Chapter 42

In the end, Fenard could only blame himself for the presence of Grant during these negotiations. It had been his kingly idea to summon more people from Earth. While he had been hoping for a man like Emil, or a woman like Aisha, he should have anticipated that he might end up with a Grant. And that such a man might be willing to put his negotiation expertise on the table on behalf of his summoner.

Seed was an insanely valuable skill. The closest skill which Fenard was familiar with which would compare to it was the Locate skill. The difference between the two, however, was that once the resources identified by Locate were consumed, they were simply gone. Seed, however, seemed to provide an infinite amount of valuables.

Tom’s use of the skill could change the economic traditions of the kingdom with just the three dungeons he had conquered so far. The miners that were prospecting in Gamma dungeon at the moment had no idea that their mine was inexhaustible. Fenard immediately put those fine entrepreneurs on a priority list of people for Yecha to contact when he returned. He needed to know everything he could learn about that ore.

He also needed to get a team out to the dungeon which Tom had labeled as Beta Dungeon, as Tom revealed in the conversation that he had set that dungeon to begin seeding Copper, another valuable metal which some of Emil’s projects called for in both high purities and large quantities.

Emil had provided him with a long list of materials which the engineer believed that the kingdom should begin stocking up on, and it sounded as though Tom’s ability could effectively solve that problem for him. According to Emil, Welsius was going to need a lot of coal in the near future.

And according to Aisha, any coal miners would require protective gear to keep the dust out of their lungs.

Tom revealed that Seed applied to a Core’s surface territory as well, and the list of trade goods which the Controller could select from was extensive. He had already begun seeding Worthmus trees on his estate, and although Fenard wished that he would select something with a little more economic value, the king did not begrudge the boy for wanting a taste of his hometown nearby.

Dungeons could apparently Seed a different material on each floor. And some materials were available on deeper floors that were not available toward the surface. Or at least that seemed to be the case from what Tom explained, reading off the list of materials he could generate from his menu. On the fifth floor, gemstones appeared. Not diamonds, but amethysts and topazes and a number of others.

It would take some experimentation in order to determine which of the options were most lucrative. Or, indeed, if there were options which would always be more lucrative; the market on materials like this was extremely malleable. If adventurers could mine gemstones out of the fifth floor of alpha dungeon, then perhaps that would be enough to cause the price of amethysts to drop like, well, a rock.

There were so many considerations to make, and Grant was thorough in pointing out as many as he could think of to both Tom and Fenard. There were a number of universal agreements that were made in the meeting, however.

First, that Tom would keep a list of the locations of his Seeding dungeons and a list of what resource each floor was Seeding. Tom would make that list available to the crown, who would share it with the public and private individuals and organizations who might wish to make use of the dungeons for the purpose of mining them.

Second, that delvers would need to gain permission in order to mine Tom’s dungeons in the future, which would take the form of a permit issued by the government. The government would charge a fee for the permit, the majority of which would be paid to Tom. This would allow Tom to profit from his ability while not requiring him to organize any sort of labor source himself.

Third, Tom was not responsible for the safety of miners within his dungeons. The standard ‘delver beware’ tradition would exist for all seeded dungeons. Until Tom unlocked Collaboration he couldn’t control for certain what monster types were spawned or on what floor of the dungeon, he could only influence the dungeon’s natural inclination to spawn them slightly. Besides which, Tom’s instincts were that the rarity of the materials he could seed was directly proportional to the danger involved in harvesting them.

Those three points were far from the exhaustive list of things which were discussed, but they were the points which all parties could agree to. If there was any fourth point which was mutually agreed upon, it was that this was the beginning of a long process of negotiation if all parties were to be satisfied.

While a small part of Fenard wished that there was stronger precedent, and a smaller part of him wished that Tom was more biddable and did not have such a strong advocate in his corner, he was more enthused to simply have Tom’s skill made available to the kingdom than anything else. At the conclusion of the meeting, he was in a rush to get back to the palace to begin getting the preliminary paperwork in place.

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The aspect which would generate the most blowback would be the permits. The tradition of “delver beware” also came with “with great risk comes great rewards.” The proceeds of delving were not typically taxed, and admittance to dungeons was traditionally free. Fenard was expecting that the new laws for Seeded dungeons would be ignored until adequate enforcement was in place, and even once it was there would be pushback from the adventurers seeking to take advantage of the generated resources.

