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Log: Ayesha Goes Shopping (For Mercenaries)

Page history last edited by Richard Hughes 14 years, 10 months ago

(3xp to Black Silk Star)

 

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "So. To recap- Ayesha and Ormi are going to Nexus to bribe the mercenaries that the Invaders have bought, yes?"

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Yes!"

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "we are going to do a few things in Nexus"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt kays. "What else? :)

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "I think we were considering picking up some mercs of our own."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "The same ones, or others?"

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "Yes, and that will be the excuse for out visit."

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "If we can still afford it after we've bought out the others."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "We are here to hire mercs, and along the way we will try to find which ones are in Greyfalls, if any."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "I also want corsairs!"

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "What? Corsairs?"

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "The ships?"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "Oh, that's a good point."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "How much money do you have, in what form and from what sources?"

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "I am maybe the wealthiest person in the East. With Connections (Merchants) 5, Connections (Finance) 5 and of course Resources 5."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt mutters about Ragaras and money. "Kay." :)

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha twinky merchant ;)

-= OOC =- Arcadelt afks a sec, and will pose momentarily to set the scene :)

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Let's handle the bribes first; time is short, and ships are slow."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "Oh, the corsairs would be to hit the Peleps supply lines sneakily :p"

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Ah, so that's a long term thing."

 

Nexus is a bustling madhouse- but it's always that. What it is uniquely at the moment, is a clearinghouse for muscle.

Throughout the East, the word has spread- Civil War in the Realm. The Dragon has begun to consume it's own tail, it's mad, blind lashing hearlding the end of the Age, according to doomsayer prophets at the corners. Mercenary captains and soldiers of fortune, however, are concerned with very different kinds of profits- and for them, this is their Golden Age, as the Houses pour jade like water to swell their ranks.

For this reason, you have come to the River Harlot's legs. Although the Civilities are obeyed- no troops travel in groups of greater than twenty -the increased number of heavily armed and violently trained men and women makes it's presence felt throughout the city.

 

At arriving Nexus, Ayesha sent couriers for the most respectable and larger mercenary companies, inquiring about their availability. They also need to know about the smaller ones, of course, and to find where the big ones are right now. This means they need investigators, bribes, spies and more. And all in just one day. They are going to be very busy!

 

Sesus Ormi is similarly busy, though for a more personal reason - counterespionage. If all of the houses are here, it's likely that some would be interested in an opportunity to kill Ragara Ayesha, the wealthiest of the Ragara Rogues, for House and country. He intends to make very sure that does not happen.

 

The markets are thick with mercenaries, and associated buyers and sellers- of flesh (hardened for labor, or soft and willing), of food, of weapons and armor.

 

Of hiring mercenaries- most of that is being done in the Big Market. Captains and commanders have blocked times to plead their cases. In the arena, mock skirmishes (several of which have proven to be more than mock) are stagged. And throughout the city, barfights always seem to happen more frequently when a Dynast is walking past.

 

"I really dislike this city," notes Ayesha to Ormi, not for the first time. She talks with officers and recruiters, agents and con men. She takes mental note of the companies that are missing, and then tries to ask about them, where are they? Who hired them? Do they still have representatives in the city?

 

As a matter of fact, they do.

The largest employeer in the city is probally House Ledaal, represented by one of their scions- Ledaal Sigir, cousin to Kilandros.  He has spent the last several days haunting the Big Market, while his agents scour the city. A jade bit for a tip that leads to a hire is the word on the street. He's already amassed hundreds of troops- the Crimson Banner Executioners, the Serpents Eyes, the Sons of the Fallen Duke. Names to conjour by, in military circles.

 

(OOC: Ayesha and Ormi decide to keep the original plan, and bribe away the Pearl's primary mercenary forces)

 

The camp of the Pearl Mercenaries is a disorganized things. The mercenary companies keep themselves- their colors are nearly as frequent as the white-blue banners of the invaders. A lively trail of merchants- some floating in shallow-keeled barges, polled along the shores. Others have carts- laden with food, and charms. A few large wagons, bedecked in blue silk and shimmering coins, have painted images on the sides that leave nothing to the imagination of their wares.

