The creation of the interplanar gate had created quite an uproar among all the kingdoms of Remnant. While Vale's ruling council had been easy enough to convince of the Nirnian Empire's peaceful intentions due to Ozpin's reassurances, it was not quite so for the other kingdoms. Vacuo, Mistral and Atlas all eyed the gate with great caution and a healthy dose of fear. After informing Ozpin that she was returning at the start of next term to continue teaching, the man appeared to be pleased; though he was noticeably less so when she informed him that until the planet was unified, the Mages' Guild could not establish a presence on Remnant, and thus she could not accept any additional students beyond those that she already had.
Not that she was inclined to anyway, given how the other kingdoms in the world treated her.
Initially, they requested that she explain her intentions of opening such a portal to a completely different plane of existence. But with the arrival of her personal dreadnought, a three-mile long battleship with a ventral magickal cannon running its entire length and bristling with an arsenal of hundreds of smaller guns and missile pods, the other kingdoms were now demanding that she explain her actions. Atlas, in particular, had been extremely vocal about the presence of her military forces (a single ship plus its crew) above Vale. Granted, it was a very large ship, dwarfing the whole of Beacon Academy; but the Atlesian general on the other side of the scroll call seemed to have neglected to consider a couple of things.
One was that the ship was currently moored to the gate itself, guarding the portal from any curious aircraft that ventured too close; she never had any intention of invading.
The second was that Valean airspace was most certainly not under the jurisdiction of Atlas.
"For the last time, Mr. Ironwood, I will reiterate myself," Valeria said calmly, though the way her fingers were white-knuckled around a goblet of water spoke otherwise about her true emotions, "The Nirnian Empire sees no reason to attack any nation on this planet. Your fears of an invasion of Atlas by my own forces are wholly unfounded,"
"That makes no sense at all! A large vessel such as that can only be for-"
"Farewell, Mr. Ironwood. Have a nice day,"
She terminated the scroll call a bit too forcefully, cracking the surface of the scroll a little. "J'Bari?" she called out.
The Khajiit in question poked her head out of the walk-in wardrobe that was part of Beacon Academy's teacher suites. "This one lives to serve, Your Majesty,"
"You may have the rest of the day off. After all, I am certain that you wish to see your friends one more time before they leave for their holidays," she said, "I shall finish tidying my personal effects on my own,"
"You are too kind, Your Majesty," the younger Khajiit purred, bowing deeply.
"Think nothing of it. Though, I will ask you to relay a message to Team RWBY,"
"This one complies. What message must this one repeat?"
"That I have made up my mind. Their advancements in the magickal arts have earned my respect. If they so desire, I will permit them to visit the Arcane University for all of their two weeks, as guests of mine. They shall be treated as royal guests for the duration of their stay, and will be afforded all the comforts that such honours entail,"
"Khajiit shall do so. Though if this one may be so bold, Your Majesty, this is one must admit that she finds it rather unusual that Your Majesty finds such great interest in them,"
"As true as that statement might be, I would suggest that you purge those thoughts from your mind. My concerns are none of yours,"
"This one is deeply sorry if this one has caused any offence,"
Valeria shook her head. "There is nothing to apologise about. But if you wish to see your friends before they depart, I would suggest that you go to their room soon. I do, however, have another request. Please inform Miss Schnee that I would like her to introduce myself to her father. After all, this substance called Dust may well have many uses for our alchemists and engineers back on Nirn, and I require a steady supply of it. Now go, and return to me once you have a reply from Miss Schnee,"
Within an hour, Valeria had her belongings packed neatly into the same metal crates that they had brought with them on the initial expedition into Remnant. Now, walking back towards the waiting Nirnian corvettes on the ritual site, she looked back at Beacon Academy. Despite the fact that she had only taught there for a very brief period of time, she felt a profound sense of...loss. Just thinking that she would be back in the labyrinthine machinery of government in just a few hours filled her with a little bit more regret that she could not spend more time on Remnant.
"Milady. The Elder Council is awaiting your return," a messenger said to her, stepping out of the nearest corvette and kneeling. Valeria motioned for her atronachs to move her belongings onto the small vessel, which the lumbering ice creatures did without a single word.
"Tell the Elder Council that they may wait for a little longer. They are, I assume, doing well enough without myself to lead them so far," she replied disinterestedly.
"They state that it is urgent, milady," the messenger added. He dared look up slightly, only to flinch and bow his head deeply when his eyes met her blazing orange ones.
