Nick turned his attention to the station avatar after Frederick closed the door to the bedroom of the cottage. It was more of a blob than anything due to its barely recognizable features and it was creepy after more than a passing glance. The first thing Nick did was find the race setting and adjust it to human. The avatar instantly shifted into a new form that was clearly human but still bland and hard to look at.
Nick took several minutes to adjust sliders and settings to create the avatar into something a bit more comforting. He modeled it after the concept of a friendly old man that might be found as the keeper of some archive of magical knowledge in some of the video games he previously played.
The end result was a white haired elderly man wearing a thick gray cloak, with glasses on the tip of his nose, and a warm smile. Nick nodded, satisfied with his changes. The last thing he could set was a name. He gave it quite a bit of thought before entering the name ‘Vander’.
"Alright Vander, I guess I need whatever serves as the dummy's guide to station nodes."
"Very well sir. I believe it best if we start from the beginning.”
Vander lifted his hand and a screen materialized depicting a birds-eye view of a building that looked identical to the station building Nick entered when first arriving in Proelium. Vandar began narrating in a voice that matched his persona as a wise scholar.
“The stations were forged during the creation of Proelium. The Pantheon of Ancients gave life to the sapient species and allowed them to gain classes and skills from the stations to help them prosper and grow."
The video shifted to show the figure dressed in armor and holding a spear.
"The stations reward those that achieve in their classes. The rewards are generous to those that make a mark on the world."
The spearman was shown on a battlefield stabbing enemies and as the images flickered by he became more proficient. He was moving at inhuman speeds and releasing blasts of energy into his opponents which became hard to track.
"The rewards vary greatly but they are always powerful and make those who wield them powerful in might or influence. “
The spearman was depicted standing on a battlefield overlooking countless slain enemies. The spear they held was shimmering with power and magic.
“The stations provides services beyond rewarding achievements. They contain more mundane functions to facilitate trade and commerce, but as importantly functions that encourage exploration and adventure. Proelium is filled with dangerous creatures and monsters that roam in countless numbers. The stations reward those who seek to civilize the wild areas above and below the surface. The corpses of non-sapient creatures can be sold to the station for coins to reward those that adventure and conquer the untamed frontiers. The higher the threat level of the creature, the more coins will be rewarded. Additionally, currency is regulated by the stations and comes in four units: Copper, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The smaller denomination takes 100 to equal the larger with copper being the least valuable and platinum being the most."
The images shifted back to the station. Large groups of people and goods were entering and leaving. There were also corpses of various types being hauled inside by carts and people.
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
"The Solis station operates differently. There is no permanent structure but you can summon a temporary station entrance to move goods and allow others to access the station network."
The images showed holographic doors grow until they solidified and a group of people entered. Then the doors shrunk back down again until they disappeared.
Nick was astounded by the information. It seemed the stations were incredibly complex. He immediately recognized the importance of taking the time to understand as much as he could about the options and how they impacted his skill. One thing was clear to him though: he needed coins for any of it to matter.
Vander waited patiently for Nick to digest the information before continuing.
"As mentioned, the station network facilitates transportation and trade across all of Proelium. This is achieved by the transportation function to move between station nodes and the global market that enables free trade across all stations."
With another wave of his hand Vander summoned a screen with a huge amount of text. It was constantly updating with market listings and their bids in real time.
"Your station node provides access to the station market. Transportation is a core feature to allow goods and people to traverse between stations. It should be noted, distance between nodes will affect the taxes applied by the station for transport."
"How do taxes apply?" Nick inquired as he looked over the constantly updating list of bids displayed for weapons, armors, equipment, food stuffs, all manner of services, contract workers for hire, and surprisingly slaves. Some of the types of species and creatures listed were recognizable to him from folklore but many were a complete mystery.
"The station requires a tax on all transactions, but moving more volume at a time offers a scaling discount. The cost per unit of goods decreases as more are added. For example, for one unit it may be a 1 silver tax charge per unit but for one hundred units it could be 90 copper per unit. Depending on the skills and level of the merchant, the value of the goods, and the type of transaction the charges will fluctuate. Typically central locations are designated within regions to move the largest armies and supplies to cut down on station taxes."
Nick ran a hand through his shaggy hair as he digested the information. He realized he had a ton to learn about his new world. He was even more thankful to have encountered Frederick and it made him realize Hez may have planned it that way from the start. She said she could affect fate in some ways and it seemed improbable he would be sent to a station at random. There was too much risk in that based on what he had learned from Fredick and simply looking at the variety of species flickering on the auction. If his first encounter was some creature out of a storybook he doubted things would have ended well.
Nick drummed his fingers on the bench in thought. He knew if he was going to make something of himself in his new life in Proelium he would need to learn how to start earning some coins. He also knew it would be a long road until his skill would show its true value but he wasn't in a rush. He smiled to himself as he realized how much potential he had to impact the world despite not being any kind of warrior or mage. And if Vander was telling him the truth, impact was how achievements were earned which could result in some powerful rewards.
Nick looked back at Vander and nodded in determination. "Vander can you help me sort the market and query for specific goods."
"Yes, as the owner of the node I can assist you directly with market transactions; others are limited to using station terminals."
Nick smiled again as he realized access to a station avatar would be invaluable to him as a merchant. He stretched before releasing an unexpected yawn. He hadn't realized how exhausted he had become and was sure it was in no small part due to the shocking events that transpired over the last few hours.
"Thank you Vander, we have a long journey ahead of us it seems."
Vander nodded his head and disappeared, understanding he was being dismissed. Nick could feel there was a partial mental connection between them that made verbal commands unnecessary for simple requests.
Nick settled in for the night in front of the warm fireplace with a small smile on his face despite the stressfulness of everything he knew he would have to face. He was worried he might have trouble sleeping but he soon drifted off into a dreamless sleep.