Reiko stared at Wolfe, then shook her head. "You know those terms will be unacceptable. The Coven can not and will not give up their autonomy. We can negotiate many other things and swallow our pride, but that will not be part of the deal."
Wolfe smiled at her. "See, we're bargaining already. How about this, you agree to become an autonomous region, with your Coven Council or whoever you appoint in charge of the city, with a Guardian to ensure your safety, provided and paid by us, and we will cut the tariff rate on military equipment listed in the original proposal in half."
The Council didn't seem to like that idea much more than the last proposal.
"What is the trade partner tariff rate for military weapons?" One of the Councillors asked.
"We don't currently trade military technology with outsiders, much to the Gormana representative's annoyance. But if you wish to limit our interactions to trade and infrastructure, we can do that as well.
There are many civilian purpose vehicles, including large cargo aircraft, available to purchase by our partners, though there is some lead time to the orders due to demand. The terms are fair, and we offer financed payment options, should that suit you better than the outright purchase of large ticket items." Wolfe explained.
Arthur nodded in agreement. "That was the first thing that I asked him as well, and I got the same response. But Gormana doesn't share any borders with the Frozen Wastes, and we are quite a distance from Forest Grove, so the human leaders would be unlikely to go for such a close alliance.
Perhaps if the Grand Dutchies fall to infighting, that might change things, but I am told that the Guardians there are slowly getting things under control."
That was a relief to the Coven members. They had entirely too many problems with the slavers after the war, and most of what the Morgana Fortress Defence forces had been doing was clearing out them and the rebels that had struck deals with them.
"If we demanded that you send someone to take care of the slavers as part of your oversight duties, could that be codified into the agreement?" One of the other members asked.
"Naturally. You will find that slavery is prohibited under the rules and regulations section. If we are going to take all of Morgana into the fold as an autonomous region, then naturally, we would deal with the larger issues of international human trafficking and rights abuses.
You may not be aware, but presently I am the only living Saint that was both born on this world and who resides on this world. The two foreign witch Saints have been detained by the Fae for trespassing, and it will be some time before their hearing.
I have a personal attachment to our people, and I want to do right by them." Wolfe agreed.
That the witch Saints were missing was common knowledge, but they hadn't known exactly what happened to them. Held for trial suggested that they would be back and angry at some point, though.
"Do you know how long it is until their trial?" Reiko asked.
"The Fae Queen might move it up out of respect for their station, but it is tentatively set for nearly a decade from now, by our calendar." Wolfe informed her with a smile.
In that case, they likely weren't coming back. Neither of them had long left to live, and their powers were already waning, according to the One World Army refugees who had seen them before they disappeared while searching for Wolfe.
The Coven Council flipped through the pages of the agreement, and Arthur did his best not to smile as things turned out better for him. Morgana needed allies, as many of them as they could get if they wanted to reclaim their territory. But with Wolfe's agreement starting out as making them something akin to a vassal, there would be nothing in the Gormana trade agreement that they could possibly find offensive now.
"I hope you don't mind, we will need a few minutes to read this." Reiko informed Wolfe with a polite, professional smile.
"Take all the time you need. We're not trying to swindle you."
The Coven Council could think of a few things that he might be trying to do that weren't swindling them, but they kept it to themselves. Like Arthur, they knew that they needed help to reclaim the Morgana Territory and get the villages to even consider aligning with them again.
If this fell through, there was a good chance that Wolfe would simply treat the city as a separate entity, and make an independent deal with the villages, which would spell the end of Morgana as a nation.
Everyone adjusted in their seats, and Priya motioned for one of the crew members to bring them some tea cups from the cabinet along the wall.
"Ladies, if you would like, I have some of the finest of Sylvan City tea with me. Perhaps a nice cup would help?" She suggested.
"What is the status of Sylvan City with regards to Forest Grove anyhow? You said that you were here representing them, and not as a member of the Forest Grove team, so am I to take it that Sylvan Coven has signed a similar agreement?" The Council's finance minister asked.
Priya shook her head at the older woman.
"Our arrangement is entirely different. You see, we lost most of our population in the war last winter, and Forest Grove helped set up barriers and populate villages for us in preparation for this winter's Monster Tide.
Outside the city itself, three quarters of the population are now beastkin from the Wastes, though as the curses have broken, there are no more communication barriers.
We sent out witches to keep the barriers active around the towns and the gardens charmed, but Forest Grove was the one that connected them all with an underground highway, so we can easily trade and move troops, even during an attack."
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