Closed Plans and Partnership (Shadyn)

[Yisanareysin]

53rd of Fall, 515 AV
Why were people always loudest when Rey was trying to nap? All he wanted was to sleep, maybe eat, and then sleep some more. But no, people were kicking up a fuss in the main cave. Ugh. Still, he was up now, and clearly he wasn't going to be going back to sleep any time soon. Might as well see if whatever it was they were chattering about in there worth keeping him up for.

Shifting, Rey dressed grumpily, and made his way out to the main cavern, tugging his coat closer around him. To his surprise, he found that most of the patrons were all huddled together, surrounding one woman standing on a chair. Micah stood in the corner, surprisingly not yelling at the woman to keep her boots off the furniture.

Puzzled, Rey pushed his way through the crowd, for once grateful for his slight frame. It sounded like there was a lot of arguing in the centre, something about whether or not someone had see something or not. Finally, he broke out into the centre, shuffling in front of a tall, half naked man. The man scowled, and opened his mouth, before seeming to realise that he could still see over Rey's head, and turning back to the conversation at hand.

The woman on the chair was gesticulating so wildly, she seemed to be constantly on the verge of toppling off. "A huge eagle, this big!" She stretched out her arms, the chair wobbling underneath her, and Rey resisted the childish urge to kick the chair. "Eating in the middle of the Cubacious inn, looking around with those huge beady eyes."

One man who Rey vaguely remembered being an Eagle Kelvic made an indignant noise. "Our eyes are not beady." The woman ignored him.

"And there was a man with it, his hair all black and red, who spoke in some language to the eagle! He-"
"A kelvic and their bondmate, then. Have you not noticed that you're in the Wolf's Cave?" The eagle interrupted, clearly annoyed.
"It was bigger than any Kelvic, bigger than any eagle I've ever seen! That was no natural bird, I tell you!"

Rey tuned out the rest of the argument as it descended into fierce bickering, shuffling through the crowd to the entrance of the Cave. Under normal circumstances, Rey would not have cared overly much about a giant eagle showing up in Alvadas, of all places. It was probably either an illusion, or a kelvic. But a man with red hair... another one of Phobius's kind, like the woman he'd encountered in the underground? Now that was worth looking into. The little emergency snack was friendly, but not very well equipped to explain much of anything to Rey.

So decided, Rey set off for the Cubacious Inn, praying to Akajia that whatever he found there would be at least moderately interesting.

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Shadyn]

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Settling into the luxurious room was not a problem. Shadyn was quite pleased with having booked the most expensive room...still, it wasn't his home in the Aeries. The maid had nearly fainted when Xarrt came strolling into the room behind him, barely able to fit his huge form through the door. Fortunately, whoever had built the Inn had taken larger guests into consideration, and made the interior spacious enough for Xarrt to be able to rest comfortably in the sitting area. Shadyn had little need of that as it was, but the double bed looked well worth the price.

He freed Xarrt from everything except the saddle itself, the bag of Lunatite, and his saddle quiver. These he considered a bit too valuable to just have laying around in a rented room.

Now, he was lounging in the communal area sipping a large mug of elderberry cordial, doing his best to ignore the stares cast at Xarrt, who was sitting beside him.

One person, however, was...different. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the relatively unobtrusive man who was standing just inside the doorway was not just another observer. For a moment, Shadyn considered trying to act as if he had not been watching him, but then decided that it was too late now, so he might as well just continue with his inspection over the rim of his mug.

Appearances weren't of particular concern to him. Having been on the "outside" of social activities for much of his life, he had developed a way of looking into a person, not at them. Not that he was some powerful mystic, but he could draw upon details to piece together a image of a person's soul...more or less. This man was involved in the shadow arts, of that he was certain. He was too unobtrusive, too ordinary, too easy to miss. Most average people will catch your eye if they are staring at you out of curiosity, like Karin had earlier. They simply didn't know how to be all that subtle. This man, on the other hand, could have vanished into the small spot of shade in which he was standing. Yet at the same time, it didn't look as if he was trying to be secretive, which meant that he was practiced in the shadow arts.

