"Well, at least we have something to offer... Art?"

"Art is generally worth something. It's more unique, per-world."

Marit asks about other worlds and things the OTC sells for a while longer. She asks about Takkarash and predicts it won't be especially popular or unpopular compared to other human worlds. She asks if they'll buy a stack of seals for various purposes off her as samples.

With dinner, arrives a map*. The guard tapes it up to the outside of the quarantine room along with their tracking calendar.

*Author's note: The population figures on the map are altered for this canon. Double Icelandic and Danish numbers and triple all other numbers.

"My," says Thorn. "You really have been beaten back into little corners. So much is lost. It reminds me of the Shadowling campaign." 

She looks up from her reverie. "Ah. And the seals. Yes, I'll buy some. I don't know what a fair price would be, but let's call it 25 OTC each for the first stack? And then once we have a better idea regarding how useful and in demand they are we can negotiate something more equitable."

"It was nothing less than the fall of civilization. Nobody knew what to do until it was too late. And it's not like either of us knows what a fair price is at the moment, so very well."

"Deal. I'd shake your hand, but..." She shrugs. "And no matter how much you've lost, at least you're still around, hey? And now things might get better."

"They just might."

Their conversation winds down soon after that. The remainder of quarantine is still fairly boring, but they'll get Thorn a few more books or board games if she asks. Marit tells scattered stories of her friends and family and travels and solicits the same. Marit carefully scribes about two dozen seals, then stops, saying any more would just be pointlessly subtle variations on ones she's already covered.

They do indeed make Marit wait out the full four weeks of quarantine - she complains about it enough to get the Captain of the military base to come visit in his own biohazard suit; They have a shouting match that shakes out to 'the actual Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian parliaments all said four weeks but I can get you some more money'.

Eighteen days into quarantine, a nurse informs Thorn that her blood test came back as 'immune'. She's not a citizen of any of the five nations which makes the paperwork a bit confusing but they've made an ID card that says "Nationality: N/A" which will confuse bureaucrats but is better than nothing.

Twenty two days into quarantine, a letter from a newspaper journalist arrives with lots of poorly informed questions for her and a request to meet him when the quarantine ends.

And then the quarantine is over and the nurses let them both out.

Does she want to go for a broad-spectrum approach and found an office here, or does she want to start from the top? 

Either way, she would rather have the true story published than a compendium of rumor and hearsay. She writes back, emphasizing the limited footprint the OTC has here right now. 

She goes and meets the reporter. Hopefully no-one chooses to stop her.

Marit gives Thorn a meeting place for after the reporter, then wanders off stack of seals in hand. The reporter has a small office in an out of the way spot - this seems to be a trading hub as well as a military base, with lots of offices and dockyards and cranes and warehouses. Nobody stops her, though several look at her curiously and mutter.

"Hello! I'm Heribor Ivarsson with Sweden Tomorrow newspaper. It is a pleasure to meet you! I still have many questions even after you kindly answered my first set, and an in-person interview is much more convenient. Thank you for coming!"

"Thorn, of course. It's a mononym. It's no trouble coming to meet with you, though I do hope you're not risking any trouble of your own by doing this, what with my being a foreigner and all. But the people of Sweden need to know, yes? I have a lot to say, and perhaps a few demonstrations to give."

"Oh, you've passed quarantine now so the only trouble is the travel fare and lodging. I understand that you represent the Oifeli Trade Company - do I have that spelled right? - That you are a highly trained mage-scout, that we may have exciting technology purchases to make, but that your company largely trades in magic?"

"Consortium, not company. You have it spelled right. I am not only highly trained but somewhat built to purpose - this is why I have immunity paperwork from your government, my body is built to a higher standard than the products of nature are. As for your last two items - the line between magic and technology is blurry for us, because there are many magical products that can be used by non-mages, much like the seals your mages are capable of making. We primarily trade in magic because magic is rare in the multiverse and much more likely to be a "local product", like your Finnish mages."

"Are non-magical things worth anything at all? Sweden does not have many mages and it would sting to be put aside in favor of the Norwegians and Icelanders and Finns, though of course they could use the help more than we. Unless it is terribly difficult to go from world to world I would think opening markets as far as possible would benefit everyone. However, I also think my nation's interest is going to be in purchasing education and manufacturing infrastructure for things. Robotics and computers and all the other infrastructure we lost in the Fall. We are very interested in self-reliance."

"We can offer that at reasonable prices, though you must understand that the only interdimensional link on this entire plane resides in my backpack at the moment; it will take time to build the infrastructure to build the infrastructure to etc. While the technologies you have are centuries out of date compared to ours, there is still some value in crafts practiced well - the invention of the knife as a sharp thing with a handle dates almost to the dawn of humanity, and I carry something that is, for all intents and purposes, a knife. As I do a pistol and a set of camping gear. Much of it is magically improved, but the materials and manufacturing methods are not incomprehensible to you. It's just that mine were in all likelihood assembled in a nanoforge - that is, by a very large number of very small robots. So you have to compete with that, an assembly technology that's better than yours by centuries. It's possible, but very difficult. 

More significant are the opportunities for skilled and unskilled labor, both magical and non-magical. There will be jobs in logistics getting transfers of magical and technological goods sorted out. There will be educational opportunities for people seeking to implement new technologies. There will be hiring offers for the OTC itself as it establishes a transition and liaison team, positions which come with agelessness as part of the standard health package. And I would encourage just about anyone to apply."

