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Claims; Part 2: The City of Four
Topic Started: Mar 11 2012, 07:47 PM (1,041 Views)
Damon
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No rest for the living. Nathanial thought. But it was important to keep commoners appeased, and nobles in their place.

"May Justice be found, the wicked be punished, and the people be protected.." Nathanial muttered. "Excuse me, Uncle. Thank you for the council and the pepperfog. I wish to reflect on my own. I shall meet you downstairs when the time comes." He bid his uncle farewell, and left the room. He wondered what would become of the realm without it's fourth tetrarch, and a boy to replace the third. It kept popping into his head that this was an unprecedented series of events, and the very nature of the realms government was in jeopardy.

He proceeded down to find a common area or tavern in the Inn. A place where one might hear gossip, especially for a little coin.
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Volksgeist
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It seemed that the tavern was not overly busy, but it was indeed a solemn day and a rainy one as well. As he approached the bar, he passed a table where there sat a group of five men. Their clothes were fairly ragged and dark, their tones hushed, and their tankards full. The men all looked as if they had seen battle, which was fairly uncommon within Peleras due to the one-hundred-year peace that had existed. However, they also bore signs of having been within The Orient - deep tans and dark circles around their eyes, shivers, etc.

As Nathanial passed, one of them rose their head and nodded to him solemnly. The man had one murky-looking white eye and a scar across his face.

Before he could sit down with a drink and hear the talk, however, the loud clamor of bells began to sound. They were the same bells he had heard earlier, the ones from The High Temple of St. Ambriel. A crowd began to form in the inn and soon migrated outside, only to see the funeral procession of Lord Rodrik Greford pass by slowly.

It was led by Lord Aeron Meson and a number of black-clad Aegis guards. On the shoulders of a multitude of servants was a large bed, and upon the bed was the dead body of Rodrik Greford.

As the procession passed, the crowd began to slowly follow after. It was time for the funeral...

- Please wait until the thread "The Funeral of Rodrik Greford" has been made. You will be notified when it has been so you can post."
Edited by Volksgeist, Sep 9 2012, 04:58 AM.
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Volksgeist
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Nathanial emerged from the The High Temple of St. Ambriel, his heart heavy and the atmosphere oppressive.

It was raining harder than when they had entered and skeletal lightning cracked the sky. People emerged in swathes and bathed the streets, shouting and undulating like waves as they headed to their respective destinations. There was no sign of the Aegis, the Tetrarchs, and the prisoners who had been taken away. Edrik, Darieal, Harwin, Brom, and some guards were all gone now - and no doubt there would be some serious issues soon to come.

But, for now, all was relatively quiet. There was time to do as one pleased.
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Damon
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Nathanial had no intentions to waste time, he had to know what happened with his envoy, Folke, and the mission he had charged him with. The possible scenarios worried Nate. His man could be dead, his mercenary force crippled or unwilling to deal with him again. He wasn't without other worries, but the safety of a loyal guardian and servant of his family was foremost in his mind.

He wondered at his uncle's silence during the funeral, and his current whereabouts, but he decided to head directly for the Black Dog.
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Volksgeist
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Nathanial arrived at the Black Dog to find Valdis milling about quietly. Some of her men were with her, watching silently, but there was a good chunk of them gone. Folke was nowhere to be seen. It seemed that whatever convoy of mercenaries had been sent out had yet to return... which certainly boded ill.

As Nathanial entered, Valdis turned to him with a stern look on her face before quickly wrapping up her work and retiring to the hidden place they had met not so long ago with the men. When they were safely away from the public eye, she spoke to Nathanial in a whisper:

"I have done as you said. I sent a convoy of my men, accompanied by the one named Folke who you wished to accompany them in your stead, some time ago. They have yet to return, not one, and so I do not know what has become of them. From what I heard through my eyes and ears though, the Templar in question was more heavily guarded than anticipated and in fact made a fool of himself in front of nigh the whole city. Why is it exactly that you want this Templar? Is he worth risking five of my men and one of your own?"

Valdis eyes Nathanial coolly as she said this, meeting his eyes with determination not unlike that of a seasoned warrior.
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Damon
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Nathanial stepped in with an air of cool purpose and confidence. He was worried, and ready to panic, but he could not afford to have these people think him weak, there's no telling what they would do.

"My appearance here now stems from my concern for the mission, and even moreso for the men I charged with it. I had no way of knowing that this Templar would be framed for high treason and murder. He raised a rabble in front of the young Tetrarch-to-Be, and was jailed for his insolence to his Lord. Considering the surrounding circumstances, the risk should have been low. To answer your question, I was trying to gain an ally. A templar is a fine warrior and a person of influence, and would be invaluable as a friend and confederate in my circles.

