[Silver Sliver] Spy vs. Spy [Cris]

[Hadrian]

75th Summer, 511 A.V. A few days before, his little cantrips had caught the attention of a Nitrozian, so Hadrian was more fully submerged into his alias of Andry Ellis today, his aura held in tight control, showing that he had some skill at reimancy, but little else. It wouldn't do to catch the eye of the Ebonstryfe or Black Sun while in Ravok searching for Kendall's attackers. He was nursing a drink, keeping his wits about him, sitting in his usual table by a window so he could watch the Nitrozian Plaza as well as keeping track of the patrons. It didn't seem that anyone was paying him undue attention, not suspicious of him as Sareth had become. But he kept his ears and eyes open, hoping that eventually he would garner some nuggets of information worth passing along to the Knights of Syliras.

[Crismento Miren]

The tavern’s door swung open and revealed a busy room to Crismento’s eyes. The pleasant smell of freshly cooked meat was inviting him to come in and the con man did not resist the feeling. While looking for a place to sit down, his eyes scanned the people inside. There were no surprises as he saw the hungry and the thirsty clients enjoying the friendly attention of the barmaids that were trying very hard to earn the precious tips. There weren’t too many empty tables waiting for the newcomer to occupy them and none of the looked very comfortable or nicely positioned, but those were not the details that Cris paid too much attention to. He didn’t come to the Silver Silver to spend time alone. The con artist saw a man sitting at a table by the window and having a drink. He didn’t appear to be the type of target that would be worthless to talk to, but he also didn’t look to be depressed like many men who choose to enjoy a drink or ten alone in a tavern. Neither was he a giant made of muscles, which suggested that the man bore the risks of being smart. All that might have made Crismento’s job more difficult and challenging, but that didn’t mean that he saw no use in approaching the lone customer and trying to learn something about him. Cris didn’t walk straight to the man’s table but took a little detour around the tavern as if looking for a seat. Purposely not nearing or even looking at any empty tables he ended his short trip near the targeted table by the window. ”Do you mind for some company, my good sir?” the swindler turned his eyes to the man, his lips offering a small smile and eyebrows rising slightly to give Crismento an almost innocently looking expression. ”My father used to say that every drop of ale or spirits that you take alone burns through your very soul. Now, of course I don’t believe such silly stories, but the man used to repeat the very same thing to me a lot until it was engraved inside my mind and now it seems that I simply cannot bring myself to enjoying any liquids of happiness without someone to share the table with. After all, if you don’t take the old man’s words literally, there might be some truth hidden beneath them,” he shrugged to show a little bit of doubt. ”I’m willing to be saving your soul, while you would be saving mine,” Crismento’s smile widened at the joke.

[Hadrian]

Unfortunately for the swindler, Hadrian was paying attention to the auras around him, now able to juggle dozens of auras at a time, and he had been aware of that flare of interest directed at him. Fortunately for the swindler, while Hadrian was rather dexterous with auras, he was still young and lacked the context into which he might put all the things he sensed. There was a hint of danger in the man's charm when he actually came over and spoke to him, but there was a hint of danger in everyone and everything in Ravok, and usually more than a mere hint. He smiled up at him, chlorine blue eyes amused but affable. "That sounds like a line one might use on a lady, my good sir," he said, responding with the same sort of jovial charm. He glanced about the room. "It would seem that seating is at a premium, however, so feel free to take a seat." He laughed then. "Saving my soul. A man in the city of sin. Now why does that seem suspect to me?" Hadrian had yet to learn anything worthy of sending back to the Knights of Syliras, but he continued to frequent the tavern, using his as yet weak skill in Hypnotism merely to put people at ease, and make them talkative. By carefully applying little nudges, he had managed more than he might have with greater power, getting people to trust him with little secrets, mostly of the personal variety, and nothing earth shattering. Perhaps this would be more practice, then. His aura reached out to interact gently with the other man's, not intruding upon its sovereignty, but stroking it, setting it at ease. "I'm Andry," he said. "To whom do I owe my salvation?"

