Illiad kept pace with Silver, no words came to his mind so he didn't speak any, saving them solely for the upcoming talk with Mr. Blackwater himself. There's this patent thing, then there's the happening with Oglevy the night before last, and the torment by that worker before that, I think that's everything I need to talk to him about.
She made her way timidly up to the large wooden doors that led to the office of Luther Blackwater. She gave Illiad a glance and a small smile, turned back to face the doors, took a deep breath and knocked softly with a hoof; it echoed through the hall loudly, making her wince.
"Enter."
The voice within spoke the familiar greeting, and Silver slowly opened the door and went inside, holding it for Illiad before shutting it once he was in.
The office was as subdued yet stately as ever. The ancient pot in the corner still had its single flower... yet now that Illiad looked at it, he was certain he'd never seen a flower like that before. Odd, but something to address later possibly... depending on how things went here.
Luther, seated behind the beautiful deak, looked up as the two of them came inside.
"Silver Studs... Mr. Easle.... why are you here?"
It was eerie, how accurate Dax's predicted words were to what Luther now said. Absolutely UNCANNY.
Silver stepped forward, intent on telling Mr. Blackwater everything she'd told Dax. Though her fear was at a fevered pitch, she took a deep breath...
... and let out a single, tinny squeak. Silver's eyes went W-I-D-E... and her fear shot through the roof. She was in the grip of stage fright in front of her Boss; maybe Illiad could start the conversation for her?
Illiad winced at Silver's panic, but there was nothing he could magically do about it at the moment. He took a deep breath before he spoke.
"Mr. Blackwater, there are a number of things which I must discuss with you, first of which is that I have found Silver to be a suitable candidate for the Trojan United Science TrUST. As such she would like your company's support and legal defense of the patents she will be drafting for her inventions such as the machines she has invented for the quarry."
Illiad hoped it would be enough to get Silver talking, or at least Mr. Blackwater interested.
Luther eyeballed them both VERY closely, then locked his focus on Illiad, deciding that Silver apparently wasn't going to speak up. Silver's mood went from fear-filled to sunk; she saw the decision as Luther chose who to pay more attention to.
"Hmm. So you say."
He stood up, tall and wide as a barn, and came around the desk. With a slow and steady gait, he walked a gradual circle around the both of them, and Illiad once again got the distinct feeling his very soul was being judged.
He heard Silver audibly gulp next to him as Luther stalked them... then, he stopped, took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly, as if savoring the sensation... or as if he was preparing to deal with yet ANOTHER issue.
"Name the cost."
Again, Dax's guess at his father's words was almost spot-on.
Illiad gave a slight smile despite his own creeping nerves. "To my limited knowledge of Equestrian Patent Law, the initial cost would be in patent research and legal drafting for the official patent applications. The official cost then being whatever the patent layers in Equestria would charge, though I doubt it would be too substantial. TrUST would be willing to help cover the cost in exchange for the right to use the patented technologies."
Luther didn't give any sign of anything having to do with Illiad's words.
"The rights? Who gets them?"
Silver's emotional state shifted HARD; she was NOT going to let this conversation go on without TRYING.
"I'm gonna... uhm, I plan to... k-k-keep the rights to my patents... SIR... but with your money in... I mean, when you give us... your INVESTMENT will be returned as... as, uhm... well, y-y-y-you'll get the first... uhm, f-f-f-first pick of a-a-a-anything I make... for this... this... thing?"
The shudder from her was audible; it was the vocal equivalent of a shiver, and it was rather loud as she took a deep breath, then let it out in a huff, all at once. Luther looked coolly at her, then turned back to Illiad.
"If this is Silver's idea, why are YOU involved, Mr. Easle?"
Illiad would have to thank Dax when they got back together - so far, everything Dax had said in his father's voice was, with changes, more or less what Luther himself was saying.
This was not going as well as Dax had made it seem, but it wasn't too much of a matter if Mr. Blackwater didn't want to back the patents. There would be other companies.
