Chapter Text
The ledger where Vex keeps track of the group's finances is a thick leather bound book that she's had since Syngorn. It had been the least expensive book of it's kind that she could find, the pages already yellowed and the corners were not in the greatest shape but it did have a spot in the spine to keep a pencil so it would do, she was originally only going to use it as a journal. After haggling the price down from three silver to one she left the shop very pleased with herself.
She used it as a journal for five days then put it on a shelf in her room where it sat for three months unused before she and Vax left.
The pages she'd written on are cut out and used as kindling in their very first fire.
She and Vax are huddled together for warmth, he pokes at the fire almost incessantly with a long wet stick until the large piece of wood finally catches
"I didn't mean for you to ruin your book," he says quietly once he's stopped shaking.
She just shrugs, the words on the pages burning in the fire mean nothing, the warmth means everything.
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In the beginning, she has it broken up into two halves, sections for Gold and Gems, the two things Vax is most likely to come home with at night.
Vax comes back to camp early, well before nightfall, a few months after leaving Syngorn, his face so much whiter than it should be.
"Vex, I was stupid and got caught."
He's clutching his side with his hand. He gasps in pain when she pulls it away she can tell that the cuts are not too deep but they're still bleeding and have been for a while.
She nurses him back to health but it takes over a week, leaving his side to hunt during the first few days knowing he might not be alive when she gets back is horrible.
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The pages from before the SHITS are gone, Vex cuts them out and burns them a week after Uriel informs them of the Keep he is going to have built and their new position on the council. It has been months since she could even bring herself to look at the pages that documented the times when it was just Vax and herself, and later Trinket, living off as little as they could. The lines that equal out to 0 follow her into her dreams. She'll remember the reality of those times forever.
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The book is divided twice more when the SHITS are first founded.
A smallish section of the book is specifically for putting a large amount of money aside in an effort that all magical components and potions that anyone in the party might need are taken care of. They stock up as regularly as they can in an effort to never run out.
Food and shelter, well it was much easier to live off the land almost entirely when it was just Vax, Trinket, and herself, once there are more people to feed purchasing meals and staying at inns when not on the road become the new normal. Buying food when they are able and keeping dry food rations helps them to get from place to place without stopping to hunt for eight people and a bear every night. A largish section toward the back of the book is for this. She does have a strict rule about alcohol, which is not food. Alcohol comes out of everyone's personal funds or if they're all drinking, the party funds.
"Sir, is there a way we could negotiate a lower price for these dry food rations if we purchased in bulk?" She's trying to be polite but really, she could tell when she walked into this store that the older dwarf was going to be difficult.
"Sorry lassy, no haggling." If he is trying to discourage her or make her go away he's doing a terrible job of it.
"What would the price be for your entire stock of rations?"
"You couldn't possibly..."
"A number please or I'll be forced to take my business elsewhere." It's the threat of losing a sale that is her friend in the end.
The look on the dwarf's face after she pays for everything and Grog comes in and they just keep putting packet after packet of rations in the bag of holding is so wonderful. That the rations last them until Westrun is freed from Kevdak is even better.
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It's when the SHITS are formed that Vex starts to keep a small slimmer book to keep track of her personal funds. She takes much less than everyone else does but she never comes up short. The money is used for necessary items and the little splurges she so rarely allows herself. Clothing mostly, they get torn up enough that an abundance of clothing has become a necessity.
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Haggling, a skill she started to learn as a child while holding hands with her mother. Vex hung on to her every word while Vax was looking around behind them at the people going by, not noticing the magic that was going on right behind him. You really could pay less money for things if you said the right words. If you knew enough about what you were buying. If you were willing to leave. It was her mother's haggling that kept her family alive and Vex saw that. It's why she haggles whenever she can, no matter what the group might think or say about it.
She tries her best to be cautious about others knowing about their money. She doesn't even like anyone else in the party knowing exactly how much they have, it gives her the opportunity to make sure that everyone has what they need. Pike is always discreetly handed 500 gold when she is required to leave them, Tiberius had a bag of 2000 gold pressed into his side and tied onto the belt of his robe as she said goodbye.
She didn't get a chance to give Scanlan the 600 platinum she would have given him. She's glad of it when she finds out about the suude.