Turns out they aren’t particularly impressed I’ve brought Odin along with me. No sooner have we entered the chamber than the guards are whipping out blades and the mages are slapping down shields around the core of their group.

Enid looks as confused as I feel, and there’s some rapid words exchanged. I put together a mind bridge and connect to her in order to find out what in the heck is going on.

[They’re upset you brought an Assassin Demon with you,] she tells me, eyeing Odin askance.

[A what?!]

I turn to look at the little demon.

[You’re an Assassin Demon?]

[I thought you already knew that.]

I probably did. I shrug.

[So he’s an Assassin Demon. So what?]

Enid gives me that look that tells me she's annoyed, and developing a headache.

[So they think you’re going to assassinate someone. Why else would you bring one to a meeting with an envoy from another group?]

[If I was going to assassinate one of them, why the heck would I waltz in with him in plain view of everyone? Besides, he’s not going to kill anyone. Odin, do you feel the urge to commit murder?]

[A bit, yes.]

[Shut up for a minute, Odin. What the heck, man? Seriously. Look, can you just explain to them he’s a friend of the Colony and we are not planning on having anyone assassinated. I only dragged him up here so he could stop being creepy somewhere else.]

[Can you stop describing me as creepy?]

[After what you just said? No. And frankly, I’m shocked you would ask.]

It takes a little while, but eventually Enid is able to calm the brathians down long enough for them to put their weapons away, which in turn lets the Colony feel comfortable enough to stop pulling thousands of troops off the walls to surround the chamber.

Eventually, after going through several intermediaries, I manage to connect with the leader of the delegation, Eran Thouris, a sparkling purple-scaled lady, and speak to her directly.

[Sorry about the confusion,] I say upfront. [I’d totally forgotten that this guy was an Assassin Demon, otherwise I wouldn’t have brought him.]

It does seem somewhat rude to bring a demon of killing to a meeting.

[It’s… quite alright. I’m happy to overlook the whole incident. In exchange for renegotiating a few percentage points on our contract.]

[Not happening.]

I still feel like they are point blank robbing us. There’s no way I’m going to let them get away with shaving more profit out of us just because I made them think we were trying to murder them. That would be outrageous!

[I assume you’re here to talk about our deal? Are we going to move forward now that the wave is over?]

Eran smiles, though it doesn’t reach her eyes.

[I thought as much. Yes, we are here to discuss our agreement and take steps that will enable us to start bringing your products to market. We have brought along our goods inspectors, who will remain with you here in the nest to supervise the packing of the merchandise, as well as ensure quality control.]

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I really doubt that quality control is going to be an issue. For whatever reason, the craft-ants who fill up the countless workshops of the Colony are obsessed with quality. They grind their Skills day and night, cleaning up every little detail they can find in order to produce the best work that they can. Actually, it’s probably because most of the furniture and food goes to the Queens now that I think about it. Hey, if it keeps the brathians happy, they can inspect the quality. Why not?

[That sounds fine. I’m pretty sure we had rooms and work areas prepared for them.]

We sure did. Those rooms are heavily enchanted to prevent snooping, just in case these scaly negotiators were hoping to get some inside information. It’s not that easy! Gweheheheh.

[There is another matter I wanted to bring up with you,] Eran continues, taking a long sip of her tea. [That is the issue of introducing your goods directly to the buyers.]

[Yeeeeeeah? Isn’t that your side of the agreement? We provide the stuff, you take it to market and sell it.]

[That’s correct, of course,] she assures me, [but there are several unique challenges involved. And no, I’m not trying to negotiate for a better price,] she says, stalling my immediate complaint, [I’m trying to make sure this venture gets off to the best possible start. Let me elaborate a little.]

She gestures behind her, and one of the attendants steps forward with a large scroll that is placed on the table and unfurled in front of the delegate. What is revealed is a beautifully made, vividly coloured and exquisitely detailed map of the fourth stratum.

Holy moly! This is some valuable stuff! Are they giving us this information for free?! I better play it cool.

[Nice map,] I say.

Smooth.

Eran smiles, then stands to better point out locations on the map.

[The issue we have is that there are very few monster-made goods on the market. Very few. Those that are, tend to be from well established sellers with a reputation for quality that people can trust. A good example you are likely familiar with is the sophos. Their custom designed pet-cores go for a premium all over the fourth. Customers dislike buying from monsters as a rule. I’m sure you can understand why.]

I get it. Monsters, for the most part, want to eat people. People, be they golgari, human, brathian or ka’armodo, would rather they not get eaten. This clash of ideals is sure to create some tension. I don’t think I’d be buying from a company that stated its mission was to consume my precious Biomass.

[So you think people will be reluctant to purchase Colony-made products.]

[I don’t think they will, I know they will. In order to overcome this resistance, we need to put our best foot forward with a swift marketing campaign.]

Holy moly. These brathians really like their wheeling and dealing.

[What did you have in mind?]

[A tour,] she says simply. [We take you, and some of your finest crafts… ants, and we visit the biggest markets in the fourth. It’s easy to dismiss that which you aren’t familiar with. If we can show the buyers who and what you are, let them lose a little of their fear, as well as see a demonstration of your skills, then they are far more likely to engage with your goods.]

She gestures down to the map in front of her.

[There are six main places I want us to visit at least, as well as several smaller ones in between. The Silver City is one of the largest trading hubs in the world, we can probably leave that one for last. Desert Basin, home of the ka’armodo Sand Empire. Greystone, the major commercial city of the golgari Empire of Stone. Freehill, gathering place of the Folk. Lakespire, a meeting place for the brathian trading conglomerates. We should probably also pay a visit to the Wandering Isle.]

As she names each of these major cities she points to a location on the map covered in glittering symbology and elaborate looking letters that no doubt spell out the names of these places. For the last one, though, she doesn’t, and I can guess why.

[I’m going to guess that’s one of the flying islands that I’ve seen around the place. I didn’t think they were big enough for people to seriously live on.]

[There’s more than you think, roughly a dozen on which there are major settlements. There are many, many smaller ones occupied by monsters.]

[Yes, I’ve seen one of those.]

[So, that is my proposal. Be front-facing and get you out there, as the face and representative of the Colony, to break down resistance to the products we will be bringing to market.]

I’m not super comfortable with the idea of leaving the nest undefended, but then, this project has the possibility of bringing in a ton of cores for my siblings. If we succeed, we may finally have the supply to ensure full evolutions for every ant graduate. Or at least, a much higher proportion of them.

[The sooner we leave, the sooner we can complete the tour and start moving goods. How quickly can everything be arranged on your end?]

We would need me. A few dozen of our best crafters. An escort of guards and soldiers. Examples of the merch, naturally. That’s a lot of different goods.

[Give us an hour.]