Now...about his size. He was small, yes, though not much smaller than some Inarta Shadyn knew. What was different was that he possessed an air of self confidence, even underlying power. Like there was another side to him. Though he knew little of Alvadas, he had listened to enough trader's tales in Wind Reach to know that they despised magic, so that was out of the equation. He wasn't fidgety enough to rely merely upon some hidden blade for defense, either. That left there literally being another side to him, like a Kelvic or Dhani or some such creature.

His inspection complete, Shadyn then decided that such an person just might be good to know, and besides, his mug was empty. So, he waved the man over. Who knows...he might have just made the best decision he could have made for his future. Or, he could end up in multiple pieces for some unknown evil. That, though was unlikely, since Shadyn still had all of his weapons equipped. Anyhow, it would pass the time...

"Sooo.....why were you watching me so intently? Besides my Wind Eagle -- Xarrt's his name, by the way -- and the fact that Inarta Endals aren't your every day visitor." Shadyn paused, then decided to go with the gusto, just to see what happened. "I don't like it when assassins and other shadowy Kelvics -- or are you Dhani? -- watch me too closely in a new city. Makes me feel a bit uncomfortable...and I was so enjoying my wine, too. Now, have a seat and let's chat about this, shall we?"


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[Yisanareysin]

This was more than moderately interesting, as it turned out. The woman had been understating the eagles size, it seemed. Sweet Siku, it looked like it could smash through the ceiling if it had a mind to. Pulling his gaze away from them, Rey scanned the room, looking for a good vantage point. No, too visible... too brightly lit..... bad visibility.... too much traffic... ah. There. Feigning nonchalance, Rey strolled over to his chosen spot at a lazy pace.

Mm, it'd be suspicious looking if he just stopped there. This was being overly paranoid, no doubt, but better safe than sorry. He slowed as he approached his spot, then crouched down and pretended to fiddle with the laces on his boots. That gave him a reason to stop without looking strange or out of place. He counted out one, two ticks, then slowly stood up, and leaned against the wall. There. Slowing his breathing, Rey stilled his movements, trying his best to fade into the wall.

This was a nice spot, shady enough that his features would be indistinct at a distance, with enough people around that Rey didn't stand out. Which left him safe to examine the eagle.

The animal was well trained, sitting calmly by its owner. There was something on its back, but it didn't look like it was meant to secure the animal. It looked almost like a.. what was the word? The leather riding things that humans put on horses. But that was absurd, wasn't it? It didn't matter how well trained that bird was, there was no way the human would be able to ride it. Right? Rey had found that out with the duck incident, although admittedly, that duck had not been trained in any way, shape or form.

Perhaps it was a kelvic, actually. Perhaps the people in the cave had been right, and this was just a kelvic and its bondmate. But Rey had never, ever seen a kelvic that big, and he vaguely remembered Phobius saying something about giant eagles at some point.

The human was, in comparison, almost plain. He didn't look much like either Phobius or that woman, although to be fair, they hadn't looked much like each other either. The man was armed, with a.. Rey couldn't really see what it was from this angle, but it was something, on his hip. And.... Rey was not particularly good at reading the body language of humans, but this one oozed confidence, the kind that screamed that this one thought himself untouchable. Now, why would that be? The human was large, and broad, but not exceptionally so among his kind. It could just be regular human bravado. Or it could be something else.

He had the eagle with him, but an animal was only so useful. Was there something else? Curious, Rey ducked his head, letting his hair fall over his face, and closed his eyes. Inhale, and exhale. From his core came a rush of warmth, flooding up to his head.

His sense came faster now than it had when he had first come to Alvadas, but it still took time. One, two ticks, and his sense settled in, making his nose tingle. Time to get to work.

Looking back up at the pair, Rey focused first on the human. To his disappointment, Rey found nothing particularly special about him. His scent was human through and through, and Rey could sense no gnosis or magic in him. Pity. What of the eagle?

