Negotiations

The Orc watched the harsothian Count leave through the window and turned to associate.

"How is the progress?" he asked, a middle-aged human man. "Our person has called the meeting," he replied.

"Will they attend?" asked the Orc. "He has a good reputation among them. He promised a sufficient number of them would turn up," the human man replied with a smile.

Orc's expression turned serious.

"Some in the council already got the inkling what I am doing. So, this is my last chance and also yours. If we didn't succeed this time, then we will not get any further chances," said the Orc, and the middle-aged man nodded.

"I understand. We will not fail this time."

"We better not. I want Amberhold in my control," said the Orc, and the middle-aged man nodded before walking out of the room.

…

"Mr. Silver, Count Darrow is returning," informed Zela, as she put her book down.

I nodded, closed the thing I was working on, and walked out of the suit.

Soon, I am in the office, where everyone is already present and waiting for the Count. They also seemed to have got the message from the Mage Beaumont as Zela did.

Click!

It was a little over ten minutes before the door of the office opened and Count Darrow walked inside, wearing his emotions in his face, which he rarely does.

Though his mind is guarded. It is more because of the black ring he is wearing, which he didn't like wearing when he was in his office, but the moment he stepped out; he wore it.

It is a mind-protecting weapon. It might be an enchanted tool or an artifact. I heard the House of Ravenheart has a couple of them.

While it is Duke Benedict who controls most artifacts. There are some in Count Darrow's hand, Riverheim Saber, which he used to have, but handed to his elder son a few years back.

"The council has given their approval to the deal," he said finally as he sat down and a smile on his face widened.

An even bigger smile appeared on the face of Leila and Boron Harrods. As Nakar Baronies will be the biggest beneficiaries, after him and especially of these two whose territories are closest to the Oksall.

"Congratulations, Lord Count," I congratulated.

"You all played a part. Especially you, Remus. You have crafted a magnificent proposal," praised Count Darrow.

"Thank you for your praise, my lord," I said and bowed.

"We have got the approval from the council, but negotiations had remained. I am confident that a single meeting would be enough to finish it," he said, and I couldn't help but nod.

This will be a big stepping stone for normalizing the relationship, which will start the river trade.

Not that this deal didn't have an enormous potential. It has, and might even surpass, the river trade, but it is the river trade that will win in the long term.

"We should prepare then, my lord," said Robin. Count nodded, and we all took out copies of the contract.

This one, too, had been crafted by me. Though, I did take help from some people. A legal contract is a completely different thing, a small mistake like a comma, has the potential to upend the whole thing.

We prepared until it was time to leave, going over every point. The points on which we could compromise and on which I couldn't.

We got barely fifteen minutes to freshen up and change. If I didn't have the skills like Rapid Legs, I wouldn't have managed it.

Nobody would have managed that.

I had seen my sister casting haste on herself and Baron Harrods, using his speed skill, which turned him into a blur in my eyes. Still, the one that impressed me the most is Robin's skill.

One moment, he was looking haggard and tired, with his clothes creased up, and the next moment, he was all presentable, with a bright glowing face.

Robin is a high-level adviser and a true Lv. 30. He is so good, that sometimes, I forget that fact.

"Everyone ready?" asked the Count as we returned. "Yes, my lord," we replied.

"Let's leave," he said, and a minute later, we walked out of the gates of the mansion and sat in the carriage. I and Robin sat with the Count in his carriage, while Leila and Baron Harrods sat in the separate carriage.

A few carriages more filled in, but they were with the guards. There are also guards riding on the beasts around us.

Seeing it, I smiled in my heart. Appearances are necessary. If we went there by a single carriage, it would put a different effect compared to the five we are going now, with a large entourage of guards around us.

A little over ten minutes later, we stopped in front of the huge city hall.

It is as big as one in the Navr, and just as good in design. The only thing it didn't have are precious gems embedded in it.

The merchants have money, but they are not wasteful. At least not wasteful enough to put precious gems openly on the city hall, only to be stolen by the thieves.

Some had tried to copy Navr but soon found out that while they may have the money to do it, their forces are not capable enough to protect them from the thieves.

Forget the precious stones; they have even stolen the precious metallic paint and one time did that on a clear day.

As we got out of the carriage; there is a group of people already waiting for us.

"Lord Count, please," said the Orc, waiting for us and led us into the city hall. Which is beautiful, but most importantly, well-designed in an efficient way.

This efficiency didn't feel cold at all. Instead, it makes one feel energized and motivated.

"These merchants have so much money, but couldn't put a decent piece of art in their properties," grumbled the Count.

Yes, there are pieces of art here; it is a style of this world, and these pieces are much better than what Count Darrow has, but nobody is going to say that to him directly.

Soon, we reached the elevator, which took us to the ninth floor.

"Councilman Grimgore will be with you, shortly," Orc informed us as he took us to the luxurious conference room, which provided a beautiful view of the city.

He left the room while we put the files in front of us and waited.

We didn't have to wait for long, a minute and a half later. An orc who looked to be in his fifties walked inside with three people behind him.

