I'd like to make offer... ((w/ Kingfisher!))

[Klezmer Gryphon]

It had been a stressful, almost dizzying few weeks for Evander. It had started with what seemed like a normal day, or what had been normal for the past several months; supplies at the guild's storehouse were low, like had become usual thanks to a series of missing shipments this season. However, upon arriving at the storehouse, the gryphon was greeted by a letter addressed to him stuck under the wooden gate. The company was running low on funds for another trip to Essyrn and unless outside funding was secured, operations in the desert city would be seen as too costly to continue.

Enter the present day. Evander, being the trade company's local liaison and the most knowledgeable of Essyrni culture, was tasked with finding said funding. Weeks of asking around, sending letters, and requisitioning resources had culminated in what the gryphon would hope to be an opportunity to find a business partner.

He gazed over the main room of his humble abode as the sun began to set in the western sky; it wasn't much, but it would have to do with his limited resources. With the help of a friend earlier that day, he had managed to arrange the room into a long, low-lying table surrounded by cushions. His ears and tail flickered nervously as the hired servant laid out what in rural, coastal Adela would have been seen as an opulent feast; a main course of fresh fish sliced into thin slivers and wrapped around strips of cucumber, shredded carrots and chopped herbs, rolled in salt and freshly ground black pepper, several, more local side offerings including grain and parsley salads and platters of dates, grapes and figs. Would it be enough for his expected company?

Almost completely lost in his worries, the feathers on the back of the gryphon's neck stood tall as he heard the first knock on the door. Oh dear... are they already here? he thought. It was time to see if his idea of asking some of the merchant princes for money would pay off or not...

Taking his place at the head of the prepared table, Evander had his hired servant for the night answer there door. With a deep breath, he collected his thoughts and put a slight grin in the corners of his beak as the first few of his guests arrived.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen." he said in fluent, almost perfect, Essyrni.

[Kingfisher]

Parsa had not been surprised by the invitation he had received to attend the small gathering.  He kept track of events in the city and peered into curiosities as they came up.  He was somewhat aware of the difficulty suffered by the Adelan guild and knew, or felt he knew their likely solution.  He picked out a voluminous peach-colored robe over lightweight shirt and trousers, which helped to insulate him against the heat...

This prince arrive with a pair of bodyguards, both serving as genuine security and displaying his wealth.  Their mail shirts, as well as their greaves and vambraces were hidden by their large black robes, which also featured a head-wrap to obscure their features and expressions.  They carried themselves with the stoic fortitude expected of many in their profession.

Parsa was among the first to arrive but took a seat midway down the table; the impending deal depending on his ability to outmaneuver his fellow princes, a feat he doubted was beyond him but he wanted to stay close to the center for any potential edge.  As more guests filtered into the chamber, Parsa took the opportunity to greet the bestial host.  "Good Evening to you, master Blackfeather.  My countrymen and I are delighted to be invited to dine with you."

[Klezmer Gryphon]

((OoC: My apologies for the late response; I've been busier than anticipated in recent weeks!))

As Evander looked over the several princes that slowly made their way into his meager abode, the gryphon's eyes immediately drew towards the armed guards dressed in black that entered the room, followed by a man who he assumed to be their boss... or owner, as the case might be in Essyrn. There was an expression of slight unease at the unanticipated display of power, but the feathered merchant wasn't going let it bother him, especially since he had a guess as to who this fellow was.

"Ah, master Khosrawi. A pleasure to finally meet you in person," he said with a slight nod towards Parsa, continuing in Essyrni as earlier. As more guests began to filter in, those who knew anything about gryphon body language might pick up that their host was looking a bit nervous; his ears were laid back slightly, his wings were shifting every so often... what was he getting himself into with this?

With most of his guests having taken their seat of choice, Evander sat up on his haunches to address the gathering.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," he began, "I am Evander Pelagius Blackfeather, the second, and as I'm sure you are all aware from my letter, I represent a trade company from Adela here in this wonderful city. Unfortunately, we have run into a spat of bad fortunes recently. We've lost several caravans to foul weather and bandits in recent times, and while we have many goods that would be profitable ventures here, no one in our homeland is willing to put up any money to finance further convoys, which is why I have asked your presence here."

Evander then returned to a more relaxed position, curled up on his cushion, before continuing.

"With that being said, the night is still very young and there is plenty of time to talk business. Please, eat. I realize what is served is perhaps not customary, but it is all I have access to and it would be wrong of me to have guests and not offer anything to eat."

[Kingfisher]

Parsa was well away of the benefits of making a deal with the gryphon, despite the apparent risk of doing so.  As Evander had said, there was profit to be made and for most that would be one way or another.  But that could wait...

