Scenario:Karteira - The Battle of the Broach
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The Battle of the Broach
When Karteira and Sierokarte end up arguing over a valuable brooch, they decide to compete to see who gets to buy it. The winner will be whoever can earn the most profit using the same capital and goods. The crew is assigned guard duty to keep any earnings safe, and the contest begins.
(Captain) and the crew reach a town.
They're in the market hunting for bargains with Karteira and Sierokarte.
Karteira: I don't think so, Siero! I saw that brooch first!
Sierokarte: That may be... but I picked it up first.
Karteira: No! It's mine! I saw it, and I'm going to buy it!
Sierokarte: I hate to break this to you... but I already did!
Karteira: Bah! You're always like this, Siero. Too shrewd and too calculating!
Karteira: Always swooping in and taking my profits, even though you never worked a day in your life!
Sierokarte: Now just try to calm down. That should tell you what an exceptional merchant you are, Karteira.
Karteira: You keep saying that, but you secretly think you're the best, don't you?
Sierokarte: Um... Well... That's not true.
Karteira: I say we have a little contest.
Sierokarte: Oho? The usual rules?
Karteira: That's right. A million rupies in capital. For the goods, let's use dried meat.
Sierokarte: Oho... A sales competition, huh? We used to do these all the time, didn't we, Karteira?
Lyria: Wait! You shouldn't fight with each other!
Sierokarte: Oh, we're not fighting! Don't worry. This is just a game that we merchants play with each other.
Vyrn: Oh? What kind of game?
Sierokarte: We decide on a product and see who can make the biggest profit with the same amount of money!
Karteira: Yep! If I remember correctly, we've had 29 rounds, and I'm at 15 wins and 14 losses. Still in the lead!
Sierokarte: You're wrong! The last time we faced off, I won!
Karteira: What do you mean? I stocked more goods than you, and I sold them for nearly twice as much!
Sierokarte: True... But you were set upon by bandits on the way back to town, weren't you? All your money was stolen!
Karteira: Yeah... I suffered a major loss there. I shouldn't have skimped on the guards... If not for the bandits, I would have crushed you!
Karteira: But there's nothing to worry about this time! We have some of the best skyfarers around with us.
Sierokarte and Karteira quickly buy their stock in town, and entrust guard duty to (Captain) and the crew.
They leave town in two carts, both of which are full of goods.
Sierokarte: Oh! Looks like it's time to earn your keep, everyone!
Vyrn: Wow! We only just left! Time to fight, (Captain)!
Monster: Groar!
The Battle of the Broach: Scene 2
Karteira and Sierokarte meet up to discuss the dried meat they supposedly bought for the contest. The crew is impressed by how well they get along, and it turns out that the two of them have been friendly rivals ever since they started out as merchants.
Karteira and Sierokarte's carts are racing across the open fields.
They loosen the reins on the horses and slow down as they ride onward.
Karteira: Hey, Siero! I think this match is already decided!
Karteira: Take a look at the goods in my cart.
Sierokarte: Oh! Very nice! Even under the tarp, they look much bigger than mine!
Karteira: Hee-hee... I drove a hard bargain to get these!
Karteira: I would guess that what I have is worth about 20,000 rupies more than yours, buddy!
Sierokarte: Is that so? I guess you didn't know we pride ourselves on quality over quantity at the Knickknack Shack.
Karteira: You saying I wasted my money buying cheap stuff?
Sierokarte: Perhaps I am!
Karteira: Ha-ha!
Sierokarte: Hee-hee!
Lyria: How strange... You guys seem awfully close.
Lyria: I don't understand. You seem like you're always fighting...
Karteira: You've got the wrong idea, Lyria. We never fight.
Karteira: It's... It's not easy to explain...
Karteira: People often misunderstand our relationship, but we've always gotten along, right, Siero?
Sierokarte: Indeed! Now that you mention it, our relationship hasn't changed at all.
Lyria: Huh? Just how long have you two known each other? I really want to know!
Vyrn: That's bugging me too. So spill it.
Sierokarte: If you insist... It was back when I was just starting out... I don't really like to talk about it much...
Karteira: What are you so worried about? Just tell them.
Sierokarte: Um... All right. I'll tell you about one of my failures from back then, but no more!
Sierokarte: Well... You might find this hard to believe, but we weren't always successful merchants. We used to fail all the time!
Sierokarte: And people took the "Karte" from Sierokarte and the "Karte" from Karteira...
Sierokarte: Oh, this is quite embarrassing... They called us "The Overoptimistic Karte Sisters"...
Karteira: Isn't that silly? We aren't even sisters!
Karteira: But the funny thing is that living through that made our bond stronger.
Lyria: Your... bond?
Karteira: We didn't know the ropes at first, so we kept losing money. But we kept encouraging each other.
Karteira: We imagined becoming the sky's greatest merchants and looking back to laugh at the fools who doubted us.
Karteira: We worked at our craft every day, helping each other out like sisters, improving as we went.
Sierokarte: Ugh... This really is embarrassing...
Lyria: Don't worry about it! You were both able to become brilliant merchants, right?
Karteira: I suppose... But sometimes being too good at your job can cause trouble too! Right, Siero?
Sierokarte: Oh? I know quite well what kind of trouble being too skilled can cause. Trust me.
