Phoenix Cliffs Trading Company. The third largest trading group in Goldfrucht and the foremost weapons manufacturers. They had minimal reach in the north, so Kaiz didn’t know too much about them, but he knew enough to say that aligning themselves with the Baron was suicide.
While Rieka and her squad gathered their fallen, got their supplies, and healed the injuries they could, Kaiz pulled Viz to the side, “Why?”
“Z?”
Kaiz slapped him, “Be serious.”
“Fair enough. Because Cliffs isn’t truly interested in the Waldaun market. They’re ‘branch’ is in the noble district. They sell gloves.” He winked while rubbing his cheek, “They only came because of all the laggards with wealth and nothing to spend it on. If they got their hands on a major metals supplier, that could change.”
Kaiz ignored the wink and thought through the words. They implied that for some reason they’d be impeded by weapons manufacturing. Phoenix Cliffs would become an obstacle. That, by any reasonable measure, would be a ridiculous thought. Of course, he was dealing with the unreasonable.
“Does that ‘growth’ you've been referencing have anything to do with why our shadows overlap?”
The goat snapped his fingers, “That’s why you’re my right hand man.” Kaiz tried to slap the hand away, but failed, “But there is no overlap at the moment. We want to keep it that way.”
It was frustrating to have to speak so vaguely. There were a dizzying amount of questions that Kaiz had to put to the side to keep their identities obscure. Just in case someone was eavesdropping.
He got the jist of it, though. Their crew now dealt in weapons trading and with North West in their hands they needed Phoenix Cliffs no to.
“You say they’re not truly interested, but they hired high level mercenaries. That’s not a minor investment.”
Viz snorted, “To Cliffs it definitely is. They do business in briks. By the hundreds. They’re entire investment here is maybe a few days' profit.”
The thought of such immense wealth sent a shiver down Kaiz's spine. What he could do with that kind of access… He could only dream. For now.
“So their minor investments can control an entire province? And that’s what you want to go up against?”
“I’m not a fool, you know?”
Kaiz desperately wanted to remove his mask so Viz could see his dead stare.
Viz didn’t need sight to sense it though, “That’s rude. Anyway, I’m not set on interfering yet either. I don’t have a death wish. If the sand is too quick, we’ll simply leave. If not…” He had that sparkle in his eye, “Then we might have found a fountain of gold.”
Kaiz shook his head. He knew exactly what Viz was thinking and could even see the fantasies that popped in his mind. Annoyingly, he understood. He understood the moment Viz revealed they traded weapons. A quiet part of his brain imagined the very same thing.
What if they could get the supplier for themselves?
Kaiz was grounded enough to keep the thought quiet, but Viz let it ring from ear to ear.
“What about.. the boy? And the backup?”
The sparkle disappeared, “That’s the real complication.” He turned toward where Rieka was carefully testing her steps, “We need to know what they know.”
The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
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“Their previous head tried acquiring exclusive trading rights five years ago, but the Baron denied her. He wanted open trade. Instead of simply accepting that, she bullied any trader that made the trip. I can’t say what she did exactly, but every merchant that came complained about difficulties. Eventually they started lowering the prices they offered to buy our ingots.”
Rieka had finally relented and agreed to share the history of Ernst vs. Heldermann. Apparently, it was an inherited feud.
“We could survive the low prices, it was enough to live. We had barely opened the forge at the time.”
“Wait.” Of all people, it was Red that cut in, “You worked in a forge?”
Her eyes seemed to drop a bit, “My husband was a foreman. I helped out where I could. We had run a small blacksmith in Norden before we followed the Baron north.” She chuckled ruefully, “Further north.”
“Where’s Norden?” Another question from Red.
Viz answered, “The other side of the Screaming Sands.” He clearly itched to get the conversation back on course, “Phoenix Cliffs hadn’t moved into Waldaun five years ago, are you certain it was them?”
“Yes. I watched them come into Silberg with my own eyes. The yellow crest, the flaming flag, all that nonsense.” She looked disgusted at the memory, “The same thing they did when Ernst came.”
Norden branch?
Viz continued, “I see… well you could say they’ve escalated a bit since just harassing traders. What changed?”
The disgust turned to frustration, “Ernst. We always had at least some trade before him. Some months were better than others, but it was enough to survive. After he came, there was nothing. Just like that. We went the entirety of Mid Sun last year without spotting a single caravan. Not a truck, not a wagon, not a chameleon. Nothing. That's when things started falling apart.”
“What did he do?”
She shook her head, “I don’t know. We were never told. We didn’t even know it was Ernst at the time. Though we suspected. We only found out the truth when the ‘bandits’ showed up.” Her frustration built into a light rage, “They were too coordinated, too calculated. The Baron had left for Waldaun and not even a day later every tree farm in Struleren was set ablaze. Every one. This was at the very beginning of High Sun. We hadn’t filled our food reserve because we lacked the coin. So our stores were desperately low. We needed that harvest.”
The rage deflated, replaced by gloom, “So many starved. And while we mourned their deaths, the bastards rode around the walls chanting ‘Reject the phoenix, face the cliff.’ As if our lives should be forfeit because their boss refused to trade fairly. ”
Her shoulders slumped as she stopped her story. Most of her squad shared in her expression. Silence engulfed them all as the air of melancholy grew thicker.
After a moment, Kaiz cut through it, “I’m sorry for your loss.” He bowed, “And I’m sorry I’ve taken more from you.”
A crooked smile was all she had to offer his apology.
Viz called for a break as soon as he found the opportunity. The atmosphere was clearly too heavy to go on. An hour later though, they had gotten the rest of the story.
Heldermann had gone to Waldaun at the start of High Sun to uncover what had halted all the trade. Rieka didn’t know what exactly transpired, but he returned over a month later with a massive caravan of traders. By that point, the province was a mess. Roads were ruined, villages and towns were sacked, the farms were ashes, and the mines were empty.
Thankfully, there were enough resources on hand to trade for basic necessities so they were able to stop the widespread starvation and plant new tree farms. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough for the true aim of calling over a dozen merchants. No coin reached the Baron or his people.
Heldermann heard who was at fault of course, but so too did the entire caravan. They also saw first hand how ravished his lands were. To risk the wrath of Phoenix Cliffs just for the opportunity to trade sand? It was no surprise they did not return. Heldermann did, to Waldaun. Rieka hadn’t known why, but Viz presumed that was when he realized he needed allies. He didn’t bring a caravan back the second time, but he did come with soldiers. With the extra muscle, he’s managed to secure the farms and mines. Even though the rest of Struleren seems to still be in shambles.
When she’d finished telling the story, she didn’t even bother asking Viz how they planned to help. Talking about the past seemed to drain her. She promptly left them to sit by her squad.
When they were alone, Kaiz spoke, “I do sometimes forget that titleds suffer too.”
Viz snorted, “Waldaun grows more food than thrice the city could eat, yet untitleds still starve everyday.” He got them back on track, “She doesn’t know about the backup.”
Kaiz sighed, “Right. That is concerning, isn’t it?”
They both turned to a beaten, naked, tied up ‘Carl’.
“He’ll know something.”