Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Six — Diplomatree II: Treety Harder
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Six — Diplomatree II: Treety Harder “So,” I started. “Are we going to create a contract, or is this more of an informal thing?” I asked.“Contract?” Oak asked.Of course, trees didn’t normally do contracts.“This can remain informal,” Geoffrey said.Amaryllis immediately shook her head. “No, no it cannot. We will need a contract, one witnessed by everyone here. I would even insist on getting multiple copies so that a few can be sent to certain key people that aren’t at this meeting.”“What is a contract?” Wisp asked.“Um, a contract is like when two people agree to do something. You write it down, so that both sides understand it. It’s also binding. So if one side breaks the contract, then the other side can show people and hold them accountable.”“I agree to things a lot,” Wisp said.I giggled. “That’s a verbal contract. Like, um, I’d enter a contract about giving my friends hugs every day, no problem, and if one day I forget, then that’s probably okay? But a written contract makes it a lot more serious and stuff.”Wisp tilted her head to one side, then the other. “Okay.”“If we’re going to make a proper contract, we’ll need to have it signed by the leaders of the dryads,” Amaryllis said.“No leaders,” Oak said.“Not true,” Wisp disagreed right away. “Oak is our leader.”One of Amaryllis’ eyebrows perked up. “That will need some explaining,” she said.Sebastien and Geoffrey looked to each other, but I couldn’t quite read their expressions.“The elder trees are... not leaders,” Oak said. “They are... wise and old, and know many things. But they are not leaders. They tell some what to do, but you don’t need to listen. I’m not a leader either.”“Oak is a leader,” Wisp said. “We listen to him, and he leads us. That’s all that matters, right?”I looked over to the side, where the younger dryads were now freely congregating by the water. They seemed to be having fun dipping their roots in the stream and occasionally making a few little splashes.I could very easily imagine Oak leading them, he seemed much bigger and more mature. He was a lot more handsome with his sculpted chest and sharp chin. Maybe I could get him to wear a big red cape. Maybe some tights.Amaryllis poked me. “Were you listening?”“Huh? No, not really,” I said.“Go get some paper, you moron. And a few pens. There are some in my cabin, by that desk.”I nodded quickly. “Yup, I can do that. I’ll be right back!”“If you don’t mind, I’ll accompany you,” Bastion said as he stood up.Moving over towards the Beaver, I found a spot atop a flat-ish rock, bunched my legs up under me, then shot up into the air with a burst of stamina. My aim was a bit off, so I had to reach a foot way out to place it on the edge of the rail, then my arms windmilled a few times before I found my balance. Bastion, the lucky sylph that he was, just flew up and landed before me.“Need a hand?” Bastion asked as he extended his towards me.I grinned and grabbed onto him to help myself up onto the deck .”Thanks,” I said. “Have you been enjoying the negotiations?”“More or less,” he said. “I’ll be keeping an eye out on things down below. Just in case things took a turn for the worse.”I patted down my skirt. “That’s kind of you,” I said.“It’s my job,” he replied.“It’s still nice of you, regardless,” I said. “And I have the impression that you’d go out on a limb to help someone, even if it wasn’t part of your job. That’s a great quality for a friend to have, you know?”“Thank you,” he said. “Do you need help?”I shook my head, then thought better of it and nodded. Changing from a shake to a nod was kind of annoying with big ears. They started by flapping from side to side, then when you switch to nodding, they’d end up going in little circles that tickled a bunch. “I don’t need the help, but I could use the company,” I said.“Certainly,” he agreed.We made our way down into the back of the ship. “So, did you understand what’s happening?”“Contracts and diplomacy aren’t my specialties, but I can make some educated guesses. It sounds as though you pushed for more of a victory for the dryads than the company.”“A company isn’t a person,” I said. “You can’t be friends with something like an organization, and in this case, they were hurting a lot of people by exploiting them. I don’t think they actually saw that they were hurting anyone. And besides, we found a way for them to keep working. They just won’t be making as much.”