The morning skies were clear and bright as the sun rose above the rolling hills. Birds chirped their songs from the trees to greet the dawn. And people had begun to file from their homes to various shops to get their daily necessities.
Some hauled water from wells and others set up stalls to sell their wares. "Madrid has wares!" A cat-person cried out. His whiskers dancing about like silk threads as he flashed his jewel covered fingers for all to see.
"Come one, come all and see our fine silver!" A portly man called out from his store front. His purple coat opened at the front revealing a broad stomache covered in a silk shirt with dark trousers. His oval face had reddened slightly with his call outs as he gestured to his store front. Where through the glass one could see various works of silver. Silverware, rings, and jewelry of many kinds lay for all to see.
"Genevieve's dresses for every occasion. Don't miss out on drawing attention you so deserve!" A melodical voice sung above others as a bodacious woman in a scarlet dress loitered about her store front. Her... Assets were obviously the help of a corset but the colors of her dresses were a major contrast through her stores glass.
I chuckled a little to myself as I walked hearing the hawking and bartering. It was nostalgic and nice to see such a lively crowd. As I followed the directions from earlier to a local trader who's store showed nothing but a set of weigh scales on its sign. It's broad spanning front display showed nothing but signs for fair trading with up to date pricing.
I adjusted myself slightly as I shifted my appearance to that of my dragon man form. My hair was no longer dark but had taken a golden blond hue as my eyes retained their rainbow colors. Thankfully my more human face showed no significant changes besides a slight gold tint with my horns branching out like usual. With a wave of a hand a suit materialized for a more business like appearance before I proceeded.
The door opened with a heavy creak as I pushed revealing a well lit interior with people set up along the counters with books out and scales waiting. Each station was separated by small wooden walls and had tall stools that seemed sturdy enough for patrons to sit as their business was done.
"Hello sir. How may our establishment help you today?" An older gentleman enquired. His face was aged yet refined though his hair was balding at the top he took care to trim and manage to rest evenly. His thin stature was wrapped in old English attire with cufflinks and frills as he seemed to lean on a cane of dark wood. It's top a carved claw holding a gem with a brass cap for the bottom.
"I came to trade. For a man at times is only as good as his coin as some say." I said as I held up a small sack sitting in my palm.
The man nodded before motioning to an young woman behind the counter. "If you could take a token you will be served at the earliest convenience. We know there's no one here but we are currently making sure our people can give you the best service. We thank you for your patience." He said as he limped back to a rocking chair near by. His gaze returning to me as he sat himself down.
I looked around for the tokens he mentioned and found a small holder close by. A stand similar to a coat rack but stood at hip height with numbered wooden tokens hanging from its singular hook. Of course my number was this worlds version of 1.
I nodded to him as I picked my token and waited. The air had a floral smell as a vases of freshly picked flowers were placed around the main area. (These people take great pride in their work and appearance it seems.) I thought as I noticed a woman waving at me. "Hello sir! I am ready to help you over here." The woman called.
Her hair was a dark brown with a fair round face. Her hair was braided and tied in the back giving her a refined yet artistic look. Her face wasn't marked by an over amount of makeup and her green eyes were steady as she held my gaze.
"Good morning sir. My name is Bianca and I will be serving you. How may our establishment help you today?" She asked as she readied a book and quill. Her weigh scales were made of well polished brass and bore no additional images or sculpting. Obviously very professional.
"Good morning. I am looking to trade these for coins. I am lacking funds you see and I can't very well be trading a treasure every time I require something." I said with a gentle grin as I placed the small sack on the counter.
She nodded quietly before opening the bag to see it's contents. Her eyes widened a moment before regaining composure. "This will take a few moments sir as I need to calculate for each gems worth and there is quite a variety here."
I nodded as I leaned on the counter leisurely. "Take your time. I'd rather the trade be correct than rushed and be wrong." I said as I took my seat to wait. Soon others began to show up for business as I waited. Part of me was glad I made it there first as a line quickly formed.
Bianca meanwhile had pulled out a jewelers Loupe. A small magnifying glass used for Gem inspections by jewelers. (Normally held on a chain which fed into a chest pocket on her vest she wore. ) And inspected each jewel individually. She took her time with each one as though she was paying respects to them. A professional through and through.
Thankfully Bianca didn't take much longer to calculate each gems worth and began to weigh them on her scale based on gem type batches first, then she weighed them by size size.
Soon a fair stack of small notes formed as she calculated with a focused gaze. And then as sudden as it began she took the last weight off the scale and showed me the amount she had figured it was worth.
