Chapter 4
A Merchant's Mission
Venitz peered through the moss-laden timbers of the jetty as she carefully disembarked from the ship. It had been an uneventful eight days since they left Port Ovinsar, dry land and a change of scenery couldn’t come soon enough. Up ahead she could see a large gathering of townspeople, adults and children alike staring at the ship in awe. A ship docking at a pier in a port town wouldn’t normally cause such commotion, but this was no ordinary ship. The Titan was one of the largest ships in the Merchant Guild’s fleet, 50 yards long and 20 yards tall, the ship towered over the small fishing boats that dotted around the harbour.
“SHHHII-” a scream came from behind her as man tumbled into the foaming waters below, the first victim of the moss, but far from the last she reckoned. A roar of laughter came from the crowd, the spectacle of porters battling with the ill-maintained pier while unloading the ship’s cargo would provide hours of entertainment to the merchants and townspeople alike.
Venitz made her way to a small building at the side of the pier. Inside she could already hear the flustered shouting of Renick, the lead merchant in charge of the mission to Heraldforn.
“We sent word of our arrival two weeks ago, and enough marks to build this damned port twice over! How is the pier in such disrepair!? if we lose ONE sack, barrel, or animal I’ll have your head, the Merchant’s Guild doesn’t stand for…”
“Hope I’m not interrupting” Venitz joked as she entered the room. Renick, despite his small stature, stood looming over the harbourmaster, red-faced with spittle dotted on his purple merchant’s garb. He looked like a ferocious dog, ready to pounce on his cornered prey. Renick eyed the harbourmaster as he squirmed in his chair “Well!? Are you going to sit there while the lady stands? you had better go make sure that your staff work as diligently as we paid them!”
The harbourmaster jumped at the chance to leave, his legs visibly shaking as he hastened past Venitz. Renick turned to Venitz, his scowl quickly changing to a broad smile.
“Ah, Ven to what do I owe the pleasure? I assume you don’t need any help unloading your ehrm...”
“No, no, I have everything I need with me” she said, patting the small leather satchel that hung from her shoulder. “How long do you expect to take before we’re ready to leave for Heraldforn? I might take a quick walk through the town while you prepare”
“Hrmmm longer than I had planned anyway… at least 5 hours I reckon. I can arrange for a porter to notify you when we’re ready, we’ll wait for you at the town gate, I’ll be sure not to leave without you”
There were at least thirty other merchants on this expedition, and Venitz doubted the other merchants would get such generous treatment. Renick’s attitude towards her had quickly changed once he had checked her merchant’s card in Port Ovinsar. The merchant’s card was a small wooden block inscribed with markings to indicate ones rank in the guild. A merchant’s rank and wealth were one in the same, and for a merchant like Venitz to have the same rank as Renick, a well-known merchant twenty years her senior, was quite unusual. He knew, of course, how she had made her fortune. The Merchant’s guild covered all aspects of trade between Urungeald and Librestra. Not just the recognised trades; food, clothing, jewellery, livestock, but the dark markets; slaves, magi-tech, artefacts too. If there was profit to be made from a trade the Merchant’s guild took their share, and for those willing to take the risk, there was plenty of profit to be had in the dark markets.
Venitz surveyed the town as she took the last step up the stairway from the port. Calafort was a small rundown town, like the port below, its best days were behind it. There was a wide dust covered clearing, that extended in a semi-circular shape with the port at its centre. Surrounding this area were rows of orange-red sandstone buildings, all similar in shape and style, much like those found in Heraldforn and the other towns in the Tarong region. A main thoroughfare extended from the port through to an arch at the edge of the town, presumably the route towards Heraldforn, and the point where she would reconvene with Renick and the rest of the merchant convoy.
