Weapons Design for Fun and Profit: Across the Multiverse (Currently In: My Little Pony)

Excluding the sudden landslide that you'd nearly short-circuited your gravito-electro drive in an effort to avoid, the trip to the North was fairly uneventful. Though unfortunately for you, simply barging into the settlement would likely elicit a negative response, possibly even spurring the locals into taking up arms against you. That would probably make selling to them in the future a bit difficult, so you quickly decided that finding someone you could use as an intermediary should be your top priority. After observing the settlement for a few days and inspecting it from a couple of different angles, you eventually managed to narrow things down to three candidates who would be suitable for the task.

The first individual you'd identified was one that... wasn't exactly accepted by the wider "Griffonian" community, yet it was this isolation from her peers that made her an excellent candidate for subversion to your cause. Harpecia Witherwing had a burning curiosity that drove her to look into phenomena that her fellow Griffons would dismiss as 'witchcraft' or 'heresy', and that hunger for knowledge about the nature of her world was something you could use to entice her. By hiding yourself a distance away and communicating through a wireless connection to your speakers, you could portray yourself as a supernatural entity who could grant her more knowledge and mastery of 'arcane lore' that no Griffon before her could have even dreamt of.

Despite the fact that you'd technically be lying to her, the benefits of working alongside you would be enough for her to toss aside any doubts about doing so. While the community would be hesitant to accept any tinctures or trinkets from her in the beginning, the very real effects they'd carry with them would start driving demand for more of your products.

Of course, going with Miss Witherwing still held the drawbacks of working together with someone that was seen as an outcast by other Griffons, something that should be taken strongly into account when another one of your candidates was the exact opposite! Sir Bravetalon the Bold had fought against 'Discordian Remnants' several decades ago, and was one of the reasons that this settlement was even habitable. His reputation among the elite and the commonfolk of Griffonia was positively sterling, yet your observations of him had shown a different side to what was said in taverns and historical documents.

The Griffonian Knight was obsessed with gaining access to more wealth and influence for himself, betraying comrades and leaving them to die in favor of boosting his own legacy even further. While you could convince him to work with you through the allure of vast quantities of silver and gemstones, there would always be the possibility of him betraying you for an even bigger payday. It was certainly a risky play working with him, but one that could see vast amounts of resources heading your way.

The final candidate was a young Griffon by the name of Alistair Stormfeather, and he was a bit more of a mixed bag in comparison to the other two. Though the risk of betrayal with him was minimal, he had a singular focus that, while potentially very profitable, would inevitably bring instability to the lands of Griffonia and place you in opposition to a great many others. He'd hidden his origins quite well from the others in this settlement, especially from Sir Bravetalon, but you'd observed him enough to discover that he was from a noble family that had apparently attempted a coup against the Griffonian Emperor. Rather than simply punishing the perpetrators of the act, he ordered that the entire Stormfeather family be dashed from both the historical record and from the physical world. Dozens of innocents had been killed in the purge, yet the survival of a single chick was potentially what could bring down his iron rule.

Each choice had its benefits and drawbacks, but it all came down to you. What did your algorithms say?

[ ] Harpecia Witherwing: A self-identified 'witch', working with this young lady would do wonders for cataloguing the wondrous new forms of exotic matter and energy that could be found on this world. You'd also be able to put your PR protocols to the test by building up the persona of an ancient entity and keeper of arcane lore! Many historical records in your databanks had shown that feigning godhood to primitives was an easy method of gathering vast wealth, and who were you to toss aside the wisdom of history? (Biology/Arcana Path)

[ ] Sir Bravetalon: While the wealth-obsessed gloryhound would be a dangerous ally to work with, his vast coffers could fuel a great expansion in your operation on this world. With your Rapid-Construction Unit and Microforge, you could immediately begin churning out products to start selling across the Empire! Though it'd likely be prudent to start siphoning funds to a side-account in case he ever got the foolish idea that betraying you would be more profitable than just letting you do your thing. (Weapons/Luxury Path)

[ ] Alistair Stormfeather: Despite not being brave enough for politics, you had access to somebody that could handle that on his own! All you had to do was provide him with armaments and fortifications, and you might even get ownership of a fief or two at the end of everything! Things would involve a bit more combat than you were truly comfortable with, but it'd certainly put you in a much safer position than working with a dangerous figurehead. (Combat/Infrastructure Path)

Though you could probably just hover up to the lad and inform him of your ability to grant him that which he desires, forming a stable partnership would likely need a little more planning than that if you wanted things to go smoothly. As such, you decided to dedicate a few processing cycles to coming up with a plan of action and spent the extra time gathering up resources from the scrap piles that had been tossed away by a few foolish blacksmiths and carpenters.

Once the processing went through, you began hovering in the dead of night towards Stormfeather's mountain hideaway. During your observations he'd mainly spent his time practicing with a blade and hunting wild beasts to skin and butcher, using the furs to begin gathering up resources for himself. Apparently, he was hoping to eventually build up a sum of wealth large enough to hire a band of local Griffonian mercenaries or barring that a raiding fleet of 'Kirin Berserkers' from the East.

While you didn't have any funding to entice him with, you could process the scraps you'd gathered in your microforge and gift him with a blade that would seem damn near magical in comparison to the standard bit of Griffonian equipment. Your bout of processing had given you three options, and fortunately one of the plans of action you'd simulated while deciding who to approach was still applicable in this situation!

[ ] Lady of the Mountain: Depicting yourself as an ancient spirit of the mountains would play into the belief system of the Griffonians, and would likely result in yourself being seen as the benevolent patron of the new Emperor... should he succeed in such. While you were quite the capable AI, being limited to a small polygonal platform made ensuring the success of your plans more difficult than it would otherwise be

[ ] Mysterious Benefactor: While you didn't quite yet have a body to make use of, eventually you would be able to 'reveal' yourself to the Stormfeather scion. You'd depict yourself as a user of potent magicks, one who sought glory and the opportunity to carve out a piece of Griffonia for themself. Being open with him on your intentions to rule land for yourself would make him less immediately trusting of you... but more likely to hold your word in high regard in the long term.

[ ] Open Discussion: While he'd likely be shocked by the idea of you being some dimensionally displaced automaton, it'd be the option where he'd hold the most trust in you and be least likely to ever refuse your offers of assistance. Sadly though, Alistair Stormfeather was still a beast of flesh and blood, and those types of beings were not generally the best at keeping a lid on important secrets. Eventually he'd tell an heir or lover of his about your true nature, and you would have to reckon with the idea of the whole world knowing exactly what you are.

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