Can't Con Me!

[Hikaru]

Ymiden 40

Hikaru yawned as he stepped outside of the jewelry shop where he worked. Today had been a massive bore and it didn’t help that the heat was getting to a nearly unbearable level. There hadn’t been any customers today which meant there was nobody to sell to and no jewels to cut. In times like this the jeweler found the best thing to do was to take some wares with him and try selling to people on the street. He had taken a small box of cheap jewelry and walked steadily to the edge of the marketplace where he would sit and wait patiently.

It was about noon when Hikaru finally got set up and started laying out the jewelry. None of it was impressive, but it wasn’t like the average Joe was going to fork over a thousand nel to a street vendor anyways. Hikaru watched as people passed by and would try to engage in conversation if they made eye contact. More often than not, they only looked at him because his entire body looked as though it was sculpted to perfection. Once it was clear that Hikaru only wanted to sell them something people would quickly lose their interest. ”This has got to be one of the most annoying parts about being blessed by Edasha,” Hikaru would think as he sat back down. He was appreciative of what the immortal had done for him, but his looks hadn’t done much other than attract the wrong kind of attention.

Hikaru decided he would stay put and let people approach him from now on. If nobody showed up for the next couple hours he would pack up and head back to the shop.

[Devin]

Contrary to popular belief, Devin didn’t lie, deceive and seduce other people’s spouses all the time. Sometimes, he also went for a walk, like a normal, law-abiding citizen – such as on that 40th of Ymiden, a beautiful, sunny trial that was just perfect for such a thing. Since he was a proper devotee of Delroth and sought to honor the Immortal that had marked him wherever he went, he was dressed in fine silks, he had brushed his hair and shaved and done all those other things that were necessary in order to look as good as possible, and he had also put a golden circlet on his head because you could never go wrong with gold.

His aim that trial was to get some ice cream or maybe a cold drink since it was quite warm which surprised him to be honest since Scalvoris was located in the far north of Idalos. He was just walking through the marketplace, towards his destination, a lovely little café with an even lovelier owner, when something – or rather somebody caught his attention. The thief stopped dead in his tracks for a moment and just stared at Hikaru wide-eyed because he had never seen such a perfect human being before, and then he walked over to him and plopped down next to him.

“You are really good-looking!” he proclaimed as he looked Hikaru over again and smiled brightly. “And so am I! How did you do it? Were you born this way, or did you drink a magical potion? I drank a potion made from Edasha’s tears last season and ended up with a voice that sounds even better than it normally does. I was told it isn’t permanent, so I’ll probably have to get a new potion soon or get in contact with Edasha herself. I hope Delroth doesn’t mind!” He paused in order to take a breath because even he couldn’t exist without air. It was just then that his gaze fell on the jewelry that Hikaru had laid out in front of him, and his eyes widened for the second time in just as many bits.

“Did you make those things?” he asked and pointed at Hikaru’s jewelry as he wondered how to best go about getting his hands on as many of those shiny things as possible. Would Hikaru notice if he quickly grabbed something? He looked at the other man appraisingly and decided that doing such would be too risky. No, he needed to go about it differently if he didn’t want to spend his next vacation in Slags Deep, in the company of smelly, unwashed and just totally unappealing criminals, especially since he was currently not in disguise …

[Hikaru]

Hikaru hadn’t sat for long when he saw someone approaching him. He got excited because it wasn’t a woman which meant he was probably interested in jewelry and not his looks. The jeweler sat up straight and tried to posture himself to give the man a good view of the wares. Hikaru barely had a chance to open his mouth to welcome his guest when he was told he was good looking and subject to a barrage of questions. They had caught him so off guard that he had run the questions back through his mind to remember them all. ”This is the first time a man has ever given me a compliment like that. I’m not sure if this is what I had in mind when I got blessed.”

