The Sage of Einar

In the port of the city of Carcol, Darían was unloading all the merchandise that he had bought from Einar.

As he did so, many merchants from different parts looked curiously at the large number of glass goods that were being unloaded at the port.

One of them, a Jewish merchant, approached Darían and pointed to one of the wooden boxes that had assorted glassware.

"Young man, I'd like to ask if you have all that glassware for sale."

Darían looked at the Jewish merchant with a big smile "Each piece of glass is in 5 gold coins. They are made by the best artisans you can find in this region."

The Jewish merchant stroked his beard and looked at Darían doubtfully "It is a fair price for anything made of glass but I have to look at one of the pieces to see if they are worth it."

Darían just raised his shoulders and looked at the Jewish merchant "You can believe me and buy or you can wait until I do an auction with all the things for sale.

At that time everything will be much more expensive than the price I mentioned. "

The Jewish merchant took a deep breath and, accepting the challenge, bought two cases of assorted glassware at a price of 150 gold coins.

Although it was a rather expensive price, the Jewish merchant knew that it could be a good investment if each piece of glass was sold in the south or with the names for 10 gold pieces.

When he received the two boxes and opened one of them, he realized that the glassware had the protection of what appeared to be papyrus.

With some curiosity he touched it and realized that it could be used to write 'This thing is much more comfortable than papyrus, but how will it be made ...'

The Jewish merchant then raised his head and looked at Darían with a smile before turning and looking at his trusted slave.

"Get the boys ready. I want you to follow that merchant at all times. I must know where he got this wealth from.

Do whatever it takes to get all the information, try to buy from your crew. We must get part of that young man's business. "

The slave, a eunuch exiled from the Byzantine empire, nodded and using a papyrus, began to write down everything the merchant had indicated.

When all the merchandise was unloaded, Darían used three carts to carry the merchandise toward the center of the city where the governor's house was located.

On the way, Darían looked at two trusted soldiers sent by his father to supervise that all the merchandise will arrive without problems at the family warehouse.

"When we get to the house, I want you to start looking for all the representatives of the kingdoms. I want to have a meeting with them in the evening.

Just tell them that I have a good business for all your extra population that only consumes your resources, with it you will earn silver and gold coins.

Rather than letting its population just starve to death in the winter."

The soldier nodded and continued on his way until they reached the governor's residence.

Which was a gigantic building with Roman architecture. Previously it was the building of the commander of the border post on Hadrian's wall.

But after leaving Rome, the building was adopted by the governors of the city, who increased it in size over the centuries.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Darían's father, Marcó, a 54-year-old man with gray hair, looked at his son with a smile before approaching him and giving him a hug.

"I have been informed that you managed to obtain a large number of goods from the Norsemen on that island.

What can you tell me about them? "

Darían became serious "The government of that island has changed too much because Einar the son of Jarl Sven has obtained the power.

He's rapidly reforming everything not to mention that he started with an abnormal build-up of his tribe. I can tell you in just a year or two.

He will have the entire island governed, and it is in this process that we will be important because what he needs is slave labor. "

Marco looked at his son with interest and from one of the boxes he took out a beautiful glass goblet which was wrapped in something white that seemed to be papyrus.

Although this caught his attention, he decided to ignore it for the moment and checked the glass, which had a very striking green color.

He also noticed that at the base of the cup was the relief of a bear, which was written in Latin at the bottom.

'Produci ad regnum Nordmannie sedibus mare conscendisse'

Reading the Latin text, Marco raised one of his eyebrows and looked at his son seriously.

"I am surprised that it is still a tribe and it is already called the Nordic kingdom, although this is the least think important. You know how he could obtain these things.

Even we cannot make glass, much less place such a detailed relief on it. "

Darían looked at his father with a rather serious face "Father, in this place the walls listen, I will explain to you in your office for greater security."

Marco nodded and watched as his son took out of one of the boxes a beautiful black book which had a cross on the cover of the book, he also took out a green bottle that contained a liquid of the same color as well as two glasses.

When they got to the office, Marco sat in his leather chair and watched the fine bottle open in a special way just by twisting a cap.

Darían poured herbal liqueur to his father and poured himself a drink before handing the book to his father.

"What you are going to read is something completely unheard of and it is something that the church has hidden from its origins in the construction of the bible.

It is a gospel according to the only apostle who was considered a traitor Judas Iscariot. Before you read it I want you to know that Einar is not someone normal.

He may look like a human-like us, but I am sure that within him is the blessing of our lord. "

Marco frowned at his son's statements, but he knew very well that his son would not lie to him about anything because the trust between them was quite solid.

So taking his glass goblet, he took a sip of the green drink, which was more concentrated than a beer.

But it tasted quite nice to his taste buds. He just gave the glass a quick approving glance and opened the book so he could read it.

Darían, who was in front of his father, could see the different faces he made while reading, although it took him almost two hours to finish reading the book.

Marco at the end took his glass and drank all his drink in one gulp before asking his son to refill the glass goblet.

"This book by itself is an attack on the religious beliefs of the Christian faith. It has the power to change what we know about the Bible.

But it also redeems Judas Iscariot, it is something difficult to read if one is a person completely dedicated to religion.

But from what I could read, I am sure that Einar is someone special, since in another way, how did he find out details about the private life of Jesus. "

Darían took a deep breath "According to what I heard, Einar suffered an injury after a battle, after that he just changed.

He started to make changes and build the foundations of his tribe. He also invented a lot of things, it is simply unheard of.

For a moment I believed that he was controlled by a demon, but my worries were in vain since what I could see was something else entirely.

He is called a messiah by the Christian slaves in his power, while the Norse call him the herald of Odin.

Although I am not sure which of the two is correct, I can tell you, father, that he is above us in knowledge.

Fortunately, before being Christians and members of the city of Carcol, we are merchants so we can enrich ourselves with a direct trade with him.

He is willing to trade other goods in exchange for slaves and food, which is quite an advantageous deal for us.

That is why I signed a contract with him, in which we have the exclusive monopoly of the drink you are drinking, which is called Absinthe.

I did not buy how it is produced but I am sure that the flavor is something that will bring coins to our family and to the city. "

Marco, when listening to his son, could only laugh "I see that you have already been growing if you could sign a treaty with him and benefit the trade.

I can safely say that my son is maturing, so I could die knowing that our family is safe.

But speaking of Einar and his kingdom on that island, all information with them will be secret, and under no circumstances should the word be spread.

The last thing we want is for the surrounding Christian kingdoms to have a reason to attack us. Those beasts are only looking for a simple pretext to be able to attack the city.

Although they may possibly die as their ancestors did, it is not something that our city can endure continuously.

Now show me all the goods you got.. I want to see what kind of goods they produce in that place. "