Jjhutto_Son of Flame
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B3. Ch. 21 Trading Places
🕑 Added 2024-07-22 15:26:04 +0000 UTCWith those words, Mochisuki placidly gestured for them to end the public portion of their discussion, as the murmuring of the crowd quieted and the ceremony concluded. Four of the guards positioned themselves at the Commerce Guild building, two at the door and two near the vault. The Elephantine Chief stood outside and gestured grandly for the doors to close.
“Thus concludes the Initiation of our 542nd chapter house!” He waved, turning to the crowd as the precious metals worked into the building flared up with power, before fading and leaving behind a glowing enchantment. Tilly tried not to let his mouth fall open as he realized that the gaudy ornamentation had cleverly hidden the runes and lines of a complex working of magic and protection.
The golden radiance cast its light over the gathered crowd washing them briefly in its power, before dimming significantly as the spellwork disappeared altogether, hidden once again. Left behind was a stately building, surprisingly reminiscent of some of the older banks in Europe. Except for the Glowing symbols that appeared over the door, resolving into two rows of numbers next to a pair of unfamiliar icons. Tilly looked over to Mochizuki, the question evident in his gaze.
“Those are the currency exchange rates. The top one is the symbol for Standard Gold and the one below it is the symbol for our Contri-”
“The Commerce Guild welcomes the Three-Fold Alliance into our illustrious network, and we wish for a long and prosperous partnership.” The Chief concluded, gesturing once again, somehow commanding the doors to re-open. The guards stood to the sides of the building, and the rest of the crowd began to disperse with an excited murmur. Most of them did not have any business that required the building yet, but many hoped with hard work and diligence, that would change.
Mochizuki continued as the rest of the crowd dispersed around them, “We have agreed to regulate our crafters and vendors to only accept Contribution Points for the next ten years. This will force any outsiders to convert currency to purchase from us locally. We will also of course be purchasing many, many standard gold coins in the coming days to pay for some significant future resources.”
Tilly nodded, only understanding the economic mechanics in the vaguest sense. He figured the main stake the Guild would have in their alliance initially was the percentage they make off every conversion… but even he knew that the bank probably didn't just let all that money sit there. He was sure they were investing it all over the place.
“Now, it is my understanding that you have some business with the Guild, and it will be good for our reputation if there are some significant conversions on the first day. Would you honor this servant by taking care of this business before meeting back at your dwelling?”
Tilly smiled, looking back over at the lapin dressed in plane servant clothes. Her eyes were downcast, but that didn’t stop the smirk that had appeared at the edges of her lips.
“Yeah, I can do that. They gave me a piece of paper, and I have it here somewh-” Even as he began to pat around, he found the thing tucked into his waste-band… If he was honest, he was beginning to find its persistent presence a little creepy.
“Yes, and if you would humor this humble servant further, I suggest you transfer all of your Contribution Points into Standard. You might soon find a use for it. Also, even if they are pricey, the keystones are worth it. Very convenient in the right circles. Circles you will soon be frequenting.”
Tilly looked down at the sheet again, wondering how much it was actually worth.
Notice of Refund - {This document can no longer be altered} It has been sealed with an official Skill. This notice of device failure must be turned in by Jonathan Tillman to be exchanged for fiat currency at any Commerce Guild location. Item cannot be lost or stolen.}
“What exactly is a keysto-” He asked looking up to find the Ninja Infiltrator already gone. He scanned the dispersing crown and found no sign of the lapin woman.
“Dammit, she batmanned me…” He grumbled under his breath. The crowd was pretty much dispersed at this point and Tilly looked around behind him, finding a modest plot cleared across the way, where she had said the Auction House would soon be built.
‘That makes our second Epic-class building. Which just leaves making a whole lot of money… well that and helping that insane dragon on his quest for revenge.” Tilly mentally ticked off the requirements for their next Faction advancement as he headed toward the opening to the fantasy bank.
