At the reception desk of a Magic Artisan society.
"Sorry, but our orders are booked three months out. Unless you choose a rush order, we can't deliver by your deadline."
The receptionist smiled at the apprentice placing an order. Everything he said hinted at one thing: pay more.
The apprentice's face darkened, while the people waiting behind him erupted.
"What? How are they booked up too? I've been to three societies today!"
"Fuck, I've been at the academy five years, and I've never seen so many societies booked solid!"
"It's those damn dagger orders again. What lunatic throws money around to commission a pile of daggers any blacksmith could make?"
"A rush order costs twice as much! Whoever's ordering all those daggers can go to hell. I'd better not find out who it is."
The apprentice at the front looked livid. His hand fidgeted on the desk as he hesitated over whether to pay for a rush order.
The receptionist looked positively radiant. The flood of orders had brought perks even to him.
The enormous backlog stretching months ahead was profitable enough. If only they could work faster, they would gladly take every dagger order that came in.
Then there were the customers who needed something made regardless. Faced with a full order book, they often paid extra for a "rush order."
The surge had earned even the receptionist a generous cut. As for the Magic Artisans, they were putting all their energy into making daggers.
Other orders had no chance of getting done without extra payment, even if customers were willing to wait months.
The Magic Artisans took a flexible view of those orders: as long as dagger commissions kept coming in, the completion dates could always be pushed back.
The pay was high, the work was simple,