Boasts and Bets (LM, Outside the gates to the Houses of Dahab, Observation Thread)

[Jewel]

(For those not rolling but still wishing to partake in the gathering and the free food)

[Bazir]

While Bazir had still a few things to prepare for the day he thought it wise to come and see who would participate and who would be sponsoring. Also checking in on that peddler could be a good idea.

But really he was here to listen to the crowd's whispers: someone always knew something interesting and the atmosphere could untie a few tongues.

[Meresanhk]

As always Meresanhk arrived late to the city. Her poor sense of direction made her get to Meddinat al Salam a day late. She wondered why there was such gathering at the outside of the gates of the House of the Dahabi. She just watched the people boast about their bets and place them.

[Al-Haddar]

Free food. Free food. Free. Food. Free food!

There should be laws against free food! How can the invisible hand of the market operates if people get things for free? That's a crime against the natural economical order. A heretical betrayal of the words of the Prophet and his followers.

Calm down Had', calm down. Not all is lost yet. Focus on the people arriving, the ones that are still far away from the food and might not know it exists or is free yet. Especially the ones that look like they have more money than common sense. And... Do. Word. Magic.

As always Meresanhk arrived late to the city. Her poor sense of direction made her get to Meddinat al Salam a day late. She wondered why there was such gathering at the outside of the gates of the House of the Dahabi. She just watched the people boast about their bets and place them.

A man emerged from the crowd carrying a basket of appetizing roasted pistachios that he more or less put directly under the eyes of the Senpet lady.

"Pistachios milady? The very best you can find on this side of the desert, roasted to perfection in the best café of the city not an hour ago. Only 5 pools the handful. A bargain."

[Meresanhk]

Free food. Free food. Free. Food. Free food!

There should be laws against free food! How can the invisible hand of the market operates if people get things for free? That's a crime against the natural economical order. A heretical betrayal of the words of the Prophet and his followers.

Calm down Had', calm down. Not all is lost yet. Focus on the people arriving, the ones that are still far away from the food and might not know it exists or is free yet. Especially the ones that look like they have more money than common sense. And... Do. Word. Magic.

As always Meresanhk arrived late to the city. Her poor sense of direction made her get to Meddinat al Salam a day late. She wondered why there was such gathering at the outside of the gates of the House of the Dahabi. She just watched the people boast about their bets and place them.

A man emerged from the crowd carrying a basket of appetizing roasted pistachios that he more or less put directly under the eyes of the Senpet lady.

"Pistachios milady? The very best you can find on this side of the desert, roasted to perfection in the best café of the city not an hour ago. Only 5 pools the handful. A bargain."

Meresanhk looked at the man and the basket of pistachios and blinked a few times. She cleared her throat. She placed her hand on her chin as she wondered. "How do I know they are the best in the city?" Her voice convey more amusement rather than a question actually. The young lady chuckled lightly. "Ah kind sir would you let this one savour on of your pistachios and be the judge of it?"She smiled politely at the man

[Al-Haddar]

Meresanhk looked at the man and the basket of pistachios and blinked a few times. She cleared her throat. She placed her hand on her chin as she wondered. "How do I know they are the best in the city?" Her voice convey more amusement rather than a question actually. The young lady chuckled lightly. "Ah kind sir would you let this one savour on of your pistachios and be the judge of it?"She smiled politely at the man

"I personally picked them at the market yesterday. Of course, the possibility do exist that some noble has a secret field of pistachio tree, a secret supply route and a secret stash of even better pistachios... But if we keep it to pistachios that can actually be bought, these are definitely my favorites."

All technically true sentences if by "favorite" one was to mean "cheapest good looking ones".

Though it went against all his instincts, he managed to find the force of will to pick a few pistachios in the basket and to hand them forward:

"I guess I can offer you one pistachio as a free sample."

[Meresanhk]

She extended her hand and took the nut. She looked at it appraising its shape and color. The white shell seem quite well roasted and the inside nut seem a good shade of green and brown. Meresanhk opened the nut and ate it. Her expression showed amusement at the taste. The woman nodded her head. "Not bad, sidi, not bad at all. I would say a handful at 5 pools might be a bit high for me." She smiled. "You seem like a handsome man, I would give you 3 pools for a handful."

[Faruq Al-Farhan]

Having presented himself - and most likely not drawn much attention at all, which was just as well - Faruq went back into the crowd, joining the many others gathered around to look at the competitors, sample the food offered, place bets - and try to understand more about who all these archers were.

He sees a face that seemed familiar from the day before at the Thoroughfare trying to make a sell to a woman who looked a bit lost, but kept at a bit of a distance for the time being. Maybe he could hear something interesting being mentioned, or get to talk to one of the other competitors?

OOC:
(Not sure if it's possible to listen to anything interesting from the crowd here with a roll of some kind. Probably not happening, but who knows )

[Kezia]

Kezia figured it would be seen as poor form to stuff a satchel with the goodies on offer, and was restraining herself to simply... grazing.

[Jewel]

Having presented himself - and most likely not drawn much attention at all, which was just as well - Faruq went back into the crowd, joining the many others gathered around to look at the competitors, sample the food offered, place bets - and try to understand more about who all these archers were.

He sees a face that seemed familiar from the day before at the Thoroughfare trying to make a sell to a woman who looked a bit lost, but kept at a bit of a distance for the time being. Maybe he could hear something interesting being mentioned, or get to talk to one of the other competitors?

OOC:
(Not sure if it's possible to listen to anything interesting from the crowd here with a roll of some kind. Probably not happening, but who knows )

Most conversations were the standard banal rumors and arguing over who is the best to bet on.