Inheritor Of Magic: The Magi King

The first course of the meal was brought out, a lovely butternut squash soup, and the guests made polite conversation with the Priya Family members at the table, paying special attention to Tian. That made the Family members' day. Not only was their favourite heir getting the friendly attention that she craved, the other Coven Council families had clearly decided to play nice with Wolfe, and they were starting by ingratiating themselves with the ones that were his favourites.

They all knew Priya already, and those relationships were well-formed, but the youngest at the table was an unknown factor.

Of course, they were only one course in, and she was already restless, as she wanted to go colour with Tammi, but the thought was the part that mattered.

"Will there be some sort of oversight or regulation on the trade of goods within the Frozen Wastes?" The Coven Leader asked as the bowls were being collected in preparation for the meat course to come out.

"Nothing formal. We have rules on war profiteering that will be made clear to all the merchants, but other than that, we had intended to let them operate independently as they always have. That means that you can also send out merchants from the city to trade all over the Wastes if you like, though there will be obvious issues during the early days before they have built up a solid reputation for reliability." Wolfe explained.

That made sense. The Witches weren't well regarded in the Wastes, so while they would want to get as much of the trade market as they could, the question of how many people would buy from them instead of other merchants that were better known was an unknown factor.

They could limit what they traded with each merchant, but that could also put them in a tight spot, as it would limit what others wanted to trade with them in return, and the price they could get.

"Will Forest Grove be sending out official merchants?" The Coven Leader asked as the servants returned with the next round of food.

"Of course. We still make aid deliveries to the villages, so we will have our own people along the road daily. They're not strictly merchants, but they aren't prohibited from buying and selling, as long as it doesn't mess with their schedule of deliveries.

The goods that they have are essential to the villages. Food, medicine, clothing, weapons. Things that the villages are desperately short on. But they do bring back what the villages can spare. We sent out plenty of Garden Charms lately, so many of the villages now have some sort of garden, but the selection can be limited.

For example, two of the villages along the border specialize in potatoes and carrots. Not both, each village does one, and they trade, since the two root vegetables are of equal value and usage. But a village can't survive with just one major food, so they also trade with other villages that have more variety.

It has been working for them, as they are the major supplier of those foods in the region, and others don't grow them in large quantities because they have a reliable supply.

Adapting the city to that system will the be the first major hurdle that you will face.

You also have many more people than anyone else does, but from what I understand, you don't have a large supply of surplus anything. So, they will happily sell you everything that you need, but the difficulty will be paying for it."

The witches silently considered Wolfe's explanation as they ate, and the table was fairly quiet until the next course was finished.

The small servings gave them just enough of an excuse and a break in the conversation to formulate their thoughts, and the Council was ready with more ideas.

"We intend to take on the equipment market. We already make a lot of armour that can be recharged with mana crystals, and it still serves as armour when it is discharged. That will be good for the people of the Wastes, and complement the rifles that you send out.

We can also send out a lot of fashion. I know that you do that as well, and it is a big seller everywhere. Everyone needs clothes, even more so than they need armour and weapons. So we will send that out, and anything else that our craftsmen are making.

There was a lot of talk of increasing production over the last day, but we will see who manages to follow through." The woman beside the Coven Leader explained.

"That makes sense. I had a long talk with the Priya Family leader last night, and I believe that we have come up with another solution. Forest Grove will be following the lead of Faerie and the Demon Realms in issuing a standardized currency.

They will be magical coins, containing mana, but enchanted to be non-rechargeable. So, they can be traded for the value of the energy in them, which can be used at will, but will be removed from circulation once used.

be non-rechargeable. So, they can be traded for the value of the energy in them, which can be used at will, but will be Similar to the way that Mana Crystals are used in Morgana Fortress City, with the Coven tracking the source of the energy in them, the energy will have value to stabilize the value of the coins.

Precious metals mean very little when you have Saint Rank Earth Magic users around, so simple Gold Coins would be too easy to duplicate, but everyone will quickly begin to recognize my aura on the coins, so they will be easy for daily usage."

Wolfe paused as the salad was brought out, and everyone began to eat again as they wondered if allowing Forest Grove to issue the continental currency could become a mistake that would haunt them later. Their influence might have been limited before, but having to use someone else's money in trade seemed like an imposition on their sovereignty.

"How much will the coins be worth?" One of the witches of the Priya Family asked between bites.

"Ten and one hundred units. But the units will be different than you are used to. Each Unit will be equal to one minute of effort for a Rank One witch. Spell casting takes time, and time is easy to measure. Labour is the basis for all value, after all."

The room went quiet again, and Tian began to look longingly toward the kitchen. The next course was dessert, the only part of the luncheon that she was actually looking forward to. The adult talk didn't involve her at all.