Yae's Journey 7

-

-

-

-

-

AN: Got some editing suggestions? Suggest it on the Google docs here:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/129BFptKmt8a04C7twbPanDLTlYJPvNIzt_T9bjYH374/edit?usp=sharing

________________________________________________________________________________

“How much does it pay to be a monster slayer?” Yae asks, mostly to make small talk for their long walk back to the city.

“Depends,” Faela shrugs. “Weak monsters, or, as we tend to call it, vermin culling, isn’t very lucrative. The materials aren’t worth much, but the real value is the training new members get. As for high-paying jobs, quests for rare materials, materials with rare properties, powerful materials, and quests to slay powerful monsters are what you’re looking at. Don’t forget, as the Orcs often do, that this profession is life or death for us, so if the pay isn’t worth it, no one will take the mission.”

So that’s why G’orn recommended her to Faela. If the materials are worth a lot, then the finished product will be worth much more. She can be paid for her work in materials which she can then make an item that sells for a high price, but how will she be able to sell her goods if technically what she is doing is illegal? Crafters may get a pass in villages but isn’t that mostly because they aren’t noticed? If what Bakan says is true, then her work will definitely get noticed, so selling her work openly will attract the wrong attention. Perhaps Faela has some advice?

“You’ll want to get in touch with Arsak.” Faela answers when Yae asked the question. “She’s a Gnoll who has connections with the black market. I often sell my best materials to her since we are supposed to only sell materials to the guilds– fucking bastards want to underpay us!” She spits out, cursing the city’s corrupt bureaucracy.

“How does the black market work?” Yae asks. “How do they make money? If they pay you more, then wouldn’t their prices be more than what legal items are sold for”

Faela laughs heartily. “You really don’t know how all this works do you? Do you really think the legal sources are fair? Fuck no! They will pay a pittance for your goods and then resell them for at least ten times their value because they have a monopoly on them. And guess what? You can’t sell your work to anyone other than the guilds! This is why the black market exists. They can afford to pay you a fair price and sell at a fair price.”

“Then why doesn’t everyone go to the black market?”

Faela sighs. “Because if everyone does, it will become way too easy to take down. Unfortunately, most people have to suffer this broken system until the laws and regulations are changed. For now, we have to work with secret connections or make our own. Anyone can set up their own black market network if they are willing to take the risks.” Faela flicks her tail and becomes even more serious.

“It’s a dirty business, though, and I don’t mean it literally. You have to be careful who you deal with because the guilds and government are trying to weed out the black market. Sometimes you have to make an example out of people who snitch on you. I wouldn’t recommend you go that far though; just buy and sell, nothing more. And if the guards try to get any information out of you, don’t give it to them. At best, you won’t be able to do any more business, and worse, you’ll end up dead in a ditch.”

That scared Yae a little bit, but what other choice does she have? This society is completely uncaring and even built against her.

This is her punishment for forsaking her morals back in the Nexus. She would have died if T’Joak, the Dragon Turtle, hadn’t found her, so she can’t complain now. Instead, she should be the one to embrace this life so the rest of her people won't have to.

“There’s more to consider,” Faela adds, being oddly talkative. “You’ll need to explain how you got your money, materials, or anything that may make you look suspicious. If you have monster materials but didn’t get them yourself or buy them from a guild, then the only other way to have gotten them is through illegal means. You can be arrested just for failing to prove how you got your materials or money.” Faela kicks a pebble off the road before continuing to speak.

“Always have an excuse, although it’s best if you have proof of purchase. There are professional forgers you’ll want to get in contact with, but to start with, I can give a reasonable excuse. Say that I hired you for field repairs and paid you in materials. But don’t do that too often, and they won’t accept that excuse if you have too many materials. This is favor, so don’t be stupid about it, alright?”

Yae nods. In other words, it’s only a reasonable excuse if she only has a handful of materials or one decent material. Any more than that, and she’ll need a forged receipt.

“Money is a little easier to explain and can often go undetected if you don’t make too much, but if you suddenly have a ton of gold while being stuck at a job that pays a pittance, people will want to know how you got so much money. If you can’t explain, then you may end up arrested.”

Faela spends the next hour giving tips on how to ‘clean’ money and the common ways the guards look for criminal activities. In short, they use an extensive network of people with sensing skills to scan the city. They look for large sums of money hidden, which is why she should always keep her ‘dirty’ money in a storage ring or have a storage skill.

“Sure, the storage items can explode if the enchantments wear off or you run out of mana to fuel the enchantment, but renewing them every five or so years will keep it from happening.”

“Actually, we Runalymo have a way to extend an enchantment’s lifespan indefinitely,” Yae says.

