Chapter 2: Business Venture

Suzy accepted the chat invite from Lucy.

“Ahh, Suzy, I just read your report on different merchants and possible opportunities we might find in running our own trading caravans. The reason I bring it up is because there is a Player-led group that is trying to trade across Emerilia. They have the trading skills, but they don’t have the protection that they need to look after their goods. They’re linked to the merchant guild but they don’t have the overall capital to start out on their own. Would you be interested in sitting down and looking over a contract with them?”

“I could. What kind of resources do we have to spend on them?”

“We can give them some start-up capital to purchase wagons and the rest. Also, we can provide them with security from the Stone Raiders. Through our travels, we’ve found that having a few things running on the side to generate some cash flow would be useful. Raids pay off in the end, but in between, we have to squeeze every copper. We’ve also learned the old adage—a fighting force moves on its stomach. We need trained people to keep supplies flowing to us as we’re on raids or fighting. Also, having someone we can trust to take our weapons back to town and get them repaired is no small thing. We’re currently sending fighters to go and do it with wagons.” Lucy sighed.

“Not the best of conditions. How many wagons do you have, and how much gold do you have for start-up?”

“We’ve got a decent amount of gold for now, say about fifty thousand gold. We have fifteen wagons right now. What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking that we gift them those wagons and they lend us a few of their people and we lend them a few of ours. At a minimum, we make them an allied guild. I can show them a few things about the market and really get them going. I will, also, dangle the carrot of them joining the guild as a feeder, giving them the possibility to join us and waiving guild taxes between us and that we could then give them access to the keys that we have to different teleport pads. It’s hard to get those keys without having a good basis of trust and a reputation, something that the Stone Raiders have already built up.”

“Why should we want them as a feeder guild?”

“As an allied guild, they can help us and we help them. However, there might be things that the different groups put above one another. For example, they can make a killing off of a product they have stockpiled. At the same time, we are asking them to send us extra wagons to move some weaponry. They might push more wagons to go and sell their products than help shift our weapons. If we are in the same guild, the guild comes first, then their own interests,” Suzy said.

“You raise a good point, though we will need to make sure that they don’t have any agents from other powers hiding in their ranks.”

“Well, having an alliance with them, we can have our own people keep an eye on them and vet them. If we’re not sure of their allegiance, then, even if they are made a feeder guild, we don’t need to tell them anything important until the last minute so there is little chance that word can be spread out.”

“You raise some good points. Very well, go and talk to them with the authority of the Stone Raiders. Their guild is called Exdar’s Traders,” Lucy said.

“I’ll see to it,” Suzy said.

The chat cut as Suzy looked to Malsour and Induca as they wandered around SC. A pop-up greeted her.

Quest: Trading Alliance

Lucy has mentioned that the Stone Raiders need someone to shift their goods from battle and get them supplies. Exdar’s Traders are one of these possible guilds. Meet with their leader and see if you can negotiate a contract with them.

“Well, Lucy wants me to go and talk to some traders—you interested?” Suzy asked.

“What for?” Induca asked.

“See if we can’t make them a part of the Stone Raiders or, at least, make some serious gold.” Suzy rubbed her hands together.

“I don’t think that we have any other pressing matters,” Malsour said, waving for her to take the lead.

“Well, let’s see if we can find them. They’re called Exdar’s Traders,” Suzy said.

“Exdar? Where did they get that name from?” Induca asked.

“There was a large space-based MMORPG a few years ago—they had a massive buying and selling component to them. Mine asteroids, build ships, stations, all kinds of stuff. People would go around in trading flotillas—buying, selling, and trading throughout the created universe. A number of companies on Earth hired people directly from the game.”

“Did your old company?” Malsour asked.

“We were the ones who started it.” Suzy smiled.

“I find that I am not surprised.”

Suzy laughed at Malsour’s words as Induca turned and pointed in a direction.

“I can hear someone talking about the traders over there.”

“Damn, that is some powerful hearing.” Suzy headed in the direction Induca had pointed.

“It has its uses.” Induca smiled.

