There's no way we can out run this thing, thought Krajek, watching the precious lead they had on it evaporate quickly even though the creature had to deal with obstacles like trees, rocks and the swampy terrain.
He kept giving it everything he had, running until they reached an area where the trees were thinner. Once there, Krajek stopped and focused, taking out a large object from his spatial realm. As he jumped into the grumbling beast, he called out to his companion. "Mordain, get in!"
Already running, the Jeep roared to life when Krajek slammed his foot on the gas and went by Mordain, slowing down for a moment to give the man a chance to jump in.
It was astounding to him how Mordain could be so athletic and fast, even while wearing armor that heavy.
His friend's face displayed apprehension and worry at boarding the strange contraption but the hydra served as enough motivation to get him to jump in through the window. He wished he could have gotten a wrangler or a TJ but the damn things were still selling for north of ten thousand.
His friend now in the passenger seat, Krajek gunned it. The tires spun a bit but the four wheel drive system kicked in and traction was produced.
This old Jeep liberty hadn't cost too much but Krajek also didn't have very high expectations for it. It was mechanically sound but had some issues before it could pass a safety. Thankfully, this world did not require safeties, insurance or anything else for that matter.
The terrain was rough and made the suspension rock back and forth, making the two of them really feel it inside the jeep.
Thankfully, the Jeep stayed in one piece and managed to outspeed the hydra. As they crested a small incline , a somewhat clear path was available to them on the other side, which Krajek gladly took. There, on the beaten path, the vehicle was able to achieve its real speed even speeding past Aexia.
Seeing the strange machine drew her curiosity and she made an approach towards it, increasing her speed and llanding on the roof.
Seeing her, Krajek lowered the backseat window and shouted at her. "There! In the back, try to fly in!"
It took her three attempts but she finally made it on the third pass, landing sprawled out on the back seat. "I have sooo many questions right now." she muttered, taking in the sight that was the interior of the vehicle.
Krajek watched from the rear view mirror as the creature became smaller and smaller, finally losing it before replying. "Well the plan right now is to survive, don't have the luxury to play fifty questions."
Mordain broke the awkward silence. "I don't think we can defeat it, not without considerable effort and losses."
"Yeah that's a nope from me as well. Someone else's problem. We got the necromancer, this thing will undo itself soon right?" added Krajek, still driving fast just in case.
Alexia shook her head sideways. "No, this is different. It's a ritual summon, likely took a few month's worth of mana. That creature is permanently bonded to this realm now, like a living thing. I'll need to notify the guild so they can send out a party for its destruction."
Another possibility arose however, she hadn't considered it at first but it was within the realm of reason that some latent power from Zankas was what allowed the necromancer to harness such high volumes of mana. She'd have to come do a thorough study later but for now it was crucial that she stuck with Krajek.
"Can it track us?" Asked Krajek, worriedly.
She pondered for a brief moment before making a determination. "No. It will likely rampage around this area, try to find food first and make a nest. On another note, this is quite comfortable. Much better than a carriage and quite faster judging from the scenery I see pass by. How long can you maintain this pace?"
"Some hours before I need to add...energy back to it. We'll be back at the capital before then."
Alexia grunted her acknowledgement and began looking more closely at the vehicle. The large seat she was on was a strange material, like some kind of cloth. It was soft and uniform. She could not grasp how artisans might have made it into one single piece like this, with no seams seen anywhere. Her attention then drifted to the front, where she saw strange hollow holes and various instruments. Krajek looked over them and his hands moved expertly whenever he needed to adjust something.
She had initially thought this to be as fast as a horse but then she was surprised when they passed next to a deer, scarring the poor beast but also blazing by it as if it was standing still. If Krajek's country, nay his world, had many of these, they could easily provide logistics and bring troops to any location in record time.
She had had plenty of time to think about the situation and had to resign herself to her decisions and actions. If Krajek was truly an emissary and he brought back word of his treatment in a negative light, she would have to give herself up to their justice, to prevent all out war. Still, it seemed unlikely, as Krajek clearly had the power to stop and go back to his own world at any time.
A screeching sound made her shoot her arms up and she brought her hands to block her ears. "What is this infernal racket?!" she screamed.
"Ah my bad, I was trying to see if the radio worked. Figures it doesn't. I'll have to put a cd in. Never bought many cd's, usually keep the music on Spotify in my phone so this Gorillaz cd will have to do."
Music? Who would be making the music in this vehicle, Mordain? She did not take him to be a musician. The static was soon replaced by an odd vibration and then some type of stringed instrument began taking over the hum of the vehicle, masking the noise from its wheels on the road.