As she made her way through the town, she was met with odd stares from the local townspeople. Normally she would try to blend in with the crowd when travelling, but she was representing the Merchant’s guild in an official capacity and had to dress accordingly. The purple merchant tunics were designed to be noticed, a quick way for anyone to recognize a merchant regardless of their nationality, although it seemed to Venitz that the people of Calafort hadn’t seen any merchants in quite some time. And why would they, she mused. Other than its strategic location Heraldforn and Calafort by extension had little to offer the rest of the Urungeald Alliance. The harsh and arid lands of the Tarong region could hardly support any agriculture, nor did they have any great mines or notable industries. The people of this region eked out an existence on these barren lands out of sheer defiance to the land itself, but that could all change soon. After the wedding in Heraldforn, the road south to the lands of the Yashai would be reopened. If the trade negotiations went well, and the rumours about Yashai were true, Heraldforn could soon become the epicentre of a trading boom, perhaps one of the key trading hubs in all of Urungeald.
“E-e-excuse me miss” a voice called out from behind her. Venitz turned to see two men approaching her. She looked them both up and down, as if measuring each of them. Two men, one older, both scrawny with weathered faces and clothes to match. The younger man looked away as she caught his eye but continued to approach her reluctantly. She smiled and then walked towards them both.
“Can I help you gentlemen?” she asked cordially.
“That satchel” the older man said sternly “Hand it over”
“No,” she replied calmly, folding her arms.
The men seemed dumbfounded by her response. No panic, no explanation, just a flat-out refusal. The older man took a deep breath as if to reassure himself and then began again.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
“H-hand it over, or we’ll bash your skull in right here and take it”
“Kill me, really? you just jumped straight to murder for the unknown contents of this satchel?”
The two men hesitated again, they had a plan, but this wasn’t it. Venitz made a living trading on the dark market, her livelihood depended on her ability to read a person and their intentions. On her travels she had encountered her fair share of opportunists, she knew if someone intended to rob her, they wouldn’t ask for permission first.
“Tell me did you not see the small army of men that disembarked our ship, do you know what the Merchant’s Guild does to people that kill a merchant?”
The men paused now, the older man opened his mouth as if to speak but Venitz continued candidly.
“Flaying, it’s a rather gruesome affair really, and not just for you and your son here, no your whole family will have to be rounded up, it’s guild policy after all.
The two men looked at each other, a wave of panic and confusion washed over their faces, a hint of fear and regret grew in their eyes.
“Ah, what if you kill me now, who would know right? I’m sure your fellow townspeople wouldn’t say anything. You know all those nice people who saw you both following me, I doubt they’d hand you and your family over to our guards. A gold piece each is a handsome reward, but hardly enough to turn neighbours against you, especially in a thriving town such as this.”
Any glimmer of confidence the older man had quickly drained away, he erupted into nonsensical babbling as he tried to backtrack
“I-I-I’m sorry, please it was my idea, I told the lad here to come along, he didn’t want any part of it. Please leave him out of this, we’re good people we won’t trouble you again, I’m truly sorry we’re just desperate, the fish haven’t been biting and we haven’t eaten in-”
“Oh stop apologising, don’t worry there’s no rules against making idle threats against a merchant, if there were we’d have no customers left.” If you’re truly that desperate you should head down to the port, I’m sure there’s plenty of porters who’ll be more than happy to sub out some work”.
“Errr, eh T-thank you?” The older man looked at her confused, and she couldn't blame him. Was this a trap? Would she have a host of guards waiting for him at the port, noose in hand, ready to execute him for his heinous crime?
Venitz laughed to herself as she walked away, she enjoyed playing games with people. Everything she had said was true enough though. The Merchants Guild could be a terrifying force if you got on the wrong side of them, and partly the reason why she had joined the expedition. The chairman of the guild had requested that she go, and while most merchants operate with autonomy a request from the chairman is akin to an order. Failing to do so would have led to her falling out of favour with the guild, and a merchant doesn’t last long without the guild's support, on the dark markets least of all.
