"That really depends on whether you want to continue importing Golarion books through Axis. - you might only be able to do that while I'm here, it's probably less expensive when someone on this end at least knows the book exists, and I don't have specific knowledge about all that many books."

"Let's say if the information is worth less than half the value of the whole set." It's nine Wish+ diamonds and two dozen smaller.

"I can't find out how expensive the information is without paying for it."

Can't he pay for the information of how expensive the information is?...

"But what happens if you try to buy the information but what's here isn't enough to pay for it?"

"I probably don't get the information besides 'it's more expensive than this', and Iomedae may owe Axis in intervention budget, which I consider extremely important to avoid."

"Are you willing to ask to buy the information on diamond pricing with the implicit limit of all the diamonds on this spread, less the amount deducted for the book delivery?"

He counts them up, assesses their sizes. "I think probably what I want to do is - talk to Sroridekron Calantus a bit more about the present and future budget situation, and then, if it values being called more to earn more diamonds, it could volunteer the information. I think that's safest. What should I tell it about the longer-term budget situation?"

It has been long enough that preliminary assessments for this have been garnered.

"The Crown is willing to fund book purchases for the project related to theology, clerics or other topics of strategic, economic or public value at the previous exchange rate or up to 2000gp per book, at least ten more times—that is, a total of fifty books—this is expecting that most of those will be significantly less valuable on the margin than the first five.

"Other public and private institutions are willing to purchase general literature, fictional, historical or other, at a rate of 500 to 1000gp per book, up to at least a hundred books.

"500gp in the current market is approximately two of these" Wish "diamonds, or twenty of these" Limited Wish "diamonds. We expect Khelt's vaults to have enough liquidity in diamonds to prevent more than a 30% price squeeze if the trades are conducted gradually over the next two months.

"It is possible the bid for general literature will go up or down once the first books are distributed. Because of response to the content, not because of the change in scarcity; that part's priced into the estimate.

"There will likely be demand for books past the respective fifty and one hundred counts, but I don't have a confident prediction of prices thereof."

That's so many diamonds. "- I don't expect this to come up any time soon, but you should be aware that the reason diamonds are so valuable compared to gold, on Golarion-contacting markets, is that they're a material component for some spells including the ones that resurrect the dead. That's fifth circle, which is why I don't expect it to come up, but in case that changes anything about how willing the Crown is to part with them."

"...Even if Khelt has difficulty circling up our [Clerics], other nations may not have the problem, so... well, I don't think the numbers involved in book trading is going to put an appreciable dent in the world's diamonds, especially as there's a deep supply untapped in deconstructing old jewelry. Mostly it only sounds like we need to start importing diamonds before this becomes common knowledge. I'll have to consult with my superiors, but I don't believe it affects the projections for the next two months, so we can go ahead with them.

"What's the usage rate on diamonds—I assume they're consumed, not used as a focus? How many diamonds for a resurrection?"

High-level [Clerics] having the power of resurrection is pretty wild, but also old news that's been around the palace by now, so they're taking it in stride.

"They're consumed. How large a diamond you need depends on which spell you're using - Raise Dead wants one this size at fifth circle, Resurrection one at least yea big at seventh, True Resurrection at ninth wants one this big and that is also the circle and diamond size of a Miracle, a more freeform favor from one's god directly. Which spell you need depends on the recency of the death and the condition and availability of the remains. At fourth circle you want a diamond about that big, for Restoration - it can cure some otherwise permanent harms that are too much for Lesser Restoration, at second and without the component."

Nod.

"It'll be useful if you can write down at some point an overview of known [Cleric] spells and their consumed components, but I don't believe it affects the deal at the volume we're offering at the moment."

"Then I will try explaining the matter to Sroridekron Calantus."

The time has come. He makes a couple notes and then starts casting.

Notetakers are at the ready! The facilities supervisor didn't finish his sketch last time and has brought the same drawing pad again.

