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[Patrick Hunt]

At the meeting with Duke Alecto Vanheim

Tsujochi bows briefly before the duke and then smiled.

" May I have the honor of knowing who commands your armies and who commands your current cavalry regiment? It is important for why I am here."

[Gamerlord]

Okay, what's this about me losing any and all profits if I leave? I'm not an idiot; I know what that clause is for. Change it or it's no deal.

[Shootandrun]

With Agnad...

Alecto frowned with distaste, and made a hand-waving motion.

"If you knew what that clause was for, you would understand that removing it puts me in a tricky position. I have no assurance that I won't just found two trade posts for you before you wait a few years doing nothing and then take off with the immense wealth you just made off of my back to found your own company. This is supposed to be a long term deal - ideally, in fact, you could very well live with this company and then pass it on to your son. I could perhaps change the statement - let you keep a third of the money, or half... But if you want all of it, I'm going to need something to ensure you're not going to exploit the deal and leave as soon as you think you can spend a quiet and wealthy life as a Merchant Prince somewhere."

With Tsujochi...

The Duke frowned in surprise, before smiling again.

"Pardon me, I had forgotten you were not familiar with the ways of my land. As Duke and Lord of Kol'Thelos, I am the commander of its armies, and the general of its defense forces. Although I will sometimes have to delegate that duty to some of my subordinates - like Cathan, who met with your company commander a few days ago - the ever-changing winds of the politics of the nobility mean I am the only permanent superior officer. You can discuss with me anything you would wish to discuss with a more standard general."

[Patrick Hunt]

With the duke.

Tsujochi smiles politely.

" It was more to know to whom to deliver the gifts, amongst the Windborn it is customary that when we give our word we also give a gift. A Windborns word is his bond and once given will not be broken until he is killed or his duty is carried out. The value of the gift shows how important the matter we have agreed on is to us."

Tsujochi then bows again before Cathan.

" My commander was not entirely truthful with you 2 days ago. "

As he speaks he waves a hand over his shoulder and 2 Windborn mounts are led forward 1 to the duke and the other to Cathan.

" We have never given a mount to an outsider because we have never given our word on a matter of such importance before. Amongst our clan our mounts are the most valuable thing we possess and it is my honor to deliver one to the man with whom we agreed the alliance and one to the man he serves as proof of our dedication.

Beware riding them however, our mounts are significantly better then your own through countless generations of selective breeding to create the finest horses in this world. They are however also significantly more willful then your own because we bred them to be intelligent and capable of responding to threats without needing an order. As a result they may react in battle in ways you do not expect if they sense a danger you have not noticed.

The mount before you duke is brother to my own and from the closest to a royal bloodline that we ever bred being selectively bred from the very best stock and the one before you good knight is from the bloodlines of our commanders mounts, treat them well and they will do all they can to ensure no harm comes to you.

With these gifts I give my oath to serve you loyally so long as our contract stands, to keep the roads clear and to guard the borders of your lands against the horse tribes."


As he finishes speaking Tsujochi and all 200 of his men draw fists to there heart and incline there heads in a salute to the duke before he continues.

" The women with me are here to make good on my commanders word to train your breeders in how to select the best stock to improve your bloodlines. They are amongst our finest horse wives though it may take time for your breeders to learn the skills that have been born within us for generations.

However as you have pointed out I know little of these lands or your people so I also came to make a request, would it be possible to have 1 of your mounted men assigned to me who knows how to arrange things or get things done in your lands? Until I learn for myself it would make matters easier if I had one of your men to carry out any tasks I require rather then risk causing offense myself through lack of understanding.

However I do need to bring up 1 additional thing, 3 parcels of land is very generous but a tribe of our side would strip that in 3 season and we know from experience it takes 2 years for an area to regrow after it is stripped. If we are to support our tribe we would need access to 5 additional parcels to move our herds each season or we would need fodder for our mounts and animals to be delivered to us each season to support them.