"If it is so urgent, then they can speak to me directly from a scrying orb. Unless you would also inform me that not a single one of them has remembered how to use one? You may return to them and inform them that I have said so,"
"Yes, milady. I am sorry to have offended you, milady,"
"Just...go," growled Valeria, thoroughly revolted by the messenger's incessant grovelling. It was times like these that she wished that messengers weren't so low-ranked in the Legion. At least the higher ranked officers could treat themselves with a little more self-respect.
"J'Bari is here, Your Majesty," she heard a familiar voice purr. Looking over her shoulder, she nearly jumped when she noticed that Team RWBY was following behind her loyal apprentice.
With her elite inquisitors' swords at their throats as their invisibility spells winked out of existence.
"Lower your weapons! I have invited them, and they mean no harm," Valeria said, and the inquisitors immediately lowered their weapons without another word, "I apologise if my inquisitors have been a little...overprotective,"
"A little bit? These goons didn't even say a thing before they put their swords up!" Yang replied indignantly, irritating a few of the closest inquisitors who put their hands back on their swords' grips.
"J'Bari is sorry. This one should have mentioned that Yang, Ruby, Weiss and Blake were all friends of J'Bari, and were personally invited by Her Majesty,"
"Indeed, my apprentice. You should have done so prior to taking your friends along with you. But I certainly do hope that you do not take offence-"
A blur of red and a flurry of rose petals later, and she found herself gripped about the waist by a hyperactive redhead in a tight hug. "OhmygoodnessIhopethatdoesn'thappenagain-"
"A little less haste has never hurt anyone, Miss Rose. Inquisitors, return to the transport. I wish to speak with these people in private," she spoke, running a furred hand through Ruby's hair. Noticing that J'Bari still hadn't moved, "Yes, that means you as well, J'Bari,"
"Wait, I thought she was your apprentice? And isn't she part of this Imperial Legion or something?" Weiss murmured, raising an eyebrow.
"An astute observation, Miss Schnee. Yes, she is my apprentice. Yes, she was part of the Imperial Legion; a fully trained battlemage. She is, however, part of the Inquisitorial Order. One of my personal retinue of elite bodyguards,"
Weiss stared at J'Bari's retreating back. She had suspicions about the Khajiit's story. It didn't make much sense that someone so well versed in Destruction magic – and magic in general – could be completely incompetent with Conjuration. Nor did it make much sense about why an apprentice would have such substantial knowledge about all the schools of magic; literally any question that any of Team RWBY asked, she could answer without a problem.
"Why? Why hide her identity?"
"Because it would be easier for her to obtain a honest assessment of the people of the academy, both staff and student alike, if she were to pose as a student. Emphasising her identity as an apprentice of mine was the most expedient way to do so; and fortunately, it was one that she could easily embrace without forgetting. She is a very excitable soul, after all; a trait that she seems to share with you all,"
"I'll say," Yang grinned, remembering the times when they had fun teasing both Blake and J'Bari with laser pointers and balls of catnip-infused yarn attached to a fishing line on Crescent Rose's barrel. She had to stock up on more catnip yarn sometime. Maybe Auntie Sheogorath could help her get some.
"Now, as pleasant as this is, I will have to ask you to remove your hands from around my waist, young Miss Rose, before my inquisitors have an aneurysm from your...excessive closeness," Valeria chuckled, slowly prising away Ruby's arm away from her. "Thank you. I hope that J'Bari has informed you of the exact reason why I have requested your presence here?"
"Uh...is this about the invitation for more study at...the Arcane University? Well, I mean, if Rubes is okay with it, then I'm going too, I guess?"
Weiss smiled widely and nodded, the scheming gears in her head turning. This offer was better than anything that she had ever expected in her wildest dreams. An entire university dedicated to the research and teaching of magickal arts! Who knew just how much power she could gain in there? She would be the most unstoppable huntress ever! Especially with a brute that she could improve with potions, a long-range sniper that has an enchanted rifle, and a sneaky assassin that was loyal only to herself. Not to mention the army of conjured creatures that she could bring forth!
"Did anyone else see storm clouds behind Weiss?" Ruby asked, perplexed; the question snapped Weiss out of her thoughts, causing her to blush when she noticed the odd looks that everyone was giving her.
"I will assume that is a...very positive approval from Miss Schnee. Miss Belladonna, what say you? Will you join the rest of your team for two weeks in my realm?"
