Legend of Ransera

Axel sighed as he entered the building. How many times has it been now? He thought to himself. He knew it’d be easier for him if he were to make it known to potential investors that he’s the son of “The White Rook” of the Imperial Legion’s Golden Lion Chapter or that quite a few of his family members are either prominent figures in the commerce industry or married to one.

“I have an appointment at the…..” He paused and took another look at the piece of paper in his hand, “……room A7-C”.

“Good to see you again Herr Steinsaltz.” The clerk replied as she pointed out the direction to the conference room.

“Wünschen Sie mir Glück, Lucie”

“Viel Glück Axel”

Axel then made his way toward room A7-C, navigating the corridors as if he were no stranger to them. Well, after visiting the same place over and over again, the pathway became ingrained in his mind. Why did he even have to go through this tiresome dance routine? When he could easily ask his relatives for assistance. Maybe it was because of his pride? The apple doesn’t fall too far from the tree.

He stopped in front of the door to the conference room A7-C and took a deep breath. Well, if this one doesn’t work out, his offer’s still on the table. I’d rather work for “The Jackal” than go begging on my knees in front of the family. His connections might prove useful down the line. He thought to himself before entering room A7-C.

Axel was taken aback by the interior design of the room. From the get-go, he knew that the person he was meeting is someone with influence. From what the captain told him, the person he will be meeting is a representative of a noble house from Kalzasi. Now, this is what I called hitting the jackpot. The person is truly in a different league than the other investors I met before. He thought to himself as he made his way toward the potential investor.

“Frau Mizal” Axel returned the gesture.

“How’d you find Gel’Grandal so far?” he asked as he sat down on the overstuffed armchair. He wanted to make a good impression and doesn’t want to be seen as that person who’s too desperate to jump on any deal that comes their way, even though he is. He figured that it would make for a good conversation starter, rather than jumping straight to business.

“Ah yes, Fraulein Mizal” Axel replied. Way to go for the first impression, but she doesn’t seem to be bothered by it too much. He thought to himself.

Axel took a quick observation of her and noted the way that she presents herself and interact is how someone in a position of power would do. After all, it takes one to recognize one. There’s a certain air about someone in a position of power.

“….and you may call me Axel, Kala.” He followed the gesture and switched to a first-name basis.

“It truly is a land full of opportunity……” Axel paused. Well yeah, especially for those with the right connections and funding, he blurted the sentence in his mind. “…….especially to those creative and hardworking.” He continued as he stood up to make his way to the bar.

Well, now would be a good time to splurge. Axel thought as he looked at the content of the bar. But then again, there’ll be time to splurge when I have my collection. He took one of the commonly known brands of rum and poured himself a glass.

“So……” Axel began his pitch as he made his way back to his seat. “…..as what our mutual friend, the dear captain has told you that I am looking for a business partner.” He paused, sat down, and took a sip from the glass he was holding.

“The commerce sector is lucrative……….for those tenacious and creative enough. And as you know, nowadays not only traders but also the general populace are using less and less sea-based transport and opted for sky-based ones. Aside from faster travel, it has less risk of being intercepted by pirates.”

He paused and took another sip from his glass.

“The shipping industry that I have planned, well previously planned is for the transporting of goods. But, I think it would be profitable too to include transporting passengers to and from the Imperium to the North.”

He paused for a moment and glanced at the small mosaic of nude women dancing.

“Well, I already have a shortlist of employees that I will be hiring. All of them are experienced in operating an airship. If you would like to interview the potential employees, I could set up a meet.” He paused and took another sip from the glass he was holding. He left out the fact that the shortlist of employees were fellow vets from the Zythura front.

“Do you have specific trade goods in mind that you want to export and Import? Since purchasing the first fleet of airships would be quite costly and we want it to be cost-efficient yet effective right?”

“Since we need to take into consideration the speed and capacity of the airship. For example, faster and smaller airships for shorter routes, and bigger ones for longer routes. But it’s not always that way.”

Mr. Valentin? As in The infamous Valentin of the OIR? Lucie and the other staff used to talk about him and from what I gathered that guy is influential, aside from the fact that he came from an influential family. Finally, Lady Luck is on my side. He tried to keep a straight face as he turned his back on Kala and poured his drink of choice. He was grateful for the opportunity to meet a potential business partner that had been vetted by Valentin. Kala was truly in a different league from the previous investors that he talked to.

“Well, never judge a book from its cover, right? But sometimes that’s the obstacles when dealing with the old……, those that have been in the business for longer than us.” He smiled.

Axel chuckled at Kala’s remarks “Kapitän huh?” He raised his glass “I appreciate that. That’s one of the most important factors for a good partnership right?”

