I returned to Avalon Academy, exhausted but fully healed as I let my glove use the ambient mana to heal me. It was clear that I needed to create mana batteries, but they were cost-prohibitive. My glove was expensive to make. I’d need metal or something more conductive if I wanted to make mana batteries that were actually worth carrying around. For that, I’d need money.
I showered and plopped down onto my bed for a nap. Just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard the door swing open and steps marching up to my bedroom. Siegfried poked his head in and immediately tried to duck out again. I sighed.
“Siegfried, it’s alright. Did you set a meeting?” He nodded.
“Yes, milord… For about a half hour from now," he said, abashed. I swung my legs out of bed and sat up.
“A half hour from now? It’ll take me almost that much time just to get there,” I grumbled, and Siegfried nodded.
“Yes, my lord. I think that may have been the point,” He said. I shook my head with disgust before donning fine clothes and a cloak of deep purple that made me look magical–in my opinion, anyways.
I tugged on the glove, grabbed my schematics and the sending stones, then bid Siegfried goodbye.
“Be careful, Magnus,” Siegfried said with a rare breach of etiquette, “I don’t think she’s playing around, this one. When I found her, it was because other merchants were referring me to the whale.” He pressed a piece of parchment into my hand with directions on how to get to her house.
I lingered at the door for a moment, considering his words. I gave Magnus’ servant a warm smile before turning to hide how quickly it faded, some guilt appearing as he clearly cared for the man whose body I inhabited.
“Not to worry, Siegfried, but I appreciate the concern. If she’s the whale, then I’m the shark. I’ll be fine,” I left the apartment and traveled down the cobbled street.
My wounds still weren’t fully healed from the gnolls’ savaging of my limbs, but they had stopped bleeding and would likely be fine in the morning. That was important for what I had planned for the students.
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Some minutes of walking later, I found myself walking up to a finely constructed building some streets away from the market I normally haunted. The building was made of white stone with a large, arched window on either side of the door. The white stone was accented with ornate gold filigree around the windows and at the corners of the walls.
The door was elevated with three steps leading up to it, guards standing on either side of the door at the ground level. Above the door was the golden head of a whale–I guess she really liked to lean into the reputation.
As I approached, the guards gave me a level stare.
“Business, traveler?” One asked, his helm covering much of his face. On each guard’s chest was a stylized depiction of a whale with golden coins shooting out of its blowhole. I sighed.
“I’m here to see the whale,” I said. One of the guard’s eyes narrowed.
“The Gilded Lady does not enjoy being referred to as the whale,” he said warningly. Now I was annoyed.
“What? But there’s a literal whale statue above the door! And her emblem is the whale on your chest!” I protested. The other guard looked at me with something akin to mercy and jumped in.
“The whale is a reference to her first great triumph. Lisia Vox, the Gilded Lady, lived on a Realm with lots of water and started selling whale-based products. She took the logo even when she traveled up to Avalon’s Realm–word of advice: don’t call her that.”
I nodded with appreciation.
“Thanks for the context, that explains it much better. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind as I go in,” I said genuinely, taking a pointed step past the guards and opening the door. Neither guard stopped me, but rather returned to their post and let me continue.
I moved into the building, pausing for a moment to bask in its splendor. The inside of the building was even richer than the outside: marbled floors streaked with gold in intricate patterns occupied every room. Every piece of furniture had gold trim and expensive looking statuettes and paintings adorned every wall. As much excess as there was, it was tastefully done.
Everything overwhelmed the senses without assaulting them, and I was left in awe of the designer’s ability. The building put some of the gods’ domains to shame, honestly. Walking forward, I stopped in front of a table where a small woman sat with stacks of paper.
“I’m here to see Lisia Vox,” I offered, doing my best to strike a confident image. The woman nodded without looking up, pulled a sheet of paper out from the middle of the stack, and then stamped a stylized whale onto it, signing beneath it. She thrust it out to me and I took it, bemused, before she jerked her thumb back towards a hallway.
I shook my head and smiled, walking to the hallway without a word. As I walked down it, I glanced at the portraits along the wall. Several were scrystones, stone tablets that had divination magic capture an image on their surface. I saw a beautiful woman with an hourglass figure standing beside numerous, presumably famous, individuals. I stopped and my eyebrows rose as I saw Merlin in one of them. At least I know why the Whale comparison is angering–she’s the furthest thing from a whale I could think of.
I reached the end of the hallway and stepped into what could only be described as a throne room. A lavish rug laid across the entire room, and my eyes were drawn to its garish color. Of all the decorations in the building I’d seen thus far, this was by far the worst. It was like a magnet for the eyes, but I understood why after I tore my attention from it.
Atop the throne sat a grotesque humanoid blob. A moment later, I realized that it was a woman. She was easily 600 pounds and had rolls of fat on top of her rolls of fat–she looked more like a Gluttonous Demon than she did a human. She had stringy brown hair that hung over the sides of her face, and her sausage-like fingers were squeezed tight with ill-fitting rings. I bowed down once before facing her, keeping any disgust from my face.
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Just as I opened my mouth, she interrupted.
“Ah, Mister Professor, I was counting on your prompt arrival! I can already tell you are a shrewd and observant businessman who would no doubt benefit from dealing with a beauty such as I,” She said, her voice surprisingly high for a woman of her size.
“Of course, Madame Lisia, it would be an honor to do business with an esteemed merchant such as yourself,” I said, smiling graciously. Lisia chuckled, her whole body wobbling softly.
“Down to business–we can save the pleasure for later,” She winked a fat eyelid at me, and I bottled up the urge to grimace.
