Path of Dragons

Book 9: Chapter 15: The Art of Negotiation

“You want to do what, now?” asked the dwarf. He wore a pair of sturdy trousers that ended mid-calf and nothing else as he coiled a rope from elbow to palm. Elijah couldn’t miss that he was built like a bodybuilder, albeit an extremely short one.

“I just need to know where you spotted the leviathan,” Elijah said.

The dwarf narrowed his eyes. “You heard about that, eh?”

“I did.”

“Then you know I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’,” the sailor growled, hacking into a massive fin with what looked like a wide-bladed halberd.

Elijah sighed, looking around the docks. He’d found the dwarf in question – Vork – exactly where Ramik had indicated. That meant Elijah had been forced to brave the whale processing facility, which was just a fancy label for the warehouse they used to cut the carcasses to pieces. He’d seen the place before, but he’d never witnessed the whalers at work.

It had been eye-opening.

Seven whalers – mostly dwarves, but with one human of Asian descent among them – worked quickly with their specially made blades, peeling the skin and blubber away, then processing the meat. Apparently, it tasted a bit like beef, which meant that he’d probably had it more than once in Ironshore’s various restaurants.

Elijah wasn’t certain how to feel about that. It shouldn’t have mattered, but old opinions were difficult to discard. He still struggled to watch Vork and the other whalers dismantle the carcass.

The whale in question was almost forty feet long, which meant that it required quite a lot of space and special equipment just to deal with the weight. But the whalers unquestionably knew what they were doing.

They were also extremely guarded about their hunting grounds, which was precisely the problem.

“You know why I want to know, don’t you?” Elijah asked. “I’m here to kill the thing.”

“We can take care of it ourselves,” Vork said. “We just got took by surprise last time.”

Elijah sighed, running his hand through his hair. “It almost destroyed your boat.”

“Ship.”

“What?”

“It ain’t a boat,” Vork said. He pointed at a small fishing boat meant to hug the coast. “That’s a boat. The Silken Beard is a ship.”

“Right. Sure. But –”

“Can’t help ya. If that means you call forth a bolt of lightnin’ to strike me down, then so be it. Ain’t gonna be intimidated by the likes of you,” Vork growled.

Elijah was very much tempted to throw a Storm’s Fury at the dwarf. However, he took a deep breath – smelling whale guts in the process – then said, “Are you sure? I’m going to find out one way or another.”

“I said my bit,” the dwarf answered. “Now, if you ain’t got –”

“Mr. Hart?” someone interrupted. Elijah had felt the other dwarf approach, but he hadn’t turned. Now, he did, taking in the figure’s appearance. He was slimmer than Vork, but still possessed the wide shoulders of his kind. He also had a meticulously braided beard and wore a neat outfit with a similar style to Ramik’s preferred three-piece suit. R̃ÂƝŏᛒÊṠ

“That’s me.”

The dwarf extended his hand, saying, “My name is Morin. I own the Silken Beard.”

“Good to meet you.”

“Likewise. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” Morin revealed. “You truly seek the leviathan with the intention of killing it?”

Elijah narrowed his eyes. Morin spoke unlike any other dwarf he’d met. “That’s the idea. My buddy Vork over there,” Elijah said, hiking his thumb in the direction of the other dwarf, who snorted derisively, as if on cue. “He says he won’t tell me.”

“That is not Vork’s decision to make. Follow me, Mr. Hart.”

Elijah did, leaving the warehouse behind. Only a block away, Morin led him into a small office building bearing a sign labeling it Morin and Sons. The interior was tidy and well-organized, with a dwarven woman manning the front desk. After she asked if he wanted refreshments – with Elijah refusing – Morin led him to a room in the back. The room itself was clearly an office, dominated by a desk made all of carved and polished bone. Decorating the walls were various trophies, ranging from an old, rusted harpoon to a large skull. Clearly, Morin wanted people to know what he did.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

The dwarf took his place behind the desk, then reached into a drawer and retrieved a pipe that had also been carved of bone. A moment later, the pungent aroma of smoke filled the air.

“That leviathan has been a problem since the beginning,” Morin revealed. “It started off only a dozen or so feet long, but when it attacked, it killed. Our first indication of its existence was when we found the leftovers of its kills. Whales that had been ripped to pieces. It grew over the years, and now it has begun to target my ships.”

“Just yours? What about the other whalers?”

“There are no other whalers, Mr. Hart. Every whaling ship out there belongs to me. And the captains, of course. The crews get a share as well. I’m sure you have no interest in how we split our profits, though. My point is that every time that leviathan attacks one of my ships, I lose ethereum. And with what’s happening to the south…”

“What’s happening down there?”

“Pirates, Mr. Hart. If this was a civilized world, the trade routes would be patrolled by a powerful navy, but we don’t have the resources for that. So, each merchant is on their own,” Morin said before taking a draw from his pipe. He exhaled, then said, “I am not as heavily invested in trade as some of my peers, but it is a problem that needs to be solved.”