"Your gems are of fine quality and almost completely flawless. As a jeweler I would give you 500 gold for them but seeing as these aren't ordinary gem stones we will up the price to 700." She said with a calm yet bright smile.
I raised an eyebrow. "Beg pardon but what do you mean by they aren't ordinary?"
Her brows furrowed slightly before responding. "You see sir. Your gems quality alone is quite high hence why we would give you the 500 gold. But your gems also hold a high amount of mana. Making them not just high quality but also highly useful. As the mana within can be used for many things given theyre processed through the right methods. Though it seems you were unaware of this quality our pricing still stands." She replied eloquently.
My brows rose further as I tapped my chin. "That makes sense. I was unaware of that fact. I'll accept the amount." I said as I looked at the paper and realized a signature was required which I quickly filled in.
She nodded curtly before leaving her station to go into the back for a few moments and returned with a fair sized box. Her face was slightly reddened and she quickly placed the box on the counter. "If you could check the contents sir I can proceed with the purchase." She said with a huff as she wiped a little sweat from her brow.
I nodded as I opened the box to see a fair amount of small gold coins inside. Realizing counting them one by one would take forever I sent a small divine wave through them. "You're amount is off by 2 gold." I said as I pulled two particular coins out of the box and laid them in front of her.
She frowned slightly as she inspected the coins before taking them into the back for a time. I could sense what she was doing. She was running an old style to test the authenticity of gold. And it seemed these coins were failing badly. First she checked the markings which should be uniform with crisp edges on the coins form. They failed that. The images were reversed on the royal coat of arms. A mighty Griffon rearing back to face the left of the coin was facing right. A magnetic type item was then run over the coins first making them clang and shake toward the magnetic pull. Gold doesn't respond to magnets. Then an acid was applied in drops to the coins making them change color and texture in ways that revealed a small amount of gold but had a higher mix of metals gold coins shouldn't have.
Obviously flustered Bianca took the coins and and went to the older gentleman who had greeted me earlier.
A conversation ensued that seemed to grow a little heated close to the end as he suddenly came over to my stall.
"Dear sir. Would you be so kind as to accompany me to my office. It seems we caused you a disservice." He said in an apologetic tone.
"Of course." I said with a calm smile as I quickly moved the gems into the sack again bringing them with me.
He led me through a small door to the side of the area Bianca used for testing revealing a fair sized office. A dark mahogany desk stood close to a large stained glass window which gave the room a rainbow lighting. The floor was hardwood and the walls papered with floral designs giving the place a more relaxing atmosphere. The man sat behind his desk as he gestured to the chair in front of me.
"Please sit. I have already requested Bianca to bring us some tea while we discuss things." He said with a calm smile just as Bianca came through the door with a trolley of snacks, tea, and cups.
I nodded to them both as I took my seat. It's soft texture and cushion almost made me want to sleep.
"So. I seem to have caused a bit of a stir?" I asked as Bianca froze and turned red as a tomato before nervously placing our tea cups down and adding a plate of snacks to the desk and retreating out the door quickly.
The man nodded with a grimace. "Indeed a ruckus but not of your making. It seems we will need to do a inventory of our coins and inspect all shipments from our supplier going forward. Who knew there would be duds in a batch. And we've been doing business with that family for years!" He said rubbing his brows in frustration. "This means a lot of overtime and a lot of pay for people who don't want the first but certainly don't mind the second." He grumbled.
"My apologies then. But if I may... How is it that "duds" could get mixed in the first place? They seemed fairly obvious to me." I asked taking a sip of tea and crunching on a cookie.
He nodded. " We became complacent after all the proper deliveries we failed to check the newer ones. Now we can't track down the bad ones that left our store! But at least we can do some damage control thanks to you. So we certainly don't blame you. As a matter of fact I want to thank you!" He said getting off his chair and extending me a hand to shake.
I raised my eyebrows in shock. "You're thanking me for increasing your workload?"
"Indeed. If you want to think of it that way then it is. But it's something that needed to happen anyway." He grunted as I shook his hand firmly.
"We of course are going to pay full price for your gems. That and a little gift added for helping us with our problem." He said clapping his hands together like he was praying. "We simply ask you not spread word of what's happened to others! Please!!!" He said as tears threatened to leave his eyes.
"We would be ruined overnight if word got out about these coins! Please sit I pray you show mercy!" He said kneeling and bowing repeatedly. He was so fervent I could hear his back creaking from the strain.
"Okay! Okay! Hey! I'll not say anything but please! Stop! Bowing!" I groaned.