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 Posted: Wed Nov 04, 2015 9:31 am
 Having taken a brief break in the shade of some unfamiliar foliage, Ouen once more picked up the bulging bag and pulled it up over his shoulder. It was a heavy burden and an awkward one, full of sharp, uncomfortable edges no matter which way he tried to carry it.
Ouen fumed. What was he, an errand boy? But, all the same, he had a feeling that he understood why Talin had picked him to deliver the stolen goods to their fence. He wasn’t that close to the bandit leader, but unlike many of the others in the band, he had made his disinterest in monetary gain infamously clear. And it was this load in particular, Talin had suggested, that enough value to send even some of the loyal underlings running for the hills with their own pockets lined, rather than returning to camp and handing over the dough.
* * *
Some long and tedious hours later, Ouen caught sight of a caravan. This was where he’d been told to look for a man named ‘Bushi’ (apparently also the name of a sea-creature of some sort, albeit not one Ouen himself had ever seen). Beside him, Shenandoah perked up and whirred enthusiastically, perhaps smelling water or some other foodstuff on the wind.
The shifter approached cautiously. With his lance across his back and trapped under all the loot, he had little interest in inviting ambush.
“’m lookin’ for someone named Bushi?” He called out, dropping the bag so that he could better defend himself, if need be.
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Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2015 2:35 am
The small caravan, made up of people he'd met while in Tale, was a group that Bushi had decided he'd travel with for a while. It wasn't that he so much liked to share his business and profits with others so much as he just didn't know his way around. Were he in Oba he'd be able to get himself from place to place with his eyes closed, knowing every nook and cranny of the place. Tale though, Tale was a beast of another color, and not something that he'd gotten used to quite yet. As such he felt that finding others to travel with was a good idea, not to mention that the more time he spent with them the closer he got to them. Contacts all over the world, that was what he wanted more then anything else. The more contacts that he had the more money there was to be made, the more money there was to be made the happier Bushi was. Walking alongside Aatos, a big rust colored bushi, he gave pause when he heard someone calling out for him. Turning his head he found himself looking toward a Shifter and he cocked his head to one side, "Can't say I know that one." He murmured, half to Aatos, half to himself. After a long moment he gave a half shrug of one shoulder before he started toward the man with the interesting tattoo, "Good afternoon, friend. I don't think that we've had the pleasure? My name is Bushi, and you are...?" Not someone he knew, but if he was seeking him out by name then someone that knew of Bushi and his work must have sent him? This meant that there was dealings to be had, something that always put the big Oban into a great mood. There was nothing he enjoyed more then doing business and seeing if he could come out on top! "Let me know if yours are dealings you would prefer to do in private before we strike up any deals." He said in a quiet tone of voice as he got within handshaking range of the Shifter, not wanting the legit business men to know what sorts of dealings Bushi was into.
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 10:54 am
One of the men from the cavan stepped towards him -- a husky, board-shouldered Oban man with bright eyes and a somewhat… cautious tone of voice. Not overly guarded, not downright paranoid, just the voice of someone who sort of knew what was going on and had no interest in letting the situation get out of hand.
“Naw, we ain’t met.” Ouen shrugged his shoulders, figuring that this fellow matched the description he’d been given well enough. He reached out to shake the man’s hand, brown skin against his coal-gray. “My name’s Ouen. S’ Talin who sent me. Said he dealt with you’a couple’a times? Said you was good at dealin’ with some, uh, particular sorts of goods. Dunno what’s so particular ‘bout them, other than that they’s shinier an’ heavier than usual, and I don’t wanna carry ‘em one step further than I gotta.”
He waved at the bundle on the sand at his feet, and let out a tired sigh. He took Bushi’s lead and kept his voice hushed. “As for privacy, Mister, that you can decide by yours own terms. Dunno what kind of game you playin’ ‘ere, but… well, all this junk’s things we done ‘liberated’ from merchants, but the kinda stuff there ain’t no use for back home, you know? Just pretty things an’ jewels and trash like that.”
Seeming very openly unimpressed by ‘jewels and pretty things’, Ouen kicked a corner of the bag. It let out a merry little jingle.
