That some achieve great success is proof to all that others can achieve it as well

Pre-Fall Politician.

Reaching the walls of New Sandusky was only the start of the next phase. Now that Miles Bertram and Ulrich Sengfield were on board with the idea, all that remained was to translate it into reality.

That, of course, began with a visit to Macintosh’s Genuine Items.

“Another Artifact?”

Johanna shrugged, and Miles merely smiled.

“I would not be surprised if that became a regular occurrence, Kieran.”

The salvager wholesaler looked at the veteran with surprise.

“Remember when I said we used to deal with that regularly, Ulrich and I back south? Same thing. This crew here can spot Artifacts at a significant distance.”

“I heard about a sorceress showing up at the High and Dry to recruit people. That’s you, miss?”

She nodded.

“Well, that might give a little animation to the usual New Sandusky hustle.”

“You have no idea,” Miles replied, repressing a chuckle.

They dumped the basic salvage to the side. Kieran Macintosh would tally the loot according to his standard rate, but the flaming axe – Burning Slasher – took precedence.

And this time, Johanna let Miles demonstrate its properties.

As they all gathered in the High and Dry that evening, Ulrich started the discussion.

“Item one. You need to set up this Talent House of yours,” he enumerated.

“We still haven’t decided how…” she countered.

“Come on. It’s the best name,” Peter interrupted.

“You can name it later, you know,” Ulrich stated, rolling his eyes upward, before following up.

“Now, technically, you do not need to do anything. Everything is tied to that expedition of yours, to gain lots of Ancient books. But you do need to start thinking seriously about it.”

“Speaking of which, it’s too bad Macintosh didn’t have Ancient books,” Peter noted.

“He’s a reseller. I doubt he would hold onto them,” Laura countered.

“How good are you with the haul we brought back?” Miles asked.

“I’m guessing enough for maybe four people’s full sets. Three and a half, at worst, if they’re monsters like you or Ulrich or need extra parchments like you, Petra. It’s hard to say, because not every parchment consumes the same amount. Simpler ones take a lot less. But I’d rather avoid needing to buy any. We do need that money,” Johanna said.

“Sound reasoning,” Ulrich replied. “You want your whatever-house to be a proper business, and put it on its books.”

Johanna raised her eyebrows.

“I’m an accountant these days. Business expenses are how you reduce your taxes, and put more money to use. Up to a certain level, you’re fine with selling whatever to Macintosh as an individual. Beyond a certain point, you want a business that sells the product of your work, and pays you a simple stipend for living expenses.”

“That sounds complicated. Taxes?”

“The bane of modern life. And Ancient life, too, by the way. Thing is, people have limited options to reduce taxes – outside of not earning too much money, that is. Businesses have lots more. I should know, that’s how I make a living these days. Balance books and show you’ve paid your taxes, and not one gold dollar more.”

“Sounds like the… Talent House,” she said, throwing an eye toward Peter who kept a straight face, “now has an accountant.”

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“That sounds like a proper job offer, and I am probably going to say yes,” Ulrich replied, smiling.

“In addition, you get less scrutiny as a business. People who handle lots of money and start hiring lots of people attract a lot of attention. But if it’s a business, then it’s their business and that’s normal. You don’t need it right away, but once you start investing in stuff, you should,” he warned.

“And you need more than just a business account,” Miles added. “You need a charter.”

This time, Johanna had to stare back at him.

“I understand you want to spread the use of Talents to allow for the defense of cities. But you need to be clear on the why, the how, and all those things. Because there is a world of difference between having those things in mind when there are seven people like right now, and when you’ll have a hundred… a thousand people involved.”

“So, I write down what’s our purpose, how we go after it?”

“All kinds of things. For instance, you said your Ancient could make sets of Talents in advance.”

“True. After making the new Talent for Petra, we could have converted more books. Not everyone can use a set, but that’s doable.”

“Let’s say, New Sandusky is done, Talented guards making sure its surroundings are kept safe, pushing back at the wild mana zones. What about the rest of Independence State? What about the rest of the Union? How do you deal with them? Do you travel around the world, setting things up one city at a time? You speak of the power the world needs. What about the rest of the world? Reconquering Europe?”

She could see where Miles was leading.

