Negotiations

The moonlight was shining brightly upon their heads as they sneaked through the city. At this hour of the day, only patrols and thieves populated the city streets with exception of Aymon and Samira who tried to reach the bar where the separatist leader Omrax was probably waiting.

"How did you know the name of the leader?" Samira's whispered to him as they ran into the nearest alley.

"Did you forget that our race has one of the best intel units in the world? They were the ones who gave me the hint that he was residing here and even gave me his name."

"Ah yes I forgot, the spirits, you asked them didn't you?"

"Yep"

Another patrol marched past them with tired looks on their faces. As soon as they turned around the corner Aymon ran to the other side of the street where the pub was. With a hand wave, he signalized that it was safe for Samira to cross without being discovered. Only two knocks until the door was opened and they could enter the now empty bar. As soon as they entered Aymon felt that something cold, probably out of metal, was held against his head.

"You better put your hands where I can see them, otherwise your brain will be scattered around the floor." The deep voice was coming from the side where someone held the pistol.

It was impossible to see where the person was standing or who it was since the whole room was pitch black. Considering that Samira was also not moving he assumed that the same was happening to her.

"Calm down, we are not your enemies, we are only here to talk." Both of them raised their hands.

"We will now inspect you so don't move"

Hands started fumbling on his legs and slowly moved towards his torso, checking him and every bag thoroughly. It didn't stop until the person who examined him was satisfied with the results.

"Put your dirty hands away from my arse" Samira's voice sounded threatfully through the darkness.

Even though he saw his subordinates only as disposable pawns to exact his revenge, why did it irritate him so much that someone else was touching her? The anger he felt when he heard her voice surprised and confused him especially given the situation they were in he should have had other worries then this.

"Can you stop molesting my subordinate now and let me talk to Omrax?"

"Now now, let's calm down everyone. What are two Elfs searching in our small region?"

Suddenly the lights were lit on completely blinding him in the first few seconds. As his eyes slowly adjusted themselves to the light source he saw the barkeeper sitting in front of him. Left and right of them were other dwarfs armed with pistols pointed towards them.

"Are you Omrax?"

"I'm the one making the questions here! So again what are two Elfs doing here in the dwarfen region?"

"We are here to negotiate with the chief of the separatist group since we need supplies for the incoming invasion" Aymon answered reluctantly.

"So you came all the way here, infiltrating the enemy territory and risking to get captured or killed in the hope that we would help you? And you said you want to negotiate for the supplies needed but I don't think that you have anything of interest to us."

"There is one thing we can offer but I'd rather discuss that with Omrax himself."

The glances of the dwarfs intensified with every minute that passed. Everyone's tension was noticeable since it was putting a lot of pressure on him and her, especially given the fact that the dwarfs were ready to shoot at a moments notice.

"I'm Omrax. I trust that you know how to keep a secret or otherwise you'll experience the brute force of dwarfs first hand. So what would interest me so much to supply you with the weapons you need so urgently?"

"Retribution. The Elfen Union can give you the possibility to get back at those damn humans and create your own Kingdom. Free from all the oppression and taxes they put on you. We would create an alliance against the Empire. Their main army will be busy with the attack on our country, thinning out the soldier presence in all other regions including yours. You'll then have the opportunity to liberate yourself from their grip."

"And why should we? We could simply wait for the invasion to happen and then free ourselves without giving you the supplies or make an alliance with you."

"Simple, because we won't stand long enough without the supplies and you won't survive the next invasion without our support."

The silence grew longer as both of them stared into each other's eyes.

"Ahahaha, I like this young lad. Okay, I accept the alliance and will deliver the goods on your ship. They are mostly stolen goods or produced in secret by our manufacturer so you better not get caught by the soldiers. It will take about two days to load the vessel so prepare to leave by then. Come here let's drink to seal our new formed agreement." His beard was shaking with every word he said.

One giant mug was handed to Aymon and Samira for all of them to drink out of it. The cup reached his waist and was incredibly heavy to lift. He could barely take a sip before he passed it on. Samira hesitated for a brief moment and took then a quick sip as she blushed. Being the last one Omrax jugged down the whole content in one go and half of it ran down his beard.

"Aaaah, with this the alliance is sealed."