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This lazy agricultural settlement rests on the swampy shores of the Middle Suvan at the delta of The Kenash River. The River's slow moving bayou waters have bred a different sort of people - rugged, cultured, and somewhat violent. Sprawling plantations of tobacco and cotton grow on the outskirts of the swamp in the rich Cyphrus soils, while the city itself curls around the bayou and spawns decadence and sins of all sorts. Life is slower in Kenash, but the lack of pace is made up for in the excesses of food and flesh in a city where drinking, debauchery, gambling, slavery, and overbearing plantation families dominate the landscape.
„Have you heard of the Kelvic Research Institute, Mister Venger?“
Konrad resists the urge to scowl, but he also doesn't shake his head with a dopey look on his face, just like the pampered little shyke is expecting. Konrad just stars at him over the desiccated peach and his own grinding jaws. People say fruit is good for you. Healthier. Less meat and starch, liked... cooked things, he guesses, and more natural stuff.
Aint it all natural, though?
He'd heard of Kelvics, though. "Changers", they called them back in Sunberth. They weren't reviled as much as mages, but people were still... edgy, around them. Somewhat expected when the man you were talking to could turn into a lion, or an eagle, or a petching bear in mid-conversation and chew your head down to the back-bone. Didn't help that one of the most feared gangland enforcers in the city was a Kelvic, too.
„Imagine Kelvic of all races, from birds over small rodents to predators such as wolves and lions, all gathered in a single place so that they can be studied, bred and sold. I have experience with a certain type of trade goods, not Kelvic, but also others, and I want to see how that experience can be applied to Kenash."
Ah. So he's a man of ambition, too.
Konrad didn't have much imagination, but he was twisted and old enough to see much in the Ravok ex-pat's words. The "institute" sounded like the kind of language you used to try and cover up blood and shit with silk and marble. Sounded like another slave farm, where they pumped out livestock and sold them off before the cord was even cut. Why should it be any different for changers? In fact, given they were changers, Konrad could understand the polar opposite far more readily.
So he's a flesh peddler. Hardly a new thing in Kenash. But he's not just selling it, he's studying it. Why? What could he hope to-
"Even more than that I deal in information though.“
Konrad cocked his head to one side and his street antennae twitched a little. He's was fart learning that in Kenash, what you did wasn't as important as who you did it for and why. That all boiled down to whispers, rumors, stories and, yes, information.
„You are the man that maintains discipline, but I’m the one people turn to when they want to find out who needs to be disciplined and who is keeping things from them.“
The sellsword let a slow smile tug up his mouth, which wasn't that attractive considering he still had a mouthful of pulped peach being mashed in his mouth. His eyes glittered, for once matching the movement of his lips, sensing something useful and valuable in the little peacock's words.
"You break people."
He had to admit, he would enjoy the look of surprise, confusion and especially offense if he could wheedle that from Valuerius' face. The man probably preferred oh-so-such delicate and vague terms for what he did. Konrad didn't have the time or the patience and, if such a term could be applied to him consistently, he hated the self-deception.
He'd held men down and cut parts off them until they spilled every fetid secret in their souls. Valerius did the same, he just did it with words and mayhap potions, instead of steel.
"Sounds useful..."
Konrad let the sentence trail and his eyes glazed for a moment. Possibilities blossomed into reality in front of them, like Valerius' words had pulled back a curtain and behind it was all the things he could use the man for. Everyone in Konrad's life was either an asset or an obstacle; he didn't allow many of the latter, but the former... they all had their purpose.
Without a word he flipped another copper onto the cart and nodded to his well-groomed associate. The woman handed Valerius a peach.
"Les'take a walk," Konrad said, not making it a question, more of an... eminently agreeable suggestion. "Think I might like t'learn more about yer talents."
Konrad took another bite, until his teeth smacked into a gnarled, hard little seed that he ripped out and spat into the mud. The rest of the peach was wolfed down in moments, leaving nothing but a sticky smear across his hands that he wiped off with a stained handkerchief from his pocket.
