Clearly intrigued, you step closer to inquire. Superficially, the man carries himself with the urbane veneer of the socially ambitious, but closer inspection shows his clothing to be ill-matched, thread-bare and clearly last season- or the season before that. His morning suit, faded as most things are in the acrid haze of Fallen London, sports stains you’d rather not speculate on, and he has an opera cloak that has fallen victim to the enormous moths of the 'Neath slung over his shoulder in a devils-may-care manner (and they certainly would care, natty dressers that they are). Unabashed under your scrutiny, he steps closer in well-polished shoes and doffs his bowler- or is that a lady’s bonnet equally coated with shoe-black? How scandalous.
"Good Evening!" he grins. " You look like someone who gets things done. A real mover and shaker, I bet you are!" Taken aback, you say nothing at first, but the odd fellow seems to take that for assent. "See, I knew you were! I'm very good at reading people, and you carry yourself like someone spinning a lot of very important plates at once."
Continuing, he leans in, as though taking you into his confidence. “In my personal experience, people like that need someone around to take care of the mundane stuff, the petty tasks that are too marginal for big picture people but too discrete for the help, if you catch my drift. Wounded while wrestling fearsome beasts? Need a good listener to confess your darkest fears too? Someone to put in a good word or run interference when rumors or the law start to circle? You need someone of wherewithal… and I have plenty of that. I can be your Johnny-on-the-spot whenever small concerns threaten to upset your matters of great importance”
. "Ah, I see yourself asking, 'what does he get out of it? Well, not so much… I have a friend who I also helped out in times of need who is a dab hand with jewels. Wants to make me something nice, but needs me to go out and get the raw ingredients. Daft, isn’t it? Trouble is, the venom rubies needed aren’t really available in the circles I travel in. You, on the other hand, as someone of significant import, can nick on down to one the shops that cater to exclusive clientele. And when the opportunity arises, you can help yours truly a great deal by providing them. It may be a bit pricey, but I have no doubts I can save you more than that in time by taking care of those loose ends- and time is money, after-all. So, what say you?
((TL;DR/OOC version: I’m looking to propose a trade with a person of some importance in order to complete the lapidary’s work I’m just now working my way out of the starting zones and I have a long row to hoe before I get to become important myself, which leaves me next to no options for venom rubies as far as I know besides A Gift of Jewels via the Commotion opportunity from a person of some importance, who can buy them in the coils of the bazaar. Given the limitations of exchange of goods (Strange, given that it’s based around a bazaar) I don’t have a lot I can offer besides my actions, taking on of your various menaces, but hopefully we can sort out an equitable arrangement- I know it may cost a fair number of cryptic clues and a few actions of your own, but if I can save the actions/money that might be spent on laudunum/vigors taking care of the various menaces hopefully I can make it a not-one-sided arrangement. Cheers, and see you in the 'Neath))