Chapter 88: Supply and Demand
For the next week, the two went around every village they could find, and they sold their stock and bought milk. Ciaran initially thought that he had the process of extraction mastered, but his very next attempt ended in failure.
Of every thirty-five attempts, he only got one perfectly pure extract. He was furious with himself, but he didn't allow his failures to dictate his life, on the contrary, they motivated him more.
His biggest bottleneck was the lack of funds. Neither he nor Diana had taken any money with them, or more specifically, they weren't allowed any help from their families, and that included financial.
They sold what they could, but with the goal being to help the North survive, they couldn't bleed it for its resources.
"Listen, I have an idea, and before you say no I want you to just hear me out," Ciaran said, his eyes red with dark circles under his eyes.
He could barely sleep, and he was on a milky diet ever since the experiments began. His body was failing him, and he knew it. Worst of all his partner knew it too, and she was less inclined to let him continue to kill himself.
"No, we aren't robbing the castles Rony, we have been over this. First, they have high-ranking military forces, and second, that would do more harm than good."
"The army protects the Empire, not just from Auroria, but also from the Tundra, and all that lives there. Do you think those beasts would willingly stay in the coldest, most dangerous place on this continent if they weren't kept there? The high-ranking beast always wants to cross in either of our nations, why do you think we are still at peace, because if there is war, then the borders would be opened to them."
He had begged her to assault the strongholds. As strong as they were, surely they could grab themselves a gold coin or two, and run away.
But every time he asked, she cruelly shut him down, with excuses like 'They will kill us Rony', or 'You have lost your mind Rony', or even 'We would be made to serve guard duty Rony', and that last one he found valid, but the rest of them were just the whining of a cowered.
He needed money and his partner didn't want to choose violence, so he was running out of options. He rammed his bracelet, searching for some of his leftover toys. She couldn't stop him if she was scratching herself like a flea-infested monkey now, could she?
"Wait that's it! Diana, do the fortresses have enough supplies? I am talking weapons, poisons, bombs, all kinds of nasty stuff they need I can provide. And I won't charge much, they can even pay me in milk. They give food and medicine to the villagers, get paid in milk, and in turn, give it to me for whatever they need." He said, and to his surprise Diana actually considered it, but then she shook her head,
"It would work if you could give them a weapon they don't already have. I am sure you are a great alchemist, but they are supplied by Empire-contracted specialists. And their weapons are meant to kill being far above our level." She ruined his plans.
He cursed and kicked a tree, then lay on the ground and said he would sleep. They were in the middle of nowhere, but he could care less about such minute details.
She sat next to him, and soon after followed him in his slumber. At her level, whether she slept or was awake, her awareness was always at its peak. If something was to attack them it would be the last mistake it would make.
The sun went down and then rose again, but they still slept, only when it was in the middle of the sky did Ciaran wake up.
He pinched both of Diana's cheeks and pestered her to wake up.
"Hurry up girl, we need to go to the base today."
She wasn't happy about the rude awakening, but then she got genuinely pissed.
"I told you we have nothing they need." She hissed at him.
He snapped his fingers into handguns at her. "Exactly, but we DON'T KNOW what they WANT."
"The base might be way above our paid grade, but it is still run by humans. Those pesky things always seem to want something. And now that I am refreshed, my brain cooked up a thought-provoking question, would the Empire give them a luxurious life, and if not why."
She was starting to see where he was going with this, but she let him continue.
'Never interrupt the monologue of the crazies, they tend to get pissy at you otherwise.'
"I can make them whatever they want. And you will stop me if they ask for something you view as immoral." He said, and that got a reaction from her.
She never knew someone could both be lost in their madness and self-aware enough to hire themselves a chaperone.
"Don't look at me like that, I know I've gone off the deep end. But I have you, and I trust you. You are invested enough in this, and you are flexible enough to not drag me away at the first stupid thing they say, and they will say stupid stuff, that I can guarantee you. Now let's go already. " He said as he stomped his foot in impatience.
For all the progress he made, his mentors thought he had lost his attention problems. When he was Ciaran Clades, before he came under the tutelage of the dryads, he had a problem focusing. He either couldn't focus on anything or was hyperfocused on something to the point of obsession.
He kept it under wraps when he was with his mentors, but now no one kept him in check. In fact, his partner enabled his madness.
They got to the nearest military base. It was not one of the strongholds, but it was still a medium-sized base.
Diana used her status as a Ranger, to get an audience with the people in charge.
"Ranger Diana, what can we help you with?" A middle-aged man asked.
He wasn't aware of either of their identities, but Rangers were rarely normal people if at all. And he lost nothing in hearing them out. If he could help them, maybe he could even get two future monsters to owe him a debt.
"You stink. Your soldiers stink. Do you hear me, you all STINK." Ciaran said, not bothering to keep the conversation quiet.
The soldiers were a little curious who the two people were, but now the boy got their attention. They were now itching to know who came here to get their teeth removed.
"You have Water magic to cleanse yourself, but the Empire provides nothing else. I can smell the stench you exert from a mile away, and here is a little tip. It doesn't have to be like this, because I can help, and I am a cheap whore, willing to slave away for pennies." He said as he gave the Lieutenant Colonel a big smile that went to his ears.
The soldiers were stunned, and so was their commanding officer. He had a few predictions on why two Rangers would come to his base, but to act like soap salesmen, well that he did not see coming.
Diana was a thick-skinned girl, but even her cheeks got a little red.
'That's it, I am never letting this brat talk again.' She was in dire need to barry herself somewhere until the embarrassment passed.
Ciaran told the man his plan while keeping the reason they needed so much milk to himself.
"Look here. These are all my creations." He said as he gave him a few samples of his arsenal.
There were bombs, poisons, paralyzers, and even flash grenades. Those he made after he witnessed how effective Clara's tricks were.
The man was stunned. Those were nothing special, but they were amateurish, and made with cheap ingredients. If the boy could do that, then he could do what he promised.
"How many can you make, and how much time will you invest?" The man asked.
Ciaran raised two fingers and the Lieutenant Colonel frowned.
"Two kilograms will-
"Two hundred kilograms by tomorrow if you need them. Do we have a deal?" The boy stood up and extended his hand.
The commander shook it, and the soldiers cheered.
Diana and the boy left the base and headed into the forest.
"Let's go girl, tonight I will not let you catch a wink of sleep. It's time to get wet." He said.
She grabbed his hand, and as trained he showed her what he meant.
She just blinked and a long sigh escaped her.
"Has someone ever told you, you need to work on your phrasing?" She asked, more out of genuine curiosity on how the boy got this way, than anything else.
With a confused nod, the boy led them into their manufacturing adventure.