Chương 463: 457. Negotiation - II

"I found a large coal merchant there," Trevalo said.

"Not a small buyer looking for one load to resell in a street market. A proper merchant with contacts, warehouse space, and customers who already buy in large quantities. I made the deal with him." Duvas leaned forward slightly.

"For a continuing supply?"

"For a continuing supply, yes. He will buy all the coal the raft can bring him. The exact amount can change with what we send, but he is willing to take regular deliveries. Then I returned with the raft captain to Cinran. After that, I told the captain to wait for a week, and I came back here on horseback with two of the wagon drivers." Kivamus nodded slowly, fitting the movement of wagons and river transport together in his mind.

"The six wagons you left here are still in good condition," he said.

"We have used them when needed, but carefully. Nothing was damaged."

"I expected no less, my lord," Trevalo replied.

"Those six wagons are what I'll take back tomorrow morning. If they are loaded with coal before then, I can leave at first light."

"It will be done," Kivamus said. Duvas made a short note on the paper in front of him. Trevalo shifted in his chair, then began laying out the plan with the tone of a man who had repeated it in his mind many times on the road.

"For the first stage, I will take those six wagons from Tiranat to Cinran. The journey should take around two and a half days if we do not push the horses too hard. There is no winter urgency these days, when snowfall can close the road behind us, so there is no need to risk the animals or the wagons." Kivamus nodded.

"Summer gives us more room to work."

"Exactly. Once we reach Cinran, it will take a full day to unload all the wagons into the riverside warehouse. Then around three days to return to Tiranat. After that, another day here to reload the wagons with coal, and then the same journey again. With six wagons, two such trips will leave 12 wagon loads of coal waiting in the warehouse at Cinran every two weeks." Duvas's pen scratched across the page. Trevalo continued, "The raft captain's timing matches that well.

His full round trip from Cinran to Ulriga and back takes around 15 days, including a day for loading on the Cinran side and unloading on the Ulriga side. So by the time he returns to Cinran, there should be another 12 wagon loads waiting for him."

"So every month," Trevalo said, "the raft can make two trips to Ulriga, while I make four trips between Tiranat and Cinran. At six wagon loads per trip, that means 24 wagon loads of coal can be sold in Ulriga each month through this route."

"That is the minimum arrangement," Duvas said, still writing.

"Not the limit." Trevalo looked up at that, and his eyes moved from Duvas to Kivamus.

"That brings me to something I wanted to ask, my lord. When I left, I knew your coal production was increasing, but I did not expect it to increase this much so quickly. You had told me there would be more, but from what your men said when I asked around, the current estimate is around 58 wagon loads a month."

"That is our estimate," Kivamus said.

"You are still selling 30 wagon loads every month to the merchants coming from Cinran?"

"Yes."

"Then that leaves 28 wagon loads of surplus coal each month, not counting anything more you increase from here." Kivamus gave a small nod.

"That is why this route matters so much." Trevalo studied him for a moment.

"I'm curious. How did you increase production so quickly? I had expected that to take longer. Much longer, honestly." Kivamus kept his face calm. There were things he could tell Trevalo, and things he could not. Trevalo had proven useful. He had taken real risks for them. Kivamus trusted him more than he trusted most merchants, apart from Pydaso, of course. But that did not make the man part of the inner circle, and it did not make it wise to explain every method Tiranat was using. He rested one hand on the table.

"I have been spreading the word that Tiranat needs more coal miners. Thankfully, people have been arriving to work here. Some already know enough to be useful, and others can be trained." Trevalo's gaze lingered on him for a moment, as if he knew there was more to it. But he did not press.

"So don't worry about the coal production," Kivamus added.

"Leave that to me." Trevalo gave a slow nod.

"Fair enough, my lord." He rubbed his thumb along the edge of his sleeve, thinking.

"In that case, I will rent another wagon in Cinran. From next week, I can come here with seven wagons instead of six. That will let me transport 28 wagon loads of coal to Cinran each month." This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"That would match the current surplus," Duvas said.

"Yes. And when your production increases by another four wagon loads per month, let me know. After that, I will rent another wagon and start coming with eight wagons every trip." Trevalo spread his hands.

"And so on, as long as the road and horses can bear it." Kivamus leaned forward a little.

"How much can the raft carry at once?"

"Around 20 wagon loads of coal at a time," Trevalo said.

"Coal can be piled in large heaps on the raft. It is heavy, but the captain knows how to balance it. That means the same raft can carry around 40 wagon loads of coal to Ulriga every month. Once you produce enough surplus beyond that, I will have to speak to another raft captain. But that is for later. Reaching that stage will take many months at least."

"Maybe," Kivamus said. Trevalo blinked, then laughed under his breath.

