Rasui, the newest member of Akkad’s nobles and a close friend of Asurak, supported the merchant’s claim and made the argument before the other council members.
Trella spoke before Rasui could start again. “I think the council has heard enough. Both Asurak and Chuvash gave us their versions, and the council has heard the same story twice.” She turned to Corio, Nicar, and then to Rasui before going on. “Asurak inspected the goods before he offered the price. He waited until the other bidder had left the city before he decided the goods were inferior.”
“If the trader wants to sell his flax,” Rasui countered, “then he has to sell to my… Asurak. There are no other buyers of flax in Akkad.”
Trella smiled at Rasui’s logic. True enough. All the usual buyers of flax had departed for Dilgarth in the last few days, eager to resume trade and lock in prices for the first deliveries. Knowing of the temporary shortage of buyers in Akkad, Asurak no doubt felt confident the Dilgarth trader would have to accept the revised terms.
“No, the deal is revoked,” Trella said. “Asurak says he doesn’t want the goods at the original price. Fine. Then let him pay Chuvash two silver coins as a penalty for attempting to change the agreed upon price. I will pay the trader twenty-five coins for the flax myself. I’m sure I can resell the goods in a few days, when the flax weavers return from Dilgarth.”
Corio laughed aloud. “Sounds fair to me.” He turned to Nicar. “What do you say?”
“Actually, I was about to make the same offer,” Nicar said, a hint of humor in his voice. “I don’t usually deal in flax, but I have a boat going downriver tomorrow, and I can ship the raw flax south. Plenty of weavers in the villages along the river. The first boatload should fetch a good price. If Lady Trella doesn’t mind, I will buy the goods from Chuvash for twenty-six silver coins.”
Trella laughed. “Be my guest, Nicar. You can make better use of it, I’m sure.”
Rasui muttered something under his breath. Trella couldn’t hear what he said, but Corio, sitting beside Rasui, must have.
“Watch your tongue, Rasui,” Corio said, disdain plain in his voice.
“This council isn’t here to help scheming merchants take advantage of others. Your friend should have known better.”
“Well, then, at least Asurak need not pay the two silver coins as Trella suggested,” Rasui argued. “Since he’s getting twenty-six from Nicar and…”
“The two extra coins are for wasting the council’s time, and the trader’s,” Trella said. “He pays or he can leave Akkad.”
“ Lady Trella speaks for all of us,” Corio said, turning to Rasui and em-phasizing the honorific. “Asurak can pay now, or leave tomorrow, which-ever he prefers.”
Trella had noticed Rasui’s frequent omission of her simple title, a sign of respect given to her as Eskkar’s wife and for presiding over the council in his absence. And while the Council of Nobles was technically a group of equals, everyone remembered when Eskkar had convened the first meeting, a week or so after the siege ended. Some newly returned shopkeeper had referred to Trella casually. Eskkar had given the man such a look that he turned pale, and couldn’t stammer his apologies fast enough.
After that, no one failed to refer to her properly.
And now Rasui, caught up in the heat of the argument and trying to help his friend cheat the trader from Dilgarth, had not only forgotten her title but said something derogatory about her under his breath. If Eskkar were here, the man would already be packing his things, assuming he still had his head on his shoulders.
Trella sighed, and wished for a brief moment that indeed Eskkar were here. Her husband might hate these endless and interminable meetings, but he did have a way of settling certain disputes. Once he simply ordered a tavernkeeper out of Akkad. When the man protested, Eskkar stood and put his hand on his sword, before asking if the man wished to go for a swim in the Tigris without his head. Not very diplomatic, but, when used occasionally and with care, very effective.
Trella rose and leaned forward on the table. Resting her hands on the rough surface, she gazed directly into Rasui’s eyes. “Tell your friend two silver coins to Chuvash now. And the council doesn’t want to hear any more about this matter, so tell Asurak to keep his complaints to himself.
If he can’t trade honestly, he can leave Akkad. I’m sure there’s room on Nicar’s boat for one more.”
Rasui clenched his jaw, but one glance at the two Hawk Clan soldiers guarding the door reminded him that Trella had no problem with using force.
No one spoke, and all eyes turned to Rasui. “Then it’s settled,” Nicar said, speaking before the silence went on too long and Rasui felt tempted to speak up. “And if there’s nothing else to discuss this morning, I would like to get back to my business.”
“And I,” Corio agreed. “There’s so much building going on, I hate to be away from my apprentices any longer than necessary.”
Rasui dropped his hands on the table and nodded agreement. “As you say, Lady Trella.”
Trella ignored the hint of condescension in Rasui’s tone. Straightening up, she sweetened her voice. “Then until tomorrow, nobles.”
Rasui left first, no doubt to give his friend Asurak the bad news and put the matter behind him. Corio nodded at Trella, but made for the door nearly as fast as Rasui. Trella and Nicar left together, her two guards forming up around her as soon as they went outside and into the lane.
“Rasui lets his tongue run away with him,” Nicar commented as they walked side by side. “Asurak probably offered five coins to Rasui to help him shave the price.”
“If we don’t treat these traders fairly, then the goods will flow elsewhere,” Trella said, repeating the policy she and the council had established weeks ago.
“Yes, but a little cheating is expected,” Nicar said. “That’s what we merchants do sometimes, to get the best price.”
Even Trella laughed at that. “I don’t recall you ever doing anything so obvious, Nicar. You always appreciate the need to keep good relationships with your suppliers.”
“Perhaps I’m just more subtle in my dealings. At least, I hope I am.”
They’d reached the fork in the lane, and Nicar bade her good-bye as he walked off toward his home. Annok-sur, who’d followed behind them since they left the council house, moved alongside Trella.
With only two more lanes to cross, Trella took her time, stopping whenever she saw any of the dozens of women she knew, and answering the same questions again and again about the coming child. Trella’s excellent memory enabled her to keep a name with each face, and her ability to recall nearly every detail of every conversation convinced her followers that they occupied a special place in her thoughts.
In a few moments, the women and guards reached Eskkar’s lane, and a few paces later, they turned into his courtyard.
“Do you need to rest, Trella?”
“No, I just want to sit outside for a while,” Trella answered. “Dealing with Rasui always leaves a bad taste in my mouth.”
They walked to the back of the house, and sat together on the bench between the two young trees. Only a single guard kept station there, to make sure no one slipped in over the wall, and to keep an eye on Trella’s bedroom window on the upper story. The soldier, at a smile from Trella, obligingly moved away, across the courtyard. He could still see the women, but not hear them, if they kept their voices low.
“That Asurak,” Annok-sur began. “He should be driven out of Akkad.
He tries to cheat everyone he deals with. Sooner or later, someone is going to put a knife between his ribs.”
“He’s no worse than a dozen others,” Trella said. “Except he has a friend on the council. Rasui encourages sharp dealing. I sometimes wish we had never accepted him into the nobles.”
“Rasui had the gold to pay his way onto the council,” Annok-sur said,
“though how he got it, no one knows.”
Before the siege, Rasui had been a minor trader dealing in slaves. Like many others too fearful to stay and fight, he’d chosen to depart the city before the Alur Meriki arrived. A few months later, after Eskkar drove off the barbarians, Rasui returned, with plenty of gold in his pouch and a steady supply of slaves. The trader paid the penalty demanded by the council for abandoning the city, and paid again to join the council itself as a noble.