The Aedile's Office

[Trinity]

Nestled among the office buildings near the center of the city of Narim sat a medium sized slate colored stone structure. It wasn't the most eye-catching thing to be seen in Narim, but it served it's own purposes just fine. The stone was smooth, yet not devoid of many a blemish in it's surface and the mortar which held it together. Some say that such things added to the character of the building. Though, Narim's citizens seemed to see it as just another reminder that the city didn't wish to spend it's money on polishing stone buildings that were being attacked by salty airs anyway. Perhaps that was a factor causing the blemishes in the structure, as salt eventually can begin to corrode surfaces. It was anyone's guess. Two simple windows were in place on either side of the door, their purpose no more than letting light into the room during brightenings, and allowing those inside to observe the outside world as Narim's hustle and bustle continued on around them.. Yet, this building made a relatively quiet atmosphere to do so in.

On the building, there hung an old brass sign on which the paint was still very visible - like it had been painted new yesterday. It was a crisp, well informative sign that just added to the sharpness of the building. It's message though, was simply...

Aedile's Office

The door was of simple cherry wood, dark red undertones shown through and added to the office's overall sharp look. It had a simple silver doorknob, and a window near the top. It opened inwards, and revealed a desk where a slightly overweight, yet very cheery human sat. She always seemed to be working very diligently when anyone entered if no other customers seeking her help were around. Yes, Patricia the Aedile had a reputation of being a hard worker, which when they came to visit put no doubt in anyone's mind. At the sight of the opening of the door and a new figure appearing in her office, she smiles and puts down her work. With a pleasant tone, she greets...

"Serale! How may I help you this brightening?"

Originally by xGM Rouge, edited a lot by GM Trinity

NPC: Patricia the Aedile.
Slightly overweight, middle aged human that is usually rather cheery. Red curly hair and a big smile. Only steps in to help out when Avirith can't handle something or needs some advice.

Close to retirement, kind of short tempered at times when people aren't straight to the point or ask something of her that requires a lot out of her.

NOTE: Avirith is USUALLY the acting Aedile here, but since he is MIA, you will self moderate thyself using Patricia as the NPC you are interacting with. I will only handle something for you if you absolutely MUST have me. And that is usually not the case.
-Trin

[Trinity]

S'Lon

Patricia read over the reference for a moment and then shrugged, deeming it good enough. She pulled out a rather official looking set of papers, of which had a large stamp across the top that read, "IMPERIAL VISA". The follow fields were on this, and Patricia began to fill them in.


NAME: S'Lon
RACE: Human
DOMICILE: Narim, Confederation of Sherian
BIRTH DATE:
VISA: 9985-070.100.745-020

Looking up, Patricia asked, "Do you happen to know you're birthdate by Imperial standards? And also, do you have a last name I can fill out on this too? The more information we put down the better as it is easier to identify identity theft if the information obviously does not match up."

OoC: Sorry for the suckage, I just don't really feel like putting a lot of effort into this. ><

[S'Lon]

S'lon pondered the questions for a moment, his brow creased in thought and his right hand automatically coming up and covering his mouth.

How old? He wondered. It was a question that had come to him from time to time, but to be honest he wasn't quite sure. He thought he was about five or six patterns old when his parents had died, but after that the eras had sometimes blended into eachother.

"My birth date is the tenth brightening of Optia and I think that would be about twenty patterns ago."

"As for a last name, I've been called just S'Lon for as long as I can remember but I beleive that its Caliban."

He shrugged and watched Patricia somewhat pensively in case this was going to be a problem.

ooc: Thats OK, its not exactly exciting is it? , but since it was raised in the Q&A I thought that I had better get it sorted officially

[Dimnersti]

Brightening 1 of the Month of Junctior in the Season of Autumn, of Era I of the Celestine Mandate
Era X Post Fractum in the Age of the Darkening.

Dimnersti entered the Aediles office, it was only a short wait before he could meet the aedile, narim wasn't exactly a booming metropolis after all.

"Serale miss. Nothing big today, I just need to find a small warehouse, as well as a license for beginning a small buisness. Nothing big, just the production of small fabric toys." he said calmly as he waited for the aedile to respond.

