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[thatkid]

"My price, m'lady?" Terryn paused a moment to think on it. "Well, a ducat or two never hurt...my men and I need to eat, after all, and we left our supplies behind when we fled the city. But in truth, Nikephoros' head would serve just as great a payment."

[Taricus]

"Now, before I continue, I'd just like to remind you that I'm a messenger, not the sender. Please don't kill me.

Any excuses she has for that would be better said from her mouth than mine, nor can I echo her sentiment about the situation. All I am here for is to possibly negotiate for your assistance to her cause, nothing more."

[Dwarmin]

Tala nodded to the knife.

"You have respected me, and my home. Thus, It's not my place to kill you unless you try something...unwise. At worse, I will turn you into Nikephoros, and he will decide what to do with you.

But, do go on. Negotiation, you say? What could the Queen possibly think I could offer her?"

[Taricus]

"First off, Youre someone powerful inside the city, this alone is well enough for her to risk sending a courier. Second is your popularity with the people. Third is the fact that you're more apt in negotiations, and an admission of hers is that she knows she is not too good in a diplomatic situation to say the least."

[Terenos]

"My price, m'lady?" Terryn paused a moment to think on it. "Well, a ducat or two never hurt...my men and I need to eat, after all, and we left our supplies behind when we fled the city. But in truth, Nikephoros' head would serve just as great a payment."

She has some of her men carry a chest into the clearing. It takes 4 men to carry it, and she kicks it open, pulling out a single sack of clinking coins. Then she throws the bag to you.
"Right then. This is yours for now. Yer first job is to get me an accurate report of the troops in dear old Nikephoros' service. And what he'll be raising with those funds Blackadder stole from me. Then meet with me near the estate of Lord Contague. You can't find us there, we'll be sheltering in the Dead Men's Hills."

You catch a glimpse of the contents of the chest as she closes it. It seems to be brimming with similar sacks to the one. You make some quick calculations in your head [6] But can probably safely discard the number. You're no scholar. And are somewhat unfamiliar with chests full of coins. Maybe..[12] Ducats?

Baroness De Plume leaves while you're thinking/counting your own coins.
Terryn receives 1 Ducat in mixed coinage.

[Dwarmin]

"Yes, usually when a Queen is run out of her country, her negotiation skills are deemed to have been poor.

All skills I have in spades, true enough. What does she want from me?"

Tala saw a shadow shifting in her peripheral vision. A Pasha shaped shadow...she smiled, feeling some of the coldness draining from her. In another time and place, she might have been afraid of letting down her guard.

"...Also, you can come out now, Pasha love. I don't think he's that dangerous. In any case, we can entertain him a bit, I think.

As you should know, I am married, Messenger. I hope our former Queen was apprised of this fact."

((OOC: @SC: I'm going AFK for a bit, so Pasha can take over his part of the conversation if he wants))

[SeriousConcentrate]

(Suppose I will, although I'm working on homework and tabbing over to B12 when I need a break. ^^^; )

Pasha sheathed his knife, making sure to produce an audible 'click' as he did so to let the courier know he had been watching the entire time. And even if he wasn't, Castleton was. The servant had gotten a shiny new crossbow recently courtesy of Matthew Turin and he had already had some practice with it; should the courier try anything untoward now of all times, he was being covered. Pasha crossed the distance and sat next to Tala, putting a hand on his wife's leg with a gentle squeeze before turning his attention to the stranger.

"I believe Lady Alanis asked you a question," he said evenly, with no indication of how he felt one way or the other on the matter.

[Taricus]

"Well, first off would generally be to incite the population against Kathos and Nikepheros. Nothing violent at this stage, mind, just more continuing the the current state of affairs but more widespread. Second would be getting our own into the gate and city guards. Third would be keeping Laythe informed of troop movements of the army, though do note nothing specific, just if they're leaving the city. Fourth would be providing a distraction for the army so that Lady Raila could strike without much bloodshed on either side.

Final thing would be eroding the army's support of Nikepheros. I don't need to tell you how much damage a zealot with an army can do..."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"And has Lady Ralia changed her ways at all?" Pasha asked. She had been crazy. Probably still was; a person just didn't recover from being a sociopath, let alone in less than a year. As far as he could see, there was no benefit whatsoever to bringing her back. On a practical level, she was impulsive and knew very little about actually ruling a kingdom. On a personal level, many of her practices that he had found while reading through the ledgers and journals were distasteful and dredged up old, bad memories. Additionally, there was the fact she had killed her own people and fled the country rather than even try to accept responsibility for her actions as Queen. He had worked for a man who had killed his own people once and never wanted to be in that position again. Even further, he held a dislike for a monarchy, believing that no one person should hold all the power of an entire kingdom.

