"There a two rules for success in life: Number One - Never reveal everything you know."

The Riddler

A conversation among friendly guild masters.

"What do you think about this new thing Lady Laura is introducing? These new 'standardized' units?"

"Do you mean liters, meters or grams? Or this degree Celsius thingy? What about that angle degrees?"

"All of them."

"Well, Mort, I know from the brewers they will really do ANYTHING to avoid being excluded by Lady Laura. They have already started to introduce the liter as a unit of measurement. And they are putting pressure on the mug makers, barrel makers and potters to stamp calibration marks on their vessels. The innkeepers understandably find this development inconvenient. Fewer opportunities to make more profit. The old con men deserve it."

"Yes, cheating at the weigh-in is not a courtesy among traders, too. But noticing it, or even proving it, is difficult. At least until now. The "reference" weights and "calibrated" scales Lady Laura has provided to the guild are almost perfect. And that she can provide them in such large numbers is nothing short of breathtaking. The fact that Lady Laura sits on the Guild Council gives her voice the weight it requires. There is a strong case for using the new measurements for most of the traders. It is almost certain, Charl, that the Trade Guild will bow to Lady Laura's pressure as well. It's just too useful."

"We craftsmen have practically no other choice. The young lady has made it unmistakably clear that all her orders and all her instruction in her new methods will be in the new units. The young are enthusiastic while the old are rather skeptical. But the gold she is throwing into our pockets is closing a lot of mouths. And it's damn practical. And easy to remember, too. 1000 meters are one kilometer. 1 meter is 100 centimeters. One centimeter is 10 millimeters. Any wooden post can remember that. To this end, she almost drowned us with her measuring rods. Yes, we craftsmen will certainly switch to the "metric" system, Mort. No way to stop the little lady. Not that I'm going to try."

"You should have seen her at the Guild Council meeting. She explained that our measurements are just bad. Far too complex and inaccurate. And then she badassed that she would only trade in her units. Anyone who doesn't comply will not get a trade with her. Just simple and straight."

"Charl, do you have any idea what this "asphalt" is and what it's supposed to be good for? Lady Laura had me buy up every tar pit in the kingdom I could find. And I don't know why. It must be something very profitable."

"I've seen the little girl mix the tar with small stones and sand. Then a couple of my strong boys rolled big, heavy coils of metal over it. It looked like a flat, black flatbread. Only bigger and even flatter. She said "covered" road to it, or something like that. I have no idea what that would have to do with roads, though."

"Hmm, she instructed me to acquire ground parallel to the existing roads in the name of the guild. She mentioned something about introducing "fast" roads and "road tolls." Honestly I didn't really understand."

"We are supposed to "asphalt" something for the little one in a week. Maybe then it will be understandable what she is planning."

"Let me know where and when you start. I'll look into it, Charl.  How about some of that "distilled" alcohol? I got some small amounts as  samples to taste."

"A true craftsman wouldn't say no to that!"

"Mort, I've been doing some math with the new figures. Each week our brewers have produced a little more than 100 hectoliters of fermented until now. Now, if they start distilling it and it becomes known beyond the city limits. …"

"She earns 100 gold pieces per week here today in Nuldur alone via her "patent" for her methods of making alcohol. I expect that in a month it will be 1000 gold pieces and once it spreads throughout the kingdom she will quickly become the richest woman in Mitoran. And that's just the alcohol. I am lucky that Lady Laura is not interested in running the guild. Otherwise, I'd be number two very quickly."

"Aye. The lass ain't in the mood for it. And I'm not unhappy about it. Seeing the way she handles my rough boys at her "construction site" I know she could out-maneuver me left-handed."

"My boys picked up rumors on the street that the girl is a princess and that the king had her kidnapped by the court wizard. They say she offered the king to go to war against him starting the next day."

"I've heard the rumors too. But nothing tangible. What I know for sure is that the de Fawkes family has been wiped out and all property now belongs to her. She even keeps the former countess as a slave. The reasons why are kept under wraps. The City Guard don't seem to have much impetus to arrest her. But I think there are other factors, besides the political ones, for the whole affair."

"Aye. She's shallow water, running deep. Why she suddenly has 'schools' built I can't understand either."

"I can't see the point either. Except maybe in a year I'll have a lot of applicants who can read, write and do math. Hmmmm ...."

"You mean we'll have even more gold stuffed in our pockets? Oh, that lassie is the best thing that could have happened to us!"

"Best of all, she's not simply hoarding all that money, she's spending it on the spot. I'm sure she has her reasons that I can't guess. But as long as I get rich myself, I don't care about anything else. To the lady! Cheers!"

"Bottoms up!"

"Who knows, maybe the little lass will start a bank next?"

"That's a good one!"