When there is money to be made

[Ivar]

123 Glade 70th

Ivar was in the market, right in front of a scrivening supply shop. He was checking out the good stuff, quality parchment, the high-end ink, the fancy quills. They all looked so cool, so professional. He knew he couldn't afford them, not yet anyway, but it didn't hurt to dream a little, right?

He wasn't just there for the window shopping though. He was also keeping an ear out, trying to pick up on bits of conversation. You never knew when someone would let slip some useful info. And useful info could be turned into coin, if you knew what to do with it.

Ivar was working on becoming a good listener. It was one of those skills he'd realized was important as an information broker. He had to be good at it. People rarely just handed out valuable info. You had to be patient, wait for the right moment, and snatch it up when it came along. He was good at that, sort of like how he was good at scrivening. Both required patience, focus, and an eye for detail.

As he stood there, he listened to the market's bustle. There was the haggling over prices, the vendors calling out their wares, and the chatter of shoppers. He didn't pick up anything useful at first. It was mostly just people complaining about the prices or talking about their day. Nothing he could turn into coin.

But Ivar wasn't discouraged. He kept listening, his eyes on the fancy scrivening supplies, his ears tuned in to the market's buzz. Who knows? Maybe he'd catch a useful tidbit, something he could use to earn enough coin for those high-end supplies. It was a long shot, but it was better than doing nothing. Plus, it kind of made the window shopping feel less like daydreaming and more like an exciting job. And jobs were always more exciting.