The man stated he was also good looking, which Hikaru supposed he couldn’t deny. Hikaru didn’t envy the man physically, but his accessories were so tasteful that they made Hikaru feel a painful tinge of jealousy. On top of that, his voice sounded divine which was something Hikaru would never have causing even more jealousy. Edasha’s blessing had granted the jeweler the looks of his dreams but hadn’t done anything about his voice.
“Thank you for your kind words,” Hikaru would say, “my name is Hikaru, who might you be?” He did his best to maintain eye contact and be professional. This was a potential customer, after all. “I was blessed by Edasha rather recently and it’s been quite a shock if I’m to be honest. It looks like even men can notice!” Hikaru gave a chuckle then continued, “Where did you obtain such a potion? And yes, these are some of my earlier works. They haven’t been selling in the shop so I decided to bring them to the streets. Are you interested?”

Hikaru was not a salesman so he had never had a run in with a thief before. He lacked the discipline to keep a constant eye on the wares and was more intent on maintaining eye contact. There were so many low-quality pieces that he didn’t even know how many he had brought. What Devin would have to worry about is someone else seeing his actions.

[Devin]

“Of course, men can notice!” Devin told Hikaru, still smiling that impossibly bright smile and draped an arm across the jeweler’s shoulders as if he had known him for arcs instead of having just met him before he offered, quite generously, “If you don’t like the attention that your blessing attracts, you can give it to me. I love being looked at! I’ll give you …” He paused for a moment as he rooted through the pockets of his pants and produced a pretty, glowing rock. “… this for it. I got it during a dangerous mission that involved a magical tree that mutated my eyes, so it’s probably magical!”

If Hikaru took a closer look, he would notice that Devin did indeed have unusual eyes. They were a vibrant shade of violet – and they looked a lot like a Rupturing mutation which came in handy every once in a while, when Devin needed to intimidate somebody or impersonate a mage. Most people didn’t know the difference between him and a real mage. The jeweler might also notice other things about the young man – such as the fact that his arms were covered with feather-like markings that seemed to move gently.

“From Peytr, the alchemist”, Devin replied readily as Hikaru asked him where he had gotten the potion. “I volunteered as a test subject, which temporarily made my hair turn blue among other things, and he gave me a dose of Perfection In a Bottle”, he claimed, wisely omitting the fact that Peytr hadn’t simply given the potion to him. Devin had threatened to tell the authorities that the alchemist was testing dangerous potions on innocent human beings – unless Peytr handed over his most expensive potion right now.

It was then that he remembered that Hikaru had asked him who he was. He looked at the jeweler thoughtfully for a moment, wondering which of his many false identities he should use, and then he came to the conclusion that it would be best to give him his real name because he was currently looking like himself. So, he proclaimed, hoping that Hikaru would be sufficiently impressed, “Devin Thorn, master bard, naturalist and priest of Delroth, at your service! Delroth’s the Immortal of Vanity, Greed and a number of other awesome things, so our Immortals are practically siblings”, he added.

“I’m definitely interested”, he informed him. “What do you have? Perhaps you could tell me about your creations – and give a poor priest a discount? I recently acquired a shrine of my own, and I need to decorate it, among other things – because an ugly shrine of Delroth just won’t do – but I find myself rapidly running out of funds as managing a shrine is quite expensive, you see. You’d have my gratitude, and who knows, maybe there’s even another blessing in your future”, he claimed. He was quite proud of the fact that he had come up with this story – until he remembered that it was actually almost true. Managing a shrine was expensive. Oh well …

[Hikaru]

Hikaru laughed when his new customer brought up the idea of giving away his blessing. He wasn’t even sure if it was possible, not that he would trade Edasha’s blessing for the world. ”It might be better to die than to gain an Immortal’s scorn,” he would think. These thoughts were erased from the jeweler’s mind when he was presented with a glowing rock and told about what it could do. Hikaru would back away instinctually when he saw what had become of his customer’s eyes. Had he not been held by a very strange feather-marked arm then Hikaru would have taken several steps back.

