Chapter 72: Chapter 67: An unbalanced game of chicken

A little bit of calculated unreasonableness is definitely helpful in situations like this. You need to occasionally make a big ask in order to get what you want when you know the other side won’t like it. Push for a little more than what you really want. Let them negotiate you down to the ideal conditions.

There is only one problem in this. Right now, I am playing a pretty dangerous game. I have revealed myself as having power, but I am under no illusion I can stand up to the full force of the military power that the fey court can unleash. It was for very good reason that I avoided having us ever meet that dragon. So far, we have won against fairies only by virtue of successfully ambushing them and the fact that they did not know our capabilities.

I have proven myself a potential future asset, and that is the only reason this spy of the queen is willing to negotiate with me. However, I cannot go too far and demonstrate myself as a potential future threat instead.

I am being entirely honest with them that I really do not think living with these Hidan is a good idea. However, I have already accepted that it is something I am going to have to allow myself to be talked into if I don’t want an entire army of dragons coming down on me to take my head. I do not want to be completely under their control, so I have to squeeze some concessions out of them. However, I am playing a game of chicken with a brick wall right now, and I have a lot more to loose than the person I am negotiating against if I fail in this.

Unfortunately, the arguments that Eirlathion had been coming up with were fairly unconvincing. Very lacking in creativity, and simply a bunch of stammering about the same things about how nowhere other than the Hidan tribes would be truly safe outside of the forest. Also, Sagle had been keeping out of this discussion, simply watching as the discussion continued. This was not going well at all.

Well, it’s not surprising. Eirlathion is not really in a position to provide any good concessions, and by the looks of it I’m beginning to suspect that Sagle might be catching on to my game. The sly bastard is keeping out of the discussion because he knows I want him to join it.

Well, it seems like I am going to have to force the issue. I hope I do not have to be so forceful as to use the issues with the queen that Mr. Adderson has hinted at to throw in Sagle's face. It is nice to have it though as back-up ammunition in case I have to drive things in a hostile direction.

Well then, let’s find a way to ease into this first.

[I do not know whether or not it is true that we have no option with the humans in this area. Sagle, you said that you are a spy for the queen. Would I be right that it is the humans that you watch and report on?] I asked.

The changeling eyed me suspiciously for a moment before finally giving an answer. [You have the correct thinking on this] He said. [I have spent many human life-times among them, and among several different groups of people.]

I tried to keep the distaste from my face as his words called up memories of the lore Earth had about fairies kidnapping human children and replacing them with changelings. There had been similar stories about elves, and evidently those had turned out to be very true in this world.

[I see.] I said. [I think you would be a far better judge on if there is any alternative to the Hidan for me and my companions. I would consider any action you can give to help me as a gesture of good will from the queen who sent you. It seemed she wanted to open good grounds for negotiation. That is done best if we have a neutral ground to start from.]

[Well, of course the queen would like most to see you come to the crown of the great tree in the capital and meet with her. That would be the best option for you as far as I am aware, but I can see where you might not so easily be trusting of this option. It is the distrust you have of the court that is making you untrusting of the Hidan after all.] He said.

[Well then.] He continued. [The things master Eirlathion has told you about the humans are true. There is a lot of fear and animosity toward the fey among them. As a grey race, you would be immune to the greatest harm these human fears can hold for you. However, they will still likely attempt to harm or imprison you. The only exception to this would be the Hidan who have instead taken an attitude of worship toward the fey.]

I hesitated a moment when I heard what he had to say. I had some idea of where I wanted to drive this conversation, but now he had just laid a very interesting bread-crumb in front of me that completely derailed my train of thought. Would it be worth pursuing this to ask him what this ‘greatest harm’ was?

No, I am certain I can ask someone about it later. I need to put that out of my mind and not be side-tracked by it.

[Is there anyone other than the humans?] I asked.

[This region of the world belongs to the fey.] Sagle said. [The queen permits humans to be at the border as the spirit energy they provide is important to several members of the fey people, but none of the other children of the gods dare to come near.]

