186 Secret Deal (1/2)
Even after Brym had received some basic guarantees from Amautu, he had still remained confined within his shop's backyard for a good while longer. Only once Herak had left for the south had the young merchant finally been granted some room to operate again. With his new-found freedom, he could have left from Porcero with Atau's fleet and reached the relative safety of the south right away.
However, for now he still had much work left to do in the north. Instead of running away, Brym had waited until the fleet had reconnected their trade route from Porcero all the way to Saniya and then put together his own small expedition to cross the Sallqata Mountains once more.
In this manner he returned to Arguna, this time to establish a new shop in the wealthiest city of Medala, and to throw his diplomatic weight around. Over the previous year, his ability to talk with lords like Saliena and Betucio had already drawn attention from the nobles in the center, and now it was time to show off his talents on the biggest stage. To facilitate his goals, he had already set up several meeting with important figures of the empire before he had even reached the city. When he finally arrived, he had expected to be welcomed by someone of great weight since he was the representative of King Corco. His host still astonished him.
”Official Brym, what a pleasant surprise for us to meet in such a far-off place. I arrived in the city mere days prior. When I heard Official would come here as well, I took it as a convenient chance to meet up again.”
”Somehow, I doubt it is a surprise for either of us, Governor Betucio.”
Right at the entrance to the inner city, Betucio's own palanquin had waited for Brym, the governor inside. Among the many he had arranged meetings with, King Amautu was the most important. The governor must have been tasked by King Amautu to meet him here and make sure no one would stop the foreign merchant from entering the inner city. Of course, another reason must have been to throw him off balance and catch him unprepared right before their negotiations.
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”Indeed it is not,” the governor answered, now in the relative privacy of the palanquin. ”Official Brym, there are many issues to be discussed. As such, I would prefer if you could immediately follow along to my family's Arguna mansion to hold our talks right away. I understand that you must be tired from your journey, but as soon as word of your arrival spreads, the other lords will visit you one after another. You might not be aware, but the merchant with the mysterious, novel wares from Porcero is already a celebrity within the city. I am sure you would not want to enter talks with the lowliest lords before having established some basic agreement with King Amautu first.”
Although Betucio tried his best to unsettle him, Brym held on to his business smile without any trouble. By now he was sure that Amautu's people had planned all this out, to have the talks while he was tired and hungry from the journey. A good merchant was always prepared for a deal though, so Brym's trek had rested only an hour away from the city so he could eat and prepare for any meeting. Still, he at least wanted to put on some clean clothes. First impressions were the most important in business deals, after all.
”Lady Inti is the king's current representative in the city. I believe it proper to at least catch up with her before I speak with anyone.”
”There is no need to wait any longer. Lady Inti is already present at my manor.”
While Brym tried his hardest to prevent a frown, he looked at the sparse scenery of the inner city beyond the window to give himself some time to think. He was glad that Betucio was so eager to strike a deal, but the circumstances began to feel more and more strange. Why was Betucio so insistent? Why would Inti play along with the governor's games? However, there was precious little Brym could do about it at this point. He was already stuck in Betucio's palanquin. While his own people were behind them, he wasn't sure his handful of mercenaries would be enough to deal with a governor's personal guard.
Even worse, with his own insufficient cultivation, the merchant would be up against an elite Medalan warrior. Although he didn't know just how powerful Betucio was, he wasn't willing to risk their relationship and potentially his life on a hunch. Over the past months, Brym had done his best to establish amiable relations between himself and Amautu's faction, always with Betucio as an intermediary. Why would the lord suddenly lure him into a ambush? Even more, Brym was convinced that Betucio was not this kind of person, and Brym considered himself a decent judge of character. In the end, he decided to trust his instincts. That didn't mean he wouldn't continue to probe and get more information out of Betucio.
”You know, even if you wanted to show your hospitality, there really wasn't a reason for someone of Governor Betucio's status to welcome me personally. Won't it look bad if the Governor of the North plays weak in front of a simple warrior, a foreigner no less?”
Although he observed the lord with great scrutiny as he poked holes into his story, Brym couldn't find any hints of him looking flustered or guilty.
”In Arguna, the rules are a bit more complicated than that.” Betucio showed a strained smile instead. ”Being a foreigner or a warrior wouldn't mean that you have lower status right away. After all, Official Brym is the official under the employ of a king, whose status would be half a step above my own. As for being foreigners... at this point, every one of the kings has surrounded himself with men from outside of Medala. Anyone who complains can only be called a hypocrite. Further, there are matters that should be discussed between us before we reach the mansion, which is why I had to come in person. To avoid any incidents, some issues should not be heard by everyone.”
”Oh, and what would those issues be?” Brym showed a soft smile in response to the governor's narrowed eyes, even though he felt more and more tense. Unlike Betucio however, the merchant never looked strained.
”Official Brym should have heard about the string of bandit attacks in the north over the past months, correct?”
”Ah, yes.” Brym stroked his non-existent beard. ”There were rumors to that extent. I hear that on the northern trade route from Porcero to Arguna, there have been problems within some forest. It seems like trade caravans have disappeared, though some locals said it was the wrath of some local demon or other. Less fantastical but more credible, it appears as if on the western side of the mountains, barbarians from beyond the Sallqata Mountains have made their way past King Amautu's defenses and have caused quite some trouble as well.”
Rather than join in on Brym's gossip, Betucio only stared harder.
”...Official Brym would not know anything about these incidents, would he?”
”Why would I know anything about these things? I'm just some lowly official. I haven't even had the chance to leave Porcero since the arrival of the Arcavian ships. In truth, I didn't hear about this bandit issue for the full season I was locked up in my shop. Only when we put together our own expedition were we informed by some of the locals that we might run into trouble on our trip.”
”And Official seems to be fine, despite taking a route through a forest infested with bandits and demons. It appears the trade caravan of the southern kingdom was not attacked by these bandit groups at all.”
”Yes, we did indeed get lucky.” Brym nodded his head with a satisfied look on his face.
”Official Brym.” With an annoyed sigh, Betucio righted his posture. ”If we wish to have a proper cooperation, we should be open with one another. There is no reason to play games and sour our relationship.”