Kieman suggested they change locations before continuing the conversation.
He said it would be easier to see the truth for themselves, because he knew it was his word up against Eve’s.
And so Lawrence, Holo, and Kieman walked the nighttime streets of Kerube; they passed a handful of people as they did, and a good percentage of them greeted Kieman, and the patrolling guards bowed politely.
Kieman brought them to a place near the town harbor.
“What is this?”
“The wool exchange.”
The tall brick wall vanished into the dark. It was a rather large place, and the walls were meant to protect the product within. Kieman spoke to the night guard, and they were let through the wooden gates, which led into a wide open courtyard—it was hard to imagine they were in the heart of a cramped city.
“Usually around this time of year, this building is stuffed full of all the wool sheared in the summer, making it look like a thick blanket of snow.”
Holo sniffed the air, drew up her shoulders as though chilly, and came to stand beside Lawrence. Perhaps all her sweat from the run from Karlan had cooled her down.
“And it’s because of that snake that it looks like this now.”
“You can’t get any wool?”
“That’s correct. I don’t know what sort of eye she has for this, but she stands out from the rest when it comes the wool trade. She’s even earned herself a spot as the Twilight Cardinal’s personal merchant, it seems. That means she commands great influence over the wool coming in from the kingdom. The wool merchants here on the mainland say you’ll fall ill if you put her in a bad mood.”
And what was it Eve was searching for in exchange of wool?
“She told us that if we want wool, we will have to lower the price of our lumber.”
Lawrence’s face froze taut halfway into a smile.
Eve had not taken Karlan’s side and was standing opposed to Kerube.
She was agitating Karlan by offering them glimpses of Kerube’s darkness all while intimidating Kerube with Karlan’s plans to expand.
“If we end up in conflict, we will have no choice but to make it cheap…”
The reason Holo could put on such airs of importance every day was because she commanded Lawrence’s attention alone.
Lawrence looked up to the night sky, fully visible, which was unusual for a city, and said, “If that were all, I would think this a common trade tactic, but…” Looking at Kieman, he could tell that was obviously not the case, so he added on a slight concession onto the end.
“You want to ask why we insist on wool? No, you want to know why we have to sell the lumber we get from Lenos to the kingdom for cheap, if that’s the case. Right?”
“Yes. Money seems to sprout from the literal woodwork these days.”
Anyone and everyone wanted lumber, to the point where Eve would resort to schemes.
“If this were just about selling lumber, then we wouldn’t mind where it ended up. But like you said, we have our own reasons.”
In seaside port towns like this, they could easily put their lumber on a ship and send it wherever they pleased if they did not like where they were currently selling it to. The reason Lenos could not do such a thing was because it was not practical to drag heavy lumber across the land.
But Kerube had their own reasons for needing to sell the lumber they purchased to the kingdom. And that likely had to do with access to their wool.
“Is there any need to obtain wool outside of trade?”
Nighttime along the sea was cold at this time of year. Holo hugged herself, so Lawrence removed his coat and placed it over her shoulders.
“Wool is necessary to keep people warm,” Kieman said, idly looking at Holo with Lawrence’s warm jacket over her shoulders. “Through the hard work of the villagers over many years, and the deeds the Rowen Trade Guild have accomplished under my watch, Kerube has thrived. But the city has grown a bit too big as of late.”
Kieman looked out over the wool exchange; he was not the same shrewd merchant he was years ago.
“Even if the town itself develops nicely, there will always be a portion of the population that suffers for one reason or another. And there are people who drift in from elsewhere.”
Unlike Karlan, Kerube was a key location in traffic.
“Do you plan to warm them with wool?”
“Or something like it, yes. Those suffering come knock on this door and are given an armful of wool.”
At last, it clicked for Lawrence.
“Spinning thread.”
Kieman nodded, and Holo looked up curiously.
“Thread spinning does not cost much in terms of labor, and it is a job anyone can do. Anyone can start the very same day—no need to know how to read or write, or even speak the same language.”
All one needed to do was divide the wool, brush it out, make sure all the hairs were lined up, and then twist it into thread. All one needed to work efficiently was the right tools, with or without experience, and anyone could do the work as long as they had a place to sit and a brush.
“It was a lot like the wheat mixing job you did,” Lawrence said, and Holo finally understood.
Wheat brought in as trade goods was placed into storage, but if left alone, humidity would cause it to mold. It was necessary to mix the wheat to prevent this, but that work solely belonged to the women. Anyone could take on the job, even without great strength or reliability, so it was a job reserved those who often found themselves in dire straits.
“Wool has a better margin when woven into thread, so everyone wins.”
Upon hearing that, Lawrence dropped his shoulders, tired.
Eve was most certainly taking a forward, aggressive stance, but the most important thing was that she was looking at Kerube’s footing and forcing them to lower the prices on lumber. With word that lumber, as price for her wool, could just as easily be obtained from Karlan.
And Lawrence noticed one more thing.
“Do you have plans to take in religious refugees here, too?”
Like a shopkeeper asked if new stock would be coming in the following week, Kieman smiled.
“Of course. We are allies of the Twilight Cardinal, after all.”
And Eve was Eve.
Everything she did was correct, following the principles of trade while also helping Col and Myuri, but when all the pieces were put together, everything was undeniably in her favor.
“I am starting to get a feel for how deep trade goes.”
There was no need for any of them to get crafty. If he had the wits about him to move readily when he saw his chance like Eve, then all he needed to was turn all of his right options into raw material.