Heavenfall

Mid-day found Doji Kaze maneuvering through the marketplace, looking for examples of the green stone Nanzi had named jade. Apparently, it was beneficial to have this material, and Kaze understood well that having a thing was better than not having a thing. He moved from stall to stall, looking for a nezumi that sold tchotchkes and nicknacks in hope that a stone or two might be hidden among them.

He was not the only one who was on the hunt for this. Phi knew what to look for, given that she was wearing a finger, and she intended to scour this place as politely as she was able to manage until she found any last slivers she could for the literal army they were dragging through the depths of hell. Seeing Kaze, she nodded in his direction.

"Forgive me, but I'm not sure I caught your name the other day," she said, by now certain she'd at least seen him around. Humans stood out in this city. "Phi." As she said it, she grunted and approached one of the stalls, inquiring with one of the nezumi and trying very hard not to absolutely butcher their name when she did so. She ... did passably. "What're you here looking for?" she said over her shoulder to him.

"Doji Kaze." He replied. "Ah...Nanzi said that there is a stone called jade, which is green. I understand that it is important, and thought the Nezumi might have some."

She reached to a chord around her neck and drew it up, pulling a finger of jade from inside of her clothes so that he could see it and inspect it. "This is what the stone looks like. Reiko warned me a year ago, and I've... picked up bits and pieces of information when I could. Not much to go on. But I'm here looking for more of it too." As soon as she said it, though, she took the finger and slipped it back into her clothes. She wasn't taking chances with pickpockets. Never knew with rats. They liked to squirrel pretty things away she'd bet. So she nestled it back under her bindings, out of sight.

Kaze leaned forward to look at the jade. "It is pretty enough, I suppose, but I do not think I would have given it much thought if I had found it on the ground."

He sighed. "No use crying over missed hares, though. There must be some here." He peered around at the stalls.

"It's not something any of us would have looked for, no. Too few knew to bring it, and fewer how to get it specifically. Saw a guy on my way here, selling a green rock as it. Decked him. Don't buy it if it's too dark." That was totally serpentine and fuck that noise. "Not sure they will, but it's worth the attempt. We lose nothing for looking."

"Hai, that is so." Kaze nodded his agreement, then made a serious effort to locate the precious stones.

Investigation roll=44

He soon finds a jeweler who seems to have several pendants of it on display.

Phi followed along at a polite and respectful distance, and when they found the jeweler, she began to look over the items on display. Using her own finger, she attempted to verify the stones that they were using, and if there was any actual jade among the jewelry, and how much of it there was in total. She had some, so if there was only enough for him, she was content enough with that. Still, she hoped her eye was at least keen enough to help distinguish the serpentine from Jade.

Kaze steps to the counter and extends his hands. "Hello...I would like to buy a pendant, please." He gestures hopefully to one of the pendants and then to himself as he speaks. Hopefully, if this Nezumi spoke human, he would just think he was theatrical. He'd seen Nanzi do it loads of times.

The ratling looked confused, but did notice his pointing. "Me hope you speak-speak other human tongue?" He was speaking a human language, at least, you suspect, though you can't understand a word he's saying.

The ratling holds up one of their coins and points to the pendant, just in the likely event that you don't speak it.

Kaze blinks at the strange speech, and says quietly "Ah...this is going to be a challenge." But he's game.

Kaze nods at the pendant, but then gestures at the coin and shakes his head sadly. He reaches into his pack and pulls out a Bu coin which he has polished to a high sheen. He gestures to it with raised eyebrows in hopes that he can start a haggle through the communication barrier.

The hell was that? She looked at the coin in stupefication for a moment. It wanted a piece of metal like that for the pendant? She didn't understand the language, but she understood what was going on well enough. "I... what is that thing the nezumi is holding?" she said, looking over at him. "I want to see I've seen somethng like that maybe once. twice."

They kind of worked by trade most of the time. "Do you understand her?"

"Oh...not at all. But I'm pretty sure that is a coin. Just not one like the kami have. And this is usually when the seller suggests what they want. At least, so I understand."

"I... don't get it. That little sliver of metal has almost no value," she muttered. "I was going to bring out some trade goods I brought with and probably some rope to see if I could get some when you were done. We... don't really use that stuff much in the mountains. What is a coin?"

(Go Go Commerce ZERO)

"It is a...thing that people decide is a metaphor for what something is worth. Like, if I wanted your rope and you wanted a..." what would someone want other than rope? Umm.... "shovel. And I didn't have my shovel." I always have my shovel. "I could hand you this coin that represented the value of your rope, and you could pass it on to someone who did have a shovel and did want to part with it, and they would give you that shovel."

And then I would have both rope and a shovel, and all would be right with the world.

"That sounds like adding steps to a simple process." Her eyes narrowed like she thought this entire thing was stupid. Not dishonorable or beneath her, but just kind of stupid. She really hadn't gotten into the notion of 'kingdom building' or living outside of a village of individuals who just worked together and traded for what they needed and didn't raid. However, the concept of currency itself wasn't actually difficult to grasp other than 'how do you set the parameters for what that coin is worth.' She was not, though, about to ask that and motioned towards the nezumi, nodding to the trader.

"But don't let me interrupt. if she'll take your shiny little disc for her own purposes, then good. The more jade we have in stock, the better. However, it doesn't sound like you have any, and I have some. You need it first." Because everyone bloody well needed one of those before she went for two.

"That is most kind." Kaze smiled. "I just hope she sees my coin as equal to her own."

The rat accepted the coin, eyed it, weighed it against hers, then audibly scoffed. She held up hers and his and shook her head. Then she held up his and another coin that was also made of silver and weighed it against his, holding them up close together. Then she pointed to his coin and held up all five fingers of her paw.

"She wants five of those silver coins," she frowned, squinting at the bu and looking at him. "Tell me, about how much millet could you get with that coin normally?" that would tell her about what the value of his coin was, and she could gauge her decision based on that. She was pretty sure that she could get a good trade in once he was done, though.

"Thank you for the help by the way. I doubt I could get this far without it."