(Skyseas of Gensokyo) Nazrin Quest (Part 11)

[DracoOmega]

>"I believe the term was 'rusted to crap'."

>The rabbit snickers. "What makes ya think it's worth a lick at all, then, hey?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Simple. Case might be rusted to uselessness, but the filter isn't. I figure the ohrihalcum's gotta be worth a bit to someone."

[DracoOmega]

>"Simple. Case might be rusted to uselessness, but the filter isn't. I figure the ohrihalcum's gotta be worth a bit to someone."

>"Hard job to salvage that," she says. "Doesn't take reforging well, ya know?"

[Oldmansour]

>Which means that it might be worth a bit, and she wants it from us cheap. Not likely.
>"You've handled this kind of thing before."

[DracoOmega]

>Which means that it might be worth a bit, and she wants it from us cheap. Not likely.
>"You've handled this kind of thing before."

>While you certainly wouldn't put this past the rabbit, Ishi did also say something similar about it being difficult to salvage catalyzed orichalcum.
>"Of course I have," she replies. "It's what I do - I'm a parts broker. All of us here got somethin' we look for, yeah? Well, I find parts, and people who got a use for 'em. And the list of people in the market for a rustbucket is pretty short, yeah? But I'll tell ya what - you lemme have a look at it, and I'll see if I can't figure out somethin' to do with it. Got a reputation to uphold, y'know?" The little bunny's grin is disarmingly genuine and not at all reassuring.

[Hello Purvis]

>"And what does a look at it entail?"

[DracoOmega]

>"And what does a look at it entail?"

>"Well, y'see, there's these things called 'eyes'." She points a pair of fingers at her own, then snickers and shakes her head. "Don't worry. When I say 'look', I mean 'look'; not gonna run off with it or saw it in half or nothin'. Like I said, I've got a reputation here, and it ain't a bad one, either."
>At this, she leans to the side and calls out to the woman behind you. "Hey, Caity, have I got a bad reputation?"
>"Chiefly, no," the brown-haired woman replies, sounding quite unconcerned. The rabbit smiles demurely and gestures towards her as if to say "See?"

[Oldmansour]

>Back home, was it common for one Seeker to cheat another?

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, as long as you're looking with your eyes and not your fingers..."
>Hold it up for her to see.

[DracoOmega]

>Back home, was it common for one Seeker to cheat another?

>Mostly no. For one thing, any Seeker worth the name would be a pretty hard mark, and why waste the extra effort? And there's also professional courtesy. But, in truth, you own experience is that most Seekers really aren't as bad as their reputation in some circles suggests. Of course, it does happen sometimes, but that's because Seekers are people, not because those particular people were Seekers; there's certainly no shortage of swindlers to be found among the general population.

>"Well, as long as you're looking with your eyes and not your fingers..."
>Hold it up for her to see.

>"Hey! It's kinda awkward if I'm not allow to turn the thing around." The rabbit gives you an indignant look. "Am I supposed to have x-ray vision or something? Not like I'm smudging up some kinda precious family heirloom here...." She pauses a beat. "'least I hope a rusty flow regulator ain't what passes for an heirloom in your neck of the woods. If it does, sorry."

>You produce the rusted intake flow regulator from your pack and hold it up for the cocksure broker. She cringes almost immediately.
>"Yeesh, that's a mess. Seen worse, but that's still up there."
>She cranes her neck to the left, then shuffles around the sides of the part a moment before turning her dark red eyes back towards you with a look of mild annoyance. "Is it really too much to lemme hold it a bit? Be a tall order to make it look worse than it already does, let me tell ya."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Since you have such a good name, I suppose I could."
>Let her hold it.

[DracoOmega]

>"Since you have such a good name, I suppose I could."
>Let her hold it.

>The rabbit accepts the flow regulator as you hand it over to her. "Thanks."
>She gives the part a good long stare on one side and then the other, twisting it around are few times with surprisingly deft fingers as if checking its weight. Then she peers at the inside and gives it a good shake; her left ear perks up as she does so. She hands it back to you with a sympathetic expression.
>"Afraid it's too far gone to be worth much," she says. "In good shape, there'd be a market for this, sure - lotta these babies still in the air. But like this?" She shrugs dismissively. "I suppose there's an off chance some of the guts might still tick, so lemme tell you what - I'll take it off yer hands for 20 and hope one of the gearheads I know finds something left inside to make it worth my while. Whaddaya say?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"What all's wrong with it?"
>Compare what she says to what Ishi told us about it, and our own observations.

[DracoOmega]

>"What all's wrong with it?"
>Compare what she says to what Ishi told us about it, and our own observations.

>"I think ya pegged it pretty good the first time," she says. "'Rusted ta crap'. Not gonna work like this, I can tell ya. Not the sorta thing you're gonna fix with a bit of steel wool and elbow grease, neither - the contacts are way too corroded. Be like tryin' to fix a hole in your floor with a mop. The only way this thing's got a home outside the dumpster is if the guts are in way better shape than the outside and there's no guarantee there, neither." She shakes her head sagely.
>Ishi was fairly non-specific in her evaluation of the critical problem with the component's functionality, but was pretty clear that it was beyond repair. While you lack her technical expertise, it's in poor enough shape that this is quite believable.