OOC: yeah, short and crap, but meh, its just a simple details thing

[Dimnersti]

"Small fabric toys you say, such a.. freindly thing to do, especialy for one of yoru kind." said patricia cheerily not relizeing her feux pa. 'Your lucky though, we'v a few small warehouses open, we'v lost a few buisness's since the civil war began. You can get one for a price of between 5k to 12k crowns" She said

"Hmm, 6k seems good, and how much would a buisness liscense cost?" Asked dimnersti.

"for the type of buisness you'v mentioned I would think about 200 crowns. So, 6200 crowns for both the deed to the warehouse and the liscense." She said with a bit of quick thought.

With a soft nod Dimnersti pulled out a note for 5k, 1k and a small pile of coins totaling up to 200 crowns. and took back the deed and liscense in exchange. "Thank you, if you'v any children, be sure to ask and I"ll give you a discount on the first batch of plush's I produce." He said with a smile before leaving the building.

[S'Lon]

Once more S'Lon leaned against the door of the Aediles office, his fingers caressing the red wood even as he reached for the silver knob with his other hand and made his way inside. He reflected as he did so that visiting this office seemed to mark most of the momentous moments of his stay in Narim. It had been here that he got his visa, the thing that had allowed him to become recognised as a citizen of the empire and not just a barbari, which is all that he would have been seen as, even had he papers from Daltice, which he didn’t.

He had heard that Patricia had wanted to retire and had hired a replacement, but perhaps it was an off day as there was no sign of any replacement and it was Patricia herself who sat at the desk and busied herself with the paperwork. S'Lon shuddered to himself at the thought of shutting himself indoors all day with just paper for company, and yet he realised that for someone more social, perhaps the constant flow of people was a pleasant thing.

He had slipped in here on his own because he wanted to find out if it was going to be possible to buy the property that they wanted, and then perhaps he could surprise Robyn by taking her round to see some places. ”Serale,” he said when his turn came. ”I wonder if you could help me? I’m looking to open a hotel here in the city with my partner and I wanted to know if there were any suitable properties available. It doesn’t have to be a hotel now; a large house could be a better option. We were thinking that it was to be in one of the better parts of town but something still accessible to any visitors to the town and with perhaps ten bedrooms or a few more and plenty of other rooms. Is there anything like that available? As an additional complication, I am going to need to borrow the cash in order to purchase it and I’d like to know on what terms you might be prepared to make such a loan.

The words had gushed out and he waited for her reaction, for good or ill.

[S'Lon]

Patricia eyed the Ranger in front of her and considered her answer. As usual she was busy and could have done without some half witted man posing difficult questions and generally being a nuisance. She stared at him for a moment and considered seriously telling him to get a life and stop bothering her, but on the other hand he might just be the answer to a little problem that had been plaguing her for some time. There was a certain family in Narim that was of the old money and thought that they thus had to be listened to, and they had in the not too distant past moved to a new house in one of the better parts of Narim. Their old house was felt to have been left behind by the times and the moving ‘better’ part of Narim, and this house was positioned in a place that had become increasingly commercial and not the place that the family wanted to be associated with.

”That’s a lot you are asking of me. You expect me to just give you a house, and a large one at that?” She pinned him with her glare and watched him squirm for a while. ”However, as it happens I do have a property that might suit you but its going to be expensive because its also quite large and its in good condition. Its empty but only recently and the decoration was kept up to date. The price is fifty five thousand crowns and that’s more than I’m prepared to give to any one person as a loan, but if you come back here with your partner then I’ll give it some consideration.” She watched him and wondered if he would be back. There was really no problem in making a loan for the price of the property, after all no cash changed hands. If he didn’t keep up with the payments then the Watch would do her a favour and repossess the property leaving her with a profit of whatever repayments he had made.

S'Lon nodded and considered. The price was higher than he hoped but large was good if the project worked out but it would mean a much more expensive start up and that would mean being so much more careful with their cash. ”Would it be possible to have a look at the property? That would allow us to decide whether it would be suitable for what we need and would also give us a chance to determine how much its going to cost to equip the hotel and get it up and running. For sure its going to take a little while before it becomes profitable so we are going to need some extra cash to cover the start up period.

