Boons and Business (Genteven-Solo)
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2022 8:19 am
20th of Searing 4622
Hugo cracked his knuckles as he looked upon the foe that lay below him. Hugo was a young man who was learning as rapidly as he could, trying to improve his skills and growing as a person. Some of these endeavours included sword fighting with Bertrand. A task Hugo could not say for certain he enjoyed. Some might even say he did not enjoy it at all but saw the necessity of it. But now a task was upon Hugo that he was far more used to and that he was far more appreciative of. Because now was not the time to swing swords like the average peasant and uncouth mercenary, no, now was the time to do business. Generate profit and help cover his expenses.
This was a topic that Hugo had been trained for from a young age, specifically he had been trained in this subject by his father Maxime, a skilled steward of the former Lambert estate. Hugo and his father did not interact often, seeing each other mostly during dinner and these lessons, but in the times that Hugo did learn from his father he had been filled with passion. Taught Hugo as much as he could about how to manage an estate and all the tasks that it entailed. Especially as Hugo had been set to inherit the Lambert estate as the last member of that Dynasty Pascal had no children and little interest in adopting an heir and raising them. As such Hugo was expected to be able to make the land proper once he inherited them. This consisted of several different things. The first of these was to understand the role of supply and demand and how these economic forces were the incentive for many of the ways that the world and the economy functioned. One example of this was the rural estate of the Lambert family, it produced a large amount of grains, potatoes and carrots. There was some demand for the goods locally as everyone needed to eat, but there was more food that was produced than needed to be produced for the townsfolk. As such the produced produce was sent to the capital of Genteven where there were a lot more people and such a lot more demand for food. As Maxime kept reiterating this was the basis upon which all commerce and trade functioned. Of course, if one looked closer the reality was far more complex and there were small details that seemed to be different, but in the end, it all truly came back to the basics of supply and demand.
Fittingly this knowledge was now more important than ever for Hugo as he sat in a warehouse that he had rented for a decent price, sitting at a makeshift table reading a sheet of paper regarding his correspondence with a Veir's steward by the name of Tristan Ange. Specifically, the correspondence was about the delivery of a shipment of wood at Hugo's warehouse by a caravan in several days. It specifically told Hugo that the shipment had been sent, the quantity of the wood and the name of the caravan lead to who Hugo was to talk. This was a part of Hugo's current business venture, he was relatively new to Genteven and did not know enough of the environment or any specific craft to earn money in any specific craft. Instead, Hugo was using his knowledge about supply and demand and the other small parts of the business to act as a sort of middleman between Veir and artisans who would have to otherwise buy materials from the market at a higher price. The current model was to inquire at soirees and based on intelligence gathered about Bertrand if any product had a surplus in a certain area and whether there was a product there was a shortage of in certain amounts.
The current thread that Hugo was pursuing was based on a soiree he had attended a while ago where he had met a Veir from the countryside who had spoken of how he had managed to acquire a large surplus of wood, more than what was necessary to satisfy his current contracts. Hugo did not know how this surplus was achieved as the weather the last year for the production of lumber, but he knew that the Veir in question would never tell how he had acquired the surplus and that the consequences of any potential acquisition would have little effect on Hugo himself. As such Hugo has spoken with the Veir in question and after some friendly talk he had been referred to the Veir (Veir Boutrand's) steward. Thus after taking a few day's trips to meet with Tristan Ange, the steward, and inspect the shipment Hugo had made an agreement to buy the surplus stock that was available. Though it took some negotiation to lower the price of the wood to a reasonable amount from which Hugo could make a profit. Then after arranging the specific matters Hugo quickly made his way to Genteven to begin working out a deal for whom would buy the newly acquired wood.
Whilst he had been gone on the trip to the Boutrand estate to inspect the wood and negotiate with the steward Bertrand had occupied himself with gathering intelligence on prospective buyers. At any season Hugo knew there was a constant demand for wood. Whether it was for use by carpenters, peasants or any of the woodworking guilds around the city. Direct contact with carpenters rather than going through the guild would of course be an ideal solution. It would be a more direct step toward the one who would process the goods, but it would also mean that there would have to be more contracts signed as each shipment of goods would be smaller. Regardless, if successful these negotiations would result in Hugo directly selling the wood and the carpenters would then make any amount of furniture or tools from it.
