“You’re not paying me for how quickly I find the item. You’re paying me for the years I spent learning to find the item quickly.”|Adifaah Ayoub
History
Purpose
The Ene Gatherers sole function is to seek out specimens of Ene for their patrons. For these, they are paid handsomely. Some patrons are collectors whoo seek to own a piece of history, illicit though it may be. Others are academics who look to study the pieces. Such collections must be sanctioned by an highly-placed entity, such as a king.
On the other end of the spectrum are the Dyan, a religious group that is rabidly opposed to any technology. They have been known to hire Gatherers to find Ene items so that the Dyan can destroy them.
Benefits
Demand
Hazards
The search for Ene has a number of pitfalls.
Many items are located in either forbidden or forbidding areas. The areas may be off limits to individuals, or may just be extremely hazardous to reach. There are some area in the Muioqa Desert that are rumoured to have treasure troves of items, but are located at the bottom or deep within canyons that have no easy way of entry or exit.
Another hazard is the illgality of the items being sought. Once an item has been retrieved, it must be delivered to the patron without the Gatherer being caught. Getting caught by the authorities will mean incarceration, at the least.
The most dangerous is the Dyan. While they are know to hire Gatherers, this information is not shared below the Qanaviaro (advisors to the @(rank:5e50ee10-4b04-476f-935a-05455b855e02), and so other Dyan may find the Gatherer. In these cases, the Gatherer may wish he had only been caught by authorities.
Pay
Payments are made one-to-one from employer to Gatherer, and the cost is directly related to the rarity and condition of the item retrieved. Small pieces of machinery or bits of ancient technology embedded in Glassy Earth can usually be had for 100-300 gp.
On the other hand, some fetch magnificent prices. The Hollow Chits (Pokoki Esim) in good condition can fetch up to 1 million gp, while the Gepa Kubabo has a current asking price of 20 million gp.
Tomes, manuals and books from the Pre-Cataclysm era are also quite highly priced, as it is believed that the ancient Urnati had stopped using them in favor of some other method of record-keeping. As such, they are quite rare. Some libraries may have stored a specimen or two, but since the possession of them is illegal, they do not advertise such specimens in the library.
Qualifications
The only requirements to become an Ene Gatherer is to be unconcerned with retribution or attack, particularly from the Dyan.
Familiarity with areas that are thought to have been major cities prior to the Cataclysm is helpful, as it gives the gatherer a place to start.
Services
Social Status
Structure
Most Gatherers start as simple treasure hunters, looking to make that one find that will set them up handsomely for the rest of their lives. And this is entirely possible with Enen finds. But for most, the seemingly impossible hunt for more specimens wears down the treasure hunters resolve.
What are left are individuals who solely focus on researching, tracking and finding Ene specimens.
The most successful are well-known, yet not conspicuous. Given that all Ene is illegal, possessing such items can land an individual in a heap of trouble. Nevertheless, there are collectors of Enen specimens, and they pay handsomely for items in good condition.
The best sell their services for top prices and some are even rumoured to work for the Dyan to locate items so they can be destroyed. The destruction actually helps the Gatherers, as every piece desroyed increases the value of those remaining.