Patricia regarded him flatly, for this was less to her liking. On the other hand, trade seemed to have died recently here in Narim and anything that would stimulate it was welcome. She opened the desk fished around for a moment before coming up with a set of keys. ”Here are the keys and I’ll tell you where it is in a moment. Extra cash may be possible, but I expect to see some justification for it and you will need to explain to me exactly how you plan to use it. Don’t think I’m going to lend you whatever you want and if I decide that I don’t like what you are saying then I won’t lend it.”

S'Lon took the keys and listened to the directions carefully. ”Thank you for your time and I’ll be back soon.” He bowed his way out of the office and headed off to find Robyn with his exciting news.

[Mizushin Junzo]

The building was certainly rather worn, the wear and tear of a coastal city familiar to Junzo. The thelyri had seen such often enough in Medonia, Port Alyxandra and back in most of the cities he'd been in. Save for the ones in Centripax of course, but regardless, he knew enough to know that the conditions of the building was easily repaired or prevented, if the city bothered to spend for it.

Junzo shrugged. If he was going to setup anything here, he'd ensure that it was sufficiently far from the ocean breeze's direct path. Certain products were susceptible faster decay in that sort of weather, after all. The thelyri moved inside, filing such thoughts into mind as he approached the aedile. He nodded at the woman, greeting her simply, "Serale madame. I'd like to inquire to the ownership of..." He paused for a moment to recall the names of the two businesses he'd seen.

"Erwin's Carpentry, and the Mariner's Box? It mentioned that the two businesses were open for sale, lacking a management skeleton, primarily? Oh, and also I'd like to inquire to the purchase of a home, 3-room house of stone. How much would these purchases entail?"

[Trinity]

Junzo:

Patricia's eyes widened as the man enquired about the three potential purchases. This wasn't something simple, he would have to be willing to pay a good amount of crowns for them. Leaning over her paperwork which she recently produced from her drawers, she answered him..

"There was a chap who was to own the Mariner's Box and another who was to own Edwin's, but since then they've been missing as far as I can tell. We have not had payments from them in awhile, and thus have cut their ownership. We were going to sell it to him for a total of.. what was it.. thirty thousand crowns, I think. The Mariner's Box was thirty-five thousand."
Rummaging once more, Patricia was able to find a few houses to speak with Mr. Mizushin about as well. She eyed the first for a second.

"I do have a few houses here, yes. Stone is standard in Narim, because of the high salt content in the air. Wood can be destroyed too easily and anything else you could think of corrodes so very quickly. This one, quite out of the way of the business oriented areas, will run you 3,000."
Prices drop the further you go away from commerce, after all. Patricia noted that the other two were closer to the main center of town and their costs reflected it. She didn't mention them yet, because she was unsure of what Junzo intended to do, or even if he had the ability to pay for all three of the items. It would be best to explain the conditions of the Mariner's Box and the Carpentry a little more, though.

"By the way," she began, "Edwin's has been sitting empty for awhile now. There's hardly anything inside, as far as I know. I haven't looked in awhile though. The Mariner's Box, however, is still fully functional and even runs under a mock sort of loose structure right now, I think. The girl heading it though has no head for business, so she doesn't do much. Needs someone to take over instead. She's just keeping it afloat because it's the only job she knows. The folk in there are predominately sailors, but if you can deal with that then it's quite a good establishment. No idea what happened to the previous owner."
Patricia trailed off, curiously pondering what might have actually happened to him. Probably got into a bar fight with a patron and was ran out of town. Or perhaps he'd been killed by a sailor with a wee bit too much in him. Oh well.

[Mizushin Junzo]

The thelyri listened to the aedile describe it all with a careful ear. He did indeed wish to set up and take a foothold here in Narim, just as much as he did in the other cities of the Empire, for himself and for the Hoplites. But the prices of over thirty thousand for what seemed to be defunct or disrupted businesses seemed ridiculously high. Unless the income from those two businesses were just as respectively high, he doubted that anyone would take them, even if he could afford them.

"Those prices I have no doubt, were made for those businesses at their prime. But from what you're saying, one is virtually shut down, the other is a few steps from falling apart." The thelyri crossed his arms and shook his head. "I don't think those are realistic prices in any case. Whom do I speak to for the purchase of these businesses, and its negotiation? Here?"