"Me? I personally have no stake in this arrangement, other than my personal enjoyment of Silver's successes. In a representative capacity for TrUST however, the involvement would be similar to what I have already described. TrUST would like to support Silver as an inventor, providing her with whatever materials and funding she needs to succeed in exchange for the rights to use and analyze what she comes up with. It was Silver's idea to seek your backing in patenting her inventions in Equestria as TrUST is based back in Troy."
Illiad sincerely hoped his explanation got the point across.
Luther's eyes narrowed as he glanced at the floor for a moment, then he looked back at Silver.
"Mmhmm."
He strolled back over to his desk, and took his seat again, though his eyes were still drawing straight lines to Silver's own. Miss Studs was as frightened as if Luther were a Manticore instead of a stallion. She was shaking a bit, but she continued to stand right where she was - even though the emotions she was putting off said she SHOULD be halfway to Ponyville by now.
"Sounds acceptable - perhaps even worth looking into."
Silver's mood froze in place... then, ever-so-slowly, began to creep it's way hopefully up. Luther turned his solid gaze to Illiad.
"Silver Studs has worked hard for the quarry. VERY hard. I only trust HARD workers."
Again, a bit of change-up, but pretty much what Dax predicted he'd say.
"And Silver is a SOLID worker."
He gave a soft sigh, then his gaze went from aggressive to curious.
"All right - I want to know what profits I would make from this..."
... aaaaand?...
"... and what will happen if you fail."
Silver licked her lips, took a deep breath, and tried again.
"Well, uhm... Mister Blackwater... if things g-g-go bad... I can offer you... the p-p-p-patents on what's already... uh, here... IF I fail, of course... since you know they all... uhm... they a-a-all work..."
Silver's fear was eating her alive - but her courage held her hooves in place like glue. Illiad could feel the mental war she was having with herself... and she might actually be winning. But the battle wasn't over yet.
Luther leaned forward, placing his hooves on his desk and looking FAR more intimidating than Dax did doing the same thing earlier.
"All this interest? NOW? Why?"
Silver started to speak... but all that came out was another squeak, and she blushed brightly again.
"If I may,"
Illiad was starting to feel a bit more confident now. "Silver had never heard of TrUST until I told her about it just the other day. The thought had never occurred to her to patent her ideas until I mentioned that TrUST would be interested in gaining access to them. It wasn't like her designs were at risk of being stolen way out here so I would think it didn't seem necessary to put in the effort to patent them."
Illiad gave a slight smile, "As to potential profits, you could be entitled to royalties on the patents if you were to allow other quarries to use the same designs."
Listening to Illiad speak, Luther placed a hoof on his chin and pondered. His thoughtful face was the exact same as almost ANY face he had... scowling. All the same, the wheels were turning.
After a moment, his eyes snapped to Silver again.
"It shall be considered," he said simply.
Suddenly, Silver's mood spiked again; she was trying not to laugh!
When Dax had delivered the same line, he'd ended it with and my vest is full of grape jelly... which was apparently the exact line Silver was thinking of, and in her panicked state, she might just burst out laughing at any moment!
Illiad wasn't sure, but it was a fair bet that Luther Blackwater probably wouldn't appreciate somepony laughing at him.
Illiad hated to be the one to put a damper on good moods, so he decided he would change the subject to something more serious quickly.
"The next thing sir, is regarding the cave you had Knee and I secure a few days ago. A new development occurred the night before last that I think you should hear about."
He turned towards Silver with a look that tried to convey that this next matter was quite serious. "If there is anything else you need to say to Mr. Blackwater, now would be the time. Otherwise... I'm not sure he wants the story I'm about to talk about to be spread any further around the quarry than it absolutely needs to be."
Silver froze stock still for a moment, then...
"... Mister Blackwater you've known me for a long time and you know what kind of work I am capable of Illiad believes that my inventions could revolutionize Equestria and I know what you're thinking you're thinking that I'll be leaving the quarry but I want to BASE myself from the quarry because I know that if anything happens you'll protect me because you're a GOOD family I don't care WHAT anypony else says please Mister Blackwater it would mean so much to me to have you on my side PLEASE..."
