As you write an appropriate missive and stamp it with your copies of Jovanastian thief signs you hope that this isn't one of their off years. Captain Bukhar is more than happy to take it off to Jovanast and see who'll bite.
5
It's not very long at all before the ship returns laden with enterprising men and women from many disparate backgrounds, unified in their desire to steal and murder for easy money. Doing it quasilegally in a different country is almost irresistible to most of them, and thus you've managed to get a fairly good price on their contracts, for which they request copies in case they are mistreated in the line of duty or suffer undue harm as would be covered by their assassin insurance back home.
As they file out to take a look at your facilities, you marvel at how easy it is to employ criminals these days. Jovanast really has this society thing figured out.
257 S.I., Early Summer
1
The Queen invites you to meet in the garden once again, which in recent months has twisted and overgrown with leafless vines. This time she looks slightly more worried than usual, with Princess Annika standing by worriedly as well. You make the usual pleasantries a little shorter this time before asking about the matters of the day.
Well, the Queen says, she received a message from Vesperlund. Specifically the Kaiser of Vesperlund, who appears to be slightly put out that her daughter would run away from his delightful palace and come out to what he has described as "barbarian country". And they appear to have discovered that Annika lives here now, which has been met... less than positively.
Insufferable as always, that's her mother, Princess Annika says.
And so the Kaiser has elected to take matters into his own hands and come here personally to demand the return of his daughter, attended by his hundred-man Immortal Guard. Which is a smidgen more polite than outright declaring war, she supposes.
What the Queen is saying, Princess Annika gets to the point, is that she feels there ought to be some way to resolve their differences with all parties, except hopefully her mother, leaving entirely satisfied. She herself, for instance, would really like to stay here and enjoy her time with her great friends and also this book of incredible demonic power that may or may not turn her immortal, instead of going off to marry some syphilitic sycophant general in the army.
Yes, the Queen says, she'd also enjoy a solution of this nature, with the added provision that it not end with the rather sizable Vesperlund navy and their vast numbers of legionnaires coming over to force the issue in a more direct way.
A) You might be able to negotiate something, in a strictly unofficial capacity. The Kaiser did not get to be that way by being unreasonable.
B) It pains you to say this, but the only practical solution would seem to be to just give them what they want.
C) It's high time to teach the Kaiser a practical lesson in humility. Coming here in person, that's practically asking for trouble!
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Topic: SPAMMASTER: Spymistress Kalja the Bewitched (Read 36463 times)