“They might not appreciate that, or follow through,” he warned.“That’s true,” I said. “Which is why we need to keep an eye on them, make sure everyone acts nice. We’ll be making a contract, and we’ll be sending it to a few friends to make sure that it’s nice and respected.”“You have some powerful friends then?” Bastion asked.I shrugged. “A couple? Mostly we’ll be sending a copy to Booksie in Port Royal. Her boyfriend’s a dragon.”Bastion stopped mid-step. “A figurative dragon?”“No? He’s pretty literal,” I said. “Very big, blue. Likes lightning and poetry.”“Do you have any idea how illegal working with dragons is?” he asked.I shook my head. “No, not really. Is it illegal in Deepmarsh?”“Well, no,” he said.I slipped into Amaryllis room and started looking for pen and paper. “In that case I think we’re alright,” I said. “And besides, we never did anything morally wrong.”“You spoke with a dragon, some could argue that that’s morally wrong.”“Well, then they would be wrong. Speaking to someone, and getting to know them, is never the wrong thing to do,” I said. “Not if it means that you can learn to get along with them better.”This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.“And yet no one has ever successfully negotiated with a dragon before,” Bastion said.I paused in my search to give him a look. “I have. It was... well, not easy, but doable. And I’m pretty much the farthest thing there is to a proper diplomat.”Bastion blinked. “You did?”“Yeah, over in Rosenbell. I’ll tell you about it sometime.” I raised a pen from where I’d found it in a drawer and wiggled it about victoriously. I didn’t find any loose-leaf, but there was a nice big sketchpad with pages that were easy to tear out, so I figured that would work as long as everyone had neat handwriting. Lined paper didn’t seem to be a thing on Dirt, yet.“I would encourage you to perhaps keep that to yourself,” Bastion said. “At least if you’re around other sylphs.”“Why’s that?” I asked.He seemed uncomfortable for a moment. “My work as a paladin has me moving to different communities, including out of the Sylphfree mountains, and into other nations. I’d like to think that I’ve grown used to different perspectives. But it’s hard. Our nation is rather isolationist at the best of times.”“That’s not good,” I said. “It means you lose all these opportunities to make long, lasting friendships.”“I don’t think we want friends so much as we want safety,” he said.I frowned at the floor. “I guess that makes sense. Becoming friends with someone means putting yourself at risk, but I always felt that it was worth it, even if most of the time it doesn’t work out.” I shook my head. “Come on, we need to go make a contract to keep the peace.”“Just to keep the peace?” he asked.“No, not just that. This will have the dryads working with the humans of Mattergrove, and talking with the grenoil of Deepmarsh. If they’re all cooperative, then maybe things will be better for all of them. But I can’t take credit for that, it’s just how things work out sometimes.”Congratulations! Through repeated actions your Matchmaking skill has improved and is now eligible for rank up!Rank E is a free rank!“Huh,” I said. “I got a rank up.”“Really?” Bastion asked. “May I inquire about which skill?”“Matchmaking, it’s one of my general skills,” I said. “Weird.” Maybe diplomacy counted as Matchmaking, but on a national level? It’d be neat to see that skill hit rank C.Bastion shook his head. “I have to admit, I expected your crew to be interesting, but I may have underestimated just how interesting you would all turn out to be.”“That’s just how we roll,” I said.“Roll?” Bastion asked.Instead of answering, I skipped back up onto the deck and eyed the table below. No one had resorted to punching each other while I was gone, so that was nice. Though it seemed as if tempers were rising. Amaryllis and Geoffrey were gesturing a lot and talking at the same time, and the dryads seemed a bit lost.I stepped off the side of the Beaver and landed with a ‘hup’ next to my seat. “I have everything,” I said. “What are we arguing about?”“This greedy human thinks that he somehow has the right to do as he pleases. It’s as if he doesn’t understand that his nation is the weakest around, and only suffered to continue existing on account of how little they matter,” Amaryllis said.“You can’t look down upon the ingenuity and power of humanity that way,” Geoffrey said. “Mattergrove may be weak, but it’s only because of interference like this whole charade today.”