There was also the possibility of selling smaller amounts of wood directly on the market to peasants. This was Hugo's least preferred option but it was an option nonetheless. This meant that the wood that was being brought to Hugo would probably first have to be chopped into more specific sizes depending on if Hugo wanted to sell the wood as firewood, or if the peasants themselves were supposed to turn the wood into basic cutlery like bowls and spoons. (Though the most common product to sell to peasants was certainly firewood.) It was a potential option he could take but one that he should only do if the first and last option had failed. Now it was time for the last option he could take, the middle way between selling to the peasants and selling to the artisans. This would be selling wood to any of the woodworking guilds around the city of Genteven which, considering that it was the biggest city of Daravin, was quite a few potential guilds. There was the carpenters guild, the shipmaker's guild, who would turn the wood into planks for use in ships (though a subsidiary guild was a more likely contact), or the cartmakers guild or any number of them. These were going to probably be the ones who would be able to buy the greatest amount of goods. The disadvantage of selling to them was the fact that for one thing, they would have more skilled negotiators and often already had permanent contracts with Veir who produced goods. This meant that whilst any surplus wood would certainly be welcome for them, they were not reliant on it. Sure they could use the excess wood in storage for more ambitious projects, extra heating, as a reserve in case a large amount of wood was lost in say a fire but these were only bonuses. In the end, Hugo would probably have to do a combination of making deals with individual artisans and selling wood to the shipmaker's guild, since they always needed immense quantities of wood.
Hugo cracked his knuckles and then stood up from his desk, taking the letter with him. Now that he had the letter in question as a form of confirmation he could now begin negotiating with a representative of the shipmaker's guild at least. Ideally, Hugo would be able to sell about half of his future stock in wood to the guild. Which positively meant that there would be more space in the warehouse that could be used to store and ship goods again. One of the first lessons that Hugo learnt upon starting his business was that in a warehouse space was always at a premium. It was the most valuable commodity you had and the sooner a product went out of the warehouse the better because then you could buy more goods and so the cycle continued. Thus after meeting up with Bertrand nearby the warehouse the both of them went in the direction of the guildhouse of the shipmaker's guild.
After about half an hour of walking (Hugo's warehouse was not that far from the docks) Hugo arrived at the guild house of the shipmaker's guild, here their representatives would hold meetings with various merchants and there would be weekly gatherings for the various members of the guilds on the weekend. With them celebrating a successful week and talking to each other about the progress that was being made on various ships in construction. In Hugo's case he had come to meet with the guild master, but first to do that he had to talk with the receptionist/assistant of the guild master. With his semi-formal clothing (that which he can use to walk around the city whilst still showing that he was a member of the higher class) he quickly attracted the attention of a young man who was actually around Hugo's age. Potentially the son of the guild master but Hugo did not know in this particular case. Hugo gave a mostly indifferent look but gave a slight smile of good humour to the assistant. Sharing some small amount of familiarity with the young man. "Good afternoon. My name is Hugo Abreo, a Veir with some interest in business and with a large supply of wood. I would like a meeting with the guild master whenever he has an open spot." With some light use of Intonation, Hugo's voice went a tad bit lower. Taking some of the youthful quality out of it and making it feel heavier. A useful tool to create an impression upon those uneducated in magic. As well as a trick that Hugo himself appreciated using every so often.
The Assistant, his eyes suddenly wide-open and with the visible movement of his adam's apple nodded. "Ah alright Lord Veir." The man then seemed to be in thought for a moment and said. "The Guildmaster should be able to meet with you in about two hours, would that befit your wishes ?." Hugo's smile went wider and he allowed some of his teeth to show. That would be sincerely appreciated. I will see you and the guild master in two hours then. With a slight nod Hugo turned 180 degrees and left, perhaps he could spend the rest of the time talking with nearby carpenters and others who could potentially buy his supply of wood.
As he left the guild house Hugo reflected upon the benefit of being a Veir, even if he was a low-ranking one. If one was a usual merchant or even Valran they would have to wait several days for an appointment or plan it out quite some time beforehand. But despite him being no more wealthy than the average merchant Hugo was able to quickly have meetings with even Guild Masters at the nearest available time slot. This was the privilege of position which worked out quite well for him, and which Hugo would use to prosper in the unequal realm of Daravin.