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Posted: Thu Nov 12, 2015 9:20 pm
"Ahhh, you know Talin? Wonderful! If that is the case then I see no reason why we can't talk shop, Ouen." He said, feeling that if this one was sent to him by Talin that it would be an easy enough transaction between the two of them. Talin didn't seem the sort that wouldn't send him someone who knew the ins and outs of the way the business went after all, so it shouldn't be all that difficult to deal with. He was all for things going smoothly after all. As he mentioned that Bushing was good at dealing with some 'particular goods' he gave a slow nod of his head, easily guessing what that meant. So Talin had sent his little Shifter friend to him with a bag of hot goods, huh? Not that he minded, that was what he was here for, "You needn't worry, I am always willing to inspect those sorts of goods, to see what they are worth in general as well as figure out how much they are worth to me." Giving a smile Bushi said, "No games, merely business as usual." He found himself a touch curious about the one that he was dealing with as the goods that he'd brought were referred to as 'junk' and 'trash' by him, but he also said something about there being 'pretty things' and 'jewels' as well making him wonder if this one wasn't so sharp. Had Talin sent one of his less important underlings to him with the goods? The sort that he wouldn't miss if he was found with the bag of pilfered treasures? He supposed that anything was possible. Squatting down as Ouen nudged at the bag with his foot he dragged it over to himself, opening up, and set to digging through it in a thoughtful manner. He didn't take anything out, not yet, but he did want to get a feel for what he was dealing with. Ouen didn't sound all that impressed, meaning he wasn't really sure what he was dealing with. It could all just be shiny junk... but after a moment he realized that it wasn't junk at all. Instead it seemed as though he was in the presence of a bag of some highly valuable stuff. Giving a nod of his head he closed the bag, pushed to his feet, and then said, "Alright, grab the bag and join me over by Aatos. I think we can definitely make a deal that will be good for both sides."
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Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 8:21 am
'“Arright.” Ouen nodded -- and although he felt no particular excitement about selling off some useless luxuries, he was rather looking forward to walking back to camp with a bag of money rather than a bag of… candlesticks, ornamental daggers, golden bangles, heavy embroidered fabrics and whatever the heck else was in that sack.
He did keep a careful eye on Bushi as he neared the loot. Talin had made it plenty clear that the things inside were valuable, and that by no means was he supposed to let any of them go missing without due payment. This, of course, led to the obvious question -- how in the world was Ouen supposed to know what ‘due payment’ was for an Oban candlestick? Talin trusted Ouen not to take off with any of the treasures, sure. But did he trust this Bushi fellow to pay up the right amount? Or was Ouen supposed to pretend like he knew what was going on?
Then again, perhaps Talin trusted Bushi the same way Talin trusted everyone else; he trusted them because if they didn’t play by his rules, he would kill them -- and generally that knowledge was enough to keep people in line.
Yeah, that sounded about right. Anyway, Ouen wasn’t in the mood for pretending to be a thief-for-profit.
“‘f you can spare me a drink an’ somethin’ to eat, that’ll be a good enough deal where my side is concerned.” he shrugged the bag over his shoulder and followed Bushi to ‘Aatos’, whatever (or whoever) that was. “But Talin, I mean, he’s got some expectations in regardin’ to payout, so’s him you gotta keep happy.”
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Posted: Thu Nov 26, 2015 10:13 am
Walking over to where the giant, rust red bushi was standing Bushi gave a little whistle, calling Aatos's attention to him. Reaching out he patted him on the head, before stepping forward to root around in one of the many packs hanging off of the turtle, getting out a ledger and a writing utensil, "Alright, first thing we need to do is category every piece so that you are paid for each thing instead of just a bulk sale." He'd likely just do that with someone he didn't care for or didn't think that he'd see again. Instead this was a sale between himself and one of his business partners, one that he didn't want to lose since the man was foreign, therefore able to provide him with information about the lands Bushi himself didn't know enough about. After he had that he tucked it under his arm, moving to dig around in another bag, and produced a water skin and a small bag of dried meat, "Here you go, fresh water from a spring we stopped at not long ago, as well as some dried... oh, what did they call it, aldabuk. It's quite good." That was handed off to Ouen, a show of good faith, not to mention that it always helped to butter up a customer since the rule was that the 'customer was always right' unless of course they were belligerent idiots, then the rule was 'fleece them'. It all depended... but this guy seemed alright, and he was tied to Talon, so Bushi would play nice. "While I do this, how about you tell me how your days has been thus far? We don't want you to look suspicious just standing there in silence, am I right?" There were other merchants about after all and nobody wanted to draw any wandering and curious eyes because Ouen was acting out of sorts. Once he was ready he took the bag, taking out each piece to inspect it, giving it a name as well as a mark next to it that was a grade, "I am going to take note of what you brought me, the condition, things like that. I want to make sure the right payment is sent back with you after all." He said as he worked, wanting the Shifter to know what it was that was doing at the moment.