"However it is now clear to me that this treason was not done by an enemy of the Realm, but a conspiracy from within. Which means I cannot stop, and I cannot flee. I must ask you to help me again. And before you refuse my coin, consider this. Should Peralas fall to tyranny, the people's freedoms which your enterprises exploit, that they depend on, will slowly but surely be destroyed. If your empire does not wither, it will be stamped out by force. If you take the risk with me, my payment will be ample, and your profit potential will be immense. Should you refuse me and flee, you may be unable to prevent your destruction.


He paused, and gazed upon the crimelord before him. A woman after his own heart, putting on a false persona to achieve her ends. He doubted he'd ever truly know her, even if they should should they hold business for decades to come. He spoke again, in a slightly gentler, but still confident tone.

"Should you agree to help me, I shall promise you not to rush my actions without ascertaining the intelligence necessary to minimize our risks, and maximize our rewards. For now, we must assess damages, I can only hope my envoy and your men were able to see the changes in the mission's circumstances, and fled before they were caught or killed. If they have fallen, it is regrettable, but I cannot back down, and I must ask you to stand with me."
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Volksgeist
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Almost as if on cue, there was a knock at the heavy door. Valdis was silent and then two of her men, badly wounded, entered. In between them was Nathanial's envoy, Folke. He was not injured, but he did appear extremely distraught and was in fact supporting the other two wounded men. The moved to the table in the room where the two men were placed on chairs as they winced. There were small lacerations and scrapes all over them and one appeared to have a broken shoulder, but there was nothing that was life-threatening. Folke remained standing and looked at Nathanial before dropping to one knee and bowing his head.

"Milord, I am sorry, but your wish has remained unfulfilled. We went as you said, I and five others, to the Alabaster Keep. We watched as the Templar in question was removed from his cell and walked to The High Temple of St. Ambriel, and we followed in the shadows. We watched what happened from within the crowd. After they left, we followed them yet again, but it was here that we found complication.

One of Valdis's men took the initiative to move forward and attempt to distract the guards so that we could get closer to the Templar, but this backfired. The men noticed him right away, as it seemed he had had some previous issues with the law, and the result was their attempt to arrest our entire company. I and these two others escaped, but it took much running and dodging through the streets to lose them. Finally, we returned here.

My liege, forgive me."
Folke kept his head down and remained quiet. Valdis's face was screwed up right. Clearly, she had not known that this man she had sent had had previously been pinned to something illegal and known to the law. This could have jeopardized her whole situation... All waited for Nathanial to speak.
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Damon
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Nathanial clapped Folke on the shoulder, and spoke.

"No, Folke, it is I who must ask forgiveness. I did not know that the Templar was to be scapegoated for this heinous treason, and expected much less resistance for you. You have not failed me, for you have returned alive and unidentified.

He turned to Valdis, and took a stern tone.

"You sent men whose faces were known to the city guard on this mission? If it was not clear, this was a task of discretion and precision. I can make use of whatever you can offer me Valdis, but I need to know if you cannot offer me men of finesse."
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Volksgeist
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Valdis eyed Nathanial coolly.

"I was not aware of my man's past with the law. As you can suspect, I have given them a haven from wrong deeds they have done in their past and they repay me by doing my bidding. It seems that this particular man of mine did not give me the full details. For this, I apologize. Do not belittle me though, Lord Knyre, by accusing me of not being able to provide men of finesse. This guild of mine has remained in this city for almost a decade now and has been hitherto undiscovered. We plan behind closed doors and any who have found out about us in the past have been dealt with swiftly. We do not tolerate talk. We seek status and, above all else, wealth, and are willing to do just about anything and everything to achieve it.

I can offer you men of any kind, but I cannot guarantee that what they have told me is always true. In our work, it hard to find an honest man, Lord Knyre... but a good man and a loyal one are often easy to find... for the right price."


Valdis turned to her men and motioned for the others to take them and patch them up, leaving Valdis, Folke, and Nathanial alone in the room with the exception of but one personal guard of Valdis's.

"What is your plan now, milord?" asked Folke quietly.
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Damon
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Nathanial rubbed his chin a moment. He had to consider the events of today.

"I still wish to free the Templar, and the fallen prince. They are falsely accused and the realm can only stand to weaken if this treason goes unhindered, and its conspirators gain power. However, with our failed attempt, their guard will increase, and we will have to enact a more precise plan. We have two days until they are executed, I expect by beheading, but we must learn everything we can about the execution before then."

"We will start a fire, or cause another such diversion, and interrupt the executions, and secret the fugitives somewhere, perhaps not in the city. In fact, I may wish to smuggle them back to my home in the North."

