Primordial Slime: I Devour The World

A crate of herbs nearly flew over Tanaka as he walked around the market.

It had been a Kobold carrying the bundle. It stumbled over its own paws, catching itself and hurrying on before Tanaka could stop it. He was about to move on when Kessa stepped into the Kobold’s path.

"Wait."

She examined the markings on the crate. "These are Valerian. The healers need them."

"The warehouse told me to bring the herbs here," the Kobold retorted.

Kessa glanced towards the workers in the storeroom at the side of the market before checking her tablet. "The healer’s quarter ordered twelve crates at the same time yesterday. Six have turned up this morning, so this shipment should not be here."

The Kobold looked uncertain.

"Who did you report to in the storeroom," Kessa asked one of the workers who was nearby. "Tell me, was it your belief that since the healers would have enough that the rest should be sent towards the market?"

"Yes," the worker admitted reluctantly.

"Then do not make such judgements in future," Kessa reprimanded him. "Take two crates back to storage and leave the remaining six with the healers when their next request is delivered. If further surplus appears when their next request is processed, we can make future judgements as to where stock will be taken."

The worker left the two men swiftly.

Tanaka said nothing during the exchange. He turned to Kessa as she returned. "You did not require my assistance for this decision?"

"No. The records spoke to me."

"Good."

They took their walk into the market once more. Vendors were crying their prices over the noise of the traffic, the workers and customers. Hunters were piling meat and the hides from their kills onto bins. Goblins were taking tools from the workshops to the stalls. Moonhares were laying out bundles of herbs into baskets for sorting and kobolds were taking fresh provisions to the food vendors.

Kessa spotted a hunter who was loudly arguing with a merchant over a bundle of hides as they came past.

"They are suitable for use," the hunter insisted.

"Not for my customers," the merchant replied. "I will pay you half."

Kessa stepped in before either could get truly upset. She inspected the damage done to the hides before speaking. "He is right that they will not be fit for clothing, but that does not mean that they are absolutely useless. We can probably sell them to Gorim as fittings for straps, grips and protective linings."

The hunter looked at her hopefully.

"How many," Kessa asked.

"Seventeen."

"I will take twelve for Gorim and leave you five. If he cannot use them, we will find a buyer for you."

The hunter did not object.

"I could have bought them from the man who owns the hide stall," the merchant grumbled. "You could have sold them to me as well."

"You did not want them," Kessa reminded him. "It makes no sense to force him to take them at double the local rate when another buyer has need of the material."

Tanaka followed after her.

"You have started making decisions without consulting me."

"I thought that was why you appointed me as your representative for the market records."

"It is. I wanted to see if you saw your post as a purely clerical job or actually wanted to manage the market."

Kessa turned back to study the stalls.

"If it comes to letting the trading companies decide the worth of everything, they will only buy what comes easiest for them. The hunters and gatherers will eventually stop bringing in the harder to sell goods as they will find it more profitable to bring only the regular stock. We need secondary buyers for the faulty and irregular merchandise."

Tanaka thought this over.

"Make a list."

Kessa smiled as she pointed out that she had already begun one.

By the middle of the afternoon Kessa had begun to tour past the market area without Tanaka. She was inspecting inventories and questioning the merchants about shipments in transit rather than what Tanaka wanted to hear. At one of the salt stalls she learned that one merchant had only three sacks stored and would not have a new supply for another four days. One of the Moonhare food vendors had already warned the man that the demand for his product would rise.

"We will be out before his next shipment is due," Kessa announced.

"I can raise the cost," the merchant shrugged. "There is not likely to be competition for the stock."

"If you do that then there will certainly be for the next supply. You will still have a deficit."

Kessa moved away from their discussion to where another merchant with six sacks of salt in his storeroom was standing.

"How much would you want for all six sacks?"

The man named a sum that she shook her head at. "That is going to be too much to pay for a bulk purchase."

"That is the market rate."

"Not if I guarantee that you will sell all six of your stock before the day is out without needing to put your money into a stall or paying for transports."

The merchant agreed to a lower sum for the sale of the six sacks.

Kessa arranged for two to go to the man who had warned her of the approaching shortage and the remaining four to go to the food vendors who still required a larger supply than their current stores could provide.

Tanaka watched from several steps away.

"Why not wait for his next consignment to come in?"

"It would have been faster," Kessa admitted. "As well as ensuring that the shortage was a problem for him and not everyone at once."

She walked on with her books without waiting for his permission to do so.

When she finished reading her notes to him, Tanaka knew that something had changed.

Kessa was no longer just informing him of problems. She was solving them for him too.

Later, Kessa brought the revised trade records into the council room.

"I found something that requires discussion with you before you negotiate with Varkesh."

Tanaka flipped through the records. "Our production is sufficient for Eldoris, but it would have changed the figures slightly if a large foreign buyer had arrived. The food production would have supported a portion of the extra trade with us, but we would have had to start amassing our reserves. The healing potions would be all right if the healers got enough in the way of ingredients. Cloth and basic tools have very little effect on anything."

She turned the pages over to look at a different part of the proposal.

"Weapons are a different matter entirely."

"Why?" Tanaka asked.

"Because the money from weapon sales would strengthen Varkesh’s military resources."

Kessa placed the trade proposal on the table. "That is my recommendation." She looked up to meet the gaze of the man standing behind the table. "We should not sell weapons to him."

The doors to the council room opened and Karesh walked in. He had heard the last remark. "Our proposal includes weapons."

"I know."

Kessa did not move or lower her voice in response to Karesh’s words.

"You have also offered rare ores and mana crystals in return for a supply of the standard goods from Eldoris. That means to me that you need that much of an improvement in supply that you would be willing to offer a poor trade for yourselves."

Karesh remained polite in his expression.

"Varkesh appreciates the products of Eldoris."

"Why are your soldiers standing close to our northern border then?"

A hush fell over the room.

Kessa continued speaking before Karesh could answer. "You want food, medicine, tools and weapons while the armed forces within your ranks are hovering in the same general direction on Eldoris where your proposed trade route would enter. I do not think that we should hand over everything that you have requested until we know why."

Karesh moved to stand by Tanaka’s side. "Is this your position?"

Tanaka did not reply immediately. He studied Kessa before returning his gaze to the trade proposal. "It is hers."

Karesh’s features changed as he took in the words. Tanaka leaned back in his chair. "I am responsible for the trade in Eldoris. If Kessa refuses part of a proposal, I expect her to have a valid reason for her actions. She has given me one."

Kessa said nothing more as she replaced the proposal on the table.

"Then perhaps we should talk about the conditions under which Varkesh will still be able to trade with Eldoris."

Tanaka allowed himself to smile. "Now we are getting somewhere."

The negotiation was different this time. It was no longer just Karesh haggling over the terms of the treaty with the ruler of Eldoris. The bargaining was happening with someone who had already made a decision as to what Eldoris would sacrifice, and what it would not.