“I’m not a pirate hunter,” Elijah said. “But I might be able to do something about your leviathan issue. In fact, that’s exactly what I want to do. I just need someone to point me in the right direction.”

Morin leaned back. “That’s the problem though, isn’t it?”

“What?”

“You aren’t doing this out of the good of your heart. You want that leviathan for your own reasons. I won’t ask what those reasons are, but I will say that if I send you out there, I expect to be compensated.”

“How much?”

“Half.”

“Excuse me?”

“Half of the carcass. The leviathan isn’t that much different than a whale. Presumably, its meat is similar. And given its level, that will be very valuable. I want half.”

Elijah leaned back in his own chair, then tapped his lip. “No.”

“What?”

“No. I won’t give you half the carcass. If I need to, I’ll just go out there and hunt it down myself. Or I’ll follow one of your ships. Maybe you lose me. Maybe it takes me a few extra weeks to find it. But I’ll track it down,” Elijah said. “In the meantime, you might lose a ship or two. The way I see it, me ridding you of this problem is your cut.”

“A man like you values his time more than a little money.”

“Maybe. But I also don’t like this kind of thing,” Elijah admitted, gesturing all around. “Negotiation. I’ve never been great at it. I usually just say what I want, and if someone takes the deal, fine. If not, I’ll move on. And it looks like it’s time for me to move on. So, thank you for your time, and –”

“Stop. Please.”

Elijah paused halfway out of his chair, then settled back in. “What?”

“I need to get something out of this. The captains will revolt if I don’t.”

“Sounds like a you problem.”

“Work with me here.”

After a brief moment, Elijah said, “I’ll give you half of everything but the fat. I need the fat.”

“Twenty percent of the fat. That’s some of the most valuable –”

“I’m not negotiating, Mr. Morin. This is a take it or leave it sort of deal. So, what’s it going to be? You going to let me go kill the creature sinking your ships? Or am I on my own here?”

Morin flexed his jaw, grinding his teeth. Elijah was certain he wasn’t meant to notice, but he definitely did. Then, after a few moments, the dwarf said, “Very well. Let me draw up a contract.”

After that, things proceeded smoothly. The contract was blessedly simple, with the terms clearly laid out, and Elijah signed it without issue. Morin put his signature on it as well, saying, “This will go to the Mayor’s office to safeguard our agreement. Now, let me show you where to begin your search.”

He retrieved a map from his desk drawer, then unfurled the thing. Elijah couldn’t help but feel a little impressed by what he saw. Someone had gone to great lengths to chart the entire coast, including his island, for hundreds of miles to the north and south.

“How far does this go?” he asked, pointing to the coats.

“About three thousand miles to the north, it gets much colder. That’s as far as we’ve gone, on account of the ice. We have not charted more than five thousand miles to the south,” Morin answered. “There are a few dozen sizable settlements down there, though. Some much smaller towns too. Our merchant vessels typically go as far as Tideholm. Sea elf town, but there are humans there a well.”

“Sea elves?”

“Tricky creatures. No better sailors or fishermen, though. Wish we had a few in the fleet,” he mused. Then, he pointed to an area nearly a thousand miles out to sea. It was more north than west, but roughly even with the maelstrom around Chimera Island. “This square represents our whaling grounds.”

“How big of an area is that?”

“A little more than a thousand square miles, but the leviathan has only been spotted near the center. We think there’s something down there it’s protecting.”

Elijah frowned. That sounded a lot like guardian behavior. So, he said, “If it’s a guardian, I’m not killing it. I just want you to know that. I’ll see what I can do to lead it away, but…”

“What’s the difference?”

“Guardians are attached to natural treasures. Monsters aren’t supposed to be here. And animals are just animals. It’s hard to explain, but I know it when I feel it,” Elijah said.

“Hmm. That wasn’t part of the deal.”

“It also wasn’t not part of the deal. Nothing in the contract requires me to do anything. All it talks about is what happens in the event I kill the thing. Which I intend to do, so long as it’s not a guardian. But I will say that even if it is a guardian, I’ll do everything I can to solve your issue,” Elijah explained. “You have my word.”

“I suppose that is all I can hope for. Do you need anything else?”

Elijah did not, and he said as much. So, it wasn’t long before he left Morin and Sons behind. Idly, he considered the fact that he hadn’t seen any of Morin’s so-called sons. It wasn’t completely out of the question that they didn’t exist. Morin seemed the sort to do something like that.

It didn’t matter though. Morin might have been precisely the sort of businessman that put his hackles up, but the reality was that Elijah had gotten precisely what he wanted out of the exchange. So, now, all that was left was for him to head in the right direction, then hunt down a leviathan.

And he had to admit – the idea excited him. Even if it turned out to be a guardian, he was looking forward to the prospect of interacting with it. And if it wasn’t, he could advance his plans while supporting his closest allies.

With that in mind, Elijah shifted into the Shape of the Sky, then took off. After a brief stop in the grove to ensure he had all the supplies he could handle – just in case he got yanked into another Primal Realm – he found himself flying in the appropriate direction.