She slapped her hooves over her mouth, her eyes huge and close to tears. The amount of embarrassment rolling off of her right now was thick enough that the Trojan could practically cut it with a blade... and there was another emotion here, but not coming from Silver; it took a moment, but Illiad began to not only recognize it, but he could pick out its' source...
Luther was a bit impressed with Silver. Interesting. The Blackwater patriarch regarded her coolly for a moment, then stood up once again, came around his desk, and came muzzle to muzzle with the little mare.
"You say such - I feel your honesty. I warn you - Blackwaters are not seen ideally; you wish to be allied with our reputation?"
Silver looked Luther right in the eye back.
"I wouldn't want anypony else at my back, sir."
Luther stared for a moment more... then nodded once.
"Good."
He moved over to the balcony window, and deigned to gaze out of it as Silver quizzically glanced back and forth between him and Illiad. After a moment, she realized he was waiting for her to go, so she turned and mouthed the words 'thank you' before she quietly made her way to the door and slipped outside, closing it with a soft click behind her.
Luther, still looking out the window at his quarry, gave a deep sigh. "Now, speak."
Illiad gave a slight smile to Silver as she left, then turned back towards Mr. Blackwater. He took a deep breath before he spoke. "It has come to my attention that Oglevy was in the cavern with Luna, Knee, and I. And as a result, the night before last he was possessed by a different entity then the one we fought. We fought the knight, but Oglevy found the king. Dax and I worked to save Oglevy by returning to the king what was stolen from him. It turns out Redd went in to the cavern after we had left to steal the chest that the entity we fought was protecting. I recovered the chest from Redd and returned it to the king, who then took most if not all of the remaining cloud diamond in the cavern and left. Left this planet entirely. In short, the cavern no longer poses more of a danger than any other cave. I thought you should know this."
Illiad realized he should have told Mr. Blackwater earlier, he hoped he wouldn't be too upset that he hadn't.
Luther listened in silence, his dour poker face settled into his muzzle for the duration. His emotional state strolled slowly back and forth from concern to anger, back and forth, like a pendulum. When Illiad finished, the Blackwater turned and looked at him levelly.
"Questions."
Apparently, Luther had some.
"I want to know what you mean by 'possessed Oglevy'... I want to know if Redd gave you any trouble... and I want to know why this took a day to tell me."
The stallion was upset, but not wildly out-of-control. He waited calmly for his answers, staring directly at the unicorn in his office.
Illiad nodded, they were fair questions to be sure. "By possessed I would say it was likely similar to what the other entity did in the cavern, where it controlled the body of another, this was done far more gently though, it is likely that Oglevy remembers little to nothing of the experience and he seemed unharmed when released. Redd did not give me much trouble, he returned the chest to me with only parting words of anger. As to why it took so long for me to get here, the morning after I was pressed into going to Canterlot by your wife since she came and woke me up, we returned rather late for me to go tell you that night, so I came to tell you now."
"Oglevy..." A quick flash of concern and love, hidden just as fast.
"Doctor's visit, to be safe."
Nodding to himself at this, he continued.
"No trouble from Redd. Good."
He gave another deep sigh, closed his eyes for a moment, then returned to watching the quarry activity in the yard below.
"She told me you accompanied her." His eyes slid sideways to look at the unicorn. "My condolences."
Was that... a joke? His face spoke nothing of humor, and his emotions were deadpan. There was no way to tell.
Luther's gaze focused outside once more. "Noted. Anything more?"
Illiad nodded, glad that he could be of help. "Just one last thing, earlier in the night on which Oglevy was possessed, Dax was verbally assaulted by a small group of your workers." He related the descriptions of the group, hopefully to a degree that they could be identified.
"And that is all I have to tell you today, though if you don't mind, I have yet to receive word back from Princess Luna as to what happened after I fell unconscious, could you relate to me what transpired if anything?"
Luther's mouth edges quirked down a little farther than they already were.
