Master Yaple has more advice for his young nephew.  The question is, does Yaple have another motive for what he suggests?

To Master Karn Dorfson
Care of the Kirtchen Merchants Guild

I must say, I am disappointed.  Despite my advice, you purchased a dozen sets of clothing as if you were French.  I warned you that no one respects a fop.  Two or three sets would have sufficed, more than that simply serves to make you look foolish to the merchants you should be impressing.  Further, common sense should have told you that the only reason you could pick up this clothing at the price you stated to me is if there was something wrong with them.  Chances are that if you notice people giving you odd looks, those clothes are several years out of style.  I would suggest that you find some other fool and sell all of those expensive rags.

Even worse, after only a few transactions, you believed yourself to be wiser than myself.  That can be the only reason I can conceive for you to disregard my words and purchase a cargo of wheat with your own meager funds.  The fact that another load, a larger load, of wheat came in on the previous day only served to penalize you for your error.  You must keep in constant contact with the various merchants in town and be aware of the worth of various goods.  Perhaps if you had spent more time attending your trade and less time buying cast off clothing, you would not be in this situation.  I am not surprised that the captain refused to let you out of your deal.  Now you are stuck with a load worth less than what you paid for it.

Still, you are my nephew and I will give you what advice I can.  There are several options open to you.  You may simply sell the goods at a loss.  This is the simplest solution.  Every merchant must occasionally go through tough times such as this.  Unfortunately, news of your mistake will likely spread throughout Kirtchen and you will need to endure some ridicule and taunting.  Another possibility is that you could simply store the cargo at a warehouse until the price rises.  While simplistic, I would not recommend this approach.  In addition to your new debts, your cargo is perishable.  It is likely that the cargo will become fouled or spoiled before you can sell it.

The last possibility is the most dangerous, but also the most profitable.  Take out a loan for a short term and use the money to hire a ship.  Master Rans Carter is an excellent banker you might approach for this loan.  Germany desperately needs food, so you can almost certainly find a better price there.  You should be able to sell your wheat quickly, pick up a load of ore or metal with your profits and return to Kirtchen.  After selling this second cargo, you should be able to repay your debts and pocket a tidy profit.  Moreover, you will have earned a name for yourself as a true businessman among the merchants of Kirtchen, a reputation you would do well to maintain.

A few words of advice.  First, make sure you find a reputable captain and crew.  You do not need a very large ship, since your cargo is only a few tons.  However, you can probably hire a larger more ungainly ship for less money than a smaller, sleeker vessel.  It is often best to find a captain who has returned from a voyage and allowed his crew to disperse.  That way you can demand the right to help select the crew, especially if you offer to pay him for the trip to Germany and then return.  You simply set up a table with the captain in a dockside tavern and offer standard wages for anyone who sign with you.  If you offer to buy a free drink for anyone who signs, you will often get a nice line from which to pick.  Choose a mixture of old salts and young newbies for the crew who do not know each other.  By doing so, you have the experience and strength needed for the voyage.

The trip to Germany is rather short and well-patrolled, so you can afford to sail conservatively rather than take any chances.  Remain close to the shipping lanes and your should not encounter too many problems.  If you do encounter pirates, then you are best off simply offering them a quarter of the cargo.  Most pirates will happily take a quarter without having to risk death for all of it.  Bribe those you can, though others such as Rogers or the Bretheren who will not accept such a reasonable offer.  Fight for your life if you must and get away by any means possible.  Between inclement weather, mutiny, pirates and sea monsters, there are many dangers at sea but a sturdy ship can allow you to avoid all of them.  In truth, for most voyages, the greatest danger on shipboard is often boredom.

Once you arrive in Germany, do not simply sell your goods to an ontmoet or a merchant.  Instead, offer to hire one of the ontmoets for 10% of the profits from the shipment.  As you know from your time as one of these men, they can find the most profitable means of selling your cargo.  Make sure that you remain with the cargo at all times, so the captain and his men do not reduce your inventory.  After you have sold and delivered your cargo, you can focus on finding yourself a new cargo.  In your current situation, its probably best to simply select whatever offers itself and return to Kirtchen where you can settle your debts.

Your uncle,

Scrut Yaple

An obvious adventure for merchant based games are the finding and hiring of a crew.  The typical manner of setting up a hiring table at a dockside tavern necessitates your presence there for prolonged periods of time and who hasn’t encountered an adventure or two while in a tavern?  Even after you’ve hired the crew, it is a rare ship indeed which has all hands reporting for duty on time.  This typically entails going into low class dives, hauling a squad of your riggers out by the scruff of their necks and herding your hirees onto the boat while they’re three sheets to the wind without any of them getting into a brawl or arrested.  However, more unique mates, such as the navigator or the master of the tops are often in more unique situations such as locked within a woman’s closet while her husband sleeps only a few feet away or attempting to walk across a rope strung between two high towers of the local palace while a crowd of spectators take bets on how quickly he’ll fall.  Once you’ve shipped out, you must still contend with storms, mutiny, pirates, foul weather, and sea serpents before you reach your destination.  There are no shortage of adventures a merchant will face.