<OOC IonianD can you confirm: 12 pennies/shilling, 20 shillings/Mythic pound of silver, and around 15 pounds/pawn of vis in the Theban economy?
Scylax will propose purchasing some of the witch's wares, which he will examine with his Comprehend Magic, so that there might be a chance they don't find the valuable furs turn to a pile of leaves and the enchanted charms merely have a shell of magic on top, (and later will hit all the items with Unraveling the Form of Vim, so that no Tunnels are present, hopefully). He will wait until the last moment, more as an excuse to say goodbye, and to give the appearance it is an afterthought, perhaps she hasn't sold anything and is willing to sell more for less? If the above conversion is correct, how much for the Boar, Wolf, Elk, Seal, Whale, White Bear and the Healing salve. I calculate 10sh/10sh/20sh/20sh/40sh/40sh/5 Creo pawns: 7 Mythic Pounds and 5 Creo pawns, about? How much money did Annastaj bring?(I know, he later paid extra to the magical boat captain) OOC>
[That is correct, though thats the Ars Magica mythic conversion (in actuality the Eastern Empire is using gold coins, minted with the head of the Emperor). The silver price of a pawn might be slightly lower in the Theban Tribunal but I won't get into that right now, so assume 15p per pawn]
[tab][/tab] Is Scylax bargaining with her? Cause the prices are variable... [Base prices are 5/5/12/35/55/120(ten pounds) for the bear pelt. The potions are about 2 creo vis (quite cheap!) each or 30 pounds.] Anastaj can spare around 5 pounds.
<OOC I am not sure bargaining is the right word! Scylax has no Bargain, they do not share a common tongue, Ioannes can translate, but Frida speaks Latin very poorly. So this is sure to be an error-prone endeavor. 10 pounds for the bear pelt, dang! But Scylax will attempt just that. He will consult with Aristocles, as his sodales, obviously the Verditius doesn't care for her wares, and might think she is a charlatan, but Scylax believes this is an opportunity to get some materials for future items, and 1 potion might prove interesting; even if they are fooled, that is valuable, having others believe you are foolish! How potent are the potions, according to the witch? OOC>
[Trading without bargaining....tough. She is quite shrew in trading though. Prices are about 20% up from the base mentioned above (6/6/14/42/66/150, potions stay 2 pawns each). Maybe you can get some of those pelts. You can certainly get one potion for 2 creo vis. The witch is quite confident about her potions, Scyllax is less certain of this. They are magical though, with a potency of around 4-6 level (think about a lvl 20-30 creo corp spell) though again, this is unfamiliar magic....] Please advise on your purchases....
<OOC Hmm, Scylax is not yet experienced at bargaining, but he is shrewd. She wants Creo? He will "just" purchase all the pelts for 1 Terram pawn. That's 15 Mythic pounds for around 14.2, (284 shillings correct)? He will add whatever of the more exotic non- magical charms (Orca bone, maybe?) add up to 15 and thanks her profusely. He will then supervise moving them to their campsite, once they are alone, hitting them all with silent/subtle Unraveling the Fabric of Vim, out of sight of others, to hopefully destroy any arcane tunnel they might contain. How does Frida react to the purchase? At least she'll have a lighter load!
Scylax will try an intimate to others that there might be future trades with the Northerner. (It occurs to him that a Creo Animal spell might be created that would replicate these pelts en masse for some vis; as they have more vis than funds, this might be a worthwhile avenue of creating wealth and justifying it; with a sample of each, they could duplicate it).
How about al Rafiq? What coin does he accept that we have? What wares that might interest us, and their prices? Those books in Arabic, Ioannes knows a bit of Arabic, he can look them over for Quality, and maybe later when he is more confident with the language, translate them. OOC>
[tab][/tab] The witch accepts 1 pawn of Terram for the pelts, but no change. It is tenta vis (technique) and thus less valuable to her. (You gain the lot of pelts. Congratulations. They are heavy and cumbersome. Anastaj just stares for a minute, then asks how you are supposed to carry them back...). Frida tests the pawn in her hand (just gauging the strength) and nods satisfied. She thanks Scylax in her language.
He accepts gold coins for his wares, including the books in medicine, philosophy and mathematics. Astrology, lore, herbalism and myths, he trades for books of equal value or items of knowledge (like magi tracti and suma). He is payed up front and does not accept credit. Most of the books are in Arabic, except one in Habiru (myths) and one in Farsi (Astrology). Is anything of interest?
[That Terram pawn is from where? Personal or Covenant?]
<OOC Gold? We have silver!
He wants trades for Hermetic tractati, fat chance! Looks like we can't buy his wares this time around. Sure we'll be regretting the missed chance for exotic shape and materials. OOC>
<OOC From what Annastaj handed over, the covenant's. Scylax is poor, no vis yet at this moment in 1216! OOC>
[tab][/tab]Scylax takes the items back and casts his spells over them. They seem genuine and free of spells. Frida's reaction was guarded and a bit friendlier, like a merchant after a good bargain. There does not seem to be a ulterior motive here.