85 Ashan 722
He'd gone out of his way to come to the mountains because he kept hearing about the metal but no groups working on it and Robin had already cast doubt on the gamble they were making. Payment for helping them would not suffice. He could make plenty of nels doing other things. He didn't need the university's money, he wanted the metal. Dean Wagstaff had refused to offer him a better price and he had refused to have the metal sent to Haven for processing because it was not native to Faldrass. That wasn't the point and the fact that the Dean could not see the advantage of moving the metal to a closer research station frustrated Balthazar. The mage had offered to let them use his own forge in order to process the metal as they needed, but the Dean refused.
It was frustrating to have what you needed to get something done and to be refused because of certain individuals' perspectives. It was incredibly short sighted, in Balthazar's opinion, but he didn't give into the anger and frustration the university was causing. He had to remind himself that they came from a place where slavery was still openly practiced so they had backwards mindsets to begin with. The meeting in the morning ended on a less than positive note. Balthazar thanked the Dean for his time, but refused to make a deal with those conditions. He took a moment to remind the Dean that the University had no legal claim to any of the metal and that other parties could freely look for it. Other parties who might not have been as friendly as Balthazar had chosen to be.
After the meeting, Balthazar had his party begin gathering their things and he took Robin aside for another secret meeting to discuss what had happened. "Wagstaff has refused to see our reason. He offers us exactly what he offers the rest of his workers and we would be putting in more effort than any of them." Balthazar said in a still irritated tone. "I have refused to work with him under those conditions."
"When you say that you refused..." Robin's voice trailed off but the implication caused Balthazar to smirk slightly.
"I was polite. I'm not looking to make enemies with the University, even if I didn't get what I want." Balthazar replied. Robin didn't seem convinced. He crossed his arms.
"Did you threaten him? In any way?" Robin asked.
"No! Well..." Balthazar thought back to the exact words that he had said so he could be sure there was nothing threatening. "Well... I did mention that other groups might not be as friendly as we are. There are plenty of bandits, mercenaries, and criminals who could benefit from the metal the university is after and their basecamp isn't incredibly secure. We could have taken it over within two nights of hit and run attacks. Maybe one night of a full assault. I didn't mention that though."
"It sounds like you tried to intimidate them." Robin said, his arms still crossed. Balthazar narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"I should apologize."
"You should apologize." Robin agreed.
"I will, but that isn't why I brought you out here, so far from them, to talk." Balthazar explained, "I told you I would not steal their metal and I meant it, but I'm not leaving this mountain without knowing something more about it." Now, Robin seemed to adjust his posture and focus. They were no longer discussing simple politeness and the movements of the company, they were discussing something secret.
"What is the plan?"
