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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 9, 2017 19:35:11 GMT
Fairly early in the season, a decree is issued from Caerleon. Word of the decree spreads especially southwards along roads through Camelot and by ship, and it would surely reach other shores in time:
Since the ascension of Elyssia Whiterose to the rank of Admiral, the Southwestern Traders have engaged in profitable trade with all of Albion and beyond. Distant markets now carry the maker’s marks of southern Albion. The markets of western Albion and Camelot now carry fine dwarven ironworks and exquisite hibernian arts. Indeed, a golden age of prosperity has graced all honest merchants.
Honest merchants who need or seek more markets in which to peddle their wares are invited to join the guild in this eternal and worthwhile quest. The guild will provide ample supplies at favorable prices, and merchants may seek passage aboard guild ships and guild roads. Merchants of great renown are invited to present their qualifications to the guild high council, should they desire a prominent position from which to practice.
Let the people of Albion enjoy the winter markets of Albion, where they might find warmth, good company and quality wares.
Let the free ships of Albion carry the free goods of a free people. The Southwestern Traders hereby assert their right to free trade throughout Albion, by right of the freedom of the seas.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 10, 2017 21:21:21 GMT
Eurwen the golden-haired goldsmith of Gawant was a talented young woman with a penchant for fine craftswomanship; primarily her own. In many ways, she was the diametric opposite of Elyssia. She was well-read, she did not drink, and she did not usually travel, preferring instead the comfort of her home and smithy near the gold mines in Gawant. In other ways, she was similar to Elyssia. Talented in her profession, ambitious and beautiful.
A single journey from Gawant to Wessex and back again was outside of her comfort zone, but given its importance to her ambition, it was a necessity. Unlike the other merchants she journeyed with, her wares were always in demand, given their scarcity.
“I’m a salt merchant,” the man, Roderick, replied to her question, “Got meself a salt permit from the guild. One of the few allowed to trade in this rare, exquisite ware you see. So I buy me wares from the salt mines here and beyond, whatever they can bring back, and I sell it to the noble quartermasters so they can keep their bannermen fed throughout the year. Problem is that we’ve brought back so much salt from Hibernia and North Hold, I’m running out of markets to sell it to. Now I happen to know there ain’t many legit salt merchants in Wessex, so on the guild’s invitation I’m headed there to move some of me salt. Maybe even beyond Wessex.”
She nodded, “So you’re going to establish yourself in Wessex?”
“Oh heavens no,” Roderick replied, “Too much work for an old man like meself. I’m going to get someone else to sell it for me so I can keep me operations running smoothly in Gawant. Grow my business you see. I just need to find meself a trustworthy young fellow to work for me. If I find the right fellow, maybe I can even move some wares from Wessex back into Gawant. How about yeself young lassie?”
“I’m going to find a way to help you,” Eurwen said confidently, “Captain Torsen told me I should present my qualifications to the admiral. I hope to work for her, and the guild, and help out honest merchants such as yourself.”
“Aye, that would be good. An old man like meself ain’t got no time to work on such matters, but you seem like a bright young lassie. I wish ye good fortune.”
“Thank you; I hope I won’t need it.” Eurwen smiled.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 11, 2017 9:28:14 GMT
Eurwen made her way through the old town of Wessex. There had always been craftsmen and merchants in all of the old towns of Albion, and where you found them, you also found their lodges. Good places for a member to get drink, food, bed, and information. Although they usually gave preference to their local members first, traveling members were not left out in the cold. As a dues-paying member, Eurwen soon found herself lodged at a reasonable rate.
What little free time she had, she spent wandering the markets. Events in the past few years had left them in a rough shape. First the Wessex leidang had been called to serve and had all sunk in a victorious battle against the Slavers, while the land had been briefly overrun with goblins. The markets had been empty for a while after that. Then, with wares coming in from Camelot, they looked poised to rebound. No sooner had they done so than a multitude of wars descended upon them again. Not as immediate and threatening, the restored leidang was called again to bring soldiers to Hibernia. It still left the markets empty once more as warriors from Nemeth and Gawant both marched to and fro, leaving the (empty) markets mostly untouched.
So people had taken to trading informally and inefficiently. With a renewed vigor gracing Albion once more, the merchants seemed undaunted by the horrors and threats that faced Albion. Yet impacted all the same.
