NOVEL NEXT Chapter 199: Diplomacy
We had found the brothers back in the waiting room. Both of them looked nervous about something as they paced back and forth across the room. And just what that was, they refused to talk about. I was sure it meant they had found some news of their home. Hopefully, whatever they learned, they'd tell us in time, but it was their news to share, and I wasn't going to try to force it out of them. I trusted them to tell me anything that I needed to know.
Rabyn, Grant, Elody, and Glorp all decided to return back to the homestead for different reasons. Rabyn was still trying to avoid going too far off-world. Grant, on the other hand, had apparently already found several people in need of assistance in the two days he had been at it, and didn't want anyone to wait while he enjoyed himself in a different world.
That left the rest of us to join Tomthy and the giants in their own waiting room. Apparently, if you had a gate, it was possible to have it attached to the room, making a porter much less necessary. On the other hand, it did mean you had a permanent connection to the Spire, which potentially came with all kinds of problems. It was certainly something I'd need to discuss in depth with Pryte if ever considered it.
"How many squads does your faction have?" I was curious after seeing the number of giants in the room. They had somehow managed to fill every seat, and there were several extra doors off their room than we had. I spotted training equipment behind one of them as a giant passed through.
"Only seven right now, we're still pretty new to having control over our own world. Dad wants to get us up to fifteen as soon as he can, apparently the safest minimum number once," Tomthy replied. I had no idea why that would be the safest. Was there something I had missed about climbing the Arena?
I gave Pryte a puzzled look after Tomthy's words. He just mouthed back that he'd explain it later. "Ah, we've just got the one right now." I wasn't sure if I should have admitted that or not.
"So, where does your gate lead anyway? I'm not super familiar with your world," Pryte asked, changing the topic.
"The Spire connection is to the barracks. Dad didn't wanna risk it being wide open. The main gate network is in the center of the capital, though. There's a really great bar nearby that I can't wait to show you all," the giant replied, as he opened the large gate door.
"Looking forward to it." Mostly, at least. The food I did want to try, not so much the drink. I wanted a clear head for this.
Tomthy vanished through the door after my words. Several giants immediately followed before another signaled us to go as well. Just like the first time I had used one of these, there was no sensation. One moment I was in the Arena, the next I was walking into a brightly lit room.
Everywhere, giants were busy working on one thing or another. Many of them were running various fighting drills, some cleaning, and even a few working on art that adorned every wall in the room. The walls were all beautifully painted with what I realized was a continuous story of some sort.
Just as I tried to decipher the scene, Tomthy again grabbed my attention. "Welcome to Topazaadyha. We're still fixing a lot of things, but it's come a long way. Follow me and I'll take you to Dad."
"The paintings are really cool, what are they depicting?" Maud asked the question as though she were talking to her best friend, and not the prince of a faction we were hoping to ally ourselves with. I respected that about her. It was a great trait to have, especially considering our new reality.
"Oh, this is the history of our people, it's not fully complete yet. It will cover the entire castle once it is. We're almost near where we overthrew the Sworms and reclaimed our planet for ourselves." Tomthy's voice swelled with pride at that answer.
"Interesting, and how recently did your people free themselves?" Laura asked as he passed through the room into a large hallway with a carpet running down the center. More giants were moving about here as well, most carrying things as they passed by.
"The struggle started over a hundred a fifty years ago when my great-grandfather was killed in front of my grandfather," Tomthy's words caught in his throat for a moment before he continued. "He had refused to allow the Sworms to take his daughter. Aunt Elopsa was only a year old when this happened and barely remembers it, but his son, Alopta, my grandfather, was fifteen. He took his sister and fled as his father held off the guards at the cost of his own life. That was the day the rebellion was really born. It took another fifty years before we were free."
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"I'm sorry, I imagine your people must have gone through hell during that," Laura said, kindness in her voice.
"They did!" A voice roared from a doorway. "Tomthy is of the first generation to not know the horrors of our long struggle. It is a good thing that you were not forced to experience the same thing, Dave. As for your companions, the young Twinoges, I am deeply sorry knowing you were not so lucky."
