The Most Evil Kind.

"Settle down. The ratios weren't based on the decimal system and weren't invented by the state; they are ratios based on the weight and price of metals compared to each other. So when you become the finance minister here, establish standard values and equate everything to the number of fingers on your hands."

"And gold is very expensive compared to silver," the friend didn't calm down.

"But there isn't much of it, gold."

"What do you mean, there isn't?" Gennady became clearly interested. "I remember, in the soldiers' memories, there is definitely gold."

"Well, there's very little of it. Silver mines are the most common thing here. And they are the foundation of the economy for the local kings. But there are almost no gold mines. Do you think about why these places are so wild and almost empty, and why such a serious road leads north? It's because there are gold mines—golden, mithril, and moon silver, and emeralds for overall trade. And on the other side of these mountains, there is nothing but silver, though very rich mines. This whole war is for the northern gold mines. And this road is for the northern gold mines. In the neighboring kingdom, there isn't a single gold mine at all. Can you imagine? Their treasury doesn't mint gold coins! And to make it clearer to you—none of the neighbors have gold mines at all. The main gold mines of this world are in the south, in the Empire, which essentially controls the entire financial system of this world. Gold is very expensive."

"And what about moon silver and mithril? I haven't even come across them in the soldiers' memories, what are they?"

"Moon silver is a magical metal, extremely rare. Rarer than gold by about three to four times. All the reserves are immediately taken by archmages for artifacts and such. You can't buy it freely. There's only one mine in the north, specifically in this kingdom. There's no more of this metal in the north. They mine it in the southern deserts. There seems to be a lot of it there, but a desert is a desert, and it's also a local one. Mithril, on the other hand, isn't found in the south. All the extraction is in the north. The best armor and weapons, it's a strong, light, magical metal. It's cheaper than gold since it's much more common. But more expensive than silver. In the north, they make artifacts out of it, not moon silver, and of course, they forge weapons. Only the very rich have armor made from it."

"And platinum? Is it here?" The whole topic clearly intrigued Gennady.

"Perhaps moon silver is platinum. I'm giving you information from a person's memory who, though a knight, has never seen moon silver with his own eyes. You understand, the Kingdom of Orod is a traditional enemy of Elur, and nobody will sell them moon silver."

"So then mithril—is it titanium, essentially?"

"When we hold it in our hands, then we'll see what it is," Alexander concluded, and added, "This world is different from ours, and perhaps the physical laws here are different, and nobody has heard of old man Mendeleev, and nobody wants to obey his rules. And I've never seen this titan myself, to say if it's the same thing or not."

But the meeting after the battle was not only held by the victors.

"Now that they've won, we can forget about leading the people."

"Then we'll wait for the right moment. For now, just wait and obey their orders."

A man and a woman standing in the forest not far from the camp glanced around stealthily and went further. They needed to hunt, and now they had to do it themselves. It was they who once set these rules. And the game in the area was becoming scarcer and scarcer.

In the evening, the group of five scouts left to watch over the broken camp and the trail, returned, replaced by a new group. Alexander wasn't even surprised when three lifeless bodies were dragged to him. The count sent soldiers to check the situation in the small camp, but they were intercepted and captured. After drinking a few drops of each one's blood, he ordered them to be dragged to the other prisoners. They built a fairly sturdy shack for them, providing good shelter from the weather.

The only thing Oleg forgot to mention about the prisoners was clothing. Parading around naked, the vampires began to treat it with some reverence, so the prisoners were completely naked. Without shoes, naked, they wrapped themselves in blankets and cloaks, constantly warming themselves by the fires. In captivity, their fear was not of the mysterious creatures surrounding them, but of simple physics—in such a state, you couldn't run far in the forest.

But having taken all their clothes, they were fed to their hearts' content, without any restrictions on food, and made to perform quite simple tasks, which was unusual for people accustomed to a completely different treatment.

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