Vulfgrau Trading House

This trading house seeks to expand their reach by opening a series of trading posts and stores within the Kingdom of Dakar, with the majority of them in the western lands of Dakar. They are located within the Three Kingdoms, specifically a large trading house in Valparia.

History

The trading house was founded in 279 AH in Valparia by Janak Vulfgrau. He started with a single caravan route transporting goods from the Jugalii trading post in the city of Bornheim to ship masters in Valparia. Unlike other merchants, Janak was given the right to transport his goods along a single route through the Ellendar. Most caravans traveling through the elven forest were never seen again. This protected route meant that Janak never lost caravans to bandits or the elements - greatly increasing his profits.

Janak was shrewd enough to begin the process of purchasing the transportation necessary to get his goods to Irill and when he retired in 305 AH he owned several ships in the Caragan Sea along with warehouses in many of the larger ports along its shores.

Janak's many marriages never produced any children so he passed control of the Trading House to two sons he had by a one-time lover. Arvid and Halvar agreed on very little except for the way the house was run. Continuing their father's tradition of not only owning a trade route, but the means to move goods along it they purchased two sea worthy trading vessels along with a warehouse and factor house in Bornheim. They hired a mixed crew of humans and hashan and for over a decade had great success.

Eventually the business grew too large to handle and they took on Cadmael the help run the more established routes between Bornheim and Irill. Cadmael was the son of Janak's sister and proved very skilled at wringing the most silver from these more established routes. This allowed the brothers to use their sea-going ships to find sources of new goods and resources to feed a growing market along the shores of the Caragan Sea.

In 336 Arvid and Halvar were both lost at sea when their ship was caught in the deep sea during a violent storm. Cadmael took full control of the Trading House. Unfortunately Cadmael proved to be a poor choice to run the entire company and within a decade the debts were so high that many of the company's most profitable routes had to be sold to other trading companies.

When Cadmael died in 372 the trading company was completely sold to cover their remaining debts. The new owners were a smaller Valparian merchant house. These owners have kept the original name of the trading company as it is still known along the Bornheim Trade Route. They still run the company and it has steadily improved its financial standing.

Assets

  • Capriana: Merchant caravel (66 metric tonnes) built by Theodova in 461 AH.
  • Wister: Merchant galley (32 metric tonnes), Irillian built in 423.
  • Warehouses