The wizard shrugged. “Well, ‘the walls have ears’ they say. But seriously, it is not a great Magick to instill the simplest of calculatory skills, even into a simple PC-stone. And in a great jewel such as you have there—”
“And I thank you for it, Sneel. I have come to depend on its advice, as well as the number-mongering.”
“Think nothing of it, Sire, for it is one of a kind. No other PC-stone has the ability to translate the speech of others, or to give you the outcome of situations, and to calculate numbers as well. But as you know, the real profit is in producing the simple Purse Counting-stones for sale to each and every commoner, especially to the merchants and the tradesmen and the crafters. Thousands of them, millions of them. Profit enough for everyone.”
“I thank you, Sneel, for with this device you have made the Empire incredibly rich. How clever of you to determine what we needed, something entirely new and unprecedented. And above all, to supply that need without upsetting the existing trades and businesses. Even my Tax-Things grumble less now that tax calculations are clear to all.” Even Cradar trembled at the thought of those particular minions. “And I suppose the newly-anointed Wizard, Marmet the Magnificent, is enjoying your old castle and grounds?”
“Indeed he is, Sire, and he is a worthy successor, should you ever again decide to appoint another Imperial Magick Advisor.”
“No more Department of Magick for me, Sneel. I find your new Economicks much more rewarding. You might say, even more fun than war used to be.” He beamed, looking younger than ever. “And a lot more comfortable.” He held up a bolt of the sheerest cloth, a near-magickal, almost-transparent cloth of incredible beauty. “Tsilk,” Cradar said. And a bag of pungent-smelling dried leaves, labeled “Tea.”
“And now, if you will accompany me, Sneel, we have some important negotiation and trading to do with the delegation from the Emperor of Far Cathee.”
Lord Marmet sat at his thinking table in the Inner Sanctorum of Castle Sneel. The production of Purse Counting-stones was progressing very well. He was making hundreds a day with no particular strain, and it was indeed real Magick, not working in a wagon-yard. A sudden thought inspired him. In that very same wagon-yard, Sneel had sketched up a diagram of the wagon layout before proceeding with the assembly that fateful and unhappy day. The spell-casting was enhanced by the drawn-picture, Lord Sneel had said, Because in spell-technology the value of a word is only one-thousandth the worth of a corresponding drawn-picture!
An image came to Marmet’s mind of a device somewhat larger than a Purse Counting-stone, something like a flat crystal filled with moving diagrams.
“Walls,” Marmet said, measuring the words carefully, “Now if I wanted to get pictures from these stones… ?”