“We can’t be everywhere. But someone needs to.”

“You’re speaking of branches Miles,” Ulrich noted.

“Exactly. Depending on how things work, you’ll need to set up remote offices. Do those offices give people those parchment sets? Do they just interview and send them on a pilgrimage to get parchments made here in New Sandusky? If that’s even where you’ll set up in the end,” Miles said.

“We’re here,” Peter noted.

“You’re renting, right? You can afford to leave and set up in a bigger place, like Vernon or Nashville.”

“You’re making this sounds complicated,” she replied to Miles.

“It’s probably full of traps. Another one of which is going to be how people will react.”

“Politics. I hate politics,” Ulrich said, and Miles merely shrugged.

“You don’t need to do all of this tomorrow, but you need to think seriously. You can’t interrogate your patron?”

Then, remembering that Johanna had told him he looked through all of them, he immediately asked, “Sir? Can you tell us… tell Johanna how you want it to be?”

Johanna made a face.

“It’s not as if I have control over anything. He… he does what he wants, and we find out. Same with the dream visit. If he’d done it right after we made our first parchments, then things would have been different I think.”

“He’s… you’re limited, sir. Is that what happens?”

Johanna shrugged again. After all, it wasn’t as if the Ancient would answer. At least not right now. Maybe later tonight?

“We don’t know enough to guess what the best course is,” she simply stated. “Even why people can get some parchments, and not others.”

“I’ve got a few ideas on figuring that out,” Ulrich said.

“I’ll take whatever you find.”

“Anyway. Talent House, to be set. And in the same vein… Item two. Prepare your expedition’s logistics. How large, what do you expect to bring back? Model this on professional salvage outfits,” Miles said.

“Wagons,” she said.

“Both for the supplies and the loot. It’s one of the heaviest mana zones, you’re not going to live off the land. You might, but that’s not guaranteed,” he added. “Even our failed expedition, we weren’t planning to go all the way to the coast, like you want.”

“That’s going to be expensive.”

“Not as much as you’d think, but yes. This will cost you,” Ulrich noted. “But at least in terms of wagons, it is an investment. As I said, a business one.”

“The sale of Burning Slasher should be more than enough.”

Just like the previous artifact, the salvage reseller had made an offer that had sounded eerily familiar to Grievar. The New Sandusky merchant could sell at a low commission, and it could be a good deal. Macintosh estimated the axe at the very least $35,000, potentially up to $45,000, and he’d take a cut of 15%. Or $30,000 immediately, and he got whatever margin he could.

Johanna had decided to sell outright. It was still early June, but she knew she couldn’t wait three months or more if she wanted to go to Washington this year. Rather avoid an early winter while they were there or on the way back.

“And you don’t want to delay for a while.”

Johanna sighed.

“I’m not that comfortable. You know about our… legal status back in the Montana.”

“You’re afraid of what the Warden will do if he learns that you’re more than some overpowered Talented,” Miles said.

“He’s going to be even more pissed,” Peter injected.

“If you read the subtext of the news coming from the Montana, he’s probably aware of the existence of the Ancient, even if he thinks it’s the only way to get Talents. My first impulse, after we discovered the existence of the parchments of power, was to hide even more. Catherine – the one we made the first ones for – said to build a power base before being found out. But the Library of Congress changes that. We’re going to get loads of parchments. Once we do…”

She took a breath.

“The more people realize they need us to provide Talents, the harder it will be for someone like Maistry to grab us and hole us somewhere for his exclusive benefit,” she said.

“Is that your plan? Play people against one another?” Miles asked.

“What else can we do? Throw ourselves at the mercy of someone?”

“You realize the power a group of Talented can bring to the table?”

“We turned the tide at the Battle of Kootenai last fall, but we had an army at our back. Even if we’ve gained a bit of power since, we can’t fight armies on our own alone. Remember what I said about running out of power? Fighting people is not like fighting hordes of Changed beasts either.”

“And with enough Talented already in place, it’s easier to convince people that you’re worthwhile, instead of fighting non-stop.”

“Go big,” she said. “And yes, we’ll have to think about those branches, as you said.”

They all fell silent.

“Item three. Finding your expedition crew.”

“And that’s the easiest one. Miles, you know everyone,” Johanna said.