The cat faunus nodded. It was one thing seeing faunus being mistreated in Remnant, but to have a cat- no, a Khajiit – as the supreme leader of an empire capable of building such enormous vessels as the one casting a shadow over Beacon Academy? It was intriguing for her. Especially since her other bodyguards were humans. She had to see whether this tolerance was only on the surface, or if it truly penetrated down into the rest of its society.
"Very well. Then I shall make the arrangements tonight to have some quarters prepared in the White-Gold Tower for your use. Stendarr's Mercy will arrive tomorrow to relieve my personal dreadnought in its watch over the transplanar gate, and that is when we shall leave for Nirn. For now, however; Miss Schnee, have you informed your father that I seek a source of Dust?"
"Well, I – of course I have. The Schnee Dust Company would be honoured to negotiate with a potential new business partner," Weiss replied, snapping into her Schnee Dust Company Heiress mode.
Valeria smirked in amusement. "I have dealt with enough merchants in my lifetime to know when I am being flattered for a better bargaining position, Miss Schnee. You would have to do far better to acquire significant concessions from myself,"
"Drat. Well, it was worth a try," she muttered quietly under her breath, earning a short laugh from Valeria.
"Indeed. Now, let us board our transport so we can begin our journey towards Atlas. I do have more than one person to meet there, after all. As for your belongings, we will stop at Beacon again before leaving for Nirn, so you may retrieve your belongings then,"
"This is unheard of. A ship that large would require an incredible amount of energy just to stay in the air!" exclaimed Dr. Oobleck, zooming from window to window in Ozpin's office as he watched Valeria's personal dreadnought bob up and down gently in the air, tethered to the interplanar gate by ethereal chains.
Ozpin took a sip from his coffee. "That it is. But I'm more worried about what James might do if Valeria doesn't answer his scroll calls in a way that he finds agreeable. After all, you know just how many times he's called me ever since that gate was created,"
"Yes, yes. An unfortunate side-effect of his personality. Wish he could see it for what it is; a marvel of engineering, and not just an oversized weapon! I would truly love to learn how that ship functions,"
"Hm. Perhaps. Are you aware that Team RWBY has been invited to visit the Arcane University on Nirn? Perhaps they could obtain more information about how it works,"
The green-haired doctor's eyes nearly bugged out. "Truly? These young huntresses-in-training had been invited, and we haven't? As her colleagues?"
"It appears so," Ozpin mumbled, taking another sip of his coffee. His eyes followed the progress of a pair of shuttles ascending into one of the gigantic ship's hangars; as soon as they were inside, the ethereal moorings of the dreadnought vanished, and its engines began to spin up, emitting a bluish-white jet of superheated matter. Slowly, the vessel turned around, and eventually shot off into the distance, faster than any of them ever anticipated for something so large.
In the direction of Atlas.
"Hm. It appears that James would have to curb his temper if he wishes to avoid a diplomatic incident,"
But it seemed that it was not only Ironwood that needed to rein in his temper that day. At Atlas' airbase, an irate Jacques stood tapping one foot while repeatedly checking the time on his scroll.
An unexpected message from Weiss on his scroll said that there was a prospective client for truly monumental amounts of Dust, and that he needed to be present for the deal. A prospective client that was purportedly the empress of some empire that he had never heard of. The first message from his daughter arrived just over an hour ago, and yet her next message said that she would be at Atlas within an hour. An hour, which was at least seven hours faster than even the fastest SDC Bullheads could travel.
A part of him wondered if this was simply an elaborate prank that his daughter had crafted. But he had raised his daughter to be more reverent than those plebeians beneath his family's notice, and he remembered how difficult it was for him to even extract a single word from his daughter without threatening to cut off her weekly allowances. If she had sent a message of her own volition, it would most definitely not be a casual trick. And then, there was the possibility of the White Fang having somehow captured her in Vale, and forcing her to send the message to gain his attention.
Whatever the case, he had notified his friend in the Atlesian Military about the message. James Ironwood, as punctual as ever, immediately notified him that he should come to the Atlesian Military Airbase as soon as he could.
And the reason for that immediately became apparent as a massive ship – dwarfing the Atlesian Cruisers, which looked like mere toys compared to it – sped towards Atlas from the direction of Vale at incredible speeds. Early warning alarms wailed, and dozens of Atlesian servicemen and women rushed out to man the defenses on the airbase walls.
The ship slowed down, however, and maintained a position above the airbase, giving them a good look at it. The ship was almost draconic in shape, having a pair of enormous wings studded with various guns and what looked like missile pods; its body was sleek, though no less well armed than its wings, and a quadruplet of large engines on its rear, each the size of an Atlesian cruiser, answered his questions about exactly how that ship moved so quickly. The entirety of the exterior was plated in gleaming black metal, though there was an unfamiliar emblem emblazoned on the underside of each wing.
