Edge Cases

Chapter 19: Negotiations

Chapter 19: Negotiations

Vex had told them the next morning that it likely wouldn't take long for them to be summoned Elyra, he said, tended to try to throw money at problems instead of actually resolving them. The negotiations would reach an impasse, and they would call on the adventurers to break that impasse.

It wasn't long before he was proven correct. Sev received the summons, asking them to the uppermost floor of the Guild.

"Moment of truth, I suppose," Sev muttered.

There were no stairs that allowed them to access the uppermost floor instead, each room in the Guild had a magically reinforced, spatially expanded closet that doubled as both a safe room and a means of housing a transportation circle.

"I never thought we'd get to use this." Vex looked around in some wonder, examining the runes in the ground. The runes began to glow as soon as the four of them stepped within the circle before that, they had been completely invisible, even to Derivan's [Mana Sight]. "Or need to, I suppose. Usually it's meant for evacuation."

"Evacuation?" Derivan tilted his head. He couldn't imagine it being necessary, in a building full of people that built themselves to fight. Vex gave him a wry, slightly sad smile.

"It's saved lives. It's rare, but dungeon breaks can still happen, and Guild branches are meant to be a last bastion of defense," he explained.

Derivan grimaced. That made sense.

The circle activated. Mana swirled around them, pulled in from their surroundings and from somewhere else then it flashed inwards, impacting all four adventurers.

And then they were in the uppermost floor of the Guild. Just like that.

Impressive feat of magic aside and from the way Vex's eyes widened and the way the lizardkin began to mouth off calculations to himself, whatever magic this was was complicated the entire floor in itself was impressive. It was obviously built specifically to accept political delegations, with all the splendor and magnificence that the task required. The magic and wards alone were strong enough that Derivan could feel them without using [Mana Sight], and then there were the tall pillars of alabaster, fixed into place with mana crystals, of all things...

...Derivan frowned. "Those are not actual mana crystals, are they?"

"They better not be," Misa said, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"No, no," Vex rushed to assure them. He paused, looking at them closely. "...They're some variety of crystal flowers, like the ones we saw back in the forest. These ones are slightly more refined and it's harder to tell that they're just flowers, but they're definitely not real crystals."

"Good, or I was going to hit someone," Misa muttered.

"Please don't do that. We're here for politics. That's a terrible idea," Sev said drily. Then he thought about what he'd said for a moment, and amended his statement. "It's a terrible idea for now."

"I did not realize the Guild was this wealthy," Derivan commented, glancing around. There were no windows, but the room was well-lit, light magic shining through crystal chandeliers to cast glimmering motes of rainbow light over the room.

"We're really not." The dry voice of the Guildmaster cut in, and all of them jumped in surprise; she'd been standing right in front of them, unassuming and as still as a statue. She raised an eyebrow at them. "The mana flowers are there to look pretty, but they're also there to power enchantments that suppress skills, so we can avoid diplomatic incidents. You are aware that the entire delegation from Elyra is here, yes? They can hear you. Please don't threaten to hit anyone."

"Bring them here already!" A voice called, and the party finally focused their attention in the actual center of the room.

The Guildmaster gave them an apologetic glance. This was on them, her look said; the Guildmaster herself didn't have any cards left to play.

"The infolock surrounds urgent events," Sev tried. "It may not mean much to you, but it is crucial that we are allowed to pursue more information related to it."

"What, the fate of the world is dependent on it?" Tarilex scoffed, but there was something strange in his eyes, like he was surprised.

"No. Only the fate of a friend," Sev said, his tone subdued. The lizardkin frowned, staring at Sev for a moment.

"...Be that as it may," Tarilex said. He sounded less pompous for a moment, a little more sincere. "My hands are tied."

"You're the leader of this delegation," the Guildmaster scoffed; Tarilex glared at her.

"My hands are tied," he repeated, putting a strange emphasis on the words. "You will need to give us more."

The Guildmaster fell silent, brows furrowing slightly, like she was confused. Derivan watched her for a moment, trying to read the expression there was something she was concerned about, but that was about as much as he could tell.

"What about the bonus room?" Misa asked suddenly.

Tarilex frowned at her Derivan saw the way his eyes darkened, the way he was suddenly, more genuinely upset, unlike the false irritation of before. "What about it?"

Misa grinned. "Research costs you time and money, doesn't it? We can help speed up the process."

"Indeed," Vex agreed, picking up on her train of thought. "Dungeons pick out information from their surroundings to generate challenges; this is especially true for bonus rooms. We know what the dungeon used to seed the bonus room. We can give you that information in exchange for being allowed to participate."

"...This might be a worthwhile trade if you were the adventurers that discovered the dungeon," Tarilex said, still tense, though he had relaxed a little as they spoke. "But you are not."

"How are you so sure?" Sev folded his arms, a little irritated. "You've never seen us fight. You have no idea what we can do."

"I don't, that's true. Unfortunately for you, the adventurers who did discover the dungeon have already approached us, and we have verified their honesty with truth spells. This is why I wanted to meet your adventurers, Guildmaster; I wanted to see those that could convince you to engage in such a bold lie. I thought they might have been interesting." Tarilex leaned back in his chair. His anger relaxed into simple disappointment. Derivan frowned; many of Tarilex's reactions had been strange, now; there was something about the way he kept swinging between his apparent emotions.... "It seems I have only wasted my time."

"Fucking Jerome," the Guildmaster growled.

Tarilex frowned. "You cannot have expected a Gold ranked group to go along with your coverup."

"It is not a coverup." The Guildmaster looked very much like she was hanging on to the barest thread of control; any more, and she would plant her face on the table, decorum be damned. "And they are not Gold ranked. I have demoted them. They are Iron ranked, pending them learning basic manners. I have half a mind to kick them out entirely for this stunt. I don't know what my people were doing, but"

"It seems harsh to punish a team of adventurers for simply speaking the truth"

Ah. The pieces finally snapped together in Derivan's mind, and he realized why Tarilex was acting so strangely.