The Bruiser and the Bard 2

"I'll go get her." Kazit said, standing outside Boss Mida's shack-office, "But I'll warn you, it's passed her hours for appointments, especially walk-ins, she may not take kindly to us stopping by so late."
"Just do it." Janx said, "Tell her it's a matter of some urgency, and that's coming from me."
Kazit nodded, but sighed, and walked into Mida's office. Isvalbard, Janx, and Niff were all outside in the slums. The sun was so close to set the sky was dark, and the first starts were starting to appear, but just a faint whisper of light still shone from the horizon. Niff tapped his foot impatiently, as he usually did, largely distancing himself from the situation. He just wanted to get back to his work on the Boss' machines.
"Just who is this boss of yours?" Isvalbard asked, "And why does everyone know her?"
"Boss Mida is effectively the leader of the Bilgewater Cartel right now." Janx said, "Gallywix was on the verge of deposition just prior to the cataclysm, per ruling of the other Trade Princes of the Coalition. Worse yet, he appears to be the only true surviving Trade Prince, with a surviving cartel. Donais survived, but his cartel is gone, and he himself is no more than a lackey to Gallywix. Steamwheedle's whereabouts are still a mystery, but his cartel seems to be intact."
"Why isn't Gallywix in charge?" Isvalbard asked.
"Do you really have to ask? You're aware as much as I am at how pitifully and deplorably he ran the cartel. It's no surprise he acted just as immaturely in the Coalition's darkest hour. He betrayed not just his own cartel, but the entirety of the Coalition in its hour of greatest need, which is the one level of betrayal the other Trade Princes thereof simply do not tolerate."
"I know the gist of it." Isvalbard said, "Talked to some Bilgewater on my way here and pieced it together. The tickets aboard his boat, attempting to sell everyone into slavery, sailing the cartel into a war zone, brainwashing everyone and enslaving them… again… stealing the Bilgewater's oil platform, attempting to kill former Warchief Thrall, and selling out to the Steamwheedle over the workers of his own cartel! Man, everyone's got it out for him, that's for sure."
Niff scoffed angrily from behind them.
"But that still doesn't explain why he's not in charge now. Did the goblins of his cartel rise up against him or something?"
Janx mumbled, "Not yet"
"What?"
"Nothing." Janx quickly corrected himself, "He's in charge because Thrall himself appointed him Trade Prince after Gallywix's attempted murder of him."
Isvalbard shook her head, "I'm sorry, what? I had something stupid in my ear."
"None of us understand why." Janx said, "But because of that unofficial, non-binding appointment by Thrall, he's still in charge, much to our chagrin. He wants nothing to do with his own people. He'd rather hide in his mansion in Azshara all day than do actual work, or conduct actual business."
"So he's still the same old Gallywix?"
Janx nodded, "But that's where Boss Mida came in. She is the daughter of Baron Silvertongue."
"Ooh." Isvalbard said, intrigued, "I've pieced together what he did too, back on Kezan. I heard he bought a whole heap of tickets for a lot of the poor of Bilgewater Port, only for himself to get left behind. Poor guy."
Janx nodded again, "Naturally, people flocked to his daughter, who helped with the Baron's plans to save the goblins of Bilgewater. She attempted a small mutiny back aboard Gallywix's yacht, but sadly was unsuccessful."
"Now that takes gusto." Isvalbard said, rather shocked, "I'm starting to like this Boss of yours, Janx."
"She ain't just a name you know, pal." Niff interjected, "After managing to get back to the mainland with the rest of us survivors, Mida went to work building us a new home, and name for the cartel. She even out-negotiated that Gazlowe mook for the deal to re-build Orgrimmar. The Steamwheedle's been handlin' every job the Horde's had for years now, and she plucked the biggest one of them all right out from under his nose she did!"
"Impressive." Isvalbard said, growing more and more interested by the second.
Janx continued, "It was that exact deal that got her the position of Liaison to the Warchief for the Bilgewater Cartel, the highest appointment in the cartel yet made by Hellscream. One could argue this places her above the authority of Gallywix, as he is yet to even meet Hellscream, let alone be appointed Trade Prince by him."
"Hence is why you said non-binding." Isvalbard said, "Referring to Thrall's appointment. He's the former Warchief, meaning his appointment…"
Janx cleared his throat to interrupt, "It's best not to talk so openly about such things."
