<D`Cint> D`Cint waits patiently in the parlour of her private home for the usually tardy Sadurean. He was told to come in through the back door, and covertly. Her home is a two story building, modest, only three bedrooms, by some of the more wealthy standards. But it is furnished elaborately, with the finest over stuffed chairs, swords, expensive paintings, coats of arms, tapestries.
* Sadurean isn't sure what all the covertness is about, but he'll do as she says. He's actually on time for a change. Yesterday him and Telles had almost caught someone sneaking into the city on the western cliffs.. almost. Berg had ended up stabbed in the infirmary and Sadurean has some fresh bruises. He isn't sure if the lieutenant has heard about it yet or not. Either way, he's slipping in through the back door, looking around cur
<Sadurean> looking around curiously at her furnishings and signs of wealth. He'll even wipe his feet off at the mat courteously. "Lieutenant??"
<D`Cint> The tone of her home is somewhat dark. The walls are a polished hardwood, the floors matching, the rugs blacks, maroons and deep blues. It is lit by only candles, many of them, like that in a monestary or a shrine. She stands and comes to the doorway of her parlour, just a few feet from where he entered, "Here, Avinash." She takes a sip of her tea, dressed in black evening gown, but <dust>
<D`Cint> <dust> without the jewelry and hair styling to make it actually worth going out in. She turns away from him and moves back to her chair in the parlour. <ashes>
* Sadurean raises a thick brow at her attire, but continues in to follow her into the sitting room, dark blue eyes still exploring her home. "Nice decor.." He comments in an appraising tone. One can learn a lot about a person by their choice in home decoration. "So.. why am I here?" He just finished his second shift of the day and he'd love to go see how Evi's grand opening of the bakery went, but duties are duties, as much a
<Sadurean> duties, as much as he defies them.
<D`Cint> Sadurean likely already knows D`Cint is a calculating, brooding, covert, somewhat nasty woman. Her home likely reinforces that ideal, "First, I cannot stress enough the secrecy of what I am about to reveal to you.. be seated, have tea." She sets a blank sheet of paper on the table, and a dagger, "If you reveal to anyone, willingly or coerced, what I am about to tell you, including Evi, <dust>
<D`Cint> <dust> I cannot begin to discuss what kind of hell I will put you though. This secret will ruin me, so I'll have nothing to lose. This is not a threat, simply the terms of our agreement regarding this information. Understand?" She takes another sip of tea. <ashes>
* Sadurean sits down, picking up the tea cup and drinking slowly from it. He actually composes himself more towards the environment he's in, the nice house and proper parlour and tea. He grew up in a noble household, as empty as it was, and has been educated on how to present himself. He mulls her words over, then nods in agreement. This has got to be juicy.. or she's setting him up. That latter does occur to him.
<D`Cint> D`Cint nods solemnly, "Then as a noble man of honour, I do not think a blood parchment is necessary.. I am going to send a spy to Ama`til. Someone to infiltrate the walls, gather troop numbers, troop strength, technological level. Map supply depots, guard routes, barracks, officer quarters.."
* Sadurean stares at her, expression blank as she lays out her intention. He sips his tea, brow furrowing some. Rather than point out what he thinks she's getting at he simply responds, "Okay.." and sets the cup down. Once he might have gobbled all this up and taken it straight to Ryn'an, but things have changed between them.
<D`Cint> She takes another sip of her tea, then refills it, before standing, moving to light a cigarette on a candle, "If my spy is captured, I will deny responsibility, if he is killed, I will construct a death that is both honorable and great, giving him a proper burial and making his family believe it was a worthy endeavor.." She hits the cigarette, then returns to her seat, "There will be a <dust>
<D`Cint> <dust> bonus of 400 gold for the spy, mission accomplished or not.. Now, I just need a spy." <ashes>
<Sadurean> "Four hundred gold?.. " He chews on the number in his head, considering how happy Evi would be if she were free and clear of the debt they just accrued in the bakery. How nice it would be to get out of that crappy home they live in. "That's a lot." He says, obviously thinking this over by his distant, thoughtful look.
<D`Cint> Crossing her legs, she takes another drink of her tea, before setting it on the table, "I will make no further argument, I will push you no further. This would be entirely volunteer, and it must be totally covert. You will need to devise an alibi, something that cannot be checked, an errand to the city for a distant relative.. Evi cannot know, Ryn'an cannot know, the council cannot know. <dust>
<D`Cint> <dust> Only you and I. If you decline, I will find another, and you must never speak of it." Her cigarette is ashed in a dragon's paw brass ashtray. <ashes>
<Sadurean> His selfishness is usually very clearcut, but that much money would make Evi so very happy. But, the risk involved would make her very unhappy.. and she'd likely skin him for ever doing something so dangerous. Still, four hundred gold. Four -hundred-. "How soon?" He asks, not sure why he's even considering it all, it's completely insane. There are other things though.. like the need to prove that he can do his duty. Ryn'an h
<Sadurean> his duty. Ryn'an had gotten through to the young man more than he likely ever anticipated and it's been on Durean's mind ever since, the accusations of uselessness.
