Verad Bellveil

Verad Bellveil
Distributor of the Dubious, World's Greatest Archer Pending Certain Conditions
Gender	Male
Race	Elezen
Clan	Duskwight
Citizenship	Gridanian
Admitted Age	38
Actual Age	Probably Older
Religion	Oschon, the Wanderer
Height/Weight	6 fulm 6 ilm, 187 ponz
Occupation	Peddler, Scrounger, Blowhard
Server	Balmung

Character

General

Verad Bellveil is a terrible Duskwight and a source of shame and irritation to everyone who knows him.

Appearance

Inasmuch as an elezen can be "grizzled," Verad fits the bill, with a heavy beard and a worn face. His hair is white, with a few desperate holdouts of black strands fighting a guerilla battle against the albino tide at its tips.

He tends to wear loose clothing that helps with the heat of Thanalan, where he conducts most of his business.

Behavior

A braggart, a blowhard, and a man who plays at being a wit, Verad spends much of his time hawking his wares - his so-called "dubious goods" - on the streets of Ul'dah. He gathers cast-off and useless materials from other craftsmen, or outright scavenges them from the wilderness when necessary, and sells them at negligible prices to any interested buyer. Verad considers himself an honest merchant, and prides himself on making sure anybody who purchases from him knows that they are buying junk.

History

Commemorative portrait of the opening of Dubious Distribution's main office.

Verad Bellveil's history, as he would have it, is one of the great mysteries of the Seventh Astral Era. Between his Hyuran name, typical Duskwight reclusiveness, and the lack of any clear records related to his existence, some (read: no) experts have speculated that he sprang into being fully formed during the Seventh Umbral Era shortly after the Calamity. He is clearly aware of events that happened prior to the event, however, making this unlikely.

Verad's home city-state is likewise a puzzle; he claims to have been banned from all three major city-states, Ishgard, and, at times, Garlea for "not having the proper permits." That said, his movements do not appear to be restricted in Ul'dah, and he may well be able to enter other cities with ease. It is possible that he is a well-informed foreigner.

Whatever the case, what is known is that Verad Bellveil arrived in Ul'dah several months ago and, after much scraping, bowing, and bribing, received the appropriate permits to lease out business space for Dubious Distributions in Pearl Lane. That this space happened to be in the middle of the street, and that the space was also leased to several other businesses in a form of vagrant timeshare, does not seem to have mattered to Bellveil, and he can occasionally be found scribbling in his ledger and planning the shipment of his wares in that very same space.

Verad's situation continues not to be monitored by the authorities of Ul'dah. Citizens are advised that he is no threat whatsoever save to anybody's time and, occasionally, their wallets.

Combat

General

Verad favors a bow on the grounds that when he misses his shot he will at least have a head-start on his now-enraged target. He also favors keeping other people between he and danger, begging, or simply not being in a fight at all.

Tendencies

Likes

• Making deals
• Selling junk
• The sound of his own voice

Dislikes

• Thieves
• Cactuars
• That one Lalafell who keeps spitting at him and running away. He knows who he is.

Hobbies/Talents

• Sophistry
• Spurious Logic
• The Lute

Other

• Tries very hard to sell something - anything - to strangers who engage him in conversation.
• Hates dishonest merchants who scam their customers.

Items For Sale

As a distributor of all things dubious, Verad's stock is broad and varies widely from the utterly useless to the potentially salvageable. The following list is far from exhaustive, and represents either popular items or items he is fond of hawking.

Blank Books - Verad frequently acquires misprinted or defective books from binders and printers and sells them to interested parties at a fair price. His texts tend to be popular with scholars and magic-users, as well as people who want a cheap journal.

Imitation Fool's Gold - Jagged rocks, painted gold and weighted like fool's gold. For when real fool's gold just isn't available.

Previously-Used Tokens of Sentimental Value - The Calamity left behind a number of grieving widows, widowers, and orphans. Those who cannot bear to keep tokens of their lost loved ones often sell them to Verad, who offers them to interested parties who, for some reason, feel that looking forlornly at such an item will impress their gender of choice. Such tokens take the form of rings, necklaces, bracelets, and portrait lockets. In order to protect the identity of the lost loved one(s), Verad replaces the original portraits with a placeholder. See related example.

Misprinted Maps - This product falls into two categories: maps of Eorzea made in error by amateur cartographers, and Garlean maps which provide various suggestions for how governance of the subcontinent would be distributed upon its conquest. Verad sells both as conversation pieces.

Memoirs of a Masterful Merchant - The Verad Bellveil Story - Copies of Verad's memoirs, published through a vanity press. To say the text stretches the truth is to say that primals are mildly annoyed about being summoned and killed all the time.