The guards did not react to his approach to the doors, and the chief had already disappeared. Yet even after being open for a few minutes, the large front room was not empty. There were several people that Tilly recognized from the Alliance sitting in front of desks, or comfortable-looking couches speaking with several members of the Commerce Guild. The Guild workers were easy to pick out by their shared attire. They all seemed to be wearing some version of the elephantine tailored suit, each able to operate seamlessly with their diverse physical features. As he walked to the counter, Tilly spotted the Alliance’s head alchemist talking animatedly with the chief through an open door to a back office.
Looked like business was booming… Tilly looked down at his primitive armor and shrugged. At this point, he was used to being underdressed and he was sure no one would mind once money was out on the table. He continued to march up to the counter, and the smiling attendant stationed there looked up and greeted him warmly,
“Hello, sir! How may we be of service today” he asked, revealing rows of pointed teeth. Tilly wasn’t sure, but if he had to guess, he would have pegged the clerk as being part alligator, or whatever mythical source material that pulled from. Identify only tagged him as,
Level 42 Guild Clerk
“Hey, I'm here to trade this thing in,” Tilly said, laying the note down on the counter, “and I need to transfer all of my Contribution Points to Standard Gold. Can you help me with that?”
“It would be my pleasure!” He beamed. His customer service smile was someone ruined by the rows of teeth, but Tilly smiled back, happy to play the game. He had never been the best with money, and banks always struck him as places where shiny fronts for a whole lot of shady deals that he was either too stupid or too poor to know about. The clerk picked up the paper and scanned it quickly, before looking off into the middle distance and reading information from it that Tilly didn’t have access to. His lips turned down into a frown of apparent genuine concern.
“Ah, I see... Sir, let me be the first to apologize for the failure of one of our certified commerce items. It is rare but it does, occasionally, happen. The Endless Continent is unfortunately more than capable of sending surprises our way even with our extensive testing and planning.” He apologized.
“Oh, it's no problem, it all worked out in the end.” Tilly waved away, trying to move through the canned answers as quickly as possible.
“Yes, well, I hope this won’t impact your trust in our certified products in the future. Many on the Plane consider it the gold standard of regulatory certifications,” he added, twittering at his own joke, before reaching under the counter, to the sound of the clinking of coins. Tilly managed not to wince at the joke as the Clerk continued,
“I see you do not have an account with us, and that does give me some leeway in what I am allowed to offer here… Let's see what I can do.” He announced, shuffling coins under the counter for some reason as he explained the payout, “We have a ten times return to your initial failed tax overpayment, which amounts to 7 gold and 4 silver. Then there is the insurance payout for the injury to your person and damages. Which amounts to 32 gold. Finally, as a personal apology, the Guild is prepared to offer you another 5 gold, if you open an account with us today.”
“Sure… That all sounds fine. How exactly do I access the funds in my account, just withdraw at a guild location?”
The clerk let out a small laugh at that, “Oh-ho, Sir! Please. We are not some tiny Faction’s economic arm… You, of course, can withdraw funds at any time for hard currency, but many prefer to carry our bank notes, which will be bound to you just like that Notice of Refund was. You can transfer them to another with a flex of your Will, or for our premium members, we offer the issuance of a Keystone. Our certified access item offers constant contact with anything in your account that can be considered a currency, instant exchange rates are available for a small fee of course.”
“And how much does a Keystone cost?”
“100 gold, with a monthly fee of 10 gold for upkeep costs.” The clerk answered without batting an eye.
Tilly stopped to do some mental math before the clerk interrupted his thoughts, his smile widening just slightly as he detected a sale, “Sir, you have 44 gold and 4 silver, along with 668 Contribution Points registered with your Faction. We are currently running a special rate of exchange at 6.7 CP to 1 SG. Which would bring you up to 144 gold, 1 silver, and 1 copper if you converted today.”
