Chapter 36: Space Invaders

“Commerce directed northward is heavily regulated: everything is meant to facilitate the war effort in some way, shape or form. Even goods that, on the face of it, have nothing to do with the front line have to be justified in that context, or else the purveyors in question will be denied a trading permit. As you can imagine, this is clearly much easier for some categories than others. Packs of cards and dice so soldiers can pass the time are not controversial, as they help keep morale high. Even alcohol or prostitution can be justified in this manner, albeit couched in euphemisms more acceptable to the more puritan of officials. The problem comes, when substances have a clear, detrimental effect on human productivity, but people still want it. These products are strictly forbidden, across the length and breadth of the Great Wall, and trafficking them is punishable by death. But people still want it, and they’re willing to pay a big premium for the privilege.”

So far, so good, was my general opinion of the presentation thus far. It was a very top level view of how narcotics trafficking became as prevalent as it did, back on Earth, the kind of presentation that might feature on the first module of an MBA, the vaunted Master of Business Administration degree that C-suite executives the world over adored, as an example of the ingenuity that drove the grey economy. Frontier, if anything, had it even easier, as the entire transit could be conducted on land, without those pesky oceans in the way, not to mention the existence of teleportation, though that raised another question.

“If drugs are that expensive, then why not hire a spatial Mage?” I asked, very reasonably in my opinion. “You said that they were rare and expensive, but Mages are still human. Offer them enough money and they’d surely be tempted.”

“Some are,” Harvey nodded, accepting my point. “But there are additional risks to bringing magic on board, at least, if done in any great volume, as a business inevitably requires. Paying a singular mage to deliver a discreet snuff box to a waiting noble? Easily done, in a single casting of a spell. If you want to make real money, though, and we’re talking pallet after pallet of drugs, then you’ll need a ritual or a formation to send it any decent distance. The former carries steep requirements, such as mass ritual sacrifice of animals or even humans, which tend to be very hard to cover up and inevitably attract attention from law enforcement, while the latter causes the local, ambient magic to spike considerably, to a point where any nearby Mage worth the name will know what you’re doing. Neither outcome is viable, if you prize the longevity of the organisation at all. Sometimes, simple really is best, which is why the humble smuggler’s caravan remains the bread and butter of our organisation.”

All of this was news to me, as I’d read plenty about what magic was capable of, but very little on how it happened. Advertising my ignorance was inadvisable, however, so I merely nodded along as if I knew every detail of what he was describing already.

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“Accordingly,” Harvey continued, when I remained silent at his rebuttal. “We are always on the lookout for individuals with a proven talent for smuggling, along with the required ruthlessness to make it in the industry. When Damien came running to us, claiming that you’d somehow overpowered and strangled him despite being a mere Merchant, well, that caught my attention, so I decided to bring you here and give you a chance. A gamble, perhaps, but one that paid off in my view. Damien had claimed you had the ability to manipulate water, but from how you dealt with him, your hidden power is something rather more versatile.”

“I can place things into a pocket dimension, provided they’re small enough for me to hold,” I agreed, coupled with a live demonstration.

[Plum withdrawn.]

“Nothing too big, but a little can go a long way, in battle and commerce alike, wouldn’t you agree?”

There was no point trying to hide this much, considering Harvey had already seen it in action, and he was intelligent enough to put two and two together if we spent any time at all together.

“You need to hold the object to store and release it, but with a little sleight of hand? Yes, I could see how that might work.”

I smirked at that, but otherwise stayed silent, letting Harvey come to his own (erroneous conclusions).

“Are there any limits to what you can store?” Harvey asked, after a moment’s thought.

“I’ve yet to find a limit in terms of materials,” I admitted, placing my free hand on Pumpkin’s sleeping head.

[Pumpkin the Cat stored.

Plumb stored.]

“There’s a size limit, though: I can store a small animal, a knife, or a change of clothes, but don’t expect me to bring an entire caravan or an inn with me.”

“If you could do that, you wouldn’t be wasting your time listening to me,” Harvey guffawed, taking the limitations in good humour. “That’s still plenty, trust me: storage talents aren’t even that rare, they show up for thieves and merchants alike with some regularity, for reasons that I think are obvious. Yours has fewer limitations than most, however, and that’s enough for me to extend a good offer to you.”

I tilted my head, inviting him to proceed, whilst my hand clenched just a little, ready to summon my knife should his offer prove as insulting as what Damien had been able to get for me.

“Allensward is a supply hub, one of many across Frontier, where drugs are collected from regional producers and gathered together, so that a single caravan can take it North, to the front lines. It’s a good place for this, as the number of orphanages means that people ask fewer questions, when foreign men show up claiming to be looking for, or meeting someone. From here, our first trip goes Northwest to Heaven’s Reach, at the very west end of the Great Wall. From there, we do a long arc East, visiting every fortress city along the front lines, until finally peeling off to Light’s End by the coast, where we drop off the last of our cargo, bound for international markets. What do you think? Up for a little bit of travelling?”