When I returned to Borsdown, I found Servin had returned. The merchant who had accepted my challenge almost half a year ago had brought a pile of vis crystals of all six primal aspects to Safrah and simply dumped them in her hands. My friend was a little overwhelmed with the amount but quickly got to work making the first ingots of thaumium.

She had a list ready with everything Servin had delivered. It looked like he had trouble getting some of the less common aspects. Order, earth and water were all there with 50 each. Fire was just short at 46 crystals. Air was only at 40 and destruction a mere 30. That was still more than I expected but he had failed to procure the limit of 50 for each aspect. Still, he had managed to reduce the price he would buy thaumium at by a decent amount.

Servin visited early the day after I arrived to seal the deal. We invited him to the living room for some tea and got to talking.

“This was kinda tough but very worth it”, the merchant began, “I think I can get more next cycle.”

“I expected less than that, to be honest. How did you get your hands on so many crystals?”

“Haha! A merchant has his ways! On a more serious note, there’s a ton of earth and order all over the Hills. Water is easy too, just need to know the spots. Fire is pretty common to the south where the Denka live. They’ve got to use them for their forges though, so I couldn’t get enough at a reasonable price. There’s an air node at Skybourg. It’s Guardian Drow’s personal node, though, so you can’t buy a ton. Destruction is the hardest. I don’t know a single place with a decent source. What I got was what I could pick up here and there. And that’s only because nobody uses that stuff. I don’t think I can get much more but I asked some of my people to keep an eye out for sources. Maybe we’ll find a major node for it.”

“This is still a ton. Thank you”, Safrah said.

“Right. Now, let’s talk money!”

My friend winced. 266 large vis crystals were a lot of money. 1330 gold coins, to be exact. But I had made a good deal.

“Yes, let’s. How much thaumium have you made already, Safrah?”

“Two ingots. I don’t want to overdo it with the flux.”

“Reasonable. The lowest amount of crystals was destruction at 30. That means you get 15 thaumium ingots at 20 gold per. What about the extra crystals?”

“Yes, that’s what we need to figure out. There are 86 extra crystals. If those were split between the aspects that would be 14 more ingots. Do you think you can make that?”

“If we go one per day, maybe? We’ll need to keep an eye on the flux. How long until you leave Borsdown?”

“Hmm… That’s a little long. We want to leave in two weeks, three at the latest.”

I focused my [Telepathy] to only talk to Safrah.

“We could probably make 5 per day without any real problem. That would mean slowing down your own research, though. What do you think?”

The dwarf blinked at me before answering in her head.

“Really? Umm. I think we can do that. Two per day, at least. That’s not too bad for flux, right?”

“Shouldn’t be. Want to make the offer?”

She nodded before turning to Servin.

“I think we can go for two per day. It will slow down my own projects but you can get your thaumium by the time you leave.”

“Wonderful!”, the merchant exclaimed, “I mean, as long as you’re fine with that.”

“I don’t mind. I have to work on theory a little more, anyway.”

“Okay. Then, payment. Since these weren’t part of the challenge, I am willing to pay the maximum price we agreed on. What do you say?”

I exchanged a glance with Safrah.

“I think that’s fine. 25 gold per thaumium, correct?”

“Yes.”

We looked at Safrah.

“I’m fine with that. What about the payment for the crystals?”

“12 crystals per thaumium at 5 gold each means 60 gold. That’s what you have to add on the ingot price to get to my buying price.”

“… what?”

“That was the agreement. We are providing thaumium at a stable rate in exchange for vis crystals and some extra gold. Servin’s profit margins might be a bit low but they are very secure.”

“Exactly”, the merchant agreed, “I already have a number of artificers willing to pay even 150 gold per ingot. Trust me, I’m making enough of this to make it worth it. Especially considering the low amount of space it’ll take up on my wagons.”

Safrah’s eyes lit up.

“Oh, so that’s how this works. I was confused why you just dropped the crystals without asking for payment.”

“And you still used them.”

“Well, yes. Of course. I did remember we wanted to sell thaumium and with access to praecantatio I could finally start making some.”

I nodded.

“Good thinking.”

