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| Tea Time, The Trickster's Tide; for Galena | |
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| Topic Started: Jan 15 2015, 12:58 PM (226 Views) | |
| Neriasis | Jan 15 2015, 12:58 PM Post #1 |
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Ex-God of Order
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It had been a few months since his ‘disapperance’. Only a trusted few within Argos knew who he really was. Though it still surprised him to find the guild easy to control despite the yet again sudden change in leadership, at least to the untrained eye. But he had come to find that the guild members, while some of them were ambitious, were much more comfortable with a leader who’d come from the outside. Of course he had to change his tactics to keep up appearances. Kindness replaced cruelty, which was all fine and well as the majority of troublemakers had already been purged prior to this new change. Argos was still at its core a guild full of criminals and societies leavings; but even such people needed and wanted work to put food on their tables. They still ran their underground dealings in goods and secrets, but on the surface Argos was beginning to gain a bit of positive reputation with the opening of shelter and makeshift medical establishments to deal with the plague that had broken out. They’d even gotten a bit of praise for their mercenary trade. Of course giving a discount to the city to offer up extra guardsmen for the walls helped. The drow had not been entirely hidden away either. Using his new appearance and an alias he had given the guild a better image. Few seemed to be turned off by an angel in their midst, or so they thought. And he had been every bit as charismatic as he could be to the people. There was hardly a person in the lower class that would have said a bad thing about Argos and its new angelic leader. Now he just needed to work on the nobility and the politicians, always a harder audience. Now that the snows had begun to fall it seemed as good a time as any to introduce himself to Soto’s councilors, starting with Galena. He had almost started with Aniketos but there was still a threat of giving himself away in the man’s presence so best to practice his manners on others first before trying to hoodwink a man the drow held a measure of contempt for. Also Galena has choice in dealings with the plague, being that she had been the one to inform the council about it in the first place, or so he had been told. It was a simple note, written in flourishing handwriting, inviting the councilor to meet him for tea at a small hole in the wall place between where the nobility met the commoners. It was a clean establishment, run by an old married couple and their three daughters. How they managed to stay open and profitable was anyone’s guess. Neriasis had his suspicions, but none that suggested these were bad people. They were in fact some of the nicest people one was like to meet. Not even the thieves’ guild seemed to have the desire to bother them. The drow figured some of their prosperity was probably linked to that fact, but if for nothing more than they might hide some of the thieves who were just people down on their luck with no other way to make due. It was a philosophy that was held by Argos these days. The note had been signed with the Argos spider and the name Na’ib. Hopefully she would come, he was certain the letter had arrived in time to inform her of the intended meeting time and place. The drow, in disguise as an angel, had taken a seat near the window to observe the traffic of the midday market. Quietly he sat awaiting his guest and the tea which he had gone ahead and ordered for them, a citrus blend with a hint of mint. If he recalled it was good either hot or cold, so ordering it now was no issue if Galena did not arrive before the tea did. |
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| Galena | Jan 31 2015, 01:45 PM Post #2 |
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Thy sins, paid in blood...