“You do?!” Faela exclaims.

“Yes…”

Yae doesn’t have the heart to say that it was the girl who discovered that enchanting method that she was tasked to kill a few years ago. As though it hadn’t been enough that she had been tasked to kill a young girl, said young girl had brought forth so many brilliant ideas at her young age. That child had so much potential. There was so much that she’d already done to advance the Runalymo, and so much more she would continue to do in the future, and yet in her blind faith, Yae was unable to see any of this in that terrible moment.

“Is something wrong?” Faela asks.

“It’s nothing; I was just reminded of one of my regrets.”

“I won’t pry, but we shouldn't speak of this anymore. The city walls are in view.”

The massive white walls of the city dominate the landscape, an imposing symbol of the city’s wealth and power. The only thing more terrifying is the scale-clad Dragon Bone Golem that patrols the city perimeter, its ten arms and tauroid figure an icon of undefeatable strength.

“Who made that?” Yae asks, “Whoever they are must have had incredibly advanced crafting techniques. Why don’t the people of the city seem to have those techniques anymore?”

“One of the city founders did; I never cared enough to remember who. Ask G’Orn about that. It was two thousand years ago, so I guess that technology is either lost or kept in some vault. In either case, the guilds and government would never want that knowledge public. It might make the common folk prosperous, and we wouldn’t want that.” Faela ends with a sarcastic tone and a flick of her tail.

They make it past the checkpoint and into the city, where Faela slips Yae a ring.

“Give that to Arsak, and she’ll know that I sent you. If you are willing to do this, then she’ll get you in touch with the network. Arsak lives on the north side in the big house next to three mills. As for our business, meet me in two days at the same place you found me, and we can work something out.”

Faela walks away without another word.

Well, I guess I should see Arsak now.

Yae looks for the place, finding it just outside of the city. Yae had passed three guard patrols on the way here which is odd since she only passed one in the city where she’d have expected more.

The house is well made with clay shingles for the roof instead of thatch that several other houses have. However, despite the apparent wealth of the owner, the house seems to be in a state of disrepair.

Yae knocks on the door and waits. A sound of rummaging is heard from inside, and a minute later, the door opens.

A tall Lupradin man stands at the doorway, his left ear seems to be injured, and he has a fresh scar on his left cheek. His brown eyes look her over with suspicion.

“What do you want?” He says, brushing his brown hair out of his eyes as his tall ears twitch.

“Is Arsak here?” Yae asks.

“No, leave” The man closes the door, but Yae stops him.

If she had simply gotten the wrong house, he would have corrected her, so she has to be here. Something is happening that caused the increased patrols and their caution.

“I am a friend” Yae shows him Faela’s ring, holding her hand up to his eye level.

The man hesitates before looking behind him for a moment.

“Very well,” He finally says and lets her in. “But take off that coat. I want to be sure you aren’t hiding anything.”

Yae complies, shivering in the cold air. He takes the coat and pats it down for any hidden items.

“She’s safe,” he says, giving Yae her coat back.

He then leads her to another room where several people are. They are all gnolls and Lupradins.

The gnolls are mostly Runaloid in appearance, but they have floppy ears, a short shaggy tail, and are short in stature.

“Faela sent you?” A Gnoll asked.

Yae nods. “She said I can get help with the network here.”

“Bad timing.” the Gnoll says, playing with her hair.

She has long reddish-orange wavy hair and yellow eyes. She is well dressed but has seen some wear.

“I am Arsak. The one with the scar is Huda” Arsak nods toward the Lupradin that answered the door. “This is Farlu, and Paulon” She nods to a grey-haired Gnoll and a pink-haired Lupradin.

“I am Yae, a Runalymo. What happened here?”

“The Farming Guild is paying us less.” Farlu answered. “And instead of letting us work it out, the Guild bribed the lawmakers to force us to work and sell our crops and other goods at the new lower price.”

“We ain’t having that shit!” Huda grunts.

“We accept this, and they’ll end up enslaving us eventually,” Paulon chimes in.

“They are trying to intimidate us,” Arsak explains the increased guard patrols. “And they aren’t killing the monsters that roam too close; that’s how Huda got hurt.”

“They won’t let us go to any mercenary groups either” Huda crosses his arms, a scowl growing on his face.

“But if you are in contact with Faela you can help us,” Arsak says. “If you do so, then I can help you with what you need.”

“I meet with her again in two days,” Yae says.

“Good. We can hold out until then. Just tell her to meet me.” Arsak says. “You should be going now; you don’t want the guard to think you are doing anything suspicious. And next time, don’t wear that coat; it makes you look like you are trying to hide something. I am surprised you weren’t searched by the guards on the way here.”