In exchange we would be willing to offer an additional 10% of any loot we gather and to train any companies you choose to train professionally in future."

[Harbingerjm]

The Duke's office, with the Varanasi twins

A knight showed the twins inside after a few minutes' wait. He lead them to the Duke's office - which was also the war room - where the city's lord was waiting at the end of a long table. A smile colored the man's face, while his eyes indicated a certain curiosity.

"Sir Tankred, Lady Alessandar. What a pleasure to welcome you in my office. If I may ask, what made you desire to honor by palace so by visiting it?"

It was a polite way of asking why they had wanted an audience. It was extremely rare for the Duke to be impolite.

"And, while we still deal in pleasantries, will you have some wine?"

((Kind of having to wing it on the formalities here, not knowing exactly what you had in mind for the Duchy; if I got something wrong, that was my bad, not the twins, who would presumably know the formalities))
"I'm afraid we must refuse your gracious offer of wine, My Lord; ever since our grandfather's tragic death, our family has largely refrained from intoxicants. As to why we are here, it is related to your recent deal with the nomad tribe- the Windborn, I believe they were called?"
Allesandar took a step back, and Tankred stepped up to where she had stood.
"As Your Grace has doubtless considered, this deal is... somewhat unlikely to be popular amongst the nobility of the Duchy. As our parents' marriage proved, desperately needed practicality is apparently not sufficient excuse for recognising value outside Kol'Thelos. Bringing outsiders into Thelossi affairs seldom goes over well, and when the business is our horses, the outsiders are of the nomads, and they are given land to use... Well."
Tankred grimaced and stopped speaking, and Allesandar stepped up beside him.
"Doubtless Your Grace has some plan to deal with this already, or simply sees enough of value in it to be worth the outrage, but we have our own suggestion to make: if and when you select someone from Kol'Thelos to work with the Windborn on a permanent basis, select us. We are the nobles least likely to destroy diplomatic relations out of pride and dislike for outsiders before there are even any returns, and given our father's injury, the other nobles will not be able to accuse us of bias towards the nomads. We are also uniquely qualified among the nobles for these kinds of trade dealings, since we grew up being taught the skillset a successful merchant needs by our mother."
The two patiently waited for the Duke's reply.

[Gamerlord]

"What, my word as the captain of the Forever Lost isn't enough? Damn land clingers, no bloody trust. How about if I leave, I am only allowed to keep the profits that I made up to two years before I leave. So if I work six years and leave, I only keep the profits for the first four years?

[Fniff]

Blood and death was all around Farah, and she liked it that way. Far off in the distance she could hear Jordan screaming in horrific glee as he skewered and sliced through the sailors, and she vaguely knew that there was some sort of an intense heat around her. The adrenaline was clouding things up, making things vague. She turned around, and clarity (Well, as much clarity as Farah could have) returned to her.

In the distance, the cogs were rapidly approaching. She felt her stomach drop, and something shivery crept up her back. They should have been delayed for much longer! As the captain of the holk came running at her with his cutlass raised, and as she cut him down casually as he was just a fat merchant who probably learned all his fighting techniques from plays about pirates, she thought about what to do.

"They're down, captain." Alexei said, walking over with not a dry spot on his blade. "All of them are surrendered, or dead. What are your orders?"

Farah looked at the cogs, then at the holk. "We take what we can, then we get off this ship. I have an idea."

Alexei nodded, yelling to his men to grab all they could. The men set to work, grabbing anything that wasn't nailed down or on fire including the crewmen. She stepped onto her ship, then took out her spyglass and stared down at the rapidly approaching cogs. Plan, plan, think of a plan. Think past the adrenaline, think past the drugs, just think of a plan.

Plan.

Her men got onto the ship with all they could carry, and she had a plan.

