Tales of the Jewel

For conversations and interactions during the events

"Good job Kezia! Woo!" Raya was there again watching, and again cheering on her kin who were competing.

"Pistachios! Who wants some pistachios?"

The pistachios Al-Haddar was selling that day were probably extra salty, as he was still not over the fact he had just been robbed.

Come on, rows and rows of big shots come to see – or to be seen at – the little Khadi tournament, and they stole from him? Sure, he was a less risky target than someone who might have come with a bodyguard, or for whom the city guard might rush to help, but they would have to rob ten like him to get as much as they would have from a single fat merchant purse.

The voice of his brother in his head was amused:

You, advocating a higher risk, higher reward strategy? Were you secretly replaced with a copy overnight?

Meanwhile on the field, the professional archers were doing a good job at archering, while the couple of entertainers were doing a good job at entertaining. Al-Haddar was starting to suspect the redhead was actually a member of the Ra'shari caravan posing as an outsider as part of their show. Would explain both why he was so intimate with them and why he didn't exactly shine as a warrior in spite of his appearance.

Lamis, returning to the crowds, still smelling strongly of horse, and bow, unstrung, still in hand, glances to the crying peddler and catches his eye. "Roasted or raw? Either way, I could use some after that bout."

Kezia dismounted the borrowed horse, and spoke to it in sweet, dulcet tones.

"I'm so glad I don't need to enact a horrible revenge on you."

Then she handed the reins off to the groom and went looking for...

Oh! It's that inept high-pressure salesman! How cute!

She lined to await a chance to banter over the price of pistachios.

Lamis Naaji wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 4:59 pm

Lamis, returning to the crowds, still smelling strongly of horse, and bow, unstrung, still in hand, glances to the crying peddler and catches his eye. "Roasted or raw? Either way, I could use some after that bout."

"Ah milady, they've been roasted to perfection at dawn per the cooks of the Cat's Tail, a prestigious establishment at the crossing between the River and Merchant Quarters. You won't find any better on this side of the desert.

5 pools for a handful, 20 for a bag."

He points at a series of small cloth bags tied up to the side of his basket, of very mediocre quality but brightly colored, closed with a thin cord and already loaded with the likeness of a few handful of pistachios each.

Al-Haddar wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 6:44 pm

"Ah milady, they've been roasted to perfection at dawn per the cooks of the Cat's Tail, a prestigious establishment at the crossing between the River and Merchant Quarters. You won't find any better on this side of the desert.

5 pools for a handful, 20 for a bag."

He points at a series of small cloth bags tied up to the side of his basket, of very mediocre quality but brightly colored, closed with a thin cord and already loaded with the likeness of a few handful of pistachios each.

Lamis considers the costs, extremely unsure what's actually a good price for anything in the city. "whose hand are we measuring with, siddi? That makes a fair difference, no?" Tilting her head to look at the colorful bags, she asks, "may I see them?"

Lamis Naaji wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 8:28 pm

Lamis considers the costs, extremely unsure what's actually a good price for anything in the city. "whose hand are we measuring with, siddi? That makes a fair difference, no?" Tilting her head to look at the colorful bags, she asks, "may I see them?"

Al-Haddar untied one of the bags and handed it to the archer lady. It was a very simple thing, a single ply of garish fabric twisted and knotted into a bag. Good enough to store and carry a reasonable, though not by any mean generous, quantity of pistachios as it was doing right now, but of too poor quality to end up anywhere but in the garbage bin once emptied.

"Quantities are measured with my own hands, as my many customers vary widely in size and it wouldn't be fair to give less pistachios to one because nature has graced them with more slender hands.

Years of merchant practice have built up my dexterity so much that my handfuls vary at worst per one bean, seed or grape, allowing for a degree a fairness most bigger merchants relying on dubious weights do not offer."

He's so committed.

Kezia, who had made a decent chunk of change- nearly half a copper!- through her efforts at the caravan, thought the asking price for a bunch of nuts was a bit steep, but watching him work was profoundly entertaining.

Al-Haddar wrote: ↑

Sun May 02, 2021 9:29 pm

Al-Haddar untied one of the bags and handed it to the archer lady. It was a very simple thing, a single ply of garish fabric twisted and knotted into a bag. Good enough to store and carry a reasonable, though not by any mean generous, quantity of pistachios as it was doing right now, but of too poor quality to end up anywhere but in the garbage bin once emptied.

"Quantities are measured with my own hands, as my many customers vary widely in size and it wouldn't be fair to give less pistachios to one because nature has graced them with more slender hands.

Years of merchant practice have built up my dexterity so much that my handfuls vary at worst per one bean, seed or grape, allowing for a degree a fairness most bigger merchants relying on dubious weights do not offer."

"That's a very specific skill to develop," she says as she hefts the bag. They were a bit of a seasonal treat as the trees at the oasis produced, and sparse, given how many had a claim to them.

"Would you happen to know a merchant with apples? Dried are fine." She'd promised Janan, after all. "This Cat's Tail, perhaps?"

The sparse weight of the bag in her hand, her lips part, ready to say they're really worth more like 10 as another competitor riding down the field catches her eye. Luck has been favoring her, and the city was the sort of place where it might be good to keep the Luck in play.

So instead she finds herself saying, "this is sparse for 20 pool, but I've found a pocket of luck these past days, and that doesn't stay if you hoard it. So here's a bit of luck for you, and a bit less hassle for me," as she digs the coins from her pouch.

*************
(ooc, also given time zones, haggling for several RL days might be a bit slow.)
(edited because I mixed up my timeslots and was making paradoxes for myself)