The unexpected encounter with Sarevok did not have any impact on Zuo Si's itinerary.
After showing up during the first negotiation, he never participated again. Instead, he began to sweep through Candlekeep's books shelf by shelf, collecting them all into the [Thinking Library] and storing them.
If you encounter a spell you have never seen and need to copy and save it, you must pay a high fee to the priest of Ogma, the god of knowledge.
Among them, a copy of the precious and rare "Truth Scroll" can even cost tens of thousands of gold coins.
Because in Candlekeep, no outsider is allowed to copy any book without authorization, and can only pay to hire scribes from Candlekeep to copy.
A copy of a non-magical book generally costs about one hundred gold coins.
Usually it can be easily done with just a few zero-level [Scribe] skills.
However, magical books and scrolls require a considerable amount of time and energy to be copied manually.
Coupled with the added value brought by the knowledge itself and monopoly, expensive charges naturally become a matter of course.
After all, Zuo Si had seen the ugly face of a paper plagiarism checking website when he was on earth.
In comparison, although Candlekeep's charges are expensive, at least you get what you pay for, so it's definitely worth the money.
What's more, Ogma's church does not collect money simply to make money, but will use the money to collect and keep various precious books, knowledge, and scrolls.
It is precisely because of the tireless collection and protection over the years that Candlekeep has become the largest and most comprehensive library on the West Coast.
Zuo Si, immersed in the ocean of knowledge, spent almost three hundred thousand gold coins in just a few days.
His extravagant spending shocked not only the priests responsible for copying.
Even the current top leader of Candlekeep, "Volume Guardian" Urlant, was alarmed.
On the one hand, Zuo Si’s identity is too sensitive.
No one dares to look down upon this chosen one of Talona, ​​the goddess of poison and disease.
On the other hand, he may carry knowledge from another world, and this knowledge is what Candlekeep and Ogma, the god of knowledge, value most.
After having a dinner together, Urlant formally extended an invitation to Zuo Si to participate in a debate to be held next week.
This is Candlekeep's traditional repertoire.
At that time, many people with different philosophical views will gather together and express their opinions on some more interesting topics.
Some of these people agree with good and lawful, while others agree with evil and chaos, while others believe that maintaining neutrality and balance is the right path.
In short, the sparks of thought generated through these debates will, without exception, be recorded as a gift to the God of Knowledge.
In return, those who perform best can enter the most secret rooms of the central castle to read the books and scrolls that record the most powerful magical knowledge.
Obviously, this was an irresistible temptation for Zuo Si, so he agreed without even thinking about it.
Urlant had no idea that Zuo Si had almost copied most of Candlekeep's books in the past few days without paying a penny, taking the word "prostitution for free" to its extreme.
Only those magics that cannot be recorded at all have to be paid to have someone copy them.
By the time he finished his conversation with the "Scroll Keeper" and returned to the Candlekeep Inn, the sky was almost completely dark.
As soon as he opened the door and walked into the hall, Sir Crispian, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately ran over holding a wine glass and said excitedly: "Sir Soth, I have good news to inform you.
Just at dusk, Duke Silvershield finally had to give in and signed a peace agreement with us.
From the effective date of the agreement, Baldur's Gate will exempt merchants from Amn from at least 50% tariffs, and will also promise not to send ships to Tethyr and Calimshan in the south for trade.
This also means that the entire southern Sword Coast and the Sword Sea area has completely become the domain of our Amn Chamber of Commerce.
Everyone will make a fortune from this!
And all this is due to you!"
Zuo Si quickly waved his hand and said meaningfully: "No, no, no, this is not my credit, but your credit, Sir. Don't forget, the series of operations to suppress Baldur's Gate are all yours."
Plans and means."
"Yes! It's me! Damn it! It's all because alcohol affects the brain!"
Sir Crispian immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing and immediately corrected himself as quickly as possible.
Because there was an agreement between the two, Zuo Si was responsible for coming up with the idea, and he was responsible for executing it, and then he took all the blame.
In this way, the former gains actual benefits, while the latter gains reputation and political capital.
Win-win!
When he thought that he could return to Ascaltra as a "hero" and enjoy the cheers from the people and businessmen, Sir Crispian seemed to have a fire burning in his heart.
What he needs to consider next is how to transform these reputation and political capital into tangible power and wealth.
In particular, how to divide the "cake" left by Baldur's Gate after the treaty is signed is definitely a top priority.
Zuo Si undoubtedly noticed this, so he chuckled and reminded: "Before returning to Ascatla, you still need to do some things to build momentum for yourself."
"Building momentum?"
Sir Crispian's eyes shone slightly.
After this negotiation, he finally saw the other party's keen political sense and superb skills.
If he didn't look too young in appearance, and he always had Bernard's sister Isadora with him.
This ambitious Amn noble even hoped to marry his daughter to Zuo Si.
Use marriage and interest bundles to completely bind this intelligent and powerful chosen god to your family.
Even if the whole family, young and old, converts to the goddess of poison and disease, there will be no problem.
"Yes, building momentum.
The current political form of Amn is that the five richest families, shadow thieves, and masked mages support each other, forming a stable foundation for rule.
Among them, the Shadow Thieves and the Masked Mage Guild are peripheral forces. Although they enjoy certain privileges, they are not at the core of the political structure.
So if you want to go further, you must first find a way to win the support of at least half of the lawmakers.
You must let them understand that you are the one who successfully suppressed Baldur's Gate this time and secured an agreement that allows everyone to benefit from it.
In this way, even if your family is not rich enough, you can still unite other families to gather a force.
And then use this power to get the power to share the cake from the six-person council.
With the power to distribute benefits, you can gradually establish your prestige and become a powerful person under the six-person council.
When someone in the six-person council passes away, you can take his place and become a member of Amn's highest decision-making level."
Zuo Si stated his thoughts and plans straightforwardly.
Although he has only settled in Ascatra for a short time, he already has a deep understanding of how this business empire operates.
To put it simply, Amn is like the Republic of the Seven Provinces of the Netherlands (the predecessor of the Netherlands) shortly after the beginning of the Age of Discovery on Earth. The entire society is filled with greed and desire for wealth.
They are especially keen on seizing and controlling trade routes in order to earn huge profits.
Even the behavior of developing overseas colonies, establishing ports, and eventually forming a monopoly on certain rare commodities can be said to be exactly the same.
Yes!
Amn is a country with strong colonial tendencies.
Several settlements were even established on the Moon Shadow Islands northwest of the Sword Sea.
One of them has become a base for explorers to continue exploring the Traceless Sea.
If nothing else happens, they should discover the Maztec continent across the sea in the next two years, setting off a wave of colonization and gold mining.
If you want to hold power in such a country, you must prove that you can provide businessmen with more and easier opportunities to make money.
Become a member of the Council of Six by sponsoring Sir Crispian.
Not only can Zuo Si gain a powerful political ally, but he can also bring in the Bernard family's Chamber of Commerce to form a community of interests spanning the fields of politics, business and magic.
Although it seems that this combination is still quite weak, not even enough to make its own voice in Ascaltra.
But as time goes by, it will slowly develop and grow.
Coupled with the Arcane Society's plan to secretly control and develop the Nelanthel Islands, it won't take long for them to firmly occupy a position in Amn.
Just when Sir Crispian had a thoughtful expression on his face and opened his mouth to say something, the innkeeper Winthrop suddenly came over from a distance and handed a note to Zuo Si.
In front of me: "Your Excellency, a gentleman asked me to pass this on to you."
To be continued...