The Gamer Chapter 1043 – By the Lakes 4 – The Leadership (Patreon)

“…and that’s what happened with Abraham,” John finished retelling the whole Little Maryland debacle from his perspective.

“Oh… what… that was all very unfortunate.” Marcella nodded solemnly. She had asked John about this or that for the past thirty minutes. Sometimes it was just what baking advice he had, something Aclysia had answered in his stead, sometimes it was a retelling of events, and sometimes she probed him on this principle or another.

It was pretty obvious that Emrik was using his wife to draw information out of John he himself couldn’t. When the representative asked something, he lacked the neutral tone or conviction to present the inquiry in an honest way. If Marcella knew she was being used like that, she didn’t care whatsoever. Everything indicated, from her body language to the passive Observe updates, that she was just there for the honest conversation.

“We will have to wrap this up,” Emrik chimed in.

“Places to be?” his wife asked.

“The actual purpose of his visit,” the representative said and rose from his desk. His wife came over and gave him a quick kiss. The two exchanged some whispers which John graciously acted like he didn’t hear. Once she left through the door she had come in through, Emrik sat down on the edge of his table.

“You don’t seem to be in a hurry to leave,” the Gamer noted, turning the swivel chair towards the middle-aged man. The Mandala Sphere hovered through the room in search of anything unusual. He had already checked for explosives under the table. Rather than answer, Emrik pulled out a box of cigarettes. After looking at it for a couple of seconds, he put it back and instead produced some kind of gum from within his suit. “Against nicotine withdrawal?”

“Yes,” Emrik responded to that one. “My wife knows when I smoke. I shouldn’t do it anyway. I only started because of stress.” His jaw muscles clenched repeatedly and strongly, chewing the gum thoroughly. “Truthfully, I loathe that we’re going to join Fusion.”

‘Ah, he wants to get his last thoughts out before we are with his peers,’ John thought. “I get that,” he said, “but you must have run all of the scenarios. Unless a miracle occurs inside the Lake Alliance or Fusion gets massacred by a force that magically decides to spare you, there is no way you can keep up with our growth. Fusion will come to surround you on practically all sides. You’ll be landlocked and economically dependent. The only difference between you joining and you not joining will be you not having voting rights. Well, and you being outside the tariff-free zone.”

Emrik nodded and rubbed his forehead. “I would have gambled on those odds, had it not been for the Lorylim showing such a strong presence on the continent. We need the additional resources now.” He pulled out a second gum and added it to the first in his mouth. “The Death Zone report you gave before you came over only makes things more pressing.”

“To be honest, you would probably be one of the last positions to be attacked,” the Gamer said. “We can’t read much of Lorylim behaviour, but at least when it comes to large scale operations, they seem to advance along salt water. Tiamat has a connection to the ocean.”

Rave hummed, “Wonder why that is, anyway.”

“Widespread conception,” John presented his theory. “Tiamat is the goddess of chaos. Chaos is intrinsic to things we do not know or do not understand. Humans are evolved to deal with the land, ergo the ocean, and all of the strange things it washes ashore, would be perceived as chaotic by ancient Mesopotamians. Plus, you know, you can’t drink salt water so you’d probably link it up with the thing you don’t like if you wanted to have a myth that contains good lessons for your kids.”

“Ya should stop being a politician and start being a historical psycho-analyst.”

“I’m not even sure if I’m a politician in the first place.”

“What else would ya call yourself?”

“Our Master,” Aclysia declared.

“He doesn’t want to crown himself and ya think he’d take that job description?”

“I would call myself more of a revolutionary or conqueror, really,” John got his own answer in and then knocked on the wooden table. “Anyway, this is disconnected from the current ongoing. I guess there is an element of your peers pressuring you to approve of the Lake Alliance joining Fusion as well.”

Emrik calmly took the chunk of gum out of his mouth and tossed it into a nearby trash can. “Yes. My peers are not as calm about things. Without Lakamun, the Lake Alliance lacks the force of will to keep the cohesion.”

‘Which is exactly what could happen to Fusion if I ever vanished,’ John thought and got up. “Well, let’s see what we will agree on.”

Emrik nodded and pushed himself off the table. They headed towards the central hall with the upwards spiralling paths that John had first entered through. All four of them progressed upwards, to the very top of the tower segment of the building.

They emerged in a dome of magnificent beauty. A set of intensely complicated enchantments surrounded the central point of the rising ceiling, visible as runes of granite set into the semi-translucent cobalt. Water endlessly poured out of the highest point, fell about two metre downwards, before falling towards the ceiling and then flowing over the smooth surface, reversing what would be expected. The water flowed into trenches along the outer rim of the porous stone floor and then dropped further down through a small number of large holes.

