International Coin Exchange (ICE)

At a Glance

The building’s ostentatious sign stands in stark contrast against its appearance. At first glance, there seems to be nothing international or prestigious about the Exchange. Its exterior besides the ornate sign with its name is fairly ordinary, a simple brick wall.

Local Knowledge

Interior

It is a small building featuring two rooms, the first being the business room where customers are allowed and the second being the room where the business’ vault is stored. As if to mar its prestige even further, the Exchange is not a standalone building. Instead, there are small apartments built on the two floors above it. The business room is roughly the size of an average living room, if that. Although nobody is allowed back into the vault room, from what customers have been able to glimpse, it seems even smaller.
For all of those reasons, it is no wonder that newcomers to the city, as well as some of its mercantile elite and nobility, do not visit the Exchange. They believe it to be not only below them, but also unable to provide the monetary exchange services that they require. After all, how would a derelict-looking place like the Exchange be able to provide them with coinage from all over the world?
And yet, those who do visit the exchange find that it does serve their needs, and even go beyond them. There is not a single currency that the Exchange’s owner does not possess at any time, even the ones used in tiny countries far away. Either through sheer luck or excellent skill, coins from all over can be found in mere moments, at excellent exchange rates to boot.

Owner

The owner of the International Monetary Exchange is a half-elf named Terion. He is about ninety years old, and only came to the city roughly two decades ago, opening the exchange the moment he arrived.
Terion is a jovial person, his business room always furnished with sweets and snacks for whoever enters. He is always happy to help, and often provides discounts to his repeat customers. In short, he seems to be nothing like the various loan sharks who might own businesses like his.
Apart from operating the Exchange, Terion fancies himself something of an expert when it comes to economics. As such, he offers advice – free of charge – to his favorite repeat customers. This advice can be about essentially anything. If Terion hears a rumor that someone in town might be selling their business, he tells some of his customers. If he simply thinks that a product’s cost will rise – for reasons of his own – he also informs his customers of that. Sometimes, Terion’s advice pays off. Most often though, it really does not. Still, his customers entertain him, both because they like him and because sometimes his words are indeed helpful.

Staff

Guests

The Vault

The secret to Terion’s success lays in his vault. Apart from being near impregnable thanks to its unique blend of durable materials, the vault is also equipped with a miniature anti-magic field, which Terion bought from a mage. Although it doesn’t stretch much father beyond the vault itself, it is enough to neutralize most magical attempts to break into it.
On top of this, the vault is also able to detect counterfeit coins. The moment such coins are deposited, an alarm-like tone sounds to notify Terion that something is not quite right.
Finally, the vault does not even have a key to open it. The only way its door swings open is via Terion’s touch – in short, the vault is attuned to him and only him.
Terion takes great care to keep the vault in good working order, and to keep the deposits of his clients properly organized. Since he has clients from all over the world, the vault also contains multiple currencies – Terion is happy to convert one’s money from one currency to another, for a small premium.

Security

Terion doesn’t have to worry about thieves as much as others for two reasons. Firstly, the inexperienced burglars consider his business a waste of time, on account of how it looks. As such, they leave it alone. Secondly, most actually experienced burglars often have need of Terion’s Exchange, changing one currency that might incriminate them if found under their possession to another. As such, Terion has a working relationship with such people, tolerating their business in exchange for his own peace.
Still, there are some thieves who have indeed attempted to rob Terion’s Exchange. It makes for a tempting target, after all, located in a simple city street that’s busy even during the night, with apartments on top. Thieves can make quite a lot of noise before being noticed, and the reward for a successful robbery is, in their minds, quite a lot of money. However, the Exchange is not as easy a prey as it seems. Terion has installed some potent security measures.
The vault room has no windows and its only door leads to the business room, so it is from the latter that thieves enter the Exchange. The business room itself has no security measures, lulling thieves into a false sense of security.
Insert a clockwork vault door.
The moment the thieves step into the vault room, this all changes. Should anybody but Terion touch the vault, the vault releases a burst of electricity, paralyzing them for a short amount of time. Moreover, thanks to a permanent Alarm spell, Terion is notified of a robbery attempt immediately – as is the nearby guard outpost, who Terion takes great care to keep friendly and helpful to him.

Secrets & Rumors

Alias

Exchange

ICE