Durin the Shipwright

The Port of Ibben, The Ibben Isles, 7th moon of 275 AC

The people of Ib, the ibbanese were a welcoming people, or so Ragnar thought, they would talk to him with EXTREME respect. Ragnar's theory was that they feared him, to them he was a giant, the ibbanese were small people, most of them were shorter than 5'5 ft and none of them was taller than 6 ft and because of that Ragnar stood out like a lighthouse on a stormy night. Ragnar was stopped more than 4 times before he could get to the Shipwrights, all of them by children, they would ask him if he was a giant, or if he was 2 men… one girl even asked if he was a Tree. Ragnar would have a full belly laugh every time he listened to one of their "theory" of the reason why he was so tall.

Ragnar got to a massive warehouse, there were a large number of docks inside it, and thousands of men could be seen working. Ragnar was marveled at all that.

"So this is the place is where the best shipwrights of Ib work. The guards said that more than 2000 shipwrights currently work here, If I play my cards right I'll be able to get a least 100 of them to go to Skagos ." Ragnar said to himself, he had high hopes for this whole "operation" getting the ibbanese to Skagos would be the turning point for their economy.

"Greetings, I'm sorry for getting in your way but who should I talk to in order to get some business done?" Ragnar asked a random worker he saw passing by. The man was shot like all his countrymen, he wore simple fur clothes, like most people on this island.

"It's no problem tall man, you should go talk to Durin, he's the boss here. You can find working in that big ship over there" the man said as he pointed towards a massive ship in the middle of the warehouse. Ragnar thanked the man and went to talk to Durin. Ragnar walked for 4 minutes inside the warehouse till he got to Durin. When Ragnar first saw Durin the first thing he thought was "A fucking dwarf", the man was even shorter than most and had a beard worthy of respect. He was inspecting the work of his subordinates, he seem satisfied even though had a "no-nonsense" face.

"Greetings, I'am Ragnar Dovahkiin of House Dovahkiin, from Skagos. One of your works told me that in order to get some business done I would need to talk to you" Ragnar said, his voice was neutral, and so was his demeanor.

"Greetings giant lord from Skagos. My name is Durin of the wood hand. What kind of business do you want with us?" Replied Durin, his voice was a rasp one, and although he called Ragnar by a nickname, his tone showed nothing but respect.

"It seems bluntness is a characteristic of all Northern people, I appreciate that... There are a few things I want to discuss with you." Ragnar said, his eyes were cheerful as was his mood, his face had a small simile to it

"I'm all ears m'lord" replied Durin

"I have a proposition for you, I want you and a few of your man to go to Skagos, I'll pay you twice what you get paid here and I will even add some bonus for each ship you build for me…"

Ragnar and Durin spent the whole day discussing terms and conditions, Ragnar noticed the man was reluctant about something, but he didn't press the matter.

"Mi'Lord your offer is amazing but I'm afraid that the council will attempt to kill me if they find out about your plan, and if they fail to kill me they would begin a naval war with your land... " Durin said, his face was sour, it was as if he had spent the last two hours kissing a lemon.

"You don't get to worry about the Council, I'll take care of them, I just need you to agree to my terms, so do we have a deal?" Ragnar CALMLY replied, his face held an even larger smile than the one he had arrived with, his plans were working.

"Aye we do m'lord, I will need a few weeks to get a few things done, I'll try to convince as many of my boys as possible, I believe the seconds or thirds sons will be easily persuaded... they are not the best but they can manage.." Durin said. He was more than satisfied with the deal, to him it was great opportunity to rise in this world. He would be getting paid trice as much as he did before, he would be getting a bonus for each ship he builds and he would be given a house. The only bad thing about the deal was that Skagos had a somewhat gruesome reputation but Ragnar assured him that the Island had changed.

" Good. I expect you to be able to depart for Skagos as soon as you get your things done. We will talk details later on… My day was a busy one and I need to rest a little" Ragnar replied as he got up and shook Durin's hand.

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A/N: First chapter of the day. There will be one more today… it will be longer than this one and will close the little Ib arch. Thank you! See you soon 👍