They traveled through SC, past a few stores and homes into the middle of the market that lined the main street of the city.

Induca pointed in different directions. Suzy was surprised by her level of accuracy as she came up to a busy stand where four traders were doing brisk business, selling different goods from all over Opheir.

Supply issues. Probably such a low level that they have to buy and sell in Opheir and Markolm for the most part. Decent level of goods, though. Obviously buying at higher quality instead of quantity. Don’t have the room to move a lot of goods. Lack of transport.

Suzy checked out their guild’s emblem; it was a bolt of silk with jewels, armor, weapons, and ore scattered around it.

Looks like someone just went apeshit with the emblem creator tool.

Suzy wandered away, checking out other stores. Her eyes and perception allowed her to pick up the different people wandering around and wearing the same emblem as those managing the storefront.

They were good barterers, gathering up goods in different packs. It was easy to pick them out as they were constantly making notes and looking at their interfaces.

Checking the flow of the market to make the most gold. Well-organized and brisk operators. Once they have enough gold, they’ll take off. Right now that’s the problem. Lots of different guilds are working with trading, but until they get some really massive profits, then they’re all stuck competing at the bottom of the pool. If they had the ability to transport items, then they could shift the different products coming out of Cliff-Hill faster.

Suzy was looking out for the best interests of the guild, but if she could use them to expand the different items Dave’s smithy and ceramic factory were pumping out, then it was a win-win.

Should be a nice bonus as managing director. She chuckled to herself.

She didn’t really care about the gold, but the rush of making deals, to see the opportunities—the beginning of something that could be great—was invigorating. It was why she had applied to be Austin’s secretary when he’d been working out of a really large rocket garage. She smiled, thinking back on those days.

“So what’s the plan?” Induca asked.

Suzy was surprised that she had stuck around; she was usually the type to get bored in a hurry.

“Now, we go and make some deals.” Suzy headed back to the Exdar’s stall.

“Hello, miss. What are you looking for today?” a large Orc-looking trader asked as she approached.

“I was wondering if your boss is around. I have a business proposition on behalf of my guild,” Suzy said.

“We have had many people trying to do business with us. Which trader’s guild are you from?” He smiled, putting Suzy at ease.

Smooth operator. Suzy smiled back. This was the world of sharks and smiles that she had dealt in for years. In Emerilia, it was still so new and fresh that the sharks hadn’t yet started to show themselves.

“I don’t represent a trader’s guild.” She turned to show off her shoulder patch. “I represent the raiding guild, Stone Raiders.”

“Damn, you guys are kicking ass. I haven’t seen any guild like you! Is it true that you actually all fight without Actions?” He leaned closer.

“Well, most don’t use Actions. However, sometimes using Actions can really help out. Trying to do Assassin teleport skills would be a pain in the ass without the Action skill.” Suzy shook her head, not even wanting to get more into that topic. “So, do you think that you could get me a meeting with your guild leader?”

“Sure, just give me a sec. I’ll go talk to her. Name’s Raz, by the way.” He held out his hand.

“Good to meet you, Raz. I’m Suzy.” She smiled and shook his hand.

“Likewise.” He bobbed his head, turning and weaving through his fellow guildmates and into a covered area at the rear of the store.

It only took a few minutes of waiting, time that Suzy spent looking over the different wares that were on the table and how the traders got people motivated and their goods moving.

A human lady with delicate features walked through the covering and greeted Suzy.

“Hello, Suzy. My name is Florence Guitterez. What might I be able to do in order to help the Stone Raiders?”

“Would you be willing to accompany us to somewhere more private?” Suzy looked around the market.

“Very well. You wouldn’t mind if Bronx, our guard, follows?”

“Not at all.” Suzy smiled as Florence waved over her giant friend. He was wearing decent armor and a mean-looking sword and shield. From their markings, he had seen combat a few times. You could repair items, but the scars, dents, and dings would stay.

People liked it, thinking that it showed off their combat prowess.

Suzy led the party through the streets and off toward an upscale tavern she had located earlier. Her Air creations floated around, keeping an eye on anything that looked to be a threat or someone spying on them.