Isvalbard's eyes widened as she looked around. The slums were slowing down and emptying for the evening, at least, at the visible level. Far more devious business was only just beginning for the day in the darker corners, and she was well acquainted with the fact that eyes and ears are everywhere. It just so happens that, for the first time, they weren't her own doing the spying.
"Anyway," Janx said, ending the dubious silence, "Mida was the first I brought into the secrecy of the KIA, along with her personal assistant Kazit. Eventually, we expanded to a small handful of other agents, but we're still in the single digits. Niff is one of our latest in on the KIA because of his frequent employment by the Boss as her personal mechanic."
"You know the Boss is busy with real important stuff when she can't take the time out to work on her own machines!" Niff said with a laugh, "She's one hard-working grease-monkey at her core, she is!"
Janx blinked emotionlessly, and continued as if Niff wasn't there. "Engineer Niff is not fully incorporated in our most confidential plans, so it's best to watch your words around him."
Niff's laughter died away as he went back to wishing he was elsewhere.
Janx continued, "She's created more jobs for the Bilgewater than ever witnessed back on Kezan in construction, manufacturing, transportation, mercenary work, and started re-deploying salesmen on behalf of the cartel, among many other fields of work. She even built these slums, not only by making a contract with the Horde, but literally, working hand-in-hand with any goblin willing to work. Honest work for honest pay, so long as it's all in the contract. As small and dank as these slums may be, they're a home for us until the cartel, and maybe even some day the Coalition, can get back on its feet."
"Which won't be easy given the dead weight it's draggin' around, I'm guessing." Isvalbard said. "But if anyone can do it, it's this Boss Mida fellow. Based on what you've told me so far, her own political ideology doesn't seem that far from her father's. He believed that investing in the individual people of a cartel is the best way to zap its economy back to life. The problem: the cartel isn't making profits. Why isn't it making profits? It's not making any sales. Why isn't it making any sales? The average goblin doesn't have any money to spend. Give a goblin a gold, and he'll spend it. It's simple economics! If we could just find a way to pry open the wallets of the wealthy for just a few spare gold a year, it could easily work."
Janx glared angrily at Isvalbard, "I never liked how political you were, Isvalbard. It's unbecoming of a KIA agent to be so involved with public matters."
She scoffed, "And why not? The KIA practically ran the Coalition at times. We were the last part of that whole establishment that actually kept our eyes on the ball; the goblin's path to total global economic and financial domination. All it took was a few campaign donations here, some incriminating evidence there, and whaamo – any agent could get into a political office with little effort, so long as they had some measure of experience in the field they could share with the public. Goblins love stories of heroism, especially form retired spies. Plus there's a lot more money to be made in politics, most of the time."
Janx was clearly disturbed by what she had to say, but maintained his stoic demeanor. "It was the goal of this agency to operate in the shadows, and support the Coalition's efforts, no matter what they may be. Not personal gain."
Isvalbard's eyes narrowed, "I'm aware of that. I'd go as far to say it was the farsightedness and self-discipline of those KIA agents that decided to go into politics that prevented the Coalition from collapsing years ago. Don't you question my patriotism, or loyalty, Janx. Ever."
Niff found himself piddling his feet in the dirt, listing the periodic table of elements in his head in alphabetical order as he struggled to ignore the awkward silence that had fallen between them.
"Fine!" A voice angrily shouted as the door to Mida's office was violently thrown open. It was Mida. The Boss stepped out, walked up to Janx, and in a threatening tone said, "It's after 9:00, officer hours are over, you have no appointment, and I've got work of my own to be doing. This better be damn good, Janx."
"It is." He said calmly, "my Tallness, this is an old associate of mine, Agent Isvalbard of the KIA."
Isvalbard was a little shocked by Mida's appearance at first. She was nearly a whole foot taller than her, and dressed formally and neatly in the middle of dirt-filled slums and shanty box-office. Still, she nodded appropriately, looking up at the disgruntled Mida, and said "Pleased ta' meet cha', ma'am. I've been looking for what's left of the KIA for some time now, and I'm told you're the one in charge 'round these parts."
"Another surviving agent?" Mida said inquisitively, her tone turning on a dime. "Well by all means, come on into my office. Kazit, Niff, Janx; the three of you can be on your way now."
