audio | username: raven master

[pulvisetumbra]

( You might remember this voice: )

Good afternoon. To our newcomers, I introduce myself as the Merchant. You have heard of me. I have heard of you. To our elderly additions, I note you have prevailed against the odds to persist among us. A triumph.

( Dry laughter. ) Further pleasantries at a later, more forgiving time. For now, it will not surprise you that certain gestures have been entertained. Crude, direct and mercenary.

Absent a contact point, Unhalad’s lieutenants have left word with several port masters, who have conveyed his message. He believes you have been well positioned to access Anurr’s forces and woodland allies. He asks for any remnants of the mirror his brethren sent aboard the vessel Imperious and for assistance to cleanse the woods of Anurr’s supporters. In exchange, he offers free passage from Sa-Hareth once the storms clear and a letter of recommendation that will ease voyage across the eastern provinces commanded by his brothers. He threatens the full force of his allies, if you do not comply.

( A moment’s peace, to let that sink. ) I expect our forest visitors have kept Lord Anurr better informed of your whereabouts and affiliation. He has addressed my liaisons to request your assistance to shut in the salt mines and the source of Unhalad’s local force replenishments. He too offers to facilitate your departure from Sa-Hareth, once he gains the terminals, financial provisions and free return to the citadel, should you wish it done. He threatens nothing, but notes that you are alone, and have been alone for some time, and where has it brought you? ( Laughter, outright) To me.

( Second verse, same at the first. Silence is a strength. ) Quite. Given the limitations of these creatures, you will forgive me for excluding any physical evidence of these interactions.

If you want counsel: you have sustained neutrality for the better part of two months. Your position to do nothing has been self-serving, but clear. Do not stray course at the last hour. If you intend to proceed otherwise… alert me. I shall endeavour to broker the relevant agreement, so that you may at least benefit from your gumption.

You will otherwise be pleased to know I expect to receive the pertinent passport papers and two potential routes for your strategic departure within days. Until then, good day.


( ooc: feel free to use the Merchant’s or other character posts to debate the course of action! The Merchant will be scarce. If most/any characters plan to side with Unhalad, Anurr, either warlord or even both of them, designate a character to let the Merchant know. Address messages to the him this time! )

Comments

audio;

[soulsrob]

Master Raven! How have you been, dear? It's been too long since I've been able to hear your voice. I thought perhaps you'd grown tired of us.

If I'm to understand, does it really matter if we do anything or not? It seems better to not muddy our hands any further than we already have and try to make a clean break from them. On the other hand, having power at our backs would be nice for whatever lands we venture to next... Assuming Mr. Unhalad is on good relations with his brothers, it might better to side with him if we're thinking long-term.

Or we go to Mr. Anurr and let him know we need to pretend to wipe him out. If Mr. Unhalad thinks they're wiped out, we get free passage through him, plus he thinks Mr. Anurr's forces are lesser, giving them the element of surprise on their side. [She hums thoughtfully.]

Or something like that!

But when he mentions wanting all of to mirror remnants... [Does it include her own mirror?? Because no thank you. She's parting with that over her cold dead body.]

un: sweet lily of the hidden valley

[bearshermark]

Some presumption. Who is it that Unhalad counts among his allies?

un: dappled pearl of the parted seas [voice]

[beitangmoran]

A hard bargain as expected...

I must say that as far as I am concerned, I do not quite enjoy being coerced, and Unhalad seems to have more sinister motives, including bringing us here. I also do not believe it would be wise to give him back any of those mirror shards.

Although I have little expectations that many among us would choose to ally with Unhalad under these terms, humans are surprising at times.

[beitangmoran]

You would side with the person who brought us there and actually used those mirror to steal memories from some of our companions, Young Lady? And someone whose power over his own citizenry is more than shaky?

[handmaiden of unsheathed swords] voice posted:

[darkeststars]

Hand over any bit of the mirror to that worm?

Hilarious.

That he turns to negotiation only last exposes his moment of weakness.

un: deft hand of little deaths [Voice]

[scrapgege]

Ah, Master Merchant, excuse me, but what exactly does that mirror do? I couldn't even figure out what the curse on it was?

It's a bit rude to call people elderly though, it's not like we can help how old we are...

un: dappled pearl of the parted seas [voice]

[beitangmoran]

Agreed. He brings the least to the table and has the most demands and threats.

[darkeststars]

So determined to try his best to intimidate even now. I do so enjoy when someone whose gut I'd love to stick a saber through rolls over to show me his soft underbelly. [ Should the Dark Lord be a little more worried about the actual undead army this guy's buddies might sic on us? Yes, probably. Is he? Naaaah. ]

audio; un: xunxian

[topoiran]

Good afternoon yourself. It has been a while.