Turning to the eagle, Rey blinked in surprise, briefly diverting his attention away from his sense to try and keep his face neutral. From the eagle he smelled, physically, just a large bird. But from the very first taste of it's aura, Rey could tell this was no ordinary animal. Its aura was close to that of a human or dhani or any other intelligent, thinking person. This.. this bird was less animal than a Kelvic was, even. Yet.. Rey focused.

A flickering taste of blood, the freshness of cold air in the back of his throat. This was an animal, yet.. not? It felt almost like the opposite of a kelvic, a personlike intellect in an animal mind, rather than an animal mind under a human guise. How fascinating.

Releasing his sense, Rey leaned heavily against the wall, taking in a deep breath. He felt drained, but this new mystery had him invigorated at the same time. How to approach this one? He could follow this man around for a while, see where he went and what he did, although he'd have to stay out of sight of the ea-

Or he could just talk to him. Hmm. It seemed he'd been noticed. How annoying.

Well, might as well.

Strolling over to the man, Rey took a seat across from him, careful to make sure the table and two chairs were also between him and the eagle. He'd have to come up with an exit strategy as well. Later. First, talk.

The human was surprisingly astute, it seemed. Rey was unable to keep his eyes from widening when the man touched on his true nature. Akajia preserve him. Still, he wasn't quite correct, and Rey had no intention of revealing his secrets to this one without reason.

And now Rey had a few answers. A Wind Eagle, huh? And this man was an Inarta Endal, whatever that was. No need to get the man to clarify now. He seemed open enough, and maybe he'd say more with a little prodding.

When the man finished, Rey shrugged, and grinned at him. "If want people not watch closssely, you sshould not bring large eagle with you." He pointed out, gesturing at the bird, Xarrt. How to approach this one. The man had determined Rey was the shadowy kind. Maybe open friendliness would throw him off, put him off balance. "Reysin." Rey held out his hand to shake with as friendly a smile as he could muster.. That was what humans did, right? "Pleassse to meet, Xarrt and..." He gave the man a questioning look.

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Shadyn]

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Shadyn took his hand and shook it firmly, but politely. He noticed that the man's eyes showed that his suppositions had been correct...and now that he was speaking to him, he remembered that his tutors had said Dhani's have sibilant speech...which this man did. So, this was a Dhani assassin, or some similar trade. he decided to be direct about why he had called him over.

"Shadyn (Xarrt). And in case you wonder about my name, all Endals use their Wind Eagle's name as their surname...it's a sign of respect, as well as an indication of rank. Oh, and it's not that I mind people looking at me in general -- we Inarta are not particularly private people -- it's just the shadowy folks I don't like. Except for today, when I think I might be able to offer you employment...since I presume that you work for hire, at least some of the time. Before I go into more details, would you consider such an offer?"

Before waiting for an answer, he waved over one of the waiters and asked for another cordial, and a small cordial for his guest.


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[Yisanareysin]

Well. Wasn't this human something. More than a few of the words he used were beyond Reysin's comprehension, but he understood all the same.

This could be a problem.

This man, Shadyn, had called him an assassin, and while that was a trade that ran in many of the same circles as Rey's own, Rey was not willing to risk the little niche he'd carved out for himself in this city, or indeed, his life, by attracting the attentions of the Speakers.

Again.

Rey had thought himself clever earlier, having evaded the implied question about his race and profession, but if this man thought him an assassin.... In any other city he'd have considered it. Here in Alvadas, under Ionu's eye, and the Speakers power? Rey was far more reluctant.

Yet, Shadyn had seemed somewhat aware that his initial assumption that Rey was an assassin was just that. An assumption. And it was quite a leap of logic too, to believe that a person was an assassin just from the way he'd been watching them.

Unless... Had these two investigated Rey beforehand? No, that wasn't possible. Rey had come here to find them, not the other way around. It was far more likely that he had just made a lucky guess then.