Hugo cracked his knuckles as he looked upon the foe that lay below him. Hugo was a young man who was learning as rapidly as he could, trying to improve his skills and growing as a person. Some of these endeavours included sword fighting with Bertrand. A task Hugo could not say for certain he enjoyed. Some might even say he did not enjoy it at all but saw the necessity of it. But now a task was upon Hugo that he was far more used to and that he was far more appreciative of. Because now was not the time to swing swords like the average peasant and uncouth mercenary, no, now was the time to do business. Generate profit and help cover his expenses.
This was a topic that Hugo had been trained for from a young age, specifically he had been trained in this subject by his father Maxime, a skilled steward of the former Lambert estate. Hugo and his father did not interact often, seeing each other mostly during dinner and these lessons, but in the times that Hugo did learn from his father he had been filled with passion. Taught Hugo as much as he could about how to manage an estate and all the tasks that it entailed. Especially as Hugo had been set to inherit the Lambert estate as the last member of that Dynasty Pascal had no children and little interest in adopting an heir and raising them. As such Hugo was expected to be able to make the land proper once he inherited them. This consisted of several different things. The first of these was to understand the role of supply and demand and how these economic forces were the incentive for many of the ways that the world and the economy functioned. One example of this was the rural estate of the Lambert family, it produced a large amount of grains, potatoes and carrots. There was some demand for the goods locally as everyone needed to eat, but there was more food that was produced than needed to be produced for the townsfolk. As such the produced produce was sent to the capital of Genteven where there were a lot more people and such a lot more demand for food. As Maxime kept reiterating this was the basis upon which all commerce and trade functioned. Of course, if one looked closer the reality was far more complex and there were small details that seemed to be different, but in the end, it all truly came back to the basics of supply and demand.
Fittingly this knowledge was now more important than ever for Hugo as he sat in a warehouse that he had rented for a decent price, sitting at a makeshift table reading a sheet of paper regarding his correspondence with a Veir's steward by the name of Tristan Ange. Specifically, the correspondence was about the delivery of a shipment of wood at Hugo's warehouse by a caravan in several days. It specifically told Hugo that the shipment had been sent, the quantity of the wood and the name of the caravan lead to who Hugo was to talk. This was a part of Hugo's current business venture, he was relatively new to Genteven and did not know enough of the environment or any specific craft to earn money in any specific craft. Instead, Hugo was using his knowledge about supply and demand and the other small parts of the business to act as a sort of middleman between Veir and artisans who would have to otherwise buy materials from the market at a higher price. The current model was to inquire at soirees and based on intelligence gathered about Bertrand if any product had a surplus in a certain area and whether there was a product there was a shortage of in certain amounts.
The current thread that Hugo was pursuing was based on a soiree he had attended a while ago where he had met a Veir from the countryside who had spoken of how he had managed to acquire a large surplus of wood, more than what was necessary to satisfy his current contracts. Hugo did not know how this surplus was achieved as the weather the last year for the production of lumber, but he knew that the Veir in question would never tell how he had acquired the surplus and that the consequences of any potential acquisition would have little effect on Hugo himself. As such Hugo has spoken with the Veir in question and after some friendly talk he had been referred to the Veir (Veir Boutrand's) steward. Thus after taking a few day's trips to meet with Tristan Ange, the steward, and inspect the shipment Hugo had made an agreement to buy the surplus stock that was available. Though it took some negotiation to lower the price of the wood to a reasonable amount from which Hugo could make a profit. Then after arranging the specific matters Hugo quickly made his way to Genteven to begin working out a deal for whom would buy the newly acquired wood.
Whilst he had been gone on the trip to the Boutrand estate to inspect the wood and negotiate with the steward Bertrand had occupied himself with gathering intelligence on prospective buyers. At any season Hugo knew there was a constant demand for wood. Whether it was for use by carpenters, peasants or any of the woodworking guilds around the city. Direct contact with carpenters rather than going through the guild would of course be an ideal solution. It would be a more direct step toward the one who would process the goods, but it would also mean that there would have to be more contracts signed as each shipment of goods would be smaller. Regardless, if successful these negotiations would result in Hugo directly selling the wood and the carpenters would then make any amount of furniture or tools from it.
