-- aspirantExegesist [AE] began pestering loanedAllegiance [LA] at 13:56 --
AE: {Hello, Aascam.}
LA: Ahh, Mi$$ Ikr€m. How ar€ w€ tonight?
AE: {I am uncertain as to how to answer that query, Mr. Capita, as I can only speak for myself, and am not royalty.}
AE: {But I am well enough, thank you. And yourself?}
LA: I'm good. Bui$n€$$ i$ r€£ativ€£¥ good, I ma¥ a¢tua££¥ hav€ a good m€a£ tonight. But €nough about that. Wh¥ hav€ ¥ou ¢onta¢t€d m€?
AE: {I was wondering if you might be interested in purchasing a rare document.}
AE: {I recall that you don't usually like to receive things for free, but I suspect there might be a market for this, and I only require token payment.}
LA: I $€€. What i$ $o rar€ about thi$ do¢um€nt iƒ I ma¥ a$k?
AE: {It seems to have been written by an individual in another universe and stored on a remote server in the Outer Rim of ours.}
LA: Pardon?
AE: {Ezreki has recruited you to play in this game, yes?}
LA: ¥€$.
AE: {The one that everyone is so excited about?}
AE: {Well.}
AE: {If you attempt to search for walkthroughs about it, most are ... Perplexingly short.}
AE: {Abrupt, even.}
AE: {Interrupted by dire events.}
AE: {I have found one that is remarkably complete.}
LA: On th€ €dg€ oƒ th€ univ€r$€.
LA: A££€dg€d£¥ writt€n b¥ $om€on€ ƒrom anoth€r univ€r$€.
LA: ¥ou ¢an ƒorgiv€ m€ iƒ I'ma bit $k€pti¢a£.
AE: {I certainly can.}
AE: {I only went searching for it after Arethusa's attempt to play with Ezreki proved disastrous.}
AE: {He may actually be dead, though I doubt it.}
AE: {At any rate there is certainly now a meteor-made crater where his hive once was.}
AE: {It appears that Sgrub is a game which plays, as it were, for keeps.}
LA: That i$ di$¢on¢€rting.
AE: {Indeed!}
AE: {And this walkthrough seems to confirm a number of things which I suspected, given Arethusa's description of events.}
AE: {I think it would be rather useful in keeping both you and your client player alive, at any rate.}
AE: {Since it seems that opting out is no longer an option.}
LA: Iƒ what ¥ou $a¥ i$ tru€, th€n thi$ i$ ind€€d $om€thing I want to g€t m¥ hand$ on.
LA: V€r¥ w€££, $ha££ I nam€ a pri¢€?
LA: How do€$ 4 ¢a€gar$ $ound ƒor a ¢op¥ oƒ th€ do¢um€nt?
AE: {I should think that I should name one first, considering I am the one aware of what my time spent in research is worth. But then again you are the more aware of what your life is worth to you, as well as your ability to dodge incoming meteors, so I suppose however you feel comfortable proceeding. You are certainly more experienced with these matters than I am.}
LA: W€££, ¥ou rai$€ a good point. What do ¥ou think th€ do¢um€nt i$ worth?
LA: Though wh€n ¥ou do, b€ pr€par€d ƒor $om€ hagg£ing on m¥ part.
AE: {I would expect nothing less from a master of the art of Businessassination.}
AE: {Let us see. I spent roughly three hours trawling through obscure hints and half-articulated cries of despair.}
AE: {Another two deciphering the code which obscured the server's signal.}
AE: {And roughly another five translating the document from its bizarre language into workaday Alternian.}
AE: {Altogether, ten hours of work. At a regular Exegenetecist's rate, that would be 30 Caegars an hour. }
AE: {For a total of 300 Caegars. }
AE: {However, I recognise that I am by no means a fully fledged Exegenetecist.}
AE: {And would never dream of charging so much for my still modest skills.}
AE: {And so would only charge half that.}
AE: {Therefore, my asking price is 150 Caegars.}
LA: W€££. Iƒ th€ do¢um€nt in qu€$tion i$ ind€€d a$ £iƒ€$aving a$ ¥ou $a¥, th€n I wou£d g£ad£¥ pa¥ that r€£ativ€£¥ mod€$t pri¢€ ƒor it. How€v€r, I am $ti££ w€ar¥ oƒ it'$ auth€nti¢it¥. I don't think oƒ ¥ou a$ a $wind£€r, but th€ €xp£ination ¥ou gav€ m€ r€garding th€ origin$ oƒ th€ do¢um€nt hav€ und€r$tandab£¥ mad€ m€ a bit war¥ oƒ ¥our motiv€$.
