A Warlock Alone, Island Empire solo game

[Scotley]

The Dye Merchant

"Captain, I must tell you that I know you are crewing a new ship recently won. Let me be blunt, as I am a very busy man. I must tell you that in the current economic climate I don't offer goods on speculation. If you can pay for the dye I will be happy to sell it to you at a wholesale price and expect you will do well with it, but I have not built this successful business by taking chances on a dark horse. If you have the funds to do business, then lets get down to it. If you planned to pitch me some scheme where I provide the goods and you will return later with a profit then I must bid you good day."

It is important to note that he is not rude or condecinding, but has in fact shown you a considerable courtesy. He is a straightforeward businessman who likes to cut to the chase.

 

[J. Alexander]

The Dye Merchant

Michael will give a slow smile and say "While i do always have a few crack pot schemes floating around in the back of my mind you can rest assured you are safe from them. I am offering to purchase your wares by either bank drafts or hard currency depending on which form gives me a better deal or that you dictate." As i have limited knowledge about your wares other than Tereger Blue I do ask that you educate me somewhat about the other colors you have to offer and the prices per unit for each type that you offer."

 

[Scotley]

The Dye Merchant

Without ranker he says, "I must say you are a bold man to offer to purchase something you know so little about and expect to make a profit." He shrugs, "I deal in quality garment dyes. They will end up in clothing purchased by the upper classes. The dyes here will not be on some fishwife's new frock. The Empress herself has worn a Tregeren Blue gown. We sell dyes in powder form based on the number of cloth yards it will dye when mixed with the appropriate medium--oil or water depending on the application. Thus if I sell you twenty cloth yards of Tregeren blue then I am offering you enough powder to through dye twenty yards of garment standard linen. If you were planning to dye heavy cotton the amount sold would actually only be good for about 22 yards or perhaps 18 yards of heavy tent canvas. It would in fact be about ten pounds of powder. We don't sell it by weight because there is some inherent variation between batches and our customers expect to get a fixed volume for their money. It means that in good years we make a little extra and in years with the richness of the crops is poor we do a little worse. Do you follow me so far?" Getting a nod he continues. "I specialize in local dyes. I get the well known Tregeren Blue, Fancy Russet as distinguished from the more dirty colored russet they make in the Western Reach, Fire Saffron, and most recently we've been selling an Ebon Black made from the ink of a local squid and a gum wood charcoal. This new black is darker longer lasting than the standard blacks used traditionally. I have high expectations for it." He grabs a stylus and wax board from his desk and does some quick writing on the board. "Here is what I am willing to offer you today. If you find the sale a success and you come back, then perhaps we can negotiate some special pricing. I like your boldness and I've given you a good price. I tell you that as a man of honor. You know nothing of my product so I could have charged you double and you'd be none the wiser until you reached a distant market and were laughed at." He passes over the clipboard. "I've included a rough weight, because I know that will be important to you in shipping, but I warn you there is some variation and it wont be exact."

In a very neat hand the tablet reads--

Tregeren Blue 50 clothyards 200 gp 25 pounds
Fancy Russett 50 clothyards 80 gp 40 pounds
Fire Saffron 50 clothyards 100 gp 30 pounds
Ebon Black 50 clothyards 50 gp 20 pounds

 

[J. Alexander]

Teh Dye Merchant

Michael will look over the figures and comment, "I do appreciate your honesty sir. I am looking for reliable sources of products I can find markets for, thus my boldness in acquiring products i know little of." Continuing "As they say, fortune favors the bold, so I am more than willing to take a few loses and bumps until I strike upon those products and in the process I learn about different things that may serve me well in the future"

"As to your product I am interested in purchasing the following"
Tregeren Blue 50 clothyards 200 gp 25 pounds 250 cloth yards = 1000
Fancy Russett 50 clothyards 80 gp 40 pounds 250 cloth yards = 300 gp
Fire Saffron 50 clothyards 100 gp 30 pounds 250 = 500 gp
Ebon Black 50 clothyards 50 gp 20 pounds 100o cloth yards = 1000 gp

Is that agreeable to you sir ?

