High Chief Ulurmak

Adventurer Level: N/A

Orc - Kirkenian

I signaled for Rayzun to leave as the two dwarves settled into their seats. Liath was working very hard to avoid making eye contact with me. The dwarf he accompanied did not have any such issues, and was actively trying to stare me down.

"Really?" I sighed. "I appreciate your support, emperor, but what possessed you to personally accompany your forces?"

Emperor Jak crossed his arms angrily and raised an eyebrow.

"As if you don't know," he replied curtly.

"While I understand that you vehemently support us against the Night Kingdom, you could have simply sent a general in your stead."

"Lofin and the thugs he calls soldiers are of little concern to me. I am here about the damn mine."

I stared at Jak with a neutral expression, my brain trying to process the levels of pettiness I was currently witnessing. I turned my gaze to Liath for an explanation, but he was busy shrinking in his seat. An easy feat, for a dwarf, but he was trying to make it look difficult.

"You came all this way, braving the perils and discomforts of the roads, for a thrice-damned MINE?" I asked, trying my best not to shout.

"You're damn right I did!" Jak exclaimed, trying less hard than I to keep his voice down. "I sent messenger after messenger, missive after missive, and all I got back were rejections with empty platitudes! Or worse, silence! Finally, I spend an entire DAY dictating a missive, and I get your response back in the form of a fucking SPY WITH A NOTE?"

Liath somehow shrank further in response to Emperor Jak's rage, but I had to struggle not to smile. The anger that he was currently feeling had been precisely my intention. However, it had not occurred to me that he would travel such a distance to express said anger. A small part of me was actually impressed.

"My attention was required elsewhere," I explained. "What with the war and all."

"So, naturally, you sent an information broker with a scrap of paper with a few scribbles on it," Jak snorted. "Diplomacy seems to have changed a bit since my youth."

"I sent my good friend Liath, who happens to be quite diplomatic, to verbally plead my case for a compromise regarding the mine."

Liath perked up a bit when he heard me call him a friend, but Jak's eyes narrowed dangerously. Before he could speak, I accusingly pointed a finger at him.

"Did you even let him tell you about the compromise?" I asked angrily.

"O-of course not!" Jak said defensively. "The note said enough! You want to hire some of my people as trainers for your own miners and maintain complete possession of the mine. What could he have possibly added to that?"

"He could have explained the benefits. He could have granted you some perspective on the issue. He could have explained why I'm unwilling to entertain the idea of allowing YOUR miners into MY country to plunder MY resources, while you give me the scraps."

"The land that mine is on used to be OURS. I think my offer is preferable to the alternative of taking it back."

"Trying to take it back, you mean," I snarled. "And that is a very selective recollection of the history of that land. How did it come into the possession of your empire?"

"It was fairly conquered by Emperor Rofniik," Jak sneered.

"Emperor Rofniik launched a sneak attack against us, and proceeded to slaughter everyone living there. The very opposite of fair, in fact. However, he also only held the land for eight years before we routed his invasion and executed him, ending his bloodline and allowing yours to take control of the empire. So yes, the land was conquered from us, but we conquered it right back. What right do you claim to this land that isn't immediately canceled out by the very same logic you're using to claim the right?"

Emperor Jak grew silent and contemplative. Absolute power leads to being surrounded by those who feel compelled to feed into one's delusions. Having those delusions ripped to shreds by someone of equal standing can be a shock. To his credit, Jak took it well.

"Fine. Tell me more of this compromise of yours," he said.

Before I could say anything there was a knock on the door. Rayzun poked his head in and held up a piece of paper. I raised an eyebrow and beckoned him to enter.

"Apologies for the interruption your majesties, but it's urgent," Rayzun said as he handed me the paper.

I dismissed Rayzun and wasted no time reading the paper, then sighed as Jak and Liath leaned forward. My scouts had failed to intercept the elven army, and on top of that...

"I will gladly tell you of my proposed compromise, but it would appear that there are things we must discuss that are a tad more urgent," I said. "First, I'm sorry you and your army marched all this way, but the drow have already been defeated."

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"What?" Jak asked. "How?"

"We deployed mounted mages, and in response the drow fortified the position they took up in one of our villages. Apparently, some of our soldiers captured and tamed a Nahalim, then proceeded to use it to overrun the position."

"I-I see..."

"Indeed. Unfortunately, I was right about the drow general being a vampire. His sister, whom he was using for sustenance, confirmed that he's a half-breed. He escaped during the battle, heading west."

"Into my territory?"

"Perhaps, but he could have just as easily turned north and returned home once he lost his pursuers. I've sent word to King Lofin with what we've learned. It reeks of conspiracy, and while I'd love to see King Lofin flayed alive, having the Night Kingdom seized by vampires would be very undesirable."

"Yes it would," Jak said, and then chuckled. "This means my army was essentially an honor guard escorting me to our debate about the mine. Largest honor guard every, methinks. Speaking of which... Wait, you said first..."

