87 The northern prospecting company

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POV of Eddard stark

Making ourselves comfortable in my room, the Prussian spoke again.

''Well lord Stark... the reason we are here is to build the infrastructure to send large quantities of raw materials from the north to the reach... our proposal is simple, we will put everything, we will pay for the labor, the materials and we will put our knowledge to extract the materials'' said the nobleman with a serious face.

''And what does the north gain from that?'', I asked the Prussian.

''A lot, we expect to create more than a hundred thousand jobs for the locals, all well paid, your people will get richer and obviously that gold will come to you via taxes, without considering that we will give you a part of the profits, for allowing the maintenance of the extraction operations'' said the Prussian nobleman without showing emotions in his face

''What are you looking for... why here?'', I asked the Prussian nobleman.

''The north is large... and rich in resources that are not yet exploited, in other areas we tried, but the infrastructure of the vale mines is complicated, the Lannisters are not very cooperative... in the north we can do everything from scratch, generating a long term commercial relationship between our cultures, we are mainly looking for iron, coal, copper, wood, but if we find something else that we can get some market we will also extract it, we just need your permission and we will start prospecting resources in the area ''answered the Prussian.

''Regarding that I can't speak for all the nobles in my territory, next moon we will gather for the annual assembly for the purchase of grain to the south, there you can personally negotiate with the northern lords'' I said to lord Erich who was looking around the room

''Well, hopefully they will buy Prussian grain, we expect it to be one of the most abundant harvests in a long time, we expect the prices to drop considerably compared to the current prices due to the shortage... but regarding your territories we have your permission..., I apologize for the haste, but it is imperative that we get to work as soon as possible, the construction works in the reach are increasing and the current supply of materials from extractions cannot meet our demands...'', said the Prussian nobleman as he settled into his small chair

''You have my permission'', I replied to the Prussian nobleman, who smiled at the answer.

"Well... well we will give you ten percent of the profits obtained, this will not be immediate, since first those materials must reach the reach, be processed and sold, we consider an annual payment to your house, everything will be under the protection of a Prussian commercial company and we will protect ourselves under our laws to resolve conflicts'' said Erich without showing emotions.

''Why under your laws and not that of the seven kingdoms'', I asked with a bit of distrust.

''Your laws are archaic and too punitive for minor offenses...in fact the prisoners we captured along the way have already been judged by me, since while this military operation of traveling to the north is active I have imperium, potestas and autoritas, by mandate of my lord and most of the prisoners were sentenced to five years of forced labor for theft and banditry those who committed murder are used in forced labor of a dangerous nature'' said Erich showing a ring with the Prussian eagle.

'Probably a seal'.

''Forced labor?'', I said a bit quizzical as I looked at the ring.

''Yes, we don't share the point of view that a thief for stealing a coin or anything should lose four of his fingers... even if not completely it's a dumb punishment, it has no function other than meaningless revenge, when the time comes that person wants to reintegrate into society, it will be impossible, due to his hand showing everyone what he once was, nobody wants to make deals with a criminal and would never trust a thief... besides greatly diminishing his ability to work''

''What it would ultimately do is make the cycle repeat itself, since with no job and no one willing to help him, what else can he do, beg, the moment they see his hand they will spit on him or expel him and he will go back to stealing... a justice system that serves no purpose'' said the Prussian showing me a book he brought with chains hooked to his leg

''I can understand your point of view, but these laws have governed us for many years since Jaehaerys I Targaryen unified the laws, we have followed to the letter the application of the law'' I said looking at the Prussian nobleman.

''Laws established by incestuous abominations who only wished for the greatest bloodshed to run through their lands, allowing all sorts of barbaric practices... our law, will bring peace and prosperity because it delivers the guarantees that are necessary for the small folks to understand specifically the punishment for the crimes they commit and not leave it to the interpretation of some judge'' said Erich very angrily breaking his emotionless face

'You seem to know nothing about who my nephew's father is'.

''And you propose slavery, an even more barbaric act...''I tried to say, but observing the angry eyes of the Prussians as I said those words I decided not to say more

''Are you... calling us slavers Stark?...slavery is a sin...to own a person is not only decadence, it is weakness of the soul...we do not propose to own the prisoners, we only want them to repay the damage they did to society by forcing them to work for the welfare of society for a time determined by law for their subsequent release. ... something very different than putting chains on a person and making him work until death and his decency follows the same fate...'' Erich said as he crunched the chair while squeezing it in his hand.

