In spite of the semi-rough and quasi-involuntary manhandling to which he found himself subjected, Verad never lost his smile, even as he felt the unpleasant stain of some previous alley occupant's sick splatting up against the back of his coat.  "You know," he said, spreading his hands wide in a placating gesture, "I haven't the slightest what you mean.  Of course we have a deal!"
His mind raced for an instant, found itself quickly out of breath, and settled in for a steady mental power-walk. Â Her expression had certainly left her agog, for lack of a better word (or perhaps there was a better word, and agog was simply more fun to think). Â It was unlikely that, apart from the inevitable negative publicity of cheating one of the city's unfortunates, this would be a serious problem. Â But where was the pleasure in letting a dubious deal go uncompleted?
He settled for placation, and the sigh he offered was a mixed bag, long and full of exasperation, bemusement, and just the slightest touch of existential crisis. Â Gave it some depth, he felt. Â He tried to tilt his head as he spoke, kinking it downwards so he could look up at her with a raised eyebrow, half of a wry grin, and keep his other eye on his cart, a rickety thing that appeared to be made out of cast-off scraps of metal and driftwood, filled to the brim with nothing of value whatsoever, and therefore just the way he liked it. This particular position turned out to be impossible given the difference in height and the angle at which the cart was placed in the alley, and so the full effect of it was to make it appear as if his neck had broken and was lolling about aimlessly.
"And we will continue to have a deal.  The problem is not with a deal and the presence or absence thereof, but with the quality of the deal. Or rather, the quality of the merchandise, if you follow me?"
His mind raced for an instant, found itself quickly out of breath, and settled in for a steady mental power-walk. Â Her expression had certainly left her agog, for lack of a better word (or perhaps there was a better word, and agog was simply more fun to think). Â It was unlikely that, apart from the inevitable negative publicity of cheating one of the city's unfortunates, this would be a serious problem. Â But where was the pleasure in letting a dubious deal go uncompleted?
He settled for placation, and the sigh he offered was a mixed bag, long and full of exasperation, bemusement, and just the slightest touch of existential crisis. Â Gave it some depth, he felt. Â He tried to tilt his head as he spoke, kinking it downwards so he could look up at her with a raised eyebrow, half of a wry grin, and keep his other eye on his cart, a rickety thing that appeared to be made out of cast-off scraps of metal and driftwood, filled to the brim with nothing of value whatsoever, and therefore just the way he liked it. This particular position turned out to be impossible given the difference in height and the angle at which the cart was placed in the alley, and so the full effect of it was to make it appear as if his neck had broken and was lolling about aimlessly.
"And we will continue to have a deal.  The problem is not with a deal and the presence or absence thereof, but with the quality of the deal. Or rather, the quality of the merchandise, if you follow me?"
Verad Bellveil's Profile | The Case of the Ransacked Rug | Verad's Fate Sheet
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
Current Fate-14 Storyline:Â Merchant, Marine