"Yes!" Niff said excitedly, "Thanks Boss."
"Thank you my Tallness." Kazit said.
Niff and Kazit quickly scurried away, back to what they had been doing before bursting into Janx's house. Janx, however, stayed, and said, "If it's alright, my Tallness, I'd rather stay."
Mida shrugged, "Fine, it's your own time, Janx. Afraid I'm going to be too rough?"
Mida chuckled, and brought both of them inside. Her office wasn't much bigger than Janx's tiny house, with a large wooden desk on the opposing wall. One standing lamp was in the corner with an old, stained shade atop it, and a tiny potted plant was in the corner just inside of the door. Two wooden chairs sat across from Mida's seat at the desk, where she promptly sat down.
"By all means, take a seat you two." Mida said. She spoke with a suspiciously welcoming tone with which Isvalbard wasn't entirely comfortable. Janx was used to it, though, as it was how she always spoke with new clients, agents, informants, or anyone there for "new business." Isvalbard knew she was being tested, measured, and judged, just as much as she was going to do Mida, for sure. Janx pulled up a seat first, while Isvalbard somewhat reluctantly followed suit.
"So tell me," Mida started, "What's your name, sis?"
"Isvalbard."
"Is-val-bard?" Mida responded slowly, "That doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."
"Helps with the anonymity of a code name." Isvalbard said, nodding. "What should I call you?"
"The name's Mida. Mida Silvertongue. But you may refer to me as my Tallness, or the Boss."
"My Tallness?" Isvalbard asked.
"An old nickname from my personal friends back on Kezan." She said with a smile, "Seemed to catch on really fast here."
The idle chit-chat and small talk was already starting to wear on Isvalbard's patience, but Mida continued, "So, Janx, how exactly do you two know each other? Co-workers?"
"Hardly." Janx said gruffly.
"Friends, then?"
"NO!" Janx and Isvalbard shouted simultaneously.
Mida chuckled.
"It was procedure for KIA agents to know the entire agency roster and manifest." Isvalbard said, trying to help the conversation grow meaningful, "I barely recognized Janx. We only met one or two times before today."
"Fascinating." Mida said, "Good policy, for ideal circumstances. Too bad we're not in them now. Then again, our agency roster is rather small. I'm sure it wouldn't take long at all for you to get acquainted with our staff."
"I'm sure it won't." She responded flatly.
"If we take you in." Mida added.
Isvalbard nodded, "Of course my Tallness."
Mida smiled, "I'm sorry, where are my manors?" She reached for the lower-right drawer of her desk, making clinking noises as it was pulled out, "Would you care for a drink?"
Isvalbard strained every muscle and nerve in her face to resist the urge to roll her eyes and impatiently sigh. Still she bit her tongue, knowing full well that a job likely wouldn't be easy to come by in this post-apocalyptic world, and Boss Mida is possibly the biggest employer in it. She wanted to just explode with credentials, as she technically was still a member of the KIA, and had been long before Mida was. A part of her was slightly resentful of it all, but it wasn't without reason. Getting into the agency with so few members left meant she'd have even more power, and likely a fatter pay check. Besides, this Mida fellow seemed quite shrewd and intellectual; just the kind of goblin she liked.
Isvalbard conjured the most respectable and formal way of expressing her thoughts as possible before opening her mouth. When she did, she said "I'm sorry, my Tallness, but I'd really much rather get down to business, if that's possible."
At first, Mida stared blankly, still half hunched-over her open drink drawer. Slyly, one corner of her lips tipped upward, turning into an intrigued grin. Mida slammed the drawer closed, turned to Isvalbard, and with a smile said, "My kind of goblin." She adjusted herself in her seat, with her hands clasped together over her desk, and asked, "What would you like to know?"
"What's the status of the KIA?" Isvalbard asked, not skipping a beat, "What's your primary objectives and over-arching purpose?"
"Currently, our primary, long-term goal is to remove Trade Prince Gallywix from office, and power. He was already going to be laid off by the rest of the Coalition very shortly before the cataclysm. We are merely carrying out their wishes, even if we must do so through alternative means since the rest of the Coalition leadership is still unaccounted for. Trade Prince Steamwheedle likely survived, given his access to transportation and that his cartel is still running smoothly, but we have grown leery of a sudden surge in power delegated to, or possibly inherited by, the various Barons of his cartel. Trade Prince Donais eventually resurfaced, but his cartel and business interests went up in flames with the rest of Kezan. Gallywix took him in, and let him keep the title Trade Prince, but now he's nothing more than his personal henchman and, according to our information, possibly a liaison to the South Sea Freebooters for Gallywix. Of course, the Bilgewater Cartel is still here and alive, thanks to Thrall and my work with the new Warchief. All other cartels and cartel leaders, however, are gone."