A silver dragon, contained inside a silver diamond.
"What do you mean, my daughter is on that ship?" an irate Jacques Schnee growled under his breath to James Ironwood, who motioned for him to calm down, "I had heard foolish reports of some kind of airborne gate opening up above Beacon Academy, and that a large ship has popped out of it, belonging to no kingdom of importance. Are you telling me that whoever is on that ship has taken my daughter hostage?"
"We don't know that, Jacques. What we do know is that your youngest daughter is on that ship, if what Ozpin said is true,"
"It is true, father," Winter added, "I have run the transmission through several algorithms designed to detect irregularities in the transmission, and they have all returned negative results. Professor Ozpin's transmission was genuine,"
"Fine. If that transmission was genuine, then what is that ship doing here?"
At that moment, every loudspeaker in the base began to emit static. Even scrolls were apparently not immune; all three of their scrolls began to emit a high-pitched shrieking noise, which momentarily subsided.
"Sir. I do believe that...whoever is on the ship is hailing us. On all frequencies, and even on personal communications systems," Winter murmured, taking out her scroll and looking at the message from an unidentified sender.
"I—that's impossible! The Atlesian Military screens these communications devices for any and all security flaws," stuttered Ironwood in disbelief, taking out his own scroll, "Including unauthorised messages from outside sources! But...it appears that you're right. I have a message here,"
"Well? What does it say?"
"It's asking for permission to send a shuttle down into the airbase," Ironwood replied, looking straight at Jacques, "Specifically, for you, and...myself. That Empress of theirs wishes to speak to us both,"
The colour drained from Jacques' already pale face. Speaking to both of them? The gears in his head began to turn. If Weiss' message was genuine, and this Empress of theirs was the customer that Weiss had been speaking of, then it made sense that he would be asked to meet her, as the prospective supplier of all that Dust that was asked for. But that did not explain why General Ironwood was being asked to come along as well.
But if the message from his daughter was forced? Perhaps they were only trying to get leverage on the Atlesian government. He was the head of the largest, most profitable company in all of Atlas, and General Ironwood was the head of the Atlesian armed forces. With a ship that large, however, it made little sense to even attempt to acquire leverage when they could simply level the city and take everything that they wished to take. What could they possibly gain out of that?
"James. Do we have any way of replying to them?" Jacques whispered, "I will agree to board their vessel, on the terms that we are permitted to bring a contingent of our own personal security forces,"
All three of their scrolls pinged again. A single message was written there: 'Granted. One bodyguard'.
"What the hell? Are they listening in on us?" James shouted in disbelief, checking over his shoulder for any spies. His scroll's firewalls had reported no intrusions or other security breaches, and that was the only other way that they could have heard what was said.
Ping. 'We are watching. We are listening. We are waiting'.
"Specialist Schnee, do you think this is a trap?" Ironwood asked his aide, who shook her head.
"No, I don't think so," Winter replied with certainty, flicking her fingers over her own scroll.
"What makes you believe that, Specialist Schnee?"
"Because my sister – or rather, one of her...teammates...has just sent me a picture from onboard that ship, using my sister's scroll. She is...doing well. Very well, considering the circumstances,"
"Another drink of tea, Miss Schnee?"
"That would be most gracious of you, Your Majesty," she replied stiffly, attempting to maintain a facade of pure, unadulterated refinement while Valeria refilled her silver goblet. Ruby, Yang and Blake, on the other hand, were sorely resisting the temptation to laugh out loud at the heiress' almost constipated expression.
"I would say that you are forcing your image of refinement a little too much, Miss Schnee," Valeria commented airily, causing Weiss' shoulders to stiffen even more. "Though I must admit, many young women born into aristocratic circles do find difficulty in behaving...ah, 'prim and proper' in the presence of their superiors, while in the company of their laughing peers. And wearing a most...interesting choice of headwear, no less,"
A fresh round of guffaws came from the three other girls, while Weiss shot them a dirty look. Ra'shamarra, who had created a portal into the Empress' private suite during the flight, flashed her a toothy grin and a double thumbs-up from beside Ruby. It was her idea to play a round of liar's dice, with the winner deciding a (non-harmful) punishment for the loser. Which, in Weiss' case, was all but guaranteed for her, as she was decidedly incapable of maintaining a straight face while telling a lie.
