Chrysalis Chapter 1713 - Re-negotiate

“Ah, if it isn’t my favorite Green Mountain denizen. It is truly a pleasure to see you once more, Ms. Alice. Or should I say Mrs.?”

Once again, Alice found herself on the boat, met by the servile yet mockingly arrogant merchant of the Colony, here to negotiate with this infuriating creature.

“I am married,” she answered stiffly, taking her place at the table.

“Oh, how marvelous. I must admit, as a terrifying and frightful monster,” Merchant chuckled, “restricting personal bonds in such a manner is quite beyond my grasp. Not that I lack a family—I possess the most extensive family in all of Pangera—but the thought of founding a family entirely on my own is… rather daunting.”

“How could a monster possibly comprehend the life of a sentient being?” Alice countered coldly. “A creature born of the Dungeon can never truly understand the meaning of family.”

If her goal was to provoke the ant, Alice failed. Merchant simply brushed the comment aside as she took off her glasses to clean them.

“Oh, nonsense. I have a mother and millions upon millions of sisters. From my perspective, your family unit is completely insufficient.”

Returning the glasses to her head, Merchant reached out to grasp the cup resting on the table before her. After taking a sip of tea, she clacked 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 subject. Currently, we have three hundred of your delvers in our custody. Are you interested in buying them back?”

Had three hundred delvers truly been captured? It felt impossible, yet no reports had come from the tunnels for several days. Though the Union had maintained a calm front initially, that facade was crumbling with every passing hour.

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

“I demand proof that they are actually in your possession,” she declared in a sharp tone. “Negotiations cannot proceed without evidence.”

“But of course!”

Merchant reached beneath the table, retrieved a sheet of paper, and slid it onto the surface.

“No trouble at all. We have compiled a list of signatures from every captive we’ve secured. Excluding the Priests, naturally.”

Masking her shock, Alice calmly accepted the document and scanned the names. Having consulted with the Union just days prior, she recognized them immediately. When her eyes fell upon Frederick Armon, she couldn't suppress an audible gasp. He was the Union’s most seasoned field member. She had held onto the hope that he had escaped to bring back intelligence, but that hope was now extinguished.

“Thousands of delvers are currently in the tunnels, but we are rounding them up at a most impressive pace, wouldn't you agree? After all, it’s only been a few days since my last visit.”

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

“How much longer until we have them all? I truly hate to rush you, but I would be failing in my duties if I didn't mention that this offer is highly sensitive to the temporal flow.”

“The what?”

“It is a limited-time offer.”

Once more, a small, folded scrap of paper was pushed across the table. Alice wondered what the obsession was between this ant and its folded notes.

“This is the current asking price. It hasn't increased much from the last one.”

Alice opened the page and immediately turned pale.

“This is double!” she cried out.

“But who can truly put a price on a life? As it happens, I can. The cost will only continue to rise if you keep hesitating, so I suggest you take advantage of this early-aphid special to avoid future suffering.”

“I cannot simply agree to such a sum without Council approval,” Alice stated firmly. “Securing that permission takes time. Budgets must be reviewed, and there are strict rules regarding public spending. The Council cannot produce this much coin on such short notice. If the Colony is serious about these talks, we require a realistic timeframe and a sensible price. Thus far, these discussions have been nothing but bluster and childish demands.”

Merchant burst into laughter, her mandibles clacking in rhythm with the sound.

“A valiant attempt to reframe our dialogue, but I fear you are the one failing 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 set to drop sharply over the coming days. Naturally, that decrease in supply will trigger a price hike. The more desperate Green Mountain becomes for its delvers, the more we shall charge.”

How in the name of Pangera was it possible? Despite having no eyelids, the monster somehow managed to give the 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 becomes your concern if you want 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 what figure will be on that paper once we have every single delver in Green Mountain under lock and key.”

Merchant rubbed her front claws together in anticipation.

“It’s going to be delicious.”