The first of the Merchant ships from my recently acquired trading empire is anchored and the combined Merchant and Captain who's name is Benti plus the Navigator Bjarnhedin have come ashore to talk to me and be introduced. This ships route is down to southwestern Europe and they usually go on a journey there during the winter to avoid the winter here, which I completely understand, but the ship will be in Borgarsandr at least for the next month. Along with my sambos and entourage we visit the ship which is a big Cog. The crew is presented, and they swear allegiance to me. I give standing orders that orders from Iselin, Ciara and Kari should also be taken as they come from me. Then we get a tour of the ship etc.

The Trading empire - and in the end I - own the ship and pay the crew and the Merchant, but the Merchant gets a share of each journeys profit while the crew gets a fixed salary plus a small bonus based on profit. The increase I ordered in salary for the crew is appreciated. The ship has no name, so I ask them to make a nice wooden sign with 'Nostromo' carved in it and put it up by the cabins, and on the hull sides of the bow and stern.

The merchant has a budget for each journey, and picks goods from the trading empire's warehouses and sells, buys or exchanges goods in the Southwest and the ship take them back and fill up the trading empire's warehouses - value difference gives the profit and determines how much the Merchant earned. Each ship competes with the other ships, partly for the same goods to pick from the trading empire, partly for goods that can be sold for good profit back in Borgarsandr, so of course they try to find what is more exclusive or profitable on their journey that the others doesn't compete with, and they know how to divided it. Some of the goods bought in one area might come from another.

I assume there is a bit of private trade outside the official one, both from the Merchant and the crew, but I accept it as long as it doesn't get out off hand, and when I say that, it becomes apparent that this has been the case. The Merchants sometimes exchange ships, where the crew and navigator accompanies the ship, so all the crews and navigator gets more experience of routes, and partly so the crew and navigator keep a little watch so the merchants are relatively honest. I'll let them continue with the system, and leave it to Ovdhon.

The problem with this way of doing business is that it makes it unpopular to stop trading in slaves, for the Merchants and the crew earn silver on it, especially from long distance trade with more exotic slaves on France-Iberian and England-Ireland route, but I make the Merchant realise that I do not appreciate the trade and to reduce its scope. It's better to gradually let it disappear over a few years, and hopefully if I can make them profit from other goods.

An important commodity from the Southwest route is a somewhat difficult addition to cement that's shipped in large jars, but when I think about it, it's quite logical. I believe the cement the Romans used for the Parthenon etc in Rome should be best because it still stands two millennia later even if it is overkill for most uses. I believe it's quicklime, gypsum and volcanic ash, and volcanoes are not that common in many places in Europe. Given all the constructions that will happen here, I ask Merchant Benti to buy much more of this supplement and their cement, because it will be sold. Of course he will buy a lot of things like sugar and finer cotton fabrics which are both greatly sought after and important goods, but I ask him to also get a roll with normal or inferior quality of cotton. I want to try to make guncotton in the future, and I've learned that everything takes time to collect. So I must start somewhere, and I have sulphuric acid and expect to be able to make nitric acid.

Another thing I want Merchant Benti to get is exotic colors and paint for Jane, books, and cork - a lot of cork. I don't intend to build life preservers from it, but mostly use it for what they already do - to seal vessels. I obviously don't know what it is called, but I can explain the purpose, and when I describe cork and explain how it is probably taken from tree trunks, the Merchant is a little shocked that I know that and seem to have seen it. I just give him a mysteriously smile and remind him that I am a Sejdmann, and have seen, experienced and know more than he can imagine. I specify that the books I'm interested in are not the pretty illuminated ones, I'm interested in the content, but not willing to pay to much. So books about astronomy, medicine, plants, nature, culture, math, construction and so on. When Iselin, Kari, Ciara and Jane start discussing fabrics, carpets and precious stones etc, I zone out.

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

I also ask Merchant Benti to try to bring back plants or seeds for herbs, medicinal plants, or important crops from the southern countries that shouldn't be able to grow here on his next journey. He needs to keep plants protected on the return journey but make sure they get sunlight and fresh water, so preferably select physically smaller plants that still produce a lot, ie no large trees, and I'll give a bonus for more valuable plants and for better information how they are grown, harvested or used.

I ask Merchant Benti and Navigator Bjarnhedin to stay on the island for a while so they can talk to Asta and have some exchange in navigation technology, and I want them to write down information about cities, their names, place, language, culture, important laws and much more, and maybe help Asta figure it out their coordinates and place it on a map. In the future I want the Navigator to perform sextant measurements in places they stop at and learn to use a sextant to take sun height at noon, because even without knowing the math they can record the values, the day it was done etc, so that we can calculate this when the ship have returned. But the sextant is secret, and so is their notes. They will get a north arrow too.

The crew is promised some time off to visit families etc, so they will sail the ship back to Borgarsandr, anchor it, and then return to talk to Asta and be shown how to use it. I warn them that Asta and the Eagle will leave for Kambsnes in a couple of weeks, but until then they have mostly free time. They can also see things like deck prisms and have it installed by contacting the right craftsman in Borgarsandr.

I want the Merchant to spread knowledge about the Academy and sell some sundials as well, even if the angle becomes hard. It should be possible to arrange a simple table by measuring with sextant and look up the angle for that day of the year. I can make a conversion table, which I need Asta to teach him to use. And basic numbers. There will be more stuff made in the future, but right now no real production has started. I show them the mansion's sundial and also monoculars, and a north arrow. The auction which will be in a week, but there is limited supply to really sell with merchant ships, but next year will be different. The Merchant confirms that he has seen simple sundials before in some places, but never really seen the point of it. He's also seen waterwheels for lifting water or milling.

Actually north arrows are so easy to make that I should make a few dozens and sell them through the trading empire. I'm going to need silver and gold, and its better if I can get it from some place far away, and the market is bigger. The Merchants and Trading Empire gets their cut, say 10% each, but I take the largest cut.

As expected his ship has no woman in the crew, but when Iselin and Kari explain underwear for women, he agrees that the trade must be handled by a woman, and he can help a woman get in contact with the right people. As a man he can not even talk to women in certain regions, but there will probably be a market for this in some regions of his route. His suggestion is that these female merchants - because he thinks a couple of the other ships will want it too - will act as their own merchants according to the same principle as him, and they can bring a few large chests of underwear.

So I write to Ovdhon to task him with procuring sundials via Digraldi, and outfit the ships with deck prisms, hammocks and life preservers, and to search for two or three merchant women. Of course language skills for each market are a must. Kari together with Iselin specify what needs to be included and to buy a large stock in different sizes and colors, fabric qualities etc via the seamstress guild.

Before these women go on their first sales journey, they should visit Ackerek to talk to us if we don't come to Borgarsandr. I expect the lingerie market to die out pretty quickly because other places will start making it themselves, but maybe it can sell for a few years or so. Information spreads slowly, and it is a luxury to be able to buy and use things from far away.

I also write that I have an assignment for the merchant ship on the northern route, and it will be necessary to make trips in February, because the goal is blocks of ice for the ice house. And that is 100 tons of ice. I will send him 60 north arrows, and each ship will have two, on for the Merchant and one for the Navigator. The rest are to be sold, where the trading empire gets 1/10, the Merchant gets 1/10, and I get 8/10. He will need to have pretty pouches made for them, without any metal.