"Now listen here–I want the exact quantities of what you plan on ordering, the seller you are buying them from, and the exact dates of when they are supposed to be picked up and delivered. Our company only delivers large shipments for bulk orders. If you lack the storage capacity to hold what you're receiving, that's not my problem." Negotiations were slow, if it wasn't obvious. Right now Shiloh was having to explain her shipping policies to a wispy-bearded man in glasses who was probably three times her age and just as stubborn. No, she wasn't going to send multiple shipments of the same thing in smaller quantities. No, she wasn't going to accept lower payment than the calculated rate. And no–she wasn't accepting the offer to meet a 'business friend of his' who might also be interested in her services. Bribery only worked on people who were expecting it, and frankly Shiloh didn't care. Normally most deals would be wrapped up in an hour or less, but this particular man was an absolute goat. No, that wasn't because he was part satyr.

Delivering shipments of base alchemical reagents was a market she was slowly getting into. Her usual customers were suppliers, craftsmen, or merchants looking to get the most out of their time. Quantities were simple, amounts were exact, and dates were set. And now she was getting into an argument over the mass of mineral salt. She was pretty sure they were using it to distill something, but the man's attempts to confuse her with jargon only burnt down her patience. She was settling on one specific unit of measurement for the goods–period. Alchemists…were all of them this fussy? The only places she didn't deliver shipments were Egjora, Kurayo, and Karith for various reasons. The latter was due to the overbearing ruling body of alchemists who shared too many similarities to her original world's council of magi.

If they didn't reach a compromise within the next five minutes, she'd call the deal off and go find a different customer. Preferably someone with simpler demands. She should've stuck with that smithy shipment offer in Baltil… She was in plain clothes, working under an alias, the usual. Her airship the Clephsydra was docked not too far away with her crew on board waiting for her to come back. She was planning to fly before the weather patterns changed, as she heard rumors of a forecast telling the chance of Terra storms passing through. Her ship was fully capable of flying in rough weather, but she preferred to avoid it when she could.

Iria was an interesting place for someone like Kale; it was a land that denounced deities and believed them to simply be strong mortals and nothing more. In some ways this was true, but at the same time they were by definition no longer counted among mortals. These people were lifted to the status of ‘gods’ and gifted with power and immortality. Isn’t that what a god is anyway; divinely strong and immortal? Regardless, the people here held staunchly to their beliefs regarding deities, electing to keep shrines and temples outside the city’s walls.

Slipping through the crowd filling the narrow streets made his goal much easier. He was still growing accustomed to his new arm and was practicing with a bit of pickpocketing. Brushing past others, he’d pick his marks carefully before slipping a hand into their packs as he passed. He’d use magic to spirit away item and coin alike and move on his way. He was getting quite good at using the arm, though the more dexterous tasks still gave issue. That was what the puzzle box was for.

This city fascinated the pirate for a number of reasons, the lack of faith in divinity not accounted for. This place teemed with cultures from all across Revaliir, the many languages and smells of different foods merged together to overwhelm the senses. All these languages from so many sources came together to form the cacophonous din ever-present around and within the marketplace. Through the roar, Kale picked up a familiar voice as he passed by. He slipped in and listened as the stubborn man argued, unaware of just who his attitude was directed at. Shiloh seemed, quite understandably even from what little he heard, growing quite annoyed.

Kale set narrowed eyes on the man’s. “You may want to answer her questions,” Kale spoke, “She’s quite adept at trade and you won’t find more reliable service.” A wicked grin crept over is face, “Her competition has a habit of… losing cargo.”

It didn't take much more convincing for the satyr to drop the issue over grams and ounces, and thanks to that little bit of 'persuasion' she had the contract drawn and signed. With business out of the way, she was surprised to see Kale here. They didn't run into each other often and Shiloh hadn't seen the man since he came to pick up his new prosthetic. Finding a spot within sight of the Clephsydra, she crossed her arms and went straight to the point. "So what're you here for? How's your adjustment to the arm coming along? If you have any issues with flexibility and responsiveness, I'll fix that." Up to now she had been making parts for automatons, so making a prosthetic that worked with an organic body took some re-engineering. The weight and strain for one was a limiting factor. A prosthetic that threw the body off balance would be less effective and cause chronic injury. Using lacriamium allowed her to cut down on the weight of the internal skeleton but she hadn't actually tested it on a live subject before handing over the finished product. 

"…I think I still have some time left before I need to fly out. There's a storm coming in a few hours but if I cut above Jackboot Range I can steer clear of it until I reach Nisshoki." There was something else that she was supposed to do here, but that argument with the old goat made it slip her mind. Staring hard at the ground she frowned as she racked her brain trying to find what it was. Right, that was it–chromite prices. Recently there had been a series of sudden shifts in the market, starting with an unexpected spike in the prices due to a shortage of stock. Chromite was used for a lot of high-quality crafts, particularly metallurgy and smithing. It was a cheaper alternative to lacriamium for its resistance to corrosion, and it was more readily available. At first she had thought it was due to the loss of cargo from ships trying to get too close to Onnen before the war in Canelux. However the prices continued to rise even after ships were no longer reporting missing and the modifications for airships were made mandatory. And when prices were at their peak a few weeks ago, they suddenly plummeted as more ore was flooding in at incredibly high volume.

None of this was normal, as even the discovery of a new vein or opening of a new mine wouldn't cause this much of a stir. She had always suspected it for a while, but now she was absolutely sure there someone was fixing prices and playing the commodity market with intentional withholding of raw material. The market plunge was severe, forcing lots of smaller mines and businesses to fall into bankruptcy when they couldn't break even. The price drop of chromite was ridiculously low to where it was practically a steal. People who had money to burn could easily buy it all up, wait for a half year, and then resell at triple of the usual price. It was a ruthlessly efficient way to take out the competition and monopolize a corner of the market. For someone whose business relied on shipping, having less businesses around meant a smaller pool of customers. Often businesses who had enough coin to buy out private mines could buy out a fleet of airships themselves, essentially making her services unnecessary. In short, this was bad for everybody except the culprits. Turning to Kale she asked, "Say, what do you know about Parvporan trade traffic? There's something that's been getting under my skin for the past few months."