The guild master settled into his chair with the particular ease of a man who believed he already knew how the conversation was going to go.
I let him lead.
He started with compliments. The fabric quality was notable, he said. The herbs showed interesting properties, the Glowfruits were unusual, the crop yields looked healthy.
He handled each item with the practiced appreciation of someone building goodwill before they used it.
I watched him and said nothing.
Frostina had taken the chair to my left with Torra on her lap. Torra was looking between me and the guild master with focused attention, reading the room the way children do when they sense something significant is happening and don't want to miss it.
Then the guild master reached the part of the conversation he had been steering toward.
"Given the current market conditions," he said, folding his hands, "and accounting for transportation, appraisal, and the guild's handling fees, I'd place the Tarant fabric at three gold coins per meter. The crops at roughly sixty percent of standard market rate. The herbs are unusual but unverified, so we'd need to factor in the cost of assessment-"
"The standard market rate for Tarant fabric from Singrael's source is five gold coins per meter." I said.
"That's correct, but the Singrael product comes with provenance documentation, established supply chains, and-"
"Is the fabric in front of you lower quality than what Singrael produces?"
The guild master paused. "It's comparable, but without documentation-"
"That wasn't the question." I said. "Is it lower quality."
He looked at the fabric again. His eyes gave him away before his mouth did. Any appraiser worth the title knew what he was looking at. The weave density alone put it above anything Singrael's standard production achieved.
"The quality is... comparable." He said carefully.
"Then it isn't lower quality."
"Well, no, but-"
"So the three gold coin valuation isn't based on quality." I said. "It's based on documentation. Which means you're not pricing the product. You're pricing the paperwork."
Frostina made a small sound that she converted into a cough.
The guild master shifted in his seat and recalibrated.
"The market has established rates," he said. "Buyers in Medalline expect provenance. Without it, there's inherent risk in the purchase that the guild absorbs, and that cost-"
"What risk." I said.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You said there's risk. Define it. What specifically are you absorbing risk against?"
He opened his mouth.
"If the product is what it appears to be," I said, "and we've established that the quality is not lower than market standard, then the risk you're describing is theoretical. You're applying a discount for a problem that doesn't exist and asking me to pay for your hypothetical."
The guild master laughed. It was a professional laugh, the kind designed to suggest that what had just been said was charming but slightly naive.
"That's one way to frame it." He said. "But this is how the guild operates. These are standard terms."
"For goods of lower quality." I said. "You've confirmed these aren't."
"For goods without documentation."
"Then show me the documentation that makes Singrael's fabric worth five gold coins." I said. "I'd like to read the part that adds two gold coins of value to an identical product."
The guild master's laugh didn't come this time.
He tried a different approach.
"I'm trying to work with you here." He said, leaning forward slightly, adopting the tone of someone offering a private concession. "Three gold coins is actually above what some of my colleagues would offer for undocumented product. I'm giving you room because I can see the quality. But I have a floor I can't go below."
"What's the floor."
"Three gold for the fabric. Fifty percent market on the crops. The herbs need individual assessment before I can commit to a number."
I looked at him.
"You're telling me," I said slowly, "that you can see the quality. That it's comparable to the best fabric produced in Philantria. That the crops are healthy. That the herbs are unusual enough to require individual assessment, which suggests they're not standard stock. And your position is that all of that together is worth less than what a documented equivalent would sell for."
"That's the reality of undocumented-"
"You're not discounting for quality." I said. "You're not discounting for condition. You're not discounting for demand, because you wouldn't be in this room with us if there wasn't demand. You're discounting because you've decided we don't know what we have."
The guild master said nothing.
Torra had gone very still on Frostina's lap. He was watching me with wide eyes and something that looked like pure fascination.
Frostina had stopped pretending to look elsewhere.
"I'll ask you directly," I said. "Can you sell Tarant fabric of this quality in Medalline for more than three gold coins per meter."
A pause.
"Potentially, depending on the buyer-"
"Yes or no."
"...Yes."
"Can you sell crops of this yield grade at standard market rate or above."
"In the right channels, yes, but-"
"And the herbs." I said. "The ones you want to assess individually. If the assessment comes back the way you expect it to, given that you've already noted they're unusual. What would a single unit sell for in Medalline's apothecary market."
The guild master was quiet for a moment too long.
"Potentially above standard herb pricing." He said finally.
"So." I said. "You can sell everything I've brought you at full rate or above. And you're offering me sixty percent or less across the board."
I leaned back in my chair.
"I've sat across from people like you before." I said. It came out conversational. Almost pleasant. "In different rooms. Different cities. The structure is always the same. Establish rapport, find the information gap, price the gap instead of the product. It works reliably on sellers who don't know what they're holding."
The guild master looked at me.
The comfortable authority that had been in his posture when we sat down had gone somewhere.
"I'm not here to negotiate against myself." I said. "Four gold fifty per meter on the fabric. Standard market rate on the crops, not your internal rate, the published rate. The herbs we discuss after your assessment, with the final price based on actual apothecary market value, not a figure you arrive at before you know what they're worth. Those are my terms."
"That's quite a jump from-"
"Those are my terms." I said again.
"I need to consult with-"
"You're the guild master." I said. "Consulting takes time I don't have. If you need to think about whether you want to buy the best Tarant fabric available in Philantria at four fifty a meter, I'll find a buyer who doesn't."
I stood up.
The guild master looked at the fabric on his desk. Then at the Glowfruits. Then at the herb samples.
Then at me.
"Four gold twenty-five on the fabric." He said. "Standard published market rate on the crops. Herb pricing after assessment, based on apothecary market value with a fifteen percent guild handling fee."
I looked at him.
"Four forty." I said. "Ten percent handling on the herbs."
A pause.
"Done." He said.
I sat back down.
Frostina exhaled very quietly behind me.
Torra leaned close to her ear and whispered something. She tilted her head toward him without taking her eyes off me and whispered something back.
I didn't need to hear it to know what it was.
The guild master pulled out his ledger and uncapped his pen and began writing with the focused efficiency of a man who had just been outmaneuvered and had made his peace with it.
"I'll have the payment ready within the hour." He said.
"We'll wait." I said.
I could push for higher outcome but, there's one thing I'm securing.
Eryndor's anonymity.
Since Medalline wants to monopolize such goods of high quality, they'll keep the supplier's identity hidden. To keep the profit coming while securing continuous trade with them alone.
That will keep the trouble away, and we would be able to supply them with our overflowing harvest.
The Taran fabric had already changed, since the mother tarantula started eating Glowfruits. The quality was much better with extra unique distinction.
The Taran fabric from Eryndor was firmer and softer. Both durability and skin friendly in one. Which was way more better than Singrael's taran fabric which was soft, yes...but not durable and versatile enough to be used and made into everything that requires it to be gentle to those with sensitive skin.
The herbs weren't just weeds that would be found anywhere, they're apothecary treasures.
But truthfully, Medalline's merchant guild was just my cover. Letting them do the hardwork while we just gain profit and keep the storage controlled.
That's how this works.
As we waited, Torra was already impatiently tugging at my sleeve to leave. He wanted to explore Medalline's capital, and check out the market.
Moments later, the vice guild master came with a big pouches of gold coins.
I didn't count it, and just lead Frostina and Torra out of the merchant's guild.
For now, we have dealt with Eryndor's overflowing goods. That's the purpose of this trip afterall.