Tilly swallowed at the cost. He guessed that the Keystone was some fantasy equivalent to a debit card, and he could see how that was valuable… but 100 gold? The Clerk stood there patiently, obviously confident in his pitch and hook. There had to be more to it than just instant access to his funds, which he could do with a normal bag… well, maybe a very large bag. But with Mochizuki's suggestion lingering in the back of his mind, he thought back to the description. A small inkling of the implications formed in his mind.
“So, I can keep more than just gold in my account?”
“Yes Sir, that is correct. If we offer an exchange on it somewhere in the plane, then it qualifies for deposit.”
‘There it is, this must be a broken rule used by the elites of the Plane in some way.’ Tilly thought to himself.
“Ok, I’ll transfer and go ahead and give me one of those Keystones,” Tilly answered, trying not to think about how much 100 gold would have equated to in US dollars… As long as he kept this all as fantasy money in his head, he figured it wouldn’t hurt nearly as much.
“Very good sir, that leaves you with 39 gold, 1 silver, and 1 copper.” The Clerk said, lifting the coinage from under the desk and placing it on the counter in front of him. The coins were about the size of a half dollar back home, and the four stacks of eleven looked paltry sitting there on the desk when he realized he had just paid 110 to get the fantasy debit card.
The clerk nodded, smiling to himself as he took out a dark wooden box inlaid with numerous silver runes, “Place your desired finger on the surface, and it will take a small amount of your blood to bond the keystone to you.” The Clerk instructed.
Tilly compiled without thinking, playing with his index finger on the top surface of the box. The runes began to crawl all over the wood and glow, as a small pressure exerted itself on the pad of his finger. Nothing happened for several seconds and the runes shined brighter, before suddenly winking out. The box itself began to smoke, and the Clerk frowned in confusion, opening the lid to see a slagged stone melting inside.
“Is that supposed to happen?” Tilly asked, eyeing the thing he had just paid 100 gold for.
“Uh, no sir, my… apologies.” Then as if by magic, the elephantine chief was behind him, looking over his shoulder with an aghast expression on his face.
“Harold! What is happening here?”
“Oh! Uh, Sir. The Keystone seemed to have trouble bonding with our new customer. I am not sure what happened.”
The chief scanned the contents of the counter, including the Notice of Refund, and it clicked for Tilly, “Oh, man. This is my fault. I'm sure you have seen my level, but I have an uncommonly high Endurance stat that sometimes interferes with things like this.”
The Chief’s eyes flicked to Tilly, then back to the Notice, then back to the slagged Keystone, “Yes, I am beginning to gain a picture of the problem… Not to worry sir, we would be happy to provide you with an appropriate Tier item for the same terms. This is something we should have noticed from the beginning.” He said, laying a strong side eye on the clerk, who wilted under the attention.
He then reached under the counter and pulled out a metal box inlaid with gold. At this point, Tilly was convinced there was magic bullshit happening under that counter. He doubted they just had all that stuff tucked away under there.
“This is our Third Tier Keystone and should be more than enough to meet your needs. It is also nearly unbreakable, and can never be taken from you. Normally this item comes with a cost of 1000 gold and 50 gold per month… But as an apology and a personal promise from our branch to not fail you again, we would like to offer you this at the price of a base Keystone. We at the Guild pride ourselves on our exemplary service, and refuse to have such a promising customer pay for our mistakes.” He harumphed, opening the new box with a flourish, and displaying the beautiful ring of inlaid metal, He then closed the box quickly and slid it over to the clerk with a significant look before turning back to Tilly,
“Now if you will place your finger on the surface, we can bond it and put this unpleasantness behind us. It is, as always, our pleasure to serve.” The Chief concluded, nodding once and turning to go.
“Uh, excuse me, but when you say Third Tier, I assume you mean it should be able to bond with anyone with an Endurance under one hundred and fifty, is that correct?”
Comments
Joshua Hutto
literally smirked as I wrote that one. so fun.
Katja Doebelin
All I could hear was "Um, actually..." when they talked about a third tier keystone being overkill lol.
