The Mimic Becomes a Merchant King

Cricket stared in stunned silence at the chestful of coins that had been set before her. In the spartan confines of the shabby, rundown room, the coins glittered with an even greater radiance. "You're... kidding, yeah?"

"I assure you, Lady Cricket, my master is quite serious in this offer," Domajor said, nodding to the chest. "You are free to use this money for whatever amenities or living improvements the youth of Goddess Street may need. In exchange for your work with his company."

She rubbed the back of her head, and stared unblinking at the gold. She feared that if she did blink, the money would be gone when next she opened her eyes. "It's... it's generous and all. But... It's not just money we need. I keep the orphans safe from folks who would hurt or exploit them. If I'm not around-"

Domajor raised a gloved hand. "We are willing to provide security to this area. If the city guard will not do this job, we shall do it for them. But, Lady Cricket, by my estimation this area would be seen as a less desirable target for criminals if this money were used to make Goddess Street less... run down, as it were."

"Huh?" she raised her brows at him. "How d'you mean?"

"Simply put, Lady Cricket, criminals and undesirables would target this region solely because it looks damaged and rundown. It is easy to tell, at a glance, that society would not care what happens here because society has clearly forgotten about it already."

Cricket grimaced. "You have a point there, kanno," she said reluctantly. She was still wary about leaving, but... she could not stay here in perpetuity. She could not always be watching over this place, after all. And if this money could be used to prevent future trouble, it felt irresponsible not to try.

"Are you willing to give this offer a try? I assure you, it will be a great boon to you and your people. Master Coin is very earnest about helping the people of Goddess Street."

That got a small chuckle from Cricket. "He's already doin' more for us than most. Alright, I guess I ought to at least give it a shot. But if anything bad happens here in my absence? It's gonna be a quick end to me workin' for him."

Domajor nodded firmly. "Of course."

LeBon looked as if he hadn't slept in a while. His eyes were sunken, and his jaw was covered in stubble. But he was smiling airily as he handed Coin a freshly brewed cup of tea.

"I've had an idea," he said.

"Clearly," Coin replied.

"The steam engine I used for my boat, it's a form of technology with many potential applications. It just requires the right sort of direction." LeBon took a seat, sagging into the high-backed armchair by the fireplace. "The boat is viable, of course. But then I thought... what if there was a steam-powered machine that could cross the land just as swiftly and easily?"

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"A... land boat?"

He shook his head. "Nothing so literal. I envisioned... a great engine of iron and steam, crossing the land on special tracks that could keep its immense weight and power stable while it travels at speed." He sipped his own tea slowly, deliberately. His eyes drifted to a great tarp on the far end of the room, draped over a great, bulky shape.

Wordlessly, Coin made for the tarp and pulled it down while sipping his own tea. His eyes beheld a great bulky shape of black iron, nearly the size of his whole body, supported by twin sets of six wheels. The wheels, in turn, had strange metal hinges bolted to them. Beneath the sloping shape were twin iron tracks, positioned atop row of wooden boards.

"It's a prototype," LeBon said in between sleepy yawns. "The real one would be bigger of course. Just need to... make a bigger version that doesn't explode."

"You... should probably sleep a bit before trying to make a bigger version." Coin increasingly had to wonder how LeBon had even lived this long at all. A genius mind with all the survival instincts of a brick.

"Of course, of course," LeBon murmured, though it was doubtful he had heard Coin at all.

Wordlessly, Coin loaded a piece of coal into the small engine's burner, setting it up as he had with the steam boat. And, once the steam began to puff in streams of white mist from the machine's chimney, it began to slowly move around the circular track. The hinges on the wheels moved with it, clicking at every full rotation. Soon enough it was slowly but steadily making laps on the track.

"It's certainly impressive," Coin admitted. "But I'm not sure of the practical applications."

"Bigger version could haul... many wagons of freight on it. The workload of dozens of wagons. And it'd... travel faster than any horse, without needing to stop for rest. Merchants could bring their wares halfway across the country in less than a day, along those rails beneath it. I call it a railfreighter."

Coin's eyes widened as he slowly considered the implications of this. If such a machine existed, and if there was a broad network of rails spanning Arcadia, then the railfreighters could magnify the efficiency of his company a hundredfold.

However, the more he pondered this, the more an issue loomed in his head: The cost.

"A full size version of this thing would be costly to make, even just one of them. Then these rails... steel and wood aren't too expensive in isolation, sure, but to make lines that could span from one end of Arcadia to the other... THAT is the expensive part. And then you'd need workers to plant them and make sure they're planted properly. Plus the-" Coin gasped, a realisation hitting him like a mule's kick. "The land. You'd need to pay to plant the rails on most pieces of land. Anywhere that isn't owned by the kingdom would be in the thrall of landlords. Even if they all agreed to let you use the land, the cost would be enormous."

He turned to ask LeBon if he had considered this. Instead he found the inventor sagged in his chair, snoring deeply.

Coin grunted, deciding to leave the man be. If LeBon didn't sleep soon, he'd be dead on his feet. He focused back on the prospect of the freighter. Simply put, if he tried to bankroll the whole project himself even he would fast go bankrupt. Even putting one of these rail-like roads from Sentinel to another city like Stokes would be damn expensive.

If they could get a working prototype and show it to Velasco, he'd certainly want in. They just needed to prove the potential value of the machinery. But the issue with getting more investors was that each new name on the list could stake a claim, and Coin wanted as much ownership as possible.

"Start small," he told himself. "Prove the worth and value of the thing." He could afford to give LeBon money to buy the resources he needed for the working prototype. Even if it would take time. And though it hurt to give away yet more money, he soothed himself with the notion that he'd be able to make far more money with the railfreighter if they took off.

Not just for delivering goods. People would doubtless pay decent money if a vehicle could take them across the breadth of Arcadia in the span of a few hours. The more he thought about it, the more applications the machine could have.

The prototype came to a slow chugging halt, the last wisps of steam hissing slowly from the chimney. It gave a low, mournful whistle, and died away entirely.

"Coal, too. Need steady supply of coal." Coin snapped his fingers a few times. "Well, there are bound to be abandoned mines out there that can be claimed on the cheap." There was plenty of time. After all, he wanted LeBon's fully human-sized freighter to be entirely safe and functional. If the damn thing was prone to explode, Velasco would never let it be used in his country.

He finished his tea left a note on LeBon's table, telling him to get in touch when he was able and state how much money he would need to fund the development of a proper prototype. He'd gladly meet the price.

"Once again, Albus, you've outdone yourself," Coin said as he made for the door.

Albus LeBon snored in agreement.