I see. I'm not that experienced in matters of money and even less on land based commerce so I thank you for the explanation. A merchant vessel with a skilled crew can outmaneuver pirates and sea monsters even if they have little fighting power, but in a road you could just abandon a slow wagon and run if things get too dangerous.
And I should've guessed a main road would attract bandits and thugs just like the main sea routes attract pirates and corsairs. When this is over I need to send a letter about starting patrols on both the land and waters of this region. Even if there's an initial cost, it would make things easier for everybody, including merchants such as you, there would be more trade and thus more profit, and in the end even the higher ups would prosper more. But right now we have to do the best we can on our own. Those ruins you saw are a sad confirmation of the troubles this region faces...
Ah, that reminds me. We have a map of the region with us. Could you point to us the position of that fishing village you mentioned? It'll probably be the target of the next raid and it will save us precious time if we don't need to blindly search the area.
Enar searches around for the map the party acquired and places it open in front of the merchant before sitting down to start on her meal, noticing she's kinda starving.
This duck is really good! Traveling on land may be more tiring, but at least we also get to eat better.