I entered the room without much fanfare or ceremony and took my seat at the head of the oval-shaped table that sat within. I cleared my throat and met the eyes of the other dwarves seated around me before speaking.

"Now, are you all ready? You must not show any weakness or surprise at anything that is discussed, they will be watching your every move to find an opening to exploit in order to gain better standing for themselves."

"Yes my lord, all of us have prepared ourselves. We shall never disappoint!"

Before me sat the dwarves who I appointed to be guild masters for the guilds that would be established within Brimstone.

For the Adventurer's Guild I had picked Meredin Magmaxe, a sharp-eyed dwarf with dark red hair who could bend iron swords in half with his bare hands.

For the Commerce Guild I selected Eilwen Nickelgleam, a gentle blond woman with an S Ranked skill named Nose for Gold and a business sense keen enough to bankrupt any cocky merchant.

For the Smith's Guild I had chosen Gowyr Oredagger, the first dwarf who unlocked the Magma Smith job who happened to be part of the original group of 8. Just the other day he had asked for my blessing to start planning the wedding between himself and Gwendi, who was going to be the mountain's first mother not too many months from now.

For the Alchemist's Guild I elected Bryna Sparforge, another of the first 8 who had evolved her cook job into the job Ether Infuser, which gave her molecular control when mixing ingredients together.

Today we would be meeting the vice masters that were assigned by the guilds in the Traisanian Capital. I had informed the guilds through the King that we would be willing to allow them to operate in our territory on the condition that we have control over the operations here, which is why we were here now waiting for the vice masters to arrive and begin debriefing us on how each of their guilds functions.

—————

A knocking on the door informed me that they had now arrived, luckily I arrived just before them. I gave the attendant outside permission to enter and guide our guests to their seats. One of the people in the group was familiar, the smith Reinhart that accompanied his King here just over a week ago. Once everyone was in their seats I nodded to the attendant to pour our newly completed rum, courtesy of Bryna's hard work, into intricate goblets crafted by Gowyr and his fellows in the magma forges. Once everyone had their drink I stood and raised my goblet to those present.

"Praise be to the Mountain Mother! May our hearts be guided by her molten passion!"

The humans in the room looked confused but managed to respond to my toast by following along with the dwarves without stumbling over themselves.

"Praise be to the Mountain Father! May our minds be guided by his firm serenity!"

We enjoyed the rum in silence on our feet before returning the goblets to the cart pushed by my attendant and taking our seats once again. I gestured to Reinhart once we were seated.

"It is heartening to know that one familiar with the skill and pride of the dwarven people will be assisting us with building a relationship with the smiths of the human kingdoms, Reinhart. How fares King Traisan?"

"I am honored to have been dispatched to work alongside your brethren, your majesty. His majesty fares very well, and seems to be the source of some frustration among the nobility since he has not missed an opportunity to brag about the marvelous sword you gifted him with."

Reinhart and my smiths had spent many days discussing the last time he was here and it appears he has grown quite close with them, given that he sent along expensive human liquor to Gowyr a few days before his return.

"I am pleased that he takes the time to brag about it, a well-crafted weapon must be frequently maintained using the jealous glares of others!"

I guffawed with Reinhart and Gowyr before gesturing to the rest of the guests present.

"I forget myself in front of new company. I am King Anwirn Gemmolder Brimstone, a High Dwarf and lord of this mountain and its people. You may refer to me as King Anwirn or High Dwarf Anwirn, might I ask that you introduce yourselves in whatever order and manner you see fit?"

The first to speak was a woman in her late fifties, she stood tall and proud with a mischievous childlike look in her eyes in spite of her age.

"I am Ganieda Dawn, former master of the commerce guild in the capital. I elected a replacement to my position and followed young Reinhart along to witness firsthand what caused him to regain his youthful vigor for the art of metalwork."

I nodded to the woman and gestured to Eilwen.

"I welcome you to the mountain Ganieda, I hope you can assist Eilwen in her work. She has much promise, but has not had many years to hone her experience against the schemes of sharks."

The elderly woman bowed to myself and Eilwen before moving to sit next to the later, they began getting to know each other quietly as I turned my attention to the rather bulky middle-aged man who stood up next.

"I am Drystan, and I have no family name to give as I was raised an orphan. I was an adventurer in the A Ranks before I retired, and I have served as the vice master in the capital's guild for the last 10 years. I look forward to seeing if the support and weapons of your race might finally allow man to reclaim the wild forests at the base of the mountain."

I nodded to the man as I observed him, his appearance proves the number of encounters he has survived against wild animals given his plentiful scars. His left eye was clouded and framed by a large patch of blemished skin covering nearly a fourth of his face, no doubt whatever did that was what retired the man to a desk.

"Welcome Drystan, I can appreciate a man who has as much pride in his achievements as you do. No doubt you have many stories to match all of your scars, perhaps you can share them with Meredin and myself at another time around a barrel of mead."

I gestured to Meredin and the two shared a firm handshake before comparing hunting techniques and biceps over a few more goblets of rum. I turned to the final man, he appeared to have rarely seen sunlight given his pale complexion. It made it hard to place his age, but he seemed to be between Ganieda and Drystan in age. A thin worn-out robe was almost hastily wrapped around his body and a thick scent of dry herbs wafted from his shoulder bag.

"G-greetings your majesty, King Anwirn. I am Aglaval Branda, a humble alchemist. I held no special seat with my guild, but I was chosen due to my extensive knowledge of the reagents that can be found near and on the mountain."

"I return your greetings Aglaval, I am sure you have much information that you can impart on Bryna to help her improve."

I nodded to Bryna who began asking the nervous Aglaval the names and properties of the herbs he carried with him.

"Well ladies and gentlemen, I shall leave you to your own devices. Dwarves, show your associate their quarters and give them a tour of each guild's respective facilities. We want them familiar with what each guild will be responsible for and capable of so you can delegate efficiently between yourselves."

I sat quietly while waiting for the group to funnel out of the room, before heaving a sigh and enjoying some alone time with the remainder of the rum.