Chrysalis Chapter 1605: 1713 - Re-negotiate

"Ah, look who it is—my favorite citizen of Green Mountain. It is a pleasure to see you once more, Ms. Alice. Or should I say Mrs.?"

Back on the boat, she was met yet again by the fawning, yet somehow mocking, Brathian merchant. She was here to deal with this infuriating creature once more.

"I am married," Alice answered stiffly as she took her place.

"Oh, how marvelous. I must admit," the Merchant chuckled, "that as a terrifying and frightful creature, the concept of limiting personal bonds in such a way is beyond my grasp. While I do have a family—the largest in all of Pangera, in fact—the thought of starting one entirely on my own is… quite horrifying."

"How could a monster possibly comprehend what it means to be a living being?" Alice countered coldly. "Being born from the Dungeon, you could never understand the meaning of a true family."

If Alice had hoped to provoke the ant, she was disappointed. Merchant simply brushed the comment aside, removing her glasses to clean them.

"Oh, nonsense. I have a mother and millions upon millions of sisters. From my perspective, your family is completely inadequate."

Resting her glasses back atop her head, Merchant reached for the cup sitting on the table before her. She took a sip of tea, clacking her mandibles with clear satisfaction before setting the cup back down.

"Regardless, we didn't meet to chat about families; we are here for a transaction. That is my favorite kind of talk. At this moment, we have three hundred of your delvers in our custody. Are you interested in buying them back?"

Had they truly captured three hundred delvers? It felt impossible, yet not a single word had come from the tunnels in days. Initially, the Union hadn't been concerned, but that confident facade was beginning to crumble with every passing hour.

Hundreds of delvers remained within the city, but they were becoming increasingly hesitant to venture out. In a remarkably short period, the ants seemed to have reversed the roles; now it was Green Mountain huddled behind its walls, paralyzed by fear.

"I need proof that they are actually in your custody," she stated in a sharp tone. "No discussion can proceed without evidence."

"Of course!"

Reaching beneath the table, Merchant pulled out a sheet of paper and set it down.

"That is no problem at all. We have a list of signatures right here from every captive we’ve taken. With the exception of the Priests, naturally."

Maintaining her composure, Alice calmly accepted the document and scanned the names. Having consulted with the Union just days prior, she recognized the individuals listed. When her eyes fell upon Frederick Armon, she couldn't suppress a gasp. He was the most veteran member of the Union currently in the field. She had held onto the hope that he had escaped to bring back intel, but that hope now seemed extinguished.

"Thousands of delvers are in the tunnels right now, but we are rounding them up at quite an impressive pace, wouldn't you agree? After all, I was just here a few days ago."

The ant tapped the ash from her cigar, her mandibles clacking in amusement.

"How long will it take us to get the rest? I hate to be pushy, but I would be failing in my duties if I didn't remind you that this particular offer is strictly limited by the temporal flow."

"The what?"

"It is a limited-time offer."

Once more, a small, folded scrap of paper was slid across the table. What was it with this ant and these little folded notes?

"This is the current asking price. It isn't much higher than the last one."

Alice opened the page and immediately turned pale.

"It's double!" she cried out.

"But who can truly put a price on a life? As it happens, I can. This will only become more expensive if you keep hesitating, so I suggest you take advantage of this early-aphid special to avoid a great deal of pain later on."

"I cannot simply agree to such a massive sum without Council approval," Alice said, trying to remain level-headed. "Securing that approval takes time. We have budgets to manage and strict rules on public spending. The Council cannot simply produce this much coin on such short notice. If the Colony wants to engage in serious negotiations, we need a realistic timeframe and a sensible price. So far, these talks have been nothing but childish demands and bluster."

Merchant laughed loudly, her mandibles clacking in a rhythmic beat.

"That is a wonderful attempt to change the framing of our talk, but I'm afraid you are the one who fails to understand the nature of this deal."

Merchant polished her glasses before putting them back on, a predatory intelligence shining in every facet of her eyes.

"Price is dictated by demand. Demand is driven by scarcity. Your supply of delvers is going to drop quite sharply over the coming days. Naturally, that drop in supply will trigger a rise in price. The more Green Mountain desires its delvers back, the more we shall charge."

How in the name of Pangera was it possible? There were no eyelids, yet the monster somehow gave the distinct impression of a cheeky wink. Was it some form of magic? Or merely an optical illusion?

"That is simply basic economics. As for the time you need to raise the funds, I'm afraid that isn't our concern."

"It is if you actually want to receive your filthy money," Alice pointed out sharply.

"You have it backwards," Merchant grinned, somehow. "We aren't the ones who want money; you are the ones who want delvers. What you should really ask yourself is: can you afford to wait? Just imagine the number that will be on that page once we have every single delver in Green Mountain behind bars."

Merchant rubbed her front claws together greedily.

"It is going to be delicious."