"Her Highness got you and Knee Slapper to Zinger, then she spoke to me. She purchased much of the remaining Cloud Diamond I possessed, and promised Independent Protectorate status for my quarry. Good news for Silver and her patents."
He then closed his eyes, sighed, and turned to face Illiad.
"As for Daxter... I assume they called him 'Pink-Slip', yes?"
His eyes locked onto the Trojan's own, and his Empathic senses could feel Luther fortifying his emotions...
"A reminder from his punishment - a lesson he will not soon forget."
And a cold, cold anger along with a thin yet bright ribbon of sorrow evidenced only for a moment from the massively powerful stallion, but it didn't seem to be directed at Illiad... though it did seem as if Luther was waiting for the unicorn to say something.
Illiad was surprised at the offer of independent protectorate status, but he supposed Luna had her reasons. What he did not expect was the anger associated with Dax's punishment.
He sighed, "Far be it from me to advise your parenting style... No, I won't go into that."
He turned to leave the office, hopefully he would be done here.
"STOP."
Luther's voice was like a jolt of electricity, short and loud. He turned from the window and walked over to Illiad, getting within reach of the unicorn and glaring him in the face.
"You speak so... and walk away?"
His frown hunkered down a bit further, apparently ready for a storm.
"Explain your words, Easle."
He didn't look (or feel) happy, but he wasn't going to simply let it go, either.
Illiad turned to face Mr. Blackwater directly, his expression too a bit colder and more serious. "To be absolutely frank Mr. Blackwater, you have damaged your child both socially and emotionally, maybe even beyond my own ability to repair. The isolation of this place alone is enough to cause damage given the lack of peers within his age group, but by eliminating all of the friends he was able to make despite the circumstances, you eliminated his best chance at living a socially healthy life. He fears to befriend any who live here, all those who he interacts with on a daily basis, because he cares too much to risk them being eliminated too. Furthermore, you and your wife's withholding emotion, not showing or sharing the love I know you feel for them, has lead to him also withholding emotion. As such he doesn't know how to healthily express his own emotions, which has lead to many painful experiences on my part."
He sighed, it wasn't usually like him to chastize one older than him. "Again, it isn't my place to advise your parenting style, I'm sure you're doing the best you know how to. All I want to know is why. Why did you think forcing him to fire all those he befriended would be beneficial? What lesson where you trying to teach?"
He sighed again, as his senses re-adjusted he worked to diffuse the sitiation, hopefully reducing the possible fallout if his words offended the Blackwater.
Luther stared hard into Illiad's stare; there was almost visible electricity between them... then Luther spoke.
"It was more about the lesson I did NOT want him to learn."
Luther continued to stare down the unicorn, determined to get his point across.
"Daxter had been told NOT to associate with the MINERS - and he did anyway. He may have done well - may have even found BOTH The Blackwater Emerald AND his cutie mark, but it DOES NOT JUSTIFY BEING AROUND THOSE MINERS. At the time, there was a pay dispute with some greedy ones - both Vylia AND I confirmed they were paid properly - and they THREATENED our lives! I TOLD Daxter to stay AWAY from there..."
He turned from Illiad and stormed across the room, anger now radiating from him in a huge radius, and growing with each word. THIS level of concentrated anger made Vylia Blackwater's temper seem like a kitten's mew.
"... and he REFUSED TO LISTEN, endangering his life because of some supposed thrill of disobedience! He did NOT understand how close he had been to being killed! They would have set upon him like JACKALS! They would have beaten him to DEATH!"
Making his way to the far wall, he started to slam his hooves against it... but pulled up at the last moment, laying them carefully on the oak-paneled wall with a harsh sigh.
"And I did what I did to him to GUARANTEE that his life would no longer be in jeopardy; as embarrassed as he was, I have not seen him attempt to help any more miners. Which is how it SHOULD be, Easle - Daxter belongs IN CHARGE of the quarry... not underground with THEM."
He spoke over his shoulder this time.
"THAT is why, Easle."
