Sit down and discuss.

The interior of Captain Zido's house is quite decorated, but exclusively with trophies. There are a couple animal heads, but most of them are monsters, some of which you haven't seen before. He has swords and shields as well, and a suit of armour sits in the corner. He takes you to the next room, which is hardly different in that regard, but it has a large table in the center with several chairs around it. The gnome immediately begins to grab a few bottles and begins a strange process of mixing different ingredients. Captain Zido is the first to sit, and he seems to go straight to the only chair larger than the rest.

"Come! Relax!" Zido announces. "What an interesting group. A gorgeous, golden-haired elf, dressed more divine than a priestess. One of my kin, so formally garbed yet not in a dress, and it looks stunning. Finally, an adorable bunnyfolk woman, surely a powerful sorceress by the looks of that wand... Ah yes, and the great Demon King Warren! You know, there is a bounty on your head."

You sit down across from him. "And are you going to claim it?"

"No, no. That isn't why we're doing this."

Eva mutters to herself as she sits, "I am a powerful sorceress. That's true."

Grenmila wanders over with a pitcher. "Careful, dear," she says to Eva. "That seat is probably rather cold for you, isn't it?"

She pulls her legs together. "Shh!"

As she cackles quietly to herself, she pours everybody a drink. It's actually gorgeous to behold. The liquid is opaque blue, yet it's darker as it nears the top. Throughout the drink are sparkling dots. It's like your glass is filled with the evening sky.

"My favourite!" Zido grabs the glass and takes a large gulp. "Ah. So, I imagine you've come to broker peace before conflict can begin."

You hesitantly bring the glass to your lips, but he drank it no problem. His glass wasn't poured separately. It also smells quite good, like a type of berry you can't quite recognize. And after a sip, you realize it's quite delicious too. You open your mouth to speak, but you stop as you start feeling a tingling sensation through your body. It isn't unpleasant. It's actually quite nice, not unlike the warm buzz one would get from ****.

"Yum," Eva says, wiping her lips. "Is this Mana Delight? That's so hard to make, and the ingredients are rare, aren't they?"

"Oh so you know," the gnome replies. "It isn't so difficult for an old woman such as myself."

"What's Mana Delight?" you ask.

"It's a magical drink," Eva explains. "It doesn't give you mana or take it away. It just kinda affects it in a unique way, stimulating your mana so that you feel kinda funny, and also it tastes really good. Kinda like wizard booze I guess, except... wizards do also drink actual booze, so I don't know."

Amara puts her hands to her lips with fear in her eyes. Her glass is already almost half emptied. Her hand trembles, and she slowly puts the glass down onto the table. Then she covers the bottom of her face with her palms as she begins to flush pink. "Oh no," she whispers under her breath. "I have n-never heard of such a drink."

"Anyway!" Zido stands up dramatically. "You seized the initiative, and I respect that. As the strongest man in Gobiidae, I think it wise for your group to have met with me. The people look up to me, after all." He looks to Amara. "Pardon me, but are you all right, my lady?"

Her eyes widen. Quickly, she brings her hands to her lap and nods. "Y-Yes. I am fine. Please continue."

You look to her with concern. "Are you sure?" you whisper. "I know what's bothering you. Maybe you should--"

"No, no. I am fine, I promise." She swallows hard. As she takes deep, hot breaths, she tugs on her choker. "Definitely fine."

"Right then. I'll continue," says Zido. "When I first came to this village several months ago, their forces were stretched thin. There were no major threats, but whenever something dangerous did show its ugly head, no hero was there to save them. But now that I'm here, not even a Demon King could threaten us. I'm also aided by my noble gnome companion here. So what I must ask then is what you can offer us."

"Well, I did just want to broker peace like you said, but I'm not against opening up a trade route between us," you say. "We could be a middleman between you and Avana, and there are plenty of things we are willing to buy, especially fish and crops."

Amara whimpers.

Niki leans in from her seat. "You can do it. Just hold it in," she whispers quietly.

"Holding is not the problem with this choker," she says back.

"Oh right. Hey, Kyle. Do you have the key?"

Ramon scratches his beard. "You have a key for her? Is that a collar? Is she a ****?"

"Aha, no!" You panic a little. "Nothing like that. Everybody at Castle Phoenix is there by their own free will."

"Except for the vampire, but we're working on that one," Niki says with a nod. "We oughta have a talk with Dajy."

You rub your hands over your face. "I'm not even going to respond to these things anymore. Please. I just want one normal conversation."

The guard captain slams his palm hard down against the table. "I have a request of you then, Demon King! If you truly do care about our people and don't wish them harm, I have a quest for you. Something deadly. If you can complete it, I'll trust you enough to open discussions for trade and other things."

Ramon clears his throat. "I believe that would be my decision."

Zido continues, seeming not to have heard that. "A dungeon of sorts has revealed itself, but I can't simply pull myself away from the town to investigate. We don't have any warriors mighty enough to traverse something so potentially dangerous either. Adventurers never find themselves this way, so this is a perfect opportunity to prove yourselves."

Dungeoneering, huh? It's been awhile. It might actually be kinda nice to do something like that. Surely we'll strong enough to deal with whatever a dungeon around here could bring. We can always use more treasure too. Maybe I'll luck out and find that missing ingredient for Laira.