Quote:
Originally Posted by Noclevername
If the wood is valued in the coastal city, that means someone there has already gotten some. So how did it get there if the only viable river route is terra incognita? Did the first ones to bring the wood downriver get hit with an amnesia spell?  |
Circuitous overland route.
Steppe barbarians that like a taste of the goods. Cave trolls in the mountains that like the taste of caravaners. Plus flatboats smell better than camels and don't bite. It's a little harder to get pilfered, but then again the thieves that make the effort are more serious about it.
Even the guys who owned the caravans are selling their wagons to buy boats. I rolled and some of the inter-merchant murderousness is going to be cut down by the fact that the market isn't going to be easy to glut. High demand. Large market, the end oil and esters go all the way to Kara-Tur. (D&D's China)
And a guaranteed 20 to 1 return would be irresistable to a lot of people even at great personal risk. Or they hire somebody else to "great personal risk" for them. Plus they can use barter and negotiation skills if any to boost the price. Nearly ending up as an orc's bowel movement after being cooked alive will add a certain percentage to the price of the transported goods no matter what deal was made ahead of time.