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As always, Galena had taken it upon herself to travel on foot. People had enough to do, without running around ferrying her places, or taking care of any steed she chose to ride to the destination. That, and the fact that it was somewhat embarrassing that most times she needed some small assistance even getting on a horse in the first place. Perhaps she should purchase a small fat pony for those times she might need to keep up with others, but then it would probably get left behind, and though cute, wasn't nearly as impressive as a rangy horse. It didn't bother her that people knocked shoulders with her as she traversed the street to the marked location, a pokey little tea shop that had seen better days. It seemed quiet, compared to some of the establishments on the street, more overgrown and ramshackle than most. Really she wasn't sure what to make of the whole ordeal. The last time she'd seen the leader of Argos, it had been at the great feast in Ashoka, when the Moghul rode a flaming chariot through the streets, and such fighting broke out on the table...with him the supposed victim, of all things. Mixed things had come through the grapevine about their leader, but what could she honestly say about him? Argos were known to be little more than organized criminals, yet he'd taken an active role in providing succor for the sick and needy in their time of trouble, showing a tender heart where many had thought him to have none. Perhaps that alone was why she had reserved her judgement for now, and accepted this strange...truce, was it? She'd never met the former leader of Argos, but otherwise had no ill will towards him. And now it was rumored he was dead, his affairs taken up instead by another. Well...she'd find out soon enough. A tiny bell tinkled over the door as she cautiously pushed it open all the way, waited for her eyes to adjust to the light within, then slipped inside, the rushes on the floor tickling at her ankles and catching on the bottom of her stola. She'd chosen to wear a cloth of pale green today, a wide belt of golden discs encircling her waist, her palla a deeper shade, the green of treeshadows between dapples of sunlight. There were few occupants to choose from, but after the initial looks drifted elsewhere, she chose to move to the solitary man who yet watched for her. Even with him sitting he was almost as tall as she, fair and pleasing to gaze upon. "Ser Na'ib?" She offered a wan smile as a young woman of perhaps sixteen set a wooden tray upon the table, two much worn porcelain teacups, the gilt missing in patches, and a steaming pot settled upon it. Lemon, and a touch of mint if she was not mistaken. More a summer tea than something rousing for the winter, but that bothered her not. The combination was a good one, and enjoyable nonetheless. |
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| Neriasis | Feb 2 2015, 08:43 AM Post #3 |
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Ex-God of Order
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Lifting his head upon hearing his name he gave a gentle smile. It had taken some time to getting used to the new name at first, but now it was second nature to respond to it. With fluid grace he stood from his seat and gesturing with a hand caused the seat across from him to slide out for his guest. In a small place like this it was easier to use his psionic abilities for such actions than to try and get around the young girl serving tea just to pull out a chair in a gentlemanly fashion. “Please sit Lady Barillus,” he said in an inviting tone, his voice a warm, deep tenor, not quite in the range of a bass. Only after she had settled in did he return to his seat. “I am honored you accepted my invitation,” the pleasant nature never leaving his voice, “I know Argos has never been on favorable terms with the council in the past. My predecessor further fraying that relationship with his childish antics.” It was hard to put himself down in such a manner, but if all he had to say was that, it could have been worse. Simply put it had been a childish action even if he felt that he was entitled to lashing out at Aniketos for such a minor slight as not trusting him. In retrospect it had been such a ridiculous thing to get upset over, but the ex-god was prideful and showing someone what he was capable of had always been one of his favorite pastimes. Now however he had to be discrete about his displays, or else he’d never manage to get any further than where he was now. “I wish this to be a pleasant encounter,” he said as he reached for the teapot to pour them each a cup of the hot liquid, “As I am sure there are questions you have about me and what it is that Argos is doing. I assure you it is not as sinister as people are want to believe. I only wish to help.” |
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| Galena | Apr 13 2015, 12:27 PM Post #4 |
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Thy sins, paid in blood...
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"Oh!" Immediately she regretted the squeaked exclamation, made her feel half a mouse for the surprise as the chair scraped back by itself. Well, perhaps she ought not to, chairs didn't just move by themselves, and the flagrant display of whatever powers this Na'ib had to hand set her teeth a little on edge. She didn't know how he'd achieved such a feat, and could only guess that it must have been some form of unseen magic, or perhaps sheer mental willpower. She couldn't see any strings attached the the back. After a hesitant moment she parked herself, glad that the chair didn't automatically tuck itself in again. That might have been too much for her to handle, and nobody wanted to see a middle-aged woman suddenly losing her composure in public and accidentally voiding her bladder all over the seat just because it moved without her sayso. Galena cleared her throat delicately, dismissing the thoughts, and settled herself a little more comfortably. "Please, Ser, believe mine words when I entreat thee to understand that I personally hold no ill will towards thee, or thine guild. Thine actions during the sickness...I must thank thee. Alas that such cordiality escapes me often, for mine attention is regularly swept from other matters to focus on those that need it most, as I am sure that you understand." Truly, she was sure she'd dictated to someone to send a gift and a passing note of thanks for his efforts in the summer, whether it had arrived at all escaped her memory. There had been far too much to do to focus on such trivialities. Despite what was often purportedly said of the mercenary guild however, she did not quite hold them in such foul esteem as those rumors demanded. Actions always spoke louder than words, and she was nothing if not grateful for his contribution to their society. "Quite so." She took the teacup