[SR - FB1] Drave's Emporium of Curiosities

[kaiju]

One aspect of life as a Sea Rat goes unmentioned by the advertising material: That not all plunder is of immediate value to the plunderer. For sure that coinage, jewels, food, ammunition, clothes and craft materials are all of use to a Sea Rat or their ship but other items are of limited use and limited market. Books only matter to those few Sea Rats who can read. A captain's cabin only has so much room for art, and any sensible collector of art will not put it in a cannonball's path. As for antiques, relics and native trinkets, well, those are just wasted space to many.

But everything is of value to someone, if you know who and how.

That is where Grayther Drave comes in.

Drave's emporium serves as a clearing house for items of select market, where a freshly returned crew may unload those more unusual and esoteric items found on their journeys. The ground floor stocks and sells all sorts of small trinkets and oddities for the curious, superstitious or eccentric.

But Drave's real success is his other market. For back on the mainland, and in the various colonies, there is a market for rare books, forbidden tomes and native treasures. Some dare visit his store in person. A letter of introduction from an existing client is necessary for a potential customer go gain access the goods kept in the old vaults below the emporium.

The rumours that Drave deals in occult goods and supposedly cursed treasures is widespread. One tale claims the man's mask is to hide the consequences of one particularly potent hex. Another claims the mask hides scars from an accident involving alchemy.

Rumours that Drave deals with information and has spies across the Sea of Storms persist.

Drave employs a young woman named Yukio as a bodyguard and to provide additional security for the store. Thieves are not too common, however, as few want to risk stealing one of the supposedly cursed artifacts.

Here, Drave sells a dangerousvaluable book to one of his regular customers, Jacqueline "Jack" Yharnam.

[Captain Dee]

Neat little build, and interesting glance into the fringes of society. Considering all the aspects of the story, this is the type of setting that Sir Dee would avoid. But it's actually quite realistic for a time when superstitions abounded.

[TitusV]

I really like IT!

[Kolonialbeamter]

This is a very neat idea, and it's well executed. I really hope you'll add more chapters to Drave's story over time, this has excellent potential!

[dr_spock]

Neat little build. Interesting story. Any voodoo dolls we can use in the Sea Rats raids?

How is this for a strange spooky curiosity? I had the same black leather sofa in the background.

[kaiju]

Neat little build, and interesting glance into the fringes of society. Considering all the aspects of the story, this is the type of setting that Sir Dee would avoid. But it's actually quite realistic for a time when superstitions abounded.

I figured that there's always a market for antiques, rare books and the like, so someone trading in them makes sense. Throw in a few superstitions and a little bit of movie influence, and things get more interesting. Of course, it can be a risky business, so it isn't for everyone.

I really like IT!

Thank you.

This is a very neat idea, and it's well executed. I really hope you'll add more chapters to Drave's story over time, this has excellent potential!

He'll likely be showing up again before long, though I don't currently have any plans for an in depth storyline for him and the Emporium.

Neat little build. Interesting story. Any voodoo dolls we can use in the Sea Rats raids?

Sadly not (I really should have bought more of the Pirates of the Caribbean sets when I had chance).