Chapter 16

Clara was led through the hold of Ruin’s Wake by Captain Iškur. Two of her Death Knight escorts stood sentry on both ends of the gangplank, while the remainder followed her inside. As they passed by the Ghost Ship’s Undead crew, she wrinkled her nose at the putrid stench of decay.

“Captain Iškur,” she said. “You will have to remove any Undead that emanate effects that are detrimental to the living.”

“These Ghasts will make people sick,” Captain Cavallaro frowned. “Undead with touch attacks are also no good. Ghouls and Ghasts will paralyse their victims, and I see others with various Negative Energy Drains here.”

“The Undead labour employed in the Sorcerous Kingdom are subject to similar considerations,” Clara told the Elder Lich. “If you wish to convey goods between populations of the living, it is best to adhere to the same guidelines.”

“I understand, Countess Corelyn,” Captain Iškur said. “I’ll get to fixing that while we discuss things in my cabin.”

They made their way to the back of the ship, where one Death Knight and the Death Warrior assumed positions outside of the cabin door. The remaining Death Knight, Captain Cavallaro, and Sister Alessia joined them inside. Clara eyed the cabin’s pane-less windows.

“Can extensive modifications be made to Ruin’s Wake, Captain Iškur?”

“How extensive, my lady?”

“Considering your desire to trade,” she said, “they would revolve around her ability to convey cargo and maintain the ideal conditions to transport various goods from place to place. Keeping things dry and secure would be the first thing to take care of – making sure ports and decks are sealed so that rain won’t get in, for instance.”

Around them, the soft glow of the Ghost Ship seemed to fluctuate.

“She says that as long as there are no major changes to her hull,” Captain Iškur said, “things like that should be fine. We’ve actually been trying to figure out if there are any improvements we can make to our image.”

“I am glad to hear that,” Clara smiled. “For a moment, I was worried that those sorts of alterations would be impossible. What you said does mean that the hole in the side of her hull will stay, however…we will have to figure out a way to make sure your cargo does not fall out.”

The harbour staff would have a better idea of how to utilise the Ghost Ship’s hold efficiently, so she would leave it to them. Reaching into her Infinite Haversack, she drew out the materials she had prepared. She placed them carefully on the captain’s desk, which appeared to be a slab of stone salvaged from a ruin somewhere and smoothed flat.

“These are–”

A racket drifted in through the doorway, accompanied by the sound of objects thumping onto the wooden deck. Captain Cavallaro turned at the sound, a hand over his warhammer.

“What is that?”

“I’m getting rid of the problematic crew members,” Captain Iškur told him. “The corpses’ll disintegrate on their own in due time. All that’s left are Skeleton Warriors and Skeleton Mages…will that be fine, Lady Corelyn?”

“Thank you for acting so promptly, Captain Iškur,” Clara nodded. “The rest should meet our legal requirements. Skeletal Undead also have the added bonus of being easy to pack away, so you should be able to make the most of your cargo capacity.”

She gestured to the various articles organised neatly on the captain’s desk.

“Here are some of the basic things that I thought you should start out with,” Clara said. “At some point, you will need to purchase furniture for your cabin and any living crew members that you employ. Now, before we go over everything, there is something that I would like to ask.”

“What would that be, my lady?”

“Lady Zahradnik mentioned that the purpose of your trading efforts is to secure resources for the Katze Cabal.”

“That’s right.”

“In that case, would you like to hire Merchants to trade on your behalf?”

Beside her, a furrow appeared on Sister Alessia’s brow.

“Comitessa, you cannot mean…”

“I do.”

If His Majesty wished to extend the blessing of his wisdom to the Sorcerous Kingdom, Clara would not do so in half measures. It no longer mattered if they were Human, Undead or otherwise.

The crimson points of Captain Iškur’s eyes went between the two of them.

“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”

“Simply put,” Clara said, “you are an arcane caster, Captain Iškur. If your purpose is to acquire resources, there is no need to become a Merchant. You can hire Merchants to do these tasks for you while you and your partner transport goods. By delegating tasks to professionals who specialise in them, you will be free to pursue your own.”

“This reasoning appears sound,” the Elder Lich said. “But, uh…I’m ashamed to admit that I can’t afford to hire any staff.”

“It is nothing to be ashamed of,” Clara assured him. “It is also not a problem that you will have for long. The Katze Cabal has a valuable resource naturally available to them, which you may easily exchange for other resources.”

Clara picked up a vellum scroll from the desk.

“This scroll contains the First-tier conjuration-school spell Summon Spices. I have included two of these scrolls for each member of the Katze Cabal. This spell will be what they use to help generate the starting capital for your efforts.”

“I see,” Captain Iškur nodded thoughtfully. “So the Katze Cabal’s naturally available resource is mana.”

