I had a good feeling about this apple. I still hadn’t eaten it and I decided I should plant it. The entire thing all at once. But before I did that, I wanted to get started on the quests and the coinage situation. I didn’t need to make my dies out of metal. I could soften and shift the metal around pretty easily using my earth manipulation skill.

I quickly snipped back inside the shard and grabbed what I would need. I had iron, copper, silver and gold. I grabbed some wooden blocks and branches I would use in the striking process. I was stumped on the designs I was going to use, I was never much of an artist. In a flash of inspiration, I decided to use leaf and flower impressions as the basis of the coins.

I sat down to start the process. I careful used my plant manipulation to make wooden crucibles for the metal. I didn’t need a fire to manipulate and shape the metal so I didn’t need anything fireproof.

I started with the iron. I placed the ingots into the wooden crucible and let my mana seep into the material. I grabbed a smooth wooden branch and started to stir the ingots around. As more of my mana flowed into the crucible, the iron gained a putty like consistency. I worked on separating out any impurities. I didn’t want anyone accusing me of cheating them. I already felt bad about using the metals I had mined. It was ridiculously easy for me to mine it. Barely an inconvenience.

I used the leaf of a common white daisy. These coins would be abundant and used for everyday transactions. Also, the idea of calling the coins iron daisies amused me. I lost track of time as I mold the iron. It was a fairly easy but mana intensive process.

The set of coins I made were copper blossoms. These were intended to be a step above leaflets, these copper coins bore the image of a rose, symbolizing beauty and the town’s thriving spirit. I thought they should be used for purchasing goods of moderate value.

I made silver fronds next. The silver coins showcased the delicate frond of a fern, representing growth and endurance. Silver fronds were reserved for significant purchases or trade.

Finally were the gold petals. The highest denomination, these gold coins were embossed with the image of a lotus flower, symbolizing purity, enlightenment, and the prosperity of the town. Gold petals were supposed to be rare and used for large transactions or to store wealth.

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

It suddenly occurred to me, I could make a bank. I don’t think anyone would be able to break into my vault. Or if anyone could, they were already so strong there was nothing I could do about it.

Queen Seraphina was watching me. After I was done with the coins, she broke her silence. “What are you doing, my liege?”

I startled a little bit. I wasn’t expecting company. “Making coins. The little town that is growing outside doesn’t really have a medium of exchange. I know a couple of the people have been having problems leveling their merchant classes, I am hoping that this fixes it.”

Queen Seraphina adjusted her two forelimbs. “Our species has little use for merchants. All work for the glory of the hive. Of course, we have merchant classes for when we are forced to deal with outsiders.”

“Really?” I asked with surprise. “I didn’t know that. Do you have crafting classes as well?”

“Verily, my liege.” Queen Seraphina looked prim and proper as she responded. “You are using us well below our capacity. I had thought you had been biding your time, but is it that you don’t know?”

“Why would I know?” I asked. Almost as an aside, “It’s my fault really, I should have asked.”

“We are known for being some of the best warriors and crafters in the known universe. Unfortunately, everyone hunts to steal our resources or use us for their own ends. My people have been broken and scattered across the dimensions.” Queen Seraphina explained.

“Well, I got some ideas of things I might need.” I told her. “Can you guys weave? That crafter making the armor has mentioned the lack of cloth to me more than once. And I would like another fresh change of clothes. I can’t be wreathed in my root armor all the time.”

“We can.” Queen Seraphina answered. “There are even plants in the garden that would make excellent fiber.”

“Really? Which ones?” I asked, maybe this task wasn’t too far away from being completed.

“The stinky, vision plants.” Queen Seraphina answered.

“Oh, those are my special stock. While we could use them, there is another variety that is actually used for rope and fiber.” I told her. “I’ll work on finding some.”

“There are much resources in the forests surrounding this area that you aren’t using.” Queen Seraphina said.

“I keep getting distracted.” I told her. “There is always something going on. I’ll work on it. In the meantime, could you make a list of the things you are capable of doing? And I’ll check with the town what their current needs are and I’ll see what we can do. See you later.” I told Queen Seraphina as I ducked back out of the dimensional shard.