章節 107: Chapter 107 - Artican Trade in Westeros 34 (Reach 14!).
[Chapter Size: 3200 Words.]
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Pessoa Thrid POV
Westeros, 295 AC.
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Note: I noticed that I sometimes confuse the name Arctic; you may consider Arctic, Articanos, and Artica to be the same.
They returned to the room of their first meeting as they settled in. "Take me to my chair... my boy," Olenna requested, settling into her place, while the rest aligned in their groups.
"Well, let's begin..." Olenna spoke, and Jon nodded next to his wife and cousin, although he was not with his ministers, he would pass on a report to them later in a meeting.
Jon began talking about his products; it was an initial meeting and would still take many days to reach an agreement, but even so, as he did with Dorne, he made it very clear that his prices were fixed and would not be changed.
Jon knew that even if they tried to sell their items at a higher price, there would be competitors in other kingdoms like Dorne, having to use more competitive prices, and the market would self-adjust without him needing to keep monitoring it.
"Alright, we'll keep that in mind..." Olenna said after hearing Jon's demands about the prices of his products. "I heard that you negotiated a port with Dorne... which seems quite surprising..." She said, wanting more information, a foreign kingdom creating a port on the southern coast on the other side of the continent is quite surprising...
"Yes... that is true, it will be a means to supply both Dorne and any other part of the region," Jon said.
"So you plan to trade with the Free Cities?" She asked, and Jon shrugged, knowing this was quite obvious information.
"Yes, after we visit Westeros, I plan to go to Essos in a year..." Jon said.
"Interesting..." Olenna murmured while Margaery next to her was silent for a while.
"I'm sure you will succeed in this venture, after all, ice is a revolutionary producer in the Free Cities..." Willas decided to give some praise and Jon nodded.
"Now let's get down to business, you told my grandson you would like to buy many horses, but are horses from the Reach suitable for you in the north?" Olenna asked curiously.
"We have all the plants and trees the Reach can offer... so the answer is yes," Jon smiled at the old lady, who nodded with a smile.
"That's good, let's start a list of your demand," she commented.
They continued negotiating all of Jon's demands while he tried to get the best price for his demands.
The meeting finally ended as it was noon. "Would you like to have a meal with our family?" Olenna asked.
"Sorry, but I have some things to do at my camp, can we leave it for the next time we meet?" Jon suggested, and Olenna nodded.
"Alright, I'll be waiting for that," she said.
"I will accompany the Artican king to the exit, Margaery, can you accompany our ladies?" Willas suggested.
"Yes, of course," she said and accompanied the two Artican women.
"I would like to see you in the courtyard again tomorrow, I need a rematch, Artican king," Garlan said as Jon nodded, seeing no problem with that.
They began to follow the group while Olenna calmly waited, with her grandsons returning a while later, "Did everything go well?" she asked.
"Yes, granny..." Willas said.
"What did you think of the meeting?" She asked Willas directly.
"It's unprecedented..." he admitted.
"Yes, we will have difficulty meeting his demands, but it will put a lot of money in our pockets, we should talk to our suppliers later..." Olenna commented.
"I've never seen so much money being negotiated like this, is this how a business meeting is done?" Margaery commented.
"My dear granddaughter, no, usually the amount is much lower..." Olenna commented analyzing her granddaughter with a smile, "Jon Arctic is really a wealthy man, who in Westeros would want to spend so much money on horses?" she said, after all, Jon demanded a huge amount, they were talking about more than 5,000 breed horses and 10,000 animals for slaughter and meat reproduction, perhaps even that number could double.
"Does he plan to put his entire army on horses?" Garlan couldn't help but wonder. After all, only people with some money could have horses, even in a war being called by their lords, only a select number of people owned horses, while a large part of the plebeians had to fight tilling the land.
"Your idea of an army is really scary... and he already has all those giants..." Willas commented, as the heir to Highgarden, he always had to think about what he would do if someone became his enemy...
"They are big, but a large enough army can take them down," Olenna mocked, believing they could be destroyed if they were in a war, after all, the Reach could gather 100,000 soldiers to fight, and within that number, at least 30,000 mounted.
"Shall we have our meal, then?" Margaery commented.
"Yes, you can go ahead, I want to talk a bit with my granddaughter," Olenna requested, and Willas and Garlan obeyed, leaving the room.
Olenna was left alone with her granddaughter, while she waited for her grandmother to speak. "Tell me, my granddaughter... what bothers you so much?" She spoke with a small smile.
"I..." Margaery seemed a bit hesitant at first, but eventually spoke. "Queen Seryna... Is this how a woman of her status behaves?" She asked, and Olenna smiled.
"She certainly knows how to behave like someone of her status, although she does not speak out, she knows how to behave like a queen in a foreign land," Olenna spoke with a tone of admiration, having known a bit about Rhaella Targaryen for many years.
"Could I learn from her?" Margaery asked.
"Yes, I believe so, her education is something I've never seen before, they can even speak in other languages while we just look baffled," Olenna commented, and Margaery remarked.
