As promised, Wes explained to the visiting governors that I was about to establish a line of mental communication with all of them simultaneously and that they were to speak their responses aloud. Could I have allowed them to “think” their responses to me over the link as Wes did? Probably, but the stakes were too high to test that right now.

Something to look into later: can all dungeons do this?

There are a lot of warriors and mages accompanying these powerful men, I’m sure if they wished to blast through my airlocks right now, they’d have no trouble with it. Of course, I’ve prepared a few surprises to help deal with that potential outcome…

They’ve all gathered in a semicircle around the somewhat narrow square doorway. At least, it was small when compared to the incredible girth of the rolling stone door slotted into the overengineered channels just through the passage. Though the full extent of the rudimentary mechanism was not exposed to them yet.

Just as I had when Wes first visited my cache, I dramatically roll aside the outermost stone disk while knocking a few clumps of dust from the ceiling. During my little show, I caught Wes rolling his eyes; he’d seen this procedure many times by now and knew the dust and shaking was ‘extra.’

Regardless, the governors didn’t know that. I look carefully for any signs of surprise, but the governors barely react, I suppose the knowledge and widespread use of magic takes away the wow-factor of these things. A shame.

Actually, scratch that, the mages in attendance do show awed expressions. Perhaps this feat really is impressive to those with a better grasp of magic’s limitations? I’m still a newb at all of this, so I don’t know. I’ve so many questions about magic, I wonder if I could hire a tutor? Now there’s an idea!

With the massive obstacle out of the way, Wes ushers them into my supply room, with neat pallets of masterwork rhyolite stone blocks, ready to be picked up by Wes’ hauling crew, in their line of sight. The boundary between the ‘outside’ and the supply room’s interior is stark; the outside, even despite being a high-traffic area, is still untamed, with innumerable varieties of flora and fauna interwoven in the absurdly complex local subterranean food web.

The interior, however, is devoid of any life, thus putting the extremely flat and smooth walls on display. After all, it wouldn’t do for a block exporter to present sloppy stonework. To be honest, besides my singular storeroom, this is the only portion of my dungeon I’ve kept sterile. In fact, moss has already grown directly onto my core, not that I mind!

While passing the through the threshold, the people entering my cache have an opportunity to observe the gigantic groves in the walls and ceiling which hold the rolling stone disk in place, now they understand the true scale.

Once they’re all through, I establish mass communication with everyone present. I don’t want to reveal that I can use my telepathy selectively, so even the guards are included. Though it’s entirely possible, and even likely, that they have a better understanding of telepathy than me. I’ve gathered it’s not an uncommon ability among sapient species, so I wouldn’t be surprised.

Without fanfare, I cheerfully said, “Welcome! I’m honored to meet you all! My name is Ike, I’m the representative of this particular trade operation. I would love for y’all to introduce yourselves.”

Did I sound too excited? Was my request too pushy? I probably should’ve prepared a better opener in advance…

Predictably, the first to speak was Draven Campbell. Gesturing at the other fourteen governors, he said, “Greetings, we are the new governors of Sevit. Furthermore, we are the future chambermen of the Rendum Chamber. We are visiting you because we believe it is important to familiarize ourselves with potential clients and possible threats. Of course, I highly doubt you fall under the latter category. My name is Draven Campbell.”

Well alrighty then…

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The rest of the governors individually introduce themselves before the questions start coming my way.

Draven asked, “Who do you represent?”

I’ve been expecting this question for a while now, I’ve come up with a passable response. But I definitely could’ve spent a bit more time on thinking up a more elegant lie.

“A village composed of several assorted species. Though we are mostly unaffiliated with any other communities. We live throughout this cave system.”

Now, I’m no fool, I am fully aware that it’s only a matter of time before my true identity as a dungeon is revealed. Regardless, I think lying is the best option here. After all, I don’t want to be “pacified,” as dungeon subjugation is referred to.

Actually, let’s be honest, not interacting with civilization in the first place was the best option. Unfortunately, I have ambitions, what’s a life spent in hiding?

“To be clear, you are not associated with the Varnassi Hegemony and have no hostile intentions?”

“Nope and no, though we do currently have a few trade allies. Still, we are interested in deepening our trade relations with your community in the near future. What say you, shall we prosper together?”

Draven shrugged and said, “I don’t see why not, though we still have much left to discuss, for starters, where is your village located, what terrain have you claimed?”

Huh, that’s surprisingly rational of him, perhaps I was too quick to judge.

Now’s my opportunity to claim territory for my future expansions, I wish I’d explored further…

I said, “While it’s a little too premature to reveal our exact location I’ll draft a document describing our territory for your reference, though not to worry, it’s not a very large area and certainly won’t impede your community’s operations, such as your mining we’ve noticed. For now, though, generally avoid the snaking canyon with the river and giant beehives, your miners are already familiar with the location. That land is in use.”

Nodding, he said, “Any local threats we should be aware of?

