"Open the door or break it down, let's deal with this."
"Why? Everything seems contained for the moment."
"Because we'll have to deal with it sooner or later? And we might as well do it now when we're aware of it?" The witch fires back testily. "We're the owners, and if there are problems what need addressed we need to take care of them if we're going to make this store profitable again. For all we know, what's back there killed the prior owner."
"Because we'll have to deal with it sooner or later? And we might as well do it now when we're aware of it?" The witch fires back testily. "We're the owners, and if there are problems what need addressed we need to take care of them if we're going to make this store profitable again. For all we know, what's back there killed the prior owner."
Aldric raises an eyebrow. "I'm fairly sure what's back there didn't kill the previous owner, but your point has sound merit. Is everyone in agreement with this young lady?"
Before you move back to a safer area, your ear can discern chittering and mass squeaks, which you would take a 99.9% guess is a mass of rats.
Aldric it takes you a couple tries, but you manage to brute force open the door on your third attempt. The bad news is, the door swings inward as you see a mass of chittering, squeaking rats pile through the door. So many in fact, that it’s a swarm.
The swarm moves forward, as Karita tries to put the swarm to sleep. Too bad that the vermin are too mindless to care about the attempted nap and too angry to care as they are starving!
The swarm rolls over Aldric and stops to bite his ankles all over in anger of being trapped…for who knows how long.
Karita scans the area quickly for anything that might be of use against the swarm. "There's a lot of these vermin," she mutters. "I could use a cat swarm about now."
Mara shrugs at Aldric's mockery about the banner. "Just the name of the shop. Let me know when you choose a better one and I'll change it."
When the discussion about the door begins, Mara nods in agreement with Karita. "Time to clean house."
She's startled when the swarm covers Aldric and sends her elementals flying overhead to try to help deal with it. She also adds a new one on the opposite side of the swarm, a chunky earthy being who tries to smash the rats with its fists. Her orders to the air elementals sound like whistles while she grunts something to the earth elemental.
Karita looks around, and sees a couple leather-working instruments that could be used in a pinch as improvised weapons. While they contemplate this, Mara directs their small army of 5 elementals to attack the swarm. They all swarm the swarm, and relentlessly attack it. The onslaught is too much as the chittering and squeaking rats disperses harmlessly throughout the shop.
Aldric’s body is able to fight off the disease ridden bite they just received moments ago.
With the threat gone, one is able to go beyond the now open door. There a small staircase heading into a small lit room. Upon reaching the bottom, one sees a basement, with more mannequins, bins, containers. Against the northern facing wall, there is a door. The door appears to have no handle you can easily see, as well as it has a spot lightly carved as if you could insert something into it.
You spend the rest of the day, scouring the various bins, containers and other assortment of stuff in the basement. You find a total of 3 Goods, that can be salvaged from the basement. You also find a pair of daggers you could sell, as well as a sellable, albeit worn suit of padded leather armor.
Zen'Zot concurs with Mara on cleaning house as he clambers up on to a sturdy table or bench.
He then feels horrible at the sight of the swarm of rats as he had not prepared himself for this and once again wondered why the all knowing gods left one's daily spell selection up to thier quite fallable followers. Still he did have things to handle the aftermath, and so simply cast the only spell he had prepared, Sanctuary, that will make sure he is around to do that.
Mara sets the elementals to work cleaning up the room and rat carcasses for a few minutes. She turns to Aldric and raises an eyebrow. "Bold to be first through the door and it seems you are tougher than I gave you credit for." She shakes her head slightly. "My client regards this city highly and has no intent to harm it. I will tell you that."
Then she gets back to the cleanup, ordering elementals around.
Uwe steps aside to let the other man at the door and then prepares to fight as swarm attacks Aldric. Seeing the rats quickly taken care of he says, "That was not too dire a threat. Its good to see the quality of the building we have found for our shop."
Turning to answer the question posed earlier, Uwe says, "I have some ability to make or fix weapons. I have also learned how to deal with various mechanical devices or even magical runes. Though generally just to stop them from causing undue harm while looking for other items that I might procure to later find a buyer for."
Zen'Zot glad the situation is over with and even glader that no one got serioulsy hurt, he clambers down off the table and has Woody come over towards the back of front part of the shop and has Woody set the chest. He unlocks the chest and opens it to pull out a burlap sack and hands it to Woody directing him to bag the dead rats. He then re-locks the chest.
"So what remains in that room that was infested by rats and how much damage did they do to it?" As he asks this question he moves in the direction of that room to see its condition for himself.
Zen'Zot glad the situation is over with and even glader that no one got serioulsy hurt, he clambers down off the table and has Woody come over towards the back of front part of the shop and has Woody set the chest. He unlocks the chest and opens it to pull out a burlap sack and hands it to Woody directing him to bag the dead rats. He then re-locks the chest.