“I’m not sure I’d like it if my eyes would change, personally,” Hikaru admitted as he let himself relax a little, “and I didn’t know making such a potion was possible! I may have to pay this Peytr a visit!” Hikaru would listen to the rest of what the man, Devin, had to say before speaking again. ”A bard, naturalist, and a priest. A marked priest at that. What an odd combination of professions, although I’m not sure how I should feel about being compared to the immortal of greed,” Hikaru would think. Regardless, the numerous titles had given Hikaru the impression that Devin was a man worth getting to know. Status was the quality that Hikaru’s wanted most, and he greatly envied anyone more successful than himself.

It wasn’t until Devin started talking business that Hikaru even remembered that he was trying to make a sale. Hikaru was a businessman and a jeweler, not a salesman. Something in the back of his mind told him to just list the prices and stick to them, but Devin’s story struck a chord. He had been marked and had been devoted enough to make a shrine? That was much more than Hikaru could say about his relationship with Edasha.

“I suppose we could work out a deal of sorts,” he would say while holding up bronze, silver, and gold necklaces, “these could go nicely upon any statues you may have. You see, the thing about these necklaces are…” Hikaru would go off on a ramble about the intricacies of making the jewelry and getting lost in his own thoughts. He wouldn’t pay much attention to Devin and would rather spend more time pointing out details on the necklaces that nobody but a jeweler would even care about. Eventually, Hikaru would end with, “I could settle for four silver nel for a bronze one, four gold nel for a silver one, and fourteen gold nel for a gold one.” It was only after he had ended that Hikaru realized that he should have probably kept it brief. He hoped he hadn’t bored away his only customer!

[Devin]

“Before the adventure in the Sweetwine Woods my eyes were a boring brown”, Devin revealed. “I like this color here much better! I don’t want any part of me to look boring! As for Peytr”, he continued. “You should definitely pay him a visit. Don’t drink the potion that smells like strawberries though, no matter how delicious it seems to be. I drank it, and it made me cough up hairballs”, he warned him. He shuddered slightly as he remembered the incident. He had been about to choke!

When Hikaru informed him that they could work out a deal of sorts, Devin beamed at him – apparently his little story had been quite effective. As the jeweler proceeded to demand money, his smile grew considerably less bright though. Being a Blessed of the Immortal of Greed, Devin was exceedingly reluctant to part with his nels and believed that he was entitled to other people’s nels on top of it. He didn’t say that out loud of course. Instead, he stroked his chin thoughtfully as he looked at the necklaces again and then he asked,

“Did I already tell you that you’ll practically be advertising for free? People will see your necklaces on my statues and want to know where I got them from”, he claimed. He didn’t actually have any statues yet. In fact, he didn’t have much more than an old shrine that was in bad need of a few repairs – as well as a few fancy decorations. If Hikaru wanted to assume that he had statues and such, he wouldn’t keep him from it though!

“You could, possibly, make a fortune with my help!” he pointed out before he asked Hikaru, “Are you sure that you don’t want to give your blessing to me? No? Then how about I give you my glowing rock from the Sweetwine Woods in exchange for your necklaces?” He extended the hand with the rock so that Hikaru could take a closer look, in order to hopefully tempt him further. “I also have a couple of other strange items!” he added in case Hikaru decided that he didn’t want the rock after all.

[Hikaru]

”That alchemist sounds shady at best. I’d probably be better off NOT going anywhere near him, Hikaru would think. Devin’s expression on recalling spitting up hairballs was not a pleasant one. He was finding that most things about Devin weren’t as they initially seemed. It was almost as if everything he said and did came with some sort of catch. Being asked for free jewelry was what made Hikaru wary.

