Iron Negotiations

Tamia led them down a normal looking hallway and if John didn’t know they were in a barrier with at least one dwarven occupant, he would have assumed it was any other office building. They hadn’t crossed paths with anyone, but given how they had been left outside while their hosts had discussed the situation, John expected there to be some amount of space between the entrance and any employee that could get caught in the crossfire of an attack.

‘They really are conscious about dangers, aren’t they?’ Senka noted. ‘Makes me wonder just who they have to be worried about.’

‘Given what happened to Aeolia’s family, and people before them, can’t say the idea doesn’t have merit in general,’ John thought back.

‘Good point, but I can’t help but wonder if Clan Baz has some history we’re not aware of,’ Senka remarked.

‘I think we’re aware of very little,’ John replied. About many things.’

They reached their destination before any more thoughts on that matter could be given. Tamia knocked once on the door then opened it, gesturing for them to enter. Inside, much like the hallway, was a standard looking conference room. What wasn’t standard to his media influenced expectation were the two occupants. Vel looked much as he had the other day, only changing out his green robes for ones of navy blue, more in line with a suit’s color.

Next to him, however, was someone more in line with the office theme. She was, of course, a dwarf, her skin darker than Vel’s tanned complexion, which only highlighted her greyed hair. But in place of something akin to a japanese kimono was a crisp white blouse, black pencil skirt and matching stockings. A pair of stylish black glasses rested on her nose, framing her sharp violet eyes.

And she was looking at them with a calculating gaze.

“Ah, Mr. Newman, welcome,” Vel took the lead, extending a hand for John to shake as Tamia closed the door behind them. “And I presume one of your companions is Ms. Renoux?”

“That would be me,” Vivian declared in a firm voice and offered her hand in turn. As Vel shook it, she added, “And our third is Verida.”

“A pleasure,” Vel said as he took Verida’s hand after he was done with Vivian’s. “And allow me to introduce the head of clan procurement, Gin Tan.”

Gin brought her hand forward to Vivian. “You’ve certainly thrown a curveball right off the bat, Ms. Renoux.”

“It wasn’t our intention to do so,” Vivian said in a tone that was more factual than apologetic.

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about the two extra participants you’ve brought,” Gin remarked casually like she was talking about the weather. “It’s more about the unique nature of one of your companions.”

Violet eyes turned to Verida even as John caught Vel giving Gin a critical side eye.

“I suppose there’s no reason to beat around the bush,” Verida said before looking over to Tamia. “I presume this is about what you sensed outside?”

“Yes,” the head of security answered tersely.

“We had no desire to deceive you,” Verida spoke. “We withheld the true nature of my being so as to not allow it to color your perception of us.”

Verida’s horns and tail manifested and John felt a subtle shift in the air, the air growing warmer and fresher like a window was opened on a spring morning.

“Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Verida, goddess of the bloom of spring, protector of the Kingdom of Pruzonia,” she declared. “I hope our attempt at discretion hasn’t soured things.”

Before any of Clan Baz’s representatives could respond, the door behind them flung open and a giant of a woman stumbled over the threshold, causing everyone’s attention to turn to her.

“I’m here,” she breathlessly said as she braced herself against the frame, her body bent over as she caught her breath. “What’s the…”

She trailed off when she lifted her head and saw the room looking back at her. The woman’s yellow eyes went wide in shock and she righted her posture, giving John a more clear look at her appearance. She was taller than him by at least a head, a fact made more apparent by the cat-like ears that poked out from her curly black hair. John was a little surprised at how he missed them at first since the inner fluff was a shocking blue color. A color that saturated the tips of her chin length hair.

Her dark skin, a shade or two lighter than Gin’s, grew red as blood rushed to her face and she shifted nervously, her hands tugging at the hem of her white blouse, which had the side effect of pulling it taut across her generous chest.

“I’m sorry!” she squeaked out. “I didn’t realise the meeting was already happening.”

“That’s why you always knock first, Lita,” another woman’s cheerful voice came from the hallway beyond the door. “Guess you forgot that by running too many of your little soldiers again. Could you get out of the way please!”

“Sorry!” Lita squealed again as she scampered to one side, clearing the doorway and revealing much the opposite sort of person. The newcomer was short, shorter than even the dwarves and her bare feet caused John to wonder if she was a halfling, with that factoid being something that bled into mundane pop culture. Her hair was a vibrant red, long and styled into braided twintails with bangs framing her tanned skin and blue eyes.

Even her clothing choices were opposed to Lita’s, favoring Vel’s seemingly traditional style over the modern look with a green kimono top and matching skirt. In fact, the only commonality John could see was in the size of their chests.