"So what remains in that room that was infested by rats and how much damage did they do to it?" As he asks this question he moves in the direction of that room to see its condition for himself.
The basement isn’t in shambles, and is serviceable for its intended purpose of storage. You spot a door on the northern wall…no discernible door handle but has an indent as if something very specific would fit into the spot/marking. Otherwise there are crates/bins/etc with random assortment of Goods. You get 3 Goods worth of raw materials. As well as 2 Dagger and 1 Padded Leather Armor
When the rats disperse, Karita lets them go. Her cat chases one out of the room and she looks about for a moment before stepping forward and through the door. In the basement, she spends time sorting through the various crates before letting the door draw her interest.
"I'd like to know how to open this door, though I'm not sure I want to open it just now, all things considered." She says with a rueful smile.
"My client regards this city highly and has no intent to harm it. I will tell you that."
After knocking a number of rats of his boots, Aldric turns to look at Mara. ”Quite a display of magical talent. I assume you can be quite useful in a pinch."
"As far as your erroneous client is concerned. I never implied that you, or your benefactor intended ill intent to the city. I simply stated that my concerns were more aligned with Abadar's vision than simply enforcing the law for the sake of it. That said, your reassurance doesn't mean much at this point. Your client means well, but still remains removed. WHY? If your intent is above the board, so to speak. Then why be anonymous? You could at least give us that much. I mean, you expect us to go into business with someone without actually knowing who they are. That's asking a lot from people who simply don't know you. Hell, you didn't even want to show us that ugly banner until you got to know us better, which still isn’t the case.”
Aldric began picking up dead rats and placing them into a hemp sack that he retrieved from his pack. “Let me be direct. It’s not that I don’t like you. I simply don’t know you enough to like or dislike you. I don’t know your history, nor do I know your client’s intent. At face value, I’m willing to gamble on making an error in judgement and take on new partners when everything feels transparent. In this case, it is blatantly NOT. So, I ask, if not who, then WHY does your client insist on remaining anonymous?”
Hearing bits and pieces of the conversation prompts the witch to come upstairs again.
"Perhaps it would be best if we all took a moment and sat down, properly introduced ourselves, and discussed our plans? We all have stakes in this shop. Knowing what we hope to gain means we might work together toward shared goals and avoid working against each other if goals don't align."
To facilitate this, the witch gathers chairs up and pulls them out, one for each of the people present, at the table.
"Agreed." Aldric states while accepting one of Karita's chairs.
Zen'Zot not knowing enough of the situation but fully understanding Aldric's concerns and equally curious as to the why and the who he simply lets Aldric continue uninterrupted as he works at cleaning up the mess of dead rats. He sets Nutty on the Leatherworking bench and makes some hand gestures and the monkey begins gathering up and examining the various tools.
When Karita comes back up stairs and suggest they sit down and talk things out that seemed a lot more interesting than cleaning up so he leaves Woody to the task and after inspecting the chair he sits down and awaits the others. Especially since who he was and why he was here he had already divulged completely and freely.
Uwe takes his seat and looks over his new business partners as they all take their seats before grunting and saying, "As I mentioned, I am Uwe von Roth. I have some training in repairing or making weapons should we have the forge to do it. My past was unfortunately dark, and I seek to start over once more in a less cutthroat profession and so I joined this excursion to turn over the proverbial new leaf."
Aldric raises an eyebrow as Awe begins speaking about his past. "You sound like a worldly man with a lot of life experience. I find that to be intriguing. Choosing to navigate a different path is a difficult choice for most people and should be respected. Speaking for myself, I can say I appreciate your candor. If ever you decide to unburden yourself about your past, I can promises you an unbias ear."
Aldric sits back in his chair and looks at the others in the room. "As I said before, I am Aldric Swindelman. I have come to represent the Vault of Absalom in this endeavor. My normal role with the church has been inquisition. Essentially, I'm the one they send to deal with a problem that can't be politically resolve. My general task is to resolve said problem or remove it. In this case the church has called upon my past experience, wherein I worked as a merchant. I have both bought and sold merchandise of all kinds. That combined with my experience dealing with people and their problems has made me a solid candidate for this assignment. My goal at this point is to do what needs to be done to ensure this business becomes successful. That, by my definition, is both financially profitable and useful to Absalom." After introducing himself and disclosing his intentions, he replaces the small piece of barley between his teeth and then looks meaningfully over at Mara. "Next!"
Mara slowly sits, scooted a little farther back from the group, and remains somewhat tense. "Alright. I can give you the reason why my client wishes to remain anonymous. They deal in valuable commodities. It is a high-stakes business and they have some extremely dangerous competitors. Therefore, it is valuable for them to be able to make certain sales and purchases through an agent."
