Chrysalis

"Do not discuss what we have seen or heard until we return home," the Eran warned her people as they made their way out of the grand ant fortress.

Here on an expedition, her word was law and even her daughter knew better than to cause trouble for her mother at this moment in particular. The brathians were silent for the remainder of the journey. They marched in silence through the enormous tunnels of the fortress, didn't breathe a word as they exited the vast gates and continued to keep their mouths shut as they were escorted by the ants through the monsters and down to the shoreline.

With dignity, they bowed to the ants, turned and walked into the water, their clothing floating around them as they walked deeper and deeper.

Once they were fully submerged, Eran Thouris gave her people a significant look and began to swim, weaving her magic to propel herself and the entire group through the water at an incredible speed. Enormous monsters churned through the water, closer than any would like, but the song of the siren filled the lake around them, and the monsters ignored them completely.

On they swam, through the murk and out into the brathian territory, passing through the barrier without difficulty.

"May we speak now?" Theraz asked cautiously.

"You may converse," came the terse reply, "but no details about the negotiation or what we've seen. The Satrap will want our unfiltered thoughts."

"That was so exciting!" Piris exclaimed. "An entire empire of ants! It's incredible! And that fortress? How long did it take them to build it? Almost no time at all!"

Theraz swam closer and nudged his cousin with his elbow.

"We aren't meant to be talking about it yet."

She turned and stuck her tongue out at him.

"But it was so interesting! Have you ever seen anything like it?"

"No, I haven't, but I know to keep my mouth shut before we meet the Satrap. You can talk all you want about it once we arrive."

Piris rolled her eyes, but quietened. She flitted about in the water, finding it difficult to contain her excitement, but she managed to bottle it up long enough for them to arrive before the Satrap. 

The moment the door to her husband's chambers shut, Eran's smooth expression twisted in anger as she ripped the necklace from around her neck and blasted it through the water against the wall.

"DAMN INSECT!" she roared. "Forty percent! FORTY PERCENT! I haven't felt this humiliated for two decades."

The Satrap jumped in his seat, his expression growing faintly terrified as his wife showed her rage so publicly. He glanced toward Theraz, who shook his head in warning.

"Papa! It was so amazing! You won't believe how clever those ants are. They can make all sorts of things, and they served us incredible cakes, and tea, and the fortress was unbelievably huge, and there was an ant there who was enormous!"

"That's nice, my precious jewel," he smiled at his daughter before turning his concerned expression back to his wife.

"Darling, please. The delegation and court magicians are still present."

"They saw the whole thing! The creature was immune to all of my Skills. A mutation? Some sort of evolution? We were completely swindled!"

She clawed at the water around her, fingers tearing gashes through the lake.

Satrap Umizan flinched on his throne and turned to Theraz.

"Was it really that bad? Do we owe them money?"

He sounded as if he thought they'd demanded his head on a plate.

"No, nothing like that," Theraz said, his palms up. "There was a negotiation for the rights to trade the Colony's goods to other markets, and they demanded a high percentage of the final price. My honoured Aunt did extremely well against the initial negotiator, an old woman the ants brought in to speak on their behalf, but when the monster entered the talks… my understanding is that it didn't progress nearly so well."

Her scales were still flushed, but Eran managed to get control of herself and gave a strangled laugh.

"That's one way to put it," she said bitterly.

At that moment, Theraz' father entered the chamber, nodding to his brother. Marzban Corozan was powerfully built for a brathian, who tended to be slender and swift. Scars could be seen through the scales all over his arms and chest.

"Theraz," he said, his deep voice reverberating through the water. "I would like to hear about the threat that has shown up on our border."

"Not yet," Umizan broke in, frowning, "I need to hear about these trade negotiations first. Mages, Eran, gather and speak to me," he demanded, clapping his hands.

Minutes later, he sat, pensive, considering what he had heard.

"High quality merchandise, able to be produced cheaply and in mass quantities. In such variety? This is interesting, interesting indeed."

"I am deeply sorry, my Satrap," Eran bowed low, shame written all over her face. "The final terms are dreadful for our people. I will accept any punishment."

"What? No, that's nonsense, my wife," the Satrap declared absent mindedly, then jumped when she raised her head to glare at him. "I mean it! Against a monster who was immune to your Skills, you achieved the best deal that you could. In fact, I would go so far as to say that you may have done something incredible for the future of this conglomerate."

She frowned, puzzled, as the Satrap rose from his throne, his hands behind his back.

"This could play into your concerns as well, brother," he announced, as he began to drift back and forth in the chamber. He held up a hand to stall Marzban before he could speak.

"I need to hear from the others first. Olivis? Float forward, I need to hear from my Dungeon Seer."

"I am here, Satrap," the Seer bowed as she moved to the front of the delegation.

"How many ants in the fortress?"

"Hundreds of thousands."

"And they have gate technology?"

"They claim to have invented it while we were present. I believe those claims to be true."

"There must be millions of them already…. They had a human negotiator? Was she a captive?"

"I do not believe so, my lord. She was well cared for and claimed to be an ally of the Colony."

The Satrap pondered these words.

"It's possible you just secured the future of us all, my wife," he said, and went on to explain. "They can already produce goods of a high quality, in high volumes, at exceptionally low prices. What do you think would happen to us if they ever managed to bring them to market? They'd undercut everyone. Prices would collapse, markets thrown into chaos, trading kingdoms would topple off the face of cliffs! It would take years, decades maybe, but it would happen. If they continue to grow, expand their territory and increase their expertise, they would eventually dominate commerce on Pangera!"

Everyone gasped. The brathian trading conglomerates collapse? How dreadful!

"But we have been saved. We will control the prices when the Colony's produce goes to market. Of course, we will extract the full value of their work, take a healthy percentage for ourselves, and in so doing, make ourselves invaluable to the ants as their trading partners. We will make profit, ensure our safety, and prevent calamity! This may prove to be the best-worst deal you have ever struck, my wife!"