Brightfire says "Sure, I can do that. There is nothing here that I need to do right now."

"Okay, then it's decided."

Lin says "Alright. Let's head to our cabin, I will use the platform there to open the gate. Oh, how will you get back?"

"Don't worry. I will either stay there until I have enough mana to gate back or find another source of mana."

Lin says "Oh, okay. Let's go then."

It doesn't take us long to walk to our cabin and once there Lin opens the gate. Brightfire and I go through once it is open and soon find ourselves inside the palace of the southern empire. Before opening the door, I shapeshift into my human form since that is what they are used to.

As soon as the door is opened, one guard runs off right away while the other greets us. The remaining guard leads us to the throne room where we are allowed to enter immediately. It looks like court is in session, but as we enter, Amn dismisses his ministers and nobles.

Emperor Amn says "Ash, welcome back. I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon. Is there something I can help you with?"

"Honestly, I forgot to ask about the progress of rescuing elves the last time I was here. Also, I wanted to visit the merchants of your city to purchase some materials for a project I am working on."

Emperor Amn says "Ah, I also forgot to mention the elves last time you were here. I am happy to report that we have collected every remaining elf that we were able to locate. We currently have a little less than two thousand elves gathered for you."

Brightfire says "That's amazing!!"

"Thank you, Amn. This is a great favor that you have done for me."

Emperor Amn says "Then simply call it repayment for what you have done for my wife and me. As to the other reason you are here, simply state what you need and in what amounts. My men will contact the merchants for you and save you some time."

"Thank you. There are three metals I am looking for and I will buy all that can be found."

The emperor summons some messengers and has me list the three metals I want. The messengers then leave to visit every merchant in the city to check if they have the materials.

Emperor Amn says "They will soon return with the information on who has the materials you want. The materials will be reserved in my name so you don't need to worry about anyone else buying them. Once we know which merchants have the materials, one of my guards will guide you around to them to buy the metals."

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

"Alright. Thank you. Oh, where are the elves?"

Emperor Amn says "I didn't want to repeat the mistake from last time, so we created a temporary village for them near our main port. We already checked and made sure that no demons were hidden among them this time."

"Excellent. Brightfire, why don't you fly ahead and explain things to them? Get them ready to travel and I will catch up once I purchase the materials."

Brightfire says "Sure, I'd be happy to!"

Emperor Amn provides a map to Brightfire and then invites me to join him for lunch. After Brightfire heads out, Amn and I move to a private room where lunch is served. Once the food is laid out, Amn dismisses everyone else, even his guards.

While we wait for his messengers to return, we eat and discuss the future. It turns out, Amn has been making plans to take a chunk of the demon's lands. The forces that the demons have on the borders has been drastically reduced.

This could be because they are massing to invade the peninsula, or it could be a result of the losses they have suffered. I point out that it could also be a trick to lure the empires into attacking. Amn says that he has considered that, but he is willing to take that chance.

"Are you worried about the northern empire making a move first?"

Emperor Amn says "Yes, I am. Whoever moves first will get the biggest gains. We are fairly balanced in power right now. If that is going to shift, it needs to shift in my favor."

"Even if you manage to claim new lands, it will be a while before you get any benefits from the new lands, right?"

Emperor Amn says "That is true, but as an emperor I need to plan as far into the future as I am able to."

"Even if you do manage to get more land, whoever takes more casualties is going to end up the loser. If I was in your position, I would try to trick the northern empire into moving first. Whoever moves first will be the one to suffer from the demon's counterattack."

Emperor Amn says "You think the demons are capable of fighting back?"

"Absolutely. The only way they wouldn't be able to do it is if you wait until the war between me and them begins. Until then, they still have plenty of forces that they can move around."

Emperor Amn says "Hm, I hadn't considered that. They lost a lot against you in the north and they didn't really react to it."

"Most of those losses were the demonic beasts, the demons didn't lose all that much. Demonic beasts are nothing but cannon fodder to the demons."

Emperor Amn says "You think they are pretending to be weak?"

"I can't be sure, but if I was in their position I would be. I would want to lure you into making a move so I can weaken you before turning my attention to the peninsula."

Emperor Amn says "I am really glad that you came to visit! I almost made a huge mistake! So, any advice on how to make the northern empire move first?"

"Simple. They should be just as nervous as you are. Just act like you are rushing to be the first and they will try to move even faster."

Emperor Amn says "You are probably right. Alright, that is what we will do."

"My advice would be to let the demons counterattack the northern empire and then attack the demons as soon as the battle ends. You can claim whatever land you can hold after that."

Emperor Amn says "Alright. That sounds like a good plan. We will do that. Thank you for the advice."

"No problem. We are allies after all."

Emperor Amn says "For now, we will plan on only taking about half of what we can hold. I want to be sure that we have enough strength left to be able to attack them when they attack you."

After finishing our chat, and the food, we return to the throne room to check on the messengers. It turns out that they all returned a while ago, but no one dared to disturb the emperor. Soon after, I leave the palace with the captain of the guard who leads me to the merchants.