Chapter Nine

“That’s crazy.”

Ryland nodded, “I thought so too. But it’s the only way. Do you know someone who can help us?”

“Yes. Me.”

“Uhhm,” Ryland hadn’t really expected that. He’d thought she’d introduce him to her father or one of the other merchants she had connections with. “We need to know a lot of things...”

“My father has been training me to be his successor since before I could walk.” Minerva said, confidently. “I know these lands, and I know the escort groups. Who was it who told you about them earlier?”

“You,” Ryland admitted.

“There you go.”

“O-okay.” Ryland said slowly. He had to admit, she did seem to know her stuff. “Well, if you can help then I’d greatly appreciate it.”

“How much?”

“What?”

“How much would you appreciate it?” Minerva said, eyeing him. “I told you, my father’s been training me to be a merchant since I was young. Do you think I do anything without making a profit?”

Ryland, taken aback by the sudden change, looked at her, unsure. “What do you want?”

“Oh. Let’s see…” She fingered her cheek thoughtfully. “How about this. I help you, and you have to take me out tomorrow. And, buy me food. Oh, and answer all my questions about the capital and the academy.”

Ryland, who’d been worried for a moment she wanted a cut of his deal with Eaton, relaxed and smiled. “I think I can do that. But, only if your information is helpful.”

“Oh you wait, poet. You’ll see how helpful I can be.” She smiled back. “Unlike you, I’m pretty good at getting the deal I want. Now, let’s take a look at this map.”

“I see. I see.” Minerva said as she walked around, looking at the lines of colored beads. “You’re pretty knockered, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” said Ryland in a slightly annoyed tone. She seemed to be having fun, and with time running out he wondered if she was going to take this seriously. “We don’t know anything about the routes, the client needs, or the escorts.”

Minerva considered. “It’s too much information for you to gather before the auction starts. I don’t think he wanted you to find out everything.”

Ryland nodded. “Yes. He may have thought my uncle would help me, but I don’t know if he even knows who my uncle is.”

“There has to be some trick to it.” She said. “Something he’s testing you on.”

Ryland shook his head. “Let’s cover the basics first.”

“Right.” She began going through the trade routes. “There are four routes - the red, yellow, white and purple. All of them connect to Northport at one end, and then go out along roads, rivers, and canals into the northern territories. The red is the longest, and goes all the way up here to Banyar’s Keep and back, through the Whistling Plains. The yellow route is a mix of river and trade roads, and follows that trail through the foothills to the east of here before doubling back to follow a tributary down to the Emerald river and back to Northport. The white route goes through the farmlands to the northwest of here, hits several towns, and loops back through the Sea of Trees. And finally, the purple route goes southwest to Gregorton through the marshlands and back.”

“So, red - plains, yellow - foothills and rivers, white - farmlands, and purple - marshlands.” Ryland said, summarizing the geography. “So, which ones are the most dangerous? I assume the white route is pretty safe with those farms.”

Minerva gave him a knowing smile. “That’s where you’d be wrong. There’s been a crop blight there the past couple years. The farmers are pretty desperate, and my father said some of them have taken to raiding to survive.”

Ryland sighed. “So, I shouldn’t take anything as a given. Noted.”

“They’re all dangerous, just in different ways. The red route cuts up near the territory the Hillmen claim as their own. Some of the Hillmen tribes consider it their duty to get whatever they can from the empire. The yellow route doesn’t have raiders, but it does have that river run on the way back, and they don’t call it the Grasping River for nothing. It’s fast and there’s a lot of spots ships can get into trouble. The marshes are filled with animals, including sun bears and cowelhoots, which run in packs. The cowelhoots are probably the reason that the last bunch of escorts didn’t want to take the contract again.”

As they talked, Koamalu joined them and Ryland introduced his friend to Minerva.

“You did a better job finding help than I did, uso.” The south islander said, admiring her.

“Did you find anything useful about the Oaken League and Jade Ravens?”

Koamalu shrugged. “Depends on what you think is useful, eh? The League has about five hundred men working for it, and they’ve got six big contracts with different merchants. The Ravens only have about two hundred, but they’re not contracted to anyone right now. I guess their boss, Ashbury, got into a fight with their last boss and quit.”

Ryland thought about this new information. “That’s pretty pretty good information. Thanks for your hard work.”

“Hey, no problem. The girls will let me know whatever I want.”

I wonder why? Ryland thought sarcastically, but didn’t say anything.

“You have an idea?” Minerva asked.

“I think I do. Enough to make a recommendation. But I wish I knew more about Eatons’ needs.” Ryland paused. “How do merchants judge escort companies?”

“Oh. You mean the four R’s?”

The boys looked at her, “the four R’s?”

“Mmm.” She nodded. “Reputation. Reliability. Relationships. Running speed. Well, and price, but that starts with P.”

“Do they do good work, can they do the job, who are they connected with, and how fast can they move.” Ryland stared at the map.

