Chapter 301: Show Home
Dominic led the Merchant to the newly built apartments, where he was greeted by Jerome Wall, the fugitive son of a Noble, whose hands were now beginning to look properly calloused, with the ingrained dirt of a man who worked hard for a living.
"Oh, Your Grace, what brings you by the apartments this morning?" He asked.
"The Merchant’s Guild wanted to see the new magitech that we will be producing for sale. I don’t suppose that you live here, do you?" Dominic asked.
"I do. Would you like to visit my unit? It will be easier than getting someone by to unlock a vacant unit." He suggested.
"That sounds good. We won’t delay you long, we just need to see how it is set up and working for the residents so that the Guild can value them." Dominic explained.
The fallen Noble nodded and led them down the building to his unit on the top floor.
It was simple inside, with just a bed and a patched table, both of which had been recovered from a damaged house.
They had carpenters in town now, but Dominic didn’t know what sort of schedule they were on to make new furniture, and some things were just too bulky to have shipped by merchant caravan for a reasonable price.
"It’s not much, but I’ve got a freezer coming, and the new cabinets have plenty of room." He explained, somewhat sheepishly.
Dominic had missed the large pantry cabinet in the corner by the door, but now that he was paying attention, the long dresser along the far wall was newly built.
So, that was what Jerome had prioritized.
"Well, the light in the middle of the room is obvious. What else were you planning to produce and sell for the Guild? Everything magitech? I just realized I haven’t cleaned the privy in some time." He asked.
"Just the fireplace insert and the lights to start with. We won’t need to poke into your personal space too much."
While Dominic spoke, the Merchant was already inspecting the light on the roof.
"Excellent craftsmanship, and such a simple design. Is that a cloth lampshade? Brilliant. Simple, but effective." He noted.
Dominic nodded. "Just the thinnest of cloth that we had available. We will have to import more when we start mass exporting, but our order should also include a large number of farm animals this time, including sheep.
It might not be conventional to have the Guild serve as a cattle drive, or sheep herders, but we can’t spare the people for a four hundred kilometre escort right now."
The Merchant waved off his concern. "I got the message already, and the Guild has specialized trailers for that purpose, so we don’t have to walk them the whole way.
It saves a lot of time, but more importantly, it saves a lot of stress on the animals."
Then he went to check the fireplace insert, and briefly lit it.
"Oh, a nice even flame. Is that just a magitech orb set into a fake log?"
Dominic chuckled. "Brilliant, isn’t it? It looks like a stoked fire, so nobody tries to put wood in it by mistake, but a simple magitech orb to create a small fire is simple to create, and we will be able to have trained workers produce them all day.
The logs are fired clay, and we might make the next batch a bit thinner than these ones. They’re durable, but a bit heavy. It’s not an item that needs to move or carry weight, so it can be thinner without hurting anything."
The Merchant nodded. "That would be best. They’re going to be heavy when shipped in bulk, there is no need to make them heavier and overload a caravan tractor. These are precisely what we will need for the common folk.
Your man gave us an expected price range when he proposed having us run a high security convoy here to get the first batch in a month, and if you can keep to that, then a long-term deal is definitely a possibility."
Dominic nodded in agreement. He would have to talk to Julio and see what sort of price he had suggested to them. If it was in line with the actual cost and selling price, it should be fine.
But the Castellan worked for the Guild for many years, he should have a good idea of what the items were worth without undervaluing the workers and the materials.
"Thanks for letting us check your unit. We will head back and let you get to work." Dominic informed Jerome.
Jerome nodded, then sighed. "Off to work it is, then. I’m at the sawmill now, running the planking saw."
"An important job with all the work that we’ve got coming to us." Dominic agreed as they stepped back outside.
The Merchant took a moment to look around the town, which looked more like a construction site from this side. All the houses on this side of town were burnt down, with a large apartment development around where they were standing.
"Excellent work rebuilding Wistover, Your Grace. It’s coming along far more smoothly than I had expected. We were all prepared to start shipping refugee tents, but you’ve managed to house everyone who was sent your way." He noted.
"For now, we’re keeping up. Though, after this batch, we will be short again until we can get a few more buildings up and some houses repaired. It’s an ongoing process.
But as long as we get the regular orders and those livestock in the next month or two, we should be fine." Dominic agreed.
"I will make sure that it happens. I will also get a convoy with extra security for you headed this way, set to arrive in a month, if you think that’s enough time for the first shipment."
Dominic nodded. "We might not be at full production, as it takes time to train the workers, but I can guarantee that we will have at least a wagon or two worth of items ready to ship by then."
Even if he had to do most of the magitech himself, he could manage to get that much done.