Editing Chapter 5.21 E

[[Laken Godart|Laken]] impresses the visiting nobility with his trebuchets. He declines to sell them at this time. [[Bethal]] and [[Thomast]] depart. [[Rags]]' tribe enters his domain.

Day 98–100. Following the previous day’s fae-visited feast, the nobility receives demonstration of and plays with Riverfarm’s trebuchets. Lady [[Bethal Walchaís|Bethal]] is particularly enamored with them. Lady [[Bevia Veniford|Bevia]] tries to finagle Laken’s past out of him, but Lady [[Rie Valerund|Rie]] intervenes. [[Laken Godart|Laken]] senses the [[Flooded Waters Tribe|Flooded Waters tribe]] entering his domain. [[Wiskeria]] is still angry with [[Sacra]]. Sacra negotiates on Lady [[Magnolia Reinhart|Magnolia’s]] behalf with Laken, exchanging temporary halt of any trebuchet trading for cessation of hostility, recognition of sovereignity, and support.  

Laken organises a response to the Goblins, and in the interest of a response to Magnolia holds private audiences with the present nobles, playing politics. Of note is Lady Bethal, whose request for any trebuchets he insistently denies, and Lady Bevia, whom he borrows a [[Nesor|mage]] from.

The next day Laken has an epiphany of what [[Riverfarm]] has to offer for all these nobles: not [Engineers], but ''engineering'', which is not the same thing. Skills, in contrast to skills, hoble development by providing instincts instead of knowledge, short-circuiting any learning. Laken’s epiphany boils down to acquisition of knowledge and skills, supported but not supplanted by [[Skills]], and teaching those, democratising and breaking the monopoly on rare classes.