Shared Topic: Aldonza cooks up a profit

The Blog Azeroth shared topic for July 30 - August 5 was suggested by Effraeti  from Effraeti's RP:

Some of us have farming professions. Some of us have crafting professions. Some of us have a little bit of everything! Professions are leveled because they fit our style of play, help us in raiding, allow us to outfit our alts, and make us money.

What professions do you have on your main? Do his/her professions fit their personality? Why did you choose them? If you chose professions based on your character and not on gaming needs, would that change some of their professions they use?

[Note: Over the summer my two sons decided to start two new characters and level together. The older boy bought our first account years ago but hasn't played recently. This is also the Part 5 update on my Low Level Dailies experiment. For more, see Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4]

Aldonza hurried into the back room of the Stonefire Tavern, brushing past Gwenna while juggling a stack of papers. She starts for an empty table before the sight of two familiar faces remind her why she's here. Aldonza sits by herself here so often the pull of the empty table had to be consciously fought. She drops tiredly into a chair and smiles at the two Gilneans. Belatedly she thinks to straighten her hat, "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long?"

Grimsbie politely brushes it off, "Not long at all." Furoci sits far less patiently and merely shakes his head.

Aldonza sighs and pushes her papers to the side. She then brushes crumbs off the table and with a frown checks the bottom of her stack for damage. "The use of the Guild Bank is clearly spelled out in the contract. You both can deposit whatever you'd like in the last vault. There's no gold for repairs and I'm charging for all this convenience. I'm afraid I'm a bit strict about all this. When you're on your feet and with a bit more experience under your belt, I expect you each to find your own home Guilds and I can have my vault back. I'm trying to make a profit here, not practice my philanthropy."

The Worgen look at each other, but have no questions. Aldonza ploughs on, "I've far better contacts and knowledge of the market, so come to me for your purchasing needs and I'll ensure you get the best price. Likewise the 'Consignment Agreement' contract spells out how what you deposit will be sold and profits returned." Aldonza stops talking abruptly, shuffles through the papers quickly sorting them into two new stacks in front of the men. "Finally, there's the standard terms and conditions for your starter loan... Netherweave Bags not included. Have you decided how much you need?"

Each adventurer pulls their stack closer. Grimsbie starts to carefully read through while the younger man barely glances at his. He also responds dismissively, "No loan needed for me. I've another friend what's already in your network of clients."

Aldonza gives a gracious smile, "Of course. One less issue then. We can talk later about your glyphing needs when that issue comes up. I'm a full service Scribe, of course. I can also craft some enchantments, but I understand neither of you expect to twink. I mean..."

Grimsbie shakes his head. "Not for me. Been there. Done that ages ago, you know."

Aldonza nods in agreement, "I remember. I'm afraid I'm hurrying through all this. Stop me if you've questions. Next topic will be professions..." She looks at Grimsbie first, still showing polite interest. She gets a shrug in return. "No preferences? Really?"

In response, Grimsbie shrugs again. "Things are different than when I... I mean when my old friend was active. All I'm sure of is I'm not going for Engineering. Things haven't changed that much, have they?"

Taking a moment to remove her hat, Aldonza brushes her hair with her hands and otherwise straightens up. "I could use a good Engineer, but you're right. It still takes a huge investment before seeing much profit. No, for an inexperienced adventurer like yourself, I suggest sticking to one of the three gathering professions."

"Mining and Skinning then," Grimsbie quickly supplies. "I fancy both would be useful supplies for my line of work."

Without asking, Aldonza nods. She is already aware the rogue prefers not to be more explicit. She turns to Furoci.

"Skinning, sure. As a druid, I think I'd like that. In addition, I'd like to be a Leather crafter." The youth explains excitedly. "There is this really neat set of armor and you can make these cloaks and stuff..." Aldonza can't seem to stem the enthusiasm that erupts from Furoci, now that he assumes it's his turn to talk. Aldonza fails to dissuade him and explanations of existing leatherworkers in her network don't diminish his interest. She sighs at the inevitable inefficiency.

The trio take a little break, fetching drinks and exchanging more pleasantries now that papers are signed and exchanged. Gwenna smirks at the Gilneans embarrassed order for milk, as neither is ready for much else she sells. The human mage declines to get anything fancier and orders the same. Before long, the three are feeling more comfortable and the topic has shifted to Aldonza's history.

"I've never been an Adventurer, really. I was practically raised for the consignment business, hauling things off to sell for others and occasionally purchasing something special for someone and mailing it off to a convenient location. It's actually a life that suits me well. I'm not greedy by nature, you know. It's just a useful measure for how well I'm doing. Things had been going along alright when I decided I'd try branching out. The Disenchanting business seemed simple to enter. I was already spending time at the Auction House. It was no trouble to keep an eye out on cheap items that could be quickly turned into dust and resold. It was that first step that awakened me to the larger possibilities."

"You see, only knowing disenchantment doesn't get you past the apprenticeship stage. Investment in some enchanting recipes would still only get me to journeyman, at least at my then level of experience, and it wasn't clear the investment would provide much of a return. That's where things stood until I picked up Inscription. As a scribe, I found even the lowest level glyphs can be profitable. There was a clear potential where the return on investment made the effort worthwhile. It wasn't long before..."

Aldonza stops, blushing. "I'm afraid I'm self-conscious about this. I pursue profit, and fear I'm greedy. I don't believe I really am, but when talking about these things, I know it'll sound like it."

