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fter the Magistra's withdrawal, some hours pass before Tonar goes to his meeting with Liessira. [The interested lurker should note that a dialogue between Tonar and Liessira was played out on echo but is not posted here, at Scott's request.] Toward the end of their discussion, she says to him, "What I ask of you--is simple. An eye in Avrezin is all I ask, and cooperation with my agents, and those of my allies, who are already in place there. As a mercenary, it would be easy for you to join some private army near Rekke, or perhaps even enlist with the warlord herself...an excellent position from which to learn what is going on. As a foreigner, you would hardly be suspected of harboring political sentiments one way or the other." [Rekke the city is Avrezin's "capital"; Rekke the province is Warlord Piromel's home and base.] "Also," Liessira says, "when the time comes to purify Avrezin with the Firebird's flames, I would like you to deliver a message to the warlord for me, before taking care of your own business with her." She snaps her fingers and a servant appears with a box. Liessira takes the box, which is lacquered wood inlaid with abalone, and opens it with strong, slender fingers. Inside are three things: a metal scroll case, a string of coins that would amply pay Tonar's way to Avrezin, a bracelet of pearls and filigreed silver, of a size to fit her wrist. Her eyes shimmer briefly, but her voice is quiet and level: "The scroll case contains the message I would like you to bear, or if you find it an unacceptable task, I would ask you to find another in your stead once you are there. The bracelet--is a token that will tell others that you are my agent. It was given me years ago, by my betrothed before he died." She does not mention the coins. She offers the box to him. "You may return the box"--her emphasis is slight--"to me tomorrow if you decide that you do not wish to undertake this. It would be inconsiderate of me to demand a decision now. Whatever you choose, I will offer my prayers to the Firebird that you find the justice you seek." [In case it isn't clear, she's implying that he is free to take the sum of money but reject her request.] Tonar slowly returns to the couch and sits. He considers the bracelet momentarily, and then gives Lia a long speculative look that ends in a tiny but decisive nod. "So be it," he says. "I haven't lied to you. I am the man I have told you of, but I am also more. Someone in my true trade doesn't survive long as a dupe." Liessira could almost swear she sees sparks in his eyes. Liessira says calmly, "I'm aware of this." He continues, "I will do as you ask, without condition. I trust you that far. But, know that there may come a time when I will ask something of you. It may be costly, even dangerous. Yet, I think you will comply, if for the sake of your people if not mine. Also know that I will cover your back, come what may, should the time come." Tonar rises to gently take Deathbringer from Liessira's hands. Liessira opens her mouth and he moves a hand toward her mouth; she draws back, draws aside, a sudden lightning anger in her eyes. "You presume," she says in a low, flat voice; and it seems she refers to his gesture, not his words. He whispers, "Please. No questions, no statements. Wait, and do the thing you know to be right." [Scott's note: What Tonar is doing should be obvious. He just turned the tables on Liessira. Yes, he will do her bidding, but she's incurring a personal debt because of the risks he must undertake. That she clearly cares about her people tells him her conscience hasn't been destroyed by political games. He believes she will at least covertly assist him at the right time. [Noted. And "covertly" is bloody right--assuming *she* survives. Liessira has enemies, too.] With that, the Magistra rises, nods to him, and retires with her servants to an inner chamber. One servant remains to guide Tonar back to his guestroom.
aeric hears footsteps outside his doors and nods to himself, thinking that Liessira has sent for Tonar. However, he is amused to hear a second set of footsteps some time afterward, then a knock on his door. This servant is scarred and well-muscled despite his unwarlike white garb. "Might I speak with you?" he asks. Caeric nods, gesturing for the servant to enter the room, his gaze flickering past the odd fellow to mark the sword's place once more before the hint of amusement touches his lips once more. Some things he need fear here, but those demons are an ocean away, long in his past. The servant's eyes flicker to the sword, then back again. "The Magistra has sent me to make you an offer in private, as better befits the customs of your people." To these words he inclines his head in thanks, though he says little, listening to the servant's words. Inside Caeric's room, the negotiations come down to this: The Magistra would like Caeric to go to Qenar and learn the truth of the wraiths, the Qenaren who hold the wraiths back. Once this is accomplished he can send a message back to her via her agents in Avrezin; the servant says that names and descriptions will be given him if he accepts. Afterward, she will ask nothing further from him. From the servant's agitation, this matter of truth seems to be quite important to the Magistra. The Magistra is willing to pay the expenses of Caeric's journey to Avrezin--nay, all the way to Qenar. With a mercenary's practicality, he estimates that the offered sum is in fact generous for such a journey, even allowing for mishaps along the way. She is also willing to pay in mixed coinage of moderate, not unusually high, denominations. To sweeten the deal, she has also added two things: a hand-illuminated manuscript on "legends from the east," meaning Avrezin and Qenar; it's written in Chedraqis and Caeric, upon glancing through it, thinks he can puzzle his way through the text, though some of the words and phrases are archaic indeed. The second item is an old bone flute, said (as the servant relays) to be carved from a wraith's horn from the days *before* the Qenaren confined the wraiths to the Ashen Lands. The flute's properties are unknown, except that it has been passed around as a souvenir and curiosity for years because owners find themselves becoming uncomfortable with it as time passes (as perhaps might be the case with Liessira). The flute seems like a perfectly normal flute to Caeric, though, other than the foreign scale to which it's tuned. It is these things, primarily the flute, which seem to pique the former mercenary's interest. Indeed, the flute in particular intrigues him, an odd expression on his face as he studies it. The servant leaves these items with Caeric and tells him that Liessira will await his response tomorrow. He leaves with Caeric a healthy sum of money just for the inconvenience that she has put upon him--enough to keep Caeric comfortably until he can find another source of income. [Note to both players: I will be moving on to an interlude as opposed to giving y'all a travelogue through Sorevv. Meanwhile, the two characters' paths diverge.]
Back: Caeric & Tonar's Prologue 8 Candle image provided by Clipart Castle.
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