How convenient. It could be a lie, but that is why I dropped that hint about a gesture of good will for future negotiations. That should decrease the chances that he would try to deceive me at the risk of being found out in the future.

[If I might give you a “deisara”] He said.

[Umm…] I looked at him a little blankly upon hearing the unfamiliar elven word he had used.

[Ah, I am sorry.] He apologized. [I think I might have used a word a little far past the “nirata” ability you have with the language of the elves, I had almost forgotten that the others who came from the world you have are not able to communicate except through the courtly speech of the fey.]

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He’d dropped another term I was not familiar with, but I could sort of pick that one up from context a little better than the first one he’d said so I didn’t say anything.

[What I meant was that I would give you something you might try.] He said.

[Oh!] I couldn’t help a gasp of realization as my mind connected the term ‘deisara’ to the English word ‘suggestion’ in my head. Now the real question is whether he used this more advanced vocabulary specifically in the hopes he could derail the tensions in the conversation with it before saying what he wanted to. But, what can I do? [So, what were you thinking?] I asked.

[Well, it is a little uncomfortable after that mistake I made, but I was going to say that I could come along and speak to the Hidan with the, umm… speaking for the queen to them.] He said.

[Just use the words you would use naturally.] I said. [I know the word in my own language for what you just avoided saying, I can figure it out based on the other words around it.] I am really going to need to learn the elven word for ‘context’ at the rate things are going here.

[Umm… yes, well… “Utrazi.” (Authority?)] He said. It took me a second to realize he had just said the word he had previously avoided saying in his previous sentence.

[Well, I can speak on the authority of the queen and say that you and those with you are to be protected.] He said. [I can also send them back to deliver a message] He added and gestured toward the five fairies seated on the ground and still in their bindings. [They can all go together and tell the court about the deal we have made.]

I couldn’t help having a small half-smile go to my face. A micro acknowledgement to him that he had called my all-too-obvious bluff in my earlier push to have him go back as a messenger and keep the fairies here. That one was always meant to be an easy one to read through though. The combat-equivalent would be a small feint to test how he would react, and he had reacted by making the offer to do what I really wanted, to get rid of the fairies we could easily sense instead of him who we could not and would rather keep in our sights at all times, before I could suggest it myself and disguise it as some form of compromise. That is to say, he decided to take the initiative.

Well then, finally, now the real battle of the minds has begun.

[And what deal are we going to make, Sagle?] I asked as I turned fully toward him.

[That I will convince the tribe you will travel with to leave the Eastern region. As they worship the fey, they will likely travel to one of the elven forest kingdoms further to the west. The “zamuri” of the tribe who have become great fairies and serve the queen often visit the Hidan when they visit the Eastern forest. So, it would benefit you to have them spend the time away from here as you grow among them.] He said.

[That sounds like it would be very inconvenient for the Hidan.] I commented.

[They would gladly do it if they are told they can serve the queen, and the queen would agree that you have future value that is enough to make this a desired move.] The changeling countered.

Well, I had gone in seeking concessions. It sounds like I may have just received a fairly big one. There is just one more issue in this though.

[And what will you do after talking to the Hidan for us, Sagle?] I asked.

[That is something we can talk about at that time. I hope you might allow me to stay near by. There are many things I could teach you about this world, and I think information about this world is the thing you desire most right now. Am I correct?] He said.

[Hmm… you are not wrong.] I admitted with a difficult look on my face. It is very true. The reach and depth of knowledge that a changeling spy would have on the world would go a lot farther than anything Eirlathion or likely anyone else could ever give me. There were a very large number of inherent risks involved with having such a person near you though.

It figures. As soon as I give him an ‘in,’ he has gone and given me an offer that is incredibly hard to refuse. I also didn’t miss the fact that having him around would greatly expand our options in terms of other things we could do aside from traveling with the Hidan. But, of course, that would make us even more reliant on someone who I did not want to fully trust.

In other words, the subtext in the form of un-offered but easy to see alternatives is that the Hidan are the more palatable option among my possible choices.

[I will have to think about that one.] I said. [Very well, let me talk about this with my companions. This involves all of us, so it is not something I can decide alone.]

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