Blade Maidens: What Fools These Mortals Be – 5

“If you’ve gotten this far, you’re well on your way to making a mountain of coin. Keep my lessons in mind, and you’re almost guaranteed to find success in your ventures. But before I bid you farewell, one final word of advice.

If you’re thinking of doing business with magic goods: don’t.

I’ve got nothing against our arcane-inclined friends, but there’s simply too many variables for me to recommend magical goods or a primary customer base of sorcerers. Gold coin turning to lead, a crystal focus unleashing some extra-planar horror in your storehouse, finding your delivery boy floating 3 feet off the ground with fire in his eyes because he got bored and peeked at the wrong tome.

If you look at the established leaders in arcane trade, you’ll notice one thing they have in common. They’re all magic-wielders themselves. They know their goods. They know how to handle them. And they don’t care to share that information with the rest of us. The allure of a relatively untapped market appeals to any merchant with half a thought in their head, but trust me when I say this particular venture is not worth the risk. No matter how much coin you serve to make.”

– A closing excerpt from 10 Simple Rules to Pad Your Coinpurse, by Kona Gladhand