226 - The Merchant's Bargain

The road back to Northwatch was busier than it had been the previous day.

Two timber wagons were moving east toward Windscar, while a small group of farmers carried sacks of grain in handcarts. The sight was encouraging, but Subin Vans knew that one reopened road would not repair the regional trade network. Brackenford could supply food and timber, yet it still needed iron, tools, and medicine. Northwatch needed materials for its damaged defenses, and Frostgate's closed mine continued to limit the supply of metal.

The region had not run out of resources. It had become difficult to move them where they were needed.

By the time Subin's team reached Northwatch, Captain Rusk was waiting near the entrance with a messenger from Windscar. The messenger carried a sealed letter and appeared to have ridden hard through the hills.

"That was quick," Rusk said as Subin dismounted. "I sent word that you were returning, but I didn't expect you before evening."

"We left Brackenford early," Subin replied. "The road is open again, and the settlement can resume limited trade. Windscar's inspector has taken control of the old quarry investigation."

Rusk accepted the report and read it while the messenger waited. His expression grew more serious as he reached the section describing the metal shipment.

"Mana-fused alloy being processed in an abandoned quarry," he said. "And armed men preventing anyone from approaching it."

"We found a ledger, but the owner wasn't identified. The inspector will need to trace the company names and payment records."

"That will take time." Rusk folded the report. "At least the road is no longer being blocked."

The messenger handed Subin the letter addressed to Garrick at Windscar.

"Market Marshal Voss requests that you return to the exchange as soon as possible. Several merchants have submitted competing claims over a shipment of iron, and the dispute is affecting the next round of deliveries."

Jae-hyun sighed. "We just finished dealing with one merchant dispute."

"Then perhaps this one will be easier," Liu Wei said.

"Have you met merchants?"

"Unfortunately."

Subin took the letter. "We'll return to Windscar tomorrow. We should hear what Garrick has found before deciding where to go next."

Rusk nodded. "You can use the eastern guesthouse tonight. The patrols have been moving between the damaged signal tower and the outer road, so the main barracks are crowded."

The team spent the rest of the afternoon resting, repairing equipment, and reviewing the reports collected during their recent expeditions. Ara compared the notes from Brackenford with the regional supply requests. The same pattern appeared repeatedly: settlements with useful resources could no longer exchange them reliably, while those that needed the resources were forced to compete for increasingly expensive deliveries.

"The shortage isn't uniform," she said, spreading the documents across a table. "Brackenford has grain and timber. Windscar has stored metal, but some merchants are withholding their stock. Stonehaven has stone, though its quarry remains closed. Ironwood still has timber, but the eastern yard is unusable. Each settlement has something another needs, yet the transport system has become unreliable."

"So the solution is to move goods between them," Jae-hyun said.

"Yes, but not without knowing what can be spared. If Brackenford sends away too much grain, it may struggle to feed itself. If Windscar releases all its iron, it won't have enough for emergency repairs. We need to distinguish a genuine surplus from a reserve that only looks excessive."

Subin leaned back in his chair. "Then we should help them establish what they can trade without weakening their own settlements."

Ara nodded. "That would be more useful than simply escorting one wagon at a time. We can't protect every caravan ourselves."

Yerin, who had been cleaning her spear, glanced up. "And we shouldn't have to. The settlements need a system they can maintain after we leave."

Subin looked at the map. The idea was straightforward, but it required cooperation among people who had spent weeks guarding their remaining resources. Windscar could organize the exchange, yet its authority over neighboring settlements was limited. Any arrangement would need to offer each settlement a clear benefit.

"We'll discuss it with Garrick," he said. "First, let's see what this new dispute is about."

---

They reached Windscar shortly before noon the next day.

The market was even busier than before. Merchants had begun preparing their wagons for several newly announced deliveries, and the main exchange hall was filled with people carrying invoices, cargo manifests, and requests for transport. The price board had been updated, though iron and building stone remained expensive.

Garrick met the team at the entrance to his office.

"Good. You're here," he said. "The Brackenford report has already reached me. The inspector confirmed that the western road is usable, and two merchants have volunteered to send wagons there. That is a positive development."

"What about the quarry?" Subin asked.

"The investigation has begun. The inspector took custody of the ledger and sealed the remaining shipment. He hasn't identified the company behind the operation yet, so I won't speculate."

"Good. What's the new dispute?"

Garrick led them into the office and placed three documents on the table.

