naming:
guild house: the building in which all the paperwork concerning the smiting, tailoring, etc. guilds is done. Also the place various goods are stored.
adventurer guild: the building belonging to the (actual) adventurer guild. Serves multiple purposes, is a tavern, you can rent a room, you can trade goods (magical beast related), etc. .
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This world was an amazing place for someone with my cheat. Why? Because of it's economy. There were five types of coins, color coded into red, green, blue , black and white. Red was the lowest value, a “rubin”. How did these coins gain their color? Now that's the interesting part- they were rune devices and would gain their color only when powered with mana. Made from a milky glass, the inside of it was carved. If one wanted to read the engraving, one would have to break the outer coin which, while from glass, was rather robust.. thus destroying the fragile engraving inside. It was a perfectly “safe” method to prevent forgery of money. Or.. it should be.
I could just look through the coin and read the engraving inside. I was able to mass produce money. But that's not what I intended to do.. overdoing it might get me into trouble, and meddling with the economy can have bad consequences. But if I ever got into financial problems..
I had build our sales stand next to the smithy. Probably to prevent fire from spreading, there was a lot of free space around it, and Keith was more than just happy to have us around him. What was I doing in my free time? I taught Quintus and Keith the basics. Math and sciences to be accurate.. at first he didn't quite understand the purpose, but once he understood that math was a “tool” to use everything else.. the speed at which he absorbed new knowledge was.. astonishing.
Keith also was one of my “students”. He wasn't as fast as Quintus, but could use his experience in some cases.. for now, when it came to simple mechanics, they were roughly equal.
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“So, you understand why we have been going through numbers all of this time? Why we didn't build something yet?”
“If we have the numbers, it will be possible to build without even using materials! To know how strong a weapon would be without even firing it!”
“Yes.. but don't forget, this world contains an almost infinite amount of detail.. numbers are, while accurate themselves, but a rough tool to understand the basics. We can calculate how far an arrow should travel, but the wind can mess up those calculations. The second step, after understanding numbers, is to understand the way this world works to then perform calculations based on that, find mistakes, improve the calculations, deepen ones understanding. There is no such thing as perfection. But one can get close to it. And doing so should be the goal of every being able to do so.”
Coincidentally, these words were quite similar to the teachings of the church. Man was to rule supreme and aim to be the strongest. For Keith, this man was an envoy of the divine Vulcan, no doubt.
What did Mana sell? Nothing. A month had almost passed, and the sales stand had remained empty for all of that time. Some people asked the man what he was selling, he would always answer “what do you want me to sell?”. Some responded, some left the crazy man alone.
(A sword that can cut anything.. a medicine to cure all illness.. they mean it as a joke, but I get to know about their desires.. games and toys wouldn't sell in this society, they need free time and money to afford such luxury.. so I should create the means for them to get this free time and money...)
Help: I'm done with the list. Taking into consideration all we've learned so far, those should be the best choices for products.
“Tickatickatickatick..” time was moving forward, and it waited for no one.
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This world had no electricity. But it had runes. And there was one carving that produced an effect that was.. quite useful. When activated, everything in front of the rune was pushed away. Using this force to move the initial cog, a complex machinery was set into motion..
“Zrrrrrrrrr”
(Automatic scissors: success. Will greatly improve shearing speed. There will be a demand by shepherds. A more precise version could be used by humans, but would most likely turn into a luxury good..)
Using a mechanism to power a generator, electricity could be produced.. which would have many applications. But Mana understood that this was an invention that could cause a great deal of trouble, as it went beyond simple ingenuity, made use of a brand new concept.. so the “simple” products were created first.
Mirrors, given Mana's abilities, were easy to produce. A luxury good would become a common one. Windows, something only the church and the nobles were able to afford.. she intended to sell them for a low price, insulating heat better then those currently in use. Using mirrors and lenses, she created telescopes, which would be used by adventurers..
Since it should remain unknown that she had discovered the way the coins worked, Mana created “coin powered” “laser pointers”. Using a red, blue and green coins, resulting in white light, she created the “torchlight”. Humans rarely made use of their mana, this was going to change..
