Chapter 110: A Thousand Sons
[You convinced the hidden master to reveal himself.
50 EXP gained.]
Personally, I thought that was overly dramatic, both the reveal itself and the experience gained, but I was never one to refuse an easy payday.
"I have some on me, and my associates might have more, if they haven't managed to sell it off yet," I replied instead.
[Valkyrie Dust withdrawn.
Valkyrie Dust stored.]
I summoned another sample to demonstrate before dismissing it seconds later; this time, I didn't bother to pretend it came from a hidden pocket, as I doubted my slight of hand could fool someone who managed to live to retirement mage. Beware the old in a profession where men die young, as they say, and whilst I didn't know the exact details of Joe's past, everything said and shown so far hinted at a heavy front-line role.
"How much exactly?" Joe queried, leaning back in his chair with the assurance of the deadliest man in the room.
"A thousand vials, minus the one you took just now; let's not count that one, call it a free sample."
The first hit is free, a time old adage of dealers everywhere, or so the DARE commercials claimed.
"Ah," Joe grimaced. "That could be difficult. Valkyrie Dust is a bit of a specialised product; great for a fight, but most men can't handle it. Drives them a bit mad, you know, overconfident at best, a full-on blood rage that gets them put down at worst. We have to be selective with customers, even during wartime; if you're looking to cash in quick, that's a lot more than can be sold on short notice."
"That's to be expected," I sighed. "Really, this was only meant to be the first stop for our caravan, selling a bit at each point as we went wall to wall all the way to Light's End. Needless to say, that plan isn't exactly viable anymore."
"The entire city is on lockdown," Joe nodded sagely. "Nobody gets in or out without a proper inspection, complete with magical support. The gate is an entirely different beast now, run directly by military police, none of those half-arsed customs inspectors who'll look the other way for a bribe. Unless something drastic changes, you'll be where for a while."
That was depressingly likely, I concluded. Harvey had likely realised it as well, if he was sending us all on missions to integrate with the city proper; sure, we might be able to get out and head back south, but if inspections were that rigorous we'd have to leave our product behind. My pocket dimension had yet to be detected, but that was without running into true scrutiny, I couldn't trust that it would hold under martial law.
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"That's fine," I replied eventually. "How much are you willing to buy wholesale, here and now? With prices being what they are, I'm feeling a bit cash poor."
My old managers would have cuffed me round the ears for admitting such weakness during negotiations, but frankly I didn't care. I'd known last night's events would have consequences, but a full lockdown was news to me. In such an environment, with supply and trade routes suddenly restricted, the price of everything was about to spike, as news spread in the coming days and panic set in. I needed Gilt, and I needed it now, something Joe was undoubtedly already aware of.
"I'll take a hundred vials," Joe replied immediately. "Enough to sell over the next week or two, without making anyone wonder where such large volumes came from. I'll play ten Gilt a vial, a fair price while leaving me enough of a margin for resale."
I was undoubtedly being ripped off; even in the best of days, wholesalers got shafted compared to the value of a drug on the street. I also had no reference price as to what was fair, Harvey hadn't shared that, and I'd expected to be read into the market when he took the lead during the first sale. In the end, none of that mattered; I needed the money, and it wasn't as if I was attached to the drug trade. War brought many risks, but just as many opportunities, and as I considered my position, a few promising ideas were coming to light.
"Deal."
Joe pulled a crate out from out of sight, setting it on the counter-top.
[100 Valkyrie Dust withdrawn.]
A hundred vials filled it most of the way, leaving enough room for a thin layer of whatever decoy he preferred to keep the inspectors happy. Joe's eyes glazed over briefly, before he grunted, and handed me a faded slip of paper.
"In the name of the System, Joe Blow bequeaths unto the holder of this slip the sum of one thousand Gilt?"
[1000 Gilt gained.]
I'd been dubious, reading it more as a question than a statement, but sure enough, I immediately received an infusion of wealth, whilst the slip in my hand crumbled to dust the moment I read it.
"Neat, isn't it?" Joe grinned, relishing in my obvious surprise. "Notaries who pledge themselves to commerce gain the ability Underwrite, allowing them to issue binding notes of credit backed by the System. From my vault to your storage item in moments, without the hassle of physically collecting and moving a thousand coins."
Once again, I was forced to reevaluate this new world's technological development, because despite the technological gap, they'd created a convincing substitute for central banking and direct deposit. There was still a paper element involved, so it wasn't quite as efficient as a banking app, but it beat the chequebook quite convincingly.
[You've made your first serious deal.
50 EXP gained.]
Experience was coming thick and fast too, which was nice; I hadn't had much chance to play the merchant until then, but now that I'd set down roots so to speak, I had no intention of slowing down from here on out.
"If you're still alive two weeks from now, I might be willing to buy another hundred."
"I'll keep that in mind," I replied absently, more concerned with the sudden fire that lit across my entire body.
Metaphorically, of course, but undeniably all the same. With a sudden infusion of wealth, my Class was finally showing its value.
[Money is Power: All attributes scale with accumulated wealth.]
