Two days ago, Theanore had given a worker ant her letter of approval for the Ogres to build a teleport. Now, it was done. An old Ogre stepped out. He had on something that looked like a potato sack, but it was clean and wasn’t torn up at all.

“Welcome, Ogre. I am Theanore, the nymph. I welcome you in the apple grotto dungeon.” Said Theanore as she bowed. The old Ogre bowed back.

“I thank you, Theanore. I am Norgog the Ogre. I have come here ahead of the first shipment of food. Likewise, I take it you have prepared the silk?” Asked Norgog. He was the chief of the Ogre tribe of the Eagle’s cliff, and so the negotiations Theanore had done were with him.

“Sure did. One hundred bundles for ten tons of food. Just like I promised.” Said Theanore. She whistled, and worker ants began to carry the silk towards the teleporter. Two were carrying each bundle.

“Good, good. But my tribe doesn’t like the deal we made. They say that twenty bundles and one enchanted item, no matter how many enchantments it has or how high it is on the scale, is too little for the next trade.” Said Norgog.

Darion stepped forward and showed the Ogre the being’s own signature on their trade agreement.

“You agreed, Norgog. We can’t be held responsible if your tribesmen think the deal is bad.”

“Dari, please. We can negotiate.” Said Theanore. “Tell me, chief Norgog, what do your people need more? Silk or enchantments?”

“Enchantments, nymph. There is a Giant tribe that asks them as tribute. We trade with goblins for them, but what their shamans could enchant is so weak, we have to trade for a thousand of them. All pieces are overpriced. But with, let us say, ten enchanted items of yours per trade, we can cover the tribute for this month without a problem.” Said Norgog.

Theanore shared a look with Darion, and he pulled her to the side.

“No.” Said the gremlin sternly. “As your chief overseer of the builder ants, I advise you to not listen to his sob story. They want to make the most profit off you. They will probably resell the items to the Giants.”

“We need the food, Dari.” Said Theanore. She bit her bottom lip and collected her thoughts. “Maybe if we had fields, we wouldn’t have had to make unfair deals, but people already have them planted. We can speak with them about rent or hiring them during the autumn. We can’t wait that long, though.”

“There are other tunnels leading towards No Man’s Land.” Said Darion. “Tunnels that could see us with better deals and more favorable trading partners. Even if these Ogres have plenty of food, they will prioritize their tribe over us. Soon, they will expect deliveries for nothing.”

“I don’t believe that, Dari.” Said Theanore. She took a look at Norgog, and the old Ogre smiled kindly at her. “And, besides, grandpa Thinker won’t let it come to that. Norgog will keep his word. And he will provide the items to be enchanted too. That way, the only thing Mari and I will give will be the mana. Does that sound better to you?”

“Much better. Ten items and ten bundles of silk. And no more negotiating.” Said Darion and that was the end of that. They went back to Norgog and Theanore looked him straight in the eyes.

“Chief Norgog, my manager and I talked and we decided to grand your request for ten items per ten tons of food.” Said Theanore. Norgog smiled and extended his hand. Theanore shook it, but did not let go.

“But the silk bundles will be cut down to ten, and you will provide the items to be enchanted. There will be no more negotiations.” Finished Theanore, and then she let go of the Ogre’s hand.

Norgog exhaled and then touched his left tusk.

“Well, if there won’t be any more negotiations, then I don’t have anything to add. I agree, Theanore the nymph. You strike a hard bargain, but a fair one. I will now go back home and tell my tribesmen to send the food over. Your ants seem to have finished with the silk.” Said Norgog. Then he stepped back and into the teleport and vanished.

A green leg stepped out of the teleport moments later, and an Ogre woman exited the teleport with a crate full of food.

“Where do I take this?” She asked Darion. Darion pointed to the side of the teleport where they had made a raised platform. The silk had been on it just moments ago. Theanore wondered if the Ogres were happy with their trade now.

More and more Ogres exited the teleport carrying food. The builder ants would then take the crates and carry them to an empty warehouse that was built to house the new and exotic food.

But none of the Ogres left after they have made their delivery. Some were sitting in the grass near the teleport. Others were near the platform. Third were staring at the entrance of the grotto, still sealed away.

“Dari, why aren’t they leaving?” Asked Theanore. Suddenly, she was worried that the Ogres might take over her grotto. She had no way of stopping them. Just one of them looked to be five times her size.

“Ogres, those of you who had done their deliveries may go home now.” Said Darion loudly. He, too, worried about the same thing. But unlike Theanore, he could fight. He was an elemental mage, and Ogres were weak to fire and magic in general.

“We want to give you lot our grocery lists.” Said the first Ogre who had brought the food. She stood up and gave a notebook to Theanore.

“I need all of these things. You pay and save the receipt, and I will pay you back. Finally, we can use the money we have for something.” Said the Ogre woman.

Theanore opened the heavy notebook and read.

Clothing iron.

Hair iron.

Four pans, stainless steel.

….

And it went on and on. Theanore had only one thing to say.

“You will pay 5% atop of the receipt for the service. No negotiations.”

And the Ogres began to protest loudly.