Flee from the Cogs by going through a natural narrow obstruction Farah's singular cog could easily get through but two cogs couldn't: an island, a coral reef. While they're trying to maneuver through make escape to the nearest city state, then sell the goods/ransom off prisoners/sell the slaves.

[Shootandrun]

With Agnad...

Alecto frowned and shook his head again, once more waving his hand dismissively.

"That leaves us with the same problem - when comes the time of your departure, you could simply decide to stop being productive for two years and then leave with all the money made beforehand. I suggest, M. Nallbrine, that we do the opposite. You can keep the last two years of profits, and company property remains with the company. That way, you will have a motivation to keep on expanding the company until the very end. If you do your work correctly, even two years should let you be a very, very wealthy man - just the trade posts I intend to buy for the company will generate eight ducats in that time, after taxes. What do you say, captain?"

With Tsujochi...

The Duke smiled and left his horse (a squire of some kind quickly ran up to hold the animal's reins) behind him to go and look at the Tribe leader's gifts. He seemed to appraise them quickly, and appeared to be satisfied with their breeding.

"Those are fine gifts, Tribe Leader, and what you ask is fair - and as such, I feel it is my duty as host to give you a fair warning. Any more lands I let your animals graze upon will still give you no tax revenue; however, it will become your duty to defend them, as I will assume you patrol the lands where your horses feed. As such, your responsibilities will grow in size much like the lands where you can graze will expand. I will allow your tribe to have more land to graze, if you so desire, but you must be aware that it will make your duty harder."

With the Varanasi twins...

((Don't worry about it too much - I improvise as I go along. I envisioned Kol'Thelos to have manners very dependent on one's rank, rather than gender or age - one is expected to be polite with a noble possessing more power, while one can all but insult those of lower ranks if so desires. Of course, some people - like the Duke - are just polite with everybody, regardless of their position.))

Alecto smiled - slightly, and with a very knowing look. He motioned for the twins to sit.

"Clever observations and clever suggestions. I had already anticipated issues between the nobility and the Windborn tribe - the foreigners cannot be expected to know all of our customs, and the nobles may have issues in dealing with such savages. I was seeking someone to fit into a particular duty, and I believe I have found not one, but two ideal volunteers.

I require someone to start breeding horses - real horses, not the lowly beasts we have been stuck with ever since the Kerns war. More importantly, that someone will have to deal with Windborn trainers and breeders, which will require tact. That's where you would come in. I intend to... Well, grant is not exactly the word. I intend to lend you some lands, of which you will receive the taxes and the responsibility. It would not be a new noble title for you; it would be a kind of indefinite regency in my name. The reason for this distinction is that if your competence proves to be less than outstanding, it will be easier to shuffle around the leadership for this project; the other is that if your competence proves to be more than outstanding, it will make it considerably harder to reward you with something else than undeveloped parcels without creating some rather odd borders within the realm."

The wine had remained untouched throughout the conversation. Apparently, despite his asking if the twins had wanted some, the Duke had had no intention to drink.

"Well, then. Would you be interested in such a deal?"

[Patrick Hunt]

Tsujochi bows again for a moment.

" We have never settled in one place for long, though our tribe had a home it was rare for more then 1 of my family and there companies to be in it at any time.

We are well used to moving from place to place and protecting the area around us as we do. If it is acceptable we will simply continue that tradition and protect whatever area we happen to be in at the time. We will of course maintain scouts on the border in case horse tribes come close and continue to patrol the roads.

Once somebody is assigned to work with us I intend to look for a company of mounted men to hire as per the terms of our agreement, which will make it all the easier to guard your lands. "

[Harbingerjm]

((Don't worry about it too much - I improvise as I go along. I envisioned Kol'Thelos to have manners very dependent on one's rank, rather than gender or age - one is expected to be polite with a noble possessing more power, while one can all but insult those of lower ranks if so desires. Of course, some people - like the Duke - are just polite with everybody, regardless of their position.))