"Dave, this is King Tomta of the Golden Mountain Hammerfists. Dad, I'm guessing you already figured this out, but this is Emperor Dave of the Empire of Dave." Tomthy stood up tall as he declared his father and myself. The feeling of publicly being called an emperor like that was deeply strange, and not something I expected to ever get used to.
"Uh, hi, nice to meet you," I said, not really sure how to greet a ruling member of a faction. At least he didn't feel like the Ghalad guy who had recently forced us into meeting him.
"Hah, I can appreciate someone who isn't great at the formalities. So in that case, come grab some food and let's talk," the king said as he vanished back into the doorway.
"Tomthy, I like your Dad," Cecile said loudly as we followed after him.
We were led to what I assumed was some sort of banquet hall, mostly due to the giant table in the center laden with all kinds of food. The walls had more murals covering them. Interestingly, there were several chairs around the table sized for humans. Had they managed to prepare this as soon as we arrived, or had Tomthy gotten them word?
"So, your world gets to enter the Spiral free. That's a rare thing these days, exceedingly so outside of a System expansion phase. I think that makes you the kind of man I can respect, Dave. But even so, it's hard for me to say if you have the kind of faction I can ally myself with formally." Tomta stared me directly in the eyes the entire time he spoke. I did my best not to look away.
"Well, at the very least, I can personally say that what you see is mostly what you get with me. I have few schemes beyond wanting to protect the people that need protection. If we are talking benefits of a formal alliance, I think Laura would be the better person to discuss that topic," I replied, strongly maintaining the eye contact.
"Alright, let's hear what you're proposing," the king replied, finally releasing his gaze from my own.
"From my understanding, platinum is rare enough that your faction may not have the best access to it yet. We are willing to trade what we have enough that it would likely be a detriment to our own future in a bid to save our people right now…" Laura paused as Tomta interrupted.
"The short message Tomthy was able to get me only mentioned a death curse. I assume your desperation means it's worse than I realized, and that this isn't just about an alliance?" His eyes narrowed as his head looked around the table at each of the humans present before returning his focus to Laura.
"We are on the verge of total ecological collapse. Our best people are working on a solution that may pull us back from the brink, but that won't fix the food and supply issues we are facing in the here and now." She paused, taking a deep breath, and continued. "While we would love to sign some sort of formal alliance between the Golden Mountain Hammerfists and the Empire of Dave, the harsh reality is we have no one else to turn to, and are here willing to give you literally anything we possess for the just the possibility of getting through this current crisis."
"That's a level of honesty you don't hear often from diplomats, no wheeling and dealing, not even a hint. In respect of that, I'll be just as blunt. We barely have any power of our own at the moment, and I honestly don't know if allying ourselves with you would be seen as a sign of weakness or not. But, and this is a very large but, myself and people I trust believe a large faction war is coming. So here's my proposal to you. Scrap the platinum trade. Instead, we sign a mutual defense and non-aggression treaty." Tomta cocked his head to the side and smiled at both Laura and I with the offer while scratching his beard.
"You understand, of course, how big of a gamble that would be? We have literally nothing besides the people in this room who could help you in an actual war," Laura replied. It wasn't entirely true, but close enough that it didn't matter.
"Which is why I want to scrap the resource offer. It would do far more good left with your people. You're right, of course, this is one giant gamble, but just like you, I don't have a lot of options to secure my people's futures. If you agree to the treaty, I'll give you everything you asked just as a matter of signing it," Tomta said calmly.
"Can we have a minute to talk about this in private?" Laura asked.
"Of course. Hallway now!" Tomta roared the second part as he stood from his chair, clearly directing it at the other giants.
In the darkness of eternal night, the jesters silently smile,
From deep within chaotic space, a people full of menacing guile,
Hidden behind horrors unimaginable, spins their planet, lost in exile,
Their games slowly growing, their wrath ever-lasting, jesters planning their reconcile.
Words Found Carved Into an Asteroid Within Chaotic Space.