He shrugged and nodded with a slightly more agreeable expression on his face. "The home however, seems a fair price. Do you think you could describe its location and specifications for me? Lastly, I am interested in the purchase of a large warehouse compound here, with a sizeable amount of open space adjacent to such a location. Although the open space is optional, I suppose."

[Trinity]

Well, the reason they had been so high initial was just because Patricia was used to people trying to talk her down. Give them less room to talk her down out of it if it started up higher, eh? Smiling a small smile at Junzo, she gave a slight nod and replied,
"Yes, they are a bit high I do agree. Since the city has taken full posession of both, basically, you can negotiate prices with me. What sounds more reasonable to you? We can work from there." They could work it down a little, sure, whatever was reasonable to Junzo. He also had a good chance of getting whatever he considered a good deal, too, because she was getting pretty desperate to sell the things. They were a burden and they weren't helping the economy by just sitting in her little pile of papers, now were they.

As for the house,"[/b] She continued, "It is out near the northwestern corner of the town, past the Seafoam district and closer to the shoreline. It still has a bit of ways from bustle of the docks, though, and sits behind the northern side of the Shvakkim -- that's the road that goes through the middle of town, if you didn't know. Far enough away so the noise doesn't drive a person mad, reasonable enough for getting to work, I guess. Suit you?"

The warehouse. Patricia thought for a second, looking over yet another stack of papers. There were many warehouses in Narim, a few that happened to be poorly and impractically placed. What good would a warehouse be away from the actual docks that revceive shipments of goods every so often? Really, she sometimes wondered who designed this town and how many tankards of Barrow's Haunt they'd had while planning some of it. One particular warehouse, that, thankfully, had nothing rotting inside it and was basically empty was finally found. She pulled it out and looked at it, scrunching up her face in the most peculiar manner.
"Here's one that's.. poorly placed and not useable much. I could probably sell it to you outright as well. We normally don't allow people to just own warehouses, but no one is ever going to use this one. So, I'll sell it to you for.." she thought for a second, looking at values of various things. Impractical, that brought the price down. Empty. That brought it down even more.
[b]"About six thousand five hundred. Or so.

[Mizushin Junzo]

"The house will be fine, just add it to the totals." Junzo smiled sympathetically, a slight frown forming as he thought of numbers. He obviously wished for the least price available. However, he did wish it to be fair. In this case however, he knew that the places were simply being held uselessly by the government, producing nothing at all, and at rather some bit of risk of falling apart. "Heh, well of course. Reasonable I'd say is a rather relative thing. Personally, I would just like to pay the equivalent value for the property they are occupying, plus a small amount for structure. The thelyri looked at Patricia somewhat forlornly.

"They are as you say, on the brink of collapse. With that kind of environment, I'm likely to even be at losses for a long time to come. So, I'd like to try for a similar price as to the ones you've given me already. The warehouse is of course, larger then the two businesses, but that is balanced by the fact that those others are quite more furnished and equipped as appropriate. However, in disrepair, unlike this warehouse, as I'm fairly sure that its in solid condition." The thelyri paused in his calculations. "With those thoughts in mind, I would like to ask for a similar price as the warehouse property, perhaps? I will be having to spend even more to get things repaired in any case, would I not?"

After that had been said, and their deals underway, the thelyri added yet another question. "I'm terribly sorry, but I would like to inquire to the presence of a fishing business around here? I heard there was one in Narim. I'm fairly interested in that as well, do you have any suggestions for me on that?"

OOC: The warehouse is sited rather far away from most places eh? Isolated...mmm, that'd be quite fine.

[Trinity]

Patricia nodded and began to write some things down. After thinking for a little while longer, she looked up at Mizushin. The businesses could be cut a little lower, sure. What if she gave them both to him for say... twenty something thousand? That'd be a bargain, of course. He'd be in losses for awhile anyway, and it would help the economy to have those businesses back on the up anyway. She sighed. This was going to be painful, but probably worth it.

"Alright, you're right," replied the Aedile, "What if I cut them down to say.. twenty-three thousand. Together. Ten thousand for the near empty Edwin's, and thirteen for the functioning but messy ordeal of the Mariner's Box? You've probably got some good work to do on both of them anyway, isn't like you'll be making a profit right from the get-go. And it'll help business around these parts to have those places back up again, I guess... Since Edwin's is so empty though, you might even be able to turn it into something else, who knows." She shrugged.