 

[Scotley]

The Dye Merchant

"Very well, I think I can accomdate you. Can I suggest you take 4 55 gallon casks of oil binder for the Tregeren Blue and the Fire Saffron? Further north not everyone will have the binder. I normally sell it wholesale at a gold a gallon, but I'll let you have it for 50 gp a cask making your order an even 3000 gp? The other dyes will work well enough with water and whale oil, but for these really good dyes we recommend adding some of the binder to the mix to ensure flawless color and better long term fade resistence. I assume you'll want delivery to the Retribution? How soon? I may need a few days to get that much Ebon Black together." He pulls a cord marked "Piere" on the handle and in seconds the striking young man you assume is a secretary comes in with a note pad. "Shall I have my man write up the details?"

 

[J. Alexander]

The Dye Merchant.

"It is aggred then sir. Please have Piere draw up the necessary paperwork and have it delivered to "Retribution" "Upon it's receipt i can either forward the specie or deposit it as you so instruct" Michael will then rise and say " I thank you for your time sir especially at such short notice and without a proper letter of introduction". "Good day to you"


As Michael leave the office he will briefly walk over to the wharf/shipbuilding area and give it a once over. He will then return to the ship, deal with what ever has to be dealt with there, take a brief nap and then prepare for dinner and the war council with Chandar, The Priestess, Grond and of course moi. Guiesspee will be left on deck to give warning should things go amiss I am thinking that all the prepartaions etc may have the local curious and they may try something if just on a sneaky scale. Who knows.

Shall we do dinner then

 

[J. Alexander]

Discussing the Raid

At the appinted time, Michael will greet his guest and they will sit down to dinner. Michael will keep the conversation light and airy and use it once again as an ice breaker especially since Grond has been moody and he imagines that Grond and Chandar are eyeing each other like two tom cats. After what is hopefully a very pleaseant meal, Michael will turn the conversation to the potiential raid.

"I have asked you all to think about how we can conduct a raid on the Shark Man villiage with the intent of it being a quick snatch and grab raid to acquire the most loot with the lowest body count possible. As I see it we are facing several problems.
The depth of the village and how we overcome transporting the spoils to the surface
How do we distract the shark allies and sentries to allow us to penetrate the outer defenses
How will be neutralize what is sure to be fierce opposition?
Is there a way we can scare the inhabitants into fleeing or at least creating such a panic as to divert their attention away from us and to securing their women and children?

As to the transporation of the goods to the ship, I can summon a shark ally that can easily move the spoils in cargo nets to the surface or to a point where the ship can winch them aboard on platforms.

If reference to the shark allies, it may be possible to lay a chum field some distance from the village and draw them there and away from us. It may be possible to put them in such a frenzy that they will ignore the calls of their masters.

As to the scaring of the villiagers, it may be possible by using thunderstone equipped crossbow bolts or javelins to create such a shock and pressure wave as to incite fear into them and force them out for a brief time. Bewteen the sonic waves and the actual blast it could startle them into a general panic.

If we take a pure stealth approach, I can move silently and be very effective but it wold mean recuriting others who also possess this ability.

May i have your thoughts.

 

[Scotley]

Planning a raid

Nac'Losin sits back and watches the proceedings saying nothing at this point. The first to speak is Grond. "From what we've seen of the Sahaugin, they don't scare easily. I'm not sure the Thunderstones will be enough to start a panic." Chandar speaks up next. "I can find a couple of men, Ranger types, more acustomed to fighting from stealth, but only a couple." Finally, Nac'Losin speaks up. "The Sahaugin are best known for their greed and aggression, perhaps those are the traits best used to undermine them?"

 

[J. Alexander]

Discussion

"Well we could try to lure their fighters away by tempting them with the "Retribution and it's supposed cargo" while we stage the raid usins small fishing vessles or longboats" "Or we could just infuratie them somehow into making a aggresive strike at us using their dead leaders body"

"Truly, I am at a loss as to how to do this, so unless we can come up with something feasible bewtten the four of us, then I say we let it pass and come back to it another day."

 

[Scotley]

The others look at each other and back at Michael. Grond speaks up, "There must be some way to draw them out. We need a way to send them false information or we need to find out if they have contacts here that would report back to them."