Wood

I decided to postpone the 'league of beggars' plan for a while. Mainly because of the warehouse situation. I need to figure out what to do with all the rotten wood.

As Vun said I could dry and burn it, but I'm not sure it would be good for the people burning it, health-wise, of course. So I will not use it myself but sell it to others, maybe I will even make some profit, it is winter and all, people need wood to make fires and avoid freezing to death.

But I know nothing about the actual price of wood, not only that, I don't even know where the firewood is being produced. I know that wood comes from trees, but there are no trees inside the city therefore they must be getting it from outside, the outside that is pack full of monsters.

I did not want to risk it so I just asked some random passerby about where they get the firewood for the city. He told me about two places, the woodcutters lodge, and the wood workshop.

One of them is outside the city while the other one is inside. While the woodcutter's lodge cuts trees down in the nearby forest the wood workshop transports it back to the city and turns it into firewood.

I now had two choices, go to the wood workshop and figure out how the wood is being processed or go outside the city to the woodcutter's lodge and figure out the price of raw wood.

I most certainly choose the first one, I will not take a step outside this city unless I really need to.

----------

And so, my cohort and I started heading towards where we were told the workshop is, namely next to the eastern gate, as it is the closest to the forest. It did take a while to get there, the streets are wet and slippery and the strong wind and snow flying straight into my eyes does not help.

But we eventually got there and it is what I expected, a small hut where they probably keep their tools, a large warehouse and a courtyard full of wood chips.

Workers wearing thick clothes were running around carrying logs from the courtyard to the warehouse, to store them away from the snow.

I approach one of the men screaming orders at the others. ''Sir I need to ask you a few questions, may I have a moment of your time?''

''No, what are you even doing here, do you not know what happened, hurry up and leave!'' What's wrong with this guy?

''Sir, I came here to purchase some firewood for this winter'' I'm a client, now be nice.

''You and everyone else, the snowfall was too sudden, there is no more wood'' What do you mean there is no more wood, look at the piles you are moving to the warehouse.

''I do not understand, I can see plenty of wood place around here, what is the problem?'' The man just turns and looks towards me, he seemed a bit surprised at seeing my cloak and giant guards so he gets a lot more docile and answers in a calm manner.

''The snowfall was too sudden, we did not know it would happen so soon so we made no preparations''. He sighs and points at the courtyard. ''That is all the wood we have left for this winter''

''That cannot be, what about the woodcutters, just send them out to get more wood''. The man just looks at me like I am an idiot and says.

''There are no more woodcutters, all of them are dead!'' Did he just say that all the woodcutters are dead? This is not good.

I take a moment to figure out what I just learned and the conclusion I reached can be summed up as. 'Oh great, just what I needed, to freeze to death together with the whole city'.

''How did it happen, it has barely been snowing for a day''. The man screams a few more orders to the workers then turns back to me.

''Do you truly not know?'' I nod. ''Fine then, the woods are dangerous, especially at this time of the year when the winter beasts arrive, the woodcutters got stranded in the forest by the snow, we even sent a group of 50 workers to help them, all but 3 are dead'' Winter beasts he says, I wonder...

''So what happens now? How will people survive this winter without firewood, can't you just send more people?''. I need answers, again.

The man seems fed up with me at this point. ''I do not know nor care, the workshop is closed, all the wood has been purchased, we are now preparing to leave, there is nothing left in this city for my men and me, we lost over half our workers to godforsaken monsters and if we stay we may be made to venture out into the woods again, we are leaving''.

This sounds very bad.

''Just two more questions sir'' He seems about to snap at this point, only my guards keep him from screaming obscenities at me.

''Only two questions, after that you leave!'' I nod and point at the wood workshop that is in the process of being evacuated.

''Who owns this workshop, sir?'' This may just work, maybe.

''We do, of course, what about it? Whatever you have one more!''. Great only need one more then I will be on my merry way.

''Then the last question is simple. Are you selling?''

----------

The paperwork is done, I am now the proud owner of a workshop, and empty one but and officially recognized workshop anyway. You see, in this city or this world, not quite sure about it, everyone can buy houses, and warehouses and boats and horses and whatever, but, you can not open up a shop without a permit.

I looked into it and getting a permit is simple, to be acknowledged as a lawful citizen and to have lived in Westerngrad for at least 5 years.

Yes, 5 years, and I've been here for a bit over a month, so there is no way I can get a permit.

But as always there is another way, just purchase the permit, the problem is no one wants to sell their permits, because they are limited in number. I asked the blacksmith before and he told me that he won't sell his for all the gold in the world, because there can not be more than 5 legal blacksmiths acting in this town, and he was one of them.

Big thing is that this workshop has or had a strong monopoly over the wood trade in the area, at a cost. The workshop must provide enough firewood for the city, if they can not do that the permit is to be retired, that's it.

And I bought said permit, in other words, if I am to trust the shining purple words on this parchment, marked with my mana, I, Caspian Season, am the one and only firewood provider in the city.

I pretty much got it for free, a measly 100 coins for it, mostly because that man knew exactly what is going to happen to the permit, it will be taken away because he can no longer fulfill his duties, so he gave it away for a token price.

And in his eyes, I am the idiot that bought this, a worthless item, what he doesn't know is that I have actually seen these so-called winter beasts before. Not in person but as an accessory of sorts.

The rugs placed in the rooms of the brothel are all made of beautiful white fur.

And the missus is quite proud of her own work.