“No no, I am quite sure I don’t want to be near that stone. I’m having second thoughts about the alchemist at that, given your story,” he let out a chuckle, “As for the price, I suppose I could part with a couple silver necklaces. They’ll be coming out of my wages so you can understand why I can’t part with anything more…” Hikaru trailed off and wondered if it was even worth digging into what other strange objects his customer might have. ”Stay focused and professional,” he told himself.

Hikaru laid down the remaining jewelry and held up two of the bets silver necklaces. The entire lot had been on the lower end of the quality spectrum, but these two were the best of the bunch. He only chose the best because he hoped Devin would follow through on this “free advertising” deal. If he was a more experienced salesman he probably would have recognized the scam, but alas.

“Right, you can have these so long as you point anyone who asks about them to me. I may even stop by your shrine come next season when I have the time. It’s the least I can do for a fellow marked man.” Hikaru wasn’t sure what else he had to talk about. He had the feeling of someone talking to a door to door salesman, except there was no door to close.

“Well I'm afraid my idea of selling outside of the shop hasn't gone so well. You were my only customer and I ended up making a donation, imagine that! I'm hoping to start my own business soon then someone else can handle the selling side of things."

[Devin]

“Then I’ll just keep it“, Devin replied with a grin as Hikaru told him that he didn’t want the stone and quickly pocketed it lest the jeweler changed his mind. “More for me! As for your silver necklaces”, he continued. “I absolutely love silver! It’s almost as good as gold! You won’t regret giving them to me, I promise!” he assured him and quickly took the two necklaces in order to stuff them into his pocket as well because a part of him was worried that Hikaru would see through his little ploy after all and decide to keep them. He couldn’t allow that to happen! These necklaces belonged to him!

“My shrine’s located right next to the city wall”, he informed Hikaru and proceeded to give him detailed directions. “This time next season it should be as good as finished, so feel free to stop by anytime. I’ll put your necklaces where everybody can see them!” he promised him, secretly wondering where he’d get the statues that he had told Hikaru would be wearing the necklaces from. Maybe he’d seduce a sculptor, he decided. It had been a while since he had enjoyed the company of one …

“You need to advertise more!” he told Hikaru as the man complained that he had been his only customer. “Giving your necklaces to me was a good start, but you should also put up signs – and approach people rather than waiting for them to come to you. At least that’s what I would do if I were in your place. Anyway, I gotta be going. My shrine’s waiting. I’ll be sure to visit you again once you have your own business!” he promised him before he raised his hand in a greeting and bade him farewell.

Soon Devin was walking across the marketplace, whistling happily because his little con had gone so well – and because he was looking forward to future cons and persuading Hikaru to give him even more free stuff!

[Gangui]

Devin

Knowledges:

Business Management: Advertising is important
Cosmetology: You can never go wrong with gold
Cosmetology: Making yourself look as good as possible
Deception: Omitting certain details
Deception: Feigning poverty
Deception: Letting someone believe whatever they want
Persuasion: Offering someone a glowing rock for their Blessing
Persuasion: Offering someone a glowing rock for their jewelry
Pickpocketing: Don't steal when people are watching
Hikaru: Jeweler
Hikaru: Blessed of Edasha

Points: 15 no magic exp

Loot: two silver necklaces

Renown: 5 but because you told Hikaru who you where

Hikaru

Knowledges:
Business Management: Free Advertising
Business Management: Offering a discount
Business Management: Taking business to the streets
Discipline: Staying professional
Negotiation: Respectfully declining an offer
Negotiation: Setting clear donation limits
Negotiation: Don’t bore your audience
Negotiation: Nothing’s free

Points: 15 no magic exp

renown: 5 because you sold something to a pc



Comments: sorry it ain’t pretty but on my phone. Anyways, was a good meet and great thread. I found it strange they openly talked about the Immortals and religion without knowing each other. Seemed kind of strange but strange is still good. It is a good thing y’all meet I am sure this little encounter will lead to some stories down the road. Is Hikaru going to notice the con that just happened? Will be cool to see that down the road when they meet agaib