Chapter 1591: Toolmakers’ Choices
The group ate snacks and drank tea for a while, doing small talk to soften up the atmosphere.
"Tell us about how life was after we were gone," Zaol asked. "If that’s alright."
Kalfene nodded, reporting most of what happened. He also covered a lot of things, hiding some of the things he felt were too embarrassing to reveal.
For example, how he was treated.
However, some things were pulled out of him by their questioning, especially when a certain traitor started blurting things out.
This traitor was none other than his curly-bearded cousin.
Kahonn had been investigating what happened to him when he went to Bleulle for a visit, and had always felt particularly indignant in his stead.
Now that he had a chance to tattle, he went all in. The bastard even had teary eyes.
"They were really ostracized, master Zaol—it’s really unfair!" he said, voice cracking at the memory.
"They were pushed out from their old laboratories, kept expecting him to produce more with less. If Hassen wasn’t a worse Lord, I’d have pulled him with me instead."
Except it was worse, and he really needed the breath of fresh air called ’far away from Hassen City’. His productivity wasn’t high, and his production was adjusted accordingly, but that was all he did.
He also didn’t like the feeling of danger always looming above him. Like, if he disatisfied the Lord, he could get in trouble, and the only thing keeping him alive was the magic tool he could create. But he wasn’t the only one who could make it. What if he got replaced?
Kahonn was the free spirit type and he simply disliked this feeling.
Anyway, he acted like he didn’t feel Kalfene’s glares and continued to chatter.
"How dare they treat such a good toolmaker like that? It’s because they got his juniors to work for them, to start working on similar tools.
"We felt that as soon as they could have the same productivity, and if he still wouldn’t succumb, they’d get rid of him just to continue monopolizing the product!"
The Golds looked heartbroken at this. "I’m so sorry you had to go through that..." Zaol said. "Don’t worry, nothing of the sort will happen to you here."
It was likely that Bleumrick would do that. Since Kalfene refused to comply with his demands, it was likely he’d find a way to go to another territory, which would compromise Bleulle’s Aether Letter monopoly in the area.
"Even if you switched sides, I wouldn’t have blamed you."
They truly understood. People had their own lives. Even if they helped a lot of people, they didn’t do that to be reciprocated.
Kalfene knew this, of course. He smiled, looking them straight in the eye. "Then we wouldn’t have been here, right?"
This made everyone smile lightly. Indeed, if they had switched, Alterra would not have bothered them. They would’ve continued living that limiting life.
While they didn’t know yet how they’d be treated in this place, just looking at how Oslo—a rare Class C architect now—loved the place, they already had an idea.
"Sigh, Bleumrick really was too much, though," Gaia said. Toolmakers were generally regarded with some respect, regardless of who they were serving.
"People were too afraid to try to take them away. After all, Bleulle is the sole source of blu—who’d want to risk that relationship?" Kahonn added.
Zaol nodded. "At the same time, his main resource is already dwindling. Bleumrick must be holding on to as many resources as he can."
Speaking of Blus, Alterra had a limited stock of them left, so they were very, very careful about what to do with them. There was a team studying its component, but it seemed like it was practically a mineral with a specific crystalline structure that could not be mimicked.
They had to assume that what they had would be their last unless they found a way to procure them again. And so, Oslo, Althea, and the others were incredibly careful about which building type to create next.
Speaking of the ongoing material research, the latest finding was that it was very similar to aether crystals, except it was in powder form and was much more malleable.
This wasn’t anything anyone knew for certain before. Some may have thought of it, but to be able to confirm it? No one had done it before. No one could.
As for how this could potentially change the direction of research, they were not sure yet, especially since the people researching the material were also studying other materials on the side.
There was no way; this was a new world, and there were too many things to explore.
For one, since they were exchanging contribution points for new items/plants/tools, more and more unknown stuff entered their inventory, and some of those had shelf lives and had to be prioritized.
"Anyway, take a rest..." Zaol said, though interestingly, the newcomers shook their heads.
"It’s fine for me...I can’t rest with how curious we are, anyway," Kalfene said. "I can’t speak for others, however."
The others, even Sleuth, actually agreed with him. Rather than rest, they wanted to look around first!
Their levels were high enough that short intermittent naps during their tumultuous travel here were enough to sustain them for a while. It was tiring, sure, but their spirits could recover.
They had wanted to explore the moment they entered the Town, and especially so after they entered the ’broataxi’.
It was just that the oaths naturally had to be first, and they had to say their greetings to the Golds, too.
Oslo smiled. "Well, go to the center and then..., I’ll show you your laboratories by the way."
Since the Research Center was a strictly-accessed place, it was only Oslo who would be going with them. Part of their oaths earlier was not to share—without approval—trade secrets of Alterra they’d learn during their stay here.
When the four toolmakers made the oath, they felt complicated. The Town had seemed very amazing, but did they have to go through all that trouble to keep their mouths shut?
Because they were all experts in their fields (except for Menzon, no matter how he denied it), it was difficult for them to imagine the things they had yet to learn.
They were not being arrogant, but they couldn’t quite imagine what a new town could possibly teach them that they had to go through such deep oaths.
They’d find out very soon though.