Well, she knows how to treat her business partners, not like those geezers who thought that they could do better even though they never step foot on an airship or that damned Jackal, partners in name only, treating everyone working for and with him as pawns in his silly little games. He thought to himself as he took another sip.

He was taken a bit by surprise by her reply, though he quickly recovered from it. He held his tongue. “Well, let me rephrase that, sorry if I seem a bit rude. The fleet that I was mentioning isn’t like the regular shipping trading fleet. Well, more like a supply……” he paused. He was about to blabber on about using military tactics and fleets composition that he frequently employed while serving as an officer in the Imperial Air Force. Perhaps if he was talking to a fellow citizen then that won’t be much of a hassle, but she’s still a foreigner and a representative of a foreign Nobel House. “……well, it’s more like of a transport ship or two and an escort ship or two. Depends on the specifications and well, the funding too.” He paused and took another sip. “But yes, it’d be possible to start with a single ship with a few coins to make modifications. Entry to Kalzasern port would be a big advantage as well.”

“It’d be…..” Axel stopped when he heard the knock.

Axel was at a loss for words. He knew that letters sent by raven mean one thing, the letter came from the Palace of Spires. “Thank you” he nodded at the clerk. He turned the letter around and stared at the seal on the back. “Fuck” he mouthed.

He smiled and nodded as Kala stood up and made her way to the bar.

The Emperor’s seal? Fuck, I even haven’t made my peace with him since he left on that expedition for the Emperor. He’s the fucking White Rook of the Golden Lion Chapter, there’s no way. Axel looked at the sealed letter in his hand. He contemplated on opening the letter or leaving it be. After a few moments of contemplating, he broke the seal and read the letter.

One sentence repeated itself over and over in his mind as he read the letter. Earned the interest of his greatness, Emperor Abelard Fürsten. Damn, now this is what I called winning the lottery and an invitation to the Palace of Spires. He glanced at Kala, then back at the letter. The official writ itself is like being handed the key to the city. Perhaps, it would be better to take funding from the Imperial Bank, considering the new status received. But still, having a channel to the Kalzasern port would serve as an advantage for the Imperium and future trades. He took another glance at Kala then back at the letter. After another quick read, he folded the letter and placed it inside his pocket.

“Sorry for the slight interruption.” He apologized as he made his way to the bar and poured another glass for himself. “By the way, will you be staying in Gel’Grandal for a while? There are a lot of interesting trade goods to procure.”

Axel held up the bottle of rum “Such as this. From the southern region of the Imperium.”

“That’d be enough time to enjoy this beautiful city and perhaps look for goods that would sell well over there. As long as you don’t cross the river, you should have a pleasant experience of the city. Nasty bunch on the other side of the river.” He explained

“Oh, you did?” he chuckled “I think it's because almost everyone enjoys a drink or two and no matter your social standings.” He pointed at Kala then at himself “Someone who dabbles in commerce and someone who dabbled in the military.”

He then took a smaller bottle and placed it in the space on the bar top between them. Using his arcana he pushed the bottle slightly toward her, then pulled it back into his hand. “Well, Mesmer would’ve been an interesting arcana too.”

“Cheers to that.” He raised his glass.

He watched as Kala open the bottle, pour herself a tumbler, took in the aroma of the rum, and sip it. “Now that’s an interesting arcana.”

“True, if they wanted to be exporting it in times of w….” he stopped and made an apologetic face. “For starters, I’m sure that we could start with exporting several of the usual trade goods, coffee, gemstones perhaps, liquor and other goods. I will also reach out to the Company of Merchants and Traders as well as the other guilds if they have specific goods that they wanted to import from Kalzasi. And well, as you said earlier, see the numbers, if it makes or breaks the book, and then plan on expansion.” He paused and took a gulp. “I’m not that great with the numbers and stuff, but I know my way around getting cargo to its destination safely. Especially inside warzones.” He took another gulp. “Don’t want to get ahead of myself and say that I’ll be running a global shipping company right? As my uncle always said, set achievable goals.” He opened a different bottle and poured himself another drink. “I’m quite certain to say that with the right airship, my team could fly it faster than other merchants. Seeing as we probably won’t be taking a detour as the captain did, instead we will take a straight shot through Zaichaer’s airspace.” He paused “Well, not directly over the city of course.”

He browse through the collection of bottles and grabbed a bottle of wine. He placed it on the bar top and using his arcana, pushed it toward Kala. “Could try adding a bit of this wine into that. But probably it’ll be a hit or miss. The bartender at Rieger’s could do it better.” He chuckled.