"Your face also tells me you're thinking about something else," Olenna continued after analyzing her granddaughter's face more closely, clearly, she was pondering something.
"I..." Margaery was a bit hesitant to speak.
"Is it about the Artican king, isn't it?" She asked, and Margaery seemed surprised by that, even wanting to deny it. "Come on, my granddaughter. I know you, I saw how you look at him," she said, and Margaery looked embarrassed, her face turning a bit red.
"I... wanted to know if Prince Joffrey... is like him..." She said timidly.
"My granddaughter has been charmed by the northerner..." Olenna spoke sarcastically.
"It's not that, granny!" Margaery tried to deny.
"It's alright... My dear, your father also made many maidens fall in love with him, I'm not surprised and he is indeed a handsome and strong man, it's natural," Olenna commented.
"Lord Stark? I had never heard such things about him..." Margaery asked surprised, after all, Lord Stark is known for his honor, not for being a gallant man.
"Haha. Forget that detail... We'll talk about it one day," Olenna said and looked into her granddaughter's eyes with a more serious gaze.
"Jon Artican, is a handsome and strong man, and more importantly, he is a king despite his bastard origin. However, you wouldn't want to become queen of a kingdom we hardly know anything about, besides you wouldn't be the only queen, tell me, my granddaughter, is this passion you are developing for him worth it, do you want to be queen of a frozen land or of the Seven Kingdoms?" She asked seriously.
"Queen of the Seven Kingdoms..." Margaery responded.
"Great, you were raised for this, so leave this love for your future husband and do not nurture anything that could harm you in the future," she said, still speaking in the same tone.
"Yes... granny..." Margaery commented.
"Great, now let's go to our meal, your father must be waiting for us with your brothers," she said and they began to leave the room.
Meanwhile, Jon arrived at his camp with his guards and went to the largest tent where everyone was having their meals and joined them, he held a later meeting with his ministers updating them on the negotiations, in the afternoon while Arya was going to train, Jon was busy attending to many nobles who approached asking for audiences for him and his businesses.
On the same day, many kilometers from Highgarden, as some puddles shone reflecting the sun after some days of rain in that area. A puddle was soon stepped in as horses continued riding along the road, a group made up of 15 men continued their journey.
"We're arriving in a few days, my prince," a man dressed in white metal plates approached the main member of that group.
"That's good, Ser. We're finally arriving," the prince of the Seven Kingdoms spoke, and he was none other than Renly Baratheon, the younger brother of King Robert, the first of his name.
Renly smiled at his royal guard and turned to the man mounted next to him, who was his former squire and now a knight. "What do you think, Ser, are you missing your family?" Renly asked with a small smile.
"Yes, my prince... I'm eager to see them again..." Loras Tyrell, a knight who was recently appointed by the prince himself after demonstrating great skill and bravery at a tournament on the Isle of Faces.
"That's good... we're almost there..." Renly spoke with a small smile.
"My prince, are you still sure about this, going to see a savage... it doesn't suit your status..." The royal guard said with a tone showing disdain.
"We left the capital as soon as we knew they were coming here nearly a moon ago, so we wouldn't miss the opportunity to meet this unique group, did you know they have giants, Ser?" Renly spoke to his man as they continued their way on the road, there were the prince himself, Renly, Loras, the royal knight, and a guard taking care of security and supplies while traveling on the king's road.
"Surely a lie told by the Dornish!" The man spat.
"Don't be so skeptical, ser. There are too many witnesses to say they don't exist, so be careful, I don't want to bring news of a man stomped by a giant to my brother," Renly spoke with grace. "Moreover, I am on a diplomatic mission given by my own brother, so I will meet them and ask them to come to King's Port, their products have caught the king's attention." Renly commented, at this time the news about the Artican fleet destroying ships at sea in front of the capital had not yet reached his ears, so he was unaware of the chaos that had begun to happen at the council table.
"Don't worry, my prince, I will protect you from anything," Loras commented and Renly laughed.
"That's great, my knight. You will certainly prove your worth, besides there is a tournament and I hope to see you winning, if we still arrive in time for the joust," Renly spoke and everyone nodded.
They continued their journey, passing through the fields that the Reach could offer while startling all the commoners on the road, as the group followed with the king's banner while everyone stepped aside, until night fell and they camped after finding a good terrain.
The next day, in Highgarden, Jon had another audience with some nobles, asking for some negotiations, although he always said that he was handling this with the Tyrells and could not do it personally with them, after all they are the suppliers, he could not sell such products individually.
Garlan appeared again, in addition to the invitation to go to the castle again, Jon handed over the men who tried to rob him these days, as they had talked about the day before.
Jon then set off again for Hightower Castle, along with his wife and Arya. Upon arriving at the place, they were greeted by Willas along with his sister again. While Jon went out with Willas and Garlan, the women accompanied his sister to meet with other noblewomen.
