Urist downed his drink and stood up.
"I must go, I'm terribly sorry for cutting our meeting short. I've just realised I need to be somewhere." Seth shook Urist's hand and saw him out. Urist walked as fast as he could, not passing any concern to the druids or the guards, and walking through the backstreets, arrived at the smithy just as the sun was setting. Sani was still hammering so Urist raced inside. Sani out down his hammer.
"What's the matter?"
"The ore arrived. That means you've paid for it on my behalf, correct?"
"I did, just about."
"How come you didn't ask me for the money earlier?"
"I didn't want to trouble you after your trip and was happy to have the lent money back."
"I have the ore money too." Urist counted it out on the desk and handed it to Sani. He counted out the rest and he now had nine thousand, three hundred and twenty nine coins left.
"Thank you." Sani said as Urist passed, who nodded to acknowledge it.
"I might as well start smelting some of these ores whilst I'm here." Sani started hammering again and Urist opened the first box. He put the bar mould in place and starting shovelling some coal in, then mithril ore. Ten mithril bars were made and he spent quite a few hours hammering them out. About half way between midnight and dawn, he had the two mithril platebody's ready. Sani had left many hours previous and Urist was rather tired, so took the opportunity to sleep at the desk.
The sun started rising about four hours later. Urist opened one eye, then the other and groaning, he stretched out as far as he could.
He made his way back to the furnace and started smelting iron ore. He made two hundred and thirty bars, and twenty five bars of steel. Hammering out the steel bars, he made the two steel platebody's by lunchtime and started transporting the goods. The mithril platebody's were taken first, then the steel platebody's, and the hundred iron bars split over ten boxes last. On the arrival of the last box, Horvik settled up, paying Urist nine thousand, six hundred and twenty five coins.
Urist took a quick lunch break and around three hours after midday, he started hammering out the iron bars into the armour and square shields. He finished around eight hours after midday, two hours after the sun had finally set, and using the wheelbarrow, started barrowing the goods across to Horvik. After just four journeys, he had transported them all. Horvik examined each piece of armour carefully.
"You've done quite a grand job. Very much equal to mine, maybe even better in some places. Thank you." Horvik paid the other three thousand five hundred coins, which Urist placed in his pouch, and headed home for the evening. He took great joy in sleeping in his bed that night.
The following morning, Urist made his way to the military base and caught the attention of the captain.
"We've made great progress, master dwarf. We have most of the bricks made."
"Would you be willing to have your men do the construction work?"
"Of course. We'll need to go over the plans." Urist held them up. The captain smiled and led Urist inside to a rickety table. Urist spread the plans out.
"If we can expand the houses in the east corner into a square, and extend it to the wall, that will allow for more rooms. If we then expand it westward, to form up with the other houses, that will give more housing. Those houses -" Urist pointed to the houses next to the church. "- can be extend southward by a couple of foot too. Now, the ruins. This first square next to the house can be converted to a weapons and armour storeroom, storing everything housed in that large room above us, plus a little more if organised better." The captain nodded at this. "The next wall to the west, can surround this storeroom and end at the house expansion. This 'L' shaped room can hold a fletching bench and be a storeroom for the logs and arrows. A wall parallel to the west wall of this storeroom will provide a great target practise site for the archers."
"That's quite a good idea."
"And of course, the trees south of the barracks can house targets for more advanced archers and even cavalry." The captain nodded. "Now, these ruins, if built in this way, can house plenty of horses. The ruins provide a great formation for a stables. I've suggested housing horses here." Urist pointed to the different marked points, the captain nodded. "And finally for the south facing parts, this rectangle on the far western side could be built to house melee training dummies."
"That will be plenty of training facilities for our guards. What about these rooms next to the church?" The captain referred to the already built rooms westward from the church.
"The current beds and similar furniture can be moved across to the new housing complex. The cooking ranges can be gathered in the western most room to create a large kitchen. If the eastern wall is knocked through, and the western and southern walls of this small square room knocked through, with the creation of the melee training room, these three area will be a large rotated 'L' shape. A wall needs to be built to connect the two northern walls. The western wall of this room we're in now can also be knocked down and the combined space of all these rooms, apart from the kitchen, can be turned into a large dining area. The large room above us can be converted into a meeting room for, well, military meetings, like making war plans and alike."
"You've really thought this through."
"That's what I'm paid for. There's a stonemason who will dismantle the unwanted walls and take any unwanted stone. The new walls will be built with the bricks and clay paste to stick them together." Urist explained how to make the paste.
"We should have that done within a month or two."
