Business and Espionage

Colin Dramus, a man in his early fifties made his way over to the Lord's castle in Merula.

He was the one who had been selected by his fellow merchants as their representative and had been invited for a meeting with with Damon ,the man who has brought unprecedented changes to the small border town in the westernmost part of the Everwinter empire.

When he arrived at the castle gate , he was stopped and searched by the members of the ISB before being led inside.

At the main door of the castle the ISB officer handed him to a member of the red guard ( Damon's personal guard) who then led him into the castle.

While inside the castle Dramus noticed how the great hall was devoid of a throne as many lords had a throne or an elaborate chair that made them feel superior to others .

Before long he found himself in an office with Damon waiting for him.

"Mr Dramus you've arrived" Damon smiled ushering him to a seat before he could start his ass kissing. He knew how all merchants and sales men were.

He then went over to a cabinet and poured a glass of whiskey for Dramus, offering it to him .

Dramus then collected the glass and took a sip and basked in the flavor. This particular whiskey was infused with cinnamon, giving it a spicy flavor.

"So what do you think of it" Damon asked snapping Dramus out from his daze .

" I think it is wonderful my Lord , even though not every one would like it ." He replied truthfully.

" I thought as much " Damon said as he handed over a list to Dramus.

" This list contains all types of flavors and the different brews I have available also with the prices, I would like for you and your colleagues to sell this throughout the empire."

" Well of course my Lord I would follow your order completely " Dramus replied.

" You misunderstand me Dramus " Damon said as he handed over another stack of paper to him.

This was a contract that Damon had clearly drafted to satisfy Dramus and his partners .

Overall it stated that Damon would hand over the goods to them and provide security and in turn they would provide Damon with fifty percent of the profit after sales and their taxes would be slashed to five percent instead of the regular fifteen percent.

By all means the offer was too good to be true at least in comparison to what other nobles would offer that is if nobles would even agree to do business at all.

This was also the reason why Damon decided to actively get into business. Apart from the obvious which was securing funds for development, he knew what happened back on earth , how business men and conglomerates shaped politics and nations with no loyalty for anyone but themselves . All this was because some pompous Lords decided that doing business was beneath them. And what was the consequences of such thought process, most of them went broke trying to maintain their lifestyle that they had to borrow from the merchants that they disdained and when they could not pay back , they were dragged off their high castles and posh gardens by those they looked at as inferior.

Damon believed in practicality and not in unproductive pride.

Dramus on the other hand agreed to sign the contract but only after he discussed it with the other merchants.

About two hours later , Damon was now sited with General Barksdale and captains Efemota and Raskos.

" Okay let's cut to the chase , it is already an open secret that the empire is about to go into civil war due to the matter of succession and with the amount of factions forming, it is bound to be a shit show. So right now we must insulate ourselves as to not get stained by the escalating mess."

"What are your orders my Lord" General Barksdale replied.

" Soon merchants from our city are going to move to different cities for trade and I have promised a measure of security for their journeys which I plan to do but in retrospect the soldiers who are deployed with these merchants would be disguised as mercenaries and also observe the situation in these cities."

"It is a quite dangerous mission milord " Efemota replied but before he could continue Raskos chimed in,

" It is dangerous but the Lord would not send us if it is not going to beneficial to the realm grow some balls ".

Tension was brewing between the captains in the room but before they could continue their bickering Barksdale cut in asking how the mission would be carried out.

Damon then explained that there would be a total of fifty soldiers that were going to involved in the operation. Thirty were to come from the reserve units while the remaining twenty would come from the reconnaissance company and they would undergo specialized training on how to act and adjust in urban areas. They were also going to discard their standard issue firearms and go with cold weapons but would have custom made equipment for them.

After the briefing Damon reminded them one last time " gentlemen , you'll do well to remember that this mission is classified. Not a word of this to anyone who is not involved directly including the merchants except they are given clearance is that clear."

In response they all stood up immediately and threw up a roman salute before leaving.

This was the first step in winning any war or conflict that may arise in the future, or that's what he believed.