"Indeed I did. You see, I also sent for aid from Bolisir. Once I learned of our victory, I sent messengers to you and the elves to inform you of the circumstances. The messenger I sent your way missed you, but should be reporting to your general right about now," I chuckled. "The messenger I sent to Bolisir missed their army, but ran into the messengers I had sent to request aid, who had some rather interesting information for me. King Yssinirath has awakened."

Liath's eyes went wide, and I expected a similar expression from Emperor Jak. Instead, I was met with confusion.

"Who is King Yssinirath?" Jak asked.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"I've never heard of Yssinirath. What is he king of? Why should we be concerned that he's awakened?"

"You... King Yssinirath is the high dragon that's been sleeping in Bolisir. He's the king of Bolisir."

"Then who the fuck is Oakmor?"

"A regent."

"Oh, I see... I suppose that's why he never called himself king in our correspondence. I had assumed he was being haughty and considered himself above titles."

"Did he not identify himself as Regent Oakmor?"

"He did, yes, but for some reason I thought that was his name... Regardless, how does this dragon's awakening impact things?"

"I've never met King Yssinirath and do not know his temperament. High dragons are meant to be fair and just rulers, but legends are prone to exaggeration. So... I don't know."

"Then it's entirely possible that Bolisir just became a hostile nation."

"Yes, it is a possibility," I shrugged. "I have faith in Oakmor, though."

"Oakmor likes you a whole lot more than he likes me."

"If you knew him well enough, you would know that's irrelevant. He's honorable, almost to a fault, and cares enough about his people to avoid pointless conflict."

"You'll forgive me if I don't wholeheartedly believe you. I will continue to be wary of things to come until my fears are assuaged. The stakes involved are too high for me to take things on blind faith," Jak said solemnly. "However, hearing you say that does ease my mind a bit. And speaking of pointless conflict..."

"Oh, right, the fucking mine," I groaned. "My compromise is simple. We are speaking of my land and my resources, and I don't need your miners to get at them. However, I am willing to allow some of your more experienced miners to supervise the operation and provide training and feedback where needed in exchange for a smaller percentage of the take than you suggested."

"How much smaller?"

"Ninety to me, ten to you. Split by the gram, after smelting."

"We might as well just fuck off then. No. Twenty five."

"A quarter of the take for supervising? Pull the other one."

"Supervising AND training," Jak crossed his arms. "Fine, twenty."

Jak and I locked eyes and stared each other down as Liath shifted uncomfortably. Twenty's still too much for such a limited role in the operations. It could be that he knows that and thinks that I don't, or...

"Why are you asking for so much of the take?" I finally asked. "I assume you have a reason other than trying to piss me off."

"Of course I fuckin' do," Jak sighed and shook his head. "Listen, what I'm about to tell you is a state secret. Word of this can't leave this office."

"You have my word."

"Mine too, for what it's worth," Liath said.

Jak twitched a bit, seemingly having forgot that Liath was in the room. He stared at Liath for a moment, then nodded slowly.

"We're on the cusp of a coin shortage," Jack said.

"How?" I asked, alarmed.

"There's a lot of factors at play. Too many precious metals are tied up in constructions, we have a skyrocketing population, and there's people hoarding liquid assets. I've banned the use of gold and silver in construction, but my advisors feel that it's likely too late to stop what's coming."

"What are the consequences of a coin shortage?" Liath asked. "Won't people just be able to barter if they don't have coins?"

"Sure, but how do you tax that?" Jak scoffed. "Without sales tax, how do we maintain infrastructure and a military? The tax as it stands is simple and easy for people to understand, which makes them more likely to comply. The proposes barter taxes make even my head spin. If people don't understand how to calculate the tax, how are they going to pay it? And how are they going to pay it without coin? Am I supposed to accept a quarter of a clucker?"

"Plus the issue of foreign currency," I added. "If a coin shortage occurs, people who can't barter will likely use foreign coins to pay their debts, which may drive down the value of Calkuti's currency. Especially if those coins contain a higher concentration of precious metals."

"Which will only serve to exacerbate the issue by causing inflation."

"So why not just tear down the buildings made of gold?" Liath asked.

"Well, for the most part that gold is privately owned. And if I start tearing down government buildings to get at the gold in them, it's going to cause concerns among the populace. These concerns could result in bank-runs and other financial and fiscal issues that we'd all like to avoid, if possible."

I leaned back in my chair and considered Emperor Jak's position carefully. On the one hand, these economic issues could spread beyond the empire's borders and into my own lands. On the other hand, I now have some forewarning, which could allow me to take advantage of this situation and come out on top. But that wouldn't exactly be the neighborly thing to do.

"Fine, we can do twenty five percent," I said. "But I want this remembered."

"It will be. The Empire of Calkuti will happily owe the Unified Chiefdoms a favor. Have your people draft an agreement and I'll sign it," Jak said, standing. "Now, time to return home since there's nothing left to do here, apparently. A shame, I was looking forward to a fight."

"Don't be so hasty, friend," I said with a grin. "You may want to stay a bit longer."

"Why's that?"

"Because the messengers I sent to Bolisir are very interesting. So interesting that you'll want to meet them," my grin grew. "And they'll be back soon."