Business, then pleasure

Dad always taught us to take care of official stuff first, then go to have fun, so I decide to take care of getting my armor commissioned and making sure I have a room for tonight, then go from there. Another thing I learned from him, thanks to stories from his time as a soldier? Always have the local currency, because some places won't take coins not from their lands. Now, with Kandis being a major trading port, it's unlikely that people here wouldn't take my gold just because it's not from here, but since I'm planning on being here for a while it would still be prudent to address.

Remembering what the guide said before, I keep an eye out for one of those black carriages, and it isn't long before I spot one. In the drivers seat is a dwarf, with rough, craggy skin, crows feet around his eyes, and a fair amount of silver worked through his otherwise black hair and beard. I come up to the carriage and offer a simple "Hello." He looks down at me (surely not a common thing for Dwarves), and responds in kind, and I continue, "I just arrived in the city, and I have a few things I need to run around and do. I'm not sure how long it will take me, so how much would it cost to reserve your services for the day?"

He thinks for a minute, then answers "Well, ah coul' prolly do that for 2 galleons. E'en throw in the tour routine, show yeh some of the sights."

I reach into my purse and fish out a sovereign, and hold it up to him, asking "Sounds fair. Half up front, the rest when I'm done?" He nods, taking my coin and motioning into the back. I climb up, and he asks me where to. I figure I should get the rest of my coins converted before I do any more spending, so I tell him to take me to the closest moneychanger. He starts guffawing, and then proceeds to point to a door across the street, with a sign above it showing a handful of coins.

I sheepishly climb back out, and head over. Turns out, the coinage here in Kandis is based around sea vessels, rather than royal families or such, with gold being 'Galleons', silver as 'Sloops', and copper as 'Rowers'. So, after his changing fee, I walk out with 251 galleons and a sloop. Climbing back in the carriage, I ask him to take me to Sam's Smithy, and he nods and we take off.

As we travel, he explains about the different districts of the city, and the kinds of things to be found in them. From the sound of things, most of what I'll be wanting is in the merchant district. Eventually, he pulls to a stop in front of what I can only assume is Sam's place, with a good sized forge left mostly open to the air, but with a roof over the top that I'm guessing is mostly to keep rain from cooling the fires when working. It's being worked right now in fact, by a muscular woman who looks just a bit below middle aged.

I get out of the carriage and walk over. "I'm looking for Sam?"

She glances over her shoulder at me, "You ain't just lookin for 'em, you're looking at 'em. What can I do for you?"

"I'm looking to get some armor made."

She lands one more hit on the bar in front of her, then puts it on a cooling stand and walks over to me, wiping her hands on her apron. "I can do that, yeah. What ya lookin' for?"

I think through what I've got left, and the fact that I don't know how long its going to be before I start getting work, and ask "What can I get for a hundred...I believe it's galleons?"

She raises her eyebrows at me, "You must be a new hopeful resident, ain'tcha?" I nod, and she thinks for a minute. "I could do a breastplate for that. Cover most of the essentials, and you can come back to get other bits and pieces made as you can afford 'em. Greaves, gauntlets, fauld and tassets, before long you got yourself a suit of plate mail." I tell her that sounds good to me, and she motions for me to come around behind the counter. She has me hold my arms out, and starts checking and writing down the measurements she'll need.

As she's doing this, she asks "So, if you're new here, ye lookin' for some work?" I nod, and she continues, "'Cause I'm friends with the owner of the Wet Wench, and she's lookin' fer someone to fill in as her muscle for a few nights. E'en offerin' a room for 'em while they're there."

Quick job to earn some extra coin, and a free place to sleep while I get situated here in the city? "Sounds good to me, I'll go talk with her later."

She nods, noting down the last details she needs, "Tell 'er I sent ya, she'll make a good offer to yeh." I nod, and give her 50 galleons up front for the work, then head back to my waiting carriage.