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Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 6:39 am
‘Aatos’, as it turned out, was some sort of massive hump-backed pack-creature, the likes of which Ouen had never seen in Jauhar or Tale. It didn’t look very fast, Ouen thought, but it certainly carried a lot more than his radaku ever had. It looked patiently at it’s owner as he rummaged around for a book and a pen of some sort.
Shenandoah circled the animal on his quick slender legs, sniffing at this and that as he passed.
Bushi offered Ouen a waterskin and some dried local meat, which he took with a nod of thanks. The aldabuk was quite good, he agreed, even if he was still not entirely used to eating meat (his childhood diet had been composed mostly of jungle fruits and nuts -- easy pickings for a kid who had lived almost entirely in the trees). He stood and ate this (slipping some down to Shenandoah) and watched Bushi work at cataloguing the loot, until the other prompted him to start some sort of conversation. This was perfectly fine by Ouen, because he had some questions to ask.
He had several questions to ask, actually (some of which he had been thinking about as he carried that heavy bag halfway across Tale) -- but for the time-being, there were more pressing ones on his mind.
“Been alright. Long trip, an’ there’s too much dang sun here. Anyway, what’s this critter?” He pointed to the shell-backed animal. “I ain’t ever seen one like this before.”
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Posted: Tue Dec 08, 2015 7:31 pm
The big Oban gave a smile when it seemed that his offerings of fresh water and dried aldabuk jerky were accepted by Ouen. Food seemed to always be a good way to connect with others he thought to himself, feeling that giving the young man said food was more then worth it if it meant strengthening the bonds between himself and Talins group. Turning his attention to his work once more he continued to take detailed notes about the items that Ouen had brought to him, wanting to make sure that he didn't miss anything. Bushi paused in his work to look over at Aatos, then returned to what he was doing, "That is what's called a bushi, a species of turtle that comes from Matori in the south." He explained before he gave a little smile, "They're used for various things, mounts, pack animals, sometimes food, it mostly depends on the owner. They can be a little on the slow side, so not exactly a war beast by any stretch of the imagination but when it comes to carrying things they are top notch." He was quite proud of Aatos and all that the turtle was able to do for him to this point, having proven to be more then worth what he'd paid for him. "Alright! I think I have everything accounted for, as for the condition of each item." He said as he pushed up to his feet, offering the detailed list to Ouen, "If you'd like to look this over for me, make sure that I didn't miss anything, and that you're in agreement as far as the condition of each item goes? After that we can discuss your payment."
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 10:42 am
“I thought you was the one called Bushi.” Ouen laughed, reaching out to touch the big animal’s face. Come to think of it, he had heard that word before -- a bushi, this sea-dwelling creature from Matori.
“Matori, huh. I’d sure like t’a head over there sometime.” He mused. “See what it looks like an’ all. You been over that way?”
It must be a mighty interesting place given the things that came from it… from big hard-shelled bushis to a certain good-looking young man who had been at the edges of Ouen’s mind for the last little while. He wasn’t likely to be in Matori, of course, given his commitment to wandering around Tendaji, but… well, maybe there’d be something of him in that oceanside nation.
The Oban turned to hand him a tally sheet of all the things in the bag. Ouen looked at it and furrowed his brow like he figured someone might look if they were paying attention to what they were reading (he himself didn’t read very well, and anyhow didn’t know half the words that were used to describe all these previous ‘trinkets’ to begin with). He made a quick count of the scribbled lines against how heavy the bag had felt on his shoulder, and decided that everything looked to be in order.