"So being connected to this high-stakes business how much flak can we expect to be attracting because frankly I know that when it comes to intrigue keeping secrets from your competitors is nearly impossible and that sooner or later our connection to your unknown employer is going to bite us and without knowing who they are we are not going to know what direction that bite is going to come from. Further I would expect Aldric here," he motions with his head towards Aldric, "is going to take it to the Church and they are definitely going to dig into this to determine who they are lying in bed with so-to-speak as that is, from what I heard, the Church's modus operandi. Personally I do not care, except for how it might adversely affect this shop and while I knew you were not being fully above board I was okay with letting it slide until I could talk with you in private but since the cat is out of the bag and we are spilling the beans on the table. You might want to just let us in on the details so that we can at least plan ahead for any fall out. I liked your banner by the way but we do need a new and fresh name for the shop. Now my clan holds nothing against ole Bartleby but we do have an investment to get a return on and that is why I am here. If that return can be compromised by the involvement of an outside entity I will need to know so that I can make the necessary reports to the clan without per se naming who that entity is because if I say I do not know they, like the Church, are going to start digging into finding out who it is. Which will not be good, for as you point out and for which it is true, the less who know the less leaks we have and thus the less water we need to bail."
Mara slowly sits, scooted a little farther back from the group, and remains somewhat tense. "Alright. I can give you the reason why my client wishes to remain anonymous. They deal in valuable commodities. It is a high-stakes business and they have some extremely dangerous competitors. Therefore, it is valuable for them to be able to make certain sales and purchases through an agent."
"Hemm" The inquisitor mumbles while considering Mara's explanation. After a few moments he relaxes his gaze. "It's a plausible explanation, but Zen'zot is correct. I intend to report to the church on a regular bases and I will not hold anything back. That said, the council is not inexperienced in these matters. They won't overreact, but they will want to know who your patron is. That doesn't mean they will disclose that information. As fare as I'm concerned, you have said enough to weren't some trust. By both including us and protecting your client. That doesn't mean I won't pursue your client's identity on my own accord. Preferably without compromising your position."
Aldric sits up a bit and then continues. "As fare as competitors biting us goes. It will likely happen regardless of her client. Especially if we become moderately successful. The fact that the Vault has formally declared an interest in the establishment should curtail some of it. After all, they are the main bank. Pissing them off would be a bad move for any competitor. So, I expect more subtle sabotage then direct ones, but who knows. I'm looking forward to a profitable partnership."
"One last thing. We DO NOT engage in any kind of corruption. Period. That doesn't negate backroom deals for questionable goods. I'm ok with all sorts of commerce, but political corruption is out. Politics will likely become an issue as our success grows. And I am ok with an open engagement of political support one way or the other. Corruption though will end very, very, poorly for whomever is involved."
With introductions and intentions out of the way, your newly formed business enterprise can focus on the task at hand…making the business profitable. The catch being, there isn’t much in the way of inventory as the place was thoroughly cleaned out…whether it be by looters or opportunists. You would need to generate inventory, the Leather Workshop was a nice find, and the basement could be partially turned into an Alchemy Lab if one was okay sacrificing potential storage for potential inventory.
"Now down to business planning. Any ideas on setting up shop? We seem to have a rather limited amount of space, but could use some of it for crafting. My first thought was using the basement for crafting, but it might be interesting for clients to view the crafting as its being done. The spectacle alone might draw some attention, especially if our tradesman is particularly skilled." Aldric states as he looks over at the dwarf.
"Well if you want a more impressive crafting station upstairs I would go with the Alchemist as the others will seem so mundane. We can easily relocate the Leahter Working to the basement which suits me just fine. But we will need additional workshops. By the way, Karita did you find anything of interest downstairs?"
"I was thinking we could build an elevated stage for the upstairs work bench. This would allow the crafter a solid view of the upper shop. Then we could add some lockable display cases around the stage for smaller alchemical items. The walls would then be set up to hold lockable hooks that would hold larger items. Then some tables and barrels around the room to hold more mundane items. Finally, shelving to line a couple spot in-between the larger display hooks. That would allow for a fairly open floor plan. Just a thought."
"Well I be hoping we can successfully market me poppets as those might bring us a tidy bit of profit especially if we can make them more personable by giving them nice facial features. Or course, marketing that will be the key versus just some ordinary poppet."
"What did you have in mind for marketing?"
Zen'Zot gestures to Woody, "Jest lok at Woody he 'ave a face dat make him much more personable. Given eidder a painten or a sitten I canna craft a face dat is more pleasen dan year typical no face a'tall norm fer most poppets. More personable poppets I be thinken be much moore appealen and day only be requiren a wee bit of extra time on me part ta produce at noo extra cost."
