Blade Rose Merchant Guild

Every winter, the major merchant guilds in Northwind Province bought goods but sold none.

When their own caravans arrived from the south the following spring, they took those winter purchases back to sell at a huge markup.

The guilds did as they pleased, yet few in Northwind Province dared cross them. Even nobles were reluctant to earn another noble's grudge over such a matter.

Before the War of the Deities Across Planes, merchant guilds had been a niche concern.

War had brought them to prominence, until even nobles could no longer afford to overlook them.

After the War of the Deities Across Planes ended, snow and ice covered the northern reaches of the continent, driving countless nobles south.

With so many nobles crowded onto the warm southern third of the continent, war was inevitable.

Warfare had also grown fiercer. The emergence of Extraordinary Legions made battles larger and bloodier than ever before.

Merchant guilds rose during that period. They followed their patrons' armies on campaign, and when those armies won, most of the spoils were handed over to the guilds to sell.

Once merchant guilds became tied to warfare, they could hardly remain unimportant.

Of course, there was still one rule: every merchant guild had a noble behind it.

The stronger the guild, the stronger its noble patron. Only a noble could protect interests on that scale.

Otherwise, tariffs alone would have bankrupted a guild as it passed through different territories.

The Flor Empire's most powerful guild belonged to the Imperial House. It was not called the Imperial House Merchant Guild, however, but the Imperial Merchant Guild.

That was because most of its profits came from trade with kingdoms and noble territories outside the Southern Empire.

The Imperial House was not its only investor, though its share was by far the largest.

The Imperial Merchant Guild's branch in Zero Crossing City was naturally magnificent, more luxurious than the properties some Pioneer Knights owned in the city.

The guild would not dare outshine a baron, and no baron would stoop to comparing his property with a guild's.

"Welcome to the Imperial Merchant Guild. How may I help you?"

The moment Ryan entered the spacious hall, a maid's eyes lit up and she approached him.

"I'm Baron Ryan. Send your manager out to speak with me."

Everyone was deferential before a noble. A noble who was too courteous to a commoner he had come to confront, on the other hand, would only undermine himself.

The maid's eyes dimmed, but she hurried off to fetch the manager.

--

"This humble servant is Chandler. It is an honor to meet you, Baron Ryan."

A portly middle-aged man came up to Ryan, his face all ingratiating smiles.

"I have some goods. Tell me what they're worth."

Ryan had a soldier behind him bring out the bearskin rug that Baron Hatton had been so reluctant to part with. Chandler's eyes gleamed the instant he saw it.

He was a merchant. He saw its value at once: the noblewomen in the south would pay almost anything to get their hands on it, then show it off in their circles.

But his offer made Ryan frown.

"Three hundred gold coins, Baron Ryan. I'm willing to pay three hundred for this bearskin."

Ryan said nothing. He simply stared at Chandler until the merchant shrank back and could no longer meet his eyes.

"Is something unsatisfactory, my lord?"

Chandler still had some confidence. If the Imperial Merchant Guild bowed to every baron who walked in, how could it do business?

"Let me guess. Viscount Miles takes a substantial sum from you every year, doesn't he?"

Ryan spoke calmly as he watched Chandler.

Three hundred was nowhere near a premium. It was low even for a standard purchase price.

Chandler smiled and invoked his patron. "His lordship the viscount has exempted the Imperial Merchant Guild from taxes within Zero Crossing Prefecture. In return, our branch here pays him ten thousand gold coins a year."

So the Imperial Merchant Guild learned about the Orcs marching south right after I left, then started forcing down the prices of all kinds of goods?

Ryan turned to leave, and Chandler grew anxious.

Even bought at a premium, that bearskin rug could sell for three to five times as much in the south.

"Lord Ryan! We'll pay six hundred gold coins for the rug. No, seven hundred!"

"It's no longer for sale."

Ryan did not look back. Chandler naturally did not dare openly obstruct a noble.

Ryan crossed the street and entered the Blade Rose Merchant Guild, directly opposite the Imperial Merchant Guild.

"Welcome to Blade Rose." A smiling woman greeted Ryan. Embroidered on her chest was a thorned rose entwined around a blade.

It was the crest of the Blade Rose Family, designed by the Empire's most illustrious countess herself.

"How much will you pay for these?"

Ryan had the soldiers behind him lay everything out. He trusted that the Blade Rose Merchant Guild, having watched him leave its rival across the street, would not try anything underhanded.

The manager, a woman named Irina, called several merchants over. Within two or three minutes, they gave Ryan a figure.

"Lord Ryan, our guild is willing to pay six thousand gold coins for your goods."

In those two or three minutes, the guild had learned Ryan's name.

Irina's smile was captivating. Bathed in the glow of gold coins, it enchanted even Ryan.

But he kept his head.

By his estimate, these belongings of Viscount Whitman's should have been worth between forty-five hundred and five thousand gold coins. The Blade Rose Merchant Guild's offer was considerably higher.

He regarded the woman before him with curiosity.

"Do you always do business this way?"

"Of course not. Had you come at another time, my lord, we could have offered only forty-two hundred gold coins."

"The additional gold comes with a request. Or, if you prefer, it's part of a deal with you."

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"Not long ago, the Imperial Merchant Guild struck a deal with Baron Kendra. It bought a hundred suits of armor and three hundred longswords from him for eighteen hundred gold coins, and signed a contract to purchase thirty thousand jin of grain within half a month."

"I suspect you know why, Lord Ryan."

As she finished speaking, Irina stepped closer to Ryan. The faint scent of her perfume was pleasant.

"Eighteen hundred gold coins for a piece of news. You certainly are generous."

Ryan was not intimidated by the woman's audacity. He looked her straight in the eye.

"But I promised Viscount Miles I wouldn't tell anyone else."

Irina laughed.

"Baron Ryan, you truly are the lord who made Frozen Earth Territory flourish. You're quite remarkable."

"Then it's a deal. Six thousand gold coins."

Ryan had told her nothing outright, but Irina had heard all she needed.

Blade Rose did not need the whole truth. Ryan had already told them that if they did what the Imperial Merchant Guild was doing, they certainly would not lose money.