Hmm, I would like to mention the bat looking people but I’m not actually sure if they are a threat to the humans. I mean, they might not even be that aggressive to people who aren’t, well, dungeon cores… I can’t really fault them too much, from my reading, dungeon cores are seen as places of coordinated, yet territorial beasts and death, not as sentient entities in their own right.

Also, I don’t know their species’ name, which is not something I want to admit, because for all I know they are very common. Basically, displaying ignorance on that subject could blow my cover. Maybe. I don’t know, but it’s best to play it safe.

“As long as y’all know what you’re doing, you should be fine. There’s nothing really out of the ordinary. Oh! Actually, beware the giant toads and salamanders, they can easily gobble up a grown man in one go.”

Heh, not that I know what is and isn’t ordinary.

Draven said, “Noted, thank you for the heads up. Will we be able to meet you or others in person at a later date?”

“Yes, we can arrange something like that later if all goes well. Though it may be a while.”

I’m lying.

Finishing off, Draven said, “That’s all from me.”

I can see it in their eyes, everyone in attendance has their own slew of questions… Ah well, at least my perfect memory helps me keep my lies straight.

…

Oh geez, they’re too inquisitive, I need to cut this off.

“Can we move on to trade? I can answer all your other questions another time. Additionally, I have my own inquiries to make of you.”

For the first time, Alton Hran spoke, “Understood. We are actually interested in your blocks. As we’ve decided to initiate a few large construction projects, there will be a high demand for them. Weston has already filled me in on the details of your current supply rate, so I was wondering, will you be able to ramp up production soon?

Come on, my blocks are almost perfect, he didn’t appear suitably impressed in my opinion! Ah, but perhaps that’s the point, if he shows too much interest, Wes will undoubtedly raise the price.

This. This is why I’ve left him in charge of the business side of things, I’m bad at these social games.

“The simple answer is yes. The complicated answer is yes, but not at a faster rate. I know Wes has been plotting our production rate over time,” at that the merchant raises an eyebrow, this is the first he’s heard of me spying on his paperwork, “and the growth of the production rate has remained steady for a while now. If all goes well, that will remain the case in the foreseeable future. I don’t want to elaborate too much on why this is, as it’s related to our signature manufacturing technique.”

How else am I supposed to explain that it has to do with the gradual and predictable increase in my ability to multitask over time? No, I’m better off keeping this one under wraps.

“I see, thank you.”

I added, “Though, I’m sure Wes would be willing to give you priority purchasing rights, if you made it worth our time, that is…”

“Aha, we may be able to work something out later then,” said Alton cryptically.

At this point I’ve deemed it my turn to ask questions.

I told the governors, “As you can imagine, we’ve accumulated a fair amount of coin from our latest ventures between other trade partners and yourselves. It’s doing us no good sitting in our coffers, so I was wondering if we’d be welcome to purchase goods and services from your citizens at will?”

Another governor, Kyle Ponce, answered, “Certainly, we originally came out here to profit from trade with the Isolet Republic, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t open to other opportunities. As long as you follow Lyrian Law while on our land, you are welcome to engage in business with us. And just so we’re on the same page about what “our land” means, our administration will draft a few documents for you. You can expect those in roughly three days.”

“Thank you, Kyle. I also have a more difficult question; we’ve been toying with the idea of constructing an embassy or trade hub of sorts near to or inside of the city of Sevit. The building would be connected to our community via a series of tunnels, and we could use it to distribute and receive trade goods. After all, we have more to offer than just stone blocks…”

Kyle glanced at the other governors, not seeing any objections, he said, “That sounds like an excellent idea, actually. The paperwork for that might be a little…complex, but I am sure we could expedite that for you. Of course, we have strict policies when it comes to surfaces breaches to the first subterrane, naturally, so it might be necessary for us to station a group of Caverknights at the entrance. Would you be able to accommodate them?”

I said, “I don’t see why not, though I’ll have to converse with my peers first. Also, to be perfectly honest, it has been a long time since anyone from my village has interacted with the Lyrian Empire, is it possible for you to provide a codex of laws or something similar for us to analyze? I fear much has changed since we’d last familiarized ourselves with your customs.”

“No problem, I’ll take care of that myself. Clearly it will be prudent of us to remain in contact with each other, how might we do so?”

I responded, “I’m pleased to inform you that we are working on a more efficient means of long-distance communication, but in the meantime, if you wish to speak with me directly, simply come to this very spot and wait. I will do my best to make contact as soon as I’m available, though I can’t guarantee I will be punctual. Furthermore, you are welcome to deliver and receive mail from my mailbox.”

“You have a mailbox?”

At this point, a block of stone with a mailbox-like arched top slides out of the previously solid wall and falls to the floor with a loud ‘thud.’ Thus, exposing a brand-new bin in the wall of my cache that is perfect for the storage of envelopes.

The guards all jumped at the noise.

Chuckling, I said, “I do now.”