Chapter 18 The Impossible Negotiation
The two generals arrived on neutral ground under the blood-red moon, torches flickering uneasily in the night wind. General Halveth of the Blue Banner marched forward with four armed guards despite the agreement for no weapons. General Korrin of the Crimson Front arrived moments later with equal suspicion, his hand never leaving the hilt of his sword.
"You dare summon both of us here?" Halveth growled the moment he saw Darius. "With the Plague Goddess and that insane War Incarnate watching? What kind of trap is this, exile?"
Darius sat calmly at a simple wooden table that had been dragged onto the barren strip of land between the two opposing camps. Mara stood silently to his right. Veth lounged on top of a broken siege engine behind them, grinning like a spectator enjoying a particularly entertaining gladiator match.
"No trap," Darius said evenly. "Sit down. Both of you."
Korrin laughed bitterly. "You honestly think we came here to negotiate peace? With her watching?" He jerked his chin toward Veth.
"I am not here to negotiate peace," Darius replied. "I am here to discuss business. Your business."
The two generals exchanged uneasy glances but eventually sat across from him. Veth chuckled softly from her perch, clearly entertained by the tension in the air.
Halveth leaned forward aggressively. "Speak quickly then, exile. Before we decide killing you is the simpler solution."
Darius pulled out several sheets of parchment from his travel pack and laid them on the table. "For the last seven years while living in exile at the trading post, I have been recording trade routes, food shipments, mercenary contracts, and supply movements across the entire border region. You would be surprised what people say and write when they think the record keeper is just a weak, harmless prince."
He slid the first document across the table toward Halveth.
"Three months ago, General Halveth, you reported heavy losses in the northern choke point. Yet the grain shipments delivered to your camp increased by forty percent during that same period. Quite interesting."
Halveth’s face tightened visibly. "These are lies."
Darius continued without raising his voice or showing any emotion. "The extra grain never reached your soldiers. It was diverted to private warehouses outside the capital and sold at triple the normal price during the artificial shortage you created."
Korrin began to smirk until Darius slid the next paper directly toward him.
"And you, General Korrin. That famous ‘heroic offensive’ you launched last spring that cost eight hundred men? The attack was deliberately timed and poorly supported so it would fail. You needed the high casualties to justify requesting three thousand additional mercenaries. Mercenaries whose payments you then split with their captains."
Korrin shot to his feet. "You dare accuse me of…"
"Sit down," Darius said calmly. "I have the records of the payments. Dates. Routes. Names of every merchant and captain involved. Both of you have been deliberately prolonging this war for decades. Fabricated offensives. Stolen supplies. Carefully maintained stalemates. The kings believe they are funding a noble defense. In reality, the two of you have been running one of the most profitable stalemates in continental history."
Veth laughed loudly from behind them, slamming her massive hand against the siege engine in delight. "Oh this is excellent. Much better than the usual screaming and posturing I see every day."
Halveth’s face had gone pale with fury. "You have no proof that would hold in any imperial court."
"I have more than enough," Darius replied, placing additional documents on the table one by one. "Trade ledgers. Witness statements from merchants. Signed contracts. Everything a careful record keeper collects when powerful men assume he is too weak to matter."
Korrin’s hand twitched violently toward his sword. "What do you want? Money? Land? A title? Name your price to keep this silent."
"I am not interested in money," Darius said. "I am here because this war is inefficient. Wasteful. And ultimately boring. Even Veth is growing tired of the same repetitive cycle."
Veth grinned wider. "Am I now?"
"You are," Darius answered, glancing back at her. "You told me victory would bore you. But this endless, fake struggle is starting to bore you as well."
The two generals stared at Darius with pure hatred and growing fear. Halveth snarled, "You actually believe you can dismantle sixty years of carefully balanced interests with a few pieces of paper?"
"Yes," Darius said simply. "Because the moment these documents reach the capitals, both of your empires will collapse under the weight of the scandal. The kings will execute you publicly to save face. The people will riot when they discover how many of their sons died purely for your personal profit."
Korrin slammed his fist hard on the table. "You arrogant little bastard…"
Darius placed one final document in the exact center of the table. The generals went completely silent as they read its contents.
Halveth whispered hoarsely, his voice shaking with rage and terror, "If this becomes public… both empires will collapse."
Darius leaned back in his chair, his expression perfectly calm.
"Then perhaps they should."
Veth’s booming laughter echoed across the night once more. The two generals stared at Darius with a mixture of hatred, disbelief, and dawning realization that their entire world of profit and power was suddenly hanging by a thread.