Lutine

OOC: Is the roleplay staying on the site or going off into the other forum? Not sure what to do, and I haven't found a good place to jump into yet.

Nephenee twirled her thumb in her inn room. The innkeeper had barred in the door to prevent general looting and chaos, and she didn't disagree with him. It was the third day of unrest in Markarth, and she was holed up in the inn along with Benjamin and the others. In a few days, she would set her plan into action. She looked at the small chest in the corner of the room. It was full with 50,000 septims, withdrawn from the local bank before the economic crisis. It would be vital, very soon.

First name: Joshua Last name*: Evans Height: 6' 3" Weight: 190lbs Hair color: Black Eye color: Blue Age: 27 Gender: Male Occupation: Tank commander Rank: 2nd lieutenant Distinguishing marks*: Short cropped, but spiky hair. He has a long scar along his left forearm from combat in the Middle East, Armor: Standard military gear. Weapons (as of this report): 1. M4 Carbine). 2. Glock 17C. 3. Bowie knife. 4. Grenades. 5. M1A2SEP Abrams Tank. 6. Combat knife (black). Attatchments* (in order of weapons): 1. Laser pointer, ACOG scope, M26 MASS Shotgun. 2. None. 3. none. 4. none. 5. Tank Urban Survival Kit, Reactive armor, Weapons:(120 mm L44 M256 smoothbore cannon, 2x M2 Browning mount, 2x M240 Machine guns(One pintel mount, one coaxial), 6. none. Affiliation (if none, put loner): Military Mutations positive*: none Mutations negative (required if there is positive)*: none Special skills (max 3): Leadership. Tactical knowledge, experience with both tanks and aircraft. Bad at (minimum 2): Managing time, sniping. Reason for being in the REAM*: Military Deployment to the REAM. Wishes to leave the REAM: Yes. Backstory: Joshua Evans was one of thousands deployed to the REAM with his tank and crew. He was an experienced veteran in the Middle East, as well. I hope a tank commander isn't too overpowered, but this was a character that I was saving for a modern day roleplay.

First name: Joshua Last name*: Evans Height: 6' 3" Weight: 190lbs Hair color: Black Eye color: Blue Age: 27 Gender: Male Occupation: Tank commander Rank: 2nd lieutenant Distinguishing marks*: Short cropped, but spiky hair. He has a long scar along his left forearm from combat in the Middle East, Armor: Standard military gear. Weapons (as of this report): 1. M4 Carbine). 2. Glock 17C. 3. Bowie knife. 4. Grenades. 5. M1A2SEP Abrams Tank. 6. Combat knife (black). Attatchments* (in order of weapons): 1. Laser pointer, ACOG scope, M26 MASS Shotgun. 2. None. 3. none. 4. none. 5. Tank Urban Survival Kit, Reactive armor, Weapons:(120 mm L44 M256 smoothbore cannon, 2x M2 Browning mount, 2x M240 Machine guns(One pintel mount, one coaxial), 6. none. Affiliation (if none, put loner): Military Mutations positive*: none Mutations negative (required if there is positive)*: none Special skills (max 3): Leadership. Tactical knowledge, experience with both tanks and aircraft. Bad at (minimum 2): Managing time, sniping. Reason for being in the REAM*: Military Deployment to the REAM. Wishes to leave the REAM: Yes. Backstory: Joshua Evans was one of thousands deployed to the REAM with his tank and crew. He was an experienced veteran in the Middle East, as well. I hope a tank commander isn't too overpowered, but this was a character that I was saving for a modern day roleplay.

OOC: I do see Prophet's point. He's worrying that The Ream will take all the attention away, and I am slightly worried as well. :P

Nephenee donned a new robe, navy blue in color with gold trimmed edges, bought back in Whiterun. By then, Benjamin and the rest of his knights had settled back into the inn. She paced back and forth in her room impatiently, as if waiting for a cue. She became so accustomed to pacing back and forth that when the church bells began to ring, she nearly hit the ceiling. A large outcry came from the market, and the church bells cried out. Nephenee hurried down the stairs. "It's started," she said, sitting down with Benjamin and Barrius, who were discussing mudcrabs. "Judging from the sound, the Piaster company had offloaded their goods before everybody else." "Into the market? That would be stupid for them. The market would quickly become oversaturated," said Barrius. "Not," said Nephenee, taking a bite of bread from the table, "If they've sold elsewhere. However, I wouldn't know if I'm not in their company. All that matters now is all the investors in the market are screwed, including the Jarl," she continued, shrewdly. "Elaborate, if you please," said Benjamin, twirling his finger. "To put it bluntly, Markarth might as well be bankrupt. I plan to take advantage of that."

OOC: Number 1, indeed. Don't rush too much on the Thalmor war, I want in on the action too, I haven't reached the apex of my story in Markarth yet. :P Sorry, don't have time for an IC right now, but rest assured, the next one will be great. :thumbsup:

"Pleasure doing business with you," said Nephenee, taking the note. She turned to Benjamin. "Well, our business here in Markarth is over... But I would like to watch this market a little longer. Something doesn't seem right to me." "About that," said Benjamin. "The Jarl is involved, too." OOC: Gotta run, but I'll be back later.

