7.05a: Exploring the City

[Wyvern]

Alys inclines her head speculatively. "Mm. Reasonable points."
OOC: Ruben may have enough psyche to realize that Alys is assuming his whisper was meant to be overheard, but meant for anyone overhearing it to think it wasn't meant to be overheard. Whether or not anyone in the room is actually capable of overhearing it is irrelevant.

To Dustin, she says "Well. It has been interesting talking to you - but I believe we have a meeting with Guildmaster Teusus now?"

[Joshua]

Seems about time.

Teusus is in traditional Roman Guildmaster garb. Mostly a toga with various gold and wooden adornments. His office is setup as a wooden replica of a roman cathedral. The half-pillars set into the wall are clearly plaster and not load-bearing. He stand from behind his desk and walks over to greet everyone as you enter.

"My friends, to what do I owe this honor? Is something needed for the gala tonight?"

[Wyvern]

"Ah, no - we're simply touring the more notable locations in the city; as I've only recently arrived, Nathaniel was kind enough to agree to act as a guide today. As such, I'm primarily interested in more general information about your operations, and how they fit into the functioning of the city as a whole."

OOC: translation: Nathaniel got strong-armed into acting as a tour guide. I'm not currently interested in digging up your secrets, but this is your chance to brag about how well you're doing, attempt to curry favor with me, or air anything you think I need to know.
Also worth noting that she's not speaking for Ruben - Alys only addressed why she, personally, is present.

[Ruben]

Ruben speaks up, mindful of the potential repercussions that could await Nathaniel after the nobles leave - despite the cheerful smile, Ruben guesses thateusus is unhapppy about his "commerce" being interrupted without warning.

"I'm afraid I was responsible for leading our party to my old haunts," he says, stepping forward to shake Teusus' hand vigorously. "We appreciate your making time to fit us in. I was just observing to Dustin that the Guild Hall seems more active than when I last visited. You've done well for yourself, it seems. Like my colleague, I'd love to hear more about how the Guild and the city's merchants generally, aare faring today."

[Joshua]

The short of his explanation: They're doing well. The difficulty with the import of goods is difficult, but it's at the point where the larger merchants are importing without incident. Crafting is first rate, and they're making deals with the elves and dwarves to improve their tradesmen.

The longer (between-the-lines) explanation: It's deregulated. You're starting to see the abuses that can cause. Long hours, child labor, low pay, low safety concerns. The guildmaster is not so much interested in the plight of the workers as the company, and things are growing to the point where those are becoming separate.

[Wyvern]

Alys listens, comments politely, and at appropriate points asks insightful (or at least leading) questions. Things like,

"Are there any advantages to keeping trade restricted?"

"What is the profit you can turn off of one active mage, relative to the cost the mage guild demands for training one?"

OOC:
The former is mostly aiming to get a measure of the guildmaster - is he likely to go for short term personal profit by setting up a monopoly, or longer term power for himself and his family by setting up something that won't crash and burn when people realize all the wealth is concentrated in just a family or two.

The latter seems to be setting up a potential escalation of whatever conflict exists between the merchants' guild and the mage guild. Possibly with a goal of goading the mage guild into offering training to anyone with talent, rather than charging for it. (Since, if they require payment, they'd end up with "their" mages beholden to whoever was willing to foot the bill.)

[Joshua]

The guildmaster definitely is more focused on his own progress than the city, or even the guild. However, he clearly understands that trade is coming, and attempting to artificially restrain it will fail. So, he's trying to grab what he can now, while still keeping his position in the long term. Annoyingly, he seems to be doing it the cost-analysis way. balancing his current embezzlement (well, more like greed, as he's obtaining the wealth legally) and the interest he can get over it vs what the future value of his employment is. (He's definitely an economist...)

As for the mage training. He's grudgingly for it. Again, long term payoff is greater than funneling that money elsewhere. Although he doesn't say anything quite that direct.

(In case you're curious, he's got chaos level psyche or so, so is not as hard to read as he expects. His warfare is easily halfway between Chaos and Amber, but only with regards to economics. Think mid - high level aristocrat.)

[Wyvern]

OOC: Alys is, at this point, done here; if Ruben doesn't choose to speak up, she'll bring the conversation to a polite close.

As for meeting the heads of shipping or jeweler's guilds, we can probably gloss over those? Alys is interested in both, but unless the shipping guild regards deliveries to Ht'gon as requiring hazard pay (due to orcs) or something similar, there's probably nothing there she'd feel a need to act on.

[Ruben]

Ruben nods to Lady Alys, and thanks the Guildmaster for his time. Exiting the room, he makes a point of embracing Dustin and thanking him again for the offer of protection, hoping that the younger man will be comforted enough to dispense with his plan for have the nobles followed.

Pondering the next step, Ruben consults with Alys: "I think there's more here than we're seeing. There are multiple groups of "protectors," but for them to have the impact they seem to be having, there must be some coordination. But how to find it?"

[Wyvern]

"I'm reminded of a saying I've encountered a time or two: 'never ascribe to malice that which can be explained by incompetence'. Of course," Alys add with a grin, "I'd add to that, 'never assume incompetence when you could be seeing enemy action'. In this instance, particularly - anyone competent enough to coordinate groups of thugs without it becoming known that they're doing so, should also be competent enough to understand that their personal power, wealth, and prestige, will advance with the city's wealth and stability."

"As for where to start looking - Nathaniel's already volunteered to show us some of the worst parts of the city. A simple chat with one of these groups ought to tell us if they take orders from anyone. Of course, if we want to see them as they normally behave, first, you may wish to exercise some discretion - I should be new enough to not be recognized, but I'd imagine your face is reasonably well known."
OOC edit: This last roughly translates to, do we or do we not want to make sure we give whatever group we talk to enough rope to hang themselves? if Ruben is identifiably present, there's a chance that nobody will end up getting killed...

"Oh, and speaking of incompetence - I recall you're associated with Rebma? Fair warning, then - you may get some orcs trying to find a talking squid. I think I was able to convince them that calamari didn't count..."