Negotiations

The elderly dwarf led everyone to a room with a large mahogany-like wooden table, inviting them to sit down in the tall jewel-studded chairs that lined the table. A small fire place crackled in the back, illuminating the various tapestries lining the walls along with some dimly lit rocks. 

"I like to start things off with good news, but I also like to end with good news. That means I'll hold talks with both of you at the same time," the elderly dwarf snarled. 

"Very well, and you are?" Nagako asked. 

"Durrell. These two next to me are my son, Borferd, our greatest warrior, and our top engineer, Steamly," the elderly dwarf stated as he pointed to the burly orange-haired dwarf and slightly less burly green-haired dwarf. 

"Nagako Wako, Ohana ward 4 city councilwoman. I'm here to officially represent the city of Ohana in hopes of forging ties."

"Col Quinn Thorwall. I'm representing the United States of America," Thorwall stated. 

"Mizata... Evendale," Mizata groaned. 

"DAMMIT I said I wanted to end this in a good mood!" 

"In that case, I'd suggest you go between myself and Col Thorwall, would that be acceptable?" Nagako asked Mizata. 

Both Mizata and Thorwall agreed to the proposal, and talks were back on track. 

"Humans have popped up then and there throughout the world, but you look to be the fanciest of the bunch. Guards say you even took some flying "plain" thing to get here. How does that even work?" 

"You'd like schematics? As a pilot, I'd be happy to divulge that," Thorwall spoke up. 

"Let's hear it then." 

As Thorwall explained in detail how planes worked, Rosa sat in silence watching Nagako. "The col jumped ahead, but she doesn't look too annoyed. I guess she realizes it's good to keep the chief in a good mood," she thought. 

"...And that's just about all I can explain with just words alone. But if you want schematics... ... My apologies, but it looks like I've got no signal," Thorwall frowned as he stared at his phone. 

"What is that thing?" Steamly asked. 

"A smartphone," Nagako stated. 

"A smart what?" 

"It's a device for communication and pleasure, though it appears the calling function is not possible at the time due to a lack of Wi-Fi." 

This was mostly true, as unknown to the others, Jenna had beefed up her suit with receptors which had managed to just barely maintain her connection with Muki. As such, Muki had switched things to listen-mode only, but still struggled to make out everything. 

"What is this Wi-Fi? It something we can build?" Steamly asked. 

"Actually, it is. Though I'm unsure what the effects would be from using materials here. Ah, my apologies. Dr. Sana Kagerosa. I'm here as a scientist," Sana stated. 

"You're an engineer, bald woman?" 

"In a sense. I'm known for conducting research at a university."

"She has quite the place. You'd be thrilled for days if you came," DaVinci smirked. 

"You're fascinated by the smallest of things. I got higher standards," Steamly snarled. 

"In that case, why not assess the car we've brought as a gift?" Nagako mused. 

"Mine cart? You think you have something better than what I've had powering dwarf cities for years!?" 

A smirk formed on Nagako's face as she slid the car keys across the table. "That's the key, car's parked out front." 

The dwarves all stared oddly at the key. 

"This ain't a key. There's no prongs, just some box with an emblem," Borferd scowled. 

"As much as I'd hate to suggest we get up and walk, showing it to you would be the best way to see what our city has to offer," Nagako nodded.

"You want to get up and walk? That's perfect! I hate sitting around not swinging my axe," Borferd grinned as he began to stroll out. 

"Get back here! We still have things to discuss!" Durell fumed. 

"I agree. Thus, we should save the demonstration until after Miss Mizata has hashed everything out. You do want to end this all in a good mood, don't you?" Nagako smiled. 

Mizata stared in shock, but quickly got down to business as Durell shot a nasty scowl her way. "I was tasked by the elders and politicians of Evendale to procure a trade of arthstone. I have brought drachma to trade," she stated as she placed the bag of drachma on the table. 

Durell snatched the bag and stared closely at the stones within it. "And what's this slop gonna do for us?" 

Both DaVinci and Nagako began to slowly rise. 

"Uh, um... Darchma has health and beauty-" 

"WE DON'T GIVE TWO SHITS ABOUT THAT HERE! THE WOMEN ARE JUST FINE WITH THE STONES WE GOT HERE!" Durell fumed as he hurled the bag at Mizata. 

Mizata shrieked and shut her eyes, but didn't feel nor hear any impact. 

"Seems this has no value to dwarves, in that case, shall we take possession of it?" Nagako asked as she set down the bag she had just caught. 

"Oh? You saw that and caught it? Not bad for a woman," Borferd shrugged as he leaned against the wall. 

Nagako chuckled as she sat back down. "You're not talking to a woman who devoted her life to combat, just one with some better than average reflexes. Now, seeing as the mood has been soured, why don't we pause talks and head outside to check out the cars. Borferd there has been quite anxious to leave, and I'm sure Steamly would love to see just how our technology functions." 

Durell scowled and got up in a huff, storming over to Mizata and grabbing her by her hair. "Seems fine. I want to throw this elf out personally for her insult of a trade." 

Rosa frowned and attempted to speak up, but was quickly stopped by Sada. "Mother, why are you stopping me!?" she whispered. 

"Because we can't risk causing another scene. the harsh reality of diplomacy is that sometimes you must silence your personal morals for the sake of the populace. Just look at Nagako. Her expression hasn't shifted in the slightest, even though she's the type of woman that would speak out against what we're seeing. She's reading the room, and knows that if she defends Mizata here and now, it'll completely jeopardize our talks with the dwarves. First impressions are everything. We don't know just how deep the dwarf-elf feud goes, so trying to play preacher here could backfire horrendously. Could you imagine how Mizata would feel if she, a woman who believes her whole mission was just a ruse in hopes of killing her, was the reason we got off to bad footing with the dwarves? She'd want to shut herself away, maybe even kill herself." 

Rosa went silent and stared somberly at the floor. 

"We'll make it up to her later. Right now, we need to ensure we get an alliance with the dwarves, so cease the sulking and force a smile, neutral expression at the least," Sana sighed as she began heading out. 

"Amazing. Mother, Nagako, you two really do outshine me. And here I thought from the deepest corner of my mind this would be the moment I could finally shine. The mayor was right; I'm not qualified for things like this," Rosa thought as she got up and followed Sana out, wiping her tears away as she did.