11 Safety Ne (1/2)
The air was filled with the pleasant smell of fresh cut and polished wood. In the end, they had gone with cherry wood for the flooring of their new headquarters.
”You've got this?” As he looked up the large gallery with the simple wood railing, Corco addressed Brym who had come to the entrance to see them off. All around himself the prince could hear the hammers and saws which put the work into the old construction. The building had belonged to another merchant group, but the business had been run out of the city by the fierce competition. Fortuitous for Corco and his companions, since they were able to buy their new first branch office on the cheap. All it would need was a bit of repairs before they would be ready to open. For a long time now, the carpenters had been working on the showroom up front, but finally, the new main building of the Fastgrade merchant company was nearing completion.
”Yeah, no worries Bro. Atau is here as well, so we'll be fine. You can go and pick up your stuff.”
A short nod of gratitude and Corco turned to leave, both Ronnie the alchemist and his attendant Fadelio in tow. Since the incident in Whiteport, the warrior had rarely ever left the side of his master, worried for his safety. Still, the master wasn't in any way feeling safe, as rude as that might have been to the powerful warrior. The sudden attack in front of Lordspire Castle had left a deep scar in his mind. The one in his left chest was still there as well, as a constant reminder of his negligence. It was the reason he had decided to order a special item after they had settled down again.
Their new headquarters was no longer set in Balit, but it wasn't very far away. For their new home, the merchants had chosen the old-familiar city of Etra. For the second time in as many years, Corco was forced to spend his spring in this place. Though many towns they had seen over the past four seasons had been in even worse condition, he still hated the dirty, grimy town with a passion. Still, it was the ideal location to relaunch their business, though not everyone shared Corco's opinion on the issue.
”This still isn't a great idea, is it? Shouldn't we take distance from the assassins, rather than move in closer and hold out our necks?” Ronnie asked as he looked around, worried about an ambush in broad daylight.
”You're still complaining about that? Etra's perfect for our purpose, in every regard,” the crown prince replied in a casual manner. ”It's a free city, which means that there's no lords above us to just take whatever they want. Positioned around it are three different lordships, which means that we have our pick for who to trade with and where to get our sugar beets. Etra's domain over the Culcas river even leads right into the sea, which means we won't have to pay any customs tax so long as we work inside the city's guild system. Plus, we've already bribed all the officials to open shop here. No need to wast all that money. By the time the paint on our first branch office is dried, we'll be all set to go.”
”Yes, perfect. And then Duke Herak can come in and siege the city right besides his lands. We will not be able to operate like this. We are far too close to the flame.”
”Look, the duke also lost a good man the last time he attacked us.” This time, it was Fadelio who answered the alchemist's worries. ”Now that Herak knows what we can do, he'll be a lot more careful in his actions.”
”It's not only that. Our little stunt with the good doctor Freigen riled up Whiteport something fierce. Now the Whiteport Lordship has sent half of its giant fleet to put pressure on Borna, all just so they can get their hands on Herak. For a good while, that dude will be far too busy to worry about us. We'll just have to get ourselves established by the time he can catch his breath and the heat dies down. Speaking of heat, we're here.”
While immersed in their talks, they had reached the noisy, sooty goal of today's trip. Corco entered the solid oaken door, reinforced with cast iron bars, and went into the blacksmith's shop.
”Welcome, sire, welcome. ” Together with a gust of intense heat, the frank voice of the shop's owner greeted them. As always, the strong-looking blacksmith had his eyes on the door as he worked the steel in between his tongs. Though only a muffled sound escaped from beneath his leather mask, one could still feel the positive energy he would surround his guests in at all times. The smith put away the glowing iron, before he removed the mask to reveal a full, well-maintained beard.
”I assume sire is here to pick up his order?” asked the large man as he brushed his hands clean on his leather apron.
”That's right. There you go, 2 gildern.” Already prepared, Corco put the coins on the scratched table at the front of the smithy, the space where customers would be handled. ”Please check their veracity.”
With a frank smile, the smith walked over and swiped the coins away, as he gave a nod to Fadelio and Bombasticus, who had stayed behind at the door.
”No need, sire. Of course I would trust the great seer of the lords. If I did not, why else would I do this sort of work?”
The smith moved behind a counter to the side, put there to exhibit some of the finer pieces of his work. This sort of advertisement would be considered unusual for a craftsman in the middle ages, but considering Etra's special status it wasn't anything strange. After all, the city was essentially run by merchants, so the smith's marketing ideas weren't that surprising to Corco. Soon, the blacksmith's face returned from beneath the counter a heavy looking piece of chain mail armor in his hands. With a grand gesture, he slammed the linked rings of iron on the well-worn table. The fact that the furniture didn't buckle under the jangle and clang of the heavy iron spoke much louder of its quality than its superficial blemishes had done.
”You should know sire, I could get in some serious trouble for this sorta work, I really could. We're not supposed to make any more armor, on account of the trouble we made for the bornish King last time.” The man's sneer looked dismissive. Free cities were notorious for their lack of respect towards the lordships and there were constant power struggles between them.
”I never forced you, so you took the work by choice. Why do it if you're so worried?” With a heavy groan, Corco forced the chain mail off the counter. Quadruple chains linked behind one another. At least twice as heavy as an ordinary chain mail. Luckily, Corco had been in diligent training for over a year now or he would have embarrassed himself.
”Of course I wanted to support the wise seer of the Lords. We need some good, faithful people in here. Lately, there's too many suspicious strangers. There's this uncanny cult going around in the back alleys, the Reverers they call themselves. Keep telling us that the great Lords in heaven do not deserve our prayers and respect. Seems like it's been coming out of Borna. By now some of the merchants have been infected by the nonsense as well. I really do not like it. A good, respectable priest like yourself will need some protection in this godless town.”
”I will do my best. You mind if I try the armor right here? That way I won't walk out in the open with it.”
Before he left and found problems with the product at home, he would much rather try it on first.
”Please do. Over there would be fine.”