“Your manslave mentioned that you were in need of two enchanters and two alchemists. I’m telling you now that you will cancel any future meetings you have for these purposes–you will deal only with me now if you have something as revolutionary and useful as your servant claimed. If you have told tall tales, you will deal with no one at all…” She threatened, her voice still just as pleasant as it had been a moment ago.
“I’m happy to do that if these deals are half as lucrative as they should be,” I said, smiling and pulling out my modified sending stones.
“These, my dear, are the future of communication across vast distances. I’ve seen the linked signal bells that the mayor uses, and I’m relatively familiar with the other technologies available around the realms,” I stated confidently. Her face shifted as her eyebrows raised.
“Oh? And how exactly did a no-name professor of combat magic come across such a design?” She asked.
“I didn’t come across it anywhere–I’ve designed it myself,” I said, refraining from mentioning that it was technically a design stolen from someone that died numerous apocalypses before, “As far as I’m aware, I’m the first person to think of this in all the existing realms.” Again, not technically a lie. Her eyes narrowed.
“Explain it to me, then, oh handsome professor,” She commanded. I set the smooth relay stone onto the ground, the one with the more intricate engravings.
“Tell me first, are you familiar with Sending Stones, Madame Vox?” I asked. She nodded, snorting.
“Please, of course I am familiar. I’ve had several pairs made for my most important employees.” I nodded.
“Well, I have revolutionized the design,” I bragged, pulling out two of the improved Sending Stones, what I called the transmitters.
“These transmitters are not required to be made in pairs. The enchantments on them, the runic patterns, are configured so that they will refresh and pair with any relay stone they touch,” I demonstrated, tapping two of the stones down to the relay. I tossed a stone up to her, my aim impeccable. It landed right onto the folds of her belly, and I briefly considered if that was insulting before pushing past and continuing on as she grabbed it with pudgy hands.
Impressed, yet? Call in one of your employees, I transmitted mentally, and she perked up as my voice appeared in her mind. She reached into a compartment on the throne and touched something.
In response, the door opened and another servant appeared as though by magic. Given the city we were in and the considerable wealth of the woman in front of me, it very well might have been.
I tossed him a stone as well, and he caught it.
Madame Lisia, you’re welcome to try it out, I prompted her.
Gerald! Can you hear me? Lisia blasted over the connection, and Gerald winced. That wince was all the confirmation Lisia needed, and she laughed uproariously.
“Brilliant! An excellent party trick,” She said, “But how practical is it for other uses? Are there range limitations?” She asked. This was a tricky question, but I’d considered carefully how to answer.
“With this current iteration? I believe they need to be only in the same realm as the target. I have not tested it on other realms,” I said, one hundred percent confident that this was exactly correct. Lisia nodded.
“Hmm… This would be invaluable for many, many professions. It would allow for direct communication on the battlefield, any command hierarchy would benefit from it,” She mused quietly.
“No point bidding against myself, right?” She winked. “What do you want?”
I paced back and forth, more out of looking for movement in the room than for nerves. I stroked my stubble.
“I’d like a down payment of 100,000 gold for the exclusive rights to sell this product and all future iterations of it created by me, a personal shopper for myself and my students, 10% more than your standard royalty or share of revenue given to engineers whose products you sell, and I want access to each of your black markets,” I rattled off after a few moments of calculations. Lisia’s beady eyes bulged out of her skull.
“Oh, you are incorrigible! Take me out to dinner before you screw me–or don’t, I don’t mind!” She winked at me, and I resisted a shudder. “I can’t do it,” She said easily, spreading her arms placatingly.
“First off, you can. Second, what’s your counter?” I questioned. She smiled, all teeth and no eyes.
“I’ll do 10,000 gold upfront and you leave these stones. I’ll trust that the engineers on my staff can replicate them, and in turn you’re 10,000 gold richer and leave here alive,” She leaned forward slightly, hunger in her beady eyes. I refused to move in a way that suggested I was scared.
I whispered a few words in the language of the air elementals, and a sudden breeze ripped through the room. The wind ripped the stones from Lisia’s and her servant’s hands and returned them to my own. I smiled, the wind fading away, and then brought them together sharply.
There was a large CRACK! noise as the stones shattered against each other, and I stomped on the relay with a heavy foot. Lisia’s eyes widened with horror.
“How did you do that?! I have this whole room enchanted to nullify most magic,” She protested, bewildered.
“Magic? That was just a bit of a strange wind,” I replied innocently, “wind that seemed to like me a bit more than you. If I were you, though, I’d reconsider my position.”
She leaned back, her eyes appraising me.
“Fine. I must admit, my handsome new friend, you’re certainly more delicious than I’d believed,” She licked her lips, “My new counter: 40,000 gold upfront and no revenue. The other items in your demand are reasonable enough.”
I shook my head and turned to leave.
“No deal. I want at least 100,000 gold. I’ll forego the royalty if that makes it more palatable to you, though. Only on this product,” I offered, my final play. She feigned indecision, but I had her and I knew it. She stood to gain untold riches from this product–that is, she would if I didn’t already have the design for ten improvements in my mind. She’d sell enough here to make her money back, then I’d come back to her with an improvement and a new deal.
“Deal,” She said finally. I nodded.
“I’ll send Siegfried by later tomorrow for the contract. It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Silvia,” I said, smiling at her.
“You don’t want to stay for dessert? I can be quite delicious myself, you know,” She teased me, giving me her best attempt at a seductive smile. I shook my head, doing my best to look sad.
“I’m touched, my dear, but I have appointments to cancel,” I said. “I’ll collect the gold upfront?”
“Yes, yes, I suppose you can have 10,000 gold upfront as a show of good faith. You can have the rest after I get my contract. Maybe you’ll change your mind about the meal.”
I doubted it. I had no appointments, but I did have a class to prepare for.