---⌈夜卜街⌋
“Eternal Night City.”
Why does this sound so familiar~ Hmm, yokai?
What displeased her even more was the realisation of exactly how the barrier worked. She had kept her eyes on the mountain for the entirety of the first day, and when she checked again at evening, she'd made far more progress than her previous visit. Just to confirm her theory Vicious spent the second day doing the exact same thing.
If you don't keep your eyes on it frequently while running, the barrier nudges you off course just so slightly, making you waste time on detours. And I have no evidence to back it up as of now, but I believe once someone foreign makes it a good way to the mountain, Sora would detect them coming. Although, it's possible that the barrier has weakened further...I hope not.
So a question here is how are ordinary adventurers are supposed to get there when
@Epsil clearly struggled to get to Fuyu Machi?
If we establish a trade relationship, how will the merchants and civilians get through the barrier?
“Perhaps I am. But I have seen your proposal, adventurer, and pray tell me this; why should I set aside a piece of land in the Winter City for your guild’s use, alongside offering benefits and waiving taxes? My soldiers are not weak, as I’m sure you’ve seen.”
Is it just me, or do they seem unwilling?
“A fair point, Madam. But I’m also sure that you are aware that beyond the mountain and the forest is no longer the land which you once called home. Your Miko has mentioned this quite a while ago, I’m sure, and the implications of that you very well know. A new land comes with new demands, and with those new demands come a new source of trouble---which your city isn’t too equipped to be facing at the moment, if I may say it plainly.”
To be fair, we don't even know what's beyond the mountain and forest. Isn't it bluffing to say that we're able to handle it?
If you ask me, lately it's been feeling like our adventurers are spread thin. Can we afford to commit more adventurers to a new place? Or better yet -- is it worth it for the guild to redirect adventurers in Gelderholm to Fuyu Machi? Since
@Bochi has been there recently, would you support the guild pulling adventurers from Gelderholm to send them to Fuyu Machi? If yes, why?
Are those talismans and mana ores worth the lives of dwarvs?
“You’re ignoring the Savras in the bushes, Madam. I have no doubt that this mountain is very holy, given that I’ve spent some days here. However, even your patron deity might have trouble influencing matters in a different world and you know it’s the truth. Your guards are doubtlessly a fine bunch as well, given who trains them, but they have not yet fought against the monsters of these lands. Beastmen make for amazing fighters, and I should know that, but there are various other powerful organisations in this world as well. Over in the distance is a huge empire of human supremacists looking to conquer and unite everything under their banner, while Sarkaz and assassins lurk in the shadows. Look down not on torches, else the darkness will surprise you when the campfire dies.”
Perhaps working together is a desirable thing... you bring up a good point that the world is a dangerous place.
I think for now... perhaps we can send an invitation for one of them to come over for tea.
“Pretty much, yeah. It’s almost noon, so let’s go get some lunch. That reminds me, you were asking about it earlier, weren’t you? The mountain’s blessing. Within the mountain is a leyline from our old world, so mana is in abundance around here. Crops grown here and ores mined here naturally contain some measure of mana in them, and we use them to make amazing enchanted pieces. You picked up that kanabo from the market in the Winter City, didn’t you?”
“Yep. Cost me a pretty penny. But it’s quite worth it, I think. Material’s harder than steel but lighter than iron and has that traditional feel to it as well. It’s definitely a weapon forged for the battlegrounds. What’s this thing socketed into the handle, though?”
Sounds nice. Are they willing to trade it? What would they want from us? Fuyu Machi seems to be quite a wealthy country. Are they willing to trade it for anything that we have?
“Well, I did say the mountain was blessed. Last I checked, apparently socketing a piece of jade to any item gives it a bonus effect. Let me see that kanabo again...yep, it’s enchanted. The paper slips are talismans, by the way. We use them to ward off evil spirits and counteract bad luck.”
And finally, just to let you know, the Adventurer's Guild does not deal with merchants. That's the Merchant's Guild. And if the Adventurer's Guild is wise, they'll capitalize on this chance before the Merchant Guild sinks their jaws into Fuyu's market.
Ah... I suppose I agree more with
@Vanus here. The Adventurer's Guild isn't exactly enemies with the Merchant Guild. If anything, we often work together and share the profits.
Our guild lacks wagons and traders and all that infrastructure to do the trading ourselves.
Similarly, the Merchant Guild often requires protection.
If we were to establish a trade relationship with Fuyu Machi, then most likely we would collaborate with the Merchants guild.
Adventurer's Guild ---- Merchant's Guild ---- Merchants
The Adventurer's Guild works with Merchants only when the Merchant Guild sends out requests. If the Adventurer's Guild wants a piece of the jade trade in Fuyu, they'll either have to go there themselves or get Merchants through the Merchant's Guild. And if the Merchant's Guild comes into play, the amount of money the Adventurer's Guild makes will be a measly amount, since any profit will go through the Merchant's Guild first.
So if the Adventurer's Guild, whose HQ in Scribel is already in danger of rotting and breaking down when the wind blows the wrong way, wants a share of the large pie that is the Fuyu market, they had better set up a branch there and buy the things themselves.
That's an... interesting... proposition. You're saying that we should get involved completely without the merchant guild?
How will we arrange for goods to be transported? We don't have a network of warehouses or horses or wagons...? Not to be mean, but most of our adventurers are wandering buffoons who don't exactly come across as skilled merchants.
Perhaps you have a suggestion of some kind?
