TitoVillar
patreon
TWL Chapter 323: The Elder’s Game
🕑 Added 2025-03-18 01:19:43 +0000 UTCThe Elder in Chief snorted and said sarcastically: "I have heard many rumors about you, Lannister. They say that you are a true knight. But I did not expect that you had also acquired the bad habits of the kings of the north... You beat around the bush too much."
Lann smiled calmly. "When a person occupies a certain position, they always have to adapt. I'm sure you could teach me a lot about that."
The Elder in Chief snorted without replying, but his eyes remained fixed on Lann's left hand, as if hoping to coax more blueprints out of him.
"Lannister, name your price. I'm sure you have more blueprints than these I have in my hand. What do you need to return them to Mahakam?"
Behind Lann, the men of Cintra frowned almost imperceptibly.
"I don't think that's the right way to put it, Elder in Chief. These blueprints are Cintra property. How can you say I have to return them to Mahakam?" Lann sighed with an air of mock resignation. "It pains me that you see it that way… And we're not interested in gold. What we need is help."
Lann looked directly at the Elder. "We need raw iron, tin, copper, and antimony, plus pre-forged alloy steel plates. We also require a large amount of weaponry and armor. I know that Mahakam is not completely isolated and that it periodically trades with humans. Therefore, I am certain that they must have equipment here suitable for human build."
The Elder in Chief stared at him before blowing on his beard. "All those things you ask for are war materials. Supplying them in times of war is tantamount to taking sides. And we dwarves do not get involved in human conflicts. Mahakam is an absolutely neutral nation."
He paused, then smiled sarcastically. "I heard Cintra only has one city left standing, and that you're now allied with those green-skinned lunatics. Is that true?"
"It is. Now the dryads and we walk together. We protect each other. And not just them; various non-human races live side by side on Cintra."
The Elder narrowed his eyes. "Ah, so there's something else you're thinking about, Lannister! It's not just ore and armor, is it?"
Lann lowered his head with a slight smile before raising it again. "You don't miss a thing, Elder in Chief."
If Mahakam had been a completely closed nation, as Brokilon Forest had been in the past, Lann wouldn't have bothered coming. The alliance with the dryads had happened almost by accident and wasn't something easy to replicate, nor did he wish to try it with the dwarves.
However, in the timeline Lann knew, the dwarves would end up sending volunteers when Nilfgaard razed the North.
Of course, the Elder in Chief's current thinking wasn't the same as his future one. Therefore, Lann had to build him a mental bridge.
"I also want the support of a Mahakam heavy infantry battalion to resist the Nilfgaard invasion in the North."
The Elder in Chief laughed so loudly that he slammed his fist on the table, causing the blueprints to scatter like leaves in the wind.
"Resist the invasion in the North?! Better say it clearly: you want us to save Cintra. Lannister, do you take us for mercenaries?!"
He leaned forward and looked at him mockingly. "Lannister, don't think that just because you've brought a few ancient blueprints that you can ask us for anything! To Mahakam, these designs are little more than collector's items. Our modern technology is superior in every way. You humans are the only ones obsessed with relics of the past."
Lann sighed inwardly. As expected, even dwarves had to play their part in the tug-of-war of politics.
"No, Elder in Chief. It's to resist the Nilfgaard invasion in the North."
"This process will benefit Cintra, yes, but in the same way it will also benefit Mahakam, Elder in Chief."
Lann placed both hands on the table and leaned forward slightly. He was tall, especially by dwarven standards.
The Elder in Chief, without hesitation, leaped directly onto the table.
"Mahakam is the only nation established by a non-human race, Elder in Chief," Lann said in a measured tone. "And the reason it's been able to exist for so long is because the four great kingdoms of the North surround it from the east, south, west, and north."
"Thanks to your unique geography, you've never had to worry about a single kingdom conquering you. Instead, you've taken advantage of your position, selling weapons to different kingdoms, using these mountains as a refuge, and, who knows, maybe even doing much more."
"But what if a single, unified government emerges in the North? And not just any government, but one with an army powerful enough to overcome Mahakam's natural advantage, plus a full force of sorcerers. How do you plan to counter that?"
The Elder in Chief remained standing on the table.
"I'm about to laugh, Lannister. They call you the Lion of Cintra, a legend in the ballads, and yet you speak of Nilfgaard with such admiration? Do you think Emhyr can unite the North?"