It was unlike anything she had ever heard before. She obviously could not understand the lyrics but the rhythm of the whole thing felt nice. It stood very apart from classical music, at least the type played she went to an event that her title entitled her to go every so often in the city. Her curious nature began to bug her however and she found herself unable to continue enjoying the music. How was the sound benign created? Was the vehicle embedded with a magical device that could produce it? Was this the only music of their world? The quest for knowledge gnawed at her until she could suffer no more.
"Please, I must know more. Can you explain these...things?" She practically begged, adding an inflection of pleading in her voice.
"What things? That's very broad of a statement." Came back Krajek's reply.
"Everything I'm unfamiliar with of course! Everything from your world, your country. How does it work? Who made it? Why and how did they make it?"
"I suppose I can tell you a few little things. Uhh, well the music for starters. This is a group I like. They uhhh, get into a room and turn on a device that takes a recording of the sounds, the music, they make. Another device then makes a copy of what it recorded and the process is repeated many times, until those copies end up in the hands of people like me. We pay for these. The actual specifications as to how sound is produced is beyond me. I know there are speakers, small round shaped diaphragms that vibrate and emit sound but that's about as far as I know."
Aexia chewed on the answer with dissatisfaction. Every answer only brought more questions!
The rest of the drive was relatively quiet, time was spent enjoying the scenery and relaxing, which proved to be harder than initially thought of due to being offroad.
Some short distance from the city, Krajek stopped on the side of the road. "Alright, everyone out."
As quickly as it had come into the world, the vehicle was gone, vanished back into some other dimension. Aexia sighed and started walking, following behind the two.
Entering the influence of the city, they set out directly towards the palace, intent on wrapping things up as quickly as possible.
Stopped by the palace guards, Aexia moved on ahead and approached the taller one. Upon seeing and recognizing her, the guard saluted, letting them through.
"Alright. Just wait here, I'll go secure us an audience." Aexia said as she left the two in the main reception hall.
Aexia left for a brief moment and reemerged with a well dressed man, who guided them to another part of the palace.
Moving rapidly though the palace, the servant finally led them to a pair of doors that opened unto a large open area. In the middle of the room, a large white piano served as the centerpiece and the emperor was sitting at it playing a soft melody.
His eyes changed when he spotted them and they widened in surprise. The servant then announced them.
"The Exalted of Kaden, Lady Aexia, with the new empire mage." The servant said as he bowed and took his leave.
The emperor ceased playing and stood up, facing them. "I see you've returned. I trust you were successful in your mission?" His gaze landed and lingered on Mordain.
"Indeed. Krajek has managed to defeat the necromancer on his own." Replied Aexia, drawing the Emperor's eyes.
"Truly? Excellent, you will make a fine addition to the empire as I expected. Make sure our new mage stays alive, Mordain."
"Are we free to go then?"
"Naturally. Please go see the minister before you leave however. She has something for you. If I may have a minute of your time, privately, lady Aexia."
Taking the cue, Krajek left the room and headed for the minister's office. A few corridors and staircases later, he found himself in the small office.
Upon seeing both of them, the minister retrieved a small package from a desk drawer. "Ah, yes. Here you go. Your insignia ring indicating you are an imperial mage. You will however, be on probation for a year. Also included is your first stipend, 1 gold coin due to your rank."
"Probation?! Didn't I just do something for the empire?" Krajek exclaimed, aghast with resentment.
The minister's eyebrows raised but she remained stoic. "That was more for ascertaining your ability. Now you must prove your loyalty."
Krajek sighed but relented. "Fine, anything else?"
"Your insignia may glow red, this means you need to report in, as we have need of your services. Please do not leave the empire for the duration of the probation." She paused and followed with another statement. "Any questions?"
"I've been meaning to ask; what exactly are you a minister of?"
"Magical affairs. I maintain the royal registry and fulfill other functions such as handling assignments for mages and am the Emperor's consultant for all matters magic related."
(Great, I might have pissed off my direct supervisor.)
"Well, it's been delightful but I must get going." Krajek bowed and exited with due haste.
Heading towards the main entrance, Mordain and Krajek encountered Aexia on their way. Krajek waved at her as he passed, thinking their business over but stopped when she raised her arm and increased her pace to a jog.
"A moment Krajek. If you remember our earlier...conversation and what I said I could help with, I will not be able to fulfill that side of things for now. My focus will have to be on the investigation regarding Zankas Orel." In a hushed whisper, she added. "The emperor has many eyes and ears."
Krajek gave a small sharp nod to Aexia. "I see. If I'm being honest, I expected more from you. I do have some other business to take care of, so you may yet have time to redeem yourself. If that's all, I should be going."
Leaving Aexia, behind, Krajek pushed open the wide double doors of the place and exited into the courtyard, Mordain following behind him. The walk towards the inn where Krajek intended to purchase a room, before this debacle took place, was rather quiet. It seemed that Mordain had also overheard Aexia's warning, as he had hardly said more than a grunt since the palace.