“A self-replenishing resource that Elder Liches have vast quantities of. I assume you can learn this magic?”

The Elder Lich reached over to retrieve one of the scrolls from the desk. He carefully unfurled the oiled vellum in his claws and nodded several times after a brief inspection of its content.

“It shouldn’t be a problem at all, my lady. What sort of valuable commodity will we be summoning with this?”

“Rather than any particularly valuable commodity, you should begin by trading in something liquid. My recommendation would be salt. The vast majority of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s subjects require salt to live, as does their livestock. There are also several industries that require large quantities of salt.”

The scroll in Captain Iškur’s fingers went up in a burst of azure flame. A stream of white crystals fell upon the desk and scattered to the deck.

“Oops.”

“I also recommend that you have a suitable container prepared when you cast the spell.”

“Right…so we learn the spell and conjure salt. What then?”

“We can keep things simple, at first. Deliver your salt to Corelyn Harbour, and a Merchant will sell your goods at market. I can assign a Merchant from one of my companies to you, and they will deduct the cost of the materials I have provided here from your sales. Is this acceptable?”

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Clara put the scroll in her fingers back on the desk. Captain Iškur looked down at the ledgers, scrolls, stationery and writing supplies laid out before him.

“To be honest,” the Elder Lich said, “I’m already ecstatic over being able to make any progress at all. As ecstatic as an Elder Lich can become, at any rate. Beyond that, I have no sense for value when it comes to trade – I am, as you have already realised, not a Merchant. The idea that I can hire minions–erm…agents to trade on my behalf is an extraordinarily attractive prospect.”

“He said minions, yes?” Captain Cavallaro frowned.

“That he did,” Sister Alessia peered at the Elder Lich.

“O-occupational habit,” Captain Iškur cleared his throat. “Will this be as simple as you say, Lady Corelyn?”

It wouldn’t be so simple for a living being. Ruin’s Wake and her captain had an arrangement that was difficult to ruin. They had no personal living expenses – no need for food, water, shelter, or anything else of that nature. The costs that came with transportation were limited to whatever modifications that they needed to make to optimise their cargo capacity. They would be employing the same agent agreements as anyone else and they were essentially converting mana into currency.

Ruin’s Wake would stay afloat as long as she had ports to trade in. Even if they lost all of their financial and physical assets, they could simply start again from scratch.

Clara produced a pen and a sheet of paper, leaning over the desk to draw a simple flowchart.

“The best way to address your worries is to see the process at work for yourself,” Clara told the Elder Lich. “I am simply here to point you in the right direction and learn a bit about trade using large vessels. The cornerstones to your trade consist of your capacity to convert mana into goods, the cost-free transportation provided by Ruin’s Wake, and the markets made available to you as citizens of the Sorcerous Kingdom. As long as these cornerstones exist, you are effectively unsinkable in an economic sense.”

She unfurled a map of the Sorcerous Kingdom, using ink bottles to hold down the corners. Everyone leaned in to look down at it.

“Ruin’s Wake has an advantage in the fact that it does not require infrastructure to operate upon,” Clara said. “There are many communities in the nation that do not have access to infrastructure and are thus practically inaccessible to the wagons that most of our Merchants employ. Exploiting this advantage will allow you to explore potentially lucrative trade routes.”

With the end of her pen, she tapped the markers for E-Rantel, Corelyn Harbour, and each of the other seven towns in the proximity of the Duchy of E-Rantel.

“In many nations,” she said, “urban centres act as hubs where resources are processed and redistributed. The vast majority of Merchants make their living moving raw resources to towns and cities, then redistributing goods to the surrounding lands. This course that they travel over is the most basic form of a trade route. Since the bulk of the Sorcerous Kingdom’s industry is in the Duchy of E-Rantel, it is best that you remain in this area.”

“Seems like most of the points on this map are connected by roads,” Captain Iškur noted. “Where will we be going?”

Her pen stopped to rest on Corelyn Harbour.

“Once you build up enough capital from salt production and chartered shipping between Corelyn Harbour and Warden’s Vale,” she said, “You can begin by purchasing lumber, stone, and leather from Corelyn Harbour. We do consume these goods here, but even with our prices, there is an opportunity for a small profit in the east.”

The pen moved east to an unnamed marker near the border with the Baharuth Empire.

“Countess Wagner is raising a border town at this location,” she said. “As such, there will be demand for your goods. You will not be going here because of the small profits you will gain, however, but because of what you will purchase in this town.”

“I see…so since we’ll be going there anyway, we might as well make a little bit along the way.”

“Correct. It is common for Merchants to choose routes that will simply cover their expenses as they go between one lucrative region to another. Complete chains of contiguous stops that generate large profits will tend to be ‘smoothed down’ by increased flows of trade. After selling your lumber, stone and some of your leather, you will take on some cargo that House Wagner produces in great quantities.”

