Sneaky Shopping (Ka'Ri, Ellowyn)

Ka'Ri skritches in her notebook, but more she is dumping the information into her memory. A halfling proxy for a pirate ship and prepared for sail. It gives a potential lead on a go-between or runner for the crew as well as the first real sign she's seen that Gwynn and Korogur have left shore. Now they just needed to figure out what island and how to approach it without being blown out of the water at best.

"Thank you, sir, truly. You have saved my afternoon." She happily turns to Ellowyn. "Ah, honey bun, you don't have to... well ok, I have heard good things about the honey sweet-nuts, apparently they are a hot seller."

She dips down as if to kiss Ellowyn's ear in thanks and whispers as subvocally as she can. "I think we might have exhausted this lead. I'm not sure we'll find much else from the other nut sellers, shall we move on to Actious?"

"i think that's an excellent idea sweetie a cone of your finest honey nuts for my honey butt please Willem."

They just called her honey butt. Who were they right now? they tried to muster the wherewithal to care about this drastic change but all the could they blush slightly as they continue. " Should we perhaps sort out standardising those health kits now have a slow wander nuts in hand?" Ellowyn can't keep their face straight at that last line and giggles hoping it adds to the ruse and doesn't betray them as the utter child they are right now.

Ellowyn pays Willem and thanks him for everything.

Ka'Ri packed her book away, linking her hand with Ellowyn's. "Looks like I have the rest of the day off, my love," she said gently, but loud enough for Willem to hear.

She lets Ellowyn take the lead to the medical district. That was much more their wheel house than hers and they would be much more a dab hand at being a natural there.

She has a few of the honey nuts as they walk. Already she can see why they were popular. The honey combines with the already lingering sweetness to create a sensation somewhere between snack and food. She enjoys it.

She walks hand-in-hand with her new friend, watching them exude an easy grace into the roles. She sees the seemless way they breath such passionate life into them, and in so doing she can't help feel a twinge on her heartstrings.

Part of her felt... sad. As if mourning a different Ka'Ri. One who had decent tradesfolk parents who cared for her. Who got regular work as a clerk, after all, she had the memory for it. And walked in domestic simplicity with her romantic partner(s) of choice.

It was a vain feeling. She wouldn't trade the connections she made with the Osprem for the world. This was her life and she had worked hard to make it her own, but still that small thread lay bare and in these soft moments, she could tug on it as if bringing to life a tapestry that never was and in a few short hours, never be again.

In the meantime, she would enjoy the momentary respite and the feeling of another's hand in hers and the fantasy it all represented.

(ooc voice to text hates fantasy words and I had to give up on that and wait till today to post when I had the energy to sit up and type sorry)

Ellowyn is enjoying the walk from the nut stalls to the medical district. Giggling freely and pointing out interesting things to Ka'ri, a tiefling on stilts breathing fire above the crowd, a tiny halfling reading palms, the crowd was alive and so was Ellowyn. It was thrilling.

As they were leading the way, the pair had a slower time of heading the the medical stalls crowds did not like parting for a stick and a kerchief with a gnome attached but then they'd catch sight of a human cleric and open up space.
Ordinarily it would have Ellowyn shouting and hitting people with their stick "accidentally" but today they were enjoying the leisurely pace.

Ellowyn to help the time pass begins to tell Ka'ri the only pirate story they know to help her feel more comfortable because for a moment she looks sad and they can't figure out why.

(Story here.)

When they're finished telling Ka'ri they turn and smile at her as theyve arrived at the stalls.

[OOC: Reaction from Ka'Ri and then I'll describe the stalls.]

Ka'Ri sniffles then smiles at the story. Found family with pirates is exactly the thing to touch her deeply, even moreso, because the tale reminds her a lot of Captain Caroline's old girlfriend, a tattooed mermaid who hung out near their hideout.

As they walked, Ka'Ri let herself drift a bit, letting herself take the majority of the blows of the crowd. Sure, she might have to replace her fake coin purse with the note encouraging any scoundrel to keep up the good work, but it was well worth it.

The medical district is crowded today. With the influx of out-of-town vendors selling their wares (everything from legitimate cures to snake oils), the crowds have come out in search of answers. Almost every family in Brilight has been touched in some way by the plague and people swarm the vendors in search of cures and preventative elixirs.