Minerva smiled. “My father mostly cared about the first one.” Then her smile became a frown. “He’s all about reputation.”

“So then,” Koamalu said. “That means Eaton will want the most experienced group too?”

“Maybe...” Ryland considered. “Koamalu, I want you to ask the Roses something for me, can you do that?”

With the oil lamps being lit as the day became a memory, Ryland and Koamalu found themselves once again before Sinclaire Eaton and the map. The wealthy man had had the room cleared for their pre-auction discussion, and even Minerva had been asked to leave. The look she gave Ryland when she said she’d been waiting and he’d been not disappear again made him shiver.

“So,” Eaton surveyed the map, then looked back at them. “Let’s go through them. What are your recommendations for the purple route?”

Ryland cleared his throat, trying to channel his nervousness. “We think. That the Oaken League would be the best choice for the route through the marshlands.”

Eaton raised an eyebrow, but merely said “Interesting. The white route?”

“The Full Moon Legion would be best for the farmlands.”

“The yellow route?”

“The Jade Ravens for the foothills.”

“And the red route?”

“For the plains, also the Jade Ravens.”

‘Those…” Eaton said. “Are not what I would have expected. Why give the Ravens the two longest routes and the larger Oaken League the shortest one? And why accept the Full Moon Legion’s bid at all? Explain yourself.”

This situation actually made Ryland feel more relaxed. Ten years at the academy had made situations like this routine, where he’d been required to explain his reasoning to teachers and upper-classmen. So, he stood straighter and looked Eaton in the eyes with a small smile replacing his earlier worried frown.

“The Jade Ravens are between contracts, and while they are smaller, they still have the manpower to cover these routes. They are also looking to rebuild their reputation after recent problems with another client, so they will work harder, especially if they are in your employ. And finally, their leader is from this region, so he will know the land and the people well.”

Seeing Eaton nodding unconsciously at his analysis, Ryland continued.

“The larger Oaken League are already providing services to several large merchant groups, so with them you will just be another contract. However, they have a reputation for being careful and planning ahead, so they are the perfect choice for the marshlands were the wildlife will require foresight to deal with.”

Eaton was fully nodding now, clearly agreeing with what he’d heard so far. “And the Full Moon Legion? With their reputation? Why put them on the farmlands route?”

Ryland paused. This had been the trickiest choice of the four, and he’d needed to take the longest to make a decision on it. It could easily be the one which made or broke his chances at the contract if he gave the wrong answer.

“The farmlands are a delicate situation due to the crop blight, and they’ve already had to bring in the army to distribute grain safely due to uprisings and raiding. The Jade Ravens are trying hard to impress you, so they might take chances on this route which could backfire. They might care more about getting the job done than what they break in the process.

“The Oaken League are the opposite. They’re extremely careful with what they do, and are more likely to take longer routes and avoid conflict, thus slowing things down. Again, they have other sources of income, and can afford to do it how they want, even if it means deadlines aren’t met or they skip deliveries or pick-ups.”

“But, there is also the Rose Runners,” Eaton pointed at the other agency bidding token sitting next to the white route. “Given the Full Moon Legion’s reputation. Why not choose them?”

Ryland saw Koamalu stiffen slightly out of the corner of his eye. This had been a difficult call, and he knew that Koamalu didn’t entirely agree with him, but he had to go with his gut.

“The Rose Runners don’t have the people to handle the job if there’s a real uprising. Also, their being women makes them less intimidating to the farmers. I have no doubts that they’re capable fighters, but that isn’t what a bunch of big, starving and angry farmers are going to see - they’re going to see carts filled with the goods they want and just a bunch of girls standing in their way. They can resist, but numbers will win that fight every time.

“Also, the Full Moon Legion have a reputation as a rough agency who are willing to draw blood, and Ulf Churchhill is very intimidating to look at. If they face a crowd, he can control it, and they’ve got a reputation for never running from a fight. Like the Roses, they’re not a big group, but they can hire on freelancers by the job if they need extra, and will keep them in line like they do the farmers.”

Finished, Ryland studied Eaton expectantly. The merchant was now looking at the map again, and the routes. He was clearly thinking, but beyond that his face was hard to read.

At last, he turned to look at the pair.

“Thank you, you’ve given me a lot to think about.” Then he gestured towards the door. “We’d best start the auction. I’ll be in touch.”

After the pair had left, one of Eaton’s assistants came over from his position in the shadows and stood by his master.

“Your orders, sir?”

“Find out more about those two.”

“Of course. Are you considering doing business with them?”

“You heard. What do you think?”

The assistant cocked his head in thought. “I think that young master Hauke has a very good head on his shoulders. His analysis was almost flawless.”

Eaton nodded. “With what he had to work with, he’s certainly impressive. If he did all that by himself, he’ll be one to watch in the future.” Then he frowned. “But he could also be trouble. It might be better to deal with him now and be done with him.”

“As you say, sir.”

“Let me give it some more thought.” Eaton finally said. “Bring the others in. We’ve delayed the auction long enough.”