Wandering the streets of the capital, it didn't take long for them to start passing by various inns, their number inflated due to the amount of travelers that passed by the city. Settling on one that looked slightly more upscale, they entered after checking behind them a few times.
Krajek took his coin pouch out and felt it's weight, it was rather light for his taste. Having sold most of the gold coins to make currency for his world, he had only kept twenty silver coins for local purchases.
"Welcome to the Mage's Mead, do you need a room or simply refreshments? We're renowned for our oak barrel aged mead." Called out someone behind the main counter, a large wooden 'L' that occupied most of the right side of the room.
"A room please, on a day to day basis, not sure how long we'll stay."
"Mhmm, a single room for both of you, with lunch and breakfast included will be seven silver pieces; six for just the room."
"The room will be fine, we'll likely eat out anyhow." Krajek reached into his pouch and pulled out six of the twenty pieces. Taking the proffered key, Mordain and krajek made their way upstairs.
Krajek aimed straight for the bed and let himself fall directly onto it, arms outstretched.
(So, I'll need to fill up my coffers on this side again. I could maybe look for some work, I am officially a mage now. But on the other hand, I'm up 6100$, after all expenses in my world, so it's time to convert some of that back into gold somehow.)
Once in the room and with the door closed, Mordain finally spoke up. "What are your plans now?"
"Well, same as before this whole thing. I need to figure out this power. I've got a lead with that now due to Aexia. We also need to make some money, to well, fund everything. Best way of going about it is finding a need in the market and filling it. Likely something I can get for cheap in my world but worth considerably more here. We can't leave the country or rather shouldn't for the moment in any case, so let's focus on something local."
(What can I get for cheap that they would need here though? Food is likely already low priced here due to being such a basic need. A silver for two meals times two is pretty cheap, even if it's just pub food.)
Suddenly, an idea occurred to him. "Oh yeah, that whole hierarchy of needs thing. Don't remember who wrote it. Food and water is the first stage but most people would have that covered, what with farming being so prevalent. Next we have shelter, not really ideal either as we'd need to buy land and build housing. I think our best bet will be in commodities or luxuries. Stuff like clothes, accessories and other things that might be more wants than needs."
Mordain scratched his chin, thinking deeply. "The hierarchy of needs sounds like a powerful relic, where can we find this item?"
"Oh, no. Hahaha. It's a concept, an idea. Was something from a philosopher or psychologist. Anyhow, I'm going to need your help on this. I can trust you and you probably know what people need and want more than me. Just have to be careful, it's not because there's a need that there's profit in it."
"Are you sure you're not a merchant? You clearly know this more than me."
Krajek rolled on the bed, now looking up at the ceiling. "I just have an idea about the basics. I can do the math but I'm not an expert. I gotta ask though, why are you still sticking with me?"
"I owe you my life. I will be forever indebted to you."
"Well, thank you. I definitely need your help for this project."
"How so? You've been helping me thus far, not the other way around."
"Ah but I don't know the local area nearly as well as you. The customs, laws, the chain of command, who we would need to talk to, etc"
He sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Unfortunately people here aren't quite rich so this is a problem. They can barely fulfill their needs, forget about wants. I'm going to first provide them with the means to get richer, then they'll be able to buy my stuff."
Mordain seemed quite confused by that statement. "But how?"
"Plan is twofold. Selling them tools and improving the way they work, earning them more money. And secondly, giving them jobs. We're gonna need labor and manpower."
Mordain seemed to be developing a migraine. "But where will the money come from?"
"Well, other countries, rich nobles. Sort of a trickle down effect. Problem with your economy is there's not enough supply. A high end tailor can only make so many clothes, less than there are nobles wanting to buy them. Hence, they increase the price. Less supply, high demand, more price per unit. This is in part due to there being no education system. Everyone just sort of inherits their profession from their parents, yeah?"
"That is true. Second and third sons usually end up signing up for the army or using their smaller part of the inheritance to become farmers."
"If we could get to every noble what they wanted however, the price would come down but the quantity would go up. For example, we might sell 100 fancy sets of clothes for 5 gold pieces each instead of 10 pieces for 8 gold pieces each. There'd be less individual profit but more total. "
Krajek continued on.
"If I can increase a farmer's yield by 50%, he might be able to sell it cheaper and to more people. The extra money he'd make would be spent on other things, like say, better boots, specialty food, furniture, etc."
Krajek stopped for a moment and thought.
"So for now, we need to go back and talk with the smith I made a deal with. Maybe we can work something out with the local lord there as well, Sera it was I think? Plus, he owes us a bunch of silver for the steel and the sword. That is, tomorrow. Tonight I plan on sleeping for a long time."