There was also the possibility of selling smaller amounts of wood directly on the market to peasants. This was Hugo's least preferred option but it was an option nonetheless. This meant that the wood that was being brought to Hugo would probably first have to be chopped into more specific sizes depending on if Hugo wanted to sell the wood as firewood, or if the peasants themselves were supposed to turn the wood into basic cutlery like bowls and spoons. (Though the most common product to sell to peasants was certainly firewood.) It was a potential option he could take but one that he should only do if the first and last option had failed. Now it was time for the last option he could take, the middle way between selling to the peasants and selling to the artisans. This would be selling wood to any of the woodworking guilds around the city of Genteven which, considering that it was the biggest city of Daravin, was quite a few potential guilds. There was the carpenters guild, the shipmaker's guild, who would turn the wood into planks for use in ships (though a subsidiary guild was a more likely contact), or the cartmakers guild or any number of them. These were going to probably be the ones who would be able to buy the greatest amount of goods. The disadvantage of selling to them was the fact that for one thing, they would have more skilled negotiators and often already had permanent contracts with Veir who produced goods. This meant that whilst any surplus wood would certainly be welcome for them, they were not reliant on it. Sure they could use the excess wood in storage for more ambitious projects, extra heating, as a reserve in case a large amount of wood was lost in say a fire but these were only bonuses. In the end, Hugo would probably have to do a combination of making deals with individual artisans and selling wood to the shipmaker's guild, since they always needed immense quantities of wood.
Hugo cracked his knuckles and then stood up from his desk, taking the letter with him. Now that he had the letter in question as a form of confirmation he could now begin negotiating with a representative of the shipmaker's guild at least. Ideally, Hugo would be able to sell about half of his future stock in wood to the guild. Which positively meant that there would be more space in the warehouse that could be used to store and ship goods again. One of the first lessons that Hugo learnt upon starting his business was that in a warehouse space was always at a premium. It was the most valuable commodity you had and the sooner a product went out of the warehouse the better because then you could buy more goods and so the cycle continued. Thus after meeting up with Bertrand nearby the warehouse the both of them went in the direction of the guildhouse of the shipmaker's guild.
After about half an hour of walking (Hugo's warehouse was not that far from the docks) Hugo arrived at the guild house of the shipmaker's guild, here their representatives would hold meetings with various merchants and there would be weekly gatherings for the various members of the guilds on the weekend. With them celebrating a successful week and talking to each other about the progress that was being made on various ships in construction. In Hugo's case he had come to meet with the guild master, but first to do that he had to talk with the receptionist/assistant of the guild master. With his semi-formal clothing (that which he can use to walk around the city whilst still showing that he was a member of the higher class) he quickly attracted the attention of a young man who was actually around Hugo's age. Potentially the son of the guild master but Hugo did not know in this particular case. Hugo gave a mostly indifferent look but gave a slight smile of good humour to the assistant. Sharing some small amount of familiarity with the young man. "Good afternoon. My name is Hugo Abreo, a Veir with some interest in business and with a large supply of wood. I would like a meeting with the guild master whenever he has an open spot." With some light use of Intonation, Hugo's voice went a tad bit lower. Taking some of the youthful quality out of it and making it feel heavier. A useful tool to create an impression upon those uneducated in magic. As well as a trick that Hugo himself appreciated using every so often.
The Assistant, his eyes suddenly wide-open and with the visible movement of his adam's apple nodded. "Ah alright Lord Veir." The man then seemed to be in thought for a moment and said. "The Guildmaster should be able to meet with you in about two hours, would that befit your wishes ?." Hugo's smile went wider and he allowed some of his teeth to show. That would be sincerely appreciated. I will see you and the guild master in two hours then. With a slight nod Hugo turned 180 degrees and left, perhaps he could spend the rest of the time talking with nearby carpenters and others who could potentially buy his supply of wood.
As he left the guild house Hugo reflected upon the benefit of being a Veir, even if he was a low-ranking one. If one was a usual merchant or even Valran they would have to wait several days for an appointment or plan it out quite some time beforehand. But despite him being no more wealthy than the average merchant Hugo was able to quickly have meetings with even Guild Masters at the nearest available time slot. This was the privilege of position which worked out quite well for him, and which Hugo would use to prosper in the unequal realm of Daravin.
