The Summit 4 - Drafted Accord

Moira was rather confused as their host led them out to the grounds. Not that it was happening at all, given her intention was to show them where they could possibly establish their embassy in what would become the capital of the Kingdom. But the fact that the most powerful and likely most prominent figure of the Kingdom was giving them a tour instead of having a discussion about the issues her father had brought up regarding population and resources seemed so strange to her and no one else, no less her father, seemed to be bothered by it.

‘Is he hoping this is her making a mistake?’ she thought as the goddess led them away from the sole building, her head twisting about as she surveyed the area. Gods were not something she had any experience with, barring her own connection to the Lady. All she had were her lessons, which painted most as powerful beings shaped by a defining intent or purpose. A war god fought whenever they could, a craftsman one built.

‘What sort of goddess are you?’ Moira idly wondered. ‘She first was a dragon and declared herself a goddess of bloom and spring. So her powers are tied to things like plants and growth, which fits what we’ve seen. Is she driven to build this place up? She took issue with just using it to produce resources, which would create an outflow of things when she wants them to grow.’

“Now,” Verida’s voice cut through Moira’s thoughts as she gestured towards where they had entered the Kingdom from. “We plan to move the entrance away from the clearing, so that area is open for building.”

“A prudent decision,” her father said. “I wouldn’t place it too far away, especially if you have the governing offices here.”

‘Is that your plan, Father?’ Moira pondered. ‘Play the well meaninged helper? Ingratiate the Order to them so they trust us?’

It seemed like the move he was making. They were the established power in a partnership of circumstance against a foe with dark ambitions, ones far more serious if their recounting was accurate. Taking the position as the veteran at the helm, the one with the experience to navigate these unsure waters.

“Yes, making the clearing the overall central hub makes sense,” Verida cordially remarked. “With residences fanning out through the forest. Of course, that’s something that will need to be discussed with whoever elects to settle here and not why we’re here. Do you have any preference for what sort of building would fit the Order?”

“If we intend to safeguard the artifact, it would need a degree of security,” Lord Brighton intoned. “A deep vault would be preferable. Beyond that, I think we can work with something that won’t clash with the established architecture.”

He motioned back towards the meeting hall as Verida nodded.

“Steelwood should make for something durable enough, but the roots will be a problem,” Verida said, her voice growing distant as she seemed to look into the distance. “So nothing too close to the tree. How about over there!”

With a wave of her hand, a number of yellow flowers sprouted, outlining an area a good distance away from the tree. Moira caught a sour look flash across Verida’s face as the goddess regarded the large square before she turned her attention back to her father.

“This area is devoid of anything that would prevent a deep vault,” Verida explained. “Do you think it’s enough space?”

“It should be sufficient,” Lord Brighton answered. “A few stories down would be enough to satisfy our safety concerns. And I believe a joint effort in construction would be for the best. The hall is well made, but we have our own standards. Especially regarding security.”

“We wouldn’t begin without your input regardless,” Verida assured him, before pausing for a long moment. “But perhaps we should mark out a rough floor plan? Just to get an idea.”

“That would be fine,” Brighton said affably. “I don’t believe we would need as much space as you marked.”

Moira nodded along to her father’s words. The marked space was a generous piece of land, but in her opinion was about twice the size they would need for a simple embassy, especially since the attached vault would be below ground.

Verida hummed before saying, “We’ll start with something half the size and adjust from there.”

With a wave of her hand, blue mushrooms with a glass-like cap sprouted and outlined a square half the size of the flowered area.

“Oh, dye-maker caps,” Cornelius muttered. “You could use those to mark out differing subsections.”

“A wonderful idea,” Verida cheerfully said, inclining her head to the elderly sage. “Now, does that look like enough floor space?”

“That seems adequate,” Lord Brighton answered, a hand toying with his bearded chin. “A square floor plan is a touch simple.”

Verida was silent for a long moment before saying, “I think, then, when we pick this back-up, you could bring some reference materials for the layout. After all, I want whoever will be stationed here to be comfortable with the design. Even if they are only there for their duty, there is no need for them to be stuck in a bland box. Not when there are so many colorful things nature provides.”

“I suppose that’s something we will have to work out then,” Lord Brighton remarked. “I don’t believe we have the time to get into the weeds over this right now. In fact, perhaps we should return to the hall. Best to be ready to resume our discussion with as little delay as possible.”

Verida looked back towards the hall and, after a moment, nodded.

“I believe that would be for the best,” the goddess said before sweeping her arm in a beckoning motion. “Let’s complete the circuit, however. No point in doubling back.”