He moved from the wall, back over to the balcony doors, opening them, to the railing, and leaned out. Illiad could feel a large range of emotions coming off the stallion: Anger, fear, worry, loathing, regret, shame, vengeance... they were flowing from Luther like rivers, yet there was barely any hint of emotion on his muzzle.
Illiad sighed, he knew the situation would likely be more involved than it seemed.
He waited a bit before speaking again, his face adopting a curious, sad, yet non-judgmental look, curious sympathy if you would. "You were willing to turn over forty workers for simply befriending your son, but you weren't willing to fire the more greedy ones for threatening your lives? Also, why would you not just tell him what the stakes are? He's a very smart colt who trusts you frankly more than I think you deserve. I have every faith if he were told why a rule was in place he would follow it to the ends of time."
He sighed again, "And another thing, the workers who know the story will never respect him out of anything but fear, that may work for you, but he's not that sort. He cares about others, enough to distance himself from them. Most of the workers will have to be turned over if he takes charge here because of that."
He turned away as well, "Fear is the tool of a tyrant Mr. Blackwater. Is that the sort of leader you want to be? You probably don't care what I think at this point, but I'll tell you anyway. Daxter cares about you, just about as much as you care about him, if you took time to talk to him, explain to him the reasoning behind your actions, you'll find him significantly more likely to obey you when it really matters."
Luther continued to stare out over the quarry he obsessed over. The emotions flowed harder for a moment... then, they simply petered out. All that was left was a trickle of... grievous pain?
The stallion let out a mountain of a sigh, then spoke, soft and simple.
"The workers in question WERE fired. I informed Daxter that the workers could NOT be trusted. And if the miners must be replaced... so be it; it doesn't matter WHOM kicks the rocks down there - as long as the work is done. They are paid for their work, and they leave when they have enough..."
The trickle of pain became a single pulse for a moment.
"... and hopefully, during that time, they do not try to kill you... or your family."
With that, Luther made a point of not looking in Illiad's direction.
"If I was not the 'tyrant' you claim me to be, then this quarry would have shuttered its' doors long ago - as a business is a BUSINESS, Easle... something I somewhat doubt you know enough about to properly run yourself."
There was apparently FAR more to this than Luther was saying... and Illiad was getting the distinct emotional impression that Luther may have been...
... crying?
Illiad sighed, "You're right. This isn't this situation that I am used to. I run myself well enough but I wouldn't know how to run a quarry like this. It's clear to me that you've had to make some hard decisions in your time, I'm not condemning you for them. What I am condemning is your claimed reasoning for your actions, I've heard of how caring a stallion you are, and felt how much you care about your family. Furthermore I know you don't consider all your workers disposable like you described. Would you think twice about firing Silver? Chuck? Knee? All of which I would consider friends of Daxter, yet they're still here. If you took the time to care about your workers, then maybe trust wouldn't be an issue. If the workers know you care then they won't fear, but respect you as a leader."
He sighed once again, "You gave a partial why, you said they couldn't be trusted, but he knew they could. He proved they could be trusted, and in the end you eliminated forty workers who could be trusted to keep you and your family safe from the workers who would wish your family ill."
He pulled out his diamond, "Look at the princesses, running a country is not so different from running a business, yet they care about those they rule. They work with their subjects to do what's best for the country, you too can work with your workers to do what's best for the quarry. I respect you because you have the strength to make the hard decisions, you can make the hard choice for what you see as the good of the quarry. I know how hard a decision can be, when all the options seem bad. It can be all too easy to divorce your emotions from the decision, to hide from the hurt. Facing the emotion is what makes you a caring king over a heartless tyrant."
There was nothing but silence from the earth pony on the balcony. Facing away, Illiad couldn't see his muzzle, but he didn't have to... the misery and betrayal began to bubble up, like underground water finally reaching the surface.
"Daxter is almost exactly as I used to be. Kind. Cheerful. Energetic. I went into the mines regularly for years - thought I had made good friends."
He huffed a hard sigh.
"I was wrong."
Luther paused here; the Empathic could FEEL him fighting his sorrow back. After a moment, it seemed as if the conversation had ended at that. But just as the unicorn thought to respond, he spoke again.
