Volume 1: Stranger in a Strange Land Chapter 15: The Dogtooth Tavern
Probably every city should have a place like the Dogtooth Tavern.
The decor is in poor taste, the drinks are low quality and ridiculously expensive, and the bartender never delivers them on time.
Here, there will be no drunkards who start clapping and singing when they get drunk, no bards who tell the same old stories, and no maids who come to clean the table every ten minutes.
But there is a constant stream of customers coming here every day.
Because what is sold here is not a hangover or fun, but a place where you can hide your identity, stay informed, and have a safe conversation.
The oak door with dog teeth tied to it swayed, and a man with gray hair and silver eyes pushed the door open and walked in.
When he walked in, the whole pub was silent for a moment.
Most of the guests here don't like to show their faces, and even if they don't cover their faces, they will choose to dress in a low-key manner. But this person is wearing a pure white wizard robe and holding a purple fir wood staff, as if he has no intention of hiding his identity.
Those who are qualified to learn magic are either rich or noble, and those gentlemen generally would not stoop to such a lowly place.
Therefore, many guests cast curious glances at this guy dressed as a wizard. Of course, most of them just glanced and walked away.
There were only three pairs of eyes that had been following this man since he entered the room.
One was a tall and thin bartender sitting next to the bar. Before this man came in, he had been looking around the entire pub, as if looking for something.
The other was a tall man sitting alone in the corner, drinking alone. He was wearing an old cloak full of holes, and his face was hidden in the shadows, so he couldn't see his features clearly. There were five or six empty bottles lying around on the table, and it seemed like he was the only one who came here to drink.
The last one is the owner of the tavern.
He silently watched the man dressed as a wizard walk straight to the bar, sit down opposite him, and place his hands together on the bar.
"A glass of thorn mead."
The man said in a hoarse voice.
The boss glanced at him and wondered if this was another young man who was looking for excitement.
"One Silver Irene."
Silver Irene is the middle denomination currency, 20 silver Irene is equivalent to one gold riel.
“It’s quite expensive.”
"Market price."
The man spread his hands and turned a gold coin on the bar. The shape of the gold coin was not regular, as if it had been smelted.
"The extra is considered a tip."
The gold coin spun faster and faster. The boss calmly held it under his hand and then slid it under the bar.
Then, he asked calmly, "Would you like to order anything else?"
"Who should I contact to buy a large amount of source silver here?"
"If you want to know who is the best seller, it is of course the Duke Simon family. The Source Silver Merchants, which his son is in charge of, will accept orders from all registered mages. The market has a unified standard and there will be no premium."
“But the Chamber of Commerce will not accept direct transactions in gold.”
Hearing this, the boss looked the man up and down, then said.
"Then there are fewer formal channels to choose from, or to put it more bluntly, there are basically none."
“What about less formal channels?”
The boss said as he took out a bottle of thorn mead from the wine cabinet and poured it into the glass.
"Then you have to accept a price that is 40% higher than the market price, and there is no guarantee that they are willing to do the business. After all, this kind of channel often comes from illegal miners, and they generally don't trust outsiders who suddenly show up."
In principle, the entire Thorn City's source silver trade is the property of the Duke's family. Since it is private property, illegal miners will naturally not be allowed to exist.
But in fact, because the royal family of the Ruier Empire collects a 30% trade tax based on the amount of source silver traded every year, it is much easier to squeeze money out of those illegal miners than to deal with the difficult royal envoys.
Therefore, during the decades that Duke Simon ruled Thorn City, he turned a blind eye to the illegal miners and the underground black market of raw silver.
But then again, it is an illegal business after all, and no one would be willing to cooperate with someone of unknown origin.
"I am willing to show my sincerity."
As he spoke, he placed five more melted gold coins on the bar.
The boss hesitated for a moment, but finally accepted the five gold coins.
"I have three channels that I can connect with, but which one you choose depends on how much you need. If the quantity is large, the premium can be lower. How much do you want to buy?"
"About fifteen tons."
Even though he had been running the Dogtooth Tavern for more than 30 years and was considered knowledgeable, he still couldn't help but gasp when he heard the number reported by the other party.
"Fifteen tons of ore?"
"Fifteen tons of refined metal ingots."
The boss looked at the well-dressed wizard as if he were a lunatic.
"Are you here to make fun of me for your money?"
"No, why do you think so?"
The other person's eyes didn't look like he was joking.
"You have no idea about the production of source silver? Except for Duke Simon... No, I dare say Duke Simon can't produce 15 tons of refined source silver at once. 15 tons is almost the production of the entire Thorn City for half a year. What do you want so much for? Use it to build a house?"
"That's about right..."
The man said vaguely, and then muttered softly.
“ So the production is so small?”
Then he drank the mead in the cup in one gulp and said.
"Take me to check out those three channels. I'll buy as much as I can. If I can't get enough, I'll find another way."
The boss stared at him for a long time, making sure that the other party was not making fun of him, and finally spoke to the tall and thin man next to the bar.
" Wilson, take this gentleman to the Miner first, and say that I introduced him."
The tall and thin man who had been staring at the man stood up, straightened his neck, and gave the guest a bright smile.
"Come with me. What's your name, sir?"
"Just call me William."
…………
The man named Wilson kept talking about mines, pubs and other topics along the way, but William didn't listen carefully.
Sure enough, there is a big difference between games and reality. When he bought source silver or other precious metal minerals, there was no annual production or upper limit. As long as he had enough money, he could buy as much as he wanted.
William thought.
But now he is faced with the dilemma of having enough money but not being able to buy so many mines.
Even the fact that there is enough money is questionable, after all, those gold coins from a thousand years ago are not easy to circulate now.
“This is it.”
Wilson's voice brought William back to his senses.
At this time, they came to a hidden and remote mine. A simple wooden frame was supported at the entrance of the mine, and several dilapidated mine cars were parked outside.
The mine was pitch black, with no lighting such as mining lamps. Only a thin layer of moonlight illuminated the view at the entrance of the cave.
" Go in ? You're not going to tell me that they usually do business in the mines?"
"That's right."
Wilson said a little anxiously.
"Walking in from this side is the territory of the Miners' Brotherhood, the largest unofficial supplier of source silver in Thorn City."
"If I were you, I wouldn't go in there."
A voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.
William turned around and saw a tall man whose face could not be seen standing behind them like an iron tower. He was wearing a tattered black cloak and holding a heavy black iron giant sword.
The moonlight was bright tonight, but when it shone on his sword, not a single gleam of light was reflected.
