Visiting Talabecland always felt strange. It felt..friendly, for the lack of another word. Or perhaps homely?

Maybe it was the wild forests, or perhaps the ubiquitous Cult of Taal and Rhya , also known as the Father and Mother of Creation.

The province itself was named after Taal, while the capital Talabheim was nested inside a giant crater, only accessible via a fortified tunnel, for the unfortunate people devoid of flight.

The prevalent poverty didn't sit well with me though, so I began to change this.

The Taal Great Road would increase commerce and give work to lots of people, as would the hundreds of minor foundries and mines sponsored by the Amber Order.

Donations to the Cult should help as well, especially the monasteries that accepted orphans.

Even 20000 gold coins were not enough to raise this province from poverty, but my help should be felt for a decade at least.

The last 5000 gold were spent on the city of Marienburg, mostly to create a larger trade fleet, and several warships to protect said trade. The province had just separated from the Empire via a generous bribe to the Emperor, which was clever of them, but not conductive to survival.

Sometimes the locals pretended they existed in a world without Dark Gods, vampires and necromancers.

It took a dozen public defenestrations to change the mood somewhat, plus a few raids through the smuggling dens and other criminal underground factions, including some Skaven rats. I gathered a thousand dead bodies, human, rats and some other species and burned them in the main square, as a decent reason for punishing corruption and bribery.

The smuggled goods were donated to the local Secretariat for Trade Equity, while I kept the gems and metals for my own use. Not the Skaven's warpstone though, those bits I threw into outer space, with sufficient velocity to achieve orbital lift-off.

Escorting a few trade fleets to Bretonnia and Estallia gave me the first sight of the maritime predators, krakens and monsters of all sorts, plus pirates, be they human, dark elves or even undead.

My pouch of copper coins was extremely useful in dealing with such dangers from far away. A simple copper coin flicked at Mach 30 becomes a ball of green copper plasma, quite effective at destroying most things. The krakens got away missing a few limbs, the pirate ships just exploded in beautiful fireworks.

I may not be a Fire Wizard, but I guess my plasmaballs were even more powerful than regular Fireballs.

A year later, a newly elected Marienburg Elector asked to be received back into the Empire of Man, and the problem was solved. The trade must go on.

Collecting some gold from the pirates allowed me to fund the road to Ostermark, albeit a small version only 10 meters wide. Still much better than the poor roads used by the Empire, but not my desired standard. Oh well. There was still time.

Sadly, the work on better gunpowder didn't progress as well, even with the efforts of the Gold Order and the Nuln School of Gunnery. The first rifles did emerge though, to be followed soon by rifled cannons, especially valuable for warships and siege artillery. Better range and penetration would help the Empire reach more distant enemies, or pierce through thicker armor or walls.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Even the newest gunpowder, while still black as coal, was slightly more potent and less foul. Then again, it took my former world centuries to achieve Poudre Blanche, the first smokeless powder. The new Minnie ball type bullets did work better too, reaching better range and a flatter trajectory.

Thus, when I returned to my Reikland cabin and found a bear sleeping on my floor I wasn't really upset. "Free food, right?" I asked the bear while holding him by the scruff of his neck.

'Hard Paw! I brought you amber!' the bear explained with a sleepy growl. Indeed, several bits of precious amber, including one bigger than my head were revealed under the bear.

I sighed inward. "And what do you want for it?" I asked in a suspicious voice.

'Food! Maybe honey?' the bear demanded with no shame.

The two guilty boys were not around, but I had a suspicion who taught the bear to search for amber.

"Put the bear down, Pef." Martak said in a calm voice.

I set him down, gently. It would probably be painful to be held by your skin when you weighed half a ton.

'Many thanks, Wild Master!' the bear offered to my teacher with a grateful growl.

"I solved the thing in Marienburg." I announced in a flat voice.

"Yes, the entire Empire knows about the flying Wizard that burned a thousand men in Marienburg. The Amber Order has decided you're strong enough to become a proper Amber Wizard." my teacher said with a mild voice.

"What? I barely know a dozen spells!" I protested in outrage.

'Strong!' the bear added his opinion.

"You're not a child anymore, Pef. With Taal himself looking after you, and the Ghur blessing in your body, you will live for thousands of years. Probably much more." Martak explained in a calm voice.

I sighed inward. Reaching childhood's end was kinda sad. "All right. I am a Wizard now. Can I get the beacon thing now?"

Martak shook his head in amusement. "Just keep a bird or something nearby. You don't need a special spell to alert you if they lit a beacon."

I pouted. I kinda hoped there was a fancy Amber spell that would ping me for a beacon.

"Thor and Odin are also promoted to apprentice. They rode this bear home." Martak pointed at the guilty bear, who pushed a bit of amber towards me like an offering.

Fine! They could keep the bear then. "No eating the kids, hear me? I can make new boots from your skin..."

The bear looked at me with a sheepish face. 'Grom smart!'

Way too smart, if you ask me.

"So what now?" I asked my (former) teacher.

"Find your place in the world, just like any shaman. And take your apprentices with you." the Wizard muttered as he entered his cave.

Great. I was kicked out!

I glanced outside, and the gold pile barely held 100 Imperial Crowns or so. I wouldn't starve...