Weapons Design for Fun and Profit: Across the Multiverse
Harpecia let out a sigh of relief as she finally reached the top of Mt. Featherest, letting herself fall onto the snow-covered peak of the mountain as she tried to recover from her exhausting journey. She'd been forced to travel on claw and paw for the last few kilometers of her journey, due to the sheer strength of the winds surrounding the mountain peak. Any attempts at circumventing the climb through use of her wings would have inevitably resulted in her being blown out of the sky and sent tumbling to the mountains below.
Though all of this struggle would be worth it if the rumors she'd hear back in town were true. She'd recently hit a wall in her study of arcane lore, not having either the funds to experiment with magical herbs nor the access to knowledge that would allow her to continue studying without experimentation. Yet the Aglaophotis flower that allegedly made its home on Mt. Featherest could be the thing to turn her fortunes around, the magical properties of the flower would allow her to directly manipulate magical forces even without access to a horn like those pansy ponies to the west!
She immediately got up and began scouring the peak for any sign of flora, invigorated by the thought of showing up those dang Unicorns that had told her to give up on her quest to master magic! Unfortunately, beyond a few patches of grass there didn't seem to be much at all on the peak of Mt. Featherest... she let out a screech of anger and began slashing at the snow with her claws, tossing ice and snow in all directions as she let out her rage on the innocent mountain.
What was there even left for her to do at this point? She'd made a decent living as an apothecary for the village, but all she used there were remedies that she'd learned from the old crones in her hometown. The actual pursuit of magic? It had been nothing but a burden on her all her life! Maybe they'd been right about her, how could she ever truly make use of magic without having been born with a horn?
She let out a sigh and sat down on the metal slab dejectedly, thinking about what else she should dedicate her life to now that'd she given up her dream of arcane mastery.
...metal slab?
Harpecia squawked in fear as the ground beneath her began to shake, knowing that without the ability to simply fly away from it an avalanche could be quite the dangerous thing. Fortunately, the shaking seemed to settle down after a few seconds, leaving nothing but an ominous-looking obsidian obelisk floating in the air.
After a few seconds of nothing occurring, she began to slowly approach the obelisk and- "WHO DARES AWAKEN ME FROM MY SLUMBER?"
Harpecia let out another squawk, this time of pain. It felt as though the voice was coming at her from all directions, ignoring any attempt at blocking her earholes as it continued its spiel.
"OH? A GRIFFONESS DARES TO APPROACH ME? HOW AMUSING. WHAT COULD SUCH A SIMPLE BEING HAVE TO OFFER AN ARCANE ENTITY SUCH AS MYSELF?" the voice boomed.
Wait, an arcane entity? Harpecia quickly trawled through her mental archives of eldritch creatures and arcane beings, trying to identify exactly what if was that could be speaking to her at the moment. The closest she could find were ancient tales of crystalline entities who sought to plunge the world into darkness many centuries ago, before even the reign of Discord and his subsequent defeat. Though, if the rumors of the Aglaophotis flower had been true? They were often used as an anchor to seal away dark entities, and for her to have heard the rumor somebody must've seen the flower in the first place! If they'd plucked it from the peak, it could have resulted in seals decaying and this being to free itself from its restraints.
Sadly, knowing all of this didn't exactly put her into much of a better position than she'd been in previously. All she could do now was take a gamble, and hope that her disturbing the peak of Featherest hadn't just plunge the world into a new age of terror.
"A-ancient one! I approach you with the most profound of gratitude, for even being in the sight of one as knowledgeable as thyself is a great honor! I wish to immerse myself in the arcane, but the fools of Griffonkind cannot see past their own limitations. As such, I look to one who has gone further beyond. One whose existence is on a different level from us mere mortals! I beseech thee, grant me the honor of being both your servant and your student!"
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...wow, even your most optimistic simulations hadn't predicted your ruse would be so effective!
[ ] "HA! YOUR COURAGE IS GREAT, LITTLE ONE. MAYHAPS I SHALL NOT CONSUME YOUR SOUL AS NOURISHMENT FOR MY RETURN TO POWER. BRING ME YOUR RECORDS, I SHALL SEE IF YOU ARE WORTHY OF LEARNING MORE." (+2 Magical Herb Knowledge, +1 Arcane Runes Knowledge)
[ ] "YOU DARE TO APPROACH ONE SUCH AS MYSELF WITHOUT TRIBUTE? BE GRATEFUL THAT I AM ALLOWING YOU TO REMEDY THIS INSULT RATHER THAN STRIKING YOU DOWN WHERE YOU STAND! (+1 Very Rare Biomatter)
[ ] "INDEED? WHY DON'T YOU-
cough cough. Sorry about that, I had something stuck in my astral form. Why don't you just go to a mage's college? Is there a particular reason you've to come to me instead? (Increased Trust with Harpecia)
[ ] Write-In (Must be approved by QM)
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No longer would you have to ration your remaining power supplies between manufacturing and research, instead you could begin working towards refilling those batteries back up to maximum capacity! It'd require a few exotic materials, but they were ones that the locals were both familiar with and had the capacity to refine on their own.
Maybe you could offer Alistrair a crate full of firearms? Even random groups of intergalactic raiders were willing to drop a pretty penny for them, and for a world entirely unfamiliar with the branch of technology you were certain you could charge a premium for them! Add to that the fact that they'd be unable to manufacture ammunition for themselves, you'd not only make a profitable sale but ensure subsequent purchases for years to come!
You were on the verge of offering Alistair such when a few of your protocols suddenly fired off, reminding you that you should never give a customer a top-of-the-line product when you could gradually release better versions of the same product over the years. Decades of market research had shown that people were willing to pay a premium for a marginally better product when you built up the right brand image, and the profits that would stem from such were very enticing when you were experiencing such a profound lack of funding and resources.
There was also the fact that they'd be almost entirely unfamiliar with this sort of weapon, which would be a major roadblock towards convincing him that dropping silver on such a major purpose would be worth it. It might be better to just sell him another batch of armor, or for you to sell him melee weapons that would tear through any locally manufactured sets of armor like a plasma jet through a sheet of flimsipast!
(Solar Panels (Small) requires 2x Rare Components)
[ ] Convince Alistair to buy some guns! (Receive Blueprints for 'Griffonian Muskets, Mk I'. 35% Chance of Receiving 3x Rare Components, 50% Chance of Receiving 2x Components if you fail to Receive 3x, Receive 1x Rare Component if you fail to receive 3x or 2x)
[ ] Sell him something that you could easily produce upgraded versions of later on. (Receive Blueprints for 'Griffonian Crossbows, Mk I'. Receive 1x Rare Component, 65% Chance of Receiving an extra Rare Component)
[ ] While you wouldn't be able to mass-produce swords as fancy as his, Alistair's forces could get themselves some weapons fit for a Royal Guard! (Receive 1x Rare Component, Receive 100x Silver)
[ ] Another batch of armor! (Receive 1x Rare Component, Receive 200x Silver)
