Katryn is a Thay-based mercantyler normally dealing in gypsum and fine pottery. In the spring of each year, she joins the semi-annual caravan to haul her wares to Tashal where she sells in bulk to other mercantylers at the great fair. This year, she uses five carts and six horses for the journey - she always takes along an extra animal for use as her own mount and as a hedge against one of the draft horses going lame.
Katryn hires teamsters, one for each cart, paying them a daily wage of 3 pence each as well as providing their meals during the journey. The teamsters will stand watch as guards on her carts during overnight stops, but the caravan fee Katryn pays includes the cost of mercenaries who provide security to the entire caravan. In her budgeting for the trip, she includes her own salary of 4 pence.
Merchants (1 x 4d) | |
Teamsters (5 x 3d) | |
Provisions (6 x 0.5d) | |
Prorated Repairs (5 x 0.25d) | |
Depreciation (horses and carts) | |
Total Daily Costs: |
Melderyn's king has exempted the semi-annual caravan from tolls within his domain, but Katryn will be required to pay road use tolls and other taxes at toll-houses in the other kingdoms the caravan traverses. The standard road-use toll for Katryn's little caravan is 7.5d. The baron of Geda charges slightly less than most and there Katryn will pay only 4d. See here for a list of the toll-stations along the route.
Thay to Burzyn | |
Burzyn to Tashal |
The first leg of Katryn's journey takes her to Burzyn in time for the annual Hodiri Horse Fair. This is the most difficult portion of the trip, with six days spent traversing the Anadel Hills between Laket and Geda. Forage in the densely wooded mountain pass is sparse, and Katryn is forced to carry enough fodder to sustain the horses in addition to the provisions she and the teamsters require for the trip through the wilderness. Katryn allocates enough cargo capacity in her carts to accomodate these needs, as well as assuming a load of 30 pounds per teamster for camp gear and other neccesities.
Caravan fee - Thay to Burzyn (5 x 24d) | |
Caravan fee - Burzyn to Tashal (5 x 21d) | |
Fodder for Anadel Hills (6 horses x 6 days x 0.5d) |
Way stations such as the one at Oselbridge provide some opportunities to re-provision, but Katryn plans conservatively and leaves room in her carts to haul 48-mandays of provisions - enough for the long stretch between Laket and Geda or between Meldun and Kobing. That and the other baggage she carries reduces her cargo capacity to about 4.6 tons (9,200 pounds).
Provisions - 48-mandays (48 cf) | |
Fodder - Anadel Hills (67.5 cf) | |
Baggage - 30 lbs / person (18 cf) | |
Total overhead: |
Use the information above and an estimate of the passage time between towns (click here: ) to estimate the costs of the journey. Please note that these figures do not include time spent waiting for repairs, or the time involved in arranging the sale or acquisition of cargo.
Daily cost x 11 days | |
Tolls | |
Caravan Fee | |
Fodder | |
Total Cost: |
Katryn's total cost for hauling 4.6 tons of cargo from Thay to Burzyn with the semi-annual caravan was 425 pence. If she had carried that cargo on a "haul freight" arrangement, and with an assumed profit margin of 30%, she would charge 609 pence for the journey. (424.81d / 0.7 = 606.87d; note the actual price charged will have been negotiated in advance, based on Katryn's estimation of the costs involved.)
The prorated cost of carrying one ton of cargo from Thay to Burzyn in this caravan would be about 132 pence.
As the cart rolls, the distance between Thay and Burzyn is 70 leagues (14 hexes); the cost per hex for one ton of cargo is about 9.43d.
Daily cost x 11 days | |
Tolls | |
Caravan Fee | |
Total Cost: |
Katryn's total cost for hauling 4.6 tons of cargo from Burzyn to Tashal with the semi-annual caravan was 433 pence. If she had carried that cargo on a "haul freight" arrangement, and with an assumed profit margin of 30%, she would charge 619 pence for the journey. (432.81d / 0.7 = 618.3d; note the actual price charged will have been negotiated in advance, based on Katryn's estimation of the costs involved.)
The prorated cost of carrying one ton of cargo from Burzyn to Tashal in this caravan would be about 135 pence.
As the cart rolls, the distance between Burzyn and Tashal is 85 leagues (17 hexes); the cost per hex for one ton of cargo is about 7.94d.
Daily cost x 22 days | |
Tolls | |
Fodder | |
Caravan Fee | |
Total Cost: |
Katryn's total cost for hauling 4.6 tons of cargo from Thay to Tashal with the semi-annual caravan was 858 pence. If she had carried that cargo on a "haul freight" arrangement, and with an assumed profit margin of 30%, she would charge 1,226 pence for the journey. (857.62d / 0.7 = 1225.17d; note the actual price charged will have been negotiated in advance, based on Katryn's estimation of the costs involved.)
The prorated cost of carrying one ton of cargo from Thay to Tashal in this caravan would be about 267 pence.
As the cart rolls, the distance between Thay and Tashal is 155 leagues (31 hexes); the cost per hex for one ton of cargo is about 8.61d.
Not included in the above calculations is the cost of taxes and tariffs on trade. At a minimum, there would be fees of 5% of the value of the cargo levied on this caravan before it reached the market in Tashal. See here for a list of the places where bonding fees will be collected.