Olmedo studied the young man before her.
Burlap Outerwear... Anyone could tell it was a Disguise. He carried himself like a knight, and his accent belonged to neither the Northern Frontier nor Middle Earth. He had either come from the east or... the south.
"You told the guards you wanted to trade with Free City?"
"I'm Devere Steelton, heir to Steelton Fief. I've found many things in Free City that interest me."
"Please, sit."
Free City's trade was limited to Middle Earth on both sides of Obiris Strait. Olmedo realized this was a chance to enter the southern market.
But the young man claiming to be heir to Steelton Fief wasn't interested in Magic Films or Magic Newspapers. He wanted the Skeleton Farmers in the north.
Olmedo thought it over, turned him down, then excused herself to fetch something from her office.
"Why not sell him the Skeleton Farmers?" Ingrid assumed they simply weren't worth much. No one would pay dozens of Gold Coins for a Skeleton that could only farm, but selling one for a few Gold Coins would bring in little profit. Even a hundred Skeleton Farmers would fetch only a few hundred Gold Coins.
"What would happen to Breeze City if it lost its farmers?" Olmedo asked her.
"Lost its farmers..." Ingrid fell silent. She realized Olmedo was really asking what would happen to the human farmers who lost their jobs when Skeleton Farmers replaced them.
"They'd look for other work... But there aren't enough jobs in the city. They'd have nothing to do but wander the streets..." Ingrid frowned. "But he's already seen the Skeleton Farmers. Sooner or later, they'll copy us."
There was no real technical barrier to making Skeleton Farmers. Before the Year of Turmoil, a single Priest could have done it. Even now,