The first prince forward was Khosrawi, taking up one of the fish and vegetable wraps and took an apparently excited bite through half of his sample.  Regardless of how modest it might have seemed to the others in attendance, it was quite good.  "My complements, Master Blackfeather.  This all seems quite delightful..."  It was a power-play of sorts.  By being first, he held his counterpart's attention, forcing his rival to keep up as they found themselves left on the back foot by seer's aggressive tactic.  Some would scramble while others would thick quickly to try to retain the Adelan's attention.

Moving onto the other dishes one by one, Parsa continued to lounge.  Gradually, conversations broke out between the other merchants and for a moment, he listened in on the exchanges taking place between the gathered.  Some talked of sharing risks by dealing in together, another made mention of buying the gryphon out when the venture inevitably failed.  Parsa payed them all little mind for the most part.  He did strike up a conversation with his neighbor, speaking of more mundane things then trade investments...

[Klezmer Gryphon]

Evander's crimson eyes surveyed his guests as they started to pick away at the platters and bowls on the table. The attitudes and reactions he saw from the merchant princes ranged from Khosrawi's apparent curiousity to try something new, to looks of silent disgust like those worn on lady Laghmani and master Namjoo's faces. It seemed like the fish wraps were received as well as he had anticipated, which wasn't saying much; he figured some of the more snobbish merchants would be hard to please.

To master Khosrawi's compliment, the feathered merchant merely nodded, as he busy studying the room; as much information as he could get out of his company's faces, his ears told him much more... and not all of what he was hearing was good. Dealing with two financiers, as some of Evander's guests seemed apt to foist upon him, would put him at a severe disadvantage; not ideal, but manageable. The more worrying comments to reach his ears were the ones teased the possibility of simply buying out the guild if the caravans failed... And the idea of getting bought out in this city was one that made his wings ruffle.

As the late, late afternoon turned into a proper evening with the setting sun, and his guests were mostly finished with the first round of dishes that were prepared, the gryphon motioned for his assistant. He muttered a few words in a native gryphon dialect to the young man, who disappeared for a moment as the gryphon sat up on his haunches again.

"As we move into the later hours of the evening, I feel it is now perhaps appropriate to begin more earnest business discussions," he announced, switching into a very formal register of Essyrni. As he was speaking, the assistant returned with several sheets of parchment, which were distributed among the seated merchants. The pages were blank, and within short order the gryphon's assistant came around again with some reed styli and pots of ink; at the gryphon's spot was set what looked like a folded wooden case bound by cord that, when opened, revealed slates of wax. With that, the gryphon gave the young man a nod as he settled back down onto his cushion, and off they went again.

"Now, I'm sure as you all know, my trade company deals in a variety of goods, from jewelry to weapons, and even foodstuffs. As of our most recent inventory check, we have in our stores in Adela 15 stone weight of gold jewelry of various types, 5 stone each of rubies and sapphires, 350 jars of various fruit preserves, 35 woven rugs, 10 sets of dragon armor fitted for Kaadir, and 20 rare books on topics of various aspects of alchemy," Evander started, glancing down at his wax tablets every few seconds.

"And all of this, and more, was originally bound for Essyrn before our recent misfortunes. As of recently, all of that save the Kaadir armor will be rerouted to Connlaoth or Serendipity if we cannot secure the necessary funding. By our estimation, between security, wagons and travel supplies, and miscellaneous labor, we would need around 2,500 gold dinar to cover the costs of a caravan from Adela to Essyrn."

[Kingfisher]

As the articles arrived as his place, Khosrawi closed his eyes against the din of the room as the vultures began to circle.  Most did not have the Prince's supernatural foresight and hedged on both sides of the deal.  But the seer saw a myriad of outcomes, some he could change and others that he had no need to.

He could easily cover the initial buy in but decided to low-ball his interest; he demanded 16 percent interest, plus 5 percent per day accrued after an as of yet unspecified date - most likely the expected date of arrival.  He scratched this all onto his own blank sheet before tapping his stylus to his lips.  Long-view deals were not beyond the understanding of most Essyrni but Parsa did take the concept to the extreme.  He wanted the foreign Gryphon to come back for more; a long term partnership that proved reliably lucrative for both parties...

This demanded the success of the venture.  He thought to offer the services of his private cavalry to aid in the security of the caravan but know that untested private protection might be taken as an unnecessary hazard coming from a society that treated greed as a virtue.  Instead as he blotted the ink, sketched in a common trade language rather than Essyrni, Parsa elected to send his men along in secret as it was often easier to ask forgiveness than permission.

Rereading his offer a few more times, Khosrawi eventually passed the document to the assistant as the youth collected the offers from the other merchants.