[Oldmansour]

>Give the appearance of pondering her offer for just a moment.
>"That's a convenient offer. But I don't need to unload it all that quick. Not like it takes up all that much space, after all."
>"On the other hand, that doesn't mean it's doing me much good, either...." Ponder again. "How does 40 sound, just so I can cover a room here while I'm in town."

I make no claim to my haggling skills, so, if someone else thinks they can do better, do please feel free.

[DracoOmega]

>Give the appearance of pondering her offer for just a moment.
>"That's a convenient offer. But I don't need to unload it all that quick. Not like it takes up all that much space, after all."
>"On the other hand, that doesn't mean it's doing me much good, either...." Ponder again. "How does 40 sound, just so I can cover a room here while I'm in town."

>The rabbit waves her hands quickly back and forth in front of her. "Woah, woah, out of the question. At that price, it's nearly a done deal that I'm losin' money on this; iffy enough at 20, if I'm honest, but you're a fellow Seeker so I don't mind cuttin' things a little thin now and again." She leans her torso to the side again. "Got a soft spot for the badge, don't I Caity?"
>"If you say."
>The rabbit's forehead creases slightly.

[Oldmansour]

>"Ohrihalcum's not an easy thing to come by, miss...?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Ohrihalcum's not an easy thing to come by, miss...?"

>The rabbit thrusts a hand at you, her face practically subsumed in a cheeky grin. "Chitsuki Ukizaki."

[Oldmansour]

>Shake the bunny wabbit's hand. "Nazrin."

[DracoOmega]

>Shake the bunny wabbit's hand. "Nazrin."

>Chitsuki grabs your hand and pumps it vigorously. "Pleasure to meet ya. And yeah, orichalcum's worth a pretty penny, but there ain't gonna be much left salvageable inside that thing by now and anyone in the biz could tell you the same thing; good for the miners, not so good for us. But hey, that's life."

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh, I don't know. Stuff that's in there's gotta be worth at least 65 or 70 in salvage, just by sheer quantity. So I could come down to.... 32?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, I don't know. Stuff that's in there's gotta be worth at least 65 or 70 in salvage, just by sheer quantity. So I could come down to.... 32?"

>The rabbit stifles a snicker and shakes her head. "I wish you could dig 70 guilders outta a ruster like this, believe me, but there's a lotta things I wish that ain't gonna come true. When I said 20 is cuttin' it thin, I meant it - much more than and I'd be better off not even botherin'."

[Oldmansour]

>"Oh, I know the part itself is useless, no question on that one. Engineer on my ship even told me so, in no uncertain terms. But she also ballparked how much ohrihalcum goes into the filter on this piece of junk, and I know how much that much metal can go for on average."
>"Now mind you, I'm no gearhead myself, so I don't know what, exactly is entailed in salvaging the filter, recovering the metal... That, I admit, is out of my area of expertise."

[DracoOmega]

>"Oh, I know the part itself is useless, no question on that one. Engineer on my ship even told me so, in no uncertain terms. But she also ballparked how much ohrihalcum goes into the filter on this piece of junk, and I know how much that much metal can go for on average."
>"Now mind you, I'm no gearhead myself, so I don't know what, exactly is entailed in salvaging the filter, recovering the metal... That, I admit, is out of my area of expertise."

>"Well, it's smack dab in the middle of mine," she says, "and let me tell ya, doin' that with orichalcum's a pain in the tush. Sure, might of been 70 guilders of the stuff put in here in the first place - more, even - but there's no way to get near that much back out again. Find gearhead who says they can and I'll show ya a liar."

[Oldmansour]

>No rabbit's gonna pull one over on us. But we can tell if she's trying. Right?

[DracoOmega]

>No rabbit's gonna pull one over on us. But we can tell if she's trying. Right?

>You're pretty good at reading tells, but you're not infallible. Chitsuki seems fairly sincere here, but wouldn't put it past her to be fudging things a little, either; she's not giving off an obvious vibe of dishonesty, but there's just a little something about her bearing that makes you think she sometimes does. You doubt she's trying to take you to the cleaners, though, unless Ishi was also way off in her assessment.

[Oldmansour]

>Rassafrassin' rabbits....
>Is there a half-guilder?

[DracoOmega]

>Rassafrassin' rabbits....
>Is there a half-guilder?

>You find yourself feeling just a little disinclined towards Chitsuki's kind at the moment for some reason, as limited as your interactions with them have been.
>There are denominations smaller than a guilder, though prices for many goods are often rounded to the nearest nonetheless, aside from quite inexpensive items.

[Oldmansour]

>"24 and a half, then?"

[DracoOmega]

>"24 and a half, then?"

>The rabbit draws out a long note of hesitation, staring at the flow regulator with a dubious look. Finally, she nods.
>"Alright. Alright, I can do that."