“Oh please,” Amaryllis said. “We didn’t follow the stench of your blatant hypocrisy when we flew here.”“Okay, okay everyone,” I said as I tried to wave both of them down. “I don’t know what started this.” I wiggled a finger at Amaryllis when she looked ready to tell me just that in great detail. “And it doesn’t really matter. Look, we want what’s best for everyone, but that won’t work out, it can’t, not when what’s best for one hurts someone else. So we’ll just have to compromise and everyone will leave just a little bit unhappy.”“We’re the ones losing the most here,” Geoffrey said. “And the Dryads are coming away with the most in turn.”I felt my ears drooping and my brows knitting together. “How many workers died to the dryads in the last year?” I asked. “How many were injured?”“Thirty-two injuries,” Edmund said. “Myself included. Some of them fairly bad. Mostly healed up now. No deaths, thank all the gods.”I turned to Oak and Wisp. “How many dryads died in that same time? Between now and last fall?”Oak looked down. “Many little ones were cut down,” he said. “The older ones ran. The elders weren’t touched.”I turned to Geoffrey. “I’m sorry mister Hardnut, but no matter how I look at it, I don’t think you’re in the right here. We tried to find a nice compromise here. If you won’t take it, then, well, then I don’t know, but I don’t leave friends behind if that means leaving them in trouble.” I placed the stack of blank pages onto the table, then slapped a couple of pens atop that. “Let’s do this, please?”Everyone at the table seemed to consider it for a moment. I wasn’t sure if I’d said something wrong or not. Then Sebastien sighed. “If we’re going to use the terms we highlighted before, then I’m willing to sign on behalf of the East Mattergrove Company.”“Shouldn’t we discuss this?” Geoffrey asked.“Frankly, no. I think that Captain Bunch is right. The terms are fair to us, or as fair as they can be while not injuring the other party. I think if we push any more then we’ll find ourselves in a worse position from which to negotiate later.”Amaryllis nodded. “We’ll need someone to sign on behalf of Mattergrove, I think. I’ll admit that I’m not entirely familiar with the relevant laws.”“Awa, I can sign as a noble,” Awen said. “We’ll need witnesses, but, um, Broccoli and Amaryllis should do?”I grinned, a weight lifting off my shoulder. Things seemed to be working out, at least.
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Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Seven — Peace For Our Time
Chapter One Hundred and Sixty-Seven — Peace For Our Time Oak’s signature was a bit wobbly, as was Wisp’s, but they seemed perfectly readable, especially since it was the first time either one ever wrote something.Once the last signature was on the contract and Sebastien did a little magic to copy the contract onto a few other pages for distribution, the tension that had been filling the air evaporated like air squeaking out of a balloon.“It’s done,” I said.Oak nodded. “No more fighting,” he said.We all knew that we couldn’t stay around for all that long, but we still took some time to shake hands and chat. Some of the younger dryads, probably sensing that things had calmed down, came out of the woods and poked at the lumberjacks like puppies meeting someone new.I took Oak and Wisp and stepped aside a little, not so much for the privacy-there really wasn’t much of that since we were all outside-but to be in a spot where interruptions wouldn’t be as common. “What do you think?” I asked.Oak took his time in answering. “I think. This is good.”I nodded. “I really hope it is,” I said. “We’ll be sending a copy of the contract to a friend of mine. They might be able to help if things go sideways, but I hope it doesn’t come to that.”The big dryad nodded. “I will tell the elders of this. Thank you, sister Broccoli.”I grinned. “No problem! You’re a friend, Oak, even if we haven’t spent all that much time together.”The tree paused for a moment, then placed one of his hands on my head over my helmet and started rubbing small circles.“Um. What are you doing?” I asked.Wisp was the one to reply. “Humans do this to the smaller things they like,” she explained.Was he petting me?“Uh, thanks,” I said. “I... guess we’ll be going in a bit.”Oak stopped rubbing my head. “When you come back, you will be welcome,’ he said.