[Crismento Miren]

Glad that he wasn’t refused to keep the man company Cris pulled back a chair and made himself comfortable on it. ”There are other establishments where one could charm ladies. Ones that specializes in a serious company of men, however, are scarce,” he defended his position in a light tone and still with the same smile. Crismento liked that the man found his little story amusing and just playfully raised his arms to the sides shrugging slightly at the question. ”I assure you, sir, that I have no connections with the market of pure souls. Though I must compliment you on your careful observation; soul robbers are a real scourge this time of year.” His mind was scratched by a strangely familiar feeling that he couldn’t identify, though it was tainted with some hints of nostalgia and recognition as in times when he would see a face or hear a voice from his past after a long break. Cris was confident that he had never seen the man in front of him and the man himself showed no signs of knowing him, yet for some reason the con artist was reminded of Sunberth after such a small exchange. The feeling, however, didn’t bother Cirsmento as it appeared to be so calm and peaceful, so he let the peculiar thoughts be chased away from his mind. ”Call me Atelius,” he reached over the table to offer his hand for a shake. ”A business associate from Zeltiva, who is exploring and establishing opportunities in Ravok, when he is free from his duties as a soul savior.” Cris quickly looked around the tavern to find a barmaid and motioned with his hand asking her to come to the table. ”Would there be anything that I could offer you, my friend?” he asked, turning back to Andry. Before the girl arrive to take the order, Crismento decided to move back, or rather start a conversation. ”I might be wrong, but I sense that you wouldn’t happen to be a local to this city as well.” Just like him, the man seemed a bit misplaced in Ravok, which was enough to fuel the swindler’s assumption.

[Hadrian]

"And you chose me out of this crowd as serious?" he asked, amused. "That might just be my face. But the powers that be here seem to have the run on the market of souls at any time of year. Atelius, you from Zeltiva too? My, but I hope we shall not be rivals. I too am here exploring business opportunities, though I've been spending more time and money on the Silver than anything else. So much for my soul." He smiled and quaffed a bit more of the delicious drink, watching Atelius as he drank. The man's charms were obvious, and he no doubt had an easy time with the ladies. Hadrian even felt a pang of envy. The man was tall, had a similar coloration to him, but Hadrian felt awkward, odd, and gawky next to him. If he hadn't been so amusing and interested, Hadrian might have hated him on principle. "Now you have a seat, company, and no doubt an eye on my soul. What brings you here to the Sliver in particular?"

[Crismento Miren]

Cris wasn’t sure if he liked that the man’s background was so similar to his fake identity. On one hand it was easier for him to screw up and be revealed as a fraud, especially given that his expertise in business was lacking, to say the least. On another hand, said risks aside, the man seemed like a wonderful potential target. Being a businessman, Andry must have had some pretty coin in his possession. Also the cover gave Crismento some common grounds with the man and potential area for a scam. But he had to be careful not to make any critical mistakes. Perhaps even the use of more aggressive methods might have been justified by the possible reward… But he didn’t need to get too far ahead of himself now and move slowly. ”It is not the city where I was born it, but is where my interests currently lie in,” the swindler decided to spice the lies with hints of truth. ”And I wouldn’t say that rivalry is a necessarily bad or undesired thing. After all, it is one of the greatest motivators for progress. Though admittedly, cooperation leads there, too.” A barmaid approached to take the order and then returned to the bar to bring the con artist a mug of the tavern’s special. ”This Silver is not a bad investment, I should say. Contacts and networking are powerful tools and there are not many places where people would be more willing to network than over a glass of ale.” Cris then began gently wrapping his words with djed, so that they would be softly inviting Andry to relax and let his guard down. The swindler didn’t yet feel the need to do that as deep inside his mind was calm about the situation, but the outer layers of it were determined to do this right and guide Andry to where it wanted. Crismento didn’t fight the decision, understanding it as his own conscious intent. ”There are a lot of people with intriguing ideas or useful intentions here, and you no doubt understand the value of those. One has to keep eyes and ears open for opportunities and be willing to push forward when one is spotted. The fact that it’s not Kelp beer they’re serving here is of great importance, too,” he chuckled when the barmaid placed a mug of Silver Silver in front of him. Cris took a taste of the drink and looked back at Andry with innocently curious eyes. ”If it is not a secret, what line of business are you in, my friend?”

[Hadrian]

"Ah," he said, nodding sagely. "You didn't sound exactly Zeltivan. That explains that. And yes, I'm more one for cooperation most of the time, unless my advantage is so overwhelmingly obvious that cooperation doesn't make sense." He laughed, rarely as machiavellian as all that. The man's aura was silvery, slippery, shifting. Hadrian wasn't sure what to make of that, made vaguely suspicious when there was a flare of golden energy around Atelius' head that seeped out into his aura, making everything glowy in an alcoholic sort of way. That wasn't right; he hadn't drunk that much. But it didn't seem to matter too, too much. He found he liked Atelius more and more, and wanted Atelius to like him too. Ravok was exhausting, a place where he could only trust those in his party, and perhaps Clyde to an extent, though he didn't know how long the younger scholar-mage would have to stay before its influence marked him too. In desiring the friendship of this man, Hadrian was compelled to send pulses of hypnotic energy through his aura and into the man's own, nudging him gently toward pleasure in Hadrian's presence, attempting to lure him into trust and care. "Personally I'm more of a scholar than anything else. My father trades in all sorts of good, so part of my work here is to ascertain what the people of Ravok might want and not have." He grinned over his Silver. "What do you want and not have, friend Atelius?"