Plot Devices - Wildly popular among adventurers, the plot device is a mysterious object that can take many forms. It appears to be a piece of useless junk, but Verad assures customers that it will be useful exactly when they need it to be, and often in an unexpected way.

Gil-on-A-Chain - Single gil pieces with holes punched through them and placed in small brass chains. Expensive and incredibly unpopular.

Cactuar-In-A-Pot - DISCONTINUED

Items Not For Sale

There are some things Verad won't touch.

Narcotics - Omnipresent and a health hazard, and Verad's own standards would ensure they are even more hazardous.

Illicit Goods and Services - Dubious is one thing, nefarious another. While Verad will work with the criminal underclasses, he will not directly deal in slaves or contraband.

Food Services - After an ill-fated incident involving scoops of chilled bavarois during the Ul'dah summer, Verad is banned from selling foodstuffs.

Weapons and Armor - Because Verad cannot guarantee that someone's life will not be put at risk by shoddy equipment, Verad refuses to sell wooden swords, rusty mail, and other typical starting gear for adventurers.

Relationships

Aelius Corinthius - Verad mistook Aelius for a bodyguard he had long requested as a personal gift from the Sultana for "meritorious services to Ul'dah and the good of Eorzea as a whole." After clearing up the misunderstanding, he hired Aelius to occasionally patrol near his office and check for vandalism. The poor boy seems very confused, but earnest.

Avila Ashton - A professional medic in Ul'dah, Verad struck up a friendship with the woman during one of his pitches. He occasionally tries to moderate her temper. This fails.

Aya Foxheart - Verad and Ul'dah's best bartender are friendly acquaintances, a state brought on by their generally positive attitudes and Verad's willingness to request bizarre drinks. He is also fond of her cookies.

Osric Melkire - One of Verad's "regulars" - that is to say, someone who has purchased his goods more than once. Verad thinks highly of the Sergeant for his open and accepting attitude towards dubious goods, though he hasn't quite sorted out why the man is always laughing in his presence.

Zhavi Streetrunner - An occasional contact during Verad's infrequent forays into Lominsan markets, Zhavi and he have a contentious working relationship: she tries to incorporate him into scams, and most of the time he botches the job through his own skewed sense of honesty. On the few occasions when he is able to reconcile his principles to her plans, however, the payoff is immense.

Z'zhumii umi - Verad happened to encounter the young courtesan while she was inadvertently using his office space to practice a dance routine. He now rents the space to her for a token sum of gil whenever he is not using it, and openly hopes to have her advertise some of his products.

Rumors

Common Rumors

• Verad's full name is etymologically Hyuran, so he's probably hiding his real name.
• Some of the "dubious goods" he sells turn out to be important to the buyer.
• He is one of the greatest lovers of Eorzea, and dozens of people from the Sultana down have enjoyed his company. Or so he says. Frequently.
• While he provides a lot of obscure justifications for why he sells dubious goods when asked, he's really just a terrible merchant.

Moderate Rumors

• He is clearly concealing a dark and tragic past with his affected demeanor.
• He was at the Plains of Certenau, and if he'd gotten just a bit closer to the Garlean front they could have won the thing. Or so he says. Infrequently.
• He keeps a special stock of regular, non-dubious items for regular customers.
• He hasn't starved to death, so maybe he -is- doing something right.

Rare Rumors

• "Bellveil" is probably a Duskwight clan or an anagram of one.
• He says "dubious" so often that he must be under some sort of curse. What terrible fate could transpire if he were prevented from doing so?
• He was an investor in the Silver Bazaar, and its failure is what has led him to his current state.
• He actually did starve to death several weeks ago, and what we've seen so far is his spectre roaming the streets out of sheer persistence.

PC Rumors

• "Among other things, Verad Bellveil sells me laughs. For free. Ul'dah could use more laughs. Oh, and be sure t'buy a bag o' plot devices! Found an Allagan silver in mine, I did!" - Osric Melkire
• "He's a trader, I guess, but he beguiles with such honesty that I can't imagine he makes a living. I'd serve him, just for the amusement and cheer he brings us though; if Momodi would allow." - Aya Foxheart
• "Someone slipped a Fantasia in my drink of all things, and I walked around as a Moonkeeper for a few days. He told me he had a way to turn me back, and presented a Hyur roleplay kit of sorts. I told him to go fuck a carbuncle." - Lilithium Altair
• "I have not purchased anything from him of yet. But I believe they are all valuable things. All of his destitute and broken things. I believe them all to be of worth and precious in someone's eyes. Mister Bellveil does, and so do I." - Roen Deneith
• (Please add!)

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