Horgus Gwerm seems appeased by this. "It is good to be among servants of the gods, especially at times like these."

 "You must be very powerful, to conjure food out of nothing," says the wrinkled man. "Magic the likes of that has not been seen down here since our ancestors first sought refuge beneath the surface."

"Yes, yes, everyone loves the uplander. We need as much rope as you can get so we can go back up top, got it?"

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Wenduag. The surface has always been dangerous for our people, and if the End Times are truly upon us I cannot imagine it will be any safer."

"Blame Lann. He's the one who won't shut up about our 'duty'."

"Create Food is third circle. I can take requests, but everything will come out undersalted and when I woke up unexpectedly in Kenabres I was without my bag, where I kept my salt."

Miscellaneous people he has not been introduced to want to know if he can make fried rats on a stick, or diced rats on a bed of moss, or fish stew but less chewy.

Horgus Gwerm will gently suggest that perhaps Blai could also make ... the sort of food they make in his homeland, as a form of cultural exchange?

What about roast apples with custard?

Can his spell do alcohol, or just water?

"...Can it make a rope if I eat the rope after?"

"I am not sure if I will do rats in any preparation justice, but I can do fish stew. I will need a pot in which it may appear and I can attempt to imitate the sort with which I grew up if that is desirable. Roast apples with custard is quite doable. I think alcohol is not. I... do not think any edible rope would hold the weight we have in mind."

The wrinkled mongrel thanks him, provides him with a large ceramic pot, and ushers Lann over to a corner of the camp to have some kind of whispered discussion.

 "How much rope do you need?" asks the Abadaran. "Some people would probably be willing to exchange rope for your food. Or to exchange money for your food and then rope for your money, but getting everyone down here to agree on which currencies to take is kind of a work-in-progress." 

(Her tone suggests that she is not at all sure Blai has encountered the concept of exchanging his labor for other things he values.)

"The rope plan is only worthwhile if someone can freeclimb the crevasse, which hasn't been established, but -" His best estimate of the depth of the crevasse.

"Hmmm. What sort of timeframe are you hoping for? Will you have time to prepare more spells or do you strongly value reaching the surface today? Are you willing to purchase rope at a discounted price corresponding to your likelihood to succeed, or are you only willing to purchase rope for a plan that will definitely work?"

"I don't think there is a terrific hurry... Fiducia, I am not actually sure how, if we are doing this transactionally at all, I might have wound up with sole responsibility for the purchase."

"—If everyone who would like you to have rope wants to get together to purchase it from everyone who has rope, that seems perfectly reasonable and I'm happy to facilitate it! I wanted to suggest that you could sell your Create Food before you cast it, in case it changes how you allocate the food you're creating, but if you'd prefer to cast the spell now I won't interrupt you."

 "I don't suppose you people take gold on credit, to be paid once we reach the surface?" says Horgus Gwerm, not sounding very hopeful.

"I... could probably find someone... but I don't think many people will accept an outsider's promises of future payment at any rate you're willing to offer."

 Gwerm looks at Blai. "I am willing to offer your party a thousand gold crowns if you can return me safely to the surface, divided amongst you however you feel is fair. If you want to spend some of it purchasing, ah, rope, you have my permission to allocate it thus, so long as they understand that I will not be able to pay until we reach the surface."

That's a frankly outrageous amount of money for hiring a thrown-together party of this average circle though that is somewhat ameliorated by there being no one else to hire and no payment until the mission is completed. "It does not sound as though I can directly spend it on purchasing rope, but if the Fiducia is willing to broker - shares of the Create Food to be sold for rope - then I suppose that may work out. If someone can make the climb, which I don't believe anyone's yet confidently claimed to be able to do."

"If it keeps you all out of the Shield Maze I'll try."

Seelah looks Wenduag up and down. "I don't mean to insult you, but do you think that's going to... work?"

"It's what I've got. Take it or leave it."

"Don't suppose any of you've got a summoning spell prepared?" She looks at Camellia. "Or a familiar, or anything like that?"

"I'm afraid the spirits have not blessed me with the companionship of such a creature."

"I can prepare a summon tomorrow but I have a pretty limited command of the relevant languages to ask it to do anything much, and that much rope will be quite heavy."

"If you expect to want to keep your own slots open, I can sell you an Ant Haul tomorrow in exchange for... hmmmm... a dinner-and-breakfast portion of the Create Food spent on roast mushrooms for me? I also accept surfacer gold, although to take it on a promise I'd want someone to vouch that Horgus Gwerm is honest and keeps his word."

The corners of her smile twitch. "Lord Gwerm is Lawful, yes."

"I can't say he's honest, but he keeps his word. If he says he's good for the money he's not going to stiff you."