Showing he's been paying attention, Grimsbie nods. "You don't adventure, so you've less to brag about."

Considering this viewpoint, Aldonza slowly nods. She's still blushing a bit as she prepares for more confession. "I'm a coward. It has taken a while to admit it, but I especially after the shocking invasion by those elementals set free during the Shattering... I prefer to stay safe. I had always thought that meant I'd never have the experience to be more."

Puzzled, the rogue twists his head, giving the Stormwind refugee a careful look. "What changed?"

Aldonza smiles brilliantly know as she reveals a secret. "The capital cities started calling attention to their daily fishing and cooking needs."

Furoci finds the topic boring. He gruffly notes, "I already know about that. I'm going to find something else to do." Grimsbie frowns at the rudeness, but declines to make the impatient druid stay. Returning his attention to the woman he asks, "Tell me more. I've never been that interested. It doesn't sound like there'd be much profit in such mundane matters."

Aldonza smirks a bit as she watches the younger man leave. "It isn't obvious at first. First, however, you need to understand how it fits my lifestyle. I spend much of my time checking the Auction House, running between the bank and the mailbox, and not anything else. Here is another activity that costs only a little time each day, and provides a reward for consistently checking in for a short time. It is an extremely efficient use of my time."

There is a recognizable dawning of recognition in Grimsbie's face. "Just a few minutes in the morning, for example. Clear your mailbox, check for undercuts, repost then fish and cook?"

Nodding in agreement, Aldonza adds, "Yes. And in a couple weeks, the work provides a nice handful of gold, experience, and an increase in skill. The fishing isn't particularly profitable, but the Chef's Awards provided an extra incentive right away. I'll get back to that later. Like any regular exercise, once you see tangible benefits, it's much easier to stay on track. It really didn't take long before I was eligible to train as an Expert Scribe. Research showed quick profit with new glyphs. It was a much longer hike to Artisanship, but I had a regular habit and ways to measure my progress."

Grimsbie sees where this is going, "And then Master and very soon, Grand Master. All only from fishing and cooking?"

Aldonza sporting her colors!

Aldonza admits, "Almost all, but not exclusively and certainly nothing dangerous. Early on I found I could inscribe Darkmoon cards for a profit and minor experience bumps. There are the occasional holiday event that grants experience without adventuring. That was especially true at Pilgrim's Bounty. That event also allowed me to rapidly raise my cooking skill. Basically, as long as I didn't have to adventure outside the cities, I did it. The only exception was when I accidental took a wrong turn in Stormwind and ended up inside the Stockades! I didn't need any reminders that I didn't like danger!"

A frown grows on the Gilnean's face, "But what about the Outland?"

A sigh escapes as Aldonza confesses, "What I did wasn't dangerous at all. When ready, I took that portal in the tower to the Dark Portal and immediately on the other side I stayed on the established flight paths. The journey allowed me to take advantage of my recently earned experience to learn flying, allowing me to make my runs much quicker. It also meant I could gather certain limited quantity items from Outland vendors and still never aggravate an enemy. Soon enough I'll be able to learn the Shattrath portal spell myself. In theory, I could fly all over the place and let the discovery safely gain me experience, but that isn't my style. No, I'll stick to flight paths in Outland and flying around a capital city, but no exploration. I did subsequently take a boat to Northrend and fly to Dalaran. That trip proved the profit in importing doublets and the like. It was a business trip, not an adventure."

Acknowledging the explanation, Grimsbie nods and gestures, "I noticed the Kirin Tor Tabard which goes with your outfit. It all has a Darkmoon Faire look."

In Guild Tabard now, not Kirin Tor

Sharing another brilliant smile, Aldonza agrees. "I have so few ways to improve reputations. The Kirin Tor were happy to recognize my early life and the profitable Portal business keeps those skills well polished, but the Darkmoon Faire is something I really earned. I crafted enough decks, strictly for the profit you know, that I was exalted even before they opened their island for fun and games. Of course, the Faire is a beautiful method of raising a profession like my enchanting without worrying about some of those difficult points in the process. No recipes worries. No crafted item floods. Very efficient, if slow. It got me to the Fiery Weapon profit point." She winks as if he'd understand which maybe he does.

Sitting up straighter, the rogue considers. "Well, I expect it'll be a long time before I'm ready for a different profession. You've already got a stable network of crafters, right?"

Aldonza smiles and nods. "Yes, my friend Kallixta is especially good while her old friend Martuska is more retired. I can get epic Tailoring or Enchantment done through her, but I usually don't bother her. Now Syylia..." She gets a nod from Grimsbie, who knows Syylia well. "I'd love her to be more involved than the occasional shipment of Truegold, but it just isn't her thing. No. Kallixta is the only active crafter with epic results in current demand by the most skilled raiders."

Grimsbie takes a guess, "And with big profits."

Aldonza nods, "That and cookies."

A grunt of shock escapes the Worgen, "Eh?"

Aldonza preens, "I had a plan for all the Chef's Awards. I think I hinted about it earlier. Well, answering 266 daily cooking needs yielded all those useful tokens just itching to be spent. My plan required maximizing my cooking skill to qualify for the Chocolate Cookie recipe. Every 2 or 3 award yields enough Imported Supplies than soon becomes stacks of cookies that, I don't care who you are, by the time you're done eating You'll Feel Right As Rain. Takes a bit of advertising, but it's all profit!