Chrysalis

While the representative of the beautification committee recovers, the chap from the mayor's office decides to chip in.

[Mr Ers would like to ask if you have any designs to enact the same level of destruction you visited upon Greystone against the Silver City?]

Really? They're just going to come out and ask me that?

[Is the Silver City planning on dropping a mountain upon my head?]

[He says they aren't.]

[Well, I don't see that we'll have a problem, then. To be clear, I didn't intend to harm Greystone at all. My only intention was to protect my family, the brathian trade fleet, and myself.]

Some words are exchanged.

[He asks if you expect them to believe you damaged the mountain by accident?]

Rathwyn, the mage doing the translating, doesn't seem convinced either, judging by his tone. I shrug my antennae.

[Doesn't really matter if you believe it or not, does it? I don't intend to harm the Silver City at all, and I've been isolating myself here in this warehouse to minimise the chances something goes wrong. I'm here under supervision day and night. I can't see what I could possibly do to reassure you more than this.]

They must have some manner of determining intent, otherwise what would be the point of that line of questioning. Perhaps Rathwyn is such an advanced mind mage he can sense whether or not I believe my own words? That's pretty crazy, if true.

The theory gains credibility when Mr Ers leans back in his seat, seemingly satisfied with what the mage has had to say to him. Then Georgia Wynn, from the Merchant Cooperative, whatever that is, has some questions for me.

These are easier to answer; all she's interested in is sweet, sweet cash money. We ants are here to sell, and she is one of those looking to buy. Rather quickly, the general inquiries about quality and volume give way to what she is truly interested in.

[She would like to ask if all trade with the Colony is required to go through the Brathian Island Conglomerate, or if it is possible to negotiate directly with you or a representative?]

Aha. They want to cut the brathians out of the deal.

[Our agreement is rock solid, as far as I'm aware. You need to deal with Eran Thouris if you want to get around it. In the end, I think it's better for you this way.]

She raises her brows at my suggestion, and the mage passes her words to me.

[Better for them? They have to haggle with the fiercest traders in the world who will squeeze every drop of profit they can from the goods you are attempting to sell. Ms Wynn wonders if you realise just how badly your family is going to lose out on this deal.]

I guess most would probably come to that conclusion. She probably thinks that Eran and her husband are robbing us blind and we're too young and naive to realise what's happening. Probably all the merchants we've dealt with during the previous stops thought the same, thinking that the Brathian Island Conglomerate is paying us a pittance for our wares and then jacking the prices right up when selling them on.

It doesn't really hurt us for them to believe that. In fact, it might even be better. The average consumer may be more willing to spend on Colony goods if they believe the brathians are taking the lion's share and the monsters are getting a pittance.

[If you think we're getting robbed, then you should probably go and speak to Eran Thouris and see if she thinks the same. There's a reason I said this situation is better for you.]

[Ms Wynn would like to know what that reason is.]

I clack my mandibles together lightly.

[Because otherwise, you'd have to negotiate with me.]

[And that would be difficult?]

[Luckily for all of us, you don't have to find out. Only the Brathian Island Conglomerate will have to suffer through the experience.]

With the various methods of extracting better deals for themselves exhausted, there is little option but for the merchant to give up and allow someone else to speak.

[Alir Vinting, Grand Priest, would like to know how many members of your esteemed Colony there are right now.]

You're just going to come out and ask as well?! Seriously?! You want to count the chickens this far ahead of the hatching, they practically haven't been laid yet! I suppose I have to give him an answer, and an honest one at that.

[I have absolutely no idea. As much as I would like to spend my time tickling the grubs and counting the brood, I've had other things occupy my time.]

This guy. I can tell by the gleam in his eye that he knows exactly what he's doing, and that he knows I know as well. Cheeky. You think you can feast on my family? Before long, this city is going to be flooded with fine ant merchandise that they'd rather not live without. It's going to be a lot harder garnering support for a war than you think.

Another idiot priest.

Finally, it becomes time for Cassus Moran, the leader of the Dungeon Delvers Alliance to speak. So far, he's been extremely reserved, listening to the responses the mage has translated with interest, but without offering anything himself.

Now, he leans forward and speaks to Rathwyn in a deep, clear voice.

[Mr Moran would like to know if the rumours of the Colony establishing their own Delvers office are true.]

Oh heck, I'd totally forgotten about that. I do remember offering a commission for any and all centipedes that they could bring us. A bounty, cleansing the Dungeon of the filth at the Colony's expense.

[You'll have to excuse me, I need to consult with one of my own people for an update on that. I hope you don't mind.]

It doesn't take long to get Cobalt in the warehouse so I can ask her directly. As a member of the Council, I hope she has some idea what's been going on.

"Remember when I told those monster hunting people that we'd pay them for every centipede they brought us?"

"Of course I remember."

"Is that still happening?"

"Well, it was when we left. There were quite a few who'd taken us up on the offer. There were twenty different groups hunting centipedes last I'd heard. We had to build an exchange for them."

Good to hear. I turn my attention back to the mage.

[Yes, we are still doing that. Currently, we are offering commissions to hunt for certain monsters, and I'm told there are at least twenty teams actively working around our mountain.]

[Mr Moran would like to know the details. This is unorthodox, and he needs to ascertain if the Colony is stepping upon preexisting rights.]

Nice of him to be up front about it.

[It's a straightforward transaction. They bring us remains of a specific type of monster, and we pay them in cores. That really is the extent of it.]

The man strokes his chin before asking another question.

[He would like to know what specific type of monster has drawn the ire of the Colony to this extent.]

[Centipedes,] I reply directly.

[And why?]

[They're centipedes…] I return, confused. [Do we need any further reason than that?]

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