Venitz had walked every street of the town three times over, much to the confusion of the local townsfolk. She had spent the past week sitting on a ship, she would take what little opportunity she had to stretch her legs. As she rounded above the port for a fourth pass she noticed the last of the crates being unloaded from the Titan.
It wouldn't be long before the caravan was ready to leave town. She glanced down the stairway and spotted Rennick heading toward the Harbourmaster's office. What's wrong with him now she wondered as she headed down to investigate. Two guardsmen appeared from inside the building and now stood at the entrance. "May I?" She enquired as she approached the door. "Of course Miss, but I'm not sure this is something you want to see" "Nothing I haven't seen before I'm sure" she grinned as she headed through the door.
Rennick was sitting in the corner of the room, while the Harbormaster and a third man stood in the centre. Daron was the captain of the merchant's guard, he was a tall, broad man with a stern face that matched his demeanour. He didn't talk much but Venitz had gathered that he was a lifelong soldier, a veteran who had served in the Librestan ranks before starting his own mercenary company. Not a man you would want standing across from you, glaring like a hungry wolf.
"My men did some interviews while the cargo was being offloaded, that pier hasn't been worked on since the war ended" Daron began, "What did you do with the marks sent by Master Rennick?"
"N-n-n-nonsense, I've been working around the clock to prep-" the Harbourmaster's babbling was swiftly interrupted as Daron's fist crashed into his abdomen. The Harbourmaster was big enough Venitz reckoned, but he crumpled down to his knees, winded by the blow. A swift knee to the face followed after, and the Harbourmaster sprawled to his back, blood gushing from his nose.
"What did you do with the marks sent by Master Rennick?!" a heavy kick to the ribs followed, Daron wouldn't want to knock the man unconscious before his questions were answered. The Harbourmaster screamed as Daron raised his foot again, "THE FLOOR, IN THE FLOOR!" he looked towards a corner of the room through his now teary, bloodshot eyes.
Venitz stepped over the man as she made her way to a loose floorboard in the corner. What an awful hiding spot, any thief worth their salt would spot this from a mile away, she mused as she pulled up the board. Inside sat a small trunk with the seal of the Merchants Guild. Popping the lid open, she quickly scanned the contents "Two hundred gold marks.. not even a penny spent! Quite a charitable operation you're running here Harbourmaster." Venitz closed the trunk and handed it back to Rennick.
"Indeed," Renick declared "I can't remember the last Port that was free of charge."
The Harbormaster let out a small sigh of relief as a slight smile crawled across his face, the look of a sinner who had just received absolution.
Unfortunately for the Harbormaster, the Merchants Guild weren't ones for absolution. "Now to the matter of the barrel of Vidar wine, four sacks of grain, and three rolls of silk" Rennick said menacingly as he glowered at the Harbourmaster, his protests stifled as Daron stuffed a cloth rag into his mouth. "I told you I'd have your head, but I didn't say I'd take it in one piece". Renick rapped on the door and the two guardsmen entered the room, bindings in one hand, blade in the other. The Harbourmaster looked at Venitz helplessly as his hands were bound, but he would find no aid from her. She watched as his ear was hewn off, flopping to the floor below. Renick peered through the door to the pier outside, trunk of coins in hand "Come Ven, it's getting a bit crowded in here, let us make preparations for the departure".
"Awful business," he muttered as they stepped outside "two hundred gold marks is a handsome fee, even in a big city. Hardly worth risking your life for though."
"On the contrary Rennick, It lasted a lifetime for our lovely Harbormaster." The two shared a small laugh as muffled screams were silenced by the closing door. The two climbed up the stairway to the town above, joining with their fellow merchants as they prepared their carts for departure. "All set Ven?" Renick asked as they moved along the Caravan to the front. Venitz paused as she caught the eye of a young man loading a sack onto a cart. Her would-be mugger not three hours previous, she gave him a glancing smile and continued on. "Ready when you are Master Rennick" she said jovially, tapping the satchel hanging from her side.