The household turned out to see him off, and before he left Emil passed him a number of documents. They were mostly musings and sketchings of various projects and ideas which the engineer had come up with over the last few days since the king’s last visit. The king would share them with his advisors, who would determine how practical or realistic they were to make a reality in Welsius.

Fenard wished that Emil himself would have accepted a position in the city, but the man had reasons for staying with Tom. Mostly because of the dungeon; Emil wished to become stronger. While Aisha’s class leveled simply from healing people, and so her idea of a wandering ‘free clinic’ aligned with the purpose of growing her powers, Emil’s class would level fastest if he used its unique abilities in combat.

Once Fenard was gone, Tom undid his tie and loosened his collar. He turned to Grant and asked “In your old life, you did things like this every day?”

“At the height of my career, I would be one of many people in a room filled with opponents with as much acumen as Fenard or myself,” Grant explained. “Although defending your interests doesn’t feel the same. It feels more like I am your lawyer, looking out for the best interests of my client, than my days as an elected official. Many of the same skills come into play, of course, but the mentality is different.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re on my side,” Tom told him. “I would never have thought of half of the points you brought up.”

“Even so I was floundering in the darkness, Tom. Part of the reason I was so reluctant to agree to anything is that I don’t know the laws of Welsius very well. Before our next negotiation, I suggest that you hire legal counsel. Preferably someone who is familiar with the history and value of your class who could be trusted. Unfortunately, given the secrecy of the Controller class, that list might be rather small.”

Tom was silent for a moment, then he asked Grant “Do you think that Gloracia might know someone?”

Grant frowned and considered it. “It’s not a terrible idea to ask her, I think,” He said after a moment. “You want as fierce of an advocate as possible, and she is likely to recommend someone who will take Fenard to the cleaners. However, it might be a wise decision to have more than one lawyer on your team, and ask Fenard to recommend someone as well. That way if Gloracia’s involvement ever comes to light you can claim that you were trying to act impartially by inviting all seats to the table.”

“As long as you think it’s a good idea,” Tom said. He then turned and saw Nigel, whom he flagged down. “Nigel, I need you to gather everyone. I mean, everyone who delves the dungeon, and I guess Antoine as well. I’m not certain if he’ll want to come, but I should probably tell him about my Quest.”

“Your Quest, my lord?” Nigel asked.

“Yes,” Tom said. “I’ve already told the king all about it. I’ll be leaving the manor for a while, once he gets me the map of nearby dungeons that he promised to send.”

Tom considered, then added “For that matter, I should come with you all the next time you delve into Alpha dungeon. I need to speak with Lo and Brutus.”

“If you need to access the fifth floor, sooner might be better than later, Tom,” Grant informed him. “We’ve just completely cleared the fourth.”

“Is that why I got so much experience?” Tom asked. “How did you manage that?”

“Emil’s rituals are surprisingly effective,” Grant explained, and left it at that.

~~~~~~

Lo was bored. While the new dungeon was comfortable, and he had a pack once more which obeyed him loyally, he faced no challenges. The gnolls were beneath his attention, easily slain even in numbers thanks to the strength he had gained serving his master. It irked him to know that a human was responsible for his development, but Lo saw truths, and this was a truth that was difficult to ignore.

Now that he had begun to grow strong, he desired more strength, and he knew that he would not get it in Alpha dungeon. He was considering leaving – doing so would not violate his bond with Tom, so there was no inhibition about it – when he sensed the core moving. Curious, he made his way towards the entrance of the dungeon, waiting at the stairs that led from the second to the third floor expectantly.

Able to both sense and control the shape of the dungeon, Tom arrived in less than ten minutes with the rest of his friends, Sevin, Jessica, Grant, and Emil. The frightful one was not present.

“Ah, there you are, Lo,” Tom said, not surprised at all at the Korgoath’s prompt presence. “I was just looking for you. I’m leaving, and taking the dungeon with me. I’m pretty sure it will collapse behind me, so I thought I’d warn those who would listen, and offer them a chance to come with me.”

“You are hunting again?” Lo asked.

“I guess you could say that.”

Lo was silent for a long moment. Then he said “I will serve once more.”

“That’s great. Will you get the rest of your pack together then?”

Lo responded by vanishing into the shadows to obey, while the others continued deeper into the dungeon to speak with the minotaurs. Lo had nothing against those humanoid beasts, they were powerful and stupid, but they were not naturally enemies of the Korgoath. Not like the hated gnolls. Lo thought of how these halls would collapse when the master took the Core Stone away, falling onto the heads of the hated gnolls, and he began to laugh.

He stopped when he realized how much like the jackals he sounded.