Karon is a Thardic mercantyler engaged in the trade of salt and luxury items between Coranan and Tashal. In the spring of each year, he joins the semi-annual caravan to haul his wares to Tashal where he sells in bulk to other mercantylers at the great fair. This year, he used five carts for the journey.
Karon 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 the carts during overnight stops, but the caravan fee Karon pays includes the cost of mercenaries who provide security to the entire caravan. In his budgeting for the trip, Karon includes his 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 (oxen & carts) | |
Total Daily Costs: |
The standard road-use toll for Karon's five carts is 6.5d. See here for a list of the toll-stations along the route.
Coranan to Tashal |
The first leg of Karon's journey takes him through the Ramala Gap between the hills of Mimea and those of Athul to Trobridge. This long trek takes 21 days and, with no way stations along the way, Karon has to carry enough provisions to sustain himself and his teamsters. Additionally, because there is little forage available along the heavily forested trail, he will have to provide fodder for the oxen for 16 of those 21 days. Karon allocates enough cargo capacity in the carts to accomodate these needs, as well as assuming a load of 30 pounds per teamster for camp gear and other neccesities.
Caravan fee - Coranan to Tashal (5 x 48d) | |
Fodder for Ramala (5 oxen x 16 days x 1.16d) |
Way stations such as the one at Trobridge provide some opportunities to re-provision, but Karon leaves room in the carts to haul 96-mandays of provisions - enough for the long stretch between Moleryn and Trobridge. That and the other baggage he carries reduces his cargo capacity to about 4.6 tons (9,232 pounds).
Provisions - 96-mandays (96 cf) | |
Fodder - Ramala (350 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 34 days | |
Tolls | |
Caravan Fee | |
Fodder | |
Total Cost: |
Karon's total cost for hauling 4.6 tons of cargo from Coranan to Tashal with the semi-annual caravan was 1,165 pence. If he had carried that cargo on a "haul freight" arrangement, and with an assumed profit margin of 30%, he would charge 1,665 pence for the journey. (1164.94d / 0.7 = 1664.2d; note the actual price charged will have been negotiated in advance, based on Karon's estimation of the costs involved.)
The prorated cost of carrying one ton of cargo from Coranan to Tashal in this caravan would be about 362 pence.
As the cart rolls, the distance between Coranan and Tashal is 170 leagues (34 hexes); the cost per hex for one ton of cargo is about 10.6d.
Not included in the above calculations is the cost of taxes and tariffs on trade. See here for a list of the places where bonding fees will be collected.