As part of restoring a functional market, the larger ones, including this one, was graced with simple hired guards to keep undesirables out. Eurwen happened to be witness to one such vagrant. A destitute beggar, known to bother the clients and merchants alike, had been trying to install himself in the market to take advantage of the gullible. But the guards saw to it that the man was removed, and the markets kept clear of his filth and poverty. Such pickpockets, vagrants, Gypsies and thieves were not welcome among honest merchants. They had to be evicted, if the markets were to be trusted places of business once more.
Having witnessed enough drama for the day, Eurwen made her way back to the guild lodge. She spent the night conversing with Robert. He was a prominent figure in the local guild hall, and they had much to talk about, what with her audience being that very next day, and with then seemingly having met before.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 13, 2017 8:59:02 GMT
Frost gleamed on the ropes in the harbour. While the merchant was clad in heavy furs - the very same kind he auctioned off to wealthy nobles every spring - the young longshoremen who were working the docks did not have such luxury. They had what their fathers liked to call ‘strength of character’, which was a rather meaningless term when a biting wind blew about them. At the very least they were strong willed, because they kept at it. The merchant’s ship, Zephyr, needed to be loaded ere the next dawn. It was no easy task, even for the mixture of skilled and eager longshoremen of Exeter, for to load a series of non-conforming wares onto a ship with seemingly haphazard storage was a fool’s errand.
Nevertheless, it paid well, for the merchant had become wealthy by selling all kinds of knick-knacks mainly in exchange for furs that he brought back to be sold at a premium. Truthfully, the wares he sold would be worthless to most, and in his time he had evaded many brigands by merely offering what he had to them. They often lost interest, or at least took very little of what he owned, and he got to live and trade another day. As far as he was concerned, that had been a very good deal.
With piracy having been cleared out of the southern seas, it was time for the fur trader to once more trade his baubles and knick-knacks on the isle of Helna, so that he would have plenty of furs for the upcoming spring auction, but to get there it would take a boat. Fortunately, to get there from here, he wouldn’t have to buy a boat; he already had one. One that gleamed in the frosts of winter.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 18, 2017 5:27:02 GMT
In the absence of sufficient quantities of textiles for canvas, the preferred material for sails remained raw hide or thin leather. Such sails were well-suited to the strong winds around Albion. Yet nevertheless, the cost could be prohibitive at times. It was difficult to acquire the necessary animals to produce the raw hide, and even if they could be, it meant using the hide for sails rather than something else.
Fortunately for the tanners of Helna and elsewhere, this drove up prices on their finished product, without impacting their supply all too much. They were the bottleneck, as it were, and through membership of the Southwestern Traders, they had formidable opportunities to sell their products both on the island and beyond, something that non-members could otherwise struggle with.
As it were, the demand for their products was such that the tanneries of Helna had little need to hold back on working over the winter. Zephyr was one of many ships that made the journey, to one day return back to mainland Albion with the products that Helna's guilders could offer.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 18, 2017 6:15:06 GMT
The local leatherworkers, through guild membership, got to have their first pick of the leather available to them in the markets of Helna. Although a bulk of it was to be sold eventually to the needs of shipping, the better quality leather could be used to make masterful pieces of armour, clothing, and gear. The very finest pieces would someday adorn the shoulders of the most courtly of ladies, though skilled leaders and wealthy horsemen might themselves become the fortunate owners of their own pieces.
The traditions of leatherworking were not new. They went back generations. Father taught son, and so on. Those who could not carry on the family traditions instead made due with other works, such as tanning and other related works, and so supported their families. And just as those traditions went back generations, so too did the traditions of those families in banding together for mutual support and protection. Although once cast to the winds by the ravages of war, peace had found itself returned, and with it, old traditions could be taken up anew and in full.
Clarisse Taylor was one such child. She worked the loom rather than leather and fur, but she was her father’s daughter, and her hands longed to put together cloth with the fine leathers and furs she got to work with. Between the materials available to her, no cold wind would ever be suffered by those who wore her wares. And just as she put these three disparate materials together, she also found time to renew the vigor of the guild lodges on Helna, bringing a new guiding light through the guidance of the Admiral.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 18, 2017 6:44:43 GMT
Merchants from all of Albion descended upon the docks of Helna. An exaggeration, to be sure, but it felt like it. With plenty of wares not just from Albion, but from Hibernia and North Hold too, the merchants that had arrived from afar had plenty to offer. The system, as it were, was for them to buy and sell their wares with the local merchants, so as not to waste too much time trying to hawk their wares in unknown places, and instead spend their time fruitfully with their guilder brothers and sisters.