Lann shook his head. "In strategy, underestimating the enemy is a fatal mistake. But in tactics, you can never overestimate them enough. I've fought against Nilfgaard on the battlefield; I know how they operate."
"I'm sure you, Elder in Chief, don't miss any important news from outside. After all, you've been the guardian of the dwarven legacy for almost two centuries. So, you've no doubt already seen the inevitable: if things continue this way, a full-scale Nilfgaardian invasion of the North is only a matter of time."
The Elder in Chief smiled, without rebuttal. "If Foltest heard you say that, the North would fall apart before Nilfgaard even had to lift a finger."
Lann ignored the provocation and brought the conversation back to the point: "I understand that King Foltest considered attacking Mahakam at the time but was dissuaded by King Demavend. On the one hand, because he didn't have enough troops. On the other, because the other three kingdoms were lying in wait, waiting to take advantage of his weakness."
"But if Nilfgaard manages to unify the North… even if it only controls the half that borders Mahakam… what do you think will happen next?"
"Nilfgaard is an empire that thrives on war. Do you really think they'll ignore the riches Mahakam has accumulated over centuries? Do you think they'll leave the North's largest arms supplier alone?"
"Lower Soden has already fallen. If Cintra and Upper Soden also fall, Nilfgaard will have a clear path to take Mahakam…"
"I don't know if you've heard of their slavery system?"
The Elder in Chief remained silent.
Lann also stopped talking.
He stared into the dwarf's aging eyes and suddenly felt something was wrong.
The Elder in Chief was silent, yes, but his expression was unusually serene. He showed no surprise, as if he had already anticipated everything Lann was saying. Nor was there any rejection, like someone hearing an absurd idea.
It was calm.
Absolute tranquility.
Lann realized at that moment that the elder had already thought about all this long before. He just saw further ahead, with more elements to weigh his decisions against.
"Your tongue is swifter than a spring, and your words are mightier than a bellows. Lannister, you are nothing like Calanthe."
The Elder in Chief shook his head and continued, "But you're mistaken, Lannister. We dwarves haven't survived this long just because of the Mahakam mountain passes."
Lann adopted a posture of attentive listening.
"We dwarves are an ancient race. Long before those pointy-eared fellows arrived on this continent in their white barges, we already lived in these lands. And the Conjunction of the Spheres, which brought you humans to this world, occurred more than two thousand years after the arrival of the elves."
"Many of the ancient races disappeared, but we, the dwarves, along with the gnomes, have remained in Mahakam to this day."
"I don't know what happened thousands of years ago, but I do know how we've survived over the past few centuries."
"While the pointy-eared fellows fought against you humans for hundreds of years, the Elder in Chief back then made a decision: to abandon all lands outside of Mahakam, build high walls, and close the mountain roads."
"And now tell me, are there many elven cities left? Is there any elven kingdom left worthy of the name?"
"When the elves, in their last act of desperation, after failing to expel you from the continent, sent an emissary to Mahakam. He begged us as ancient races to unite against the humans. But we sent him away and closed the gates of Mount Carbon for a hundred years."
"When we reopened the gates of Mount Carbon, the elves were already defeated. Their kingdoms were in ruins, and their soldiers lay dead on battlefields from the Dragon Mountains to Angren. Had we intervened, the dwarves would have ended up like them."
The Elder in Chief sighed sadly. A certain guilt toward the elves was reflected in his eyes, but there was not a hint of regret in his voice.
"And now, history repeats itself. Only it's no longer a war between humans and elves, but between southerners and northerners. If we use the situation as an analogy, we could also consider them two distinct races."
The Elder in Chief fixed his gaze on Lann. "Tell me, Lannister, what makes this invasion of Nilfgaard more brutal than the race wars of the past? Why should we dwarves get involved?"
The Elder in Chief had mentioned the war between elves and humans. Lann couldn't refute him, because he hadn't experienced it himself.
But he still had one last card. "But the dwarves of today aren't the same as they once were, are they?" Lann said calmly. "In the past, dwarves weren't as integrated into human society as they are now. They didn't have something they have today…" He paused briefly before concluding, "Dwarf bankers."
As soon as he spoke those words, the Elder in Chief's gaze became as sharp as a blade.