"I was framed for embezzlement by management, and the miners I had thought were my friends believed it. They beat me until they thought I was dead... then left me."
It had to be the hardest emotional battle Illiad had ever seen in someone who was so still and stern; it had to have been some form of internal personal strength or training that kept his voice from breaking, or his strong shoulders from shaking with sobs.
"THAT is why, Illiad Easle; it was a preemptive strike. They may not respect my son... but they will fear retribution if they harm a single hair on his head. They know this now."
Luther had effectively told Illiad that he had been beaten by the workers he'd befriended in the mines, because management had framed him for stealing from the company... which, because it was called The BLACKWATER Quarry could only mean that he was framed by his own family.
"And Daxter will be kept from harm's way because they will never drag him in the way they did to me. Never. NEVER."
He grew quiet again; this time, he did seem to be waiting for a response.
Illiad's eyes widened as he heard the story, then his expression softened. He knew all too well what it was like to be turned on by friends. He didn't dare approach the stallion as it was quite clear that Mr. Blackwater was likely not one for physical displays of comfort.
He took a deep breath before proceeding, thinking carefully on his words and lacing them with as much comfort as he could muster. "That is certainly a harsh set of circumstances, one I can relate to to some degree, but thankfully not quite to the degree you faced. I have a secret that I carry with me, one you no doubt have some idea of, once I had a friend I thought I could trust with that secret, a few days later I was taken from my home while I slept, held down in a back ally and beaten, as well as having boiling tea poured on me until a guard came by." The scars ached again as he related the story. "My 'friends' scattered but the guard was in on it, and passed by without lifting a hoof in my aid. I wasn't at any risk of death like you were, but the attack scarred me both physically and emotionally, it has remained mostly impossible for me to share my secret with others, and I suffered an extreme difficulty with trusting others with friendship for many years. I see your experience has scarred you even deeper than my own has."
He sighed, "They say time heals this sort of thing, but we both know it will take more than time to fix us. It may take you longer than it has taken me to heal, but I have every faith that you may someday be able to trust your workers again. My recommendation? Tell Daxter this, this is the true reason why, tell him and he will understand. But in return? You'll need to trust him, he's practically an adult now and soon you'll have to trust him to follow your teachings to make his own decisions, to do what is best for him rather than what would be best for you."
He gave a slight smile, "All of this shows me the truly caring stallion that you really are. I'm sure you'll turn out to be a fine ruler, and perhaps even be remembered as a great father."
For a while, the large, powerful stallion was silent. Illiad could hear the wind breezing by the balcony, could feel it's soft and surprisingly cool caress against his face, could hear the activity out in the quarry yard... and still, Luther Blackwater stood above it all; to have been just like Dax... and to turn out like this?
The mental image of poor Dax going through something similar would have been a bit too much to bear - it couldn't be done - but to picture a young and happy Luther going through it was somehow even worse, perhaps for the living proof of what cruelty could do in the very existence of Luther.
When he spoke, it didn't sound angry... it sounded tired. Oh, so tired.
"I do not want to rule. I do not want to be 'great'. I simply want to run my quarry and love my family."
Luther hung his head.
"Anything else is frivolous... and therefore, useless to me."
Illiad caught a single sniffle.
"... but your concern is noted."
There was a pause where Illiad could feel the miasma of emotional pain from the patriarch... then, it was almost as if a sponge had been set in the middle, and the Empathic felt the mental equivalent of someone burying that torrent of emotion slowly yet surely, like pouring sand on a grease fire. The emotions were being bottled and smothered, but in a well-practiced way that made the feeling more eerie than painful to the Empathic's senses.
"Now go, Easle; I want to be alone."
Luther went quiet.
Illiad would have said more, mentioned how burying the pain didn't cure it, simply postpone it, but he knew Mr. Blackwater was done talking for now.
"As you wish sir."
With that Illiad turned and made his way out of the office. He idly wondered what would be waiting for him outside, if anything, and what he could possibly do for the rest of the day.