“Gorgeous,” John couldn’t help but compliment, while walking towards a circular table that was, like most of the ceiling, one solid piece of semi-translucent cobalt blue rock. It was fused to the floor. Some of the chairs around it seemed a little out of place. Three of them, equally spaced out, were permanent fixtures made from black and blue stone. Another three were office chairs that had been brought there to accommodate John. Seeing plastic and cushions in this place meddled a bit with the aesthetic, but he ignored it for the sake of keeping things smooth.

The three permanent chairs were claimed. “Sit down,” Emrik said as he took the seat to John’s right. Aside from being chosen as the general representative, he was also the leader of the Lower Lake Guilds. Behind him stood a green-haired punk with brown eyes. He glared. The two of them disliking each other, from their two limited interactions, was well known. Regardless of what Emrik likely thought of it, the punk must have used his influence to attend the meeting.

Leslek was one of the Lake Alliance’s elites and had fought John during the Hudson Brawl.  At level 181 and with a set of abilities, Innate and learned, specialized in assassination, he was a true powerhouse. Even with the help of the other two survivors of the Lake Alliance’s battle elite, he wouldn’t have been able to attack John, let alone Rave, at the moment.

The other two were around the chair to John’s left. Sitting in the chair was Remia, a blonde elf with whom John had had relatively few interactions. During the Hudson Brawl, she had fought Rave, destroying the Silicate Island with her gem magic. Even as far as elves went, she was gorgeous. Her body type was also exactly to John’s taste, bottom heavy and athletic. She wore a complicated, multi-layered dress of varying green colours. Her level was 196.

Behind her stood Theron. Despite his level being the lowest of the three at 177, he was the most dangerous of them to John. His Innate Ability meddled with magical streams, manifesting in exceedingly unpleasant interference in the mental connection between John and his familiars. It had effectively shut them all down when they had fought during the Hudson Brawl. Admittedly, due to the power difference having grown considerably since then, the adverse effect would be less pronounced nowadays.

His power aside, Theron looked pretty unimpressive. He was below average in height, of moderate build, wore a suit that refused to fit properly on his slouchy stance, and had tired bags under his eyes. His hair was brown and short. Next to Remia, he looked even more common.

Opposite of John was the sole person in the room John did not know. Representing Niagara was a woman called Lia. She had blonde hair of a less universally golden variety than the elf, blue eyes and was moderately attractive. Even with the lowest level at the table, 41, she had relatively high Charisma and Intellect. After the hypnosis debacle with the previous, hastily elected, Heiko, they had likely elected someone who had more willpower.

“It’s an honour to be invited,” the Gamer told the gathering and immediately heard Leslek scoff. Everyone else, even Emrik, gave the punk a warning glance. Even if the middle-aged man wasn’t as eager to join Fusion as the other factions of the Lake Alliance may have been, he cared about keeping things proper. John sighed and decided to get that over with as soon as possible. “What do you want, Leslek?”

“This or that,” the punk flippantly avoided the question.

“Do you desire to lose your head?” Aclysia asked, causing John to turn his head for a change. After everything else that had happened, his maid’s anger had risen to dangerous levels. Eyes wide open, expression threatening and downright manic, she tilted her head quizzically. Salver was already in her hand, the knife glistening in the artificial light located in the water source above.

“Oh please, you worthless bitch, like…”

Everyone, save Aclysia and Rave, suddenly flinched when a near-physical manifestation of John’s wrath descended on the room. The Niagara’s representative shivered, Emrik gripped the edge of the table, while the three elites only exchanged worried glances. Due to their higher Stats, they were not as affected by the Perk that let John manifest his emotions outwards.

“Shut – up,” John demanded.

Rave, who had sat down in the right of the three provided chairs, leaned back and stared at Leslek. Her cat pupils were contracted into thin slits. All three of them were staring down the punk, who pulled at the collar of his casual shirt and backed down by lowering his head.

The aura ebbed away, as John took a couple of slow breaths to calm himself down. “I don’t react well to someone insulting my women. I’m sorry for the scene,” he said and turned back to the three representatives. “I don’t mean to intimidate you. Fusion gains nothing from terrorizing you and neither do I.”

“We’ll just act like this never happened,” Remia suggested casually and looked across the table for approval. After she got it from everyone, she continued, “Soooo… the Lake Alliance seeks to join Fusion. I think you heard our reasons for that from Emrik already?”

“Economy, opportunity, safety,” John summarized quickly. “Fusion will provide all three to the best of its ability. Of course, the question of how exactly the Lake Alliance joins Fusion is what we must discuss today. Let’s begin with the broad question: with what borders do you seek to join Fusion?”