Lyria: Uh-oh... All of a sudden, something feels off again...
Vyrn: Jeez... I still have no idea whether they love or hate each other!
Monster: Groar!
Karteira: All right, you guys. Get back to work!
The Battle of the Broach: Scene 3
As the road gets worse, Sierokarte talks about how Karteira, who was feeling guilty about investing in shoddy goods, once ignored her advice about taking a dangerous road, which resulted in the pair having an accident and getting robbed. As she talks, bandits show up to accost the crew.
Karteira and Sierokarte's wagons leave the fields and enter a winding mountain road.
The two merchants tighten their holds on the reins and press onward as if afraid of something.
Eugen: This is weird... Isn't the road getting worse and worse as we get higher?
Eugen: Hmm... Are there even villages this deep in the mountains?
Sierokarte and Karteira don't answer.
They just keep staring forward as they clutch the reins.
Sierokarte: Oh? This reminds me of something that happened to us before.
Sierokarte: Yes... Even though I did everything I could to stop you, you took a dangerous road.
Karteira: Is that so? I don't really remember.
Sierokarte: Really? I remember it well.
Sierokarte: After all, it was the only time that you ever came running to me, crying and apologizing like that!
Karteira: ...
Lyria: Crying and apologizing? Are you really talking about our super energetic Karteira?
Vyrn: Yeah... I can't imagine that...
Sierokarte: Well... She noticed that some goods we'd bought together were of incredibly low quality...
Sierokarte: And she must have felt guilty, because she snuck out in the middle of the night and drove the cart away.
Sierokarte: When I woke up, ran after her cart, and jumped in, what do you think she said to me?
Karteira: I said that even if the goods are worth next to nothing in town, we could sell them at the standard price in remote villages.
Karteira: And I even suggested bumping our price up if we were going to be dealing with ignorant bumpkins.
Karteira: That's what I said, right, Siero?
Sierokarte: Oh, Karteira...
Karteira: And that's where the bad karma came in.
Lyria: Huh? Karma?
Karteira: While we were going through the mountains in the middle of the night, the cart slipped and fell off the road...
Karteira: And it only got worse from there.
Karteira: By the time we recovered our senses, bandits had heard the commotion and come to attack us.
Karteira: But just when I thought my time was up, they came to save us...
Vyrn: Go on. Who came to save you?
Bandit: Ha-ha! We've got a good one 'ere!
Bandit: Well, well... Looks like some stupid merchants have come into our mountains with piles of stuff!
Bandit: Ha-ha! All right, boys, let's take all they've got! Don't leave a rupie!
Karteira: Look at this rush of customers! Let's take good care of them!
The Battle of the Broach: Scene 4
The crew reaches a village, and Karteira starts handing out daily necessities to the villagers. When the crew wonders why her cart isn't full of dried meat, she says the villagers saved her and Siero before, so she makes such deliveries now and then. When Sierokarte reveals that her cart is full of daily necessities too, the crew is moved by the strength of the bond between the merchants.
The crew finally reaches the mountain village.
Karteira stops her cart in the village square, hurriedly unloads her goods, and starts calling out to the villagers.
Karteira: Step right up! The Karteira Market is open for business!
Men and women of all ages stream out of their houses and head toward her stall.
Karteira skillfully deals with the influx of customers, but something's off.
Her cart contains not dried meat but snacks, toys, clothing, medicine, and other goods that are hard to come by in the mountains.
Lyria notices something else too.
Lyria: Huh? Karteira? Shouldn't you be taking payment for those things?
Karteira: You mean money? In the past, I guess I would have.
Vyrn: What do you mean?
Karteira: Didn't I just tell you? I'm not the same as I used to be.
Village Chief: Um... Karteira... Thank you as always for traveling all this way.
Karteira: I'm glad to see you looking so sprightly, Chief! It's getting cold up here, so I brought you a sweater.
Karteira: I sure hope it looks okay on you... I don't really know about clothes.
Village Chief: Oh! Thank you very much, young lady... You always go to so much trouble for us.
Village Chief: It's truly a great help. If it weren't for you, our village wouldn't stand a chance!
Village Chief: I really... can't thank you enough...
Karteira: Quit joking around! I should be the one thanking you!
Karteira: If you guys hadn't been there that night, we would have both been taken out by those bandits and we wouldn't be here now!
Karteira: If I thanked you every day for the rest of my life, it wouldn't be enough.
Vyrn: Oh, I get it now... So these villagers are the ones who came to save you.
Lyria: Oh! So they're the reason Karteira and Siero are still here! What a beautiful story...
Karteira: Hey, Siero! Quit standing there grinning. We have work to do! Give me that crate!
Sierokarte: Hee-hee... Karteira beat me to it, but I was thinking the exact same thing...
Sierokarte whips the tarp off of her own cart, revealing the same kinds of daily necessities Karteira brought.
Eugen: How about that? You guys never once thought about profit, did you?
Katalina: Hee-hee... I guess all's well that ends well. It'd be rude to question their motives.
Katalina: Now why don't we all pitch in and help them?
Lyria: Sure thing! I'll help too!
Vyrn: All right! Let's do this!
Based on this glimpse of a new facet of their characters, the crew realizes just how strong the bond between Karteira and Sierokarte is.