"So wait a minute," Isvalbard said, "The main focus of the entire KIA now is to remove a single Trade Prince of a single cartel?"
"We don't have much choice." Janx said, "While the KIA's purpose was to protect the global financial and economic interests of the Trade Coalition on a covert level, the Coalition, as we know it, is no more. Whether because of the loss of an entire cartel or its Trade Prince, all that remains of our mighty corporate empire is Bilgewater."
"I'm in charge of the KIA now." Mida said, "Janx thought himself to be your organization's only surviving member, and he could not do everything alone. That's when he decided to reveal the agency to me, and my personal assistant, Kazit. Since then, with my connections, money, and power, I took over as the organization's leader. Janx supported the decision, and now he's my senior field agent and most trusted informant. Steadily, we've been re-building the agency one member at a time. You already met my other associate, Niff, who has been told of the agency, but little else."
"So you are the undisputed leader now?" Isvalbard asked.
Mida nodded, "Yes, that's me."
"Ah," Isvalbard continued, "When I was first speaking with Janx in his house he gave me the impression that he was in charge. After speaking with him outside before our meeting, though, I started to get confused when he kept referring to you as the Boss."
Mida's lips puckered slightly as her eyebrows rose. She turned to Janx and rhetorically asked, "Oh, really? Is this so, Janx?"
"Unintentionally, my Tallness." Janx said. "I was in charge for but a brief time, Isvalbard, before including Boss Mida, when she then became the leader of the organization. My own duties and missions have generally remained the same, and my authority retained, even if more secretly." Janx paused, unsmiling, and continued, "Mida may be the king of our chess operation, but I… I am the queen."
Mida and Isvalbard stared at Janx, holding back their laughter. He was serious, just as always. Turning to Mida, Isvalbard had to ask, "So, he really still talks like that, huh?"
Mida laughed – heartier than she'd laughed for some time, "Hah! You'd better believe it Is... Izzy-bard?"
"Isvalbard." She corrected her.
"Isvalbard." Mida confirmed, "That really is a tongue twister, ya' know. Got any other names you go by that I could call you?"
"A few." She said, "The first code name I had was Ariadne. It was assigned to me by the KIA when I first joined. It sounded nice, but it's a real monster to spell, if you sit down and think about it. At least Isvalbard is spelled exactly like it sounds. As soon as I got the clearance to do so I requested a security name change, but they had to pick it for me. You know, for safety reasons. That's when I got Isvalbard. Clunky yeah, but I like it way more than Ariadne, which I took on as my last name for record purposes. Besides, I had this name for my deployment to Northrend during the war against the Lich King, so a lot of people that I conducted business with know me by the name Isvalbard. I was going to request another name change soon, and hopefully, with my loyal work up in Northrend, the agency would let me pick it, but, well, you know the rest of the story."
"What name did you want?" Mida asked.
"Kilix." Isvalbard said, "Met a real interesting fella' up in Northrend by that name. It's simple, it rolls off the tongue; what more could I want?"
Mida shrugged, "Well sis, if you ever wanted a chance to change identities, now's it. You wanna' go by Kilix in our new KIA?"
Isvalbard shook her head, "Tempting, but no thanks. I love the name, but my former clients know me as Isvalbard. Changing it now could cost me some business down the line, and in this global economy I can't spare a single cent."
Mida's lips quivered a moment as she asked one last time, "Really? You're sure?"
Her disdain of the name Isvalbard seemed quite clear.
Isvalbard sighed, "Okay, fine, Kilix can be my nickname, but only for you and the inner-most trusted members of the KIA." Right as she said that, though, Isvalbard stopped herself, "Wait a second!"
Mida grinned mischievously, "What's wrong?"
"I wanted the name Kilix!" Isvalbard shouted, "But you managed to get me to concede grudgingly to it."
Mida's proud, tooth-filled grin took up nearly half her face and mockingly responded, "Why yes, however did that happen?"
