Crispijn's Jewellers (SS1)

Crispijn Oosserijker runs a jewellers shop on the Riddra side of Stoessel. Of course, few, if any of the items he has for sale were obtained legally ­ Crispijn is the main jewellery fence in the city, and he specialises in removal of identification and the alteration of stones. He is a con man to the bone, and perfectly willing to rip off any unsuspecting buyer as fully as possible.

The shop is situated in the more run down area of Stoessel, near the Riddra bridge, away from the bustling warehouses. The windows are dark and grubby, with rotting bars protecting them, and it looks like no one has been in for some time. In the bay window are a collection of rings, necklaces and watches, all with handwritten price tags ­ prices way below the norm. Hanging above the door from a rusty hook is a hand painted sign reading: Crispijn's.

The building is built on three stories ­ the ground floor is the shop, the first floor is the workshop and the top floor is Crispijn's living quarters. A rusty bell rings loudly when the door opens, for Crispijn spends most of his time in the workshop upstairs. The room looks empty, even though there are jewellery cabinets all around the walls. The cabinets all have a thin iron lattice to protect them, and customers have to press their noses to the dirty glass to peer inside.

The workshop upstairs is equally sparse ­ a rough wooden table covered with sacking, with a jumble of tools. In an inconspicuous corner of the room is an iron safe, and this contains all the unaltered pieces. His living quarters are similar, little more than a bed and table.

Common Knowledge

"You're more likely to find something there that you used to own than something new that you want!"

"He's a sly, mean devil. Don't be fooled by his stupid appearance because that's all it is ­ an appearance. He'll have no qualms about putting a slug through your head if you try to jump him. That's probably a bad idea anyway, lots of powerful people find Crispijn useful, if you understand me?"

"Lets have a look. Ah yeah, I see that getting rid of these would be a problem. Crispijn will buy 'em though, he'll buy everything. Don't try and peel him over the prices, or push him fugazies, that would be most unwise."

Crispijn van de Oosserijker: Fence, Ex Jeweller, Ex Apprentice Social: C4

"I don't think I know you ­ I haven't seen you around before. Never mind, how can I help you?"

"Stop right there! Put your hands where I can see them. Now ­ get out of my shop before I put lead through your incredibly small brains."

Crispijn is a small stooping man, but composed of incredible strength for his size. He has longish grey/brown hair, a drooping moustache and a goatee. He squints a lot, wrings his hands and has an annoying habit of bobbing up and down effusively throughout any transaction. This is just a cover though, and in times of stress or during combat he becomes intimidating and almost inhumanely calm. He wears a rough leather apron when working, and at other times, cheap, labourer's clothes in dull, cheerless brown.

Growing up on Riddra he is perfectly able to look after himself, and carries a small flintlock pistol wherever he goes. He has the protection of high up Guild Members ­ he is an efficient workman, and a valuable contact for them. At the age of nine, he was taken into Sister Marianne's Orphanage, and hated it bitterly. He was found an apprenticeship at the Jeweller's Guild, and became a professional jeweller. One night several years ago he was contacted by one of his old childhood friends, and overnight Crispijn became the largest fence in the city.

Crispijn follows his career because of greed and the challenge. He is an expert at recutting the stones, fitting them to different items of jewellery and making them otherwise unidentifiable. He can spot a fake without trying, and will cease business with anyone trying to sell them to him (often in a lethal fashion.) Although he has a lot of money, he acts no different from any other slum dweller, and many speculate on what he does with it. Some say he has gambling problems, others say drugs or drink have taken hold of him and still others that he supports an expensive mistress in the Centralwijk. The truth is that he keeps it all in Marcellus Van Walsum's Private bank. Exempt from Marienburg taxes, the gold grows and grows, and one day Crispijn will pack up and disappear overnight, vanishing into the empire.

The watch knows all about Crispijn and his obviously illegitimate business, but they also know about the powerful people who back him. A few small bribes keeps them happy, and none are too keen for an early death at the hand of his pistol. Crispijn only ever puts the smaller, less valuable pieces on sale in his shops for purchase by the general public. He's clever enough to realise that the watch would be forced into action the instant a 1000 Guilder ring belonging to a rich merchant's wife appeared in his window. He still deals in such pieces, but all the transactions are within a select circle of associates, and behind closed doors. Very valuable pieces are often smuggled out of Marienburg to Altdorf or Middenheim, and Crispijn has extensive contacts throughout the Empire.

Within Marienburg itself, Crispijn has many contacts. He pays Hans Kluger (SL11a) 5 gu a month to send on any customers to him that Hans is unhappy dealing with. He uses Thijs Modegekker (SR12a) when he wants to smuggle a valuable piece out of Marienburg. If she knew of his existence, Sister Marianne (SL14a) would dislike Crispijn, another one of her orphans gone bad. He knows many members of the Guild (SB36) and operates with their permission. he is contact with Jewel thieves from all over the city, as well as many other members of the Suiddock west end.

M 4; WS 47; BS 58; S 5*; T 3; W 9; I 63*; A 2; Dex 55; Ld 41; Int 32; Cl 39; WP 44; Fel 29

Age: 36

Alignment: Neutral (Ranald)

Skills: Acute Hearing, Blather, Disarm, Drive Cart, Evaluate, Fast Draw, Gem Cutting, Haggle, Lightning Reflexes, Magical Sense, Palm Object, Read Write, Super Numerate, Specialist Weapon ­ pistol, Strike to Stun, Very Strong

Possessions: Sword, Knife, Uncut Jewels, Tools, Flintlock pistol, leather jack, overalls

Trading at Crispijn's

Items for sale are varied, but as explained above, not overly expensive. Rings, watches, necklaces, earrings, snuff boxes and many more oddities can be found lurking, dust covered, on Crispijn's shelves. Crispijn will buy jewellery at 10% of their original value and can be bargained up to 15 %. For very rare or expensive pieces, he will pay up to 25%, but he has to trust the dealer before he will buy. He sells the jewellery for between 40 and 60 percent of its original value. Although the buying prices are quite low, he will buy anything, in any quantity, and has the up front cash to pay for it. Having said that, he will not take large sales from new customers. He is very careful to avoid exposure, and trust has to be built up. If the party contains a jewel thief, they will eventually be directed to Crispijn's after seeing a few other fences. If a good working relationship can be built up, there are several adventures that can be used.

Adventure Ideas

Counting Chickens...

Crispijn is finally packing it in. However, when he visited Marcellus, he was told that the money would need a week to be transferred. Now Crispijn is in trouble. The guild would obviously not be happy if Crispijn leaves, and would find out over a period of a week. This can be run in one of two ways. The PCs can be hired by Crispijn to get the money for him. They could raid Marcellus' island and steal it from him, or persuade Marcellus to give up the money, or borrow the money and return it when Marcellus pays them. This could be complicated by the fact that Marcellus either doesn't have the money or has no intention of losing such a chunk of his fortune.

On the other hand, if the characters are connected with the Guild, they could be instructed to track down Crispijn before the end of the week, and before he flees Marienburg, so the guild can 'persuade' him to stay.

Stealing is Illegal!

Crispijn heard mention of a buyer who wanted a rare necklace owned by a rich Marienburg Merchant Lord. He asks the PCs if they could steal to order, and deliver it to their contact, in return for a third of the profits. Assuming the job goes fine, the PCs are shocked to find that when they arrive at the agreed location, they are jumped by several watchmen. Assuming they escape, they will find posters of themselves plastered up around Marienburg. If they try to find the contact, they discover he has been murdered, and that Crispijn has disappeared...