Chapter 12: 10 – [Negotiations]

So we found ourselves in a cozy room to conduct the negotiations that we would be having. I felt that we didn't need to use the overly large audience chamber for this anymore, so we had instead moved to my personal study. Which I had been able to fill with books on numerous subjects since the dungeon classified expensive-looking books about complex subjects, like the origin of Ether, to be prime bait to spawn in a chest.

King Traisan had decided to use the bloodline functionality of his sword as he had sliced his finger with its edge on the way here. The process was rather eye-opening, in that it released a blindingly bright flash when it registered its first bloodline. He is currently sitting across the desk from me looking fairly pleased and unable to remove his hand from the handle that now sits at his waist. It would have been in poor taste to refuse to allow him to carry his gift with him just because it was a weapon, I also had a distinct feeling that he would happily use it to defend me instead of cutting me down so I wasn't worried.

"Now, to begin King Traisan. I feel I must stress the points on which our Kingdom will be unable to bend on in regards to the upcoming negotiations. First, I am unsure of what method of slavery each of the countries outside of this mountain employ, but I am aware that each country has a policy for such a thing. In regards to this, I must ensure that my people are never enslaved by any of your countrymen and that you will assist as our ally in the recovery of any dwarven slave found to be within either your Kingdom or within a Kingdom with which you have a peaceful relationship."

I took a pause to adjust myself in my seat and shrug my shoulders.

"I am of course not going to prevent you or any nation from punishing any dwarf who breaks your laws, but I ask that in the case that slavery would be the punishment they would instead be handed over to our nation and not made a slave. In this case we would be willing to offer a bond of goods or coin in exchange for the safe return of any of my kin who breaks a law that results in slavery in any nation. We will essentially serve as their masters until such time that we deem they have repaid society for their crimes. If you can promise that you will enact this policy within your borders and assist in the negotiations with other Kingdoms for the same thing it would do a great deal showing that we are negotiating in good faith."

"I can make that promise as my country only has policies in place for criminal or debt slaves, and we strictly enforce all slavery contracts so they can not be extended by the owner against the slave's will and that all slaves must be clothed and fed with the same frequency as the owner. Of course, the illegal slave trade is still a problem but we would dismantle such a criminal syndicate regardless of our agreements with other countries."

"I appreciate that. The second thing that we must not bend on is that the dwarven people are free to craft and sell what they wish. We will trade as freely as we may, we will not be the personal smithy of any nobility from your country. They may purchase from us, but they may not expect us to serve or obey them. We shall reserve the right to close the mountain to any of your people who act in a disrespectful or high-handed manner. We will likewise extend the courtesy of returning severe criminals to their home country for punishment as they see fit, as we have no interest in enslaving others."

"I can agree to that condition as well. Though I shall have to stress parts of this particular agreement to certain members of my nobility however, feel free to toss them out as roughly as you like in case anything untoward were to happen. It might just improve their attitude."

I nodded and signaled to a nearby attendant to pour some glasses of whiskey, before standing with mine and raising it to the King and his ministers.

"I thank you King Traisan for agreeing to our conditions, I propose a toast to get us started on the tedious parts of the upcoming negotiations."

"""Here here!"""

After we had all had our first glass we sat back down to begin going over what each country would provide to the other regarding security and trade agreements while enjoying the proceeding servings of delicious and luxurious liquor.

—————

King Traisan and his entourage have retired to the guest suites I had prepared while waiting for them to make the climb up the mountain.

We had decided all of the small details regarding our alliance, including taxes on goods crossing the border, war assistance to be provided if our ally were to be attacked and embassy locations and staffing choices. Hopefully, we would see traders and merchants coming to the mountain for trade soon, which meant I had to speed up the construction of the mercantile quarter of the city that we had positioned at the base of the mountain with its own entrance. I also heard from Reynard that some adventurers would likely relocate here to safely hunt for expensive or rare materials for the monsters living on the mountain, and these adventurers are exactly the same as the common trope from books. Rough and tumble types who hunt monsters or herbs in dangerous areas for money and fame. So I will need to add a guildhall to the mercantile quarter for the adventurers in addition to living space for them to rest at. Perhaps I should repurpose the floor above the mercantile quarter into living space for tourists and the like.

I got started on adjusting numerous plans in my head as I headed off to meet with the construction crew and review how the plan was proceeding and work with them on the changes we will need to make.

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