Trade

--By Simi Goldshine, Junior Keeper of the Vaults and Trade Records, Erebor (June 2017)--

Hope to be found as trade collapses

As our resident trade experts Fingar Goldtracker and master Lofar Coinkeeper have gone off to fight the Easterlings at the steps of Erebor it is my duty to bring you the trade reports of the past moons. With great sadness it must be said that, due to being beset on all sides by foes, the majority of our trade routes have been completely shut down.

Companies raided or massacred at will by roaming orc bands has lead to profits plummeting like a stone in an ancient well. Gathering these trade reports has been a demoralizing experience, it must be said.

Yet another empty dwarvish trade cart, plundered on the road

Yet, in all these tiding of dread and woe, there can still be found a light of hope. Reports have reached us from Othrikar where a company of guards, miners and engineers - under the leadership of Lord Duinn Drakenbane - has retaken the town and at this very moment is setting up a secured trade root to Bree and the Blue Mountains. Though it still remains to be seen if this dangerous venture will prove successful, it at the very least warms the heart to know that not all we have built is gone.

The company of Duinn Drakenbane heading to the North Downs

And as such hope-filled tidings reach us, every trader, merchant or peddler among us is reminded to keep hope in these dark days, fight the cause and do not give in to the shadow that surrounds us.

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--By Simi Goldshine, Junior Keeper of the Vaults and Trade Records, Erebor (December 2016)--

The Price of Goods on the Rise!

With the war in the East and South-East growing in severity each day some goods have become rather scarce, others even no longer available.

Bread, cheese, sausages, fish and even ale have gone up in price in the past two months, as dwarven caravans bringing goods from war-stricken areas no longer reach their destinations (or choose not to depart).

Vimi Steelhand, a resident trader of Bree had this to say on the matter: "5 silvers for a fish I wouldn't give to my neighbor's cat! It's a disgrace I tell ya! Not to mention the bread that looks like you could use it as a brick to rebuild the Bree wall. "

Similar things could be heard in Thorin's Hall, where the Captain of the fourth regiment had this to say: "Many caravans no longer arrive! I've been waiting for weeks for new armour pieces and wagons of ore, but the smithies tell me they haven't received a thing these past weeks. And don't speak to me about food, one hardly finds anything at the Frerin's Court market these days. Either it's that dratted wedding that seems to have bought all the goods of taste and value or the goods simply don't arrive!"

Lastly, as Erebor is slowly being surrounded by enemy forces one quickly gains a fresh perspective on the shortages that have plagued the Western Halls of late. Instead of worrying about sausages or fresh fish, we'll have to worry about whether or not we'll still have a hall tomorrow!

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--By Fingar Goldtracker, representative of Lofar Coinkeeper.--

The Silver of the North

The unpredictable weather, the unclear path, ice storms, ever presence of beasts, the list goes on! It is safe to say that from all my travels, this road was one of the hardest. After a long and hard road through the ice bay I at last saw the stone spires of the outpost Zigilgund. Unlike the weather I was welcomed healthily by the dwarrows that reside there. A delegation of the Durin’s Folk Trading Company, managed by the Trade Master Thorlaen welcomed me to a warm hall, which appeared to be their office. A short week I had stayed with this company of Longbeards to get an impression what it’s like to serve here. The other crew members introduced themselves as Dhordur, guard captain, guards Hosgrim and Daingorf, Hlifa the cook and Holgi the hunter.

I was in luck, they had recently returned to Zigilgund from a restock caravan from Ost Forod. Keeping up their food stock and general supplies is one the largest hurdles they encounter here. Their relation with the local tribes of men is uneasy at best. Therefore, they have to travel for a week to get to Ost Forod, near the great lake, to get their ale and supplies. They told tales of bandits trying to raid their caravans, unwilling mammoth carriers, strange frost grims and endless snow plains.

The outfits of the Zigilgund crew reflect the wildlife surrounding their outpost. They were clothed in leather and fur hides to keep themselves warm; fur from mammoths or prowling sabrecats. Some kept a chain of teeth of various animals as a trophy. And some cloaks even had horns of snowbeasts still attached. This company sure is an extraordinary sight.

Later in the week I was witness of a direct attack on Zigilgund by wolf-men. They were larger than the average man, cloaked in wolf hides. Carrying spears, they charged the front gate roaring and howling like wolves. Among them were a pack of snow wolves who attacked fierce at the metal shield wall of dwarves standing before their gate. Someone pushed a crossbow in my hands and encouraged me to join their ranks. We rained bolts down upon the charging savages. The snow before the gates slowly turned red as the battle raged on. Their attack broke like a wave upon rocks, and soon they gave up and fled back to the icy hills. Their motives for attacking remains unclear to me still, I deem their intelligence not greater than the wolf that raged beside them. There were losses among the dwarrow guards, wounds do not heal quickly in this cold environment. And the lack of medical supplies results in slow recovery of the wounded.