"Valdis, I'll need you to send men to retrieve as much information on the prisoners as possible. Where are they being held? When, where, and how are they being executed? How are they being transported to the place of execution? I will attend the execution, and cry out to ensure our diversion is noticed, then several of your men will attack the executioner and the guards. The guards will be distracted by the fight, and we'll sneak the condemned out during the commotion. I expect the extraction team will be seen, but they must be able to lose any pursuers in the city, or be able to navigate the wilderness to escape."


Nathanial paused, considering.

"They'll have archers, I expect, we'll need some of our own, perhaps some men to neutralize the most dangerous of the archers... My preliminary estimates would put our needs at ten men, including Folke. Six to seven on the ground to spring the prisoners, and at least two archers to ensure their escape. This plan needs work, but we have 2 days to refine it. What do you think, Vardis?"
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Volksgeist
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Valdis shook her head in agreement.

"Aye, I think that could work. Your estimates are well-founded, though perhaps another archer or two for cover might provide a more favorable outcome. I can supply you with men soon, but not instantly. Due to recent events, I have decided that each and every one of my men should be evaluated so as to prevent unfavorable events from occurring again. I do not want history repeating itself. So, if you will allow me a day to evaluate my men, I will most assuredly comply."

After speaking, she glanced at all of her men around the room. She did not appear it, but her words spoke of worry and, perhaps, rightly so. With three of her men in the dungeons, there was the smallest chance that they might say or do something to save their own hides that would ruin her organization. Regardless, she maintained her composure and waited for Nathanial's reply.
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Damon
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Nathanial nodded back.

"I understand your need to ensure the security of your operation. That leaves me with Folke, myself, and my own men to gather information, at least for a day."

He turned to Folke.

"We shall return to the Inn, and I shall ask rumors there, I must ask you to see what you can come up with in the city. Eavesdrop, ask questions, bribe. Do what you must."

He thought a moment, and looked back to Valdis.
"I believe that we have accomplished what we can here today, and I should take my leave, I thank you for all your help so far, Miss Valdis... Could you have someone fetch me a tankard of ale?" He added, after a thought crossed his mind.
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Volksgeist
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Valdis waved a man off who quickly returned with a mug. There was a large number of barrels presumably filled with ale in the store room in which the meeting was taking place and so, with a swift hand, the man tapped one of the yet-to-be-used barrels and poured a tankard full for Nathanial. The man then left and returned with two more tankards, one for Valdis and one for Folke. After each had been filled, he placed them in front of their respective people.

Then Valdis spoke:

"Yes, your plan sounds fine. I am sorry that I cannot aid so quickly, but I would rather draw less attention and be more careful about this entire affair. Breaking a man who is barely known out of prison is one thing - but a Templar who assaulted one of the Four Thrones and a fallen prince who is heir to a now-deceased King is another matter. Simply let me know what rumors you hear in the inn. I will let you know what my men who I consider loyal and myself learn throughout The City tomorrow."

With that, Valdis raised her tankard to Folke and Nathanial.
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Damon
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"I thank you, Valdis, both for your help, and your continued help. Come Folke, walk with me to the Inn."

Nate took his leave. As he stepped into the main room of the tavern, he donned a wide grin, and chuckled a bit. He took a steep swig of ale, and laughed even harder as he wiped his lips. As he stepped through the front door, he called back.

"You lot are just what I needed. A simple country man like me can't keep up with these cosmopolitan affairs, heheh... But the ale is just as sweet, and the company just as warm, ha!" He finished his ale, and stumbled out into the street, grabbing onto Folke.


"See that we aren't being watched or followed, we can't be too careful." He whispered, leaning rather heavily on Folke, then stumbled off of him, towards the inn.[/color]
Edited by Damon, Nov 17 2012, 10:45 PM.
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Volksgeist
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Nathanial and Folke made it to their inn without any unwanted followers.

Folke lead Nathanial upstairs and into his room. He was about to turn and leave for the night when, suddenly, he turned around and faced Nathanial again with a questioning look on his face.

"Milord, forgive me, I have been wondering why you deal with such people. The men she carries with her are crass and crude and, on some parts, a liability to your cause. Valdis seems completely competent, but it is clear that she had her own agenda as well. Is it not best to seek out others that you can win over to your cause and your cause alone? And, while I have the freedom to speak, might I ask why exactly you wish the Templar and the fallen prince freed? Perhaps they would be of help, but what if they choose to deny aiding you and reclaim their past offices? What if they attempt to do this and are arrested yet again? It seems to me that we are placing all of our bets on their acting as we would see fit, but these are strong men who have held high offices. Forgive me if I have spoken too much, milord. I am just curious."

Folke looked as if he now thought better about raising his suspicions and was going to turn and leave, but he waited for Nathanial's reply first.
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