“Thanks,” I said. “Hey, did you want to check out my Beaver?” I pointed over my shoulder with a thumb. The airship above us was swaying gently in the breeze slipping above the forest.“No,” Oak said. “Too much to do.”I didn’t quite know what to say, so I filled the gap with hugs. First a big glomping hug for Oak, who returned it with more patting to the top of my head-which was really quite rude, but I could set that aside for now-then a big tight hug for Wisp.“You know, if you guys want, there’s always room in our party for more,” I said. “I’m sure the girls wouldn’t mind a dryad or two with us on our adventures.”Oak shook his head right away, and Wisp did the same after thinking about it for just a second. “No,” Oak said. “This is home. Leaving would be... wrong.”I couldn’t do anything about that. “Well, the offer’s always on the table if you want it,” I said. “Maybe you could learn how to read and write. I bet the dryads could make great paper and such. We could write to each other!”Oak tilted his head. “If sister Broccoli thinks so,” he agreed.We said our goodbyes again, mostly because I was a little reluctant to just go, then I moved back over to my friends. The lumberjacks were boarding the Beaver already, and even Geoffrey was panting halfway up the ladder.“Ready to go?” Amaryllis asked. “At this rate it will be mid-day before we’re heading out to Needleford.”“Yeah, I think I’m ready,” I said as I set my hands on my hips and looked around one last time. The woods were nice and peaceful, probably on account of all the racket we’d made so far. It was easy to forget that this place was called the Darkwoods. “Let’s head out,” I said.“Awa, are you going to carry us up?” Awen asked.I grinned. “If you want,” I said.“I do not,” Amaryllis said. “I won’t be seen being carried by anyone.”“Uh, just Awen then?” I asked. Awen shrugged, so I scooped her up in a princess carry and bounded up onto the deck.“S-so, um, Broccoli,” Awen began as I set her down. She lingered by my side for just a moment. “Mister Oak, is he, your, um, type?”I laughed aloud. “I guess?” I said. “I mean, he’s got a nice chin, and did you see his abs?”“Um,” Awen said. She was all red and cute. “I did. He’s, uh, not my type though,” she said.“What about Wisp, she was cute,” I said.Awen’s face twisted in undisguised confusion. “She’s a tree,” she said while her hands wiggled through the air. “That would be a bit weird.”“I mean, you’re sorta-dating a bird,” I said.“Awa! It’s not dating, not... ah... yet?” Awen said. “We, we’re just friends.”“Friends who kiss?” I asked.Awen swayed, her face very very red. “I... I need to go do some maintenance,” she said before running off.I felt a little bad for bullying her a bit, but I was also holding back giggles. Was I teasing her too much? I’d make it up to her later! I set that aside while I helped the last of the lumberjacks and Amaryllis climb up onto the deck. Then we rolled up the ladder, yanked the anchors up, and Clive angled our bow over the horizon and the Beaver Cleaver took off into a big sweeping circle back towards the western end of the Deepwoods.I approached Edmund and the two Mattergrove East representatives. “That went well,” I said.The representatives looked a bit uncertain about that, but Edmund nodded. “Aye, it did,” he said.“Not having to worry about getting an arrow in my knee while doing my job will be a nice change. And I think we’ll manage with the new work just fine. It’s not that much different than what we’re doing.”This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.“Great!” I said. “I’ll be sure to follow up and see if things work out.” A glance to the side revealed the forest moving by at a good clip. With the wind now at our backs the Beaver was really speeding up. “We should be back near your compound in a little bit.”“Oh, right,” Sebastien said. “Do you have a place where I could write some things down? I need to give you your contract and vouchers. You can redeem those at our Needleford branch, if that’s where you’re heading next.”“That would be great,” I said. Amaryllis would be real happy too. I made a note to have her look things over before the men left. Not that I didn’t trust them, but I figured Amaryllis would be all pouty if I didn’t tell her. “Do you want to follow me? We can use the captain’s quarters. I don’t use them all that much myself.”