That isn't necessary, the belul is waiting, but he probably walks faster than a belul anyway. Despite the fondest dreams of its builders the hallway is just the same on the way out as in.

Robotics and computers and a noise generator could fix that.

Maybe he won't mention it. This place reminds him of the Armory, the creepy bastards.

Out they go.

Outside the rest of Mar Geru is comfortable and pleasant and not at all designed by an edgelord to give people vertigo.

His guide who doesn't manage to do much guiding on the way out asks if he'd like a free flight back to Erasi.

"That was part of the deal, was it not? So, yes."

"Would you like to fly back today or tomorrow?"

"Right away, ASAP, all that jazz. I've got stuff to go sell." And a creepy Imperial Whatever to get far away from.

Soonest flight back is less comfortable and on a private airline but it's almost as free as the flight here.

Almost as free? He's not paying a ring. They promised free transit there and back, o helpful guide. He'll wait for the first one that is actually free.

It is actually free.

It does not end up costing negative rings.

Good enough.

He reads, he breathes easier even though he's not actually any kind of out of their power, he idly wonders what's in the letter. More information is generally better to have. But he probably can't break and re-seal it secretly with what he has.

...Maybe the imperial government, or some trading corporation, would buy ciphering machines, to make this sort of thing easier and faster. There's a thought. Any trading company worth its salt is probably spying on its competitors and secretly sending information between branches as best it can, merchants come up with all sorts of desperate schemes to squeeze a few extra dollars out of markets.

No one on the flight happens to turn to him and ask if he's selling ciphering machines.

Erasi is just as he left it.

He disarms his mini-apocalypse time bomb. He sells the last few calculators. He writes a few letters hinting at the idea of cryptography to some likely sounding companies. He books a flight back, some fifty thousand rings richer.

They've made progress while he's been gone. There's an entire working steam-powered robot doing logging.

Back at camp things look a lot more like they did when he left, just with more people.

...What???

That thing should have fallen over a dozen times by the look of it.

Milliways. Has to be. People from some kind of streampunk world? At least a few dozen by the looks of things. He'll need to go check 'em out.

He'll need to speed up his tech timetable to stay ahead of those people.

Valanda glances at him and is visibly glad to see him but then turns his attention back to the large spheres of various materials he's doing something magical to.

Since his mind is on 'steampunk' it's easy to make the connection. "Building an airship, are we?"

"We might be! We're still doing some tests. Know anything really light and really airtight?"

"There's aerogels and PVC... Treated cloth... I can probably come up with some options given a few hours."

"I'd pay for the shell for a functioning void balloon, if you can make something that works."

"Hmm, mostly it just needs to be big... Can you lock cloth into its current shape with defense magic?"

"Yep! But it's still permeable. Thinking of waxing it or something?"

"Or something. Also I've got a delivery for you. He was very insistent about hush-hush, keep it illused, your eyes only." He produces that letter, untampered with.

He backs away out of the illusion. "If I die today it's probably because the letter was a trap, someone avenge me if that happens, okay? Well, it's probably safe. Mind bringing it to my tent? I don't have an illusion on me right now."

"Sure. Functioning relations between the Imperial Whatever and the governor of my new home are probably in my best interest. Maybe I should teach you two crypto so you can send it in the clear and I don't have to do this again."

"It's from the imperial government? Wait, what's crypto? Come in if you want, that sounds useful, whatever it is."