It takes a while to find the Actious vendor they seek. Luther gave them her name, so they might as well start there. She is a small, round, fat elf with skin as dark as darkwood, hair as pale as sunlight on the sea, and eyes like clear summer rain. She smiles at the two as they approach, her cheeks dimpling. "Hello! How fare you this fine Alefeast day?"

Things begin to take a turn for the worse for Ellowyn's mood as they slowly come to the realisation that there are a lot of sick people here who they wish they could help but no one not even Laerdya can help these people yet. Maybe one day if they can get Laerdya back on task and not worrying about her kidnapped/runaway daughter.

A flash of anger registers in their mind as they make note of those profiting off all this misery.

They were still adjusting to the strange cultural mishmash of the city. Where they were from profit wasn't really something folk where interested in. Money had little use trade and barter where the main form of commerce.

The idea that not only where people profiting but profiting off of death and cruel naive hope.

It was sickening. As the pair pass close to a snake oil seller Ellowyn can't help mutter to themselves quietly and darkly "shameless cunts" they shake their head.
their grip on Ka'ri's hand becomes stiffer than before

As they arrive at their destination they see the smiling vendor and try their best at a tight smile it takes them a second to remember why they're there.

"One moment light of my life I need to organise some things and I'll be yours very soon I promise". They pat Ka'ri's arm as they talk to comfort them as they're very nervous. They have no idea how to do this. They've never done this before.

"Hey there I'm good thank you, I'll be better when I can be done with work and spend time with my beloved" they glance what they hope comes across as lovingly at Ka'ri though they can feel fear crawling up their spine.

"Hows business?"

The elf woman's grin widens at Ellowyn and she nods across the way to Ka'Ri in a friendly fashion. "Quite good, thank you! Course, it's Alefeast so I'm running low on digestive aids already. If you're looking to stock up, now's the time to buy; by the end of the week, there won't be a drop of medicinal charcoal left in the city."

They chuckle and nod adjusting their mental list.

"I'm not surprised I'm sure everyone is running low of all-sorts at the moment. Hows your stock of actious and test strips. I'm gathering info for one of my clients they were recently diagnosed and are wanting as much info as possible. Like do you always have supplies in or are there regular bulk orders they should try to avoid when they order?"

If Ka'ri is paying attention to Ellowyns hands at all she'll notice the cone of nuts have been tucked into a section of their belt and their hands are nervously fidgeting.

The merchant pauses to consider this, taking mental stock of her own inventory. "Well, I always have enough of the strips," she says. "Those are expensive enough not everyone really bothers, and while they're a pain to make the components aren't rare, so it's usually easy enough to just tell my supplier I need more. The actious is a little more tricky; that's been flying off as soon as I can get my hands on it."

"oh there's a large need? Is it mostly folk in the city or is for ships selling further a field or... " They smile and drift off trying to just put across the image of a harmless curious person trying to gather as much info as possible.

"Would they have to put in a standing order is that something you do?"

"Well, it lasts a long time, you know," the elf explains happily. "So I usually just keep as much as my supplier can get me, and then adjust my ordering as stock sells out. But after the latest orders just about cleaning me out, I plan to look around for more suppliers. I may need to adjust my pricing, too," she adds, "because the biggest order came through a merchant and I'm not sure he's not reselling at a markup. But I haven't heard anything about it since then, so maybe he's got other ideas."

Ka'Ri makes a show of gazing longingly at Ellowyn and then, coming next to them to take their hand in hers, performing the role of admiring proud partner.

Still she also needed to play the role of the clerk. And one even off duty would be put off massively by what she said. She pushed her glasses up.

"A merchant upseller... I mean I suppose the margins would be higher for Alefest given that people used to handling things by eye might be thrown for a loop by the mead, but still... bad pool, I'd say."

She catches herself. "Ah, Cassandra Claymore, I work for Wuljhan. I might be able to send a shout to check the stock so you're not out for Alefest if you're interested."

She acts like she was elbowed by Ellowyn. "Sorry sorry, I know I said I'd try not to drift into shop talk."

She makes a show of kissing their hand gently. "Forgive me?"

The merchant smiles at this. "Oh, Wuljhan! Give him my greetings. Poor thing never stops working, does he? But, no, no, I'm fine managing my stock on my own, thank you. But, yes, I can't say I thought it was a good idea. There's always someone willing to take a risk on the market, though, isn't there."