“Lara, Lita, your timing is impeccable,” Gin said in a dry voice. “Now, if you could please close the door, we have a little bombshell to deal with.”

Lara marched into the room and it clicked in John’s head that she was the one who picked up his call the other day.

‘Her personality certainly is larger than she is.’ Senka chuckled.

‘Don’t think heritage and personality are mutually linked,’ John thought back.

“Now, where were we?” Gin continued as Lita and Lara made their way to stand near Vel, the halfling confidently and the cat woman nervously. “I suppose we should start small. Allow me to properly introduce Lara Zan and Lita Hak, two of our junior members. We have invited them to balance the numbers. Is that going to be a problem?”

“Not at all,” Vivian said. “We’re thankful that you’ve taken our blunder in stride.”

“You brought your misstep to light right away and offered a redress,” Vel spoke up. “Can’t exactly fault you for that when the fix was no issue. Now, I think there’s one more thing to bring the scales into balance. If it’s possible, could your unseen companions make themselves known?”

“We can only summon one,” Vivian answered, giving John a quick nod. With a small flare of mana, Senka appeared next to him. “Allow me to introduce Senka. Our fifth is unfortunately unable to be summoned.”

“Something to do with their connection to you, Lady Verida?” Gin asked.

“Please, no need for the ‘lady’ part,” Verida said. “And yes. Our fifth is my herald. She had another duty today, but she and I are linked by ancient rite.”

“Well, one silent partner isn’t much of an issue,” Vel muttered, running a hand through his beard. He exchanged a glance with Gin, who nodded. “I suppose then that we should begin things properly. Please, have a seat.”

Both parties took their seats at the long table, the number of chairs being more than enough for everyone. A flash of blue-white light caught John’s attention and he saw Lara with some kind of pillow cushion in her hands. She smirked at him when she noticed his attention and dropped the cushion on her chair and hopped onto it. A second later, she floated up to be level with Vel and Gin.

‘Guess where there’s a need, there’ll be a solution,’ he thought. ‘Wonder what the light was about. Doesn’t seem like that’d be needed for pulling things from a pocket space. Mine and Vivian’s don’t have that, and neither does Estelle’s hat, however that works.’

He put thoughts about whatever the halfling did to the side. He needed to be ready for any question thrown his way.

“Now, let’s get the final bit of pre-meeting out of the way,” Gin was the first to speak, her eyes focused on Verida. “A goddess, hmm? Not doubting your claim, but I’ve never heard of a ‘bloom of spring’ goddess before. Which, given the alleged bounty of resources you claim to have, leads me to believe that whatever domain you have is one that’s only recently been uncovered. How close am I?”

“Not far off,” Verida answered. “My emergence is recent, as is the realm I claim under my protection. An untapped Kingdom.”

“A Kingdom?” Gin repeated, a smile growing on her face. “That’s a rare thing to find. I can see why you elected to use discretion while you could. There would be plenty of people who would try to use your recent arrival to their advantage.”

“Don’t say it like you're plotting to do it yourself,” Vel interjected, before lacing his fingers together and placing his hands on the table.

“Merely pointing out how cutthroat things are,” Gin shot back without missing a beat. “We aren’t likely to fall down that road. Some of us are too noble for that.”

John had the feeling she was trying to joke, but the air in the room shifted slightly. From his brief interaction with Vel, he seemed an upstanding person, not one to engage in shady dealings. And now he was wondering if Gin wasn’t so rigid in her thoughts.

“We know how treacherous the world can be,” Vivian cooly said. “Best to not give those that would want to take advantage of us the opening to do so.”

“Well said,” Tamia remarked.

“I think we’re getting a little off track,” Vel spoke up. “A goddess as a business partner does open up a lot of unexpected doors, but that’s something for the future, should this initial deal work out before we start on other endeavors.”

“Agreed.” Vivian nodded before she glanced over at John, the signal to reveal the proof of their mineral wealth. He summoned the examples of metal, stone and gems and placed them on the table before Vel and Gin. “A small example of what we’ve been able to procure so far.”

“Good to see you’ve taken my advice, lad,” Vel said as he took the shard of arcano fluorite and turned it over in his hands. His eyes traced the gem’s sharp lines before moving between the four of them across from him before stopping on Verida. “But a small part of me wonders if these are just the opening gambit. A nice opening, don’t mistake it as anything but, you’ve given us a good showing of what we might dig up, however…”

“I’ve thrown off your estimations,” Verida guessed. “What’s the saying, ‘big shoes to fill’?”

“Indeed,” Vel answered. “A goddess with a Kingdom does open interesting avenues. And since you were aware of how your nature could affect things, I’m thinking you’ve got an ace up your sleeves and I’m not too fond of drawing things out needlessly.”

