Romanova and Svechkin exchanged long looks. The Gravekeeper shrugged. What can I do, really? That’s what Cat’s like, a smartass and a scoundrel.
“HotCat, we can’t give you the original blueprints,” the First Maiden said, calm as if talking to a toddler. “This is simply impossible. They are the originals! Without them, the reward line-up won’t be complete. Let me make you as many copies as you want; it’s the same...”
“We were talking about three items,” I retorted. “Any items. No restrictions. Yes, I know what originals are and how they differ from copies. Don’t try to confuse me.”
When negotiating, always ask for more than you want to receive. That is the basics. If you name your true rate, the opponent will start cutting it, and in the end, you’ll get less than you wanted. Ask for more, so you can bargain for what you planned in the first place. I always followed that tactic and rarely got the short end of the stick.
“I can understand the Veils, but why would you need the blueprint for the Shift Module? Have you seen the crafting requirements? The list of components? Even the first crafting chain needs a Magic Inventor, an Artifactor, or a Relictor... Do you even have crafters with these archetypes? I doubt that.”
“What do you have?” I shot back. “A blueprint like this costs millions if offered to the right people.”
“I think I know why Cat needs the Shift Module,” Svechkin said innocently. “Let’s use logic! We have a Grand Temple locked in an Ancient cache on the Paths. We also have strange questions about the Road of Stars, which is only mentioned in the backstory in passing, and a close association with the God of Shadows. I think it all leads up to a legendary quest!”
“True, I need to find a way to move the temple to the Road of Stars,” I confessed. “This is what the blueprint’s for. First, I’ll make a copy, then sell the original. I’ll use the money to find artifactors and materials. Then I’ll build — ”
“Well, if it’s just that...” the First Maiden spoke through her teeth. “If so, it’s simple. We’ll build a Shift Module and give it to you. You’ll continue with your quest, and we retain the original blueprint.”
The complete modules weren’t on the Stronghold reward list. Only blueprints were, and the crafting process was indeed complicated and expensive. The crafting calculator couldn’t even price half of the materials involved, meaning that they had never been for sale. In truth, I had been bluffing when I said that I was going to build it myself. It would have taken a lot of time and energy. I had wanted a finished module from the beginning, but if I led with that, I wouldn’t have achieved anything because you should never beg for anything while trading — you should gradually manipulate your opponent into offering you what you wanted in the first place. It wasn’t hard, as long as you put in some effort.
I resisted for a while to keep up appearances and finally agreed to the proposed terms. Instead of the original Veil Blueprint, I got a thousand amulets (the storage simply didn’t have any more) and blueprint copies allowing me to craft a thousand more. As a bonus, I also got blueprints for ship Veils — only fifty, but that was enough.
Romanova and Svechkin insisted that I pick my third reward as well, but I had to refuse. It depended on further developments. For the time being, I would have my hands full with just two — hopefully, I would find the time to deal with them! I almost physically sensed that I was running out of time to make the planned moves.
It meant that things were working out.
* * *
The Jordi clan turned out to be even better at mining ellurite than I expected. A pile of more than fifty tons of crystallized purified ellurite prepared for sale dominated the cave, ready to be shipped. The same amount of raw stuff was being processed. The dwarves had picked up momentum. While mining ellurite, they also procured other valuable resources: edra, as clear as fishbone, clusters of purple mornlode crystals, viridescent silverite, and crimson lumps of greord. Overall, there seemed to be enough cargo to fill the hold of an astral nave. The biggest challenge was getting all of that fortune to the Bazaar, and if delivering the first batch was already arranged, hauling the rest required solid working logistics. In Helt Akor, that wasn’t really possible without a powerful player raid backing you up.
Djarvi urgently demanded more resources, both manpower and supplies. I got a new list on top of the previous one. Apparently, the young miners developed a taste for it and decided to milk the place for all it was worth. I promised to do everything in my power, of course, but I wasn’t the only one it depended on. Still...
My next destination was the Bazaar.
Interlude: Northerners
Location: Dorsa, Condor, the Watchers’ clan castle
“NEXT CHECKPOINT’S in eight hours, four southern outposts. They leave siege mode almost at the same time, a few minutes apart. We’ll have to pick what to defend. I suggest installing large stonejammers.”
“It’s pointless. First, their range isn’t long. Second, the enemy can arrive via an Astral Portal; we can’t block them.”
“At least we’ll block some of them.”
“Komtur’s right; there’s no point,” Evil Mook said firmly. “We’ll only succeed in restricting our own maneuvers: we can only jump via pentagrams. We could, however, rig the other outposts so that they wouldn’t pull us apart from different sides. We should make everything as hard for them as possible. You’ve already deployed your scouts, I hope? Are the portal masters ready? Have you briefed