The current arrangement suited him better. So far, Kathos and Nikephoros had been a bit harsh, but not unfair, and even showing a willingness to have an advisory council was a step in the right direction. Not just for Ligoria, but for the world as a whole. One day the empires and kingdoms would fall, replaced by united countries; separate, but bonded together through common rule and decency. Despite his thoughts, his face was neutral - aided by the fact it was still slightly swollen and bruised from Matthew's attack the previous day, and expressions of any sort were difficult and painful to form. "Also, why does she want Ligoria back? Has she considered that she might be unpopular, and there could be another revolt should she assume power once more?"

Another neutral question that expressed no opinion of his own; just a simple statement of a possible outcome. "Does she have any contingency plans for that?"

[Taricus]

"Likely, considering she sent a messenger and not an assassin. And why does she want Ligoria back? What desposed monarch wouldn't want their demense back. And with your and Tala's help, there won't be another revolt. And a contingency plan? Well, assuming she's victorious, Laythe would abdicate and cede the throne to Tala. Tala ascending to the position of Monarch would be a near-inevitability in the case that Laythe took back the throne, considering her celibacy."

[thatkid]

"Right then. Back to Talama, men." Terryn muttered, tossing the sack to Oswald as he turned and began to make his way back towards the city. Quite a lot of travelling back and forth, this job. He hoped it would be worth it.

Return to Talama. Have the scouts...scout.
Send a courier to Nikephoros bearing a sealed letter. Once again, he is to place this letter directly into Nikephoros' hands and he is to be disguised as a common citizen or courier (so not a Thornbred). He is to take a winding route to the Palace, and an even more convoluted route back (if he has to, he will be given a few coins to stay at a completely different inn for a night).

Spoiler: To Nikephoros (click to show/hide)

Lord,

Information to present, and information required.
Will be at Robber's Flask tom. evening. We need to talk. Try not to make a scene.

A Friend

[Ardas]

Nikephoros slipped out of his office quietly, dressed in a simple cloak and and hood over his head.

He done this thing often enough in his line of work not to raise too many suspicions when he turned up at the place mentioned in the letter.

Go to Robber's Flask and wait for the "friend".

[thatkid]

The Robber's Flask was a dingy place. Poorly lit by a dying fire in a crumbling hearth, it smelt of piss and beer and smoke. The crowd was mostly composed of sailors, and the city's lower class. Fights were to be expected, and on this particular night Terryn had already witnessed half as many fights as he had rebuffed solicitations from the local working women. His Brothers had been quick to take them up on the offer he had declined.

By the time Nikephoros arrived, Terryn was seated alone at the bar. His bright red hair in shocking contrast to the dull browns and grays of the room, his dirty gray cloaked form hunched over a drink. As the General approached, the Hedge Knight looked up and gave a silent half-nod. Slowly, Terryn downed his drink and placed several coins, of mixed nationality, onto the counter before getting up and making his way through the crowd to the back room.

He had made sure to rent most of the cots that night, though none of his men would be sleeping here. When he entered, the room was empty save for Oswald, feigning sleep by the door, and a couple which was far too preoccupied to take notice of any conversation.
Taking a seat on one of the few benches, Terryn removed a whet stone from his cloak's many pockets and began to hone his dagger. He would let Nikephoros make the first move.

[Ardas]

He followed the man and entered the room.

He was alone, and surrounded by Terryn's men, so he was more or less at his mercy. He had a short blade with him underneath his cloak, but he did not suspect anything bad. He trusted the man, but at the same time knew that a lot of things would go badly for Terryn if he tried anything. In the end, Nikephoros was eager to hear what the man had to say.

"You have returned quite quickly. I'm surprised, but also intrigued. What is it?"

[thatkid]

"She pays me in ducats," he replied simply, holding his dagger up to scrutinize the edge in the dim light. After a pause, Terryn returned to honing the blade. "Though I doubt she trusts me. She has told me where her host shelters, though I suspect it to be a trap. She is well-funded, likely from raids and extortion of the populace. I have been sent to acquire troop details, at which point I will meet with her at a different location."
The Hedge Knight shrugged. His whet stone scraped and threw up sparks as he worked on the blade.