“Which is why you’re more a craftsman than a businessman,” Gin muttered.

“A bit of candor and good will is better for the clan than shady deals held together by handshakes and hidden daggers,” Vel said like it was a manta. “Our relationship with Alexander’s didn’t pan out all that well and I know I didn’t handle that contract.”

The look Gin shot Vel could have frozen water and Lita looked like she wanted to be anywhere but here. Tamia maintained a stoic facade but John noticed her shoulders seemed tensed, like she was ready to spring into action if needed. And Lara looked like she was much the same, the cheer in her eyes sharpening into something dangerous.

“If this is a bad time for you, we can come back later,” Senka interjected, her mirth filled voice cutting through the air like her vessel.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing,’ John thought to her.

‘So do I,’ Senka replied, the nervousness she was keeping off her face radiating through their link.

Thankfully for John’s nerves, the two dwarves shared a look and both let out a sigh in perfect synchronization. Gin rubbed her temple and Vel stroked his beard as they relaxed.

“I apologize for that breach of decorum and hospitality,” Vel said after a moment.

John caught a spark of something in Vivian’s eye as she leaned slightly forward.

“It sounds like you’ve been having more issues than that jeweler," she said pointedly.

“Not so poorly that you have an easy layup,” Gin playfully responded, clearly trying to steer the topic away from their slipup. “Just the usual ups and downs of business. Now, how about we get back to our business and see what sort of deal we can work out.”

John wasn’t so sure about that, and it seemed Vivian was on the same page. But he was going to let her dictate how they moved from here.

“Of course,” Vivian acquiesced after a moment, flashing them a quick smile. “Where were we?”

“Well, we were looking at the examples you’ve shown us,” Vel answered, holding up a chunk of mineral embedded stone. “And you’ve done well to gather a good assortment in such a short time, though now I’m not so surprised seeing that you have a bit of divine help. Now, from a preliminary standpoint, it looks like you might have something, but we’d need to actually scout things out before we can give you an actual assessment about what sort of worth you’re sitting on.”

“Would some footage of where we obtained these be helpful?” Vivian asked.

“It certainly would.” Vel laughed. “It is nice to be working with people who seem to get how things are meant to be done, eh, Gin?”

Gin worked hard to keep a sour look off her face. “Certainly is a breath of fresh air,” she replied in a neutral tone.

Vivian gave John a small nod and he pulled out his phone, queued up the video of the mine and slid it over to Vel and Gin. The two dwarves took up John’s phone and watched the playback. Then they looked up at Verida.

“Seems like you’ve already had some work done here,” Gin took the lead.

“It was like that when we came upon it,” Verida said.

“Could be a bleed over from whatever created the Kingdom,” Tamia spoke up.

“Whatever it is, it looks like it was only half finished," Vel pointed out. “I take it you explored down some of those tunnels?”

“We did a bit,” Vivian answered. “And they are rather rough.”

Vel hummed. “Having a good starting point does mean we could get to extracting much sooner. No need to break out the super heavy equipment if we already have a large opening.”

“It will throw off our estimates though,” Lara spoke up, a tablet suddenly in her hands with an accompanying flash of light. “The hypothetical you asked for, sir. Figured having a refresher would be good.”

“Indeed, but it is a beneficial curveball,” Gin remarked as Vel took the tablet.

“Glad we were able to balance those scales,” Vivian said with a smile.

“Indeed,” Vel hummed as he studied the tablet. “I think we’ll need to step away to discuss everything before we present you an offer. Any other considerations we should be aware of before we do?”

“There is one detail I feel we need to let you know before we can discuss terms,” Vivian said in a serious tone. “We have an arrangement with the Order of the Golden Rose.”

“‘Arrangement’, huh? Not a partnership?” Gin asked pointedly. “Let me guess, they’ve offered their ‘protection’ in exchange for a cut of your resources.”

“Something like that,” Vivian answered. “Though, to be fair, our paths crossed while they were looking for an aggressor we had been attacked by shortly before. Forming an alliance was the logical solution.”

“Is that so?” Vel murmured and John caught him giving Tamia a glance. “Do we have to worry about that aggressor showing back up?”

“Who can say?” Vivian mused. “Between their intel and our experiences, it seems they’ve gone to ground away from this general area, but they are known for being stealthy. They’ve taken down a number of smaller guilds and groups in the last few weeks, as far as we can tell.”

That caused Tamia’s posture to go rigid and she looked over at Vel and Gin.

“Well, that’ll be something we’ll take into account while we discuss things,” Vel said tersely. “If you will excuse us. We’ll be just a few minutes.”