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Chapter 1218 - Talks Conclude pt 3
🕑 Added 2023-08-26 05:07:20 +0000 UTCAs it turned out, it did not ‘sound good’, to the brathians.
[Twenty percent! That’s usury,] she declared flatly.
[Isn’t that the percentage you were offering us?] Anthony pointed out.
[This was a number we arrived at after a lengthy discussion of the costs and risks of conducting business. I would be happy to go over them with you….]
Anthony scratched at his head as Enid did all she could to contain her smile, regardless of how hard it threatened to creep over her face.
[We are the ones making the stuff,] he insisted. [Without us, there’s no trade for you to profit from at all, you’ll have no goods. All you have to do is receive the stuff, and take it to somewhere you can sell it, which is something you do already. As I understand it, you have a network of caravans, merchants, markets and stores already, so you don’t have to establish anything new, this is just another source of goods for you to plug into your pipeline.]
Eran tried a different tack.
[It’s true we have an exceptionally successful business spread over multiple strata, and a strong presence in some of the biggest markets in the fourth stratum, including the Silver City. We deal with many, many suppliers as well as creating our own artisanal products for sale. This isn’t a trade that we need,] she spoke with just the right amount of depreciation, insinuating that she was doing them a favour. [Access to our conglomerate is worth paying a heavy price.]
Surprisingly, Anthony nodded.
[That’s persuasive, you’ve done a lot of work and we would benefit from that. We can’t have hard work be unrewarded.]
Eran Thouris eased ever so slightly in her chair. Clearly, she thought she was finally getting somewhere. Enid knew better.
[Soooo. You can have twenty-five percent,] the Ant announced with an air of finality. [That seems fair to me.]
The brathian reeled, but collected herself a fraction of a second later. Enid was impressed. This woman was tough. Dealing with Anthony was enough to send a teenager grey.
[You added five percent in recognition of our input?] she sought to clarify, a little coldly.
[Of course not,] Anthony replied reasonably. [Before, I was giving you twenty percent, but fifteen of that was just because I'm nice. Now I think you actually deserve twenty five. It’s a totally different calculation.]
There was open confusion on the face of the brathian negotiator now. Her Skills weren’t working as they should and the direction of the conversation had gone far from what she had intended. Enid almost felt sorry for her. It was only going to go downhill from here.
She threatened to walk away from the deal if the percentage wasn’t better. Anthony didn’t care.
She demanded they begin negotiating prices at fifty percent, no lower. Anthony threatened to walk away.
She tried to talk down the quality of the produce and thus diminish its price. Anthony didn’t believe her, stating anything his siblings made was either the best in the world, or soon would be.
She tried to emphasise the power of the conglomerate and the influence they had. She hinted they could ban the Colony from ever trading in the fourth if they so chose. Again, Anthony didn’t care. The ants were perfectly content making things just to decorate their nests and insisted they would find other ways to procure the cores they needed. He made it clear in no uncertain terms that he considered this deal to be the Colony doing the Brathian Island Conglomerate a favour, and not the other way around.
She protested. He shrugged.
She needled. He got bored.
She marshalled her words and went into battle, eloquently and viciously. He stopped listening.
It went on for hours with the giant ant growing more and more irritated and the brathian delegation growing more and more desperate. Finally, one of them cracked.
[Fine! You can have forty percent, alright? We’ll pack and ship the goods to you ourselves, you can station people here in the nest to make sure it's done to your satisfaction and then you can deal with it from there.]
A major concession from Anthony’s perspective, an insulting offer from his opponents. Eran Thouris’ mouth tightened to a thin line. Before she could say anything over the mind-bridge, Anthony cut her off.
[Considering we are doing all of the creating, and you are only doing the selling, I consider forty percent to be just shy of robbing us. I’m going to emphasise this point. Take it or leave it. The conditions aren’t going to get any better than this. In fact, if you agree in the next thirty seconds, I’ll extend the conditions of this deal to five years before its renegotiated and throw in a fine set of knives delivered directly to your door. If you don’t agree in thirty seconds, then we shake hands and go our separate ways, it wasn’t meant to be.]
Finally, the ant had reached the end of his patience and Enid knew that he had bent as far as he was going to. She caught the eye of her opponent across the table and gave her a subtle nod. He meant what he’d said. She needed to think and think quickly.
She smiled and sipped her tea.
[It seems as though we have a deal,] she said.
The brathian around the table and in the chamber looked pained, as if they’d just been forced to digest something truly unpleasant, and honestly, Anthony radiated the same kind of energy. A successful negotiation, nobody was happy!
It all worked out better than she’d expected.
Comments
Robinn57
A successful negotiation, nobody was happy. I absolutely love this line.
ManguKing
Depends on the wording of said contract. Say that it has no clause which forces the brathians into keeping a transparent book. You can follow a law while breaking it at the same time.
Grey Knight Lord
Magic contracts. And ripping off a buissness partner who has millions of members is not a good idea.
ManguKing
What's going to prevent the brathians from lying? I could sell something for 10 and claim that I sold it for 6!
Rahsheem Reid
By that time Anthony will be the size of a small hill. I’d like too see a monster try it lol
alt31415
Probably the 7th, the one apparently affected by that 'makes metal and stone flow like water' Ancient.
alt31415
Hot take: Maybe even in modern commerce, that's screwed.
Nanashi
What Dungeon level will have giant monsters trying to poor molten metal into the anthills?
Pastor Joubert
They did get screwed :P even in modern commerce, 30% goes to payment, 10% to shipping, more to storage and warehousing. Most commodities have a 10% or more profit margin for the producers. Even 20% was generous given the vastness of their network. The only saving grace is that they can commission a handful of goods of the finest quality and sell them to the wealthy… but normally such sales channels are also of EXTREME value. Much of the “third world” produces fine hand made items of exceptional quality that when sold in the “first world” command hefty sums with “designer” labels on them. 20% was already an amazing deal. So yea… the fish people are upset.
Gopard
Thanks for the chapter!
CentaureHeart
The Brathians are going to respect Anthony so much.
Khajar
Maybe in 5 years we'll have a champion focused on social skills. They'll create the Colony MerchANT Guild.
Pratish Sungum
In 5 years, the brathian will have no choice than to beg for the Colony's products as it will drop the quality of their stall's products if they don't. I just hope there is someone who can squeeze them dry then!
ZaneofBane
Need... Brathian... POV... After talks end... (Dying Gasp)
Rahsheem Reid
Lmaoooooo this is hilarious
DigginaTrench
Ong this chick's deadly with her words. Could prolly convince me to actually pay my taxes
Ez
It will still workout for the fishes the most. ANTiques are the most valuable items in and out of the dungeons
Briar
I can’t wait to see them process the deal they got at the end. From 80 to 40 and they thought the ants were the ones who they could swindle.
Sarah Stillman
Wait... did Anthony just take inspiration from an infomercial? "I you order in the next 30 seconds, we'll ship a set of knives to your door. Absolutely free!"
William
Wow, this Brathian is a damn good negotiator to get Anthony from 25% to 40%. LOL