The challenge, then, was for the visiting merchants to find enough wares to load up their ships for the way back. It was no easy task, but it was a necessary one, for an unladen vessel was a danger upon the seas, and it would get flung like a twig by wind and waves alike. Thus, even if the wares were of little value, such as heavy stones, it was a practical necessity for them to find something.
Fortunately, the silver mines of Helna provided an opportune means of obtaining such products, both valuable and heavy, albeit mostly heavy. And there were plenty of other products for which there was still demand elsewhere. Especially furs, but food and drink, wood and anything else they might be able to get their hands on; everything was valuable at the right price!
Thanks to the bonds of brotherhood, both visiting and local merchants would have a better chance at making a good deal, thus benefiting all, even the people who came to visit the markets in search of goods, for they could now find the goods they sought, rather than having to go home empty-handed.
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Post by Robert Cooper on Dec 19, 2017 20:28:35 GMT
Her audience had been postponed, and so Robert and Eurwen met again for drinks in a tavern in Wessex, while she waited for a chance to plead her qualifications to the guild administration. It was a busy tavern, as it was a favourite among traveling merchants and guilders alike, and a great place to make new friends in high places, if one had the coin or membership to afford patronizing it.
"You've got good connections in Gawant right?" Robert asked her, to which she replied affirmatively. "Good, that'll make our work easier.", Robert had been working on a business plan in light of recent events, and Eurwen had naturally become involved for numerous reasons.
"So we've got some broken or dull parts that came back from Hibernia sitting in storage. Granted they're not the best quality, but it's going to be a lot cheaper than buying new, and a lot faster than placing a commission. It's volumes we need to move here! I've secured loans, credits and investments for this project here and there, and I imagine most of that will go to purchasing those parts. That's where you come in. I need you to get me a steady supply shipped in from Caerleon and Gawant up to our operations here in Wessex." he confided, "And then I'll handle it from there."
"But aren't you worried about the decree?" Eurwen asked, nervously.
"No," Robert said confidently, "Because I'm not proposing we violate it. But I know that everyone else is just as scared or moreso than what you've expressed, so it's a market that's ripe for the taking; and a market that will benefit the whole guild, not just us personally my love." She smiled back at him, as he continued, "You see, we're just selling a product that people want, within lands in which it is legal for us to do so. We cannot be held responsible for what they choose to do with it, and it's not like we're being picky with our customers either. Nor are we lying about the quality; these are admittedly used tools that may need some labour to make them useful again, but it's a lot easier than starting from scratch. Hunters still need arrow- and speartips. Farmers need their tools. Lumberjacks need their axes. It's not our fault if people misuse the tools we sell them. And, most importantly, we're still selling them in Wessex."
"Right," Eurwen agreed, "I mean, that makes sense."
"And," Robert added, "These tools were shipped overseas - and so logically the freedom of the seas must apply to them too. We have every right to sell to whomever choses to buy them."
They spoke together for the rest of the night about this and that, including their plan.
Some days later, Robert began his journey towards the border of Wessex and Essetir, and in some choice villages, he set up a network of guilder merchants that began selling a variety of tools. Dull axe-heads, blunted speartips, surprisingly good arrowtips, and the like. Any who chose to buy them, whether from Wessex or Mercia, and whether noble, peasant or in between, were more than welcome to do so, so long as they paid them. It was a wonderful way for Robert to make a tidy profit for himself and Eurwen, if his plan worked out.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Dec 25, 2017 23:30:20 GMT
The advantage of building during the dark, cold season was that all lowlands, marshlands and streams were much easier to cross. Rather than getting carts stuck in the mud, or sinking deep into wetlands, the workers could bring the supplies over a frozen landscape through the judicious use of sleds, either with horses or by hand.
Besides easing the movement of supplies for some areas, it also provided opportunities to set up the framework to build, rebuild or strengthen old and new bridges alike, without having to deal with water or flooding: just snow and cold.