Her punishment was to wear a formal dress, as she had worn before in New Sheoth. But as that was too easy, her punishment was to wear a headdress consisting of a stack of cookies and four glasses of milk, balanced precariously on top of her head, while being treated to a proper tea party by Valeria. Fortunately for her, it seemed that the Daedric Princess had some measure of mercy, as the headdress had some kind of shielding ward to prevent any crumbs from falling into her hair.
"Alas, while this is definitely entertaining for the rest of us, I believe that we should have arrived in Atlas by now. Which means, mother, that you need to return to your realm,"
"Bah, spoilsport! I was just starting to have fun! Now where am I going to have fun," whined Ra'shamarra, her ears drooping exaggeratedly. "Perhaps I need to give you a cabbage. So you can kick it around. Wait, why would anyone kick cabbages around? They're to be led around! On a leash made of yarn, of course. Why, perhaps I should show you all later-"
"Mother," warned Valeria.
"Fine, fine. I shall see you all later, then. But I am seeing you now, which therefore makes no sense. But later anyway!"
Ra'shamarra turned on the spot and vanished; the cookie-and-milk headdress vanished from Weiss' head, and the heiress sighed in relief.
"Now then, as this is a formal meeting between the Kingdom of Atlas and the Nirnian Empire, I do expect that you will be dressed appropriately. While your combat equipment is undoubtedly effective on the field, you will require something more...modest. J'Bari?"
"Yes, milady?" the younger Khajiit purred, dispelling her invisibility field and stepping out of the shadows, causing Team RWBY to jump in surprise.
"Fetch some fine dresses for these young ladies, if you would please. And inform a handmaiden or two that I require help to put on my own,"
When the shuttle that Jacques, Ironwood and Winter were on touched down inside the giant ship's hangar, none of them knew what to expect. The pilot of the transport – a reptilian faunus-like creature – spoke not a single word, even when asked.
Eventually, the ramp on the back of the transport began to lower, revealing a large hangar bay perhaps a hundred metres long and twice as wide. Rows and rows of soldiers were assembled in black-and-silver armour on either side of a central aisle with a red carpet running down the middle of it. The frontmost soldiers held on to a large tower shield almost as large as they were tall, with longswords strapped to their thighs; the ones behind them had long rifles and what looked crossbows with magazines on their undersides.
"NINTH LEGION! ATTENTION!" barked out an officer at the end of the red carpet. All the soldiers present immediately fell into line with a single synchronised stamp of their feet. "PRESENT ARMS!"
Ironwood and Winter could recognise a very well drilled army when they saw one. And this was likely on par with the Atlesian military, if not better. Every soldier of the Ninth Legion saluted as one, looking directly in front of them without the least bit of hesitation.
"ORDER ARMS! AT EASE!"
The soldiers lowered their weapons and clasped them behind their backs. Those with a shield placed them to their left before doing so. Mustering as much dignity as they could, the three representatives of Atlas walked down the aisle, at the end of which sat a woman on a red-and-gold throne, holding a golden staff in one hand, and flanked by several others. One of whom was immediately visible to both Jacques and Winter, who immediately recognised the long, flowing white hair that was characteristic of the Schnee family line.
When Jacques approached the throne, however, bile began to build up in his throat. The woman on the throne was a damned cat. A faunus whore! On a throne! And to think that his daughter seemed completely at ease at her side! But years of business dealings had drilled complete neutrality into his expression, despite whatever he might have thought otherwise. Surely, however, a faunus could never be the leader of an empire. Perhaps this was only a proxy, or a mere representative of the empire. Even if the purple-and-gold fur-trimmed robes did look rather costly and of fine make, the cat was likely just a puppet of a very rich, very influential nobleman or somebody similar.
"I was under the impression that I was supposed to be meeting with the empress of an empire, and not a...faunus," Jacques murmured. If the cat on the throne had heard anything, she made no sign that she had at all, though he did see his youngest daughter's eye twitch a little. "I would ask that you bring me to her for business proceedings. My time, after all, is precious, and I have already cancelled several meetings to make time for this,"
"Father," Winter whispered under her breath, noticing how several of the soldiers flanking the enthroned cat faunus had slowly moved their hands closer to their weapons – and that her sister was frantically shaking her head and holding up her hands, "I...believe that we should perhaps hear what they have to say first,"
"Indeed, you should," the enthroned cat spoke coldly. Winter looked at her in confusion. She had barely moved her lips to speak, and yet she heard? Faunus hearing was incredible. "Inquisitor J'Bari, if you please,"
"This one complies gladly, Your Majesty," growled the grey tabby on the cat's right side. Turning to face the three from Atlas, she cleared her throat and spoke in a loud, clear voice, "You are in the presence of Valeria Septim, the first of her name; High Queen of Skyrim, Empress and sovereign of the Nirnian Empire; Archmage of the Arcane University of Tamriel,"
"You mean to tell me that a faunus, a mere faunus, is this empress that my daughter wrote to me about?" Jacques exclaimed in disbelief. "A filthy faunus isn't even capable of something so simple as digging out Dust from my mines without requiring expensive purification equipment! They are uncultured, unintelligent brutes only fit for the simplest of tasks! This is outrageous! I demand that you bring me the true empress!"
