After finally ridding myself of the mire and petty annoyances of the Quicksand, I head from its backdoor down the winding alleys to find the Sapphire Exchange. A lot of business is done in this part of Ul'dah, deals as far as the eye can see over the shoulder to shoulder crowds. The crush of people, the noise, the open-air, the smell of business. I'd love it more if it had the right people in charge. However, most of the shops you will come to find are garbage ran by people I equally appraise as such.
This strip of commerce is largely filled with everything I am not. 'Business' owners, if you can even call them that, that wheel and deal to do everything they possibly can to maximize profits and only profits. Most of them don't even care if any of their 'goods' sell since half of them are too busy breaking every law they can to make money. Smuggling, thieving, bribing, and extortion. That's all they can manage since they lack the business acumen I have to move up in life. These people take the easy way out when it comes to making gil and I have no desire to feed them any of my own. There are extremely few individuals who have taken the easy way of doing business and managed to make something of themselves that even comes close to a whisper of what I am. Those people are all catastrophically weak to being poor should such a fate ever befall them. They have to grease too many palms to keep their operations afloat, that stops and they're dead. Most of these cheap gangsters can't lean on themselves to do anything which is why The Syndicate is so popular.
In Ul'dah we all kick up our dues to The Syndicate and some of us are so privileged we get to give millions every month in exchange for raw power that we can wield over just about anything. The problem comes when a majority of members and affiliates do everything they can to flex and stretch that rented authority to cut down rivals and keep their illicit dealings away from the scalding Thanalan sunlight. I will have no part of it and I enter the world of backdoor Syndicate meetings with extreme caution and utter contempt. I do self-identify as a Syndicate man but don't be fooled, I am better than them.
There are exceptions though here in the Sapphire Exchange. Exceptions to the rule of being Syndicate affiliated and being worth less than the man I brought to heel in the Quicksand today. A little past the Market Boards you first approach on the way to the Exchange, is a shop that sells jewelry. Its small, ran by one man and has never moved or changed what it offers. Fairly made trinkets for fair prices so the man can earn a decent income and care for his own.
I've never considered buying this establishment out either like I have so many other enterprising shops and stalls. I much prefer to keep this man around as someone I can have a friendly discussion on business with and not be more concerned about my next meal or woman while doing so. He pays his fees to The Syndicate like me, never seeks their help like me, and is one of the few people that I recognize as a true businessman. This shop has sat here in this spot selling earrings and necklaces longer than I've been alive and I always make it a point of buying something every time I am around out of respect for that. All of this plus I had Integra, one of my best girls that works for me, really dig into his past and he has next to no dirt on him – I won't feel filthy after shaking his hand.
Ridley mentioned that Lucy was going to be my entertainment for the evening which is a good enough excuse to buy something from him. I am particularly fond of getting earrings for most of the women that manage to stay Ridley's list. Earrings are always in the picture when someone is looking at your face and appraising it. Visible and at times gaudy, this is how I prefer to leave my mark. I could very well make earrings for Lucy, this shop or any other can not ever come close to matching my workmanship and quality. However time is short and sometimes women prefer gifts bought from other Artisans, if only because it gives the idea you went and searched out something for them versus making what you want them to have.
(To be continued...)
This strip of commerce is largely filled with everything I am not. 'Business' owners, if you can even call them that, that wheel and deal to do everything they possibly can to maximize profits and only profits. Most of them don't even care if any of their 'goods' sell since half of them are too busy breaking every law they can to make money. Smuggling, thieving, bribing, and extortion. That's all they can manage since they lack the business acumen I have to move up in life. These people take the easy way out when it comes to making gil and I have no desire to feed them any of my own. There are extremely few individuals who have taken the easy way of doing business and managed to make something of themselves that even comes close to a whisper of what I am. Those people are all catastrophically weak to being poor should such a fate ever befall them. They have to grease too many palms to keep their operations afloat, that stops and they're dead. Most of these cheap gangsters can't lean on themselves to do anything which is why The Syndicate is so popular.
In Ul'dah we all kick up our dues to The Syndicate and some of us are so privileged we get to give millions every month in exchange for raw power that we can wield over just about anything. The problem comes when a majority of members and affiliates do everything they can to flex and stretch that rented authority to cut down rivals and keep their illicit dealings away from the scalding Thanalan sunlight. I will have no part of it and I enter the world of backdoor Syndicate meetings with extreme caution and utter contempt. I do self-identify as a Syndicate man but don't be fooled, I am better than them.
There are exceptions though here in the Sapphire Exchange. Exceptions to the rule of being Syndicate affiliated and being worth less than the man I brought to heel in the Quicksand today. A little past the Market Boards you first approach on the way to the Exchange, is a shop that sells jewelry. Its small, ran by one man and has never moved or changed what it offers. Fairly made trinkets for fair prices so the man can earn a decent income and care for his own.
I've never considered buying this establishment out either like I have so many other enterprising shops and stalls. I much prefer to keep this man around as someone I can have a friendly discussion on business with and not be more concerned about my next meal or woman while doing so. He pays his fees to The Syndicate like me, never seeks their help like me, and is one of the few people that I recognize as a true businessman. This shop has sat here in this spot selling earrings and necklaces longer than I've been alive and I always make it a point of buying something every time I am around out of respect for that. All of this plus I had Integra, one of my best girls that works for me, really dig into his past and he has next to no dirt on him – I won't feel filthy after shaking his hand.
Ridley mentioned that Lucy was going to be my entertainment for the evening which is a good enough excuse to buy something from him. I am particularly fond of getting earrings for most of the women that manage to stay Ridley's list. Earrings are always in the picture when someone is looking at your face and appraising it. Visible and at times gaudy, this is how I prefer to leave my mark. I could very well make earrings for Lucy, this shop or any other can not ever come close to matching my workmanship and quality. However time is short and sometimes women prefer gifts bought from other Artisans, if only because it gives the idea you went and searched out something for them versus making what you want them to have.
(To be continued...)