[Crismento Miren]

Cris found it incredibly strange how this talk with Andry reminded him the conversations that he had had with his mentor. What was it about this man that made him think of his teacher, of his life that had long been gone? Crismento met Zel Wadash at a tavern, too, but he had also met a lot of other people in similar establishments throughout the region of Sylira. Other than that, Andry and his mentor didn’t seem to have much in common otherwise. For one, Cris felt that he liked this man. Him being more of a scholar, in Andry’s own words, might have been a link, but the swindler had welcomed that nostalgic feeling even before he was told of the fact. Crismento took a sip of Silver to help him chase those thoughts away again. He would have plenty of time to ponder about that later at night if he chose to. At the moment, however, the con artist needed to focus on the conversation. Losing concentration might have turned a smooth sliding past the defensive barriers into clumsily stumbling around and sounding all the alarm bells in the process. ”Oh, that would be many things. Liberating wealth, gratifying success, unrestricting power, rewarding fame, intoxicating glory, warming love, soothing happiness… Does your father’s business deal with that which would appease my desires?” Cris shook his head lightly with a smile. ”Of course, I am not a citizen of Ravok, so my tastes might differ greatly from the local dwellers.” The con man leaned back in his chair. Relaxed look on his face did not appropriately reflect how hard at work his mind really was. After quickly running Andry’s word in his head once more to find a path that would offer to lead Cris somewhere worth visiting he spoke: ”But that is your father’s business, as you say. How about you, my friend? Do you find commerce intriguing or is it just a family duty while you chase more stimulating pursuits yourself?”

[Hadrian]

"Are you in the market for Eyktolian mirage?" he asked with a sly grin that said every man worth his salt had at least tried the drug. "Cut with the right things," he continued, "you could have all you desired, or at least you would think you did, and illusion is only another version of reality, don't you think?" His own mind was running miles per minute, dredging up old philtering lore he hadn't used in a while to determine just what one might combine with mirage to have that effect, drawing on the strange meditations of Alvadas regarding the nature of reality. "I find economics interesting in the theoretical sense. This is likely due to years spent in academia, watching things from an ivory tower. The actual art of negotiation and all those things at which my father excels... Those are his skills, not mine. I read treatises on the macroeconomics of the Empires, but Mizahar doesn't support that sort of trade anymore. It's a shame, really. We're fragmented. At odds. We're really only great when we collaborate."

[Crismento Miren]

Cris chuckled lightly at the question. ”I’m afraid that is beyond the goods and services that I’m currently dealing with.” A smile appeared on his face as he remembered the time his brothers got their hands on some of the opiate and refused to share with the boy insisting it was of too poor quality and that a better shipment was arriving soon, of which they no doubt would have given him a fair cut. ”Though I wouldn’t say I find this idea unattractive. Unfortunately my contacts in Eyktol of any kind are severely lacking. However, the idea is indeed a noteworthy one and I shall keep it in mind when arranging my further traveling plans,” he said as if partly joking and partly serious while raising his mug to take a sip of the Silver. As Andry shared his interest in economics Crismento felt a bit intimidated at how intelligent this man sounded to be. Should he find the opportunity and an goal, could the con artist really outsmart him? One thing that he knew, however, was that nobody was immune to betrayal, and certainly not in this town. The key was always just to get close enough so that a con becomes the only reasonable way forward. But the peculiar part of this particular situation was that for some unimaginable reason the swindler found himself liking Andry. It was a feeling that hadn’t visited him for years. ”Ah, indeed. Great things come from collaboration. In a single individual knowledge and skill work together in order to make him effective. I’m a simple man with a simple mind, so simple things make it easier for me to think, but even I know that what applies on a small scale also fits on the large one. And when the scale is as big as the world, then it is thousand times so.” He then tilted his head on the side with his smile turning a little grimmer. ”We’re fragmented, yes, but when I look at the Mizahar and see Syliras and Ravok so close to each other, I don’t even question myself why. When close neighbours are the most fierce and mortal enemies, what kind of unity and collaboration could there exist?” Cris needed to get Andry to trust him if he wanted any use of the man at all, but at a side of that need was also a so an unnaturally genuine wish for this man’s reliance. He leaned back in his chair gently throwing his right arm over the back of it. ”But tell me, my friend, how does one persuade a scholar to be a businessman and travel to such place as Ravok?” The con artist didn’t fight the urge this time at all as hypnotic djed danced on and around the eye contact his blue gaze established with Andry. It seemed a completely reasonable course of action, so without words he was asking the man’s mind to get comfortable with his presence and feel sheltered and secure in here, at this table.