lightly, balancing it on her fingertips as she blew light ripples across the surface of the golden liquid, enjoying the warmth seeping into her flesh. "Considering thine reputation is...well, to blunt ser, little better than a ragtag band of criminals, one must query how you intend to change that." She herself sat at the peak of a little group of rumormongers, a small intelligence network when it came to gossip among the nobility, but none such that reached quite to the common man. No, her influence in that department was purely in helping those and feeding on their gratification. They were two different things, the nobles quite literally become a game tangled around politics, and the commoners a simple will to fix broken. She wouldn't prompt this man to ask her for any aid in such things, not without knowing what exactly he wanted from her, or any of the other councillors. "The mercenary is not quite so accepted, being outside of our guild system...but to have a guild of such people..how doth thine hand intend to merit control over them? Wouldst thou hath them become nothing more than common laborers, or fighters? Art thou intending to accept those not of Sotoan lineage?" The troubling thing, she supposed, was that they offered their services, a costly sum for the exhange of their life, potentially. And there was the fact that many such sellswords were not of Soto. Only a handful of Guilds accepted non Sotoan nationals. Perhaps that too, ought to change. it was a way to keep people close as much as a way to send fingers of each agency creeping across the land to gather wealth and information at the price of crafts. She sipped her tea thoughtfully, watching the angelic man across from her, and wondering on his differences to the previous leader of Argos. |
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| Neriasis | Apr 14 2015, 06:11 AM Post #5 |
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Ex-God of Order
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“Understandably, I did not expect any acknowledgement for our part during the sickness. There are always more pressing matters for one in your station than to offer thanks for such a paltry display of aid,” the words were said with a calm humble tone to them. Being humble had never been one of Neriasis’s strong points and another reason why he had waited a number of months before contacting any of the councilors. To put on an act so completely as to be a creature on the opposite side of the spectrum from his true self had taken far too much time out of his schedule. It would be worth it in the end if he could succeed in placing Argos in a more comfortable position within Soto’s infrastructure. The angelic face offered a light smile at her first query into Argos’s reputation. “I imagine that will be the first interest of all I talk with,” he mused lightly, his mannerisms that of someone not bothered by such an inquiry as he moved his own cup to rest between his hands. Blue eyes focused on Galena to give her the full respect she deserved, no flighty flickers to the rest of the tea house as if searching for a dagger in the dark. No Ni’ab was a calm creature, with an elegant confidence about his person; not the twitchy and arrogant reprobate that the drow Neriasis let himself on to be. “It is not an easy task to take the word mercenary and turn it towards the light, even without the name of Argos attached to it. It is a daunting feat, one that I intend to conquer one step at a time. First by making our presence more visible, less associated with the dark corners of the city; while I did offer assistance during the sickness as a kindness it was also a ploy to show my fellow countrymen that the name Argos should not be one to outright fear. I can’t condone completely throwing away that blanket of fear though, as it is a great tool when it comes to the line of work we do.” “As for the rest of what I must do to turn Argos around it is much about your follow-up inquiries. My ultimate goal for this meeting and the others I have set up is to gain favor in making Argos a guild within the guild system. Obviously favor cannot be earned just by asking, I will also need insight into how to gain certain councilors’ favors. Councilors such as Hesperés, who I imagine would much rather Argos disappear altogether,” Ni’ab paused to take a sip from his tea to sooth his throat which might go dry if he spent too much time talking without a bit of a break, “You might be surprised at how easily it is to maintain control over such a guild. Yes, there are a handful of troublemakers, but they get weeded out quickly these days due to a diligent eye. I will not lie; many of the men in Argos are former criminals, though many have done little more than steal a loaf of bread to feed their hungry families. Argos offers a way for such people to start anew and learn skills; granted most of those skills lie in combat. An offer they cannot gain anywhere else. Some would quite happily take a job as a common laborer if it meant food on their table. However, that is not the overall goal of Argos, though we are willing to offer such services if they are needed. It would allow for some of our members to get out of mercenary work and back into the more respected parts of society after all.” Running a finger around the rim of his cup his gaze never wandering from Galena as he spoke, in fact he barely fidgeted at all. This he imagined would be the easiest meeting out of all the councilors as he already had a measure of respect from her for his actions during the plague. However, that did not mean he would squander such favor by assuming he had her on his side. “I know it is not a popular option to allow for non-Sotoan’s to join Sotoan guilds but I cannot see any reason not to if they are to be a productive member of society. That being said I would also prefer not to see Mercenaries outside of Argos within Sotoan borders. A rogue mercenary is bound to become an issue. Though I am willing to work with mercenaries from other countries on a contract to contract basis. I might be thinking too big at the moment, the whole of Soto is a big place, Argos’s focus is mostly in Madrid and a touch in Reine at the present.” “I would also like to address an unspoken query, one that I myself thought of before taking over the guild. We are not murderers; I will not have Argos take any contract that distinctly calls for the death of an individual; that is wet work for the likes of Assassins and rogues. That being said what we will do is the work of guardsmen, for caravans or otherwise; we can supplement the country’s guardsmen and military as well; and of course we are no strangers to assisting in the disposal of bothersome beasties.” |
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| Galena | May 31 2015, 04:22 PM Post #6 |
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Thy sins, paid in blood...