He hoped Valerius was paying attention to those stains. If he wasn't lying, which was always a possibility, he was a man that knew what dried blood looked like.
„I do, sometimes“, the Ravokian admitted and shrugged his shoulders, as if there was nothing special about that statement. He didn’t try to deny that his line of work sometimes entailed breaking people, nor did he act offended. Why should he? He just preferred beautiful words. It was a matter of style. In the circles he was used to moving in bluntness tended not to get you very far. The people he had worked with had been nobles and wealthy merchants that demanded a certain kind of behaviour outside the operating room or the torture chamber.
He did not say anything as Konrad stated that it sounded useful, but merely arched an eyebrow. Useful to whom? To him or to his mysterious employer? He contemplated the matter for a few moments, and then he accepted the peach, a gift that he had not asked for. He ate the soft parts of the peach first, and then he wrapped the hard, brown seed that remained into a handkerchief. He didn’t spit anything onto the street. That would have been bad manners. There were also no smears on his face or on his hands. He looked just as clean and well groomed as had before. Valerius Nitrozian was definitely not a messy eater.
He had of course noticed the blood on Konrad’s handkerchief, and he disapproved. For the Ravokian carrying signs of his work around was unacceptable. He had always made sure to clean himself after he was done at the Kelvic Research Institute, and he never carried things that were stained with blood around. Again, it was a matter of style and good manners.
„And what exactly do you wish to learn, Mister Venger?“ he asked. „I can of course tell you more about what I learned in the Research Institute, about my work with those that bear my god’s mark, about what I’m capable of, but I would like to know more about you as well. I am not very fond of one sided conversations. I hope you understand. You spoke of business, of usefulness. I think a certain exchange of information is in order now, more than what we did before if we are supposed to be useful to each other.“
He gave him an almost apologetic look before he decided to give him at least a taste of what he would be missing. „I know how to use certain … substances in addition to mere words, to prolong the process or speed it up. I am a man of the word, a man of science, a scholar while you seem to be a man of action. Doors that may be closed to you open automatically for me while you most likely have access to things that I’m not privy to.“
„And what exactly do you wish to learn, Mister Venger?“
Konrad quirked an eyebrow as the man continued to talk, plowing on about this "institute", as he kept calling it. Petching nobility, he thought with a mental shake of his head, so little balls they can't even call something what it is.
Then Valerius' words veered into the... combative? No, that was the wrong word. Besides, Konrad wasn't in the Ravok man's strata when it came to the thrust-and-riposte of conversation; he could be insulting him in three different ways and he wouldn't know. But Konrad's reptile stare didn't leave his face as he spoke, divining meaning and intent from them... and then he smiled.
"Then yer gonna be standin' there disappointed, ain'cha?" Konrad spoke with air in his voice, light and bouncy, no growl or gruffness. He seemed unaware he was even being rude... or just uncaring, which was much more likely. Honestly, the petching presumption of some sodding people."All I know about youse is a name that could be false, a history that could be the same an' yer petching word it ain't all shyke. You show me yer worth my time, I'll consider addin' a side t'this conversation"
But the man kept talking, and the more he did, the more a problem that Konrad had been mulling over became less... vexing. In his experience, truth through torture was a tricky business. Get a man scared shykeless of you, sure, he'd talk. But could you believe it? Were his words the truth, or were they merely any blathering babble he'd spew to stop you from hurting him? Konrad had been in the business a quarter-century, and he still didn't have a definite solution.
But this bloke? He can use science. Use other ways that get the truth, get the facts, without needing to make any messy mistakes.
„Am I correct?“
Konrad was silent for a few chimes. His hands were busy finding his pipe and packing it, but his eyes didn't leave Valerius. Mayhap the Ravokian could feel that lower but still keen mind weighing him, adjudicating his usefulness measured against his potential risks.
"I think yer right," he said as he sauntered into the shade of a building, words slightly mangled around the stem of his pipe. "But like I said before... y'gotta earn it, boy."