“Wagons?” Captain Cavallaro frowned.

“They are House Wagner,” Clara smirked, “but in this case, I am talking about tools and parts. With the recent improvements to their workshops comes a dramatic increase in the quality and volume of their production. Ruin’s Wake will be distributing these goods to the more inaccessible regions in the area.”

Clara moved the point of her pen northwest stopping at a particular location.

“This next leg of the journey requires that you follow a specific course. It is a corridor that passes between two restricted areas in the Sorcerous Kingdom. If you trespass on either, you will be intercepted or outright destroyed, depending on the circumstances.”

“Well…that escalated quickly.”

“Safety is assured so long as you remain within the corridor,” Clara told him. “Past that point, your course will take you northwest into the Great Forest of Tob. Your first stop will be at the Lizardman town on the southern shores of this lake. The industries here are very basic, so the tools, parts, and leather that you bring here will sell well.”

“Can Lizardmen afford to purchase these manufactured goods?” Alessia asked.

“They will only purchase what they need,” Clara answered, “you will also not likely be dealing in currency, but engaging in barter. For now, the town’s primary exports are limited to handicrafts and products created by their mystics. Eventually, they will be exporting fish, but that will not be for a while yet. Still, there will be certain other tools that you will be offloading here. This town is currently the southern terminus for the new highway between the Sorcerous Kingdom and the Dwarf Kingdom in the Azerlisia Mountains. When construction resumes in the spring, they will purchase your tools.”

A rasping noise filled the air as Captain Cavallaro stroked his chin.

“Fine tools and leather for tribal trinkets?” His voice was dubious, “Where will you find a market for these?”

“There will be pottery, woven goods and some jewellery,” Clara said. “Their mystics produce medicines and minor magic items. Despite its primitive state, it is still the largest centre of Demihuman industry in the Sorcerous Kingdom. Our domestic policy encourages broad economic growth, and Ruin’s Wake is ideal for servicing these remote areas.”

Clara pointed to a series of dots running through the Great Forest of Tob.

“This is where the fun part begins,” she said. “Well, at least from a Merchant’s perspective. Each of these markers is the location of a trade outpost established by Baroness Gagnier. They were raised with the intent of serving as both a social and economic hub for the tribes in their respective areas. Ruin’s Wake will stop at each, trading the goods they’ve brought with them in exchange for the goods that can be found at each market.”

The pen traced along the line of dots until they reached the western extent of the Great Forest of Tob, then moved south through another series of dots running along the buffer zone between the Sorcerous Kingdom and the Kingdom of Re-Estize.

“Trade outposts have been raised in the buffer zone along the Re-Estize border, as well,” she said. “They serve in the same capacity as the ones in the Great Forest of Tob, and you will similarly be trading at each. Once you reach the foot of the southern border ranges, your course will turn east, leading to Warden’s Vale. There, you will trade and charter any free cargo space with goods for Corelyn Harbour. The last leg of the route will follow the Katze River to this location.”

Clara straightened as she completed her explanation of the trade route, holding out her arms as she stretched. Sister Alessia suddenly reached out and punched Captain Cavallaro in the side.

“Ai!” He shouted, “What was that for?”

“You know what for,” Sister Alessia snapped. “Out!”

“I am a Paladin Captain now, you know…”

“Aye, you are,” the younger Paladin replied. “Now go captain some Paladins and stop licking the comitessa with your obscene gaze.”

Captain Cavallaro spluttered as he retreated from the cabin, his face turning red.

“I think it is best to marry him off sooner rather than later,” Sister Alessia muttered.

Captain Iškur leaned over just in time to see the Paladin Captain scurry out of the Ruin’s Wake.

“Ehm…what just happened?”

“Matters of breeding,” Sister Alessia said.

“Hunh,” the Elder Lich grunted. “It seems that the living have their issues too. I suppose that’s one thing I won’t ever have to worry about. If it’s that much of a problem, how come you didn’t become Undead like Baroness Zahradnik?”

Sister Alessia’s face twitched, and she looked back and forth between Clara and Captain Iškur. Clara sighed.

“Did I say something wrong?” Captain Iškur asked.

Clara rested a gloved hand on Alessia’s shoulder. The young Paladin glanced at her out of the corner of her eye.

“This knowledge is restricted to an exclusive few,” Clara told them with a cold smile. “I trust that it will not become public? Surshana knows what will happen in that event…”

Alessia swallowed audibly and nodded. Clara’s gaze travelled to Iškur.

“O-of course, my lady,” he said. “I’ll make sure the ones back at home know to keep quiet about it as well.”

“Good,” Clara’s smile turned warm again. “Now, did you have any questions about this route?”

“Just one,” Captain Iškur said. “Might I have that all in writing?”