"The same shipment has been claimed by two buyers, while the original seller insists that neither has completed payment. The cargo consists of iron ingots and reinforced fittings. It arrived from a private storehouse outside the market shortly before the prices increased."

"How large is the shipment?" Ara asked.

"Enough to repair several wagons and reinforce a section of wall. Not enough to solve the region's shortage, but enough that everyone involved considers it important."

Garrick explained the competing claims.

The first buyer, a merchant named Belric Dane, had paid a deposit for the iron before the recent price increase. His contract specified a fixed price, with the balance due on delivery. He claimed the seller had broken the agreement by withholding the cargo.

The second buyer, a contractor named Othar Pell, had offered a much higher price after learning that the iron was available. He argued that the original agreement had been cancelled because Belric failed to pay the full amount before the delivery deadline.

The seller, a warehouse owner named Soren Vale, claimed that Belric had missed the deadline and that Othar had offered to purchase the cargo legally. He had deposited the shipment with the exchange while the dispute was reviewed, but both buyers were now demanding immediate release.

"Why not follow the contract?" Jae-hyun asked.

"Because the contract has two versions," Garrick replied. "Belric's copy says payment is due upon delivery. Soren's copy says the balance must be paid before the cargo leaves his warehouse."

Ara picked up the documents and examined them side by side.

"The wording differs," she said. "But the signatures and seals appear genuine."

"Both versions were witnessed by the same broker," Garrick said. "He claims the seller authorized a change after signing the original. Belric denies that such a change was ever agreed upon."

"Where is the broker now?" Subin asked.

"Missing. He left Windscar two days ago."

Liu Wei frowned. "Convenient timing."

"Perhaps. Or perhaps he knew the dispute would become unpleasant and decided to avoid it. We have no evidence that he took money from either side."

Garrick tapped the table. "The exchange cannot release the shipment while ownership is contested. But every day it remains in storage, the buyers lose money, and the settlements waiting for the iron lose time."

Subin studied the contracts. The conflict was more complicated than a simple argument over price. If the exchange gave the shipment to the highest bidder, merchants would learn that signed agreements could be ignored whenever prices rose. If it automatically favored the first contract, buyers might begin reserving goods they could never afford to collect.

"Can we speak to both buyers and the seller?" he asked.

"They're waiting in the next room."

---

Belric Dane was a compact, neatly dressed man in his late thirties. He carried a leather folder filled with receipts and appeared more exhausted than angry. Othar Pell, by contrast, was broad-shouldered and impatient, with two assistants standing behind him. Soren Vale arrived last, complaining that the exchange was holding his property without cause.

Garrick introduced Subin's team and explained that they would help review the evidence, though the final decision would remain with the exchange.

Othar immediately objected.

"Why should an adventurer decide a commercial dispute?"

"He isn't deciding it," Garrick replied. "He's helping establish the facts."

"Then let the officials do their job."

"They are doing their job. You're welcome to wait outside if you prefer."

Othar sat down, visibly displeased.

Subin turned to Belric. "How much did you pay as a deposit?"

"Twenty percent of the original price. I have the receipt."

"And could you pay the balance now?"

Belric hesitated. "At the original price, yes. At the price Othar is offering, no. But I shouldn't have to pay the increased price. We agreed on the amount before the market changed."

Soren shook his head. "He missed the payment deadline."

"Your own warehouse clerk told me the balance was due when the shipment arrived."

"That was before the amended contract."

"Which I never signed."

Subin asked to see the receipt, then examined the two contract copies. The original document carried a date and a witness seal. The altered version contained an additional line stating that payment had to be completed before collection. The handwriting differed, though that alone did not prove anything.

Ara compared the seals with the broker's recorded signature on the exchange registration sheet.

"The witness seal is genuine," she said. "But the additional clause was written after the original contract. It has no separate initials from either party."

"That doesn't prove it wasn't agreed upon," Soren said.

"No," Ara replied. "But it doesn't prove that it was."

Othar leaned forward. "This is wasting time. I'll pay the full amount today. The iron can go to someone who can actually use it."

"Who needs it?" Subin asked.

Othar looked at him. "My company has contracts with several settlements."

"Which settlements?"

"That's private business."

"Then how are we supposed to determine whether releasing the cargo to you would help the region?"

Othar's jaw tightened. "I am not obligated to explain every commercial arrangement to you."

