I saw Ri'saad and he certainly watched me as I marched my way up to the caravan out of the snow hills. I slowly analyzed the caravan. They had a carriage and horses. The carriage was much bigger than carriages I've seen around. Ri'saad met my eyes and he called out, "This one wonders if it was cold out there."
I gave a smirk and responded, "Where isn't it cold?"
He smiled, "Elsweyr was certainly not this cold."
He certainly knew what to say. He was even studying me closely. When I finally made my way to the tent I asked, "So, what do you have to sell? I require some supplies when I head back out into the wilderness."
Ri'saad nodded his head. "The caravan always stocks the best. If I cannot serve you, I am sure that one of my other traders can do so."
I gave a light nod. "I would like some rope, sturdier the better. I would also like to any paralysis poisons." Ri'saad pulled things from the tent. Laying them out clearly. "Any perserved meats? Potatoes would also be great if you have those."
Ri'saad nodded, and pulled out a small basket. "This is all the food we can trade, the rest is for our travels. You understand, yes?"
I nodded, "Any pure Honey or Sugar based meads?"
Ri'saad nodded and placed three types of mead down. "How many do you need? This one has 6 for each type."
I pointed, "I'll take 4 of these." He took out 3 other bottles of the mead i picked and I asked. "How much?"
Ri'saad responded, "488 septims for everything."
I gave him the gold and placed everything in my inventory. Ri'saad noticed, "Deep Storage? Such a rare spell."
Oh? So there was a spell that acted like an inventory. I gave a nod, "Most convenient thing ever. I do have some other business relating to your caravan."
Ri'saad ears twitched, "Oh? What more business could you have?"
I began explaining, "A ship was acquired recently, and it is a rather large one. A crew has yet to be found, but we wish to use it as a trader ship. Most sailors in skyrim are nords or imperials. However that doesn't mean others don't know how to sail."
Ri'saad caught on quickly, "You wish the caravan to use the ship for their trade. So I ask you, Why trust the caravan, and do you not think the caravan has tried to trade by ship before?"
I laughed, "The greatest thief is one that gets paid by the people they steal from. Otherwise known as merchants. The Caravan is not just in skyrim, it connects across the entire continent except places like Black Marsh and Morrowind. If you couldn't be trusted the Caravan wouldn't be so trusted by such a variety of people."
Ri'saad was trying to hide his pride of the Caravan. However he managed to ask again. "You have not answered, do you not think the caravan has tried to trade by ship before?"
I nodded, "That did cross my mind. From my knowledge the Caravan has solely traveled by land. Trading group to group passing knowledge on by word of mouth. It hit me that the reason is because of three reasons. The first is bad blood caused in the past due to previous Khajiit attempts at trading across the seas. The second is the east empire company, the cost of maintaining a ship is expensive when a company like the easy empire company covers half the continent. The third, is simply the Aldmeri Dominion. Am I correct?"
Ri'saad let out a laugh, "You are a smart one. The Caravan trade deals in more than just basic supplies. The Caravan has one of the largest hands in the drug trade. This means the Caravan has as many enemies as it does allies. We create even more when we try to expand this trade. However as you said that is not our only problem."
He paused and dug through a sack, "This one has once done the numbers. The East Empire makes around 800k every 3 months selling the same basic supplies of the caravan. Food, Supplies, Materials, they sell almost quadruple the amount the Caravan does in this category. This is why the drug trade is so profitable for us. The east empire company has a very, very small hand in such a trade. The Caravan cannot travel across the east cost. Too many enemies that way. This means we must maintain a ship across the shorter, but more dangerous west coast. If speaking about a trade from Elsweyr to Skyrim... It is far too costly for the Caravan."
I nodded, "Which brings us to the dangers of the west coast. The Aldmeri Dominion, which is almost religious about their regulations. The most profitable part of the Caravan trade would be hard to smuggle or protect. As Pirates can rob the ships and the Caravan wouldn't be able to stop them or get revenge thanks to the Aldmeri Dominion."
Ri'saad nodded, "You understand the Caravan's problems well. So why do you propose such a business opportunity."
I laughed, "Because, Do you honesty believe the white gold concord will last? Do you think peace will remain? Aren't the greatest profits always in the most chaotic of time periods? Who doesn't like gold filling their pockets?"
Ri'saad burst into hysterical laughter that caught the attention of his caravan and the Dawnstar guards. However other than some dirty looks they hardly moved. Ri'saad smirked, "You have new product? I understand, I assume you are using the Solitude docks? The khajiit will head there."
I smiled, "My associate Sorex Vinius knows the plan. He is also the direct owner of the ship. I would suggest speaking with him once you arrive. The winking skeever is his home and business."
I paused and pulled out a jar. Something I had prepared before coming here. "A small sample of the plan."
Ri'saad took the jar raised a eyebrow and check it over. He opened it smelled it and his eyes widened, "This is Hist sap. I have only ever had it once, but I recognize it anywhere. It is different though. I will need to test it before properly understanding the difference. However this alone may just make an outstanding profit."
Ri'saad got up and bowed, "You have provided an amazing opportunity. We will remember this, I will talk to my own associates. May your travels be warm, best to move before the guards get eyes."
I understand what he meant. They were staring a lot more, I bowed and left. Smiling at the guards along the way. They started to get back to their job in fuck all. However I still felt eyes on me. This itch was from danger sense. Why would it trigger though? It only did in combat. I looked around and slipped into the Inn. Erandur wasn't here, so sure enough someone activated his quest.
The itch from danger sense was gone. There was a player here in Dawnstar. That was why my danger sense was triggering. It seems I wasn't sleeping tonight. However I would pay for a room in the Inn. I had no clue whether the player killed Erandur for the Skull of Corruption or not. It was a good chance they were the one collecting the pieces for the razor as well. Which meant perhaps I would complete the Sheogorath quest.
In preparation I soaked my lucky dagger in the recently bought paralysis poison. It was the reason I bought it after all.