Dakota Krout - Dungeon Born (The Divine Dungeon Book 1)

“Welcome, ill anna ess.” Dale butchered the name, “Can I please call you Anna, so that I don’t continue to incorrectly destroy your name?”

“That will be just fine, though, I’d prefer if you called me ‘Brianna’. My name translates better into that.’” Brianna breathed a small sigh of relief. “I take it you prefer plain words over standing on ceremony then?”

“Yes! Please! I am not a cultured man, I have lived in these mountains my entire life thus far, and the small amount of schooling I have is thanks to my mother pressuring me to better my life. Etiquette was never among those lessons.” Dale looked a bit desperate.

“This works well for me, Dale.” Brianna had a hint of a smile touching her lips. “I am an ambassador for our queen and have been given the right to arbitrate an agreement between us, which will allow us access to the Silverwood tree, with a favorable compensation to you.”

“I see, and what would this entail?” Dale cautiously inquired, his warm, gold hoarding inner weasel coming to life.

As Brianna nodded, one of her companions stepped forward with a small chest, which he opened to show gleaming gems, nearly the size of Dale's fist.

“Are those diamonds?” Dale gasped, astonished at the size of the gems.

A look of annoyance crossed Brianna's face for a moment, “No, far more valuable. These are knowledge of skills and techniques for fighting. You use earth Essence, yes? If you were to master these skills, you could shatter mountains with a wave of your hand, make the earth tremble with a punch, redirect the banks of rivers with a command, and topple walls of a city you intend to conquer!”

She took a breath, eyes shining as she breathed a bit heavily, “There is also a cultivation technique in here that is similar to the one our nation gifted the King of the Lion Realm, hundreds of years ago when his Kingdom was but a small town. Now he uses it to amass power and rule.”

“What do you take from this deal? That is a lot of wealth just to see a small tree.” Dale suspiciously and insightfully inquired.

“It will not be small for too long.” She promised mysteriously. “What I am asking for is the right of our nation to have care of the tree. Allow us to protect it and build a city around it to house a part of our population. We will allow others to cultivate near it, but the final say of decisions regarding the tree will be ours.”

“I don’t understand, why are you asking for this? What is the big deal, and why are you emphasizing ‘our nation’ like that?” Dale challenged hotly, beginning to feel a bad headache building. Brianna held up her hand angrily and waved to the side. Dale was confused until an Elf stepped away from his back, a dagger vanishing into his sleeve.

“Oh for shits sake!” Dale stood up furiously, getting into a defensive position.

“My most sincere apology.” She began earnestly. “I am royalty, they are not too fond of heated words, but that is not ,” she directed at those with her, “How I deal with people. I am not my mother .” The others looked away from her at that, embarrassed by this light treason.

“Allow me to explain, Sir Dale.” Brianna sat on the rock with him, motioning for him to re-take his seat. “Please understand that this is information that is somewhat sensitive to our kind. You do know that whenever a Silverwood tree is found, Elven-kind attempt to claim the area and build fortifications?” Frank had mentioned this to Dale, so he nodded.

“Well,” she continued, “Humans think that we do so for the benefit it affords in cultivating. This is only a small side bonus for us. The real reason for our interest is that the pollen from a Silverwood tree allows my race to become fertile, able to bear children.”

Dale was shocked. This was not the direction he had foreseen this conversation taking. Brianna laughed at his stricken look. “Oh, don’t get me wrong, sometimes we get lucky and a child is born without it, maybe one in five hundred couples is so lucky. But a Silverwood tree allows all of those couples given access to become fertile, which is why they are so well-protected when found. Without it we would become extinct.”

“Ahem.” Dale tried to keep his voice from cracking, “I see. So if I allow you to build a city, what is the downside to this deal?”

“What do you mean?” She pleaded with wide-eyed innocence.

He eyed her critically, a dangerous life had afforded him a keen nose for danger, and she reeked of it. “I would happily give you access, but you want to build walls to keep others out. Who?” He demanded. One of the guards took a menacing step toward him, only to be waved off again with a glare.

“Fair question, young one. I was not expecting any resistance.” She released a small chuckle. “Oh, fine. Our nation is in decline, we have no Silverwood trees of our own, and the cost of the pollen has tripled in the last few decades as other nations have swollen. We have earned a bad reputation since then, becoming mercenaries and killers in order to gain the pollen we need.”

“So…” Dale gulped as he looked at the Elves surrounding him, “You would be…”

“Dark Elves, yes.” Brianna despondently muttered with an air of finality.

There was a long, very awkward silence.

“Does this mean you will reject our offer?” Brianna begged despairingly.

Dale paused a moment, thinking. “No, but there are details we need to work out.” He looked up to see Brianna waving furiously at the guards.

“You! Go sit down on your hands! What part of ‘this is a peaceful talk’ didn’t you understand?” She fumed angrily. “Sorry Dale, he is really dagger-happy today.”

“Um. Ohhh-kay. Those details. Right, you can have access to the tree, but any shops will cede a portion of their profit as a tax to me. I will need to pay taxes to both the Lion and the Phoenix Kingdoms. That is not cheap. You can work to build the city, but need to work with me and the Adventurers Guild to determine the best way to complete those fortifications.” Dale determinedly decided.

“Also, none of your people are to start fights, harm, or kill humans without being provoked, I don’t want a race war here. I am sorry to say people will likely be afraid when they find the Dark Elves have come.” Dale brought up, “As you say, you have a bad reputation. Also, your people must honor my claim as owner of this land, deferring to my wishes for the area. Is this agreeable?”

“So long as we have exclusive rights to the tree itself and all products of it. Not including the Essence refined by others of course. Also, you have a counsel, correct? A group of people who make decisions for the area?” Brianna questioned knowingly. “I want a place on that counsel, a vote on any politics for the area.”

“Sure. I do have a counsel, but have never seen them in action. Either they have never met, or I just wasn’t invited.” Dale easily obliged. “So long as you accept that my word will be the final one on the matter, counsel or no.”

“The deal is struck then. Our people will arrive soon, and we will begin construction of a shining city.” Brianna solemnly stated. She stood, bowed, and with a word, she and her people vanished.

“...I need to stop going for walks alone.” Dale muttered unhappily. This was the second early morning walk he had almost been stabbed on. “Hey! They took those techniques with them! Assholes!”

He began walking back to the camp, hungry and more than a bit grumpy. This was his first morning off in months! Everyone wanted something, dang it. He trudged into the mess hall and angrily spooned the bland porridge into his mouth. Hans noticed him and joined his table.