[ Xunxian hesitates for a moment, but then does ask. ]

Should the salt mines be actually closed, what will become of Sa-Hareth? Is there no more precise way to achieve such a goal?

[soulsrob]

I would pretend to be on the side of anyone who could make passage for everyone a little easier later on. This man has brothers that rule the other places we might go to, if I'm understanding correctly, yes?

I present to you a scenario: We help Mr. Anurr take down the mines and help us leave. They launch an attack on Mr. Unhalad and lose. Mr. Unhalad finds out we helped Mr. Anurr and sends word to his brothers in the other lands to look out for us and make our lives very, very difficult. At best, we become outlaws. At worst, we're enemies of the realm and they're told we're to be killed on sight.

Another scenario: We tell Mr. Anurr of Mr. Unhalad’s propsal and ask for him to relocate his troops or whatever elsewhere and bring back some sort of proof that we've "wiped them out," so to speak, thus giving them the element of surprise. Perhaps a small group of us secretly go and shut down the mine operations in the meantime, but in a way we can deny culpability. After all, we're helping Mr. Unhalad! We're on his side, are we not? Perhaps it's Mr. Anurr who did it, but worry not, for we have wiped out his people!

Mr. Unhalad thinks Mr. Anurr was the problem and that problem is gone. He sends word out to his brothers that we are friends and to be helped. We leave. Mr. Anurr can then launch an attack and, hopefully, take Mr. Unhalad down due to the element of surprise being ultimately on their side. We get to enjoy the hospitality of Mr. Unhalad’s brothers for quite some time before word gets out perhaps that oh dear, he's fallen, or very nearly! How dreadful, good luck Mr. Unhalad’s brother in this land, we shall continue our journey onward but will gladly carry the letter of Mr. Unhalad’s fall to the next brother for you, don't worry yourself!

[She smiles] And who knows what might happen to that letter? Lots of things could prevent it from ever getting out, delaying any help he might have hoped to gain.

[pulvisetumbra]

Madam. You are lively, as ever. I trust you have been well?

[beitangmoran]

You would make a very good politician, Young Mistress.

I see a lot of merit in your second scenario, but I doubt some of our more.... value-minded cohort have the wherewithal to pull off the deception.

[pulvisetumbra]

Several of his brothers hold citadels in the east. As for the... subtleties of their relationships, those depend, kin to kin. As a whole, they support each other against outsiders. ( Laughter, mulled. ) Within their ranks, I expect there is... opportunity for uprising, now and then. Sa-Hareth is sufficiently isolated that the weakest of the brothers could be trusted to keep it.

Until now.

[pulvisetumbra]

I am not unaware that all your actions so far have, intentionally or otherwise, supported Anurr.

[pulvisetumbra]

If either was sufficiently strong or savvy enough to dispose of his enemy without a third party's assistance, he would have done so. They are both weak. And yet, they are both stronger than you.

[pulvisetumbra]

What is a mirror, old master?

[pulvisetumbra]

Good after, young master. ( But... he stops after. ) You mean, whether the citadel can survive the elimination of its once single most glorious resource?

[beitangmoran]

He is embattled in his own stronghold, by his own population. He is the one with the most to lose even if we do nothing. If he wants us to do something for him, requesting would go a much longer way than blackmail with forces that are indeed numerous, but also subject to treachery from inside the citadel, and, I am sorry to say that for him, relatively easy to kill.

It would not be endearing for the local population given that those are their kin, but most who have regained some consciousness ask for their own death.

I personally see no problem in keeping our original stance of letting them battle it out. There will be a battle no matter what, but still no reason why it should concern us particularly.

[topoiran]

The citadel's people, rather. Cities and citadels rise and fall, but the spark of life is not easy to keep alive.

[beitangmoran]

Unintentionally at first, for sure. But his story is more interesting.

Although, to be quite fair, Master Merchant, out of the lot, I would choose you over the other two.

[scrapgege]

A passageway.

Mirrors are powerful, I know that. But I've never known one that would do what this one does.

[pulvisetumbra]

On the contrary. People are born, and people pass. The spirit of a city lingers.

Sa-Hareth was salt before it was trade. It can choose to evolve. But I do not see its path an easy one.

[pulvisetumbra]

And what is Unhalad's story?

[pulvisetumbra]

And what do you believe it does?

[soulsrob]

I've been quite well! There's hardly a dull moment out here. How have you been? Has your health been well?

[You sound like an older gentleman, after all.... She's concerned.]