Robin and I stood up while Barron Harrods and my sister only nodded.

The leading man is a grey orc in his early fifties. He is thin compared to a normal orc, but not too thin. He is fit, which is likely making him seem that way.

His eyes are sharp, and they seem to notice everything, which is not surprising.

All twelve of the council members are elected. Unlike hereditary seats, where even an idiot could take a powerful position. Here these people have to use their wit, money, and sometimes, the blades in the dark to get it.

There are three other people coming with him. One human, one half-elf, and a dwarf.

My eyes immediately turned to the red-haired human who looked to be in his late twenties. He is an integral part of my plan. Ignatius Blackwell, son and heir of Silas Blackwell, Lord of Amberhold City.

Ignatius Blackwell is a handsome man, with glassy blue eyes and fiery red hair, which looked like they were made of fine strands of crystals.

There is one rumor about his family. They never confirmed it publicly, but after seeing his features, I could guess why they say that.

His city is closest to the Nakar Baronies. Most importantly, the old trading fort is his territory. It had been built by his ancestors and, according to the reports, it was still in good condition.

"Count Wilstein, I hope you haven't been waiting for long," said Councilman Grimgore as he sat down.

"Not at all, Councilman," he replied.

"This is Lord Ignatius Blackwell, heir of the Amberhold City," Councilman Grimgore introduced.

"Lord Blackwell, thank you for your presence," said Count Darrow. "It is my honor, My Lord," he replied, Count nodded and turned to his left.

"This is Baron Harrods and Lady Silver; their territories share the boundaries with Oksall," the Count introduced them.

He didn't say anything about us, which is normal. We are advisers. Our job is to stay invisible and provide help to our lord when he needs it.

"Now that the introduction is over, let's move to the negotiations," said Councilman Grimgore.

"Our plan is to reestablish the land trade route from Oksall to Renwell," said the Count, looking at Lord Blackwell.

For a couple of seconds, there was a silence, before a half-elf woman who looked to be in her early forties leaned forward.

"The area is undeveloped and is full of pests and fractious orc tribes. It will be costly to redevelop the route."

"We want the city of Greltheaven to share half of the cost of development," she said, hitting us, with the power of her skills.

It was so much that I had nearly nodded in affirmation. Which surprised me.

I had invested quite a lot of points into my mental skills, but still nearly fell under skills powers. She is definitely a level 30+ negotiator and will eat me alive if I gave her the slightest chance.

"That is preposterous. Why should we pay for the roads of the Oksall? It is your responsibility, you will pay for it," I said back using my own skills, and she smiled, and I felt the power of her skills increasing further.

"It is not preposterous. The trade will benefit immensely to the Greltheaven city and it is only fair that they would share half of the cost," she countered, and I wanted to agree to it so much.

"That is absolutely wrong; the biggest beneficiaries are Oksall, we are giving access to the Navr.

"We will only act as a bridge and earn a fraction compared to Oksall," I said, using Persuasion, Lawful Suggestion, and Honeyed Words at full power.

Yes, the goal of my trade is not to trade with Oksall, but to act as a bridge between four trades between Oksall and Navr; it had a thousand times more benefits than trading with us.

My plan was never to make them trade with us, with their attitude, they would never agree. The new plan is about providing us Oksall access to Navr, the biggest trading partner of merchant cities of western Zenid.

While Oksall has access to Navr, but to not all regions.

Oksall shares boundaries with three regions of Navr, but trades directly two. The third entry to the third one of blocked by the Extreme Magic Region, which both of them share.

Renwell, on the other hand, shares territory with the two regions directly and we will give them access to them.

"Not to mention, it will not be free for us. We would also spend a lot of money on the infrastructure, from roads to warehouses to extra men; it will cost us a lot,"

"When we compare our economies, it is an enormous expense for us," I said, not giving her a chance to press further.

"The expense we incurred will be massive compared to what your city will spend," she said, not backing down, forcing the power of her skill further on me.

So much so that my back had been drenched and sweat appeared on my temple.

"But we will spend a much greater amount when compared with our economies," I countered, using every bit of power three of my skills give me.

For a couple of seconds, she just looked at me, before she sighed, a small stack of papers appeared beneath her hand, which she slid toward.

"Fine, we are willing to make a concession on it, but we want this infrastructure from your side," she said. I didn't say anything and begin reading. Each page I read, I would pass it to Robin.

"This is excessive, especially the time limit," I said after I finish reading, to which she looked at me levelly.

"We already made the concession. We will not make them on this," she said, and I looked at Count Darrow, who had finished reading the proposal on infrastructure.

Who looked at it for a couple of seconds, before nodding.

"We agree with it," I replied, and a smile appeared on the half-elf woman's face.

It was planned from the beginning. They never wanted us to fund the trade route.

They wanted a quality infrastructure on our side for their need. Which they know Count Darrow wouldn't have provided, if they had asked nicely, given his miserly nature.

"Good, now let's move on to the security," she said and thus begin another round of intense negotiations.