Having explained in great detail the prior nights events, Brad was surprised by Mia’s absolute determination at figuring out what they had to offer the god in exchange for a message. “Mia, I have never seen you so… I don’t even know what this is and I am not complaining about it. I mean, I really want this to happen, but you have been ripping through your logbooks for the past 2 hours double checking what we have!”
Looking straight at Brad, with light glistening from the corners of her eyes, Mia said; “Puppy, I lost my parents at a young age. I would literally do anything, outside of giving you up, to tell them one last message. I absolutely l- l- l- like you, so much so that I would give the same to let you talk with them.”
“Mia… thank you.”
“Do not thank me yet. We need to figure this out, but I do not believe that pledging ourselves is necessary.” Mia continued after a brief hug comforting Brad.
“So what are you thinking?”
“Well, first lets get some facts straight. Are you absolutely sure that she only has eight paladins and three druids? Mia asked, while continuing to ask questions, counting them off on her fingers. “She is for one hundred percent certain that she is at war? That is a grand total of three families even capable of holding such positions? What else?”
“Uh, ya. She for sure said eight and three. Definitely at war, and pretty sure about the three families. Either three or four, pretty sure three. It was also implied that both my parents had the paladin class, so not sure if they both started with it or not.”
Looking him dead in the eyes, Mia asked an obviously final time, “Are you absolutely sure that that is all?”
“Uh, she mentioned that as a druid I have more ways than most to serve. I’m guessing that it just means that I could serve from the backlines as support.”
“URG!!! I wish that I could have been there!!!” Mia screamed in obvious frustration at her lack of information while trying to negotiate a deal with a god.
“Its okay Mia. I am sure that there is something-”
“Brad, quick question. What did the voice prior to Gaia say to you?” Mia asked, biting the corner of her mouth with a slight tilt to her head.
“He said that I would get a trait named “One with Nature”... Thats not right, he said an ability called that. But that is only if I kept my family bloodline path, instead of starting a new one I guess.”
“Right, but was there not something else he said? You passed over it pretty quick, but now that I am thinking, there might be an answer to our problem.”
“He talked a lot about my bloodline, how prestigious it is, and how druids can fight, pray, or build a home to relax in.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“Is that absolutely it?”
“Ya, I believe so. I was pretty angry at that time, I even made some quip about the deal having me making forest babies, or some stupid comment close to it. It was pretty…” Brad trailed off before closing his eyes and breathing in deeply scolding himself internally. “The voice said that you can serve by fighting, praying, or making a fort-santuary-castle? A home to nature, or something like that!” What if that is our trade? Would that be valid?”
Catching onto the thread of ideas quickly, Mia added, “It might not be enough, without a pledge. But remember, they are at war and I come from a bloodline specialized in wartime logistics. I do not want to barter in weapons, but few wars are won on weapons without food to feed the soldiers. We also have proven our ability to grow high end produce, maybe we could specialize in alchemical ingredients or something!? Maybe even offer special rates as a bulk supplier to them.”
“Wouldn’t that just drag us into their war as much as a pledge would?” Brad asked skeptically.
“Not necessarily, there were many instances of companies and even entire nations supplying both sides of a war. Heck, there were even a few really big ones where one nation supplied the rest of the world fighting itself for years before finally jumping in. Kings never kill the craftsmen or farmers. If you conquer an area, you still need the labor!”
“So what, supply their enemy too?” Brad asked, one eyebrow raised.
“No, we sign an exclusivity contract with minimum purchase thresholds. It will trade our exclusive supply for the ability to terminate the contract if minimum orders are not made. It will guarantee us sales, which is not an issue now but will eventually become one. Additionally it supplies us with a very good reason to be exclusive to them.”
“Won’t it be obvious why we are doing it though?”
“Yes and no. If they know that we are supplying them for reasons exclusive to you, then absolutely. If they know of my heritage, then it becomes more muddled. Not completely in a good way either. In fact, that may make it even more of a reason to target us, but it could also be taken my line moving away from weaponry and into food distribution.”
“And like you said, food distributors are the people that you don’t attack!” Brad said enthusiastically.
“For the most part yes. It still happens, and you being a druid will make this whole endeavor even more fishy. But I believe that this is an acceptable angle to negotiate from.”
“Okay, so what am I going to offer Gaia exactly?” Brad asked excitedly.
“Nothing. As much as I like you, I do not trust you with this kind of negotiation. You are not dumb, in fact you are quite excellent at what you do, but you are NOT a trader. I will lay out a contract with what I feel are manageable terms with a variable order structure.” explained, while excitedly starting to scrawl in her books. “Remember, this is what my heritage is all about.” Mia finished with a wide smile looking back over her shoulder towards her puppy.
“I doubt that I can take it with me while dreaming.” Brad stated frankly.
“Brad, we are dealing with a god. A god, that I assume is very powerful and one that told you point blank that she was constantly watching over you.” Mia said with a theatrically exasperated expression.
“Fair enough, that makes it easy I guess.”
“Easy? No. Convenient? Yes. Remember, this is still a god that we are dealing with. And do not worry, we will not be losing anything on this deal. The key to successful business is not always about winning big, it is about avoiding a loss... and this deal is a win for both parties, even if it favors them slightly.”
~~~
With dinner finished, contract checked over a dozen times, the pair laid down on their makeshift bed. With a final kiss, Brad was off to present their offer. An offer not to avoid regret, but rather an offer to pave the future while finding closure for the past.”