What would happen if this one wanted to hire Rey to do something he was unwilling to? He might simply let Rey go and look for someone else. That would be the best case scenario. No, scratch that. The best case, Rey would be able to convince the human to hire him to find someone to do the job he wanted. What else could happen?

He could try and turn Rey in? No, but this one had no proof, save for his own intuition. At least, Rey hoped he didn't. Still, that would attract attention to Rey, which was a terrible thing for a spy to have. There were plenty of other possibilities, all of which Rey might have to escape from. Unlikely, but always something to keep in mind. What to do, in that case? Hmmmm.

How were people looking at them?

Rey's first instinct was to look around, but he restrained himself. He didn't need to, he'd seen how people stared at the eagle: with an even mixture of fear and fascination.

There were plenty of people behind him, and Rey was closer to the door. If he needed to, Rey could probably fake terror, yell something like "Don't hurt me" or whatever, start a panicked stampede and escape in the chaos. Not ideal, but it was the best idea he had, faced with a giant eagle and an armed man.

Alright alright, worst case scenarios over and done with. Time to hope he didn't need to.

"Won't do a thing I can be caught for. Not sstealing, not killing." Rey said, prepared to bolt if the man or bird looked angry. "Other thingss, will conssider. Tell more firsst. "

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Shadyn]

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Shadyn smiled a tight, professional smile. “No killing, and definitely no stealing. Just…hearing, thinking…dropping a convenient word now and then. Since your response indicates that my opinion of your profession was at least generally correct, I will assume that we have settled into business dealings, and will converse with you in a corresponding level of confidence.”

He paused as the waiter approached with their drinks, taking the larger one for himself and proffering the more manageable amount of alcohol to his mystery man. “I don’t know if Dhani drink or not…but if you do, help yourself to the second cup. It’s a house cordial that I have found to be quite refreshing. Now…back to business.”

Drinking, he took a moment to clear his throat and continued. “I seek to become involved in long distance trading of specialty items. Before the next season I will be back in my penthouse in Wind Reach. The beginning of this season also found me in Wind Reach, which is north even of Thunder Bay. I have traveled from there down to Endrykas, upon the eastern shores of Cyphrus, back to here, and will be back home with time to spare, taking my leisure in each city. How do I do it? My Wind Eagle. Wind Eagles have been the mounts of Endals for ages, unlocking the realm of the sky forbidden to all but us and the divine. Xarrt can carry two…even three people on his saddle, and transport hundreds of pounds of goods…at the same time. And…he can do this at the incredible rate of 100 miles every day. We Inarta have been traders for centuries, but as of late our trade wings have grown increasingly…lazy, to be blunt. And their laziness has provided me with the golden opportunity to fill in where they are lacking.”

After letting this sink in for a moment, he went on with his side of the discussion. “Now…I need to know markets, and I need markets to know me. Most people in cities tend to get used to their way of life, so I need them to be anticipating my arrival excitedly, and anticipating the wares and goods I will bring with me. Which is where you come in. What I want you to do is market targeting while I’m away, since I cannot be in each city all the time. I need to you listen, and identify the people who might want…a fine sword, or window glass, or rare furs and hides, or rare volcanic stones for jewelry. That is your first job – find out who wants what – most likely a smart person like you will soon figure out the consumer patterns. Your second job is to get people excited about… the 25th of Winter. When all of their desires…and a good deal of curiosity…are going to be supplied by the amazing young nobleman/adventurer/merchant who will be arriving to sell his goods for a few days only. This is all I need from you for now…when I return, I may need you to do more of similar work, or branch out into related fields, but at this point our association will be a simple one. The only side note I shall add now is that all knowledge of the...useful type...is worth remembering, in my book. Politics, personal secrets, important relationships...that sort of material. It's not directly involved in my intended line of work, but I have...plans. But that would be to get ahead of myself. As of now all we need to discuss is what it will take to make you accept my employment.”

Shadyn was already leaning back in his chair casually, but now he crossed one ankle over his knee and took a deep draught of the cordial, awaiting his response.