“I must say that I am interested why a level 1 is bartering on the Stone Raider’s behalf,” Florence said.

Suzy smiled, knowing that Florence was trying to gauge her actions. “Well, not all things are as they appear.”

Malsour snorted and Induca smiled, looking at everything around them and wandering off from time to time when something caught her eye.

Florence studied Malsour and Induca. Her eyes widened; she’d obviously seen both of their levels.

If only she knew that they’re ten or so levels past that on their stat points alone.

They entered a tavern. The host quickly got them a booth away from prying eyes as Suzy flashed some silver.

Their server appeared shortly. “What can I get you today?” She smiled.

“Some small snacks and fruit drinks. Could you make sure that our conversation is not disturbed by other parties?” Suzy slid over a piece of gold.

“Certainly. I will have the food and drinks ready in ten minutes, if that is okay?”

“That is perfectly fine.” Suzy smiled and let go of the piece of gold. The server made it disappear and bowed quickly.

Suzy looked to Malsour. “Could you make sure no one can hear us?”

There was a pressure change and then he nodded to Suzy. “Done.”

“Thanks, Malsour. Florence, I am here talking on the behalf of the Stone Raiders, specifically Lucy, though Josh knows what’s going on. As you know, the Stone Raiders are always traveling; as such, they always need supplies. They need someone they can trust to hawk their goods for them when they can’t and deliver their weapons for repair and return it to them. We like fighting and raiding; we don’t like having to deal with everything else,” Suzy said.

Florence nodded, showing that she was following along. “So, you want us to fill that role?”

“We wish to make a mutually beneficial alliance with you. We continue to raid, we pay for our supplies and the costs, and you get it to us. You sell the items we don’t want and so on.”

“I have to admit that the offer does sound too good to be true and I would jump for it if we had the resources to do that. Right now, we don’t even have a wagon or horses. They cost too much, so we’ve been working on our ability to run and trying to get all the keys for different cities. Buying all of the keys to different teleport hubs and holding a good reputation with them is a costly business.”

“I have seen. It is rather resourceful of you, buying the highest quality bags of holding and using people to carry the gear for you. Using your superior abilities to run, you can get between towns faster than any horse, though you are indeed limited by the amount of people you have and their strength. That is why our alliance would be different. If you can help us, we can help you. We have fifteen wagons right now. If you were able to assist us, then we would not need them and could deed them over to you.” Suzy paused, looking up as their food and drinks arrived.

The outside noises of the rest of the tavern came back as the server placed down different foods and drinks, with another server assisting. “Let me know if you need anything.” Their servers bowed and stepped away.

Again, the pressure came back as Bronx started to grab meats and foods from the table. He was precise in his movements. Induca tasted the different pitchers of drinks.

“What will the cost be?” Florence asked.

“At cost, payments over two years in game?” Suzy asked.

“That is rather reasonable,” Florence said. “We would have to sell a few of them to make up for the costs of the caravan. They would also be slower than just running.”

“I have an engineering friend who might be able to make the caravans faster. Also, we would be willing to give you start-up funds. That said, we would want ten percent of your profits,” Suzy said.

Bronx poured Florence a glass of juice.

“Thank you.” She sipped on it, deep in thought.

Suzy took the opportunity to pull some food onto her plate.

“Try out this duck pâté—really nice on the crackers with a piece of dried Koji fruit.” Induca shoved one of the treats in her mouth.

Suzy tried it, nodding as the flavors melded together nicely.

“What are your far-reaching goals?” Florence asked.

“We are raiding all the time—we don’t want to deal with everything else. If we have someone dealing with all of the supplies, selling and repairing our goods, then we can have some fun. The ten percent, well, it really gets our two groups completely connected. We want you to succeed and right now the market is ripe. Once you start working with not only your own people but People of Emerilia, then you could be the biggest trading firm in Emerilia. With start-up capital, our people providing security and having a few wagons running around, you can expand quicker than anyone else.”

Florence sipped on her drink.