Mida had turned the conversation so slyly and skillfully Isvalbard didn't even notice the switch. Her mouth hung open in shock for a second before smiling herself, and pointing an impressed finger at the Boss.
"You are good." Isvalbard said.
"So I'm told." Mida said, leaning back in her chair. "But that aside, you said you had clients in Northrend? Just what was your business, and for that matter, what was your business with the KIA?"
"Roughly the same." Isvalbard said, "My cover story that had been given to me was that I was a ghost hunter. For a price, I could help people or towns haunted by ghosts, spirits, zombies, whateva'. It was a nice lucrative business up in Northrend. Even though it was fun, and I made a decent profit from it, it was still just a cover story for my actual work. I was one of the field agents of the SEOSB, a sub-branch of the KIA that stood for Spirits, Elementals, and other Supernatural Beings. We were very small compared to other branches of the KIA, but with the war effort in Northrend, and goblin business interests blooming all over the continent, nearly the entire branch was sent up there, including the lower-level agents such as myself. It was my first large-scale field assignment, and we were charged with making sure the ghost and spirit things up there didn't get in the way of projects like the Argent Coliseum or Warsong Hold."
"Interesting." Mida said, "So ghost bustin' is how you earned your dough?"
"That and my salary from the KIA." Isvalbard said, "Mostly the KIA, though, which brings me to a question I've been wanting to ask since our meeting started."
Mida leaned forward intently, "Go on."
She already knew what was coming. She'd known it would be inevitable the moment they started talking. Isvalbard raised her upper lip with a slight smack and a quite inhale before she started asking, "You guys got some sort of ghost or spiritual expert in your agency yet?"
Isvalbard began haggling for a position.
Mida let a hesitant hum and bore her teeth, "You could say that. We're not exactly concerned with specialties right now, Kilix – just trained, trustworthy agents."
"Who is it?" Isvalbard continued, disregarding Mida's latter statement.
"His name is Brumley." Mida said, "We had a second one; a gal named Snuffit, but right now she's…" Mida paused, picking her next words carefully, "On special assignment. Her, shall we say, special skills, turned out to be quite useful up in Gallywix's Palace."
"Brumley…" Isvalbard said, looking away in contemplation. "That name sounds familiar."
Janx swiftly nabbed a paper of Mida's desk and held it up to Isvalbard's face. "You've likely seen this around town."
Isvalbard squinted at the flyer. It was an advertisement of some sort. A young-ish male goblin was on the front, along with the words "Sacraments! Relics! Confidential confessionals and spiritual counseling! For this and more, come find Brother Brumley Shuchirch in the Goblin Slums, right next door to Dink Hordewell's General Goods!"
She twitched as she scanned over the last lines, and fine print, that read, "Brumley Shuchirch. Gip gip biglkgip, faith be with you! Prices will vary, only gold accepted for payment, donations always welcome."
Isvalbard grinded her teeth before erupting in anger, "What is this supposed to be? Please tell me this is a joke! Your spiritual EXPERT is some street-corner mountebank, hawking religious goodies and spiritual experiences like a goblin does junk?!"
"It's not much." Mida said, "But he's trustworthy, and he's helping build a public confidence behind our movement. We allow our members to keep their businesses open on the side, so long as they stay in line."
As much as she didn't like it, Mida made sense. Isvalbard had to stop herself from yelling more at the prospect of a priest selling hog's mud and claiming it to have curative or spiritual properties taking her position in the KIA, even though she knew that wasn't quite the case now. After all, she wanted to keep her own business affairs open and running as an agent, right? More importantly, if some pathetic preacher was the closest thing to an "expert" this KIA had, that meant their need for her skills was all the more dire. So, she swallowed her anger, and continued negotiating.
"I understand, my Tallness." Isvalbard said, "But I also understand that calling such a goblin your 'expert' doesn't exactly speak highly of your spiritual expertise, does it?"
"Don't insult my organization." Mida said sternly.
Isvalbard was shaken for a moment, "That wasn't my intention."
Mida knew it wasn't, but nonetheless, it gave her an opportunity to put Isvalbard on the defensive in employment negotiations. Maintaining her domineering, and now somewhat threatening voice, Mida continued, "We don't yet have permanent positions or sub-branches of our agency. We only hire goblins worth hiring; end of story."