Generally, it's people you stole from.

"The entire remaining stock is 900,000 septims as of this morning," said Nephenee. Almost ten times what it was worth a mere month ago, she thought. "But around now, the stock is only 909,000 septims. Lovely how the market here works."

"That is all for my diamond stock, but I do still have rubies and emeralds and the like," said Nephenee, accepting the letter of credit.

Nephenee quickly did the math. "Right now? At the market opening this morning, my diamond stock was worth about 690,000 septims. Going by the market trend, the current value is 722,000 septims."

Benjamin ran into a guy running off with a bag of gems. Recognizing it was Nephenee's, he almost ran the man down, stealing the bag back. -- "Excellent," she said, as Benjamin returned. "What are you prices?"

OOC where is nephene? OOC: In Markarth, waiting for Selene to buy gems.

OOC: Could use some input from Selene, I'm at a plot stalemate waiting for her. :P

"Oh? And you are positive of this?" "Yes, sir. I have it on good faith that the Jarl is playing some part in the bubble, sir," said a beggar, propped up against a cold stone wall nearby the Jarl's office. Benjamin nodded, thanking the man for the intelligence. He flipped the beggar a silver half-septim coin. This information that he obtained would be very useful for Nephenee. It wasn't just economics chatter --There was definitely some interesting politics in this city. It was definitely something to look into in depth for himself, too.

Nephenee patiently sipped her ale as she waited. She looked on, slightly irritably as Mark tripped over a chair, prompting a good scolding from the innkeeper. Benjamin was probably out in the market still, likely buying supplies and greeting a few acquaintances. Oddly enough, Markarth was a city where she knew only a small handful of people. She would have to find time to make connections later.

OOC: At the hospital? O.o Nephenee returned to the inn and rummaged through the gems, organizing them. The gem count added up to a tidy sum of jewels. The merchant ordered a mug of ale as she waited for Selene to return.

"That company isn't to be underestimated. They have some good connections with fine fabric makers; those people take commissions on those things. As for gems, I have everything you need," she said, holding a few of the bags. "I have more at the inn, as well."

"Unfortunately, I don't have fine fabrics, but the Westland company down the road deals with that. As for gems..." Nephenee snapped her fingers at Mark, who immediately pulled a few pouches away from the horse and handed it to Nephenee. "I've got all the precious gems --Diamonds, sapphires, emeralds, and rubies-- right here. It's lucky that I had them, because the market for them is being manipulated. They're harder to find now."

"You're an Empress now!" said Nephenee, surprised. "Congratulations." "Anyway, you figured correctly. Is there anything you need, Empress?"

The group finally rolled into Markarth early in the morning, with Mark's horse half-dead from carrying the gold and gems on top of Mark and the knights' travel accessories. After separating with Benjamin and his knights, who made their way to the inn, Nephenee, with Mark towing along, was about to make her way to the markets to discern information when she noticed Selene was in town, looking for somebody. "Hello!" she called, making her way to Selene. "What brings you here to Markarth?"

There are some backpack mods out there --Japanese--, and there are definitely camping mods(Bedroll, tent, etc). Just do some Google-fu here on the Nexus and on Google itself.

In actuality, Nephenee didn't buy up the merchant's entire stock. She bought sixty-thousand septim's worth of cut diamonds, about five pounds, and the rest in sapphires. "So what's the deal?" said Benjamin, as Nephenee and Mark returned from the market. "It's not like you to be buying so quickly when you get the money, even if it's an investment." "Mm, I suppose I'll have to tell you guys," she responded, as she threw the leather pouches of gems into the house's safe. "Do you know Lord Guy?" "Lord Guy? He's one of the more powerful lords around Markarth," responded Benjamin, scratching his chin. "Exactly. And do you know the Piaster G&G Company in Markarth?" continued Nephenee, examining a loose gem. "No, I haven't heard of it." She rolled the gem onto the table. "The full, registered name with the empire is the Luke Piaster Gold & Gem Company. As the name implies, they trade in precious commodities." "You can easily make the connection that Lord Guy is backing this company. Now, here's the interesting part. The Piaster company's master, Luke Piaster, died last year after a bad fever. His estate, including his company, is now his son's. But, he's only fourteen." "Go on," said Benjamin. Barrius and Reiko were also listening intently. "Of course, the executives are running the company now, and they're not sitting back. From what I've heard, Lord Guy is backing them with a lot of money. I mean, in the tens of millions of septims worth. What do you think they're doing?" "They're obviously raising capital to buy gems," said Barrius. "Exactly. And, they're buying enough to make the actual market for gems increase. I don't know if it's their intent or not, but there's a bubble in the precious gems market now. Since we're still at the beginning of it --Though there is still risk-- we can stand to make triple, no, six times the profit if we sell at the right time, in Markarth." Benjamin whistled.