"Hopefully, especially with how quick your men have made those bricks from scratch. Anyway, I best get back to work." Urist shook the captain's hand and returned to his house. A note had been pushed under his door. Urist closed the door behind him and read the note.
Urist,
My name is Hofuthand, I am the agent for weapons and armour at the Grand Exchange. I have a proposal I wish to discuss with you at the Jolly Boar Inn, just after dusk.
Yours Faithfully
Hofuthand
Urist looked up and over at the window. The pile of pots of flour was getting larger.
We need to get those dispatched.
Urist fetched the wheelbarrow and filled it with the pots. He took it to the western bank and deposited them, in exchange for a note. After a quick calculation of time required, Urist started walking to Drorkar as fast as he could, breaking a sweat before he had even reached the river.
He didn't bother knocking the door, as the sound of the steam engine dwarfed any sound he could make knocking the door. Drorkar was busy organising his workers as he entered, so he waited for a couple of minutes, away from Drorkar so he didn't appear to be listening in, and eventually Drorkar came over.
"To what do I owe the honour?" Drorkar asked.
"I'm terribly sorry to trouble you, but I have made some pots of flour, and by the time I sent you a letter -"
"Their quality would have started deteriorating."
"Right. I've brought a note and was hoping you could sort out the transport to Keldagrim for me." Urist handed the note over. "They're stored at the western bank in Varrock." Drorkar nodded.
"Randivor usually buys them for twelve coins each. For forty pots, that's four hundred and eighty coins. I've strapped for coins at the moment, would you mind if I knock it off your next ore order?"
"Certainly. Whilst I'm here, I was wondering if you could, on my behalf, gather orders for armour and weapons at Keldagrim?"
"Of course. I'll even order the ore for you so that the ores and orders arrive at the same time."
"Aahh. Would it be possible to pay for the ore a few days later? I won't know what ores are coming in until they arrive, so won't always have the money available there and then."
"That would be fine. Just bring the money here." Urist shook Drorkar's hand and, trying to keep to the fast pace he had arrived at Drorkar's, he raced back to Falador and after a breather at the east gate, entered the Jolly Boar Inn an hour after dusk. He looked around and there was a black knight, a hooded figure looking suspicious and sat at the back, a dwarf in a suit. A suit that appeared to have been made for a much slender figure than the one wearing it. The dwarf's glass was nearly empty.
Urist bought two beers and took them to the table.
"Hofuthand, isn't it?"
"It is." Urist put the beers on the table and took a seat. "I have a proposal for you. As you're aware, I'm an agent in charge of the buy and sell orders of weapons and armours for a range of clients." Urist nodded. "The problem is, I have a large number of buy orders, but not many people selling. Nowhere near enough people selling to fulfil the buy orders.
"I've seen the quality of your work, and even to dwarf's superior quality, your work is quite excellent. I was hoping you would help me fulfilling these orders for me."
"Right, I sense that there is more to this help than just making armour and weapons for you."
"There is. I'd rather just source the products from one person, instead of depending on the Grand Exchange. Underproduction and overproduction, especially with armour and weapons, is quite dangerous to the economy of these products. Supply and demand isn't equally matched all of the time, or even most of it."
"You're starting to waffle now."
"Sorry. I'm trying to say, I'd like to pass the orders to you, suspend the orders whilst you fulfil them, and reopen them when you are ready to sell them."
"But doesn't that defy the Grand Exchange, it's rules and the whole point of you working as an agent. The whole point of the Exchange is to match buyers and sellers orders on their behalf -"
"It will still be doing that."
"Except with favouritism towards me. Horvik and Sani in Varrock alone will be at a loss as a result."
"Horvik has a shop selling to the public and Sani works through commissions. But if you don't want this work, I'll just have to find someone who does."
Urist grabbed Hofuthand's arm before he had chance to leave. "I'll do it. I would be lying if I said I didn't need the work." Hofuthand smiled and pulled a list from his jacket pocket, handing it to Urist.
"I'll suspend the orders when the exchange opens in the morning." Urist shook his hand and fetched another round in.
Back at home, Urist wrote out a copy of the orders, noting the items, quantities, the people who had ordered them and the locations of their shops. He kept the original list in his jacket pocket but the following morning, he took the spare copy to Sani for him to keep it safe. An order for ore was written out at Sani's desk to fulfil two of the orders and Urist sent it to Drorkar. The order came to eighteen thousand, six hundred and forty coins, minus the four hundred and eighty Drorkar owed him.
Three weeks later, Urist was expecting the order to be delivered but it hadn't arrived yet. He waited a few more days, but it still hadn't arrived.
I wonder if the ore's simply not coming. Looks like I might not be able to fulfil those orders after all.