave of farewell.
While she wasn't getting many customers in, this was turning out to be a good day for business otherwise. She was in a good mood.