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[filiusenox]

William sent one of his men back to the "Barracks", double checked to make sure Chironas wasn't one of the two guards, and then altered his direction and headed to the vineyard, where the meeting was designated.
He checked for ambushes as he walked into the meeting area.
He smiled at the three men, a not so nice smile, more of a predatory grin as such.
"Hello! Pleasure to meet you all. I'm William Sarturi and I'm here to talk business."

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Well met, Simon," Pasha said. He wasn't overly surprised he had been recognized; his hair color wasn't very common in the Sword Coast, or most parts of the known world really, and he was sure there had been enough gossip about Lady Alanis settling down that his description and known deeds had been passed around a bit more than usual. In his experience the average woman loved to gossip and if one was quiet they could overhear a lot of information, some useful, a lot useless, but generally interesting. "I thought you might be a mercenary. As it happens, I'm thinking of finding a bodyguard. I haven't decided if I want one yet or not, but I could do with a skilled swordsman." He gestured at the array of blades Simon had with him; a man wouldn't carry that many if he wasn't able to fight with them. That's why he only carried one sword and a dagger (and a hidden knife, but that was rarely used since it was for emergencies - and assassinations - only).

"As for other work, there are a few people I could introduce you to, once I see your abilities for myself. I want to know how skilled the man I'm recommending is before I do so." It was an understandable position, he felt. Pasha had had to prove himself the first time he had been hired on to be a tactician (well, he hadn't known it was a test or that he was being considered for the position at the time; he had merely outmaneuvered his opponent easily in a game of strategy at a fair and had been offered the job). He noticed Simon looking towards the castle and turned his eyes to it himself. "The men I speak of are the joint rulers of Ligoria. Nikephoros Vandire is the marshal for Ligoria's forces, and Kathos Thunderblade, the chancellor, is also a veteran. You seem like the kind of man who would prefer the thick of battle rather than a commander's position, though." He looked back to Simon.

"In any case, Simon, you seem to have the advantage. You know of me, but I know little of you. Tell me about yourself. What do you hope to accomplish with those blades of yours? Glory, power, justice...?" Pasha trailed off, waiting to see what his companion would say...

[adwarf]

"My overall goal is to find one whom I can call my Liege, and march with their armies to war. What I truly seek is glory on the battlefield, I wish to be remembered for ages to come as one of the few who carved their name with their own hands into the stone of time. Even if it costs me my life I shall never flee from a battle unless ordered, that is why my back holds nothing, but a few scratches from those unwise enough to try, and attack me whilst I was not looking." Simon said as he took a package from a pouch on his leg.

The sun burned bright in the sky, and off somewhere Simon could hear the giddy laughter of children. 'Oh how lucky they must be no to not bear the scars that time has given me. May their lives pass without that which mine has suffered.' The package was roughly the size of a dinner plate, and the sound of clinking metal could be heard as he checked to make sure what was inside still remained. It reminded him of a time long ago, a time when blood rained, and fires licked at his heels. Quickly putting it back in the pouch, and letting out a deep booming laugh he says "I must seem like an old man lost in thoughts of my past. Anyway now is not the time for such things maybe later I could tell you, but they are dark tales indeed. What kind of test would I be taking?"

[SeriousConcentrate]

"Fair enough," Pasha said to Simon's statement of what he wanted out of life. His own goals had been considerably less noble until a season ago; he had just wanted to get paid enough to live and then move on without a care for the consequences of the battle's outcome. Now, though, he had an investment in the well-being of Ligoria, and he needed to work for its betterment. If not for the people of today, then for his future children. "It's good that you have courage and conviction. That seems to be lacking in the average man these days." He sighed.

Simon checked something in his pouch and Pasha glanced over, more to see what the sound was than from nosiness. He replaced whatever it was and laughed, more or less explaining that it was a memento of his past, then asked what it was his test would be. "Well, if it's all right with my bride-to-be, I thought I might test your skills in a duel against one of her bodyguards. Maybe both if you want to try them. The pair of them have guarded her faithfully for several years and if you're a match for one of them, that's good enough for me. What do you say?"

[NUKE9.13]

Hugo wasted no time in spreading the good word of the new regime amongst the people. This would be a modern nation; a great nation. One of culture and learning, of faith and wisdom. A new day dawns on the Storm Coast, and in its light Ligoria shines.

De Republica Ligoria, he muses. By the will of the council and the people. And the Bright One, of course. In Nomine Concilus Populique Ligoria.

The new flag should reflect this. A simple design; instantly recognisable. Modern; but inspired by the ancients. Colourful and exiting, pleasing to the eye. A simple phrase which every Ligorian can remember; CPQL, to remind them that the new regime is fighting for them, not against them. And the sun, to remind folks to keep the faith.