((I meant more in terms of things like titles, honourifics, methods of address and the like))

"Clever observations and clever suggestions. I had already anticipated issues between the nobility and the Windborn tribe - the foreigners cannot be expected to know all of our customs, and the nobles may have issues in dealing with such savages. I was seeking someone to fit into a particular duty, and I believe I have found not one, but two ideal volunteers.

I require someone to start breeding horses - real horses, not the lowly beasts we have been stuck with ever since the Kerns war. More importantly, that someone will have to deal with Windborn trainers and breeders, which will require tact. That's where you would come in. I intend to... Well, grant is not exactly the word. I intend to lend you some lands, of which you will receive the taxes and the responsibility. It would not be a new noble title for you; it would be a kind of indefinite regency in my name. The reason for this distinction is that if your competence proves to be less than outstanding, it will be easier to shuffle around the leadership for this project; the other is that if your competence proves to be more than outstanding, it will make it considerably harder to reward you with something else than undeveloped parcels without creating some rather odd borders within the realm."

The wine had remained untouched throughout the conversation. Apparently, despite his asking if the twins had wanted some, the Duke had had no intention to drink.

"Well, then. Would you be interested in such a deal?"

The twins glanced at each other for a moment, exchanging brief hand-signals, then turned back to the Duke.
"That seems a reasonable and workable deal. We will of course need to work out the details, but overall the charge is agreeable."

[Gamerlord]

"Make it three years and you have a deal. By the by, I'm not the only Nallbrine captaining a ship, so I'd recomend you don't start thinking that you're working with me whole family.

[Ghazkull]

Farah

[2] Finishing the butchering of the crew (which you initiated) your men go through the contains of the ship and find...Marble. The Ship was laden with marble stone. Tons of it...no wonder it was moving THAT slow...[5] doing a quick calculation in your head you reckon that the laod would be worth some 2.5 Ducats. But would severly slow you down.

[Ardas]

Inquire from the dwarven ranger about their land -would they be interested in trade and is there something bothering their borders?

[Shootandrun]

With Agnad...

The Duke applied the requested modifications to the contract on the flow, thus allowing the merchant to keep the profits made during the last three years by the company for himself.

"You are the only Nallbrine I know, and unless you intended to sign using a relative's name, I don't see why you should worry about that. Your signature at the bottom here, please."

With Tsujochi...

Alecto frowned in surprise and shrugged.

"If you're confident in your ability, I see no problem with letting your tribe graze on more lands, Tsujochi. I had assumed troops you would recruit would come from your tribe - otherwise any regiment you assemble will be a motley crew indeed, with five different mercenary companies added to five hundred tribesmen and everyone using different horses since you refuse to share yours with foreigners... I have no problem with hiring mercenaries if more are needed; however, if you truly need more troops, simply send any mercenary company you find directly to me. Since I'll be the one paying, I would deeply prefer to be the one signing any paperwork - mercenary captains are not always trustworthy when it comes to their service, I'm sure you'll understand."

With the twins...

The Duke smiled once more, a little more warmly this time.

"Wonderful. I intend to give you leadership over three parcels, of which you will get the taxes and the responsibility but not the full ownership. Your duty will be to develop these parcels into horse breeding lands, and to act as my representatives with the Windborn tribe. Although you would have no strict deadline to develop the parcels, I will be expecting at least some results within the year, or a damn good reason why it wasn't possible. If you are expedient and competent for the matter, appropriate rewards will be chosen. I may also require the aid of one of you during the coming months for a rather more touchy matter... But that is a discussion for another time. What do you think of such a deal?"

[Patrick Hunt]

Tsujochi nods.

" The young of my tribe will not be old enough to join us for some time yet so until then I will need to use other companies, if I find 1 that I feel is suitable to join me I'll send them to you so you can make the final choice then they can join me if you agree.

Different kinds of riders have value in different uses, mine are not built for prolonged battle so maybe I'll find other companies that are. "