At the inquiry about the fishing industry, Patricia chuckled. "The fishing industry... is big in Narim. Government funds a lot of the fishing, as that is a big export for our town. Helps us keep afloat, so to speak. They also sell surplus of shipments to the townsfolk, but an actual place to go and buy it would be nicer... selection better, probably fresher.. Not take the leavin's and be happy with it. Sometimes fish are staple for people who can't afford a lot. We had Happy's, a fish oriented store, but it went under. City bought it back, sold it to a 'Stephan Woulofen', I believe. He hasn't really done anything about it, either. Seems to have even skipped town on us for awhile now. Basically, the actual fishing industry for sell-back to Narim is ripe for the plucking, so to speak." She hmm'd to herself before continuing. This guy was really into the whole business owning in Narim. Well, that was fine. Business was business. If he brought in more people or created more commerce in the Shvakkim, more power to him. She wasn't going to stop him, and no one else in their right minds would try it either.

"An actual building would knock down the government or small time fisher's little moving stocks any brightening. If you want to get into that, I suggest focusing on just getting out there and doing it and doing it well. Hire some of the fishermen that are wandering the Shvakkim, selling fish. Have them fish for your stock or something. Suppliers for that venture are so easy to get in a town that is large on fishing. Not something like Blacksmithing or jewelry crafting. No importing goods, no working hard to get them all presentable. It's fish. You sell it to people, they cook them and eat them. They come back for more. Not hard, easy business. Can't believe no one's really tried to snatch it up and compete with the non-existant Stephan or the government's measly supply."

OoC: Yep, kind of a poorly placed one, mistake of some sort. And sorry this post sucks, but whatever, it's an Aedile post.. not some quest or something.

[Mizushin Junzo]

"Twenty-three thousand for both...?" The thelyri mused. It was certainly a much better price then she had initially quoted when he'd asked about them. Nonetheless, despite the fact that it was certainly a good deal, the fact also remained that those businesses were in rather bad shape. He'd be in the red possibly, unless he could rally the places up quickly within the next few cycles available to him.

"How about...something a little less. Twenty thousand? Make it a good even number. If its as bad as you've said, or close to it, I'd essentially be in the red anyway." Junzo shrugged, a somewhat sympathetic look on his face. "And I do want to have enough funds to try get into the Fishing business. I'll head over the the docks to see what I can get from the fishermen and organize them, perhaps. But for now, I'd like to try get in the resources of that old fishing supply business."

[Trinity]

A large sigh issued from Patricia. Wow, she was really going to be losing money on this one. But at this point she was far from caring. Sure, he could have the dying business and the run down one for twenty thousand. It was like buying a blank building that ate your wallet when you went inside anyway. Yes, that was it.

As the Aedile tried to reason with herself, she nodded to Junzo. "Alright, alright. Twenty thousand and not a silver less! You try to go any lower and you'll just be calling me plum crazy. I don't really care if you think I'm plum crazy either, and it would be damaging to an old lady's emotional state anyway. Which is enough to have you thrown out if you get my drift." She wasn't angry with him, just a little irritated that he wasn't the type she usually got. Set them a price and they took it, no questions asked. It just wasn't like people to question her pricing when they ventured inside. They trusted her.

See, that was the thing people had to learn in Narim that they were in severe lack of. Not everyone was a saint. In fact, most people in Narim were not saints. It was like, one saint per thousand people, or possibly more. Patricia's eyes looked Mizushin over for a second. Yeah, he could hold his own out there. Boy had a quick mind on him that thought things through. He was going to be more successful than the last ones.
"So thats.. twenty nine thousand, five hundred crowns.. isn't it?" She counted around on her fingers again, nearly disgusted by it. What a rip. But he had a point, and he was good at this. So she'd let him get off with it this time. Oh well, Patriica always recouped her losses in some form or another. Eventually. Mizushin may have gotten out on a break here, but she would.. get.. the town back somehow. Or another person. Or him, who knew. Patricia was such an odd, fickle thing. Not many understood her. And who could blame them, she was quite an odd cookie... Oui.