Moira watched her father nod as Verida led them on. As they placidly made their way back, Moira intently watched the goddess’ face. Every so often, her expression changed without prompt. A worried frown, a small smile, narrowed eyes.

‘I wonder,’ the young Warden thought. ‘She offered to take us on this little tour. She could have had one of their other associates do it, like the one who met us at the entrance. Does she have some way of communicating with Newman and the others? She might just be aware of everything happening here.’

Turning her gaze from their host to her father, Moira further wondered if he had the same thoughts.

“I take it you have reached some consensus,” Lord Brighton said as soon as everyone was seated, cutting right to the chase.

“We have,” Harker remarked, taking the lead. “While trade between the Order and Pruzonia isn’t an issue, the scope of it is a matter of concern.”

“We have no desire to strip this Kingdom bare,” Brighton attested. “But an endeavor the likes we are facing cannot be won on faith and grit alone.”

“And we are not saying we won’t aid in material, just the terms of such an arrangement need quantification,” Harker made known. “It will take us time to procure or produce anything in the numbers needed for instance. However, we have a solution to that.”

John took a breath and continued, “As I’ve said before, my powers generate items from either defeating monsters or meeting certain criteria. As it stands now, that will likely produce more valuable things than the Kingdom will for a bit. Plus, anyone in my party can help so it can serve as training.”

Lord Brighton hummed, a finger lightly tapping on the table. “Do you have any known limits to what can be generated with your abilities? From what you’ve previously said, there doesn’t seem to be anything that can’t be made, since you claim the seed this Kingdom grew from came from your powers.”

“The biggest limit is what we fight and how many of them we beat,” John explained. “As well as just what we fight. I got wooden gear and plant-related items from fighting treefolk, and metals and power cells from robots. There’s a bit of randomness in what I get to fight and what they drop which is affected by the area I make the barrier in, but once I encounter a certain type of enemy, I can choose that instead of leaving it up to chance.”

John trailed off, wishing he’d taken one of the zilhavrum ingots with him today. Off the top of his head, that was likely the most impressive bit of raw material, if the lack of comparable material they found on the Auction was any indication.

Lord Brighton hummed as he considered the proposal. “I believe seeing this in action would help to determine just how valuable a skill this is. If you can reliably obtain things that can either directly support our efforts or can be liquidated then we may be able to forgo any major trade for the resources here.”

“We don’t have to pin everything on John’s ability to produce useful things,” Verida interjected. “We have no issue in trade, merely how much would be expected of us. As well as when, since we will need time to either find something worth trading or grow enough food to be worth it.”

“That is fair,” Brighton said. “We can hold off on any such negotiations regarding what you can provide once we determine the sort of value in Mr. Newman’s idea. It would be best to get some kind of baseline for what he can provide before we lock in any sort of deal. In fact, it would be best to get that out of the way as soon as possible. Perhaps this afternoon?”

Verida turned her head towards John, the question so clear in her eyes John didn’t need her to broadcast it to him.

“I don’t have any problems with that,” he answered. “There’s one setting that I think can provide us something that might be useful for both materials and funds. An alloy that, as far as we found, didn’t have anything like it around for purchase. We have a few things made with it and some of it in raw form, but not with us.”

“If that’s true, that might be something worth going after,” Lord Brighton remarked. “What sort of challenges are present in this setting, if I may ask?”

“So far, the barrier replicated a ruined city with robot enemies,” John recounted. “Some were spider-like and fought with little fire blasts, others were more traditionally armed with swords, shields or crossbows. But there’s a chance that could change as I get stronger. More challenging enemies could appear that have differing move-sets.”

“But possibly with greater rewards,” Moira chimed in. “Am I correct?”

“Likely,” John replied, now wondering if the imposing redhead knew more about games than he thought. “The difficulty of the barrier can also be affected by the average strength of the people I bring in. If someone is much stronger than the rest of the party, it can skew things towards their level, which can make things harder for the weaker participants.”

“Something to keep in mind about who will join you,” Lord Brighton mused, his head turning ever so slightly towards Moira. “Now, I believe that’s roughly everything covered, at least in part.”

“Indeed,” Verida said. “Shall we draft up a provisional accord to make sure we are all on the same page?”

“That would be for the best,” Lord Brighton agreed. “Get everything spelled out clearly and any issue ironed out before we commit to them.”

“Well, I think we managed to come out on top of things,” Verida said once the Order had departed and the missing members of their group had joined them in the conference room.

