As a small merchant who had spent years traveling far and wide with no family to tie him down, Marnid quickly accepted his new circumstances. To him, pledging allegiance to a king was nothing short of rising to an entirely different social class.
On the Calradia Continent, no lord would ever look favorably upon someone like Marnid. They would only subject this petty merchant, who belonged to none of their families, to endless exploitation.
There were road taxes, entry taxes, trade taxes, poll taxes, and livestock taxes. When war broke out, there were additional levies, not to mention the brutal nobles who often led their troops to plunder passing caravans.
Only by becoming a noble's caravan master, protected by a powerful patron, could a merchant gain some measure of safety on the road. Noble privileges also meant that such caravans paid very little in taxes.
Although Marnid deeply loathed the nobles' greed and exploitation, he would gladly have entered a noble's service if given the chance. He simply had no connections to make it happen.
Although Allen already had plans for Marnid, he still gave the down-and-out merchant a choice. After all, a person could only give his full effort when doing something he enjoyed.
Allen offered two options. The first was to lend Marnid the money to establish his own caravan, making theirs a partnership.
As his lord, Allen would provide armed protection and serve as his patron, allowing Marnid to trade throughout Middle-earth in the name of the King of Rhovanion. In return, Allen would take at least sixty percent of the profits from the goods sold.
From a certain perspective, sixty percent was hardly unreasonable. Merchants in this era could easily make enormous profits as long as they had a stable, safe environment, and Allen could now