"You say that in a way that makes me wonder if I should start asking around sooner."

"Not yet," Kivamus said, though he allowed himself a slight smile.

"But don't assume it will take too long." Duvas dipped his pen again.

"For now, the first target is clear. Six wagon loads tomorrow. Seven wagons from next week after the extra wagon is rented." Trevalo nodded.

"That's the plan." For a moment, only the small sounds of the hall filled the space between them: the faint hiss of the lamp flame, the scrape of Duvas's pen, the distant movement of someone outside in the courtyard. Then Duvas set the pen down and looked at Trevalo.

"Now we need to discuss the finances." Trevalo's expression grew more cautious, though not surprised.

"Of course." Duvas folded his hands over the papers.

"We still owe you 680 gold from the advance we took from you." Trevalo nodded once.

"We will have to postpone repayment for longer," Duvas continued.

"At least until this new Ulrigan route is working properly. The village still needs coin, and we cannot empty our hands before we know the route will actually bring payment back." Kivamus watched Trevalo carefully. The merchant did not look pleased, but he also did not look offended.

"I had already assumed as much," Trevalo said.

"So don't worry about it. I would have been more surprised if you had the coin ready after everything that happened here." Duvas inclined his head slightly.

"Thank you." Trevalo looked between them.

"For the coal itself, my calculations say a price of around nine gold and eight silver for each wagon load would be fair. That accounts for what I must pay the raft captain, the dock workers, and the horse teams that help bring the raft upstream on the return. It also leaves enough for my own risk and effort." Kivamus did not answer immediately. This was Duvas's ground more than his. Kivamus understood the broad numbers, but Duvas had the colder patience needed for prices, debts, and margins. So Kivamus waited.

Duvas asked a few questions, his voice calm and even. Trevalo answered them one by one. They went back and forth over the cost of the raft, the dock workers in Cinran and Ulriga, the warehouse fees, the horses used to pull the raft upstream, and the risk of delays. Duvas did not challenge every number, but he did press where it mattered. Then he brought up the road.

"Tiranat is also providing guards for the wagons on the forest road between here and Cinran," Duvas said.

"That road is still dangerous. The guards will serve as wagon drivers too as the number of wagons increases. That lowers your own hiring burden and protects the cargo until it reaches Cinran. We need that reflected in the price." Trevalo frowned, then rubbed his chin.

"I'm not denying the value of that. But the river transport costs are not small."

"No one is saying they are," Duvas replied.

"But without Tiranat's guards, the risk on the road becomes yours as well." Trevalo looked at Kivamus, then back to Duvas. After a few more exchanges, they settled on a price that made both men quiet rather than satisfied, which Kivamus had learned was often the sign of a fair agreement.

"10 gold and one silver per wagon load," Duvas said at last. Trevalo exhaled through his nose, then nodded.

"10 gold and one silver." Kivamus accepted it with a small nod.

"That works." Duvas wrote the number down.

"For the first trip," Trevalo said, "six wagon loads at that price will be 60 gold and six silver."

"From next week," Duvas added, "if you bring seven wagons, that will become 70 gold and seven silver per trip." Trevalo nodded again, but then his expression shifted.

"There is still the matter of the advance of 680 gold." Kivamus had expected that to come back. Trevalo rested both hands on the table.

"Since I do need to recover the advance I gave you, how about this? For each coal payment, I pay half in coin, and the other half goes toward reducing the loan." Kivamus did not answer right away. That was not ideal. Not even close. Tiranat needed coin in hand. Tools, wages, food, livestock, repairs, construction, all of it demanded actual payment, not neat lines on a debt account. But Trevalo was not wrong either.

He had given them 680 gold in advance when they needed it badly, and he had waited long enough already. Kivamus turned slightly toward Duvas. They spoke in low voices for a brief moment. Duvas did not look happy about the proposal, but he did not dismiss it either. Finally, Kivamus looked back at Trevalo.

"Let us leave that part until we have finalized the wheat agreement as well. The coal and wheat payments will affect each other, so deciding one without the other may give us the wrong answer." Trevalo thought about it, then nodded.

"That is reasonable."

"There is also the timing of the payments," Trevalo added after a moment.

"I will only receive the gold from the coal merchant in Ulriga every fortnight, when the raft captain returns from that trip. So that is when I can provide the gold to you. Not every time the wagons reach Cinran."

"That makes sense," Kivamus said.

"The coal is only sold once it reaches Ulriga."

"Yes. For ease of calculation, though, the first month's total sale of coal should come to just above 280 gold if we are moving 28 wagon loads." Duvas's pen moved again, but Kivamus's attention had already shifted to the other half of the arrangement.

"But what about the wheat?" Kivamus asked.

"Were you able to arrange a buying contract in Ulriga?"