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[Yisanareysin]

Rey understood, generally at least, what Shadyn was asking of him. Hmph. This boy was bold. And, entitled, perhaps. He had the same confident bearing as a noble Eypharian youth. It remained to be seen whether this one could pull of his ambitious plans. Still, it was to Rey's benefit either ways. Association with a noble was a powerful thing. If done carefully.

Now, details, details. "I find what Alvadss want, sspread talk of you for the 25th. You come on the 25th, I tell you what they want, and you hass more job for me, yess? Fine. You'll sttay for how many dayss? What will you bring? You will ssell in the Bizarre, yess? Alvadss like... sspecial thingss. Sshiny. Many colourss. Thingss that lookss different than it iss. Iss city of illusionss."

Figure out what people wanted, and get people intrigued for the 25th. This was going to take a lot of work, which meant that he was going to need to be adequately compensated.

"For pay, thiss iss not normal. Almost a sseasson I will work for you. Cossts much. Could be gold, but gold iss not sso interessting. Other types for paying, perhaps, if you think of a way."

Rey left it open to interpretation just what he meant, curious to know what the boy would come up with.

oocI hope this is a good enough opening to bring up the water.

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Shadyn]

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A vagrant smile wavered leisurely across Shadyn’s countenance, paralleled by a pleased gleam in his eyes.

“Compensation…of course. Tell me…would it be useful for you to become immaterial? To be invisible, able to walk through walls, unable to be affected by any physical material or being, yet still be able to see, hear, and even speak yourself, just not touch? Because if it would…I have it within my means to provide you with something that will give you that ability. I will not divulge more information until you confirm your interest…this is quite valuable, and I know that many would be willing to steal or even kill for such capabilities. This payment would be made upon my return, of course. As to what I would be selling, it would most likely consist of the world’s finest glassworks, in some manner, shape, or form.”

If he had pegged this man right, he would just have obtained a valuable service for free, essentially. After all, an extra side trip off of his return route wouldn’t be much trouble for nearly a full season worth of publicity.



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[Yisanareysin]

Rey couldn't hide his surprise at what Shadyn was suggesting. To be invisible and untouchable... what a wonder that would be. And how useful, for someone in his line of work. It seemed too good to be true. Which, of course, meant that it probably wasn't. Still...

He'd seen magic do stranger things. Perhaps there was some truth to it after all. Or the boy was planning to scam him. Hmmm. If it was a scam, this one was outrageously bold. And this one certainly seemed arrogant enough to think he could get away with it, he also seemed straightforward, a little like Phobius.

What were the possibilities here? The boy could be telling the truth, in which case, yes, Rey would want to take this job and be paid in whatever magic Shadyn had to offer. Or he could be lying, in which case, Rey would have to phrase his agreement such that he could get out of this arrangement.

"Need proof. What you ssay ssoundss... hard to believe. " He considered briefly. "If, only if, you sshow me what you ssay iss true, I do thiss job for you. Agree? "

Snake Tongue : Common : Arumenic

[Shadyn]

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Shadyn considered this for a moment. "Demonstration is not the easiest matter...but...perhaps I will do it later this week...before I leave. I will be at...what's that place that I heard those men talking about...ah, yes...The Stallion's Rear. Meet me there on the night of the 56th. I will use it then. You will love what you see...trust me."

To support his claim of the wondrous things that it could do, Shadyn reached down under the waistband of his bryda and pulled out the four dire bear claw daggers he had made.

"You see these? These are claws from a dire bear...I made them from the body of one that I personally killed. The key to me being able to kill it was that which I have just offered you. So...this is a bit of evidence that it does indeed work. You will, of course, still need to see it in action, I understand...but until then, I wanted to offer something to substantiate my claims. Now...if this agreement of ours proves to be to our mutual liking, it is perfectly within my means to keep you supplied with this permanently, in exchange for services when I need them. Under these circumstances, when I return to Alvadas, I will bring with me a written contract. Are there any other questions that you have?"


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