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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
"Getting rid of some magics. Doing it by sheer destruction would be very little improvement, but maybe there's one with an easily divertible river nearby. It would have serve some other purposes simultaneously to be worth it, of course."
connecticut_yankee
"They're not doing anything important, are they? Just taking up space and occasionally spewing monsters at people?"
namesthesky
"Sometimes the monsters - or the inanimate objects - or the mysteriously pale and pun-impaired men - are useful or interesting, as with the collection you contributed to. But it's certainly safer to occasionally throw a cat at a magic from a safe distance while prepared to deal with a flying tentacled horror if that's what you get, than to have them at the bottoms of ravines next to the only roads between certain cities. So it would be better for all but the tamest and most convenient magics to be got rid of, if that were doable."
connecticut_yankee
"It would be a major project, but doesn't sound impossible. Maybe one day."
namesthesky
"Cool. But let's see what we can get for someplace to sleep tonight."
What they can get, if they walk up the whole Row to see all their options, is apparently a single room with a bed that ostensibly could fit the both of them for five seo per fifteen days (it goes up if they want to buy in smaller blocks), or a room with two beds for seven seos, or two beds in a room with other people for two seos every five days.
What they can get, if they walk up the whole Row to see all their options, is apparently a single room with a bed that ostensibly could fit the both of them for five seo per fifteen days (it goes up if they want to buy in smaller blocks), or a room with two beds for seven seos, or two beds in a room with other people for two seos every five days.
connecticut_yankee
"We don't know how long it'll take until the first sale; might have to use the third one. What do you think?" It'd depend on what other expenses there are likely to be, but one of them is in a better position to guess than the other.
namesthesky
"It's your budget. We could price smiths first if you'd prefer; I don't know how much those tend to cost."
connecticut_yankee
"Can you guess at how many, say, horseshoes would cost about the same amount as a thinking human being? Wouldn't have to be a good guess, just in approximately the ballpark."
namesthesky
"Human beings vary widely in price, but if we're using my most recent price as the baseline, quite a lot. I'd need writing materials to work it out but you could probably shoe a whole stableful of horses at least the once for that much."
connecticut_yankee
"Oh, we've got plenty then; we can take the second room.
Presumably they'd charge more for strange precisely specified objects than for horseshoes, but if it's that many times more then I'll buy their metal and rent their anvil and do it myself."
Presumably they'd charge more for strange precisely specified objects than for horseshoes, but if it's that many times more then I'll buy their metal and rent their anvil and do it myself."
connecticut_yankee
"That was less an actual plan than a thing I'm confident I wouldn't have to do. Unless they're all very bad at setting prices, that is.
But at least we're set for the immediate future."
But at least we're set for the immediate future."
namesthesky
"I can cook in the boardinghouse kitchen for us both, if you want to buy some groceries."
namesthesky
"Yes. Depending on how often you want to send me on shopping trips for food one or two seo should do it and I'll probably get change back."
connecticut_yankee
"Great.
Thanks for your help, by the way. Navigating a completely different world like this one could be much harder than it already is."
Thanks for your help, by the way. Navigating a completely different world like this one could be much harder than it already is."
connecticut_yankee
"You're extremely welcome."
But the mutual congratulations can wait until the world is up to a decent standard.
"For the immediate future, you collect groceries and I'll get the room rented?" He fishes around for the amount of money she named.
But the mutual congratulations can wait until the world is up to a decent standard.
"For the immediate future, you collect groceries and I'll get the room rented?" He fishes around for the amount of money she named.
connecticut_yankee
"Well, I don't know what food here is like, so whatever's normal on that score. I can worry about imitating American menus later.
Paper and pencils, though; those'll be important."
Paper and pencils, though; those'll be important."
It is pretty simple. He gives them money, they give him a key.
connecticut_yankee
A much simpler arrangement than a boarding house might conceivably be, but he gives no sign that he's pleasantly surprised.