“Ahhh. I must say, this is some amazing tea”, Servin said, “Where’d you get it?”

“Serrington. It’s a new product. Being able to fly has its advantages.”

“That it does… I might ask some artificer to develop a flying transporter.”

“I know there’s a personal flying device thaumaturge’s can make. I have no idea how easily you could apply that to a larger scale, though.”

“Interesting… Say, Safrah, was it? Do you want to take commissions?”

“You mean research funds? Potentially. I’m working on aspected cloth at the moment.”

“Aspected… cloth? What does it do?”

“I don’t know, yet. I need to make a loom that can guide the vis in equally. Thaumium is going to be key in doing that.”

“I see. Well, I’m sure you can have something for me when I come back with the next pile of crystals. Do we want to keep the deal going?”

“Like before? Sure. I don’t see why not.”

“That’s fine with me, as well”, Safrah said.

“Alright! This time I’ll beat your challenge!”

I scoffed.

“Better try hard. You’ve got a long way to go!”

Servin and Safrah broke out into roaring laughter. After a moment, I joined in. Even Vivi came down from her workshop to see what was going on. It took a few minutes for everyone to calm down, after which we fell into small talk. Vivi asked me to teach her [Telepathy] but I was not sure if that method would work for her. It was reliant on a certain level of warp and understanding of souls, after all. Maybe Nymph had a ‘normal’ way of teaching the Skill.

The next morning, I was on my way to the quarry. There were a few dwarves currently working there who might be willing to leave the Hills for sufficiently tempting payment. Safrah would get a total of 650 gold coins from the deal on delivery of the thaumium. I had 80 left, myself. I hoped I could convince someone without relying on my friend’s money but she had told me to use it if I wanted. Her argument was ‘I wouldn’t have made this much without your help’ which I somewhat understood but still. The actual work was on her side.

I reached the quarry after a short flight. The guards on the town walls even waved a greeting which I responded to with a hoot. Jorgun Spade, the head of the quarry, was waiting for me with a group of seven others. One of them was Captain Dor, who gave a casual salute when I landed.

“Welcome back to Borsdown, Fio”, he greeted, “How are you doing?”

I connected to everyone with [Telepathy] which the Captain reacted to.

“Ahh, that’s much better than your previous method. [Telepathy] is used by most of the Guardians for a reason.”

“Most?”

“Yes. I heard there are two with a Skill that lets them emulate speech in some way and another one only uses writing.”

“Interesting”, I said and turned to Spade, “It’s been a while. How are you?”

“Quite well, thank you. The quarry is running smoothly with even fewer conscripts. It looks like the Hills are calm, this year.”

The other dwarves nodded.

“Let me introduce you. These are all members of the Gurrin Clan. They came here just after the snow melted. Aside from Fredreck here, everyone else has ruined one too many gemstones and been sent to practice somewhere they can’t damage valuables. Fredreck came along to help teach them.”

“Nice to meet you”, I nodded to them.

“Now, I believe you have an offer. Do you want to use my office?”

“That would be great. Thank you.”

We filed in, Captain Dor bidding goodbye to get back to his own work. The expansion of the city was progressing but they needed more guards to clear the wilderness which he was training.

Stone’s office was an inviting room on the second floor of the quarry facility. A large window let light shed onto a sturdy wooden desk. A pair of chairs were placed next to it. The middle of the room held a coffee table with three couches around it. A dwarf brought in green tea and cups after us. One of the Gurrin asked for ale which prompted a question from Stone if I was fine with them drinking alcohol. I did not mind and soon everyone but me had some. I stuck to my tea.

“Now, what I want from you is a lot of effort. Have you been told anything, yet, or should I start from the beginning?”

“From the beginning is good”, Fredreck said.

I explained how I found a secluded goblin village in the mountains quite a ways east from here and was now helping the establish self-sufficiency. Most of my plans were in their final phase but for long-term development, they needed metalworks.

“And that’s where you come in. I want you to teach the goblins to mine and process ores into metal and basic tools. I was asking around some people from the Denka Clan and was recommended to go to the Gurrin Clan instead. You should be able to teach them everything they need to get started.”