LA: ¢ou£d ¥ou $om€how prov€ to m€ it'$ auth€nti¢it¥, I wou£d b€ grat€ƒu£.
AE: {Hmm.}
AE: {I am uncertain as to how I might go about doing so without delivering the goods themselves, as it were.}
LA: How about a $ma££ $nipp€t oƒ t€xt ƒrom it? It ma¥ not b€ p€rƒ€¢t prooƒ, but it ma¥ b€ th€ $£iv€r oƒ ¢€rtaint¥ I n€€d to b€ ab£€ to tak€ thi$ gamb£€.
LA: Though ¥ou $hou£d know that I ma¥ d€mand a $£ight r€du¢tion in it'$ pri¢€ to ¢omp€n$at€ ƒor th€ ƒa¢t that iƒ ¥ou agr€€ to thi$, I wi££ hav€ part oƒ th€ do¢um€nt a£r€ad¥.
AE: {I am not certain that the latter assertion makes any sense, Mr. Capita.}
AE: {Not unless I requested a downpayment from you for the snippet.}
LA: £€t m€ ¢£ariƒ¥, th€n.
LA: Iƒ ¥ou agr€€ to giv€ m€ part oƒ th€ do¢um€nt a$ prooƒ, it m€an$ that iƒ I agr€€ to bu¥ th€ r€$t oƒ th€ wa£kthrough I wi££ b€ pa¥ing again ƒor th€ $€¢tion I r€¢i€v€d.
LA: That i$, iƒ I giv€ ¥ou ¥our ¢urr€nt oƒƒ€r oƒ 150 ¢a€gar$.
AE: {No, you will not be paying again; you will be paying for the first time for something I gave you for free in good faith.}
AE: {The amount of work I will have put into this document -- justifying my asking price -- will not have changed.}
LA: But th€ amount oƒ th€ do¢um€nt I hav€ wi££ hav€ ¢hang€d. Wh¥ pa¥ ƒu££ pri¢€ ƒor $om€thing I a£r€ad¥ hav€ a part oƒ? Not that I don't appr€¢iat€ th€ amount oƒ tim€ ¥ou hav€ put into obtaining it, but I $ti££ don't think it wou£d b€ $mart bui$n€$$.
LA: Iƒ ¥ou hav€ $om€ oth€r oƒƒ€r, though, I wou£d b€ happ¥ to h€ar it.
AE: {Hmm.}
AE: {Actually.}
AE: {I do.}
LA: £€t'$ h€ar it th€n.
AE: {I could give you the location of the untranslated document.}
AE: {It is sufficiently bizarre and remote that the document's authenticity ought to be proven.}
AE: {Furthermore, if you begin playing the game and the Walkthrough does not correspond to your experience of it, I will of course refund your money.}
AE: {...Although at that point you may be dead.}
AE: {In which case, well, we all will be.}
LA: Hmm, that $ound$ ƒair. V€r¥ w€££, giv€ m€ th€ ¢oordinat€$ to th€ untran$£at€d v€r$ion oƒ th€ do¢um€nt and w€'££ $€€ iƒ it i$ prooƒ €nough.
-- aspirantExegesist [AE] shares a sequence of numbers so bizarre they do in fact lead to a remote server on the Outer Rim and blahblah Troll Technology cakes. --
LA: Hmm, thi$ $€€m$ auth€nti¢. I don't think ¥ou hav€ th€ r€$our¢€$ to ƒorg€ thi$ €ith€r, or th€ want.
AE: {You would be correct on both counts.}
LA: On€ £a$t qu€$tion, though.
AE: {Certainly.}
LA: Wh¥ do ¥ou €v€n want mon€¥ ƒor thi$? A$ mu¢h a$ I hat€ to admit it, in £ight oƒ th€ m€t€or $trik€$ and th€ $udd€n di$$ap€ar€n¢€ oƒ an €ntir€ hiv€$,
LA: in a £itt£€ whi£€ mon€¥ might not €v€n matt€r.
AE: {I once offered to give you things for free, Aascam.}
AE: {As I recall, you reacted to the offer with some negativity.}
AE: {Money may be ultimately meaningless, but it certainly has meaning for you.}
AE: {And I am interested in carrying out a transaction with you in your language, on your terms.}
AE: {Is that sufficient explanation?}
LA: ¥ou hav€ put m€ in an int€r€$ting p£a¢€, Mi$$ Ikr€m. Iƒ I do bu¥ th€ do¢um€nt ƒrom ¥ou I wi££ b€ $€t ba¢k b¥ quit€ a £arg€ $um. But th€n, mon€¥ might b€ m€aning£€$$ in our ¢urr€nt $ituation.