''Our legal system is endorsed by the crown... and all the small folks are happy with the new justice... lord Stark, it's a change for the better.... besides it will only apply in cases where there is a conflict between us and your people regarding non-payment or attempts to steal our goods we don't ask to change the northern traditions... we just want to avoid conflicts that can be solved in an arbitrary way... we prefer to work with our laws''said Erich trying to calm down while he spoke taking big breaths

''Well... you have my permission, but I will be watching you...I don't want you to abuse them, if I find out they are taking advantage of your authority our deal is over'' I said leaning back in my chair watching the Prussian giant.

''Thank you, Lord Stark... we will do everything within our power to ensure that our presence is as kind as possible to the locals, here you go... our proposal of work for your small folks... although first we would like to find some ore deposits to start hiring'' said the Prussian handing me two papyrus one in German and one in common tongue

I began to read the contents of what was handed to me

'How strange...it's not papyrus...not parchment either...'

''Twenty silver coins plus a productivity bonus which should be determined based on benefits, a meal, which was planned by our doctors to ensure good nutrition for the northern climate, ten hours of work per day...although we have one extra request...''' said the Prussian

''Which one?... they are very good conditions, very generous as far as I can understand'' I said looking at the Prussian who was calmer

''Several to be more exact, Lord Stark... although temporarily we are waiting for the conformation of a Prussian fleet to happen and deliver security of the seas for shipping, we depend on shipments to happen by land and unfortunately.... they are not safe there are many bandits we did not attack due to having our hands full of prisoners we had...if we could coordinate a guarding of the roads between the North men and our officers to ensure safe travel south...although we must be wary of those lizard bastards''said Erich looking at his bandaged arm.

''The royal road is guarded once every moon, security should be enough with that escort'' I replied to the Prussian nobleman.

''We want a constant guard, every day shipments should leave... if you can't afford it... we will pay for it out of our own pocket, private company guards... we will recruit some locals and place a Prussian officer to guide them and we will put an end to banditry along the royal road'' said Erich smiling

''The royal road is too long... it would be very costly for our house protecting the trade route, but if you wish to do it I won't stop you, we would be very grateful to you for helping us in that task'' I answered the Prussian nobleman.

''Well... we know there are a lot of veterans around the area without much to do we could establish the security of the roads for the term of this moon... regarding the other requests, in the deposits we find we wish to establish permanent settlements to facilitate the works in the long term, with some minimum fortifications to defend the workers from the animals... we would like to have your permission for that and we could negotiate it with other lords'' said the Prussian going back to his serious face

''Well, it's no problem, I was hoping you would, since you should move the small folks to their working areas...that's all?'', I said looking at the Prussian

Erich made a sign with his hand and one of his men took out two small glasses and a bottle with liquid in it

''Yes lord Stark is all...drink to celebrate'' said erich handing me a small glass with a clear liquid in it.

''For the friendship of our peoples'' said Erich drinking the contents in one gulp

I did the same... it was a drink... strong... that burned my throat... very different from wine and beer

''What is...?'', I said with a bit of difficulty

''Vodka, an alcoholic drink with a high alcohol content, perfect for cold climates'' said Erich pouring himself a second drink.

I talked a few more minutes with the Prussian nobleman, but he left as he was about to go to work.

Only his companion, the man who wore the wolf's head, was left.

''Stark, I have to talk to you'' said the mysterious man.

''What do you want?'', I said suspiciously.

''This negotiation is direct with the governor of tumbleton, we wish to buy animal skins... specifically wolves, if they are white wolves even better... we will pay well'' said the mystery man handing me a yellow sheet of paper from the prussians

''We need ten thousand skins, every year and with great possibility that we increase the order, put a price and we will pay'' said the man closing his arms.

''The name of the governor and yours, so I know who I'm dealing with?'', I asked the wolf-headed man.

''All you need to know is that we are not Prussians, we are Finns, we share their values, but we have different traditions...we don't tell our names and we don't show our faces, only those we trust and respect, that's all you need to know'' said the man bringing his hand to his dagger

''The less you know about us the better... we will pay three thousand gold dragons in advance as a down payment so you can do what you want with them to get the furs and then we will negotiate a price, until then'' said the mysterious man while one of his men left a chest with the gold he had indicated.

I looked at the gold they had left me

Probably by putting bounties for hunting wolves we can get what they are asking for.

'Ah... it seems that the Finns behave very much like their lord'.

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leave a comment, support is always appreciated.

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Here I translated another one, to finish the stark arc and not leave you wondering, the next one is lothar's POV.

but that will be next week since it's very annoying to translate with a cell phone.

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