The miners started talking to each other while Stone addressed me.

“Goblins, huh? What are they like?”

“They’re decent folk. A little secluded with their village located in a cave but very friendly to those they accept. I am good friends with a bunch of them.”

“Interesting…”, Fredreck said, “I heard goblins are a little… crafty from time to time. There’s a village that sometimes trades with dwarves but we haven’t accepted any of them into the Hills, as far I know.”

“I haven’t made that experience all that much. They do prefer to speak in their own language rather than Ordugh but they’re learning it now if they didn’t know before. They also just started to learn writing. A friend of mine is helping to teach them. You’ll have to be attentive until they accept you but it should not be much of a problem with me vouching for you.”

“What is their equipment at this point?”

“I got 100 picks from Serrington. A few have dulled while digging out a cave for the farm but most of them are still in working order.”

That evoked a round of nodding and humming.

“A good start. What is their location like? Can they easily start a mine?”

“Sort of? The village is in a large cave connected to a second, slightly larger one with an underground forest. The old tunnel to the ork valley is sealed off with an earth node so you probably don’t want to dig close to there.”

“How deep are they?”

“That, I’m not sure about. Somewhere in the middle of the mountain, I would guess. Lower third probably if you measure from peak to the valley’s ground.”

“That’s good, mhm. What’s the payment and how long is the journey?”

“That is the issue. I don’t know what your work would be worth. The journey is likely three weeks on foot. Maybe even more. The terrain is rough in parts and there might be ork and goblin settlements we have to avoid. I would be escorting you all the way.”

“A good start. Would you escort us back as well?”

“If you believe it necessary after making the trip one way I will.”

“What do you think, everyone?”

I focused on my tea while they discussed with each other. The numbers I heard seemed promising, as in, I should be able to pay them. After around half an hour, they made their counteroffer.

“Alright. We’re interested. Payment for the journey is you escorting us and paying for supplies. For helping the goblins, you pay us ten gold per month, per head. We’ll likely take half a year at least to get them to an acceptable standard and dig out a basic mine.”

“Depending on their Classes”, someone added.

“Right. So, that’s at least 360 gold? Probably. We get the first month before departure and the rest on return. How’s that sound?”

I looked to Stone.

“Is that a fair price?”

“I would say so. The danger is difficult to gauge even with you escorting and vouching.”

“Good. Then, let’s settle for 6 months of teaching them, for now. I don’t know when exactly I am in the village but if I’m there earlier and you want to leave, we can talk about it at that time.”

The Gurrin Clan dwarves looked at each other. After a minute, they came to a silent consensus and nodded.

“We accept!”, Fredreck said, “When do we leave?”

“As soon as possible. The entrance to their caves is inside Stormbringer’s path so we want to reach it before he comes through.”

“Hmm. We need a week to prepare everything.”

“I’ll buy the food for the trip directly. Just tell me what you want. I can carry it as well as a few other items.”

“Good. We’ll make a list of what we need. How about we meet tomorrow morning in front of the facility? Then you can give us the initial payment and we can go buy everything.”

“That sounds good. I will see you tomorrow, then.”

“Indeed.”

With that, they left the office and I sat there for a moment with Jorgun Stone, head of the quarry.

“That’s quite the deal you made there. I wouldn’t have expected them to go for that little gold.”

“Little?”

“Yes. Six months of work with a one month trip one way? Ten gold per month but not for the actual journey? That is very cheap.”

“Why do you think they took it?”

“It sounds like fun. I’d have gone myself if I didn’t have so much work on my plate.”

“Fun”, I scoffed, “As good a reason as any, I suppose.”

“Can you pay them?”

“I can. I might have to sell some extra vis crystals but it won’t be a problem.”

“Good. Well, I will see you tomorrow then. Gotta get back to work.”

“Tomorrow”, I nodded.

I left the room and flew a wide circle around the budding city. A second set of walls had been built around the lake with several buildings being in differing stages of construction all throughout. Roads were being paved and parks set up. For now, it looked like two towns very close to one another but in a year or two, they would probably fuse into one and become an actual city. I was looking forward to it.