Stunning Conditions

"Joining the White Maple chamber of commerce is nothing as stringent as you have in mind. You won't be subjected to forced absurdly high fees for the upkeep of the channels as everything would be in the form of a voluntary donation. You would also get access to some of the channels of the Arnhaunts including our border routes as well as all our products; present and future, all at a discounted rate. In exchange, you would offer up a part of your channels for all to profit from, similarly at a discount. Think of it as a cooperation between you and those who put down their signatures on the agreement. If you're wondering how you would profit more from this, then I have nothing else to say." Asher smirked.

The crowd finally had their enthusiasm dampened by Asher's words as their business instincts kicked in, and they began to consider the situation more deeply.

Some of the delegates glanced at the Saunters proxy but when they noticed the frown on his face, they realized that he also knew nothing about this.

"The details of the White Maple chamber of commerce are mentioned on the final page of the document in your hands. Unlike the official draft of the contract, it hasn't been stamped by the Court of Treaty." Asher added when he noticed their actions.

'Hehe. Do you think I would reveal everything to you? So naive.' Asher grinned inwardly.

"My House of Lorls has no problem with this." The delegate from the Lorls replied just after two minutes of browsing through the document.

As a descendant of a family with generations of dealings in trades, he could easily recognize the important points to note in a deal. Although it seemed like joining the White Maple chamber of commerce was a loss as one would have to offer up their trade channels, this wasn't so.

According to the document, they would only need to offer up 30% of their channels, and it wouldn't be for free, although members would receive a 5%-15% discount on it, depending on the owner's will. Apart from that, they would have the right to decide which channels they can offer to the chamber, so the advantage was still in these families' hands. There was also the fact that the Arnhaunts would offer up their border routes for these families to use.

While it was true that the Kingdom of Terra and the Great Dawn kingdom were perpetual enemies, this didn't mean that the two kingdoms didn't engage in trade. However, only two provinces bordered the Kingdom of Terra; Black Ridge province and Red Maple province. However, the Black Ridge province's borders didn't exactly have any good roads into the Kingdom of Terra as most of the region was mountainous. Of the various channels, only one was suitable for merchant caravans. This was in direct contrast to the Red Maple province which had at least three good roads into the enemy kingdom. But what Red Maple had in quantity, they lacked in security. The Black Ridge province's trade route was at least 30% safer than those of Red Maple. In other to profit massively from the lone good road, the Suttons had imposed a heavy tariff[1] on merchants, but because the road was considerably secured as compared to the Arnhaunts, it was still used by some caravans. Nonetheless, more merchant caravans used the cheaper Red Maple roads due to their affordability, but they still used the Black Ridge roads when transporting more precious cargo as it was more secure. Sadly, the tariff imposed varied depending on the quality and quantity of the goods, so they had to pay a lot for their goods.

With the Arnhaunts now opening their various channels at a discounted rate for these families, it would be more profitable for these families to transport all their goods, both precious and common, via these trails. Also, according to the document, the Arnhaunts had recently performed a bandit elimination operation on a certain road in their province making it considerably safer than the rest; at least on par with the Black Ridge's. Since these channels would now be available to these families at a cheaper rate than the competitors, there was no reason for them not to take advantage of this.

Finally, the document described how chamber members could get access to some of the Arnhaunts' products and this was further confirmed by Asher's words. This might not sound much to a layman, but to a professional businessman like the delegate, this meant a lot. It should be recalled that the Arnhaunts owned a magic crystal mine, and although they had to hand over 50% of the proceeds to the royal family, they still controlled the other 50%. However, the movement and sale of those crystals were always in the control of the Arnhaunts. The crystals, processed or raw, were only sold in their stores and in minute amounts. However, this contract created an opportunity for one to cooperate with the Arnhaunts and get access to them straight from the mine. Even if the Arnhaunts were unwilling to grant distribution rights to these families, the fact that they would get a discount when purchasing Arnhaunt specialities was still enough for them to accept the deal, after all, the Arnhaunt specialities also included the popular Red Maple trees, its by-products, co-products and main products.

Even if Asher was to say that they would have to pay a monthly deposit for the upkeep of the chamber, the Lorls delegate would still agree to the deal.

With a precedent, others began showing interest to sign the contract and Old Bronze could feel his blood run cold. The Suttons were the rivals of the Arnhaunts and as a lackey of the Suttons, the Wyatts would rise and fall alongside them. If this deal were to pull through, it would see the Arnhaunts robbing the Suttons of a large chunk of their border route customers and this would spell a disaster for the Suttons. The revenue generated from the tariff was a lot since most of the goods passing there were very valuable[2].

