Breaking Step (Dungeon Runner 3)

Breaking Step, Chapter 24

* * * * *

He didn't reach his bed.

Jackal met them halfway to the rooming house, and Don continued on by himself. The fighter led Tibs to the warehouse and Tibs looked on the empty space, filling the forming cracks over and over as heat tried to bubble out from where it was buried.

This was only a setback, he reminded himself. Let Irdian think he'd stuck a deadly blow by taking all Tibs had hidden here. Tibs would be in a position to rebuild much sooner than the commander knew.

Irdian was too set on his work to completely drop his guard, but if he thought Tibs had to start from nothing, his focus would shift to more important things for a time. And if Tibs could avoid attracting the attention back, that time could stretch.

He'd have to be careful in how he procured the new equipment, find a better place to store it. But he would have coins. He'd be able to exercise some of the power they gave him and make what he needed happen.

* * * * *

The sorceress sat opposite Don, with Tibs on his left and Darran on his right, reading the papers. Tibs didn't understand why there were seven pages, when all this was about was selling the pool, but it was why Darran had dealt with it.

"This is your work, merchant?" She asked, a smile forming. "Surely, this isn't—"

"Let's not do things that way," Don said imperiously as she wove essence within the words. "I did say we both knew how this would go. Did you believe I meant I would fold under your promises?" The smile he gave her reminded Tibs of his own while channeling corruption, but Don acted that way without suffusing himself.

Her smile didn't falter, but the essence pulled back into her. "I suppose it is a sign you belong at the academy that you planned this so well." She took a quill out of a pocket. It had essence woven through it; water, earth, metal, and others Tibs couldn't identify. He was surprised there was no corruption. She placed the tip over a line. "You understand, I can't agree with this." She struck out the words, a neat black line in the wake of where the quill passed.

"Of course," Darran replied joyfully. "I'd never presume a sorcerer of your caliber would simply agree to the first offer given."

"Or that I wouldn't seek counsel," Don added, not quite managing to look down on her.

"I will admit that despite what I saw in our previous interaction, I had hoped there wouldn't be quite as much of what we look for in a prospect in you."

Don's smile turned genuine. "You can ask most who know me in Kragle Rock. I'm not known for pleasing others."

She scratched out another line, this time writing something over it. "I had hoped this would be quick."

"Where's the fun in that?" Darran replied, grinning.

Tibs groaned as the merchant motioned Kroseph for tankards. He'd expected this to be done already. Just how long were they going to be at this?

* * * * *

Darran, Anuja, and Don were at it most of the day.

As a server brought food, Tibs considered leaving the table, but worry she'd use essence to make things go against what Darran was arranging kept him there. Don would sense if she used corruption, but as a sorcerer, she could pull on other elements, and Don might not be aware she was taking control of the negotiation. Tibs wasn't sure what he'd do if she tried, but at least he'd have the option to do something.

So he remained, listening to them argue and write changes to the pages. He expected that eventually, the words wouldn't be legible anymore, there would be so much ink there. He groaned when the two argued over what a word meant, getting an amused look from Don.

Tibs knew words changed meanings from one language to the other, but they were using magic to be understood this time; Darran had paid for it because he didn't want any misunderstanding. How could words not mean the same thing when magic was used?

They agreed on something Tibs hadn't kept track of, and more writing on the pages had happened.

By the time the sorcerers stood with a copy of the page she's used magic to make and Darran had gone over to ensure no changes had been made that way, the shadows were long. She left, smiling. Don had a similar smile as he read the papers, and Darran pulled another, thinner stack. He wrote in a few places, showed it to Don, who read it, then signed it. Darran added his, then passed that to Tibs.

The number Darran had written was longer than Tibs had expected, and those weren't copper. "That's more than I asked for." A lot more. With this, he knew he could buy arm and armor from the entire kingdom.

"That's the beauty of a good deal," Darran replied, then took a bite of the fragrant slab of meat just brought to their table. Kroseph had brought Tibs a simpler dish, even if he hadn't asked for food. "Everyone comes out of it with more than they wanted."

Don carefully rolled the papers and put them in a small leather tube, which he strapped to his belt. "I got everything I wanted, and they agreed to pay me during my apprenticeship."

"But all she gets is the pool," Tibs said. "How is that more than what she wanted?"

Darran smiled. "Don't let how she acted fool you, Tibs. She came into this expecting to pay much more than what she did."

"But she was hoping Don wouldn't get help." Tibs had experience with haggling, but the loser always ended up with less than they wanted. That was why someone haggled. "She could have used essence to get what she wanted from you."

"She would have been disappointed," Darran said. "I took precautions against that. That is what negotiations are, Tibs. We hope for an easy victory, but plan for an expensive battle."

"Much like wars," Don said, cutting into his meat.

"But unlike them, it's possible to walk away with everyone involved pleased with the result. Don get a more comfortable position, you more money, and she didn't have to spend as much getting what she wanted."

"Doesn't that mean we should have asked for more coins, then?"

"You could have done that," Darran replied. "But what would you gain with more coins at the expense of her displeasure?"

Angering a sorcerer was never a good idea. Every story bards sang made that clear. "I still don't get how everyone can end up with more than they wanted." He ate what was on his plate. The food was blander than what Russel usually prepared, but Tibs didn't mind.

"It's why merchants like Darran are around." Don said. He ate a few bites. "Thank you. When Tibs mentioned you, I didn't expect such a skilled negotiator."

"That's quite alright. I don't make much of that aspect of my trade. And I expect Tibs mentioned me because of our history helping each other, more than a knowledge of what I'm skilled at."

"If you couldn't have helped," Tibs said, "you would have told me who could."

They ate in silence, then Don looked up. "Darran, am I really so disliked by the merchants?"

"You are... abrasive, well, you've been so. I watched you interact with the others many times. You might not be wrong that you are entitled to what you asked for, and that you never seek to underpay, but that isn't what matters."

Darran sipped his goblet. "It's the attitude. Tibs is entitled to anything he pays out of my shop, or any other, but he doesn't enter into the transaction with that belief. He understands it's an exchange and that, like the negotiations here, it can be done while respecting the other participant. To be clear, I have..." he smiled, "swindled Tibs, here and there, and in return, he has spun me stories regarding some of the items I bough from him. But when one caught the other, we accepted it as part of how this goes?"

"But I never tried to get more than what I sold was worth," Don said, annoyed. "Or demanded to pay less than an item is worth."

"How fair the money is doesn't matter when it's demanded of the merchant," Darran said.

"So I should just lie about what I bring? Let them swindle me?"

Darran shrugged. "That depends on the merchant you deal with." He smiled. "But you could start by allowing them to negotiate." He paused, the fork nearly to his mouth. "You might find you enjoy it."