"I'm wondering if the poppets could be made to resemble adventurers. Like say a wizard poppet, or a worrier poppet? The theme would be consistent with a shop that sells adventuring supplies.
"Eye, I canna be doin dat just need to be knowen what to be makin dem look like of coors. Now I canna not make dem completely resemble a wizard as its just da face I be changen da rest is mooch moore complicated ta be messen wit."
"I like the idea. Sounds like a solid start. What do we require to get this started?"
"Well a customer be de most essential element an den some quality wood. Afta dat its just a bit time ta produce da feennished product. I need da face ta make befer I construct da poppet, I canna do it afterwards"
Mara listens to the discussions and nods. "I can help advertise our wares and bring in customers."
"Oi an dat brings us back to da name, 'ow bout Adventurous Wonders, dat puts Adventure in da name an Wonders gives a positeev feel of fulfillen someone's dreams, I was consideren Zestfuls fer dat ev'ryting from A ta Z concept but I dunna tink dat Zestfuls wood be as well received. Not quite da same feel as Wonders. What ya tink?" He looks at the others at the table.
"Not much downstairs, I didn't finish looking around though." She shrugs. "I'd like to get a lab built and I don't mind people watching while I work. Strange fluids pouring through glassware might get some mild interest. In time I might be able to do more than just alchemicals, I'm still working out the enchantment of mundane items."
She smiles impishly at the dwarf. "I do like Adventurous Wonders as a name. It sounds just right to me."
Mara nods. "A good name. I can change my banner."
"That name works for me. I am leery of the liability of having a working space where people are poking around. T'would be better if the two were separate to ensure a clean and inviting store front." Uwe says as he shudders at having to deal with more barristers.
"I be tinken de idea is ta 'ave the alchemy work area separate but viewable. Like up on that little raise area for instance." Zen'Zot points the area where there is a slightly raised section to the floor. Dat way da customers wood notta be poken 'bout it just watchen da show bein performed. We cood ev'n gate it off. Ferder I be tinken dat some of what be taken place wood just be fer show." He looks to Karita for confirmation. "Basically simple harmless alchemy used to impress dose not aware of its intracacies."
"Uwe has a point, but I had the same vision as Zen'zot. A raised area, possible even a built stage, with a rale separating it from customers should minimize any accidental exposure. The name Adventurous Wonders sounds great. I suppose I will stand corrected the first time some kid accidentally drops a vial of alchemical fire or ignites a smoke stick."
"I cun 'ave Woody keep da kids back but a solid rail ta extend da hoit of dat platfrem dare," Zen'Zot again points to the raised part of the room off to his right and gestures to indicate something extending a bit higher up than it was already, "wit a gate far frem da door ought ta be enuff dunya tink?"
"I won't be keeping anything dangerous where children can get at them, thank you very much." Karita says pointedly. "But this does sound like a good set-up."
Your group of adventurers turned business owners have a sit down talk, to try and hammer out the various details of day-to-day operations, required space needed for your various crafting endeavors and potential plans for future endeavors. After a grueling couple hours of planning and theorizing, you decide to take a break. You wonder how exactly, the former owner Bartleby had come to meet his fate, his life prior and all in between.
You hang the ‘closed’ sign up, lock the door and head out into the streets of Absalom in hopes to find information, leads…anything really that may help to give you answers. You head to various bars, inns, taverns, other competitors to gain insight into the man. Everyone says that he was a respectable, honest man. Most people were surprised he was able to stay in business as long as he had, due to not being a crooked a~%#@!+ as some/most others in the Coin District.
One lady, in a nearby tavern looks at you, He was like an uncle to me. He mentored me, helped me get out a s!+%ty situation. He’s a good guy
Maybe he was a good person…maybe he had skeleton to hide like every other Human, Elf, Dwarf.
One bar patron, clearly on his way to being drunk, looks at you He…was an a@+~+!*. He…fired me after a couple weeks his speech slurred and obviously drunk.
You keep wandering as you run into a slightly older man…probably in his early to mid 30s. He seems flummoxed over something.
Aldric studies the man for a few moments and then approaches him. "Well met. I'm Aldric. I couldn't help but notice that you seem perplexed about something. Are you ok?"
Mara puts a gentle hand on Aldric's forearm and smiles dazzlingly at the confused man. "My comrade is very direct but be assured that we have only the friendliest intentions toward you. Tell us your troubles and maybe we can help. After all, each of us are sojournes in this wonderful and confusing journey called life."
Those who know her can tell she's laying it on quite thick. But a friendly smile can go a long way with a stranger.