LA: I wa$ n€v€r mu¢h oƒ a gamb£€r, $o thi$ i$ und€r$tandab£¥ a diƒƒi¢u£t ¢hoi¢€ ƒor m€.
AE: {I completely understand.}
LA: I gu€$$ it a££ boi£$ down to how mu¢h I tru$t ¥ou.
AE: {However, I would like to point out that earlier on in this very log you described the sum as "relatively modest."}
AE: {And while it does boil down to how much you trust me, it does also boil down to a few other things. I will itemize them for clarity's sake:}
AE: {1) Your confidence in your ability to navigate the game without outside assistance, when, judging by the evidence easily found on Trollternet, hundreds have failed.}
AE: {2) Your belief in a market economy surviving on our planet after the meteoric onslaught it is currently experiencing.}
AE: {It is up to you to weigh those items with how much or how little you trust me in order to make your decison.}
AE: {Decision. Please forgive my typo.}
LA: Do ¥ou pit¥ m€, £amia?
AE: {What an interesting question. I would like to answer honestly, so I may need a moment to consider my feelings on the matter.}
LA: Tak€ ¥our tim€.
AE: {I think I did, at first. But I am a fairly biddable troll, and you made quite clear that you wanted none of that.}
AE: {I am sometimes saddened by what I see as wasted potential.}
AE: {But I do not think I pity you any longer, no.}
AE: {Hence my skipping over the offer of a freebie.}
LA: I $€€.
LA: Do ¥ou want to know what I think oƒ ¥ou, £amia?
AE: {If you would like to tell me.}
LA: £u¢€ri, Tor€nt, ¥u£umn, a££ idiot$. I ho£d nothing but ¢ont€mpt ƒor To£vaj. I don't know what to think oƒ App€££öƒ and $€rk€i, but ƒor two ¢omp£€t€£¥ diƒƒ€r€nt r€a$on$.
LA: But ¥ou.
LA: At ƒir$t I though ¥ou w€r€ ju$t anoth€r idiot, an aquantan¢€ oƒ P€pi€r.
LA: But ¥ou qui¢k£¥ prov€d I wa$ quit€ out oƒ pra¢ti¢€ in r€gard$ to £€gitimat€ bui$n€$$ d€a£ing$.
LA: I $aw ¥ou a$ an €qua£, in a wa¥.
LA: I wa$ a bit arrogant £ik€ that.
LA: ¥ou ar€ mor€ ob$€rvant than m€, ¥ou ar€ $mart€r than m€, ¥ou don't mak€ a$ man¥ mi$tak€$.
LA: I mu$t admit I am €nviou$ oƒ ¥ou. Mor€ than I wou£d £ik€ to b€£i€v€.
LA: I don't £ik€ ¥ou, £amia.
LA: I r€a££¥ don't £ik€ ¥ou.
LA: P€tt¥, I know, but $ti££.
LA: ...
AE: {I ... Am not sure what to say.}
LA: £€t'$ pr€t€nd thi$ n€v€r happ€n€d.
AE: {Or ... How to read this.}
LA: Ju$t, ignor€ €v€r¥thing.
LA: I'££ pa¥ th€ 150 ¢a€gar$.
AE: {Are you certain? I -- }
LA: ¥€$.
AE: {Very well.}
AE: {Transfer the money, and I shall transfer the file.}
-- loanedAllegiance [LA] wires AE 150 caegars --
AE: {/ shares a file titled Walkthrough.doc}
AE: {(ack)}
-- aspirantExegesist [AE] shares a file titled Walkthrough.doc --
AE: {It has been ... Interesting doing business with you, Aascam.}
LA: Thank ¥ou.
AE: {You are welcome.}
AE: {I hope you do not die.}
AE: {And perhaps, if all goes well, I shall see you in the Medium.}
LA: ¥€$.
LA: Goodb¥€, £amia. I hav€ to £ook ov€r thi$.
AE: {Goodbye, Aascam. Take care.}
AE: {And I must warn you.}
AE: {Where forgetting things is concerned.}
AE: {...I have an unfortunately excellent memory.}
-- aspirantExegesist [AE] ceased pestering loanedAllegiance [LA] at 15:20 --
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