Chapter 157: Rough Draft (Patreon)

(Very rough draft. I write out the first draft, send to my wife for editing, then go back over it  again and possible add to the story, or rework things. Also add in tables. Then maybe a second edit. Rough drafts posted here will have typos that she'll catch later. This is a short chapter and also might be merged with something else.)

Roderick Kallvek, 2nd assistant merchant to the Great Kallvek, merchant of merchants, looked at the partially loaded wagon and thought that his father would be please. The family was indebted to the Village of Sedgewick and its Maybe for quite a few wagonloads of flour, salt, sugar, spices, and dried vegetables and fruits.

And for the butcher he had promised 24 barrels of syrup that he would have to purchase from the Maple Priests, three barrels of molasses, an a barrel of peppercorns. His father was going to want an explanation for these orders, for sure.

Luckily, he had one prepared. He just had to show the contents of this wagon.
-A dozen sets of the magical knives. They were wickedly sharp and weapons made from beasts were always in style. Not that it was difficult to sell magical blades, but these would sell quickly.
-Twenty of the Ironwood Wands, with twenty more to come to him.
-Three barrels of gourmet bacon. He was tempted to take them by one of several colleges that he traded with because of the mana restoration enchanted, but the bacon would sell better to high end eateries. Hmm, mayb a resturant next to a college? It would be doubly popular.
-And a small barrel of highly enchanted, and quite explose Mage's Delight.

The last item he would leave to his father to sell. The destructivly enchanted meat was closer to ammunition for a mage than it was a foodstuff. By family law, only the Great Kallvek dealt with powerful weapons and destructive magics. He dealt with the arms dealers and the rest of the family handled more mundane trades.

If Kallvek had held any doubts about the potency of what the Butcher had cooked up, seeing his tent launched into the heavens by a burning fireball had settled the matter. Myrna had been calm the rest of the night and then come to him for a glass of milk. He'd never once seen the kobold get heartburn.

All in all, a good exchange. And since no gold had changed hands, no taxes were owed yet. The Kallvek Merchantant Family always paid their taxes, but no merchant paid more than he had to, or one day earlier than needed. He contemplated the long journey home, and decided that paying the fees to travel by teleporter with one small wagon was worth it in this situation. As soon as his father saw the goods, he would issue  trade orders to procure and ship the items to Sedgewick. Roderick smelled the potential for much profit in the little town that controlled the entry to the much bigger city. Days saved in travel with no chance of banditry made paying the cost of the mana to the keep worth while.

He motioned for the little wagon to be un-hitched. They would pull it into the keep by hand and push it up to the teleport pad. One of his sons would accompany him, while his eldest and youngest stayed here to many the store. It would be good experience for them.

They would also have to deal with the tempermental kobold who cooked their meals. Also good experience for them.

He was unsurprised to find the Butcher and the Mayor talking with the centurion. The village did much business with the keep. The building of the new keep being the most prominent. But a lot of leather, hides, and meat also were flowing out of Sedgewick. It was something to think on. He would write his father a report on these new workers, and suggest he see what other small villages were flourishing. Maybe there was more business to be had in out of the way places?

He waved to the three of them. "Hola, my friends. My son and I depart by the fastest of travel, the better to get your promised goods to you quickly. We do not do things slow in my family." He bowed to the Centurion. "How much will it cost me for a teleport to the Capitol of the Duke of the North? My people can supply nearly 500 of the mana needed." Teleporting was not cheap, and whatever he could supply trimmed the cost by a bit.

A legionairre with the markings of a suppy sgt. and another who wore the robes of a mage measured the wagon, estimated weights and gave him an answer that made him cringe. Teleporting goods for merchants was discourage by charging a high price for the mana used. It took much less to teleport a person than an equal weight of non-living material. The merchant, his son, wagon and goods would take the equivalent of 20 living people. 2000 mana would be paid for by the teleport stone at Rowan Keep, and and another 2000 at their destination. The 'merchant tax' brought that to 4000 mana.

Even with the contribution of of 500 mana that still meant paying for 3500 mana to the Legion at the going rate of 1 gold per 100 mana. The merchant winced when told. This was going to cut into his profit.  At the same time, being raided by bandits on the road would cut out all the profit, as would paying guards for the trip. Such was the life of a merchant. He pulled out his purse to pay the fee and then felt someone tapping on his shoulder.

He turned to see it was Suzette, the little Mayor. "Yes, my dear, how may I be of service."

She smiled and indicated the Butcher behind her. "We don't mind helping to bring the mana cost down. It's the lease we can do, and neither of us have heavy work today. Just lots of shopping."

Roderick bowed. Help was help. Even if they could bring the cost down by one or two gold, it was one or two gold less paid out in fees. He liked paying less.

The Cenurion nodded and showed them where to place their hands. The merchant was fairly sure he saw the Mayor wink at th Butcher and whisper, "Race you!" The stone glowed brighter as they put their mana into its storage. Sparks flew on the Mayor's side and the Butcher seemed to grimace and bear down. A moment later he sat back down, exhausted. The little woman kept going for another ten seconds before straightening up and looking at the mage. "That should do it." She grabbed the Butcher's arm, heaved him up off the ground, and declared that he owed her a snack. They waved to Roderick and the Legionairres and went in search of the candy seller before he closed for the night.

The mage in charge of the teleporter looked at Roderick and said, "Good to go. Get you load up there and hold tight to the wagon."

Roderick and his son did so, but then he turned to the mage. "And the fee, what do I owe?" The mage shook his head in exasperation. "Not a damn thing, and I'm lucky she didn't ask for some back from me." More than that the man wouldn't say.
Two seconds later he and his son were in Northguard, home of the Duke of the North.

Quickly moving the wagon out of the large building that housed several massive teleport stones, they found a quiet spot by the buildings wall and he sent his son off to the family holdings to bring back a horse and some help. He was pondering the implications of how much mana his two new trading partners had used. He had suspected the woman of having some magic, but had thought it was limited to her brewing and other simple cantrips. The butcher was obviously the one crafting magical food. It now seemed likely that both might be powerful mages. And yet unconcerned with entrusting him with such a secret. Likewise, it was obvious the Legion knew. Marcus had seemed amused by the whole affair.

Yes, this was important information. He needed to impress upon his father, the Great Kallvek, the need for a speedy return with good quality foodstuffs. And then it was time to see about buying a building in the Village. Maybe a warehouse and a shop? And an eatery for Myrna? He'd been thinking of turning over the traveling part of the business to his son and settling down. Sedgewick was a nice little place, wasn't it? He'd be sure to explain how nice it was to his wife and family while he visited.