Jon ended up again on the training ground after leaving his wolf in the kennel. The young Hightower was there along with the Redwyne twins and some other young nobles, after all, the news of the previous fight had spread through the noble camps and everyone wanted to see the man who defeated the tournament champion, this could be inferred from the place having a large concentration of older nobles at the site watching from a distance.
He trained with the youths while continuing, one after another, to achieve victory after victory, no one could defeat him in that courtyard. Garlan finally asked for his rematch, but it also did not change the result from the previous day, after feeling the Valyrian steel sword pressing against his neck again.
After all the attendees clapped for the boy's performance, Jon decided to step out of the ring and stand as a spectator next to Willas and his royal guard. "Look, it seems we had many spectators today," Willas spoke pointing at the distance while there were many nobles there, one group stood out as Jon saw his sister, wife accompanied by other wives, although Arya had a face that she preferred to be in the ring rather than there.
"You certainly left my brother's fiancée quite horrified with you defeating him in the fight," Willas couldn't stop commenting after seeing that woman several times, having a face of concern in the middle of the fight and horrified when Garlan lost, even from that distance.
Jon shrugged it off; he shouldn't care much about what his opponent's wife thought, even if it was a joke from Willas. After all, in war, life and death are not decided by what might please or displease a lady. You just have to fight for your life, and the training field is the best way to prepare for such a thing. Jon would be a fool to lose to anyone there just to please one person and thought the same of anyone else doing that.
They continued training until it was finally lunchtime, and Jon decided to accept the invitation once more, joining the Tyrell family's table. Willas, Garlan, Margaery, and even Olenna were there. He had no problems with them and found them quite receptive, the same could be said for Lady Tyrell. But Mace seemed quite uncomfortable, however, he kept his mouth shut as if he was being oppressed by Olenna, Jon found the dynamics of this family amusing.
Jon said his goodbyes later and with his wife and Arya, returned to the camp, while they received yet another invitation for the banquet that night, but Jon again declined, preferring to stay with his men, not wanting to be with a bunch of nobles.
This dynamic continued over the following days, as they returned to negotiate several times, with Olenna always trying to gain something on her prices, but Jon always stood firm, to the point of saying he would cancel any contract if the agreement was not fulfilled.
It was just two days later continuing this dynamic that something happened. While each noble continued to party in their tents, celebrating the tournament and creating connections among nobles from all over the kingdom and even some beyond the Reach, a scout approached Hightower castle urgently in the afternoon, as he came with shocking news that alarmed the entire castle. Olenna, on her balcony, quietly taking tea with her granddaughter, received the news and smiled at it. "It seems your brother has arrived along with the prince," she commented, and Margaery's eyes sparkled.
"Should we receive him, grandma?" she asked.
"Of course, we're going to receive him. We're talking about our family and the royalty of the Seven Kingdoms," Olenna said as she began to rise. The place became all bustling right after that, with the Baratheon banner approaching while the Tyrell soldiers already made their escort as soon as they met them on the road. They quickly trotted to the gate, entering while everyone organized themselves. There weren't many nobles at the moment, as their arrival was somewhat unexpected, but Renly, despite liking to show off, didn't mind this and approached the Tyrell family who were lined up.
"My prince," Renly dismounted his horse as he approached and was greeted with almost everyone bowing to him, and not kneeling, after all, he was the prince, not the king.
Renly smiled at everyone and looked at Olenna, who stood still unlike the others. "You're not going to make me do the same, are you? You don't expect an old woman like me to do this, you know how it can be harmful to my health and my spine," she complained immediately and Renly laughed at that.
"Hahahaha. That's fine, I'm used to dealing with you, Miss Olenna," he commented with a smile.
He asked everyone to rise at that moment and his gaze quickly looked around searching for someone among those present, but without finding him. "Our special guest isn't here?" he asked, curious, surprising some with his question, since the prince himself was interested in the Articans.
"No, my prince, he is at his camp. Usually, he comes here in the morning, stays with us while we make some negotiations, and then returns to the camp to take care of his things," Willas explained.
"I see. You are holding banquets at night, may I meet him then?" he immediately asked.
"We hold banquets every night, my prince, but Jon Artican never comes. He has accepted none of our invitations," Willas explained again.
"I understand, alright, let's leave it at that. Tomorrow I would like to meet him," Renly spoke.
"My prince, should we really make an invitation or just give an order?" the royal guard beside him suggested, but Renly shook his head.
"He may not be the king of this land, but he is certainly a king recognized by his people, and we cannot contest that, no matter how much we do not want to accept this fact," Renly spoke, after all, he did not want to create hostility with Jon Artican, as he saw a lot of potential in a relationship between the two. For him, it is better to have a friend than an enemy, and when you have many friends, many things can happen in your favor... he had this thought with a greedy sparkle in his eyes and continued to speak. "We should respect his decisions and be respectful," Renly advised and returned to the Tyrell family.
"Now I'm sure you all want to see Loras, let's get a room to stay," he said in the end before Loras approached the family and Renly began to settle into the castle.
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