Winter was desperately trying to catch her father's attention now to prevent her father from saying anything more. "Father-"
But Valeria was quicker than either of them. Slowly, she rose to her feet. "Ninth Legion. You are dismissed for now; return to your duties," she boomed out over Jacques Schnee's ranting, her voice thundering through the hall and shaking the entire hangar. The soldiers all saluted and departed from the nearest exits; both Ironwood and Winter did not miss the dirty looks that many of them threw their way. "Now, I believe that a civil discussion cannot happen when one side is incapable of rational thought-"
She waved her hand, and to Winter's relief – and Weiss' amusement - her father's ranting was immediately silenced after a green flash of light washed over him. No matter how much he moved his lips, not a single sound came. "-And so it is better to remove that which does not contribute to a discussion. There. That is much better, is it not?"
"What did you do to him?" Ironwood said incredulously, watching Jacques try his hardest to speak, to no avail.
"A simple silencing spell. It will wear off momentarily," Valeria said airily. Then, without warning, she rounded on Ironwood. Every step that she took left a large slick of frost and sharp icy daggers on the carpet. "And you must be General James Ironwood. Professor Ozpin spoke highly of you, though I must admit that my initial impressions of you have not been pleasant at all. Since you are disinclined to believe my written statements that my Empire has no interest in conquering, razing, or otherwise engaging in hostile actions against Atlas or any other kingdom in Remnant, I believe that a face-to-face meeting would be far more effective at getting my point across,"
"And what point is that?"
"That your backwater city-state of a nation has little strategic or economic value to the Empire, and that hostilities would not result in a gain for either of our nations. That, and it is always good to remind others of the first basic law of successful diplomatic negotiations,"
Valeria leaned forward, allowing her overly-large canines to protrude from her widely-grinning mouth. "Always begin your negotiations from a position of strength, James Ironwood. And never make demands until you have ascertained the true disposition and strength of your target. I will say this once, and it will be the last time I will say it. The Empire has no intentions at this point in time to engage in anything more than simply guarding the airspace around the Interplanar Portal over Vale; which, might I remind you, is not under Atlesian jurisdiction,"
"As for you, Jacques Schnee; if my request for a reliable Dust supplier is too onerous for one such as you to fulfil, then I would assume that many of the lesser Dust suppliers in Remnant would be far happier to accept my offer. After all, if my request for a fifty thousand tonnes of refined Dust a year is too onerous for your company to handle, then perhaps it would be best if I were to approach others who are more...inclined to assist,"
All colour drained from Jacques Schnee's face. If his competitors acquired a contract of that magnitude, the Schnee Dust Company would be driven into the ground in just a few years. That amount of Dust was more than two thirds of the SDC's annual production!
Grinning like a cat that had caught a particularly plump fish, Valeria rubbed her hands and then said, "It appears that I have finally obtained your attention. Excellent. Now, then, let us begin negotiations..."
And so began the most painful business discussions that Jacques Schnee had ever undertaken in the many years of his business career...
A/N:
Khajiit is not a faunus! Khajiit is innocent of this crime!
...And Khajiit has coin, if human has wares.
ultima-owner: I have heard that Sheogorath is particularly fond of yarn, cabbages, and burning dogs.
Reaver17: Ruby's hair colour is...confusing. On promotional material (ads and such), it comes up as red with black undertones. On the anime, it comes up as black with red highlights. Ultimately, it's a pain in the ass to describe correctly either way, so I'm sticking to the one that best describes the colour given the colour palette of her character.
Akshka: Ironwood is being Ironwoody. 'Nuff said :P Diplomacy isn't his strong suit at all.
Mangahero18: Coming up soon.
playwars5: Horde of angry gnarls: Better than whips and carrots!
doughxDude87: Even if they did, I don't think Ruby could count to 3 without squeeing all over its design. 1...2...5!