Sroridekron Calantus appears. It takes some of the diamonds and puts down a stack of books: Melodies of Inner Beauty; Birth of Light and Truth, Book of Ashes; Manual of City-Building, Book of Numbers; The Eight Scrolls; Parables of Erastil. There's a little roll of paper on top of the stack with names on it.

"If you would be interested to know more about the budgetary situation here," says Blai, "and it is worth your time to hear it, with a view to possible arbitrage...?"

The inevitable doesn't do anything, but Blai takes that as acceptance (since it could disappear at will). He explains the budgetary situation.

"I think you and the third individual on the list will particularly benefit from meeting," says Sroridekron Calantus.

Blai bows a bit. "I will take that to mean that if they do they will pay you for the recommendation and you are confident enough in this recommendation given the remarks I have made to risk this not being the case on your own account, without Iomedae's budget being involved; if I am mistaken in this then probably your referral should be aware that I'm not as good at this as previous estimates might have indicated."

Sroridekron Calantus bobs in the air, takes one more diamond, and vanishes.

That seems encouraging! What's the 'Book of Ashes', probably it's fine but it sounds ominous? They can cart all the books off for translation and copying immediately.

The program manager takes a look at the referral list. "Are you able to summon..." mangled attempt at pronouncing the name "...today, since we still have the room?"

"I prepared another but we might want to give them most of the day in case it takes a while for Sroridekron Calantus to speak to them."

"Perhaps tomorrow, after the lecture, to be safe?" They're known to be a bit of a workaholic, but it's Zenze, and they have a long day ahead tomorrow.

"If there's no other call for my third circle spell slots, yes."

"Was there anything in there outside the obvious? That is, that we should contact the third name on the list for diamond pricing information and this isn't expected to cut into Iomedae's intervention budget?"

"That's the assumption I'm operating on, yes."

Then if there isn't anything else on the docket, they can rush the translations, hopefully get one of the very rough first drafts to him by the end of the day (since optimistically the first cohort starts classes in another week and they want the translated texts for that), and give Blai some breathing room to plan his lecture.

The next morning, it's lecture day. There's a large auditorium booked for it, enough to seat two thousand. All two thousand seats are filled, and there's a bit of overflow into standing room in the back. About half is between ages 25–40, thirty percent older, and twenty maybe between 15–25. Roughly even mix of genders, nonhuman races somewhat overrepresented compared to the Kheltian public, which is still only ~5% stitchfolk, bird-humanoids (Garuda) and other species in that order of commonness.

aaaah whyyyy did he agree to do this oh right it's because establishing Good churches is Good right aaaaaah

"Welcome. I'm Select Artigas. I have not previously attempted to teach a course like this, and this is not my native language, and I am going to be using some concepts that may be awkward to translate. Please raise your hand promptly if there is anything that, in my limitations, I have failed to render understandably.

"A cleric is an empowered agent of a patron who grants them magic. A group of clerics all answering to the same patron is called a church. Clerics can all provide very similar magical services, such as healing and water conjuration, but different churches are different because each patron selects who to empower based on philosophical alignment. This is true in two senses. First, patrons have various areas of concern - topics that interest them and goals they wish to see advanced in the world - and will empower clerics who, intuitively or by way of trade or in service to the same ideal, will support those aims. Second, alignment with law or chaos, and good or evil," he draws the alignment grid, "is an observable and meaningful force per se. I will only be attempting to establish churches for Good entities and for one particularly beneficial Lawful Neutral entity." He draws an L-shape around these boxes on the grid. "A patron cannot empower anyone whose position on this chart is not adjacent to their own. So, if you are hoping to be a cleric of Desna, who is Chaotic Good, you yourself could match Her, or be Chaotic Neutral, or Neutral Good. Abadar, who is Lawful Neutral, can take matching, Lawful Good, True Neutral, or Lawful Evil clerics. I will be able to check the alignments of high level candidates but people who aren't powerful enough do not have auras of their own.

"Questions so far?"

Someone raises a hand.

"What is the... nature... of the patrons? You called them 'entities', but are they people, or something else?"

"They are people. Some of them used to be mortals and ascended to their current status; others may have always been what they are now. The word for them in your language is 'god'."