“Certainly seems so,” Vivian muttered as she leafed through the drafted treaty. “Mutual sharing of information about Phantom Reach, defensive pact, no limits on what kind of military **** we can create. Only limits they want to impose are on who we let live here and how much of whatever we find here or gain through barriers.”

“They’re being generous on purpose,” Harker remarked as he got up out of his chair. “Think about it for a moment. They don’t propose a limit on what sort of armed **** we can raise because they want to limit who we can draw from for such a ****. They’re forcing us to either have a small **** or use who they approve of. The same applies to what resources we can obtain. Limit our cash flow, limit our options.”

Verida nodded at his assessment. “I’d say it’s very likely that’s their plan.”

“So lure us in with what looks like a good deal, then make us dependent on them,” Senka noted as she let Kiera lean against her. The stress of the talks, along with being Verida’s eyes, ears and mouth when she led the Order’s jaunt outside, left the bluenette tired and now she had drifted into a surprisingly deep sleep.

“And there’s not much we can do about it,” Aeolia added in a bitter tone. “I hate being up shit’s creek.”

“At least they only cared to put the limits in place until we deal with Phantom Reach,” John tried to point out a positive in the deal.

“Yeah, but who knows how long that’ll take,” Beth pointed out. “After everything that happened on Sunday, I’d go running.”

“We’re stuck between the rock and a hard place,” Martius sagely said as he took a sip of some tea. “On paper it makes sense to ally with a power going after the same target. You lot will have to be sharp and avoid having them sink their claws in further.”

“Planning to go back to Detreye already, Martius?” Harker asked, a small hint of humor in his voice.

“I take my job seriously,” the gnome retorted. “I’ll see tracking down the blade to its end, as agreed. But I have my home to return to. I don’t have to worry about this place afterwards. Beyond just being a decent fellow and worrying about the wellbeing of my acquaintances and friends.”

“We will manage,” Verida sighed. “We know the pitfalls ahead of us. The Order hasn’t been covert with them, which makes me think they’re expecting us to try and work around them.”

“Or they think we’re too stupid to avoid them,” Aeolia snarked.

“I would have said ‘inexperienced’ but that is a possibility,” Vivian said. “They likely expect us to stumble in some way so they can play the benevolent hand that helps us. Limiting our ability to grow in both terms of populace and income only helps them in that regard.”

“It’s not like we’re swimming in options,” Teri spoke up. “I’m just glad they didn’t outright reject the clan.”

“Obligation is something that still holds weight,” Lynn chimed in. “Plus, if they made a fuss of it, you’d never really get anywhere.”

“Damn straight we wouldn’t,” John said. “We made that promise first.”

Teri smiled softly, her ears twitching slightly. “Thanks for sticking with it. Um, I should probably get back and let everyone know we can move in.”

“Are you still planning to just go off and start from scratch?” Verida asked. “Because my offer to grow something for you is still on the table.”

“As much as I appreciate it, I think to appease the elder’s desire to maintain what control they think they have, we have to build things on our own,” Teri replied with a shake of her head.

“Doesn’t preclude me from having easy to cut down trees pop up though,” Verida coyly said with a conspiratorial smile on her lips.

“Well, if that was the case, I wouldn’t say anything,” Teri shot back with a grin of her own before getting up and stretching.

“I’ll take you back,” Vivian said. “We have to get ready to show off John’s item generation. No point in making several trips.”

“How many people do you think the Order’s going to want to bring along?” John wondered. “It looked like Lord B wanted Moira to see it firsthand so that’s one. I’ve got five more slots.”

“It would probably be best to let two or three of them tag along,” Vivian mused as she placed the drafted treaty on the table in a neat stack. “Say that you don’t want to compromise the synergy we already have with too many new people.”

“Yeah,” John muttered, thinking over the issue. “A seven-person party, eight once you count Senka, does give us a lot of potential firepower. But if our levels are too skewed, it could make things dicey.”

“Not like we didn’t have to deal with that when you were like level five,” Aeolia chimed in. “We managed just fine then.”

“True,” John sighed. “But this isn’t just to show what my ability can produce. It’s going to give the Order a better look at what we can do in a fight. Don’t want to make things too easy or too hard and mess up the impression.”

“Once we see who they want to tag along, you get their level and we plan accordingly,” Vivian suggested. “They can’t really argue with that, given what you’ve already revealed about your powers.”

John hummed as he checked his phone. The elder Brighton had insisted that Moira attend school to maintain appearances which meant they wouldn’t be running the barrier until around four in the afternoon. While doing a warm-up-low-level one wasn’t the worst idea, John elected to relax, not wanting to tempt fate.

There was no knowing who Moira would bring with her and he wanted to be as ready as he could be.