The man coughed awkwardly, apologising for the awakening. His voice was forced quiet, and Alija thanked him, "But I was already awake, so do not fret." Her voice lilted with an Zeltivan accent, but a little hesitant. Trying to appear dignified when she instead felt tired was hard. He went straight to the point, explaining his situation. He was sent by a mercenary Palaren Marsh. Palaren? From the sound of what he said, it seemed that he referred to Pulren, but pronounced his first name differently.
Then again, it could just be the accent that distorted what his name sounded like. The story Imass told was of battling a void-damned creature, words Alija didn't understand. Void-damned? What on Mizahar was the void? She let it go, wondering what goods he required. Wondering what he meant by the hesitation before explaining how he specialised in dangerous and controversial endeavours.
But she didn't wonder about what the work that she would give him was.
Only yesterday, a monk of Xennos arrived at her shop, wielding a tightly bound scroll. He came purely for business, but his discreet nature suggested more. Why would a monk of the Western Quarter ask for a blacksmith in the Eastern to do his work? A foreigner, nonetheless, not even a well-known and praised smith.
There was more to that too, added secrecy, threats, warnings. She was to tell no one, show no one. She had to make the single gear detailed in the plan and deliver it without letting anyone know that she did so. Alija had planned to do just that, leaving the plans hidden in the forge ready for the next day.
Of course, the next day, the shop and rooms connecting were ransacked, the plans missing. Stolen. Alija had been lost at what to do. She couldn't tell the monk, for if she did, she would appear guilty of not taking care of it. She couldn't simply hire some investigators to search for it without letting them know about it, also breaking the monk's trust. Alija needed someone she could trust, willing to do the work because they had something else that was more interesting.
Imass appeared to be this man. If he had Pulren's trust, he had hers. Besides, he was interested in the work she was to provide for him, not the other way round. "I have something, that you must treat with the utmost importance and secrecy. I do not know much about it, but I received plans, from the monks, that were stolen. You must return them to me, you must, or I fear what they will do to me. In return, I will provide you with the desired goods, even if I cannot create them myself."
Alija suddenly noticed the pale blue eyes watching her, the woman with the golden brown skin flashing a smile in her direction. Alija's face fell into one of shock, not because of what the woman did, but the fact that she was here. She would have heard everything, and this was a stranger that she trusted even less.
A stranger that could jeopardise everything. Alija hurried over to the door, shutting it quickly before looking back at the woman concerned. "You mustn’t repeat anything you heard, understand? I will be happy to offer some work," she gestured towards the stock, "In return for your silence." Perhaps she didn't need to bribe this woman. Perhaps she hadn't heard anything, or wasn't going to repeat it anyway, but Alija had started to fear everything at the current moment, every possibility had to be thought about. This was the best way to keep her quiet if she did want to talk.
Don't close this thread off, ima post in it later with another timestamp once we have the schematics