And quite right, the workers had found that they were following old trails that had been marched upon by peasants, oxes, and warriors. The best-kept, weed overgrown ancient roads were those that had once carried legions, and now had little more than a casual farmer. Besides clearing away the undergrowth (a poor winter task), there were old, decrepit bridges crossing mere streams that, if repaired, would greatly ease travel for merchants and armies alike. For one, it would help bring a few more people to Robert's tools and wares at the Wessex border.
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Post by SouthWestern Traders on Jan 18, 2018 19:18:42 GMT
[T17] Captain Stefan and Captain Meredith of Celeste and Horizon were watching the horizon as their crews made final preparations before departure. They were having a philosophical discussion about weather. "Red skies at night is a sailor's delight," Stefan quipped, referring to the previous night's glowing sunset. It had bolstered the spirits of the ships' crews, who had been looking forward to a pleasant journey. Meredith was not quite convinced, "Red skies in the morning is a sailor's warning," she retorted, and that's what they were looking at it, a sunrise as beautiful as the last night's sunset. The conversation carried on for a while, until finally Meredith ended it, "It doesn't matter though, does it? If we have bad weather today, we'll have good weather tomorrow, and this trip will take more than just a few days." Stefan found it hard to argue that point, but he still wondering whether their first day would have good or bad weather; which of the two sayings would win out? With Stefan being a bit more on the haphazard side, it was up to Meredith to take the reigns on this venture. "We're headed to Helna. There's decent demand for our goods there, and better demand for its goods here, and the risk that it will soon be impossible to acquire any goods from the island is driving up the prices." Meredith looked at Stefan in case he had any comments, "Sure," he said, frustrating Meredith, "Sounds good to me." She rolled her eyes and boarded her ship, her crew having finished their work faster than Stefan. "Better hurry up Captain Stefan, or I'll be leaving you behind!", and so he did. Attachments:
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Post by Elyssia Whiterose (SWT) on Jan 30, 2018 4:00:49 GMT
After a long and arduous meeting the guild appeared to have emerged stronger than ever. Elyssia was typically prone to sticking her foot in her mouth and well-known for disliking stuffy, courtly duties, yet she had once more proven why the guild had chosen her as their Admiral. This in spite of her sailor's demeanor, her uncouth mouth, her complete lack of decorum both among nobles and merchants, and her inability to read; It helped that she had taken up sobriety. Some went so far as to claim that all the aforementioned flaws made her a better leader. Nearly three years after presiding over the smoothest change of leadership, it didn't matter, for she was a leader, through and through.
What she had done that fortnight to unite the guilders once more in common purpose relatively few knew. The reasons for why her brothers and sisters supported her were many. Truth quickly became legend, and whispers among the seafarers spread far and wide.
"I was there you know," an old grizzled sailor would speak in one tavern after a long journey at sea, "I saw her pulled from the icy waters, after she had fought bravely against the Slavers, defending all the people of Albion. She never gave up; not when her ship was aflame and she was calling for her crew to be rescued, and not when she was thrust into the seas to fight the waves, and not when the last of winter entered her lungs and covered her face. She held on to life, and she fought for it ye greenhorns. She should be an inspiration to you all. I know she was to me when I pulled her up, and that lads," He tapped the table, "Is why I'm old and grizzled, ye hear?" The greenhorns nodded, listening to the so-called wisdom of the middle-aged and elderly.
In another, between captains and other officers, "That's an Admiral I'll sail with any day. When there's a storm brewing, she won't shirk her responsibilities. Nay, she'll be at your side, weathering the storm with you if she has to!" There was a passion to the young officer, "Aye aye" The other captains responded, "A toast! To our ships at sea!" The young officer concluded, and with loud cheering they toasted to the health of their ships.
Even as far away as Robogdii, there were those who drank to her health and to the health of the guild. Among the few in Robogdii, they were proud to have officially received their charter from the guild council, and proud to be associated with such a prestigious guild.
Playing children's games in Novas, one boy told the others, "It's true you know; when pirate-folk stole our ships from Helna, from the very docks, she sailed out to find the sailors on those ships. She risked her life to find my father. I hope my father was as brave as she is. As brave as everyone she surrounds herself with. She's shown us we can stand up to pirates, when we stand together."
There was no doubt. The guilders trusted in the guidance of their Admiral, for she had proven herself to be an adept leader both through lean times and through good times.
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