Dead Man Walking: Living By Day, Dead By Night

"I'm good…"

Zane said in a stoic voice while he refused the Goddess' offer to join her in the bath. There were multiple reasons why he would not accept such a ludicrous request. Chief among them was exposing his bare flesh to the woman who was at this moment his foremost and most dangerous enemy was a move that only an idiot would make.

Contrary to what Zane was expecting, the woman known as the goddess by her myriad of followers simply pouted and averted her gaze, all the while introducing herself by the name she had chosen when she ascended to her current position.

"I presume you are Zane, the man in charge of this. How do we say… quaint settlement? My followers simply refer to me as the Goddess, but you can refer to me by the name of Valeria. A pleasure, I am sure."

Zane stared at the woman in awe when he heard her name. He sincerely doubted that the woman's actual name that she had been granted at birth was one of Latin origin. Let alone a Latin name for a woman that meant "strength and healing."

He wanted to ask the woman for her actual name, but judging from the woman's personality, or what little he had come to learn of it over this brief introduction, he sincerely doubted she would even recognize that she had any name other than the one she had just given him.

Because of this, Zane remained silent as he stood in front of the woman, who shamelessly exposed her bare breasts to him while bathing in the tub. And simply stared at her face, waiting for her to bring up why she had come all this way, without first sending word.

Zane's intense stare, which was aimed directly at her eyes, and not her substantial chest, caused Valeria to gain a certain understanding of Zane's character. Few men had the discipline to look a woman directly in the eyes when she was exposing her body to him. Especially when that woman had a figure as excellent as hers.

Perhaps the man was a homosexual? Or he really was just a man with a strong will. After all, he showed no signs of interest towards her, despite her attempts at seduction. And as a result, she sighed heavily, admitting defeat, as she covered her exposed chest with the bubbles of the bath before continuing with her train of thought.

"Alright fine… I admit defeat. You won this round. I suppose you're wondering why I came all this way without first sending word. After all, that is why you infiltrated my camp and forced your way into my tent without trying to meet with my emissaries first, right? You suspect this is an invasion of some kind?

I assure you, if I came here with such intentions, I would have brought thousands of my crusaders to thoroughly exterminate you and all of your followers. After all, you must have suffered substantial losses in the battle, right?

From what the survivors of my routed army tell me, you had half our numbers? And yet I see less than a thousand residents in your town? Where did your army go, I wonder? Did you hire mercenaries from New Reno? That doesn't sound right. After all, the average strength of their population is significantly lower than what my army reported to have faced in Tahoe.

So tell me? What happened to your army after you emerged victorious?"

Zane was not in the mood to answer questions, especially not regarding his unique skill, which allowed him to command the dead. Valeria said she had come to Gravestone without the intention to wage war, and if that was the case, he had no interest in giving away his secrets.

Such information was valuable, especially to a potential enemy like Valeria. Because of this, Zane skirted around the topic altogether, and instead addressed the issue at hand.

"Never mind that. You said you did not come here to make war, so I assume you are here to negotiate a peaceful resolution to the matter regarding the possession of Tahoe? My offer is simple. Cease your hostilities, and you shall receive all the fresh water that your people need.

Initially, I had intended to give this resource to you for free. But seeing as how you showed up on my doorstep unannounced, with what is clearly a small army. I have changed my mind. I'm going to charge you for every gallon of water you wish to be transferred to your settlement."

Valeria's dark brows furrowed. They were an entirely different color from her blonde hair, showing that she had most likely dyed her hair to match a certain aesthetic. She was not exactly please to hear Zane rescind her offer. And was instead quick to explain her actions.

"Come now, you don't expect me to travel through the wasteland without an accompanying guard?"

Zane looked at the woman as if she were an absolute idiot, before responding to her claim as if it was an absurdity.

"Accompanying guard? You could have five high leveled awakened to protect you, and you would be able to survive anything other than the attack of a Horde King in your journeys. Five hundred awakened isn't a simple guard unit, it's a fucking cohort.

You showed up here in a demonstration of force, in an attempt to intimidate me into granting you certain concessions. The only problem is, you brought too few forces to succeed in such endeavors.

And for that you will have to pay the consequences. I want twenty-five tier one blood crystals for every gallon of water traded to Elysium. Agree to this, and there will be peace and trade between our two settlements."

For a normal settlement, like New Reno, or the nearby Gator Swamp, this was an absurd sum. But to Elysium, who was the largest and most powerful settlement of living human beings west of the Rockies, this was a price that could easily be afforded.

However, this did not mean that Valeria was willing to pay such a price for a resource that should have rightfully been hers, at least from her perspective. And because of this, she was quick to make a counteroffer.

After all, currently, Elysium wanted for nothing. It had its own means of procuring fresh water. But… with the current rate of pregnancies that her population had, it was estimated that within a generation, the population of her settlement would triple.

If that were the case, then she would need a much larger surplus of fresh water. She didn't get to be the leader of such a large settlement without being forward thinking, after all. And because of this, she wanted a much fairer price from Zane, which she spoke with a particularly hideous expression on her otherwise gorgeous face, having been offended by Zane's initial offer.

"Five… Five Tier I Blood Crystals per every gallon!"

Yet Zane would not accept such a price. That was too lenient on Elysium. By simply meeting with the Cult, who had killed hundreds of his settlers, Zane knew that the remaining population of Gravestone would be furious with him.

No, he would need to exact a toll on the woman for the losses he sustained, one that would settle the people's grievances. Otherwise, his rule would come into question. And if that were to occur, the relatively stable life he had built over the last six months in Gravestone would quickly come crumbling down.

As a result, Zane changed his offer to slightly less than his initial asking price.

"Fifteen. Fifteen blood crystals for every gallon, and we shall have peace… I assure you, what you see here in Gravestone is not everything it appears to be. My forces are much greater than you think they are. And within a week, my strength shall be recovered.

Believe it or not, I am able to replenish my losses much quicker than you. If it is a war of attrition, you seek to wage. Then I promise you I will come out on top. Fifteen blood crystals per every gallon of fresh water supplied to Elysium is my final offer. Take it or leave it!"

Though Zane's expression was stoic, there was a fierce glint in his black eyes. One that led Valeria to believe he had not lied to her in the slightest. For her to recover from her losses, it would take a significant investment of funds, equipment, and, most importantly, time.

She would have to coerce one fifth of her population to go through the awakening process. Of which she would be lucky if more than 5,000 of them survived. And then she would have to spend half a year raising their level to the standards that were capable of replacing the troops she had lost in Tahoe.

Not to mention all of the resources that would go into crafting their equipment. It was an insanely costly endeavor. For Zane to replenish his losses in a week's time, he must have an unfathomable skill. One which she could not even begin to theorize about what it might be.

Anything was possible in this brave new world, and since that was the case. Valeria ultimately backed down and accepted Zane's proposal.

"Fine…. Fifteen tier I Blood crystals for every gallon of fresh water traded to Elysium. In exchange, I grant you the peace which you so desperately seek, along with access to Elysium's trade routes. Is this a fair compromise?"

Zane showed the first hint of emotion since entering Valeria's tent. Which was a smug smirk and a nod of his head. Along with a conceited tone in his voice when he accepted the woman's offer.

"It is just barely satisfactory, but acceptable nonetheless."

With this, a peace treaty would be signed the next day, which would end the hostilities between Gravestone and Elysium, as well as establish trade between the two thriving settlements. However, the cult would still recognize Angelica as a heretic, and forbid its members from interacting with her.