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So he didn't expect some sort of merit for helping the sick? Interesting...of course it could have all been a bluff. Most people wouldn't even consider stooping to help the dying when they might be putting themselves at risk as well. Doing it without expecting some sort of gain was...well, not an entirely preposterous idea but from someone running a guild of mercenaries, highly unlikely. Yet he seemed sincere enough, and she found that she couldn't quite decide which way to believe. But then why did she do it? She'd not done it for the sovereignty, that was for sure. It was just another duty, the hospital was where her heart was at. Personally, she had never been happy to stand the suffering of others, knowing that she could do something. Perhaps that made her weak, that she felt so badly, that she might try to do whatever she could for those around her, but there was all too little compassion in the world. It was a hard, tough place, and would beat everyone down into the dust at least once. In the end she thought, it didn't matter if you could swing back at that point, only how many hits you could take. She only hoped that she might help alleviate some of that pressure on people, extend a hand and draw them back to where they could stand on their own. It was not even that she considered the life of a mercenary a dark path to tread...it was selfish, surely, but also selfless, in that they made their living literally paying with their lives. Everyone had a skill which they charged for, theirs happened to be with whatever weapon they so chose. They were no different from a trained army, really, when you got down to it, bar the fact that their only loyalties were to money and themselves. If only it didn't make them a potential threat to the country perhaps she could back it. They would however, need something to tie them to the motherland, for the assurance of all. Her eyes followed his finger as he circled the rim of his teacup, musing perhaps on how to approach the heart of the subject. Patiently she waited, sipping from her own beverage. "Hmm..." The cup clinked as she set it down, lacing her pale fingers together and leaning back in the chair, which squeaked alarmingly with her weight. "I have no immediate objections to the way you have presented it. Providing that the mercenaries within the borders of our country can either present evidence of their contract when queried or their ties to Argos, I would be happy to accept this. And I am not wholly against accepting immigrants of other nations...people move all the time, marry, resettle, have children...I believe those people should be allowed the chance to integrate into society." Her eyes narrowed a touch, fingers tightening as she considered her next words. "However...I do think perhaps some sort of assessment should be in order. Criminals, for example, escaping the borders of their own countries, should not be allowed to simply slip into the ranks of Argos as a way of asylum. The law is the law, regardless of the reasons it may be broken for. I would not wish to have to hand anyone over to their respective nations, if it should be required we do so. Nor for it to tarnish our country's reputation as one such that harbors these kind of people openly." She smiled, a touch chilly maybe, as she raised the cup to her lips and took a large swallow to whet her throat. A shame, it was already lukewarm, not quite to her palate. Scalding or nothing, she thought glibly. "I am glad to hear that you would become something as dark as the Deadly Silence. Which of course...is only a myth." She paused, her eyes twinkling at the open suggestion. She wasn't stupid, they both knew such an organization existed, whatever they chose to call themselves, and didn't take kindly to competition. Therefore it might be fortuitous for Argos to broker a deal with them, to handle that sort of dirty work. Such contacts would be highly prized, in any network. "And do you intend to take claim of bounties and rewards that deem a target be captured? That sort of thing is usually free standing and does attract mercenaries from various nations." |
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