The human clerk, with an apologetic face, spreads his hands, “I. I don’t have that authority. The senior apprentices are.
“Hmm, not quite ‘apprentices’? The secrets of going from apprentice to journeyman accessory crafter is–”
He pauses, “Expensive. Not in gold or resources. Though it certainly is. Kel is offering something that cannot be bought with money or connections alone.
“Rather, it costs something even money can’t buy. Time. The seniors? All but the most recent additions could have tipped over into being journeymen years ago. Kel is keeping the last key to that advancement locked away tightly and they have to serve out their term to its full extent.
“To become a senior means capping the skill and then having your family spend a lot of things for you to stick around. Me? I’m just here till I cap. Seniors are royalty or close to it.
“What they work on is almost exclusively the big orders. The kingdom itself has a prince, third in line, working here. He works exclusively on the orders that the kingdom has placed. And I’ve heard rumors that the only reason it isn’t the crown prince is because neither the first nor second prince showed any talent for the craft.”
Rosha rolls her eyes, “Now you’re just taking things too far. Kel isn’t the only source of this knowledge. It isn’t that vital.”
The clerk shrugs, “Eh, that last bit probably is an exaggeration. Though the skill is important.”
Rosha, “And you are just fine with leaving it at apprentice?”
The clerk sits back, “I’m more depending on luck. For something like accessory crafting? Or, really, any skill with vital importance? The System isn’t going to let the skill fade away. One of the common bottleneck quests is to hide a complete legacy.
“There are wild accessory crafters that pop up all the time. And promptly die, but only half the time is that because of malicious intent. Without support, you need materials for the craft and those aren’t easy or cheap to get.
“That leads to either someone very powerful, very much under someone who is powerful, or dead. Mostly the last one because most people leaving their legacy have a chip on their shoulder and part of their legacy is how mule-headed they are.”
Rosha sighs, “Whatever. There must be some people who aren’t quite there yet? Better than not and all that. I’m not asking for perfection. I’m asking for a roll of the die with better odds.”
The clerk, “That is technically possible. The problem is that we don’t exactly share that info? I mean, the master doesn’t let us hang around after capping, so many will hide that fact. It won’t get them through to journeyman, but practice is practice. Nevermind the social standing that comes with being an active apprentice of his.”
Rosha sighed, “What’s the price?”
The clerk shrugs, “Sadly, there isn’t one. Nothing you can offer is worth losing a position here, over. Especially since most of us apprentices suspect Master Kel has a much better idea of who is at what level of skill. You don’t become a Master of a skill without knowing the ins and outs of it.”
Rosha shakes her head, “And of course, that means every apprentice makes doubly sure they don’t do anything out of line.”
The clerk nods, “My take? We’re kept around to make sure the workshop can keep processing orders. I have never heard of another place capable of producing similar accessories in the same manner as this place does. Not that there aren’t places that will work on such commissions. The two of you have bracelets, don’t think I didn’t notice, and they weren’t made here.
“But if you want mass production on a reasonable timeline? Repeatable? Kingdoms I’ve never even heard of will occasionally make orders. And my family stuffed my head full of every nearby kingdom for quite a ways out. After all, names are easy to remember. I’m sure I know some that don’t even exist anymore.”
Rosha, “Don’t exist? I thought kingdoms weren’t exactly fighting each other?”
The clerk barks out a laugh, “The biggest danger to a kingdom isn’t other kingdoms. The danger comes from within. Monsters, Succession, and Advisors. Some like to reorder them so the acronym is mas or sam.
“Honestly, if one of them was more common than another? That would probably be the order. And technically? One will come out ahead of the other. Except then every other kingdom around will defend against that and leave themselves open to another.”
Rosha, “What about the population just deciding they don’t like whoever is in charge?”
The clerk smiles, “They call that a succession crisis. Sounds better that way and lets them pretend that royalty means more than the person currently on top of the pile. Too many people rise from nothing. Though the ‘true nobility’, which I must admit I am a part of, will claim that what matters is how long your family has been in your position. Of course, the second one of us manages to advance our position? Well! Then it is a matter of skill, strength, and in this city? Divine right.”
Rosha, “As it ever was.
“Anyway, bit of a distraction there. We’ve been talking around this for far too long. We can come back to the actual crafting later. Clearly there needs to be something else for us.”
The clerk shrugs, “Well, more gold isn’t on the table. Neither of us could justify it beyond what has already been agreed upon. And for some reason, I don’t think the favors I could offer you would be tempting. You don’t seem the type to stay around here long enough to cash them in.”
Rosha, “Favors are worth more held, than used. Though, yeah, you need to be nearby for them to have worth.
“I am more thinking along the lines of, well, I guess it might technically fall under the heading of a favor? But not one held, rather, something asked for right away.”
The clerk smiles, “Ah, a commoner’s favor?”
Rosha rolls her eyes, “Well, that’s a delightful way to put down people who realize they have an immediate need over forging chains of tradition.”