Quoted By:
>The civilisation gets +0.05 Technology and Culture.
>The civilisation gets +15 Prosperity.
>The civilisation gets -5 Equality and -5 Security.
It is decided that these copper tablets are far too inconvenient. Instead, the wealth of a man should be measured by simpler means – something that he can carry on his person and that can carried in significant quantities. After some discussion, the leaders of the tribe settle on cowrie shells, which the Protavic people call <span class="mu-s">toroc</span>, or <span class="mu-i">water stones</span>. They are scarce and almost impossible to replicate, which makes them an ideal foundation for a currency.
To begin with, many beast-bringers are uncertain about this new innovation. Though they admit that these seashells are beautiful, they fail to see what use they have beyond jewellery. Yet as more of the tribe adopts this system, others are pressured to follow in their footsteps and within a matter of years, everyone is exchanging toroc for goods and services as a matter of convenience. Bartering falls by the wayside and is replaced by a far more innovative economic system.
This new currency means that the acquisition of cowrie shells becomes massively important. Many tribesmen devote their lives to rowing down the Croglatol to the faraway coast, either to swindle the local tribes for their seashells or to dive beneath the waves to collect them personally. This has led to the tribe becoming familiar with the two clans who live closest to the river's mouth – the <span class="mu-i">wing-stitchers</span> of the <span class="mu-s">Bladrek</span> and the <span class="mu-i">rock-eaters</span> of the <span class="mu-s">Roguwek</span>. As with the river tribes, so far Protavic traders have managed to maintain a cordial relationship with them.
However, this new currency comes with its costs. Those who are slow to adapt find themselves left behind, unable to barter with their tribesmen who refuse to exchange their goods for anything but toroc. Additionally, the portable nature of this shell money makes it easier to steal, leading to a significant rise in thefts and robberies. Absconding with a pouch full of cowrie shells is a much simpler task than snatching a neighbour's prize boar.
A generation passes.
The shores of the Croglatol have changed a great deal. Not so long ago, the muddy banks of the great lake were devoid of civilisation. Now a man can't even travel for a mile without walking through a village of wattle of daub houses, surrounded by pig pens and apiaries, with sturdy canoes bobbing up and down in the nearby water. In these settlements, traders hawk exotic wares to eager customers, artisans beat red hot copper into shape, the intelligentsia play board games before enraptured audiences and elders lecture children about the sacred cycle of consumption.
Over many centuries, the Protavic people has grown far more than a primitive tribe, but not all change is slow. Sometimes, it is explosive.
