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 Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:32 pm
"Five?" Ayzebel repeated. "For Athenian Bronze and Carthaginian Wine? Bah. But since you are a hero, I will accept eight."
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 7:56 pm
Hanno laughed.
"I offered five because you were the Princess of Carthage. What you offer me wouldn't buy a good bull in Athens! How can I even justify a profit from handing over eight bushels of Silphium for Bronze and wine?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:11 pm
"I need to make a profit as well, my dear." Ayzebel purred as she sipped at her wine. "My men need to be paid. And as far as I can tell, this Silphium was pushed on you by a scheming Egyptian. For all I know, its infested with Weevils. I stand at eight. This Wine is a decade old vintage from the stores of the castle. It does not get any better and two Amphorae alone are worth five bushels of silphium."
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:22 pm
Hanno frowned and sipped the wine again, judging it.
"Princess, this may be a ten year old vintage, but if you do not seal up the barrels, you just end up with 10 year old vinegar. This deal is not worth eight bushels of good, sweet Silphium. Perhaps six but never eight."
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:44 pm
"You wound me!" The Princess declared. "Only a Greek would dare push inferior goods on their own countrymen! I offer you sweet wine, a soft pillow, and the finest in trade goods and you mock me so? You shall get that vinegary wine and my Bronze for nothing less than ten bushels of Silphium!"
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:50 pm
Hanno growled to himself. The deal was getting out of hand. Hero of Carthage as he was, his bartering skills were no match for someone of Royal Blood.
"Fine, fine fine! I will offer you seven bushels of Silphium for your goods! Is that not an apeasing number?"
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:00 pm
Ayzebel rubbed her chin and pondered the deal for a good three minutes.
"I will be taking a loss, but I suppose a deal has been struck."
She gestured to her men to begin transferring the cargo. "You never fail to impress me, Hanno. It has been some time since I've had to negotiate that hard."
Inwardly she was smiling. Now that she had a load of valuable Silphium, she could put in anywhere and generate instant coin. All it cost her was that dead weight bronze and a few jars of wine.
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:22 pm
Hanno smirked in spite of himself. He knew he was getting ripped off, but one did not break formalities with a Princess. But perhaps there was a way to get his money's worth...
"We should celebrate a deal well struck, my dear!" He said, downing his glass of wine and holding it out for a refill. "A fortunate meeting and a profitable barter is a sign of good fortune from the gods! We would do well to celebrate! perhaps a fine feast, and then perhaps some vigorous exercise later to work off the rich food." He winked and flexed his impressive musculature and then immediately downed the wine offered.
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Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:33 pm
Ayzebel laughed and kept the an supplied with wine.
"Vigorous Exercise? I don't think all the contraceptives in the world would protect me from the result of that exercise. You ARE the son of Astarte after all. As much as I would enjoy a good roll below decks, I think I still have two Persian Slaves available for that task."
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:25 am
Downing another glass of wine, Hanno shrugged.
"Oh well. But still, a feast would not be a bad idea."
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:36 am
"Oh absolutely." Ayzebel said as she clapped her hands, sending another order to her men. "In Tanith's name we must celebrate our good fortune!"
And so, on a nearby island, the crews of both ships celebrated with dancing, music, and feasting for the rest of the day.
((Since we got our dealing done, I FF'ed, Cale.))
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:43 am
((Fine by me.))
Location: Nameless Island West of Terracina
The Next day, Hanno stood on the sandy shore of the island, looking towards the Italian shore with a fire in his eyes.
Rome, a collection of muddy huts on the Tiber. Once they served the Etruscans. Now they sought to conquer. Deep in his bones, the Demigod knew that they would be trouble, if not now than someday. He wanted to test his mettle against the men of the Tiber, to show the descendants of Romulus and Aeneas that they were small fish in a much larger pond.
The question was how to do it.
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 12:50 am
Garbed only in a few scraps of silk and her valuable Jewlery, Ayzebel sauntered up to him, a wineglass in her hand.
"And now what troubles you, oh Lion of Carthage?" She asked curiously.
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 1:00 am
"I want to see how tough these Romans are." Hanno said, stroking his chin. "But I would have to venture inland and leave my ship and crew. It is not something I welcome. The Medusa has served me well and so have those men. So now I am torn between ensuring the Medusa is safe and my lust to bash some Roman heads."
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 1:11 am
"As long as you play at being a Mercenary and threaten Carthage's treaty, I'm willing to offer you my blessing in this affair. I am curious as well how these Romans wage their war, and Intelligence would be most useful."
Out of thin air, Ayzebel produces an orange and read feather, its edges rippling like living flame.
"This Phoenix feather will transport you back to your ship at any time should you chose it with all the speed of thought. Just stroke the feather and speak its name three times."
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