Isvalbard, however, knew that Mida knew her comments weren't meant to be offensive, so she sucked it up and powered through Mida's strong management tactics with a very ballsy question. "How much do you pay your agents?"
"Our agents are paid on commission." Mida said, "Pay will vary based on the job, and how valuable I deem each goblin's performance. Of course, then there's just the factor of how much I like 'em."
She smirked.
Before Isvalbard could say anything, Mida continued, "Now Kilix, what other skills can you offer us? Your history with spiritual encounters is impressive, but it makes ya' a bit of a one-trick pony, don't it? Any other fields of interest or specialty?"
Given the circumstances, Isvalbard decided to just play Mida's game on Mida's terms. She clearly wouldn't allow otherwise during business negotiations – admirable, but annoying, to say the least, when you're the one across the table.
Isvalbard's nose squeaked with a sharp inhale before she spoke. "I've always taken a fancy to politics, as Janx is more than aware of. I've even daydreamed of being a big-shot political correspondent, or commentator in some big Coalition publication or news network. You know, after I finish my civic duty to the Trade Coalition as an agent of the KIA."
"And your business?" Mida asked, "Would you seek to keep your ghost-busting business going, if you were to come aboard my team?"
Isvalbard shrugged, "I suppose so. It's important to me because it's my most readily available source of income, but really, I've seen enough ghosts and ghouls up in Northrend, and wouldn't mind a change of pace. Maybe it is time for me to get into politics." Isvalbard paused as her eyes met Mida's, "That okay with you, Boss?"
Mida smiled, and not in an unusually suspicious or cynical way. She smiled sweetly and said, "That's fine with me, sis. Both to keeping your spirit business going and pursuing whatever dreams you want. Like they used to say, it's a free Coalition. Now, well, it's a mostly free Horde, I guess."
Both of them smiled to one another. Mida pushed away from her desk, her chair making a noticeable screech as its wooden legs dragged on the metal floor, and said, "Well then, I guess that just leaves one question."
A little shocked by the brevity of such an important meeting, Isvalbard tilted her head and asked, "What might that be, my Tallness?"
Mida stood up and put her hands on her hips. From high above Isvalbard, head titled high and the most gobliny smirk she'd ever seen, Mida asked, "Do you think you can work as part of the Bilgewater Cartel, under the rules, and rule, of Mida Silvertongue's KIA?"
Needless to say, for the first time in a long time, Isvalbard felt truly intimidated. Such a wide-casted, general question left for an equally wide, general answer, and generalities are not something she was used to in the KIA. She couldn't help but wonder if there was a catch; if this question was some sort of test, or maybe it's another elaborate rhetorical trap Mida was setting, or maybe she should just answer as concisely and quickly as possible and spare any unnecessary verbosity? Thoughts all ticked in her head in just two seconds time, before she shook it all off and just decided to go with instinct.
"Well," She hesitantly started, "I never really thought of myself as a member of a particular cartel, to be honest. I'm one of those 'I'mma goblin of the Coalition, not of the cartel!' kinda' gals, you know? The idea of only working for the benefit of a single cartel is new, and a little… scary, to say the least. My loyalty, in the end of the day, will now and always be to the overall well-being of the Trade Coalition." Isvalbard paused for a moment, looking up at Mida's curiously furled brow, "But then again, I guess it's just hard for me to imagine that this is all that's left of the entire Coalition. The Bilgewater Cartel never was my favorite of the founding five, you know. I gotta' be honest. That Gallywix was a sham of a Trade Prince."
Stifling a chuckle, Mida spoke in a deep, loud voice, "You'll fit right in."
Isvalbard smiled, "Helping the Bilgewater right now is helping the Coalition, I suppose. It's not so much a matter of supporting and enforcing the Coalition's global power as it is re-building it, isn't it?"
Mida nodded respectfully, "One step at a time."
Isvalbard mirrored her, "One step at a time."
Isvalbard took a deep breath before standing up from her seat, and Janx watched on from his cold distance.
"Yes." Isvalbard said, finally answering Mida's question, "I would be honored to work in your organization, my Tallness."
Mida grinned and extended a firm handshake.
"Very well then, Ms. Ariadne." Mida said, "Welcome to my world."
Isvalbard shook hands with Boss Mida, and the deal was sealed.