"Cerulean Marble?"
"I know it sounds nuts," he started. "But, you're going to need to hear this out of you want to do this right."
I leaned in closer to the table to hear this insane story. Maybe today is the day he had finally lost it. Cerulean marble, really?
"A noble such as yourself should know already: the value of Cerulean Marble has tanked. The war raging in the west didn't help."
"Yeah..." I started. "The Yoon Kao government made sure of that..."
"Well, what were they supposed to expect?" He replied. "Fight off Western savages, then just stumble upon mountain cliffs worth of marble?"
"It's what happened," I said with a smile. "I wish I'd seen it myself. It's too bad hauling back all those precious veins hyperinflated the marble industry into smithereens..."
"Not exactly; this is where my tip comes in."
The sommelier leaned in closer, as if that made our conversation any more secretive. Or, not. Maybe it was just for dramatic effect. Wine people, especially the rich ones, always seemed to have an uncanny talent for that. All garnish. No meat. But, the glint in his eyes seemed to turn my initial impression of idiocy into curiosity. Maybe he did in fact have something up his sleeve; and, in the end, today would not be the day he had truly gone mad.
"There is a district across the YoonKao empire so distant from the main capital and so cut off from communication, it's practically impossible for them to receive the news of the large amounts of marble discovered in the West due to their isolation." The sommelier made circles with his hands indicating the geographical distance, visualizing his plan. "What you'll do is buy stock of marble from the Capital in bulk, given that it's cheap as dirt. Then, sell it to this city."
"And that city is...?"
The sommelier reached his hand out to shake, to which I did likewise. The gleaming silver coins pressed unto his palms; upon feelings its metallic clinking in his fingers, he clenched my hand and we shook in agreement.
"Su-Wen." he said gently, "The city is called Su-Wen. Keep going North from here until you see the area separating the plains from the forest. Then, go West for the Plains until you see the small city. It's more a village, really; but, you can't miss it. Here, I wrote the instructions for you on this."
I received his directions written in slanted cursive.
"If there's anyone you want to buy from, I'd recommend Celina's from the Capital. Of course, I'll get a commission from her if you go there. Here, this is the address."
He scrawled the address on the top of the paper.
"Are you sure...?" I said.
"I wouldn't be the sommelier if I weren't."
I exited the cellar room and made my way up the stairs until I met the almost empty yet contradictoraly luxurious mahogany and red-velvet room once more. The hostess was in the spot she was before, as if she neither moved nor met me at all. I made my way to the front door, expecting her to say something. But her quill was still gently but firmly grasped by three pale fingers, deep in concentration. I coughed. She raised her head gently, as if practiced; she stopped writing the, well, something on her record book. Her hand grazed the hair away from her one covered eye, again, as if practiced, and revealed two emerald eyes giving a stately look at me.
"Ms. Yona. It is you."
"Yes." I said. "I'll be checking out now."
"Very well then," she said in perfect enunciation. "I shall escort you out. Did you enjoy your tasting?"
"I think so," I smiled to her.
"Then I hope to see you again." She smiled back. I couldn't tell this time whether it was a genuine smile or not. Maybe she practiced being genuine too, or not. Regardless, I'd miss her lack of contractions.
"Good evening Ms. Yona."
"Good evening..." I said as she closed the door.
***
The amount I'll make from this Cerulean Marble trade, if the sommelier's tip is correct, is monumentous. However, it is still minuscule compared to what I've inherited from the current Lord Spar.
So, why continue to peddle goods for profit then? Well, my inheritance is essentially so valuable that it's practically worthless.
How does this work?
Lord Talulah of House Spar gave me 50 of the 1200 gold crescents she plundered in her little "adventure" with House Cray. With just one gold crescent, one could buy anything.
A nobleman's daughter —if she were beautiful. The attention of a member of the Empire's Court. 12 mansions. Armies.
Technically, that means one gold crescent could buy you nothing.
You see, the value of one gold crescent is both so high and inflated that no one outside of the influence of the YoonKao empire or the aristocratic elites who lick their boots for even a taste of their power would even have the appropriate background for a reasonable exchange.
Say you want to buy a squid skewer from one of the many food stands peppered across YoonKao's slums. You go up to the stand the lady says the skewers cost 2 tin pents.
If you're dumb enough to pull out a gold crescent, well, you'd be devoured by everyone within a 10-mile radius looking to take it from you. The man standing behind you in line. His wife. The knights during practice miles away. The whores. Their pimps. The children belonging to said pimps and whores depending on who got to take responsibility. It's to be expected that common folk would do anything to get them closer to the elites of YoonKao.
Well, okay. For argument's sake, let's say human nature and the proclivity to step upon one another didn't exist. Poof! Gone.
What happens?
Well, the poor lady serving squid skewers would not be able to give you any reasonable amount of change. I give a copper dragon, she gives me a squid skewer and three tins back. I give a silver Eagle, she gives me 4 copper dragons and 3 tins back.
I give her a gold crescent and she'd have to sell her house, her land, her husband, her children, their children, and all their kids ongoing for about 25-32 generations.
I have 50 of these gold crescents. Blessed? Kind of. I can't reasonably buy anything because who on Earth can even make a proper exchange with that? It's not happening in the slums. Thus, here I go once more into the capital city, desperately hiding my gold crescents.
"Celina's..." I thought.
I crumped the directions into my inner pockets, and made my way to the nearest carriage station. I had a long way.