There comes a time in any hero's life when they find themselves in need of easy credit.
Traditionally this role has been filled by the humble pawnbroker, who lends on collateral.
The traditional symbol of the pawnbroker’s shop is three balls hung a little bit like an inverse Club. Nobody knows why. There are all kinds of theories some of which may have some validity; it almost certainly comes from heraldry, but its actual origin is obscure.
There’s the slight possibility that the image originates from the tale of St. Nicholas, who once gave three bags of gold to three impoverished women, daughters of a pious man who had been brought to penury by Satan. If Saint Nicholas hadn’t stepped in, the daughters would have been forced into sex work. Because of this legend St. Nick is supposed to be the patron saint of pawnbrokers.
In order to know how much to lend you first have to know what the item is worth, which means you have to know a little about a lot. If you’re unscrupulous you can lowball the value to reduce the risk you’re carrying; the less you pay out the better, since so many of your clients default on payment. If that wasn’t a risk, they probably wouldn’t be knocking on your door to begin with.
If the client doesn’t pay up, then the item is sold to recoup the loan cost and hopefully provide a little profit on the transaction. From a buyer’s perspective that means you can find almost anything at a pawnbroker’s, and it’s usually better quality than you’d find at a junk shop – though possibly not by much.
There are other means of forcing payment. According to this Gutenberg text Chinese creditors had the option of taking their cause to the magistrate but preferred not to, as the magistrate’s love of bribes (gifts) was notorious. Instead, some of them went to the debtor’s place of business and camped out there, giving the hairy eyeball to all and sundry until they got paid.
Of course, if your setting happens to be magical (Swords of the Serpentine, eg) you have even more options at your disposal. Sorcery is the obvious route; lay curses on your debtor’s head until they pay up. In a game where social combat (Sway) is just as important as physical, you could also hire a professional slanderer to do your dirty work. They follow the target wherever they go, repeatedly sniping with Sway attacks.
Say:
Chatter Pappa is a well-known Derogatory. Short, slim and trim as a pirate’s sloop, they offer their services to the highest bidder. They don’t attack with their rapier (though they’re no slouch in that department - think Haughty Duelist, with a tongue that wags even more often than usual). Instead, they follow their target about Eversink, repeatedly targeting them with vicious barbs and slanders. If the target barricades themselves behind closed doors Chatter Pappa takes up their vigil outside, their tongue ceaselessly wagging so all passers-by know what kind of lowlife is hiding inside. Like all Derogatories, Chatter Pappa wears the silver badge of their trade. Guardsmen and city officials know better than to interrupt a Derogatory on their mission; while not technically approved by the courts, a Derogatory is a dangerous person to quarrel with. Chatter Pappa often works for the loan shark Vido the Rock, and it’s rumored that Chatter Pappa works for free, possibly because of some debt Vido holds over Chatter Pappa.
Having said all that let’s go to London and put a pawnbroker into the Bookhounds mix.
Howard and Thripps, Oxford Street
Mr. Howard, a former pugilist, and Mr. Thripps, a mousy little accountant, went into partnership ten years ago when Howard retired from the ring. Physically they closely resemble the comic characters Mutt and Jeff, and they have several strips clipped and pinned in the shop.
Four Things:
Howard is a prodigious drinker and when not at the shop he can usually be found at his favorite boozer, The Hanged Man, just around the corner. Thripps despairs whenever Howard drinks; Thripps is teetotal.
The shop has several rooms and a large elaborately decorated safe from John Croft & Sons, engineers. Nobody knows who John Croft is; the business probably expired years ago. The safe came with the shop. Thripps is the only one who reliably remembers the combination; Howard says he does, but often forgets.
Thripps is an enthusiastic investor in odd inventions. If you want to raise money for your latest Heath Robinson farrago, he’s the man to see. However, so many of these businesses fail that the shop has an impressive selection of oddball inventions in its inventory.
Fourth Thing Arabesque: one of the discarded inventions in the shop window is a prototype television set of peculiar design. According to the brass plate it’s the brainchild of Theo. Muswell of Croydon, whoever he is. It turns itself on and apparently has no power source; the fuzzy images it shows are hypnotic and threatening.
Fourth Thing Technicolor: cultists of the vampire priest often pawn their religious artefacts to raise funds for their projects, or to cover an emergency deficit. They always recover the items they pawn, but sometimes it’s a close-run thing.
Fourth Thing Sordid: A collection of photographs piled in a miscellany in a box on the counter includes several candid shots of the SS Princess Alice, post-sinking, its remains beached on the Thames. Those who pay the shots too close attention hear unsettling whispers from the drowned dead.
That's it for this week! Enjoy.
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