"You're not. But the exchange is holding the shipment because both sides claim ownership. If you want priority, you'll need to demonstrate why your claim is stronger than the others."

Garrick hid a faint smile behind his hand.

Belric opened his folder and placed several documents on the table. They included a purchase order from a wagon-repair workshop in Northwatch and a request from Brackenford for iron fittings to repair its agricultural equipment. Both documents predated the price increase.

"I bought the iron for these orders," he explained. "I wasn't trying to speculate. I had already agreed to supply the materials at a fixed price."

Soren examined the papers. "You never told me the cargo was committed to those buyers."

"I didn't have to. I bought it under contract."

Othar's assistants exchanged a glance. Subin noticed it but said nothing.

Garrick asked Othar to provide his own orders. After a brief argument, Othar produced a list of buyers, though several entries contained only initials and quantities. Ara examined it and found that the dates were recent. Most of the orders had been issued after the iron prices began to rise.

"These aren't proof of existing commitments," she said. "They're requests at the current price."

"They are legitimate buyers," Othar replied.

"Perhaps. But they don't establish that you have an earlier claim."

The dispute had begun to lean toward Belric, but the missing broker remained a problem. Without his testimony, the exchange could not be certain whether the amended clause had been authorized.

Subin stood and looked at Soren.

"Who prepared the amended version?"

"The broker."

"Did you see him write it?"

"No. He delivered the revised copy to my office."

"Did you contact Belric to confirm the change?"

Soren's expression shifted. "I assumed the broker had informed him."

"Then you assumed something important without confirming it."

Soren looked away.

Garrick took the contracts and placed them in a folder. "Until the broker is found, I won't release the shipment. But I will allow Belric to deposit the outstanding balance at the original contract price. If the evidence supports his claim, the cargo will be released to him. If it doesn't, the exchange will return the payment."

Othar objected, but Garrick raised a hand.

"You may submit additional evidence within two days. Until then, the cargo stays where it is."

The decision did not satisfy everyone, but it prevented the shipment from being sold twice or released on the strength of an unverified amendment.

After the buyers and seller left, Subin remained in the office.

"Can the exchange actually afford to hold that iron for two days?" he asked.

"Yes," Garrick said. "The cargo is stored safely. The real cost is the delay to the settlements waiting for it."

"Then we should find out whether the broker can be located."

Garrick called in a clerk who handled market registrations. The broker's name was Venn Arlo, a licensed commercial agent who had worked in Windscar for nearly six years. His last registered transaction had involved a delivery from the northern route.

"He was supposed to meet a representative from Northwatch," the clerk said. "He never arrived. His lodging room was cleared yesterday, but he left some personal papers behind."

"Did he leave the market voluntarily?" Yerin asked.

"No one knows. His landlord assumed he had gone on a journey."

Subin looked at the map on the wall. "Where was the meeting supposed to take place?"

"At the old roadside inn, just south of the northern fork."

"That's on the route we used to reach Northwatch."

Garrick nodded. "I'll send a patrol to check the inn. If Venn is there, they can bring him back. If he has already left, we'll need to find out which road he took."

Subin considered the situation. It might be nothing more than a broker avoiding an awkward dispute, but the altered contract was important enough to investigate. A single fraudulent transaction could damage trust in every future trade agreement.

"We'll go to the inn," he said. "It's on our route, and we can return before the two-day deadline."

Yerin picked up her spear. "I was hoping we'd have a quiet afternoon."

"You can have one after we find him."

"That's what you said yesterday."

Subin gave her an apologetic smile. "I'll try to improve my promises."

"Please do."

---

The old roadside inn stood beside the northern fork, where the main road split toward Northwatch and the western hills. Its roof was weathered, and several windows had been boarded up, but smoke rose from the chimney. A few wagons were parked in the yard, and a stablehand was repairing a harness near the entrance.

The innkeeper recognized Venn Arlo's name.

"He stayed here two nights ago," the man said. "Paid for a room, ate supper, and left early the next morning."

"Did he say where he was going?" Ara asked.

"He said he had business near the old quarry road. I thought he meant one of the stone yards, but he didn't explain."

Subin exchanged a glance with Yerin.

The old quarry road led toward Brackenford's western ridge, where they had discovered the hidden operation. It was possible that Venn's visit had been unrelated, but the timing deserved attention.

"Did he travel alone?" Subin asked.