Konrad breathed deep, then exhaled... felt the pulse of wyrd vibrate through his limbs, into his hand, his fingers... willed a little blob of it to hover and tremble at the end of it, then with another thought-
-it burst into tiny, frantic, blazing life. He lowered it into the bowl of his pipe and pulled gently at it, marveling for a half-tick at how the flames reached for the skies and then reversed with his breath from below sucking at it. When the whole bowl of Swamp Weed was a merrily glowing smudge of red, he lowered the pipe and blew gently at the end of his finger-
Out.
-and with that thought the flame vanished. All that was left in its wake was the work it had done: the embers in the pipe, the smoke in his lungs... the satisfaction in his eyes. Konrad swung them back to Valerius and viewed him in approximately the same manner. Only difference being, Valerius hadn't done shyke to satisfy him yet.
Well... time to take a chance.
"I have someone who I need to talk to," he said, keeping his words as vague as possible and low enough that they would not touch any ears besides theirs. "He may speak the truth, he may not... but I think it'd work better, be a lot less... messy, if I had a man who could use substances and words and science."
He spoke the words somewhere between mocking and reference, insult and honest recall of information. Let the peacock figure out which it was.
"Lemme know where t'find you, and when my man knocks on yer door, you'll go with him. Follow him where he takes ya. Then y'can show me what y'know-"
He held up a finger to forestall the "I don't do one-way conversations" retort from the man.
"-and once y'do, there'll be more business. More words. You'll have proven yerself, not just t'me, but t'my employer. I'm a Sunberth bastard, mate. Words don't mean shyke t'me; what y'do does. So, we'll see what youse can do, then we'll go from there."
Once Konrad had his answer, one way or another, he'd nod (or shrug) and then turn on his heel back the way he came. Package under his arm, pipe in his mouth, leaving a trail of grey smoke snaking into the sky from under his black hat.
„Of course. I understand, Mister Venger“, he replied. Of course the man had to assume that he was liar or did at least exaggerate. It was after all rare to meet a man who had accomplished so many things and was yet willing to associate with one of Konrad’s kind. Valerius harboured many of the same doubts. He was still not entirely sure whether the man was really everything he claimed to be or just a common criminal. It was too tempting not to take the risk though. „We will have to prove our worth to each other then.“
He decided to overlook the fact that the man had called him „boy“. As he had concluded before, good behaviour was not his forte, but he had other talents – such as his magic. The Ravokian could not believe his eyes as Konrad lit his pipe, using whatever this particular brand of magic was called. Was he trying to show off? To impress him? Was that really necessary? Well, it worked - to some extent.
„Talk to your man then, Mister Venger“, he replied and pulled his gaze away from the man’s pipe. „I am staying at the Rest House until I have found proper accomodation. You may send him there.“
He did not want Konrad Venger or his associates to show up at his office where they could potentially run into the children of the dynasties that he taught. It would raise all kinds of questions that he had no interest in answering. Konrad didn’t fit into his usual social circles at all. He decided that it would be better to keep that part of his life a secret for now.
Fortunately for Konrad he had no interest in arguing with the man. He could do this one thing for him, he decided. Since their meeting seemed to be over, he bade the man farewell.
Observation - 5XP Socialization - 5 XP Intimidation - 1 XP Reimency - 2 XP Bartering - 1 XP
Lores
Kenash: The world's crossroads Kenash Freeborns: Still expendable Radacke Dynasty: Reputation to protect, business to be done Gods: Inscrutable bastards Kelvic Research Institute: Breeds and sells kelvics Reimency: Lighting a small flame Valerius: Clearly of coin Valerius: As warm as a gutted fish Valerius: A man of substances, words and science
Other Ensure that the cost of the globe has been deducted from your ledger.
Comments I noticed you had a crap ton of threads still waiting to be graded, so I thought I'd try to get some done I'm still new at grading, so if you think I've missed anything, PM me!
Valerius :
Hey Valerius! Should you return, please update your character sheet and shoot me a PM, and I'll pop up your grade!
Enjoy your rewards and continue the good work! If you have any comments or concerns, please PM me, and don't forget to update you request in the Grade Thread!
I'm still new at grading, so if you think I've missed anything, PM me!
