Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
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Post by Saturos Prox on Sept 2, 2014 1:05:01 GMT -6
"I imagine not," Saturos commented in response to the woman's own admission of her busyness. "Those who have never run out things to want, and those who don't never run out of things to need. But that's just the basics of business." It was true in her world, just as it was true in his. If the people he served didn't cling to their power like such scared children, he'd be out of a job. Likewise, if it wasn't for all the people needing the wealth that those in power could provide, he'd be out of a job just the same. Nevertheless, he paused to listen to Myscha as she continued on, making clear her distaste for work such as mining. Saturos couldn't blame her. He hated the idea of mining too, so it was a good thing he was just an Etrurian spy disguised as a miner, and not an actual one. Of course, she didn't know that, and there was no way he'd be telling her.
"Thrilled? Me? Of course not," he replied with a long, slow shake of his head. "The idea of marching into dirty, grimy hole in the mountain looking for shines to help a rich bishop line his pockets isn't exactly my idea of fun." His lips twisted into a half-scowl as he realized that he could just as easily replace "mining", what he was pretending to be doing, with "dragon hunting", what he was actually doing, and his opinions towards the current subject would change very little. Both sounded equally dull. One consisted of banging away at rocks all day, which was about as boring as it sounded, and the other was essentially the world's easiest game of I Spy.
Saturos, I spy with my little eye something giant and scaly that breathes fire and eats people. Hmm, is it a dragon? Well my oh my, just how did you ever figure that out? You got me, it was a lucky guess.
"But it pays well, and money is what I need right now," he continued, scratching at a patch of grassless earth. "You run a business, and while your resources are mostly intangible, they still took time to acquire. So you should know that even a trade like book binding requires a good amount of capital. I need the materials to bind the books, the tools with which to manipulate those materials, the building in which to do it, the assistants to help me, and if those assistants aren't experienced, I need to train them too." Saturos sighed, shaking his head. "Right now all I've got is a pile of charcoal and ash, and as much as mages, and scholars, and nobles love books, none of them want to invest in a simple book binder. So I do the jobs that don't require me to put in anything by sweat and tears." The Etrurian shrugged, giving Myscha a resigned look. "We can't all do the things we love to get by."
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Post by Charlotte on Oct 16, 2014 11:44:10 GMT -6
It was sad, really, listening to Ryker described all he had lost – at least, what he said he had lost. As their conversation continued, Charlotte was finding less and less of a reason to really doubt his story’s veracity. What holes had appeared earlier seemed to be patching themselves nicely – a little too nicely, if you asked Charlotte, which made her want to pry even further, figure out what was really going on. She just felt like something was going on in his head besides lamenting about his chosen profession. But what was it?
But if Ryker was as smart as Charlotte presumed he was based on his elocution, the blonde knew he wouldn’t be telling her the truth anytime soon. So instead, she continued listening to the blue tale, his essay’s closing statement one which hit Charlotte surprisingly close to home. Charlotte had been fortunate enough to make a living off of her skills of observation, cunning business-sense, and willingness to uproot herself, but she hadn’t always been so smart. And while she had always been a woman ruled by desire and passion, in her youth, there were things she’d had to do to get by that she wasn’t proud of. Hell, there were still times now where she did those same things, even though now they were to get the next lead, to find the next item of interest. She justified it by the money she’d make, or the client she’d gain, but it didn’t make it any less soulless. She sadly recognized that everything, even herself, could be used to barter, trade, and gain information.
Charlotte took one last bite of her lunch, mulling over everything as she chewed methodically. Finally, after swallowing, she did her best to give the man a knowing, almost sad smile. Reevaluating everything he had said, she suddenly realized something. A man as skilled and smart as him, not being able to get investors? Not being able to call upon old friends or wealthy clients to help bolster him in his time of need? Sure, he’d still have to build up inventory, but she couldn’t see it. Her guise nearly twitched into a sly grimace, but she was able to maintain her features. There was the hole she had been hoping to find. Small, but it was enough for now.
But with food gone and water nearly depleted, Charlotte felt their little lunch was quickly drawing to a close. She didn’t carry too much important documentation or information with her, but the consultant did need to take note of quite a few things in her ledger while also mapping out her trip out of the Isles. She wouldn’t have a group of miners to lead her next time so, she had been doing her best to map out the path they had taken so she could make it back to the mainland safely.
“I suppose you’re right,” Charlotte finally sighed, as if she’d been trying to find a way to combat Ryker’s notion. Folding the pouch on her lap back up and sliding it back into her small pack, she stood, dusting some dirt off of her front and back.
“Well, I have some things to go over before we get moving again; I’m sure you do too.” She paused, slinging her pack onto her shoulder, giving the man a smile. “It was nice getting to know you, Ryker,” she said, her words deliberately chosen. She knew Ryker now, sure, but there was a whole someone behind the teal hair and toned muscles else Charlotte really wanted to know.
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Saturos Prox
Swordmaster
The Wildcard
I'm almost incapable of lying. I'd be a terrible spy.
Posts: 351
Etruria Fame: 1
Profession: Undercover Operative
Affinity: Anima
|
Post by Saturos Prox on Oct 16, 2014 16:32:09 GMT -6
"Yes, it was nice getting to know you too, Myscha," replied Saturos with an amicable smile and half a wave. He did not make any motion to move from his position, because unlike the blonde haired woman, he did not, in fact, have anything to go over before they started their travels once again. At least not in the way that Myscha probably did, that is. No, given that he had been sent out to these mountains to find dragons, and considering that there were no dragons yet to be found, the only thing Saturos had to do was sit and think, and maybe act like a miner if necessary.
And Saturos did think. And who was he thinking about? He was thinking about Myscha. Her words were honeyed, and her temperament was friendly, but the Etrurian could tell that woman was a shark: opportunistic, calculating, and careful. It was one thing to be a traveling vendor, bartering for wares in one town to peddle in another, but to connect simple craftsmen with merchants and nobles across Elibe to distribute their wares? That was another thing entirely. For one it required trust, because without trust, no relations could be maintained for long. A snake-oil salesman could make fast coin, but said coin typically disappeared, sometimes violently, when the buyers learned that they'd been swindled. On top of that, nobody funding such efforts would dare to do business with someone they couldn't trust to return on their investment. That was one thing Saturos had learned from his father at an early age, and it was something he had taken very close to heart, even in his current line of work.
But trust in and of itself wasn't special. People trusted other people every day in ways inexplicably mundane. People trusted bakers to not poison their bread, people trusted carriage drivers to not kidnap them, and people trusted their friends to not smother them while they slept. But getting people to trust you while you took their money or ideas and did business with someone they would probably never see was special, especially when you did it all by yourself. That required a long term commitment of building from small transactions to bigger ones with absolute success, which in turn required a patience and people-sense that most lacked. That made her valuable.
But the thing that stood out to Saturos the most was the product. Myscha herself had mentioned unique sword designs, which was something the operative could see a noble wanting for their blacksmith to arm their men and get an edge on a rival liege-lord. But to make a business out of exchanges like that meant one was constantly handling very valuable goods, because what other kinds of goods would people do business across the world for? And that, like Myscha had said, required discretion and secrecy, but it also required a handful of other very valuable skills as well. Saturos had no doubt that the woman had dealt with less honorable types of men, and had most likely encountered men who would rather off her head than accept her fees, but here she was, still walking tall and running a job for one of the more powerful of the Prophet's bishops. And this was a bishop who, as demonstrated by Saturos's presence here, had the power of the Inquisitional Intelligence to aid him if he so needed it. That made Myscha all the more fascinating. And dangerous.
That was the kind of person Saturos wanted to be working with.
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