Time passed.
Barrek's first trade run had turned a profit.
It was not huge, but it was twice his usual margin, and that was enough to make the dwarf giddy.
That alone was cause for celebration.
Ben was not surprised.
The product was still new, and most people did not yet realize how fun or addictive it could be.
He expected that in a few months the orders would start to pour in.
Once that happened, he would begin the next phase, opening a casino, then a bar, then an inn.
All of them would operate under Taleth's watch.
They would be expensive to build.
But once the network was complete, it would form a web of information.
That would become one of Ben's main weapons against the Ashking's shadow.
Now Barrek was on his second run, this time headed for Gravenhold.
His newest product was the drone golem.
Beside him sat a tall figure with crossed arms and a rigid posture.
He looked like a Nephirid, but he was not one by blood.