By now, you may wonder, why do they keep this outpost alive? Why undergo so many hardships? The trade master gave me a sample of iron ore that they recovered from the mines, and then I finally understood what made this place worthwhile. The ore was of a purity unlike you have ever seen. Either it is the cold, or the conservative conditions of this region, it somehow affects the ore quality for the better. If the DFTC manages to keep this outpost running, their wealth increase is guaranteed.

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--By Lofar Coinkeeper, Prime Keeper of the Vaults and Trade Records, Erebor (September 2015)--

The fall of Goldthumb’s Mining Company!

Hearken dwarrows! Shocking events has set the trade season upside down. I refer of course to the fall of GMC last spring. By the order of dwarrow court, the GMC has been dismantled and all their belongings were gifted to king Dain Ironfoot. Who would have guessed that the owner of GMC Ebenizer Goldthumb was a Dourhand fraud!? Justice was served, my informants saw the endless caravans of GMC gold being transferred over the mountains to the vaults of Erebor.

I will show you how this affects the trading companies that exist today. The Royal Trading Company (RTC) of King Dain suffered losses last winter. The heavy snowfall blocked to trade routes to the west and even worse, there are hardly any traders coming from Rohan nor Gondor these days. The fall of GMC by the end of spring was a welcome sight for the RTC, their wealth climbed out of its demise and rose to new heights!

The DFTC is undergoing a hard time, the struggles around Othrikar left its mark on their wealth balance. Their growth has stagnated during this summer and spring. And with a new winter coming their growth expectancy is limited. Nevertheless, the dwarrows of Durin’s Folk are not known to sit idly by, it is likely this set-back only increased their ambition.

The Iron Garrisson Miners has made some progress, be it slow but steady. The orc infestation is preventing them to reach the deeper mines where, as they believe, lies the true source of wealth: Mithril. We will be keeping a close eye on their progress.

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--By Lofar Coinkeeper, Prime Keeper of the Vaults and Trade Records, Erebor (June 2015)--

Hear Hear! Stunning changes of ore prices on the market last winter.

Exciting and stressing days for the dwarrow trading companies, but there are opportunities also. Seldom has the winter days changed the ore prices so drastically. The market prices of silver, gold, iron and platinum have been thoroughly monitored and analysed by our experts here in the center of commerce in Erebor. First, let’s take a look at the precious gold and silver ore. The demand of these ores used to be high, but of late the winning of silver and gold ore at Othrikar has increased significantly.

The DFTC and GMC both increased their silver and gold ore winning this winter. Therefore, the market has an abundance of silver and gold causing their prices to drop to a minimum level by the end of the winter. Secondly, the forges of the weapon and armor smiths are soaking up so much iron that the demand of it increased rapidly. It would seem that the miners have a hard time to keep with the iron demand, resulting in a double price increase for iron by the end of the winter. Now to platinum, its scarce! After the first moon of winter up to now, the platinum ore had disappeared from the market.

The price of platinum ore has increased ever since, which trade company will find such precious lode and profit from this? Last but not least the shards of emerald. Many fortune seeking dwarrows are looking to find these valuable shards and sell them to the highest bidder, with ups and downs these shards retain their value over the winter.

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--By Lofar Coinkeeper, Prime Keeper of the Vaults and Trade Records, Erebor (April 2015)--

Quarterly review of Dwarrow Trading Companies

Here follows a quarterly review of the wealth of the top four trading and mining companies. The wealth balance is comprised by the royal account keepers and to be deemed accurate and just.

It will be no surprise that the Royal Trading Company (RTC) under the rule of King Dain still holds the top position and expected remain as such for many years. The Grey mountains and Iron Hills have lodes with endless yields. However, since that drake settled in the High Pass, blocking the trade route to Eriador, RTC has seen a slow but steady decline of profit. By request of King Dain himself, the honorable lord Duinn and his kin of the Blue mountains drove away the drake from the pass during late fall, re-establishing the trade route between RTC and the west. Due to this, both RTC and Durin’s Folk Trading Company (DFTC) showed boost of wealth during late fall. For future prosperity, they would do well to keep the pass secure for trade.

The DFTC has grown significantly, but not as much as it should have. They expanded by setting up new offices at the outposts of Othrikar and in Zigilgund, increasing the wealth of the trading company. If they keep up like this, they may have a change to become wealthier as Master Goldthumb’s enterprise. That would explain the sudden wealth increase of Goldthumb’s Mining company (GMC) who suddenly started to increase the gold output from the Othrikar mines. Quite unusual, as the GMC have had a steady wealth balance for years. The DFTC is plagued by unusual goblin activity in the Blue Mountains which is slowing their progress. Even more so in the halls of Khazâd-Dum. The Iron Garrison Miners are beset by goblins and cannot reach some of their lodes, they held long but according to the latest news they lost an important mining tunnel under the Redhorn to the goblins. Despite these hardships, the companies gained a hard-fought profit that may only increase with the upcoming seasons.