Merchandise to trade, learning how to market…
Francos and Tony joined Mandy and Blackie in the large meeting room near the harbor. They had unpacked the goods brought from Port. Serept had invited a few merchants to see what they had.
“Sera Doe, I am pleased to meet you. I understand you were most helpful to Sera Sarita, and Sera Rita in Port, and that kindness will be remembered.” Francos had worked on his calming routines prior to this meeting. Having a damper hired for this meeting might attract unwanted attention from the Council Houses.
Mandy was showing the scarfs to one of the clothing merchants. “This cloth is so soft, softer than the pod silk, and the colors are so vibrant.” The head of the clothing guild was gently stroking the scarfs and looked at Mandy’s new tunic and pants.
“Please, feel the softness of this weave.” Mandy held out her sleeve to him. “We separate the various kinds of seaweed fibers to control how strong the fabrics are. The fiber for the scarfs is not as strong as what is used for our clothing. The dye comes from a small shellfish, and we have to be careful not to harvest too many. We are working to see if the dye will work on cloth made here in Refugio.”
“Have you tried pressing the white meat from the tree nuts?” a food supplier asked. “There is some reference to that in the archives. I believe it produces a useful oil.”
Mandy shook her head. “That has been tried, but we need to have something that will press the oil without soaking it up. The other way we found uses a lot of fresh water, and that we don’t have. We have pressed the nut meat, but we end up with oily stones and not much useful oil. We know it can be done, but we need the food from the nuts more.”
“I know that we have pressed oil from the olives and that process might be similar. I will talk to my workers,” another of the merchants joined in the conversation. “Perhaps we can work something out? The olives are so small, and the trees don’t produce much yet, but the archive material we have warned us of how long it takes for them to grow. I think the tall nut trees seem to grow faster.”
Francos was pleased with how the meeting was progressing. Serept had insisted that these merchants, all Unspoken, were the best to include first. He believed them to be more open to changes than the Council Houses.
Tony brought out his new razor and explained how much he enjoyed not having all that hair on his face in the heat of the Port islands.
“The stone is called obsidian in the reference books and from what we have found, the stone was well known on Terra. It can be used for most kinds of cutting, but it is brittle, so razors and medical cutting are the most practical uses. You can see these small, healed places on my face as an example. I moved when one of the Port men was shaving me. The blades are so sharp I barely noticed I had been cut.”
“From what I have read, some men might not want to start having to clear the hair every day, Ser Pesch. It is my understanding it grows back that fast. Captain Okapie, is that true?” The heavily bearded merchant did not seem enthusiastic about shaving daily.
“Yes, if you don’t shave every day, you get fuzz in a day or so. Some of us don’t shave while at sea to save water. Rinsing your face with salt water can sting if you have a nick or two.” Blackie understood the reason for the questions, but knew it was a characteristic that set the men of Port apart from the other two communities. The heat of the islands would keep it that way, he was certain.
“Captain Okapie, you have shown us several things that I am certain will be valued by our citizens,” Francos said. He saw the lull in the conversation as a time to move the negotiations along. “What does Port want in return?”
For the next few hours, Mandy, and Blackie, aided by Tony, argued back and forth with the merchants. It was clear that the main need of the Port settlers was food, especially protein heavy food like meat. An acceptable value was agreed upon in exchange for the dried fish, scarfs, and the collection of cutting tools. Francos was pleased, as were the merchants Serept had chosen.
Pedro Barra often traded with the Pesch. “Ser Antonio, I am confused. Are you here for the Family Pesch or for the Port settlement?” He had not heard any rumors of their involvement in this trade agreement until he was introduced to Tony.
“Ser Barra, I represent myself as an observer of the conditions in Port. What happened to me, and my family members, proved to be a blessing in disguise. I can see the need for more cooperation among our settlements. Each of us has shortages that can be fulfilled by the others. We just need to talk to each other, not raid and fight.”
Francos relaxed and nodded to Serept. One more change put in motion, and one more thing he did not need to worry about. Tony was handling it capably.
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