If the Lake Alliance sought to join as a single state, then John had to pull every negotiating lever he had, including military threat, to prevent that. Outside of Fusion, the Lake Alliance would become dwarfed by the development of its larger neighbour. Inside of Fusion, a singular state that contained roughly a third of the landmass, a pre-existing infrastructure and a powerful elite had so much weight to throw around they could siphon the resources out of weaker neighbours. Beyond that, the share of seats they would have in parliament would make them the kingmakers of any law. The Lake Alliance could strengthen itself to the point the secession could be a very real threat at a point in the future.

“The Lake Alliance will join Fusion as its member guilds,” Emrik took charge for his side, as was expected. “Niagara, the Lower Lake Guilds and the Heart of the Lakes will retain their current borders. Further, the Lower Lake Guilds do not demand the return of the land seized during the peace deal.”

The Gamer nodded, quite pleased with that arrangement. The plot of land they talked about wasn’t significant in any fashion. However, giving it back would have made Fusion’s internal borders ugly. Purely for that reason, John was happy the topic was dropped.

“In order to honour our traditions, the Lake Alliance wishes to continue its existence as a devolved parliament that governs over the three guilds, from this building,” Emrik then continued.

‘Ah, so that’s the game here,’ John thought and tapped the table while he pondered that suggestion. ‘A devolved parliament wouldn’t be as bad as a super-state, but it would still keep them in a political union.’ “What exactly do you want the capabilities of this devolved parliament to be?” John asked.

“The ability to supersede federal laws affecting the Lake Alliance members, its own law-making body and the right to set its own taxes,” Emrik said.

John shook his head. “Unreasonable demands. That essentially makes you an independent state within Fusion’s economic zone. How about this: you get to raise your own taxes in addition to the federal and local ones, and the devolved parliament may make laws pertaining to the three Lake Alliance member guilds. However, those laws, in the hierarchy, will still be subordinate to the federal government.”

The representative of the three guilds crossed his arms. “The Lake Alliance is powerful. We’ll need more than that for the trouble we spare you.”

“Hmm…” John acted like he had to think, but really he looked around the table in an effort to gauge the mood of the other two participants. Remia seemed almost disengaged, while Lia was content listening. ‘I’m having my negotiation with Emrik, evidently,’ the Gamer thought and fixed his gaze back on the middle-aged man. “Alright, in addition to the taxes and the laws, the head of the Lake Alliance’s devolved parliament will have the ability to appoint a permanent seat in the House of Exceptionals. Is that enough?”

Emrik shook his head. “If we do not get local self-determinacy, I want the Lake Alliance to have a veto on federal matters.”

John inhaled sharply, almost overacting how much he hated the idea. Only almost. Vetoes were a wonderful tool – as long as only a few people had it. The ability to shut down any law suggested, be it only for a session or permanently, was an effective tool against blatant power grabs of a majority party. Problem with it was, in the wrong hands or, more commonly in history, in too many hands, it led to the complete freezing of the political process.

Letting a devolved parliament be created was already a dangerous precedent. Giving that devolved parliament veto powers meant that other blocks within Fusion would demand to get the same.

“Giving you that much would sow the seeds of Fusion’s internal destruction, I cannot budge on this point,” the Gamer therefore denied. “A devolved parliament is already a big ask. Giving your block four instead of three guaranteed seats in the House of Exceptionals is also above the average guild’s rights. I cannot give you additional political power.” Emrik crossed his arms in response to that. “How about a right to a tri-state militia? It would replace the draft and only be placed under Fusion command if agreed on,” John then suggested.

Wrinkling his forehead, Emrik asked, “You would give us the ability to maintain our own army?”

It was a valid question. The American Civil War had effectively started when the southern states started to organize their own independent armed forces. Giving a subsection of states, particularly one with a rebellious attitude, the right to maintain their own military was risky.

John was willing to take this gamble for two reasons. One, the right to a militia already existed and there was precedent for military exceptions or specializations within member guilds of Fusion, so this wouldn’t rustle too many feathers. Two, the rules of regular warfare did not quite apply to the Abyss. Even if the Lake Alliance managed to gather a truly magnificent force over the coming decade, it would not be able to defeat John and his harem. In a world where individuals could crush entire cities to dust, the army was a tool of occupation and pressure, not of decisive victory.

“Yes,” he answered therefore.

Even if Emrik understood John’s thought process and agreed that the Gamer would eventually become unbeatable, the right to keep their own army and decide how to use it gave them some additional clout. “That’s good enough,” he said, finally.

From there, they moved onto the boring details of trade agreements.