"At first. A man arrived late that evening and spoke with him outside. They argued for a while, then went into the stable yard. I couldn't hear what they said."

"Can you describe the other man?"

"Middle-aged. Dark coat, metal clasp at the collar. Tall, clean-shaven. He carried a short sword."

Ara opened her notes from Brackenford and showed the innkeeper the description of Hadrin Voss.

The innkeeper shook his head. "Not him. The man I saw was older, with grey in his hair."

"Did they leave together?"

"No. Venn left at dawn. The other man stayed until the second bell, then rode west."

Subin asked to see the room Venn had occupied. The innkeeper led them upstairs, where a small writing desk stood beside the window. The room had been cleaned, but a torn piece of paper remained trapped beneath one leg of the desk.

Ara pulled it free.

Most of the writing had been torn away. The remaining portion contained a date, a quantity, and a few words: revised clause, delivery before collection, and payment confirmed.

"That could be related to the contract," she said.

"Or it could be another transaction," Liu Wei replied.

"Either way, it belongs with the investigation."

They took the fragment and returned to the exchange. Garrick compared it with the amended contract and confirmed that the handwriting appeared similar. It still wasn't conclusive proof, but it gave the inspector another lead.

The next morning, a patrol found Venn's horse at a small farm west of the quarry road. The broker himself had continued on foot toward a settlement called Millhaven, where a distant relative lived. He had not been arrested or attacked; he appeared to have left Windscar voluntarily.

A message was sent asking him to return and give a statement.

Meanwhile, Garrick accepted Belric's deposit of the outstanding balance under the original contract. The money would remain in escrow until Venn's testimony clarified whether the amendment had been authorized. Othar submitted no new evidence and withdrew his claim when it became clear that the cargo would not be released to him merely because he offered more money.

Soren Vale agreed to cooperate with the investigation. He maintained that he had believed the amended contract was valid, but he could not explain why he had failed to confirm the change with Belric.

The shipment remained in storage for the time being, but the immediate commercial pressure had eased. The exchange had preserved the original agreement without allowing either party to claim the goods prematurely.

For Subin, the more useful result was the procedure Garrick proposed afterward.

"We need a regional register of essential supplies," the market marshal said. "Not a system that controls every merchant's business, but a record of what each settlement can spare, what it urgently needs, and which routes are currently usable."

Ara leaned over the table. "The information should be updated by the settlements themselves. Windscar can coordinate the exchange, but it shouldn't decide their entire stock allocation."

"Agreed. Settlements can list their available surplus and their minimum reserves. Buyers can submit requests with delivery destinations and prices. The exchange can help match them without forcing anyone to sell."

"And emergency deliveries?" Yerin asked.

"Those can be handled separately when a settlement faces immediate danger. But the reason for the priority should be recorded, so merchants know the rules aren't being changed arbitrarily."

Subin considered the proposal. It was not a grand solution, and it would not stop every merchant from hoarding goods or every criminal from interfering with trade. But it would make the situation more manageable.

"Start with the settlements we've visited," he said. "Northwatch, Brackenford, Frostgate, Stonehaven, Redwater, Greyrock, and the others. Record what they can provide and what they need. Then identify which routes can carry goods safely."

Garrick nodded. "I'll send requests to their administrators and commanders. It will take time to build a reliable register, but we can begin immediately."

The team had arrived in Windscar expecting another delivery problem. Instead, they had helped establish a way to address shortages without making every dispute a personal confrontation.

The region still faced damaged mines, closed quarries, and dangerous roads. Some problems required swords, others needed engineers, and some could only be solved by people willing to cooperate.

Subin looked at the map, then at the list of settlements.

"Where should we go next?" he asked.

Garrick pointed to a route west of Windscar.

"Millhaven. It produces flour and preserves, and its warehouses are nearly full. If the road can be secured, it could supply several settlements that are struggling with food prices. Venn Arlo is there now, so you may also be able to obtain his statement."

"Then we'll go to Millhaven," Subin said.

Jae-hyun stood and stretched. "At last, a mission involving food."

"You're not going there to eat everything they have," Yerin said.

"I never said that."

"You were thinking it."

Liu Wei laughed as they left the exchange office. Subin followed, carrying the route map and the request for Millhaven.

The next stage of their journey would not be decided by the strongest monster or the largest dungeon. It would depend on whether a settlement with full warehouses could reach the people who needed its supplies—and whether the road between them could remain open long enough for the exchange to matter.