The notion of lots of tiny robots is a fascinating one and he asks more about it! And he says Sweden is a good place to find conscientious, diligent, creative, education-seeking people. The transition and liaison team would interact with the government to determine how OTC stands according to local law, it sounds like? Any relevant taxes, border controls, and safety laws or what have you.

One of his Swedish readers wishes to know if trains are common in other worlds, or if they are an impractical form of transit. A Danish reader - they are great students of history - is concerned with the Old World pattern of colonialism and exploitation. Can she offer any reassurances on that front? An Icelandic reader wants to know what gods, if any, she follows, and what the faiths of other worlds are like. A Norwegian reader asks if you can get Takarrash out of pain you were going to experience anyway, like if you got stabbed by a Troll. A Finnish reader asks... He has to read it twice, but, 'Do you properly respect the spirits of animals you eat'? They probably couldn't find many Finns to get a better question, but the Reader Questions bit is a Sweden Tomorrow tradition.

If you have enough tiny robots you can assemble things using microblocks of preassembled atoms such that you have precise control over the complex atomic structure, leading to materials like carbon nanotubes at the most basic end and complex metamaterials like her bones at the more advanced. The same technology also allows for extremely rapid assembly because of scale effects - many millions of machines working in parallel at a very small scale where the distances needed to move things are almost zero. 

They have no intention of majorly flouting local law, though they will of course lobby for their services to be made available to as many people as possible.  

Trains are common in many other worlds of similar technology level to this one. Highly advanced "bullet trains" persist for some time into the future as one of the better long-distance travel technologies. 

The OTC is generally noninterventionist in the greater sense. Clearly there will be some disruption as they connect to the multiversal economy, but so long as they aren't secretly condoning slavery somewhere the OTC will have no intent to majorly intervene. 

There are worlds where the gods are real and tangible things; there are also worlds where they are mostly comforting hopes against an uncaring universe. Some gods are kind and just; others are right bastards. They're not much different from people with power. If she believes in anything, she believes in herself, and in the magic she's cultivated from her own soul. That's her opinion on gods. 

You have to be able to dedicate the pain to takkarash-making, so a certain degree of intent is necessary. It's possible to dedicate the pain of getting a new tattoo, less so to dedicate a chronic pain you've been having for years. You have to be meaningfully making a sacrifice, choosing pain you could have avoided.

She's aware of many druidic traditions regarding the spirits of animals, but see her answer regarding gods; she's not certain any given way is best. So she respects them, in a kind of vague, general way - she does her best to use all of what she kills if she's forced to hunt - but she doesn't follow any specific tradition.Taking the opportunity to ask that question on a public stage shows Druidic potential, though; she has a friend that the reader might like to meet if she's interested in hiring on with the OTC.

The closest thing to government-sponsored slavery that exists as far as he knows is the ångra program, which allows nonviolent criminals to serve as Cleansers instead of being jailed and is slightly controversial. 

He has a few questions about the kinds of things they sell and how Ka works and what things tend to cost and then thanks her for her time!

One of the soldiers who confronted her when she first arrived is leaning against the wall and reading a book when she comes out. "Oh, hey. The Captain sent me to offer you a room and an appointment. He wants to buy guns and armor."

The OTC will likely be in favor of phasing out the ångra program, but shouldn't massively object. They're more likely to lobby for it than send agents. 

She has a sample catalog of items in her head that she can list things from with prices; she stresses that this is a limited selection compared to the full OTC catalog. Ka magically adjusts potential lifespan, usually by treating cellular degeneration and reinforcing the body with charms for health and longevity. 

Thank you for your time too, Heribor. 

She smiles at the soldier. "That sounds lovely. Tell him I'm happy to pay rent in arms and armor and I'd love to haggle for the best accommodations he can offer." 

He snorts. "If you want the Captain's cabin you'll have to bid pretty high. Or make a good impression I suppose. He's Danish, if that helps. If you're good with fancy trader rooms those are probably more accessible. He said to send you to his office as your leisure but you were going to do something with Marit first I think? She sent a bunch of letters out, probably about you."

"Ah yes, Marit did give me a meeting place for after the interview. I'll go talk to her. Where's the captain's office, though?"

"In the biggest building up on the top deck. Secretary'll show you where. Sooner would be better, I figure. I'm gonna let the higher ups figure this stuff out before selling pain or whatever, instead of insisting on poking my nose in, I'll catch up on it later and stop bothering you, so have a good one." He jauntily waves the book and bumps off the wall to walk off.

She goes off to see Marit, following the instructions she left her.

Marit is in a sort of conference room, with a window looking over the docks and a big table that seats four and a snack cart. She has her seals splayed out on the table.

"Hello again. I'm curious to see how you'll get... Home? Want me to explain what they do?"

"I have home in my pack right here." She jerks a thumb at her backpack. "I could make a gate right now, but I figure that would be unkind to your captain who's waiting on me. Go ahead and show me the seals."

She does. Three versions of troll repellent - passive, temporary but stronger, one for vermin-beasts specifically. She could probably tailor troll-repellent to work on many other monsters with the chance to study said other monsters. A boat-improving seal. Explosive trap seals, force themed and fire themed. A notice-me-not. A seal meant to keep ghosts in place, and one to repel them. One to make lying harder. A silent alarm that will wake whoever placed it even from deep sleep if tripped. And a dozen different farm type seals, for corralling livestock or dealing with weather or what have you.