Completed [The Weft and Warp] Special Inks

[Vetari Violet]

The 39th Day of Autumn, 513 AV Vetari approached the Weft and Warp, the beautiful weaving school at the center of Kalinor, along the red silk road that lead straight to it. News of the Masquerade that was to come had only just reached his ears that morning, and he could tell the school would soon be overflowing with orders if it hadn’t already. He could see there was commotion inside, the teardrop building swaying softly with no breeze to push it. The students were likely hard at work already, though he could not know for sure. There was a great storm rocking the surface and, though Kalinor had to deal with very little of the wind and rain, water still poured from a number of the openings in the side of the mountain. The crashing sound of falling water on stone was difficult to ignore, and sometimes made it difficult to hear even if you were inside a building. Vetari sighed and muttered to himself, ”This could be a long day,” as he made it to the entryway. Pushing the curtain aside he saw students dashing about with cloth and dyes, working and weaving at the gentle but excited instruction of their teachers who worked alongside them. A number of webs were there, placing orders from the silks they already had available and getting their measurements taken. Vetari had a different plan in mind. When it was his turn he stepped up before Avarys, who had taken to managing the wave of incoming orders. ”Welcome to the Weft and Warp, how can I help you?” he said, rushing through the words as he scribbled the last bits of the previous order down on a piece of parchment. Vetari smiled, “I have a very special order for you,” and slid the letter across the desk.

[Vetari Violet]

Avarys, once he was done jotting down the order, scanned the letter Vetari had produced. A smile grew slowly as he read it, his features getting more and more bright. “This certainly will be an interesting challenge. And an expensive challenge, you understand.” Vetari nodded. He had expected as much. His design went far out of the norm of most of the orders the school had received, no doubt. His designs required both smoothness and rigidness. Flow and texture. And it was all very important in the task of accomplishing Vetari’s desired effect. “How much do you think it will be?” he asked, now a little bit nervous. He wasn’t quite sure about Avarys, and hadn’t interacted with him outside of the occasional order for his clothes. Avarys shook his head, shrugging. “Almost 55 Mizas,” he said, looking as if he’d pulled the number from thin air. Vetari knew better, but he was still appalled. “55 Mizas!? That’s insane!” “Not as insane as your designs, my friend. Do you know how much work would have to go into those…shoulder things? And it’s not REALLY 55 Mizas. More like… 52 and a half.” Vetari couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He had to haggle the price down if he was going to keep any of his earnings from the whole season! He just kept shaking his head, looking incredulous. “Ah, come on, fortune teller,” Avarys said, clapping him on the shoulder. “It’s a very important celebration! You’ll want to look your best.” That much was true. He’d already spent a gold miza and a half convincing the leatherworkers at the Bats Head to work the mask he wanted, with the ravens feathers and all. But he couldn’t go bankrupt on his robes! They may be dyed silks but one event wasn’t worth breaking the bank!

[Vetari Violet]

“There must be some way I can bring the price down…” Vetari muttered, shaking his head. ”I dunno… we can’t go much lower without compromising the quality of the artwork… c’mon, we can chat prices later. I need you to pick your colors.” He brought Vetari over to a large wall of silk, covered in hundreds of different colors. Vetari’s mind was still swimming with the price tag, so he zoned out for a bit wondering how he was ever going to negotiate the price lower. I wonder if he’ll accept favors as currency…though I doubt it. This school takes pride in its work…perhaps if I convinced him to let one of the students craft it? Sure, it won’t be perfect, but I’m sure they won’t let me go looking like a buffoon. The student learns a complex technique, I get some fine clothes out of it, and they can polish it up before they hand it over. Vetari grinned. I doubt word of mouth will be much use here. Everyone is getting their costume here! He had been so lost in his thoughts that he missed much of what Avarys had been saying, but he was now holding an ashen grey colored silk before him, smiling the way he always did. ”Errr…yes. Like that, but perhaps a little darker. And you remember what the order said about the ink at the hem?” he asked. ”Of course! That shouldn’t be too hard. It’s an intermediate level dying technique but I think I can manage.” ”I was…actually wondering if one of your students could work on this for me,” he said with a smile. ”Perhaps that could make the price more reasonable? And you could teach some of your better students some interesting dying and weaving techniques. I’m sure the mushroom shoulder mounts will be a nightmare to make. Avarys’ jaw dropped. “You want a student working on an order like this? Our best might be able with close supervision, but this is a complex piece! You want to put that in that hands of those that are still learning the craft?” Though his words said one thing his tone and posture said he was more disappointed in not being able to show off his own skills with the task. Vetari merely smiled. ”Then put your best student on it, then. And watch them closely. Make sure they learn from the experience.” His heart was beating quickly. He was managing! ”What’s the price tag on it now that it’s students work rather than masters at work?” Avarys frowned and quickly did the math in his head. “40 mizas.” Vetari was surprised. That was much more acceptable, but he wanted to see if he could push even lower. “How about 35?” Avarys shook his head. “40 covers cost of materials and the time the teacher will spend with the student without markups for masterwork. We’re not in the business of losing money on projects. I’m afraid I can’t go any lower.” Vetari shrugged and paid the man. It was honestly quite a deal, and he didn’t put enough stock in the finery associated with the social events to spend all his money on it. In the end it was about the people behind the masks. It was about what it meant to be Symenestra. It was about who his people really were.

LedgerStylized Leather Mask: 1 gm 2 sm
Raven Feather Mane: 2 sm
Dyed Silk Brocade Robeswith Fine Buckles: 51 gm 2 sm
Student Work Discount: -11 gm 2 sm
Total Price: 41 gm 4 sm

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[Ensnare]

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Vetari Violet

Skill	XP Gained
Observation	2
Rhetoric	1
Negotiation	2

Lore Gained

Negotiating an Insane Price Down

Items/Consequences: -41gm 4sm, +1 Stylized Leather Mask, +1 Raven Feather Mane, +1 Dyed Silk Brocade Robes with Fine Buckles

If you feel I have graded you unfairly, or if you have any questions, please send me a PM and we'll work the problem out.

Notes :

Remember to subtract from your ledger the amount that was spent! Have fun at the Masquerade!