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“This person.. does he believe he can toy with us?! Sold nothing over the entire month?! Didn't earn anything?! And thus does not need to give us anything?!”
“My lord.. it is true, no matter when we had someone check on his sales stand, it was empty.”
“He must be hiding something! Have his belongings checked thoroughly!”
“If this is what you order.. it will be done.”
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“We have been given orders by the lord! The belongings of the merchant known as Deus Machina are to be searched through! He is suspect of undeclared business!”
But when they arrived at the always empty stand.. it had lost it's trademark, was filled with objects of various shapes, one stranger than the other. This was a small village, all guards knew how the stand usually looked like.. thus they were more than surprised by what they saw.
“Ah, it's the guard? What is it? (was about time for them to show up..)”
“We.. have been ordered to look through your goods..?”
“It's all here! If you have questions about anything, I'll answer! But I'm not going to give away my production method.. that's kinda what my whole business relies on.”
They were supposed to search for signs of undeclared transactions, where all the materials he had bought went.. but as he had said, everything seemed to be here..
“This is glass! Where did you purchase it?!”
“Made it myself. There is enough sand in the ground.. I'm allowed to proceed the materials I earned however I want to no?”
“Well.. that is true... but..”
“Even if I bought it, I'm supposed to report the profit I made, not my expenses. As you can see, I kept everything.. I had to build all of this first, it took quite some time. You understand?”
“Well.. it does seem to be alright.. but.. what do these things do?”
“Ah, so you're interested? They serve various purposes.. this for example.. I call it the telescope.. if you want to know what it does, just look through this end..”
Somewhat hesitant, the guard captain took the device and held it onto his right eye..
“This is! How.. but..”
Taking it away, putting it back..
“This shows me a location much further away! What is this?!”
“Like I said, I call it a telescope.. and what you just described is its purpose and function. Vision is something important, improving ones overview of a situation has a variety of advantages.. I created it with adventurers in mind, so that they could spot danger from further away, but I assume the guard would also profit from it?”
“Hey captain, can I have a look?”
“Me too!”
...
“And.. those other things?”
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“Well.. this is a torchlight.. I thought, those coins glow when you put mana into them right? So, if I guided this light.. well, this will be hard to really demonstrate in broad daylight.. But basically it's a torch powered by mana. This is a device to lit a fire. Point it at a piece of wood, power it with mana, wait.. see, it caught fire. I guess it could also be used as a weapon.. that would be quite conditional, it only works on a certain distance..”
They.. didn't know how to react. What was this situation! Did they meet.. did they meet an.. no.. that couldn't be right?? They stared at the small man in front of them.
“Ehm.. for.. for how much do you intend to sell those goods?”
“Ah, I thought a few nelar for each. They are made from steel, that material is somewhat expensive.. do you intend to buy something?”
“I.. will think about it.”
“Well, I'd be glad to have you as my patron!”
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“You are telling me that he just started selling? And his goods are producing miracles?”
“My lord, I don't know how else I could describe it! It's.. it's beyond my understanding!”
“(“Beyond my understanding”.. ts, that's what I get for hiring loyal idiots.. they've probably been tricked by some scam.. no choice..) I will have to look at this matter myself.”
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“Ah, it's the captain again! And this is his lordship? What a rare blessing!”
“I heard you are some kind of miracleworker? I'd like to have a look at your goods myself.”
(They sure do look mysterious.. steel and glass, using expensive materials to impress people.. this won't work on me.. now, let's see what you have..)
“So his lordship wishes to have a look at my goods? Is there something specific his lordship is interested in?”
“This.. telescope, was it?”
“The telescope would be this device.. his lordship has already been informed on how it is to be used?”
“Yes.”
...
“This.. hmm..”
“Is there a problem?”
..
“You may cease this trickery at once, explain how you are doing this!”
“I can guarantee his lordship that there is no trick behind this! I invented this device, it functions, there is nothing else to say about it!”
(I don't know how you are doing this, but I will find out!)