* McGig has left #Sinari_Town
<D`Cint> She reaches into a binder next to her chair, in a book rack there. She opens it, there are maps, orders, plans, things that must be gathered.. "Soon, Sadurean.. By monday, at the latest. The survival of Sinari could very well depend on the hasty return of my spy." She closes the book and sets it aside, "It shouldn't take more than a few days in the city, and I doubt they're letting <dust>
<D`Cint> <dust> anyone in, this will be totally covert, and frankly, aside from me, who is needed hear, you're the only qualified guardsman to smooth talk soldiers, scale walls, read and write, and run faster than greased shit down a glacier.." <ashes>
* Sadurean reaches for the binder, intending to look through it before he agrees to anything. Really, it wouldn't be all that hard. He could pretend to be a merchant, talk his way in, and get most of the information with what would probably be low risk. Still.. it is dangerous. "They'll know I'm from Sinari.." He says quietly, some concern in his voice for that. And he isn't rising to her compliments, a sure sign that he's taking
<Sadurean> sign that he's taking this seriously.
* D`Cint sips her tea, seemingly unperturbed by his concern, "How? You're a bard, you pretend for a living. You can pretend to be the king of Ourani and for all I know probably even pull it out of your ass somehow. I don't believe for a moment that every soldier in the Ourani military knows the infamous Sadurean Avinash. You're not -that- good."
* Sadurean just pulls off his glove and holds up his right hand, the faded citizenship tattoo on it still clearly visible despite fourteen years of weathering. He cracks a small smirk, "It's nice to know you suppose I might become that well known, though, Lieutenant." Then in a more serious tone, "They'll be checking.. they'd be fools not to."
* D`Cint simply looks at him for a short moment, then reaches down and picks up the dagger. She holds it out to him, pommel first, and states flatly, "Then remove it, you need a new one anyway.. Just make it look bad enough they don't think you removed a tattoo." D`Cint has apparently thought out all the angles. But she has been keeping her cards close to her chest, she didn't want to drop this <dust>
<D`Cint> <dust> joker until she had to. <ashes>
* Sadurean looks at her incredulously, at what she's suggesting. He's a -bard-. "What? No! Not like that. It could get infected! I.. there's surely another way." Does that mean he's considering agreeing to this madness? "Dye.. or makeup.. or maybe a mage."
<D`Cint> She sets a healing salve on the table, "This will make it heal quickly and prevents infection. Gifts from a mage in Ashetai.." It's a small white bottle, pearlescent, with a gold stopper. She seems quite serious, "We can't let anyone else know Sadurean, it could get us all strung up.."
<Sadurean> "It would be obvious.. They'd know. They'd be looking for something like that. I'll just talk my way through, a lot of sailors get the citizenship." Nothing a foriegn accent couldn't fix. "And why would this work get us in trouble? If it's for the good of the country?" He's getting suspicious now, just eying the dagger without taking it. The hell he's going to slice his hand up.
* D`Cint smirks a little, "Now you're thinking like a spy.." she sticks the dagger into her painfully expensive table and reclines, "So you're a sailor. Where is the jib sail? And what is the purpose of a corvette class ship? These are questions you're going to be asked. Can you field them with your experience?"
<Sadurean> "No.. I don't know anything other than what I learned on the Riza.. You didn't answer my question." He hasn't agreed yet. But he hasn't flat out denied. His thoughts keep straying back to Evi. She would tell him not to go. She would argue that money isn't worth it.. but, having money is certainly easier than not having any.
* D`Cint sits forward and takes a drink of her tea, then puts out the cigarette before the ash lands in her lap, "The council would never accept it, they wouldn't want to piss of the Ourani's, Ryn'an would have a total fit, because he wants to be in control, and I don't want to take all the flack from the city. If it works, we'll tell everyone. But even more than that, we cannot afford to <dust>
<D`Cint> <dust> compromise you, anyone could be a spy, Evi might accidentally slip to a close friend, who might slip to another and another. Every person that knows is a liability.." <ashes>
<Sadurean> It's hard for someone who has gone out of his way to be well known to believe that people aren't going to get wind of some secret mission. Despite that, he's starting to get ideas, pondering solutions to potential problems in his head. "Ryn'an can rot for all I care.. " He grumbles, but there isn't much heat to his words. A lot of his anger has faded to grudging resentment. He's quiet for a very long time then, thinking long
<Sadurean> then, thinking long and hard about the rewards verse the risks. "Get me the weekend off, then."
<D`Cint> She nods, "Done.. I need to discuss your alibi and other things before monday morning, logistics, things like that, and to make sure I can back up your alibi. I can't give you this book, but you can review it in transit.. Anything else?" She finishes her tea and sets the cup aside.
* Sadurean studies the patterning in the wood, eyes downcast as he considers. "No.. not for now. I'll think about it." He replies quietly, tugging his glove back on because he's experiencing a sudden chill. This is perhaps the craziest thing he's done yet. Evi will never forgive him.
* D`Cint nods in finality, "Have a good weekend, Sadurean.. Remember why you're doing this. We're out gunned, out numbered and out of options, but we're not out of intellegence. Knowing what they've got, what they need, and what they work could just well be our saving grace.."
* Sadurean rises and gazes at her for another rather painful pause. "I want people to know that I'm doing my duty." He says coldly, challengingly. He wants Ryn'an to swallow his words. He wants his father to choke on his. Everyone thinks he's so incapable of accomplishment because he has different interests, but this time they're going to be wrong.
* D`Cint smiles slightly, "When you return safely, I will present you to the city as a hero. In the mean time, you'll simply have to be a silent one." She gestures to the door before moving out into the hall to pull it open, "Enjoy your weekend."
<Sadurean> "Sure.." He replies, and makes a departure. He picks rather stupid ways to try and get back at people, and he tries to assure himself that it's for the money.. for Evi. Still, it was probably a really bad idea to agree to this. A fool's errand. D'Cint is probably laughing at him.
* D`Cint shuts the door and sighs, watching him depart throught the small stained glass window.. She's confident if anyone can pull this off, it's Sadurean.. She heads up to bed.
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