'No. I have to find a way to end this.' Old Bronze began to fret.

Before Old Bronze could do anything, a voice spoke up.

"If I recall correctly, you had hinted to there being other conditions of cooperation with your family and this being the most basic one."

In the entire gathering, there were only two persons that didn't require addressing Asher as 'young master' or 'young lord' when they spoke to him. One was the Tate Graham and the other was the current speaker, the proxy from the Saunters.

"Indeed."

'Finally, someone asked.'

"Signing the contract means joining the White Maple chamber of commerce, but that's just the most basic membership position. The higher your position in the chambers, the more deals you can get. For example, the most basic rank grants you the right to the sale of the potion in your various provinces with you earning 15% of the profits, cooperation in certain goods of my Arnhaunt family at a discount of 10%, albeit on a limited quantity of goods, and the right to use our trade routes at a similar discount rate. However, the next rank, Blue tier, would give you cooperation in more goods of my family at a 12% discount and a much higher limit on the number of goods available to the discount, with an earning of 20% of profits from the potion sales and a much higher potion allocation for sale. Unlike the basic membership, the Blue tier membership would allow you to enjoy these privileges for any future similar products of my family.

"The even higher Purple tier membership would see you making 40% from the profits while receiving a 15% discount from all products, with essentially no limit on quantity, and a 15% discount on all border tariffs and channels. A higher potion quantity allocation than that of a Blue tier member would also be given. You would also enjoy these offers for any future products. Finally, you would also get access to the recipe for the True Calming potion, albeit without the production method." Asher smiled.

The crowd immediately took in a deep breath of air as they found those terms generous. Forget everything else, just the recipe for the True Calming potion was enough for these families to apply for the Purple tier membership. It was like saying the Arnhaunts were doing a giveaway program, but they all knew that there was a catch.

"Of course, it's not for free."

Asher didn't wait for anyone to speak up as he continued.

Here it comes. The crowd couldn't help but think.

"For the Blue tier membership, you would have to offer to the chamber 35% of your channels at a 10% discount while also making a monthly donation of at least 1000 gold coins to the chamber. For the Purple tier membership, you would have to offer 40% of your trade channels at a discount of 20% and a monthly donation of 3000 gold coins.

"Fret not as only those of the appropriate rank could enjoy the privileges you have made available. In other words, a Blue tier member can not enjoy access to the 40% trade channels nor the discount of 20% made available by a Purple tier member. Instead, they would only enjoy the Blue tier rights, meaning only 35% access and 10% discount. As for a common member, they would only receive 30% access at a 5% discount rate.

"Also, all donations would be under the supervision of the chamber's financial committee; a joint group formed by all individuals from all member factions. This would aid to prevent any embezzlement or leakage of funds and also display transparency in all funds usage. After 2-3 years, monthly donations would be permanently waived and the chamber would become independent of any member, becoming a company of its own with all current members as stakeholders in it."

While it seemed like there were a lot of conditions, the deal was still advantageous to these families. For example, the highest tier, Purple tier membership, meant that they would be making 40% from profits with essentially no losses as expenses would be covered by the sale, a 15% discount on tariffs and the various Arnhaunt trade routes as well as their native products. They would also get a larger quota of the True Calming potions for sale which meant more profit. There was finally the fact that Asher would release the recipe for the True Calming potion. Although the production method wouldn't be included, these families were confident in researching that part with the advanced alchemists under them; and all of these came at the cost of just 3000 gold coins monthly together with 40% of their trade routes at a 20% discount. Since only Purple tier members could enjoy these deals, and they too could reap the same harvest from the other members, the families would be suffering a negligible loss whilst the true merchant families like the House of Lorls and the Grahams would be profiting massively.

To enjoy such deals, 3000 gold coins was pretty much nothing to them and even the weaker families could spare 100 gold coins monthly for the Blue tier membership. As long as they focused on their businesses, this partnership would be an opportunity for them to widen their reach and make a lot more money than they usually do. It was like a pie in the sky, but one they could actually have. In summary, this chamber of commerce was more useful and lucrative for these families than it was for the Arnhaunts.

However, all these men were professional businessmen. Even if these deals were already amazing and favourable, they would still desire more.

"Young master, these are-"

"There would be no further negotiations." Asher cut the speaker short.

"My Arnhaunt family has already displayed our willingness for cooperation. If you still desire to haggle for more, the door is still open for you to take your leave."