“Arright, looks good to me. What’s the payout gonna be?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 14, 2015 6:13 pm
Bushi gave a bit of a laugh, "Yep, I am called Bushi, a name that I took from the group of them. The remind me of myself, something big and heafy, a bit slow when it comes to travel times, but useful nevertheless." He sounded amused by the description of himself that he gave to Ouen. He lifted a hand up, patting Aatos on the neck while Ouen touched his face. Aatos seemed to be pleased with the attention, but then again the more time he spent with Bushi the more and more spoiled he got. Giving a shake of his head Bushi said, "I haven't been to Matori as of yet. I thought on it from time to time but feel that they would have more of a reason to come after me then the people to the North. There are reasons, of course, for them to dislike me but those reasons are fewer then the Water Tribe have." Best to give them time, a lot more time, before he even considered heading there. Last thing he wanted was to go to Matori on business and end up getting himself attacked by a mob of people who hated those from Oba... that would be really bad for his bottom line. After the paper was returned to him he gave a smile, "Alright, if you are alright with the list then let us see..." He gave a humming sound as he turned the list, allowing Ouen to see it as he continued, "These items here," He tapped the pen against some of the items listened, "Will be worth the least. They are lovely items but they are also the sort that are easily recognizable. For me to be able to resell them I will need to do work on them, change them up some, to make it so they could sell. Now these ones here, these are quite useful because I can melt them down and turn them into anything I want." He loved things like metal the candlesticks, he could melt them down and turn them into anything he wanted. After a moment of thought, considering the work involved, he finally wrote down a number, "Here's my offer. Look good?" He asked, showing it to Ouen, waiting to see what he thought, "If it looks good then you need only to sign you name and I will give you your payment in full."
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:05 am
Ouen let out a somewhat sharp-edged laugh. An Oban, scared to go to Matori? As careful as Bushi was in phrasing his explanation, that was how Ouen interpreted him. And although he had nothing against Bushi, not personally -- Talin had promised him that this man was no slave-trader, past or present -- he couldn’t help but get a satisfying sense of come-uppance from hearing his words. Perhaps he wished that slimy Oban merchants might feel the same way about going to Jauhar. The water earthlings, it seemed, had done much better at reclaiming their land for themselves.
Not, of course, that Ouen had any want to keep perfectly normal, hard-working folk out of Jauhar, no matter what race they might be.
He nodded then as Bushi explained some of the valuations of the items, then took the scrap with the number that was offered to him. He glanced at it with little subtlety. It wasn’t his money, anyway, so what did he have to be secretive about?
The look on his face, which he made no attempt to conceal, was that of suspicious surprise.
“That much?” It was more money than the bandits themselves had ever seen on their raids, and far more than they had ever given out to poorer villagers. But what did Talin do with this kind of money, then? Everytime he sold a load of ‘treasures’ like this, nobody saw any of the money after. They figured it was just pocket change for their leader, but this… wasn’t pocket change.
“You always pay Talin’ out like this ‘ere?”
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Posted: Mon Dec 28, 2015 2:11 pm
Bushi lifted an eyebrow, for a moment wondering if he was being too generous because he liked Talin, but shrugged the thought off. No, what he'd offered was a normal, bottomline price that would cover what he'd been brought. There was a lot of time and effort that would need to go into modifying everything to make sure that it was ready to be sold. Perhaps Ouen was one of Talin's low ranking troops and therefore wasn't used to dealing with so much money then? His next comment made the assumption seem as though it was one that might be the 'right' one before he gave a little smile and a half shrug, "The prices fluctuate with the market, with what Talin has brought to me that day, and the amount of work involved in making sure that I can sell things. Setting aside the business aspect of things and putting it simply, yes, I tend this is a fairly normal transaction. Talin tends to send good things my way after all, therefore I pay well for them." He didn't want another merchant getting what was 'his' after all, nor did he want to lose Talin as a contact when he found the man to be as useful as he was. Stepping closer to Aatos he set to work getting out the offered about of coin, counting it out where Ouen could see it before he tucked it into a small pouch. That pouch was then offered to the Shifter. So long as the Shifter agreed on the price and took the pouch then Bushi would set to work putting everything he'd bought away into the various packs that Aatos work.