“Look, your biggest Player rival is Diamond Industries. They’ve got two wagons. In the large scale of things, that isn’t much. They’re selling from Opheir to Markolm. They’re going to be coming to Heval and Gudalo soon enough. We want a piece of that pie.” Suzy shrugged.

“I will have to talk to my guild. This is a very interesting proposition. What about the keys to different teleportation pads—would you be willing to give us recommendations?” Florence sipped from her drink but Suzy knew she was being watched and gauged.

“No. Unless you are part of our guild, then we cannot in good faith extend that recommendation to you. At Boran-al’s Citadel, we learned that people are already acting as spies and assassins. We are working to be on good terms with the People of Emerilia. If we start giving recommendations to groups that we kind of know, it will look bad on us if they start making trouble.” Suzy ate another cracker combo.

“I can’t say that I’m not disappointed, but I understand. I also find the relationship that you have with the NPCs interesting.” Florence frowned.

“We just think of them as other Players—treat them how we would expect to be treated. You would be surprised what they are able to do if you allow them a chance. I know a number of POEs who are much stronger than me. A few of them have taught me how to be as powerful as I am.” Suzy held Florence’s eyes.

After a moment, Florence looked away, thoughtful as she grabbed some fruit. “How much are you willing to pay for ten percent of Exdar’s profits?”

“Seven thousand,” Suzy said.

“Gold?” Florence’s eyes bugged out; Bronx stopped eating and looked at Suzy.

“Yes,” Suzy said.

Florence took a shaky hand and passed it through her hair. “Wow, okay, I know that later on people will have a lot of gold, but right now even a hundred gold is a large sum. I will have to talk to my people more to see if they are interested in the deal. If they agree, then we can talk over the small details later, if that works?”

“Certainly.” Suzy smiled.

“Thank you for the food, but I would like to get back and see what the others think. I should have word to you as soon as possible.” Florence stood; Bronx rose with her, munching on a sandwich he had made. Florence tapped out a few things on her interface. “We will have a decision by tonight. I just added your contact details so I can let you know our decision as soon as possible.”

“I look forward to your response. It was good talking, Florence.” Suzy shook her hand.

“And you, too, Miss Markell.” She moved to the tavern’s exit. Bronx had to move fast to keep up with her quick-moving form.

Suzy sat back down.

Quest: Trading Alliance

You have met with Florence Guitterez. She seems agreeable to your terms but must take this back to her guild. You may talk to other trading guilds that could assist the Stone Raiders.

(There are no more guilds that Lucy listed as current possibilities in Selhi’s capital).

“Well, shall we go and deal with those swamp rabbits?” Malsour asked.

“Eat the damned food. You know how much this is going to cost me? Uggh, you guys want to start Selhi’s annual monster hunt tomorrow? I feel like my purse is going to need it after this damn meal.” Suzy sighed.

The monster hunt was called once a year when the monster population from the swamps and woods gave birth to a great number of creatures that flowed outward, throwing trade and business into chaos within the kingdom.

“Why were you flashing your gold everywhere then?” Induca asked.

“Well, I wanted to show that even a level 1 didn’t have to worry about being out of coin. Looks cool, all right? I hate being broke—reminds me of my ramen and sweater years.” Suzy piled the food up, not wanting to let it go to waste while Malsour and Induca chuckled at her misfortune.

“Damned dragons. Bet you’ve just got caves filled with riches,” Suzy said.

The pause made her look up at the two of them.

“Oh, come on. Help me out here, guys. It’s your clan as well!”

“Well, we didn’t really prepare to be away from our homes this long,” Malsour said.

“So, you left it all in your cave. Have you ever heard of a bank?” Suzy growled.

“Well, moving that kind of wealth is annoying.” Induca shrugged.

“That kind of wealth, she says!” Suzy sighed, muttering about how unfair the world was. “I have a credit card!” She smiled to herself as she went to her interface, opening her billing options, and realized that she had never put it in.

I’d have to go back to Earth to do my credit card info… Screw it. I’ll kill all the damned monsters I can find instead. Not worth the hassle.