Areas of the Keep: Jewel Merchant
This small and cluttered shop is run by an aging human man, Icies Vries, and his owlin wife named Philomena. Here anyone can exchange money for gems, or gems for money, for a 10% broker fee - meaning that in the exchange, you either receive 10% less in coin, or pay full prince plus the 10% fee when buying jewelry with coin. This is because the Jewel Merchant shop is an extension of the loan bank, rather than an independent business, and the pricing is monitored and regulated by the Castellan. As such, Icies is always interested in doing business on the side when the jewelry is harder to price based on its circumstances, and avoiding entanglements for his clientele who might be procuring jewelry from less savory sources, like robbed tombs or dead humanoid chieftains.
Icies will do his best to fairly appraise jewelry and gems, primarily for their established market value rather than for artistic or historic/cultural value. He can appraise the gems and jewelry in a necklace but is not qualified to establish the added value from the artistry, origin or provenance of the item; he is buying on behalf of the loan bank and the castellan, rather than for resale. So for jewelry or coinage of a more nebulous value, he may not be the best resource.
Purpose / Function
The fair exchange of coinage into gems/jewelry, and the fair exchange of gems into coinage, for easier transport and investment of large gold amounts.
Architecture
Sturdy, well-built stone and elaborately locked and trapped steel vaults.
Defenses
Two enormous, silent Goliath guardians, each with a war dog conforming to the stats of a Hell Hound.
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