“Certainly,” Sebastien said.The trip back to the compound was a little strange. Not the flight, that was perfectly ordinary, with the ship swaying gently along and bobbing with the occasional shift in the wind. What was strange was...Actually, I wasn’t entirely sure.Maybe I felt weird because I had been expecting more from our little side-quest. To fight some big monster, or uncover some big secret, but things had gone rather well, and there was nothing like that to worry about.Maybe I shouldn’t have that kind of attitude. After all, things going well was hardly something to complain about. I was sure the next adventure would be a whole lot more adventure-like. I found myself frowning at the ceiling.“Captain?” Sebastien asked.“Hmm?” I replied, turning my attention back down to where the man was scratching away at some parchment. “Sorry, what was that?”“You looked angry?” he tried.“Oh, no no, I’m not angry. I’m just wondering if I just jinxed myself.”“Jinxed?” he asked. “I’m not familiar with the term.”I waved it off. “It’s not important,” I said. “So can you tell me anything about Needleford? I’ve never been.”He nodded, finished writing a line with a flourish, then set his plume aside. “Needleford is a fairly young settlement, as far as those things go. Maybe a hundred years old? It started as a fishing village, then grew into a proper port between Mattergrove’s capital, Port Hazel, and some of the Deepmarsh ports.”“So it’s a trading place?” I asked.He wiggled his hand in a so-so gesture. “It might have been, with a side of fishing, but now it’s a proper city. It’s not as big or impressive as Port Hazel, but it is a little newer, and far more organized. The city is run by a council of mixed nobles and merchants.”“I look forward to stopping by, then,” I said.He smiled. “Try the fish pie. It’s a little strange at first, but it grows on you. There’re a lot of food stalls near the docks. It’s a bit of a local speciality.”“I will,” I promised. “Ah, I should go and make sure that everything’s going well on-deck. I’ll send Amaryllis down to make sure everything’s orderly.”“Thank you,” he said before I made my way back out.The trip continued at a good pace. Amaryllis polished off the paperwork, Awen continued to bleed off her embarrassed energy with maintenance, and the guys on the crew worked like a well-oiled machine as we got closer to the lumberjack’s compound.When we slowed to a stop and dropped anchor, it was only a hundred or so meters from the edge of the camp atop a muddy field covered in stumps.Edmund shook my hand before making his way down, and soon all of the lumberjacks and the two company representatives were off the Beaver and on their way back to their camp.I made sure to wave as hard as I could when they were walking off.Bastion joined me as Gordon and Steve weighted anchor again. “That seems to have gone well,” he said.“I hope so,” I said.He patted my shoulder. “Don’t worry so much,” he said. “I know some knights who have done less good in a year than what you’ve done in an afternoon.”I smiled over at him. It was weird that Bastion was so much shorter than me. “Thanks,” I said. “But I’m no knight. Maybe I should become one? Do they make cool armour for girls?”Bastion laughed. “There is an order of female-only knights, but the Inquisition doesn’t take gender into account. I’m sure they might consider your application. Though, you might not do so well with the flight trials.”“Don’t underestimate my ability to jump around,” I said.Bastion shook his head. “I’ll be in my cabin, call me if you need any assistance with anything.”I waved him off, then found myself standing near the bow of the Beaver with not much at all to do. “What about you?” I asked towards the figurehead of the ship.A familiar orange head popped up and stared at me with slitted eyes.“Alright, alright,” I said. “I won’t interrupt your work.” I left Orange to do Orange-y things, and flounced my way to the back of the ship and up to the wheel where Clive was puffing at a pipe, one taloned-hand on the ship’s controls. “Heya.”“Capt’n,” he puffed.“So, if you have a few minutes, could you show me a few tricks? I think being a better captain might mean knowing how to fly like a pro.”Clive chuckled and backed away from the wheel. “Good to see you’re eager to learn. I was right afraid when the Albatross lasses told me that my new captain was all green.”“I’m more of a pasty white... actually, I’m starting to tan a bit,” I said with a pinch to my cheek.He snorted. “Right, let’s go over the gravity engine. It’s a tricky beast to master, but there are some neat things to do with it if you’ve figured it out.”
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