He has a tailor make a few, has them delivered to the council members for evaluation.

[vagel7]

Franz waked up, his head aching and limbs numb, must be from the poison. How could I let this happen? stupid stupid stupid. Now it is time to make a new deal or escape.

[Iituem]

Juan steepled his fingers in thought.  He leaned forward slightly as he spoke.

"Theft, killing, no issues.  More of the same, job-wise.  Whores, fine.  Drugs, fine.  If a man wants to relax and he's willing to pay, let him.  If he's too weak to know when to stop, he deserves everything he gets.  Women can kill you as easy as men and cause as much trouble, so again - fine.

"Children's thorny.  Generally no, but some exceptions.  If they hold some sort of power, say an inheritance, and we have to kill them to get it?  Fine.  Profits you, profits me.  If they're in the way for reasons not of their own, say if they're some boy-lord being manipulated by his advisors, fine - it's removing an obstacle.  If he attacks, fine - if he can choose to kill someone, he can die for that choice.  And if he needs to die in retribution - either to a failure to comply with hostage-taking, or out of vengeance... I'd be happier with the latter, but I'll do the former if the boon's good enough.

"There's two things I won't do, then.  One I won't kill a kid for no profitable reason or for fun, because that's just sick."  Juan leaned back and cracked a smile.  "And two, I won't sleep with a hatcuri.  That's just wrong."

Juan waits for Laz to continue.  He also takes the opportunity to get a good long look at Laz's office.

[thatkid]

-Terryn goes to a meeting with the Captain, attempting to intimidate the guardsmen into letting him into the office even if the Captain is out (preferably if the captain is out) or even if the Captain does not wish to see him at this time.
-Terryn also sends Bjorn to meet with William's chapter, asking for a time and place where Terryn and William can meet and plan in secrecy.

[6] Your intimidating stature(?) allows you to force your way by the guards at the door to the captain's office. [2-1] He is, sadly, in said office - and his usually surly self. [3] No one follows you in though, probably waiting outside for word to have you killed for being an intrusive nuisance.

Five men in a cramped office, three of which were on Terryn's side. Regardless of how pissed the Captain was, the Hedge Knight was rather certain it wouldn't matter: He had no choice but to talk. Donald instinctively moved to block the door, leaning his full weight on it as he munched on an apple they had picked up whilst passing through the market just a moment before. Oswald crossed his arms, ever the impassive bodyguard as he watched the Captain, and the third Hedge Brother simply moved to flank Terryn.

The Hedge Knight himself flashed a smile, waiting a beat for a greeting. When that greeting did not come, he continued on anyways. "Ah, Captain, I apologize for the intrusion however you are most difficult to get a hold of. However," the mercenary commander paused, gripping the back of a chair as he leaned forward, "I've a bit of a gift for you, that I hope will change your mind. I mean, were I you I'd want to be the one to personally remove this Sanguine fellow's head...or at the very least be there to witness the beheading. But perhaps you are not as eager to repay slights as I?"

-Terryn seeks to work his way into the Captain's good graces by reminding the Captain of his embarrassment at William's hand, while offering him vengeance.

[adwarf]

"I accept your challenge, and I may fight both, but first I need to take a look at them. Never choose your opponent before studying them." Simon said as he adjusted the two-handed sword on his back, and placed his left hand on the pommel of his sword. This place seemed peaceful, but he had no doubts that there was some form of corruption eating away at it right at this moment. He looked around at the market, and all seemed peaceful, 'But peace never lasts long in this world. Soon enough war will come.'

[Ardas]

Nikephoros was more or less satisfied with the oucome of the events, seeing how the country was slowly but surely returning to to normality and that the government was moving forward, leaving the madness and stagnation of Laythe's era behind.

But for now, he decided to call in Hugo, and discuss the city arrangements. He needed tknow what the guard would be doing and who would be targeted. If Talama was to prosper, the worst of crime had to be tamed and monitored, and Hugo and his connections were to become useful once more.

Nikephoros sends for Hugo to speak with him in his office.

[SeriousConcentrate]

"That's a reasonable request. I'm on my way home now, so just come along with me. We'll find them somewhere around the place." Pasha led Simon back to the Alanis estate. "Feel free to look around a bit. I need to speak to Tala." He left Simon at the entrance and went upstairs to the library, figuring Tala was there. As far as he knew, she never had gotten back to finding that book she had been looking for last season...

[Dwarmin]

He left Simon at the entrance and went upstairs to the library, figuring Tala was there.

Tala was in the library-but this time, her literary interests were a bit more odd.

She had found a transcript of an obscure play called the "The King in Yellow"-tucked way in the back of the 'restricted books' section, inside of a weighty manual on ancient Hacturi lineage. Almost as if someone had tried to hide it.

