And that's all the updates I'm doing this evening, as I am well past my bedtime. Should take care of most of the outstanding issues - Mahtan, Locanil, Hans, the pirates, Terenos/Taric, Trubaldsome/Aulon and even some of Erik's actions.
Night night for now, kids.
Edit: We can also see the embryonic Merchant Adventure system; base prices for goods in various ports, with variation based on the dice roll. Also rolls for the voyage itself (piracy chance or ill weather) and for any smuggling checks on contraband goods. We also see merchant renting ships for a year on credit rather than building their own.
[Interestingly, this might need to be changed a little. Ideally I would see rented cargo ships charging 2 ducats/year for haulage but transporting up to 3 shipments each, i.e. a light ship with 2 Cargo Bay upgrades. This would be cheaper in the short run than building your own equivalent ship (2 Dcts vs 3 Dcts) but the captain would eventually make profit as his upkeep/year is just 1 Dct. After 3 years, the captain would break even so for a rich merchant building his own fleet would eventually save him money. On the other hand if piracy was a major concern and a merchant feared his newly built ship might not last 3 years (especially if unescorted) hiring ships might prove cheaper than sinking 3 Ducats every time you need a new ship.
A savvy warship owner with the defensive drill upgrade could hire himself out as an escort for 2 Ducats/year and make a profit, or a Carrack owner for 4/year. The Cargo Carrack design is thus particularly favourable for those who try to combine both pursuits.]