No Umbrellas Allowed Appraise, haggle, uncover the truth

Your main job is deciding what a thing is really worth. A seller walks in and keeps quiet about the flaws, so you run tools that read material, condition, year made and value history, then check your know-how book for city history, celebrity signatures and trusted brands. You learn to spot the knockoff with a famous name scribbled on it, and the dusty item that is worth far more than it looks.

Once you have a number in mind, the tug of war starts. Customers have expectations and feelings of their own, and every low offer gets a firm no or a demand for more. Push too hard and they walk out, which hurts both the deal and your reputation. When the till is empty and something good appears, you can borrow from Darcy, a bank or a foreign lender.

Darcy's is one small door in a strange city obsessed with something called Fixerain. Between customers you step out to buy flowers that draw people in, take worn items to the repair shop, listen to neighbors and pick up hints about what buyers want. Art lovers want art, history lovers want history, and guessing right keeps the till ringing. Keep an eye on the reputation board too. Treat people badly and fewer customers come through the door, which is fair enough.