It was quite...absorbing. She had lost track of time, turning and reading the pages...she found herself reading out loud, as if she had an unseen audience. But her voice was hardly her own.

...Strange is the night where black stars rise...and strange moons circle through the skies...but stranger still is...lost Carcosa...

Her eyes were drawn to a strange yellow symbol on the page. It almost seemed to move as she examined it...and then...

Pasha put a hand on her shoulder, she screamed and threw the book across the room-where it landed in an open fireplace, where it burst into eldritch green flames...

She placed a hand over her chest and was breathing heavily. She spoke after a few moments.

"Pasha...I think those books are restricted for a reason...

Um, did you need to see me about something, darling?"

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

OOC: Just a one time thing to liven up my action, for fun.

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Juan waits for Laz to continue.  He also takes the opportunity to get a good long look at Laz's office.

Laz's office is sparse, but contains a few trophies from his career-a few bloody fist and razor insignias, presumably removed from their owners, the split helm of a Royal guardsmen and a pair of shark teeth mounted on the wall.

You see a cabinet in one corner with a few bottle of red wine and various racks of exotic spices-apparently Laz has a refined palate. There's a heavy locked chest made completely of iron in one corner, probably containing his valuables.

His weapons...you don't see any weapons, so they must be stored behind his desk...

"Good, good...all right. You want work?

Here's a job, then...I hope you don't mind working for a third party-We Dubs keep our fingers in everything, that lncludes 'favors' to people to certain positions."

Laz reaches behind his desk...and brings out a file in a sheathed envelope. He slides it across the desk to you.

"Here. Our employer is a landless Noble, he wants his former wife and the lover she ran away with dealt with. He specifies it be done...painfully, but I'm not going to order you to do that. I don't control the specifics.

Guys a real scumbag, just like us. Apparently he got drunk at a party a few months back, and the Queen saw him watching them, beat him up real bad, threw him in prison for awhile. He lost a lot of face.

Course, he couldn't do nothing but sit on his hands, stewing in his own juices...until now. No more Queen, so he's gonna strike while the Iron is hot-or to say, he's hiring us to do it for certain favors.

You want the Job, Juan? These things can get messy, I warn you."

Spoiler: Reference (click to show/hide)

@Laythe
The drunkard is hauled away to a lightless dungeon.

[3] He'll be released in a few days, not very much wiser, but with much more of a grudge...

]

[SeriousConcentrate]

Pasha blinked and almost took a step back when Tala screamed and threw something at him, combat instinct causing him to duck down and to the right. The book she had been holding flew harmlessly past him and landed in the fireplace, where it turned the fire green. He looked at that for a few moments, then turned back to Tala. "I... see. If I'd realized you were so caught up in it I would've knocked," he said, trying to play the whole thing off. She asked him if he needed to see her about something, and he nodded after a moment. She seemed like she would be OK. "I found a mercenary, Simon, while I was at the market today who was looking for work. I thought that I should test his skills first before I hired him myself or introduced him to Nikephoros or Kathos."

Pasha adjusted the sack on his shoulder, happy he hadn't dropped it a minute ago. "He hasn't agreed to the test yet, saying he wanted to meet his opponents before they fought, but I thought that if they've served you well over the years, then one of your bodyguards should be a good opponent. What do you think? Would they mind too much?"

[Dwarmin]

Tala took out a kercheif and dabbed her sweaty palms.

"Oh, they'd enjoy the challenge, I think. Especially if I asked them.

You think he could take both of them? Vespius and Veritas rarely fight alone.

Better yet, do you think he could take me?"

Tala smiled, forgetting about strange symbols in forbidden books as much as she could in the circumstances.

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Franz waked up, his head aching and limbs numb, must be from the poison. How could I let this happen? stupid stupid stupid. Now it is time to make a new deal or escape.

Franz lies on the cold stone in the utter dark for too many hours to count-not being able to sleep, because of the rats. Which seem to enjoy taking a bite of his flesh everytime he nods off, as they were willingly complicit in his tortment...

Eventually, the door clatters open-light shines through. Two guards-unarmed are at the door, one for each arm. A third stands watch behind them, with a drawn spiked mace and a lantern.

The ugly woman holding said mace and lantern sneers, showing rows of broken teeth. Ugh. Franz has had worse, though...

"Time for some questions, friend...play nice and come with us...and maybe we'll feed you later."[/color

[SeriousConcentrate]

Pasha thought about it. "Are you sure you want to fight?" He knew Tala had started training in swordplay, but she hadn't done much of that recently because of everything that had happened; a lot of important events had interrupted it. "He might fight both of them at the same time. We still have to arrange it all. Anyway, why don't we call them in, go downstairs, and meet up with him?" He figured it would be for the best that she form her own evaluation of the situation before making further plans.