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Chapter 83 - Xaro Xhoan Daxos (2)

[We are done with the Qarth Arc on our P@treon and are already towards the next invasion and plans of Jon. Join to read ahead and support me.]

"Lord Xaro Xhoan Daxos," Jon greeted the man with a small bow of his head. Melisandre too followed suit.

"Mister Aeloros," Xaro greeted with a small nod.

"I have heard that you intend to trade wine and other drinks from Lord Aeos's empire, and that you already have 100 barrels ready for delivery to prove your sincerity and to show that you are not making some ill joke with us."

"You have heard correctly, Lord Xaro," Jon replied. "I am looking to establish myself in Qarth for long term trade opportunities, and why would I try to make a fool of you?"

"I believe that we can discuss all other things once you see the barrels," he added, and Xaro nodded.

Under Jon's guidance, Xaro, Xleucs, and the small group with them followed Jon and Melisandre inside the warehouse.

Even before departing from Meereen, Jon had arranged through a trusted merchant to transport 100 barrels of drink to Qarth. He had been aware that something exotic like his drinks, which were always in high demand, could always be helpful in executing his plans.

Inside the small warehouse, 100 wooden barrels had been neatly stacked.

"One hundred barrels of alcohol of all kinds," Jon declared with both his hands raised horizontally. "They have not been cleared through the customs of Qarth yet. First, I wanted to secure a potential buyer before registering them with customs."

Xaro nodded, the last part making him happier. He then gave a brief gaze towards one of the old men accompanying him, who instantly rushed towards the barrels. The man pulled out a small iron rod from his breast pocket and used it to unseal one of the barrels. The fragrance of the whiskey exploded from within spreading throughout the entire warehouse, and even before tasting, almost everyone in the room knew it was the real deal.

Even so, the man took out a wooden jug full of whiskey from the barrel and took small sips of it.

"Lord Xaro, it is the real deal," he announced with an enthusiastic face. "It is unlike anything we have ever tasted. Now that I have tasted it, I am certain that the whiskey I had tried before must have been diluted with either water or some other drink."

A big smile appeared on Jon's face.

"This is the authentic thing," he said. "No dilution. No contamination. I doubt anyone could provide you whiskey as pure as this."

"Great," Xaro boomed. "I will take all the barrels. We can discuss the rate later."

Jon nodded in agreement.

"And you do not need to worry about the customs," Xaro added. "My men will handle everything. They will pick the barrels up from this warehouse itself."

Jon nodded with a knowing smile. For a man like Xaro, bypassing the customs was a small thing. Even so, he did not say anything.

With the authenticity and sincerity established, Jon was led by Xaro to an inn near the port area. The inn had private rooms for wealthy guests, and four people settled into one of the private rooms. Jon, Melisandre, Xaro, and Xleucs.

"Before we negotiate many other matters, there are certain questions buzzing in my mind," Xaro began as soon as they were seated.

"You are free to ask questions, Lord Xaro," Jon replied.

"Where do you get this alcohol from?" Xaro asked. "I know a lot of traders, and it is very tough for them to get regular supplies of alcohol, but you are claiming to maintain a steady supply."

"I doubt you are one of those real heavyweight merchants who have true control of these drinks in their hands."

"You are right, Lord Xaro," Jon replied. "I am no heavyweight. But I have a special source in the factories of Astapor. One of the supervisors working there is a great friend of mine, and he has no issue in getting me a few dozen barrels every few days. And though I would not claim that I could provide an unlimited supply of drinks, I could certainly provide enough to quench the thirst of the city of Qarth."

Xaro nodded, his hopes slightly crushed. He had been hoping that, if possible, he could deal directly with the source from which Aeloros was acquiring it.

"And may I wonder why you chose me as your first choice to make this deal?" he asked. "No matter which council member you might have approached, he would have surely agreed to the deal."

"I have two reasons for this," Jon answered calmly.

"Firstly," he continued, "you are the person with whom I can correlate the most. Just like you, I come from a very impoverished background. I have had to starve for days."

"It was only through sheer struggle that I was able to rise to this status at my young age. My story is very similar to yours. And now that I am going to make the biggest deal of my life, I thought, why not choose the person whom I can almost idolize?"

"Quite an interesting reason you have," Xaro replied. There was a small smile on his face. He was a man who always carried the story of his struggle on his sleeve, and now someone correlating with it and even idolizing him gave him some satisfaction.

"And the second reason?" Xaro added.

"Well," Jon cast a glance at Xleucs.

"You can trust him," Xaro remarked.

Jon nodded and continued, "It has to do with the politics of Qarth."

"Politics?" Xaro asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Apart from you," Jon answered, "every other council member has a monopoly over one or two goods. We have the Silk King, the Spice King, the Weapon King. But not an Alcohol King."

"I doubt that even if they had agreed to trade with me, I or trade with me would not have been very important or a priority to them, at least, not in the beginning phase. But you have no monopoly in any single trade. You dabble in every second trade, yet the monopolies of the other council members prevent you from becoming dominant in any one field. You can become the Alcohol King, and the influence you wield will expand even further as the gold in your treasure increases. And maybe, in the future, it might benefit me."

Xaro looked with great thoughtfulness toward Jon.

"This is an even more interesting point you make, Aeloros," he remarked.

"I always make interesting point," Jon replied.

"It seems that we will really have a long partnership," Xaro chuckled. "Now, we should move towards other negotiations."

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