“I'd like to see the other goods..”
“Of course!”
...
“What are the guards doing over there.. and his lordship?! Could it be that man ran into serious trouble?”
“Hey, let's have a look..”
...
“Well, this concludes it for the goods I have on display.. but if it is his lordship, I think that I could demonstrate a have a few things that I set aside..”
(This.. it can't be real right? What kind of person is this man??)
“rrr.. rrr.. Tickatickatickatick..”
“And.. what is this?”
“It's a clock. A device made to measure time. It has been decorated to look better, but that aside, all it does is measuring time. The larger metal arm, I call it pointer, will make exactly two turns within a day as long as the device is wound up from time to time. The smaller one will turn exactly sixty times for each marking passed by the larger one, there are twelve markings, so seven hundred and twenty turns during half a day. And the smallest one will turn sixty times in the time it takes for the middle sized one to turn once.”
There was no response, all that could be heard was the ticking of the clock.. and the murmur of the crowd that had gathered around the stand.
“I.. apologize for having doubted you.”
“There is no need for his lordship to apologize.. I am but a simple craftsman.”
With those words, instantly, the crowd went silent.
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According to the teachings of the “one”, Vulcan was the envoy of crafting. Said to have forged mountains, build forests.. he came after the “beginning” had created the world, and gifted with the force of the divines, he shaped this world into what it looks like today. Even after his initial work was completed, he walked the world, teaching the ways of “art” to everyone. Whenever he was praised for his work, his answer had been: “I am just a simple craftsman”, he despised being treated like a divine being. After having left behind the basic techniques, he disappeared.
His first emissary was not a man, but a tool.. the hammer mjolnr, said to have been the hammer he used to create this world. But it had been taken by the dwarves! For all believers of the “one”, it was something beyond desirable.. but with the dwarves hiding in their mountains, far away from the empires border...
Could it be that after all this time, another emissary appeared?? Within their empire no less?!?
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(Looks like this cult is going out of control.. )
As the teachings said that Vulcan despised to be treated like a divine, they tried to hold their emotions back.. but the look in their eyes betrayed them.
“Well, there is quite a crowd.. one of you wants to buy something?
...
“Could.. could we really?”
“Those are tools, they are meant to be used! If you have the money and want it, buy it!”
Everything was sold. No one left without having bought at least one “divine artifact”. Mana spend hours explaining the purpose and usage of certain items, cashing in money.. the lord had decreed him to be exempted from the tax due to his contribution to the village.
(I made quite the profit.. and given the mindset of the people in this village, I'll get to do whatever I feel like.. still, a divine being? Well.. I shouldn't get too careless. Times in which a lot of things change are dangerous.. it's hard to make predictions.)
...
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Aynors guild house:
“A request from the lord of Aspertia? A... a ton of steel?!? Why would he purchase this?? This.. wouldn't this amount to all of his family's assets?? No.. it would be even more! There has too be some kind of mistake.. but this is his official seal.. send a letter back, I want to have this matter confirmed.”
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Aspertia, the lords residence:
“This seals the contract. From now on traders are forbidden from entering the village unless they are to deliver steel to us. If word of the envoy spreads across the land, he will be taken away by the capital! We must make use of the blessing of his presence while it lasts!”
The three noble families residing in Aspertia, the traders,adventurers and the artisans guild, and the higher-ups of the church present in their small village, they had all agreed on this matter. For as long as he didn't want to leave, that craftsman had to stay here at all cost. Only then would they be able to sell the goods he created to other settlements for a high price. The priest was convinced that they should not loose the blessing of this divine being, and the guilds were after the money, like the noble families.. to make this come true, they had come together in this almost historical meeting to join their assets to make the best of this situation.
Doing so was an incredibly risky move, success was far from guaranteed.. but they were blinded by fanaticism. They would grant this divine being everything it desired. And they would be rewarded for doing so. Thus was their conviction.
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(I wonder what else I should create.. looks like I'm allowed to do pretty much anything.. should I create something.. bigger? For now.. everything seems to go as planned..)