Oh, the reason a paladin would be useful to have on wand crafting doesn't depend on them being special in any way beyond being unusually strong, it's just that they get a few spells early such that they could in principle craft (for example) wands of Lesser Restoration with only the spellsilver needed for a first-circle spell. 

Rathimus is perfectly willing to provide additional suggestions as desired, but doesn't at this time have any better ideas than doing some regular fundraising or sending Ember to Rahadoum.

Seelah does get first-circle spells. How long does it take to learn to make wands or scrolls?

It depends on the person and their prior experience, but wand-making is months even for a quick study, and some people can't manage it at all. Scroll-making is usually a bit faster, but it helps to be good at math in the wizard sort of way.

So this helps not at all in the immediate term and could be worse than nothing if whoever he attempts to set to it dies taking Drezen or something and leaves him on the hook for a loan that does not pay for itself.

Yes, that would be a significant risk of trying to use it as a funding source in the near term. If he doesn't urgently need every paladin he can get to keep the area secure, it's possible he'll be able to send some people to learn during the winter?

He'll keep it in mind.

Ugh.

Eventually he will be diverted from this conversation by dinnertime.

Dinner is much the same as yesterday. His scouts would like him to be aware that they located a village near the area they'll be marching through that's currently defending itself against ghouls; they recommend that if he sends anyone to deal with it, he include some people capable of curing disease in the survivors.

(The Count sits down across from him.)

"Hello there. Ghouls tomorrow, apparently, and a use for your Remove Diseases."

"Truly, I can think of nothing I would enjoy more."

"Also, I should not have believed the Queen's remarks about the budget and getting funding from outside may be more urgent than I thought."

"Ah, I see, you've finally gotten your first lesson in my dear cousin's... trustworthiness. How much liberty do I have to be creative about your sources of funding?"

"The reason I need it is so that I can crack down on internal corruption; I don't want to address the one problem by creating a new one. ...I have nothing against non-problem forms of creativity if you have any to hand."

"I suppose I can hardly expect you to listen if I suggest that you simply not choose to crack down on internal corruption and thereby reduce the need for fundraising?"

"I have already been convinced that I cannot declare it utterly anathema in one stroke, so perhaps try again in a week. In the meantime I want to work on it."

He nods. "How urgently do you expect to need the funds?"

"Well, payroll is due on the first."

"...I don't suppose you've managed to procure the services of a teleporter?"

"No. I do not know what the plan to deliver the money without my intervention might be but it does not seem to have inspired confidence in the men."

"At a guess, my dear cousin will at least have seen to it that the first month's payroll is acceptably handled, even if it requires expending resources that she will regret the lack of in a few months. With that being said..."

He can provide a number of suggestions. If the Knight-Commander is willing to lend him a means of Sending, he could potentially call in favors with the following people in Nerosyan to further ensure the integrity of this month's payroll, though perhaps the Knight-Commander would prefer that he save that for next month. Apart from that, the lack of Teleports will limit their options substantially, but he knows whose lands they're passing through and has a sense of what angles they might find compelling. That one's wife is rather a social climber, hampered by living so far from the capital, and might be persuaded to make a donation if she expects it to be useful to have the Knight-Commander's good will. That one is broke, but there's a particularly talented bowyer living on his lands who's very invested in ensuring that none of his sons are conscripted; they may be able to save some money on equipment by soliciting a 'donation' from him. That one could probably be persuaded to make a donation if the Knight-Commander could be persuaded to give his cousin an officer commission. That one has a tiefling mistress and would rather that not become more widely known...

They'd be getting smaller donations from them than they would be from some of Mendev's wealthier individuals, this is far from the wealthiest part of Mendev, but he gets the impression that the Knight-Commander is thinking of this as the sort of situation where every little bit helps.

Especially since they're going to have an exciting time and somebody will pop out of it capable of teleportation, yes, they just need to bridge the gap between the honeymoon period from Nerosyan and the self-funding ability of the Crusade coming in.

Blai can cast Sending but he doesn't know any of those people to Send them; perhaps they can contrive some excuse to meet before the second month's payroll comes due so as to save the wand. Blai is going to need tips to navigate a socialite's attempts to ingratiate herself in an encouraging yet nonmisleading manner but he does not inherently object to the concept of networking. He does not mind taking the bowyer's family's contribution to the cause in the form of money and not bodies if he actually has the power to render the relevant bodies immune to conscription but he is not sure he does. If the cousin is any good, sure, decent officers are not trivial to come by, but if he sucks then it will get people killed to do this. Blackmail seems probably not orthodox.

The Count can provide advice on the socialite, though some of them will effectively come out to 'have you considered being a different, more splendid person?' and the honesty commitment will definitely be a significant constraint. The Knight-Commander does not have the power to make the bowyer's sons immune to conscription but he almost certainly does have the power to observe that none of them have been conscripted and demand their service in the Crusade, which is really quite similar from a certain point of view. The Count has not particularly been paying attention to the cousin's competence; does the Knight-Commander think he'd be able to assess it if he met the man?

Blai has considered being a different more Splendid person and it sounds awful but admittedly effective at some things. He can reserve an Eagle's to get off on the right foot if that won't be conspicuous and concerning to do.

...how about he tells the bowyer that he'll take down the sons' names and that if any of them wind up under his command by mistake he'll release them to go home as soon as he hears of it, and he will write a letter to show to any conscription-minded agents who should chance to visit.

Probably, if he were forthcoming enough and especially if there were some kind of subordinate around like a servant Blai could watch him interact with.

It's perfectly acceptable to use magic to enhance one's social skills in that sort of interaction, but it's rather gauche to make it that obvious.

Presuming that he doesn't want to preserve the ability to approach the bowyer again next year, that should suffice. 

An opportunity to observe the cousin with a subordinate can almost certainly be arranged.

Of course he doesn't want to buy the same bowyer's donation twice - it might be another matter if in five years he's got a grown grandson or something, but - anyway, yes, great.