Ellowyn could jump for joy when they hear the elf say there's a possible upseller, with what they'd just learnt at the nut vendor they follow their gut.

They roll their eyes at Ka'ri smiling, "if your allowed to talk shop then excuse me for a minute darling dearest, and you stand there looking as sinfully glorious as you do."

They move Ka'ri casually out of the way but so that she's now blocking view of them but, still facing the exchange so that she can see and contribute if things should go south, as they sidle round the edge of the stall closer to the vendor clearly wanting to talk quietly they tip toe towards the elf hoping she has the decency to notice this is not comfortable.


"If you want professional to professional If you give me the name I can check in to see if they're trying to sell it on. Maybe you can try to keep your prices competitive drive their customers back to you.

That's if you can get your supplier sorted, Who do you use at the moment?"

The elven woman seems uncertain about all of this, but smiles. "Oh, uh, a cousin of mine who lives up north sends me most of my supplies," she explains. "Costs quite a bit to send them south through the Darkwoods but it's a damn sight more reliable than shipping these days, what with pirates attacking everything that moves. Um, I didn't... take a name, but the merchant buyer was a nice orcish fellow."

Ellowyn let's their face show the darker emotions come through, they had no idea if this was going to work but they thought about what Ka'ri would do.

They lean closer conspiratorially "orc you say, I hope it wasn't a [enter korogurs description can't remember off top of my head]. He has been poaching clients off of me for a while now it wouldn't surprise me if he branches out from providing physical aids into selling potion's direct to clients. Im in the medical business myself I provide accessibility aids if you ever know anyone in need tell them to ask for el at the temple of Ehlonna."

The vendor shakes her head with a smile. "Oh, no, this was a nice older fellow. White streaks through his hair. Amiable enough, though I wouldn't say he was particularly chatty. And 'El', you say? I'll remember; a lot of my clients need mobility aids in addition to medicine."

They breathe a visible sigh of relief really trying to sell the lies and the subterfuge. They were so stressed
"Yup el the rock gnome, they know me round there and will direct anyone who should need my services to me." They finally stop tiptoeing as they are in a great deal of pain their old injuries may have been healed but they were more accustomed to sitting hunched at a worktable than walking long distances and tiptoeing for longg periods for time.

They have to bite their tongue to stop themselves from complaining at this oblivious elf.
They turn and start perusing the rest of the woman's wares hoping for some basic supplies to be able to better equip their team. Bandages maybe some iodine maybe a poutice mix?

The woman does has a full supply of medicinal aids: bandages, alcohol brewed for cleaning instead of drinking, needles and thread for stitches, leeches in jars for bleeding, and dozens of herbs and natural remedies. Many of them are placed on lower shelves for gnomish and halfling customers to reach.

Ellowyn leans in to Ka'ri and wait for her to bend down then they kiss her cheek and whisper to her.
"I'm no good at this I don't know if I can get anything of use from her besides medical kits for the team I'm sorry."

Ellowyn starts putting things on the counter top obviously working through some sort of mental list.

8 rolls of bandages
8 portions of charcoal
8 antiseptic poultice mixes
8 sewing thread and needles
8 small jars of honey
8 bunches of Feverfew
8 small bottles of alcohol
1 jar of leeches for emergencies
8 portions of white willow bark.

They smile at the vendor somewhat apologetically. But knowing she wouldn't truly mind as more product meant more money for her.

The vendor is happy to help them package up their purchases. "Planning for a party?" she teases. "You come back when I get actious back in stock, and I'll make it worth your while. Enjoy Alefeast!"

Ka'Ri catches Ellowyn's signal and leans down close to their cheek and lets them whisper to her. Once they were done, Ka'Ri guises like she is kissing them back and nibbling on their ear to whisper softly into their ear:

"You did great. You got a description of the buyer. That's exactly what we were after."

Ka'Ri leans back semi-seductively, not at all sure if she was worthy of being arm candy but absolutely delighted to be trying.

"Nothing particular just for a few family and friends of ours, can't be too careful these days." They say to the vendor. "I'll let my client know when do you think you'll next have some in stock?"

They're hands have been stroking lightly and lovingly the inside of Ka'ri's wrist. While waiting for the vendors response they can't help but kiss the patch of skin they'd been stroking taking in her scent deliriously happy to be told they're doing great.