[Well, that sucks… without selling my sword or my ring, I'll still need between twenty and forty gold. If I am to take advantage of this window, I will have to start taking on a lot of quests from the guild. Still, it should be possible, I just need to get to it as soon as possible.]
I ask around for a bit until I find a place that will buy my extra gear off of me. It's a small armory that caters primarily to adventurers who tire of the guild's poor offers for gear and high prices for the same. The adventurers that I asked seem to be in agreement that this is the place to go if one wants a fair price for his extra gear.
The place is built of moss-covered dark gray stone bricks with a roof tiled in hardened clay shingles with cracks so prominent as to be visible from the ground. A single grimy window displays its products. Had this place not come so highly recommended, I would avoid doing business here at all costs.
I open the door, and a small bell rings. A portly man behind the counter wearing an eyepatch and a stained and patched up shirt gives me a smile that displays a mouth full of gold teeth, where there are teeth at all. An appearance as far from the sorcerer as possible, essentially.
I am about to turn around and get out of the place as fast as I can when he says "Ah, a customer! What might your business be here today?" in a tone of voice so warm that I am immediately convinced to ignore the poor shape of both his body and his store.
"Well, I have some gear to sell, and your business came highly recommended."
"Oh, did it now? Well, what type of gear are we talking here, exactly?" he asks, placing his hands on the counter and leaning forward a bit as though there is nothing he would like more than to continue speaking with me.
"Gear of the weapons and armor variety, pretty decent stuff for the most part. I heard that you would give me a more fair price than the guild, so here I am."
"Well, I wouldn't want to imply that the guild is rippy off its customers… but yeah, I can almost guarantee that you'll get more from me than they would ever offer, that's for sure," he says with a small chuckle.
"You see," he continues, "I used to be an adventurer, I know the ways of the guild, they have such a high quantity of intake that they can afford to buy ludicrously low and still sell at a normal price, bringing in a lot of profit. But don't get it in your mind that I'm working as a charity! I still bring in profit, I'm just fine with margins closer to ten percent than a thousand. Now, enough talk, let's see what you've got!"
I pull out all the gear I acquired from that governor, laying it out upon the counter. The counter is rather large in its surface area, more like a long table than a counter, but I still manage to cover it with gear.
"That's quite a haul you've brought for me! Still, assuming it's all of good quality, I'd be happy to buy it all off of you."
"And I'd be happy to sell it, I'm not the best at appraising value, I'll take your word on it." Not particularly true, I'd asked the governor how much each item was worth and his numbers seemed pretty reasonable, if this shopkeeper doesn't pay at least eighty percent of that, I'll know something is up.
Still, my lie has its intended effect as the man gives a bit of a smile while looking over the first sword, evidently pleased that I would show such trust in him.
While he appraises each item, I look around his store; though I already have adequate gear, it just felt awkward to stare at him as he worked. The one room shop is illuminated by a small chandelier, aside from the rather small window of course. However, this chandelier is in no way similar to that of that self-important sorcerer that had hung in his entry hall; as opposed to pure gold, it is made out of wrought iron, adding to the rather dark and oppressive atmosphere of the place.
Not only is the shop greatly different than the sorcerer's place of business, the man himself seems rather different as well. Not just in appearances, which are about as different as can be, but also in attitude. While the sorcerer had not been nearly so pretentious as I had expected, he still didn't exude nearly so much warmth as this shop owner, I can immediately see why he came so highly recommended.
On the walls of the shop various weapons and armor are hung, in a manner greatly reminiscent of the shop within the guild hall. The prices seem roughly similar as well, though I had heard that this place was a bit cheaper; the main reason people shop here is likely to support this owner's business due to the fair buy offers, not because the prices are really any better for the customers.
The shopkeeper calls me back over when he is finished appraising each item, a process that takes him close to an hour.
"First of all, I would like to buy everything, every item here would be a nice addition to the inventory. So, that said, my offer for the bulk is seventy five gold."
[That's the highest estimate that I received from the governor on the value I could sell these items for, this man really is an honest salesman! No wonder his business isn't doing the greatest!]
I immediately accept his offer, smiling while saying "I'd be happy to sell them, in that case."
Without any fuss, he hands me the money, and I am on my way. As soon as I am outside, I realize why the scene inside had been so odd. With the amount of money he had just handed me merely to increase his stock he could have remodeled his entire store and fitted himself in the clothes of nobility. Even if he really does only make ten percent on every sale, even if the number were only five percent, he would have to be insanely rich with the value of the goods he moves. Remember, there are some swords in his store that are priced at over twenty gold, that could easily be a decade of a peasant's living expenses!
Thus, it would seem that he has willingly left his store and his appearance in such a shoddy condition. As for why, I can't know for sure; however, if I had to guess, I'd assume that it is to make his customers feel as comfortable as possible when approaching him.
Think about it: he has none of the grandeur that the sorcerer I had met earlier possessed, and his appearance isn't so disheveled as to be frightening, who wouldn't approach him? Thus I can only assume that his apparent poverty is only a display, he is likely to be incredibly rich.
And, if this is indeed the case, what a clever man! Where a sorcerer widely renowned for his might benefits greatly from an air of exclusive luxury in his manner of business, a shopkeeper known for his honesty and fair deals would not benefit from the impression that he is running a greatly profitable business; instead, the impression that his customers are left with would be one of a man directing the vast majority of his sale prices to his suppliers, to such an extent that it would be an unreasonable financial burden to renovate even his small shop or haggard appearance.
Or, perhaps, he simply doesn't care about appearance and simply aims to have the highest possible profit margins while still paying suppliers a fair amount. However, for some reason, the prior option seems more likely to me.
After I count up all my coins, I find that I am about twenty five coins short; in hopes of remedying that as soon as possible, I again go to the guild hall.