Chapter 133: Shall We Do Bees-ness?
Second Queen Berbiya calmed down and put on a diplomatic smile once more. It appeared they had averted the outcome she was afraid of, so now the talks could resume at a more leisurely pace. Chief Rohsuak returned her smile.
“King Ratuatapi and his people will, of course, reciprocate in kind, correct? The Sacred Den Master’s authority shall subsequently apply to all current and future purified territory beyond the borders we will decide on, with all the same terms regarding his sovereignty over them and your people’s promise to respect them. Any violation of the Sacred Den Master’s borders by your people, or anyone else using your territory, shall release the Sacred Den Master and his servants from all promises on his part.”
Belissar’s eyes widened a bit back in the Tower. That…was a good point. He definitely didn’t want to promise to leave the skunk people alone if they weren’t going to do the same. He really should have thought of that. But well, that’s why he was glad Chief Rohsuak agreed to represent him.
Second Queen Berbiya paused for a moment when Chief Rohsuak started to speak but kept her smile and then nodded.
“Yes, of course.”
Chief Rohsuak nodded in turn.
“Then, shall we discuss the details?”
Second Queen Berbiya had one of her people join the conversation with some maps, while Chief Rohsuak invited Metsaitti to join the discussion. Belissar couldn’t follow too closely at that point, but he trusted that the karnuq knew what they were doing as people who had traveled the Underway for a long time. Belissar…may have found himself watching the soldier bee lap up her beverage with no memory of anything spoken in the previous minute. More than once.
In the end, the talks proceeded along. Chief Rohsuak insisted on terms Belissar again hadn’t thought of, in this case having the skunk people escort them through the proposed borders before finalizing the deal, since neither Belissar nor the karnuq knew what was in that area. This would allow them to map out the area and mark out which parts of the surface lay above. The skunk people would also need to point out any potential issues, such as dangerous wildlife that might cross over the border. All this would allow Belissar to better understand what he was agreeing to…and would keep them a little more honest according to Chief Rohsuak.