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Hank wakes up.
Of all the usual results of a blow to the head, this one probably isn’t even in the top four. One minute a misunderstanding with a crowbar and a man called Hercules—in retrospect that should have been a warning sign—the next…something else.
This isn’t the Colt Arms Factory, and it isn’t even Hartford. He’s in the middle of a ravine he’s never seen before. Must be a practical joke by someone who’s about to be unemployed. He groans, pushes himself to his feet, and works his way up the nearest slope. On second thought, this is less of a practical joke and more of a dream. The half-clockwork dog would be decidedly impractical to fake, and the enormous bipedal beetle is far too well-dressed.
At the top there’s a fence, with signs facing the other side. No gate is in evidence, but the fence isn’t too much of an obstacle. From the other side, the signs can be read as saying variations on “beware of the magic.” Huh.
From atop the slope, there’s at least a clearly visible destination. A nearby city, it may not be any city that was nearby when he was last conscious, but it’s better than here. He heads toward it.
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connecticut_yankee
connecticut_yankee
"Oh, I thought you meant you had either on hand and just needed to get them.
I have a transaction I'd need it for in an hour; if the note is quicker then form is less important."
I have a transaction I'd need it for in an hour; if the note is quicker then form is less important."
"I could also give you part of the amount as a note. I do have enough cash to give you six hundred now."
"It's no trouble."
In short order Hank has a heavy bag of gold coins and a writ for four hundred seo.
In short order Hank has a heavy bag of gold coins and a writ for four hundred seo.
namesthesky
Who has been held for him. Turns out the outfit will take his writ and give him change in a similar format, if he likes.
connecticut_yankee
Huh. Could have saved lugging the bag for twenty minutes. If that's typical, though, probably better to pay with coins so as to less visibly scream "I'm carrying several human beings' worth of cash" to anyone who looks.
They'll take his coins too. They take thirteen golds and give him a handful of silver back, and Ayabel's collar is unlocked and Hank gets a little sheaf of papers declaring her his property.
connecticut_yankee
Which he accepts with as much enthusiasm as he would if handed a large slug and informed that it's grotesquely impolite to drop it. He turns to Ayabel.
"Do I just hand these to you, or is there something more official so nobody thinks you stole them?"
"Do I just hand these to you, or is there something more official so nobody thinks you stole them?"
connecticut_yankee
"It's what any decent person would do," he says, loudly saying nothing at all about his opinion of most of the population.
"So, do you have as little idea what the immediate future looks like as I do?"
"So, do you have as little idea what the immediate future looks like as I do?"
namesthesky
"That depends. I have a reasonable avenue to take if you don't want any further help from me, but if you do, it's quite possibly a better choice than my default plan."
connecticut_yankee
"I would be glad to have your help if you're offering. I know approximately what the medium term plan looks like, but am completely lacking in information on questions like what kingdom to do it in and what sort of food people eat here and everything in between."
connecticut_yankee
"A thousand. So you'd know better than I how much I can afford to pay you; my only reference points are curiosities and slaves."
connecticut_yankee
"Start mass-producing as many devices as I know how and become absurdly rich and powerful. For a good cause."
namesthesky
"...How sure are you that the devices you remember knowing how to make will actually work in reality?"
connecticut_yankee
"Some things can be tested more easily than others, but, does boiling water in an iron kettle still make the lid rattle? Unless that is to be a fraud as well, I can make a steam engine."
connecticut_yankee
"There you have it, then. With that and some levers and wheels, I can build a vehicle that travels better than half a mile in a minute.
Though I can start on something smaller scale if you need proof."
Though I can start on something smaller scale if you need proof."
namesthesky
"You don't have any more things from the magic to sell, do you? If that's your entire fund it's worth making sure that whatever you do first can pay for itself."
connecticut_yankee
"Nothing useful.
The obvious first thing to make is gunpowder. Requires very few starting resources, and useful for demonstrations if not much else. Would also be indescribably valuable for militaries, though I hesitate to hand control of the world to any country I just met."
The obvious first thing to make is gunpowder. Requires very few starting resources, and useful for demonstrations if not much else. Would also be indescribably valuable for militaries, though I hesitate to hand control of the world to any country I just met."