My dear Emmisary,
I have attached a copy of the report you asked for.
*the Seal of the Spellguard*
((signed with a flourish)) Agent Blake Order of the Spellguard
Report on the dragon statues in the canal ward.Agent Hausken (with the assistance of Associate First Class xxxxxxxxxxx) examined the statue on Nightal 19th,Year 151,1373 DR to determine its value. A variety of factors were seen to be significant, and are summarised below.
Properties:
Construction material – Mostly Breccia with occasional exotic igneous particulates, such as rhyolite and dacite. Height - approx 17 feet Width at base – 5’7’’ Depth at base – 3’6’’ Weight – approx 15 tons.
Materials
As we all know, sedimentary rocks are formed because of the overburden pressure as particles of sediment are deposited out of air, ice, wind, or water flows carrying the particles in suspension. As sediment deposition builds up, the overburden (or 'lithostatic') pressure squeezes the sediment into layered solids in a process known as lithification ('rock formation') and the original connate fluids are expelled. All well and good, but not many people know these layers can be read like a book, by those with experience in the geological trade. The layers or ‘superposition’ are always different, and there are usually some gaps in the sequence called unconformities. These give a unique signature to each piece of stone.
It is from reading this signature that I have determined that this particular rock is effectively identical to that in the surrounding houses. The stone was not imported from outside the city. From this we can conclude that the statues were recycled from the previous house that stood on this location.
The town records show this as belonging to one Mr G. Portnam. He was the owner of this particular domicile, a large two-story town house. There was easily enough stone in the walls to build the statues in question.
It is then determined that the total outlay for the materials was zero, as they were not purchased or mined by the current owners of the land. If there were any remuneration on this front, it would be to citizen Portnam or his legal descendant or tributaries.
Labour
According to our esteemed representative from the Shadow King, three hundred kobolds worked on this site for the duration of its construction. We don’t have an exact building time, although we know it was very quick. Usually the quality of the workmanship gives a good indication to the speed of the construction. Unfortunately the statues in question were constructed by kobold workers, so the final result would have been shoddy no matter how long the constructive process took.
Although it was suggested they were erected “overnight”, we will say they took five days, just to be on the safe side. So five days at three hundred kobold workers. Although the workers in question probably received no compensation for their labour, we will over estimate here, and say one gold coin a day. This give us one thousand five hundred for total labour.
Additional Costings
Agent Hausken assessed a variety of other factors, including the transmutation cost of the statues unusual lacquering; the emotional and theological damage caused to the kobold community; and any unknown magical properties possessed by the statues. After extensive consultation with his peers and specialists in each chosen field, Agent Hausken’s revised costing totalled exactly zero.
Total costing:
Materials - 0 Labour - 750 x 2 = 1500 Additional Costs - 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------ Total Cost - 750 x 2 = 1500
This was averaged with the first quote of 36000. This gives a final costing of 9375 per statue, or 18750 total.