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Posted: Wed Jan 06, 2016 7:53 am
“Huh.” Ouen shrugged his shoulders, accepting Bushi’s answer even though the puzzled look was still on his face. Sure, he’d known in some vague theory that there were rich people out there -- he’d seen the big caravans roll though, he had a sense that other people didn’t live in trees or sleep out in the open, their backs to Jauhar jungle-roots or Tale sand. But he supposed that until now it hadn’t quite dawned on him how these ‘other’ people surrounded themselves with pretty but relatively useless things.
Candlesticks! Candlesticks worth a weeks’ worth of food and supplies for a whole village! He rolled his eyes as Bushi was counting out money, not at the man’s actions but at the general silliness of it all.
“Arright then. ‘m sure Talin appreciates your reliability, an’ all that. He spoke well of ya… as well as Talin ever speaks of anybody, which t’be fair is usually limited ta’things like ‘you ain’t halfway stupid’.”
He took the coin bag from the trader and jingled it in the palm of his hand. It had an odd weight to it. He didn’t think he’d ever held this much money all at once. Talin was usually first to grab the stuff, if they found it among their loot.
“What d’you reckon he does with all this? Rest of us sure as heck don’t see any of it.”
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 9:47 am
Bushi gave a moment of pause, finding himself wondering if this was going to cause some sort of internal strife between the members of Talin's group. Not that he meant to ask or get involved. Instead he was more the sort to wait and watch, see how things turned out, and whoever was left in charge would be the one that he continued to have dealings with. Unless of course the group was split down the middle, then he'd deal with both groups if they wanted. Whatever netted him the best business was what Bushi was always on the look out for. Giving a little chuckle Bushi said, "I am glad to hear that he speaks his version of well about me. I like to keep my contacts happy so they keep coming back after all." The happier people were the more often they came back being the happier that Bushi ended up in the end. If the trip continued to go so well he'd have enough money that he could take a break and go home for a bit. How nice would that be? Well, at least it would be nice for a week or two before he got bored with doing nothing, started to feel the itch again, and was once more on the road haggling. While he was a fan of lazing about he wasn't a fan of being completely idle since it hurt the bottom line. "What he does with it? Hmm... well, everyone has their own habits and tastes. Drink, food, drugs, along with the comany of men or women tend to be toward the top of many lists. I can't say for certain though as I don't tend to ask." Though there were always those that volunteered the information, some proclaming that now that they'd been payed they were 'off to drink the night away' or the like. If they wanted to blow all their money they were allowed, because it meant they'd be back to work gathering more stuff to sell to Bushi once the hang over abated. A glorious circle that Bushi was only too happy to be a part of.
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Posted: Mon Jan 11, 2016 6:46 pm
“Drink.” Ouen repeated, his gray eyes steeling against these cold facts. “Food. Drugs. Bedside companions”
It was an odd feeling, coming to some sort of terms with this. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t known it all along, really. He’d seen the bandits squander their money on all this, and had in the moment thought it to be quite good fun. But there was something about hearing Bushi say it, in his easy-going, matter-of-fact voice, that made the whole thing sound rather absurd to him. What was the point of it all then, robbing one foolish rich man just so that they could act like fools themselves? What was the point of slicing down a merchant, as Talin was apt to do in his fits of rage, if the only good his death might serve was the purchase of watered-down liquor?
“Fine heroes we make, don’t we now.” He sniffed, tossing the money-bag into the air, then catching it and securing it to his belt.
“Stealin’ from the rich so’s our noble leader can spend his coin an’ make other rich men richer. Hah!”
Ouen shook his head, and fixed the man with a curious stare. He could find nothing in Bushi to dislike, not really. He seemed an honest fellow, and one who got by in his own way without messing too much in the affairs of others.
“It don’t bother you, do it, that Talin done an’ killed for some of ‘em there candlesticks? Women he done killed, an’ fat men with tears streamin’ down theirs faces. I seen ‘im do it.”
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