Moving on

[Anastasia]

"Ignoring expensive components is hard, Alyssa," Jarem points out, sitting back a bit. "People like you who can do that are the exception, not the rule. Frankly, those people usually have better things to do that only they can do, while support staff magics up solutions to logistics, if needed."

Holding up a hand, "That being said, I've heard some companies who use tactics like that. I'm not overly familiar with them, but if you're interested and capable I should be able to get you one of their guide books for standard procedure. It's not an area I'm overly learned in, mostly just the arguments why it often doesn't work out or isn't needed." Smiling a bit, "There's all sorts of clever wizards and spellcasters who get up to things like that. Pointing out why it's not needed for an army of valkyries is something of a command skill. If you can make things like that work here and not waste your time, then the Red Knight will smile on your cunning."

[Iron Dragoon]

"Do those companies also have access to an entire Order of mages as I do? There are mages here who can ignore components as I do... Embarrassingly, I think my doing so has set something of a trend. It's not hugely popular, as it does take quite a bit of training and most here are past the point in their studies where they can devote time to it, but there are some... Combined with our cooperative casting that empowers spells, they can push their magic beyond the normal limits. They can't do as much as I can, or as quickly. I've done math on that, also, by the way. With my spells, I can cast each spell... Oh... roughly five times, per each spell prepared. With the metamagic I use, that's a total of 96 objects per spell I prepare, over the course of five hours. That's... Oh... 576 items in a day, if I devote all of my spells to it. Then whatever the Order can produce."

Alyssa smirks at Jarem again, "As you said, normally not a tactic that's viable... But with me, it is. And beyond that, the benefits for my new country will abound as well. Each cargo ship equipped with these barrels and crates will be able to store 16 times more cargo and supplies. They'll be able to sail further and longer than anyone else. Our large towns and food stores will be able to as well. On your end... Imagine being under siege with 16 times the supplies anyone expects you to have. And with a haversack or bag of holding... Food won't rot. Of course, I'm not looking to become a full time barrel maker, but a few days here an there spent on it, while I'm doing research or other things instead of being out and about will be more than sufficient.

And while The Red Knight's immortal army might not require it, we both know there are more than a few mortal armies who dedicate themselves to her. Supplying those armies with immortal warriors might be a bit too high handed in most cases, but this sort of logistical advantage, given wisely, would likely pass in cases where the other wouldn't."

BTW, I really did do that math. Echoing spell is -4 CL per casting, with the metamagics needed for this, Shrink Item is a level 8 spell, which is CL 15. First four castings are CL 20 or above, fifth is at CL 16. Chain spell gives +1 object per CL to a max of 20. 20*4+16=96. I have six slots for level eight, so 96*8=576.

[Anastasia]

"Okay, there's one flaw I can note right off. All of this hinges on permanency, right?" Jarem asks.

[Iron Dragoon]

"As a long term solution, yes. But even without it, it'll last about a month."

[Anastasia]

A nod to that, "Permanency takes 24 hours to cast if I recall," he points out, "Small in the grand scheme of things, but enough to slow you down." Pausing to get some more bread and bite into it, "This also reminds me of Mack, I should tell you about him later."

[Iron Dragoon]

I missed the casting time part, dur.

"I have an idea about that, actually. I've heard of a spell that will someone focus on more than one spell at a time. It won't completely solve the issue, but it'll let me do it more than one spell a day. As I said, I don't plan to do this full time, but a day here and there, it builds up in numbers quite fast."

[Anastasia]

"What sort of numbers are you looking at," Jarem asks.

[Iron Dragoon]

"With the spell, forty a day. Without, twenty. One day per week seems reasonable, I think. If I have an especially slow week, maybe two."

[Anastasia]

"Is it worth the time to you, then?" Jarem asks, "Versus having others cover it?" Leaning forward a bit, "Delegation's important for leaders, and I know you know that. I don't worry about logistics being executed properly, I have aides and assistants to do that. I keep an eye on it and focus on things that need me more; as important as logistics are, our time and effort aren't infinite."

Gesturing with his half eaten bit of bread, "That's what I'm telling you. If it's worth it to you on analysis? Do it. But don't rush in because it seems like a good idea and you haven't considered all the angles and effects yet."

[Iron Dragoon]

"To a degree, it is. But only until I get a bare minimum stock functional. In part, I want to use that army as a test bed. If it works for them, then it'll certainly work for us, and we can put it into effect as a guard against poor harvest and to maximize and dominate trade. The issue is figuring out what that minimum is."

[Anastasia]

"Well, a person on average needs about half a gallon of water, more if you're working hard or it's hot," Jarem says, scratching his wrist again. "Per day. That's the number we use to determine average logistical needs if water isn't locally available. That's also humans - dwarves tend to need a little less and elves the same as a human, I believe. Let alone other creatures."

[Iron Dragoon]

"How many bodies should I plan for?"

[Anastasia]

"People, you mean? As large a force as you have along with redundancy. Ideally you have enough supplies so that it's irrelevant. If that's not possible, then I'd suggest at least a minimum of 20%. Higher if you can manage it. Barrels will be lost, destroyed and disenchanted, that's part of war." Jarem says.

[Iron Dragoon]

So, like, need a number to work from. I doubt this'll pan out, but it's an idea Alyssa had, so she wants to try it.

[Anastasia]

Several hundred, minimum.

The main problem is taking the time to do it and upkeep it.