Howard Brazee <howard at brazee.net> Sent by: dragaera-bounces at dragaera.info 07/06/06 09:01 AM To cc Dragaera List <dragaera at dragaera.info> Subject Re: What are the obvious hanging plot hooks? >In our world, a great deal of world exploration was for spices. >Magellan took 3 ships on his trip around the world. He died, two ships >were sunk, but one ship made it with a load full of black pepper. The >investors were richly rewarded by this fantastically successful >return. Trade in small things, that can be carried by someone >teleporting can be quite profitable. Spices were important for preserving meat due to lack of refrigeration. It's an interesting contrast to see the Dragaeran Empire, where refrigeration is possible via sorcery. Spices, therefore, may not be quite the economic drivers that they were in our own history. >Conclusion: Teleportation is not as common as we see, and much more >difficult around the world than we might guess. No argument here. Keep in mind that "our heroes" are all pretty exceptional people. Majikjon