 

The riverside stinks- of many bodies, kept close together, of fens and decay. The water is tremendously churned and muddy from the mercenaries horses and the mercenaries themselves. Dead fish float near the surface of the polluted waters.

 

One of the dead fish washes near the two, before an arrow spears it and lifts it up like some unappetizing skewer. Ormi sniffs it, then tosses it away. "These men are going to catch some sort of loathsome disease at this rate," he notes. "Let's buy them before they all catch the syphilis."

 

Ayesha sometimes wonders if the Collar of Dawn's Cleansing Light is worth the attunment of motes. This is not one of these times. The young woman looks at the camp and sighs, "I guess my caravans will have triple security for a while. Now, where is the commanders' tents?"

 

(OOC: They start with the Crimson Banner Executioners)

 

Scarlet is lounging in her tent- extra large, and marked by the blood red banner and golden trim. She is a heavily built woman, and one that shows the signs of a hard life. Her nose is crooked, from repeated breaks, and her left ear has a large notch missing. She has dozens of rings in her ears, nose and lip. Her hands are rough, calloused- soldiers hands, clearly used to hefting the heavy weapons of war.

She smiles as you come in. "Well. Two more scions of the Dragons. Sigir sending a pair of errand boys for us?"

 

Sesus Ormi smiles. "Not exactly," he says jovially. "We're here to make you richer still."

 

Scarlet's face sours a bit at that. "Sit," she says, in a commander's voice, indincating a spare couch- barely large enough to sit two. She cross the space to a trunk, and opens it, pulling out a clay jug. "Drink?" she offers, after taking a pull.

 

Sesus Ormi accepts the wine, so that Ayesha need not rudely decline nor drink the foul stuff.

 

Ayesha does not decline the drink. Drinking in social occasions is the polite thing to do, so it is mandatory, even if she dislikes all drugs out of principle. "We are not allies of Ledaal Kilandros, commander," explains Ayesha, "actually, we are here to make a counteroffer."

 

"I guessed that," Scarlet says. The wine is sour and tannic. She reclaims the jug, taking another swallow before shoving the cork back in and tucking it away. "Aim to make me an oathbreaker, you do."

 

Sesus Ormi says, "Perhaps. But a wealthy one."

 

"Wealth's nice," Scarlet admits grudingly. "I'm a liar if I say I don't fight for the clinks at the end of the day. But they'd be the last clinks we'd ever get. The Crimson Banner Executioners would be dead- figuratively, at least. Litterally, if Strategos Kilandros knows."

 

Sesus Ormi says, "We don't need you to fight *for* us, you know. All we need you to do is not fight for Kilandros..."

 

Scarlet purses her lips, considering for a long, long moment. "How rich?"

 

Sesus Ormi says, "Do you remember when the Guild collapsed and everyone wept in the streets as their silver became as worthless as gold tailings, how businesses failed hand over fist, how huge areas of the world simply lost contact as the shipping lanes failed? The Ayesha Conglomerate re-opened those lanes, and they drank *deep* of the wealth that poured forth. Ragara Ayesha sits beside me; she can make you quite rich."

 

Ayesha looks a bit pained to have to do this, but she shakes her head. "Hold on. We might not need to do anything. But we suspect Kilandros wants to use your company to attack the Greyfalls satrapy. If our information is incorrect, there is no conflict of interests, but I will hire your company when your contract is over. If you do, we can talk about it and reach a compromise, and I have almost limitless founds to make sure it is a desirable one."

 

Scarlet gives Ayesha a level look. "I know," she says tartly, "That I'm just a mortal, and we can be slower than you great Chosen of the Dragons. But don't play stupid- we fly the colors Sigir gave us, alongside our own. You know their plans. You know why we're gathering."

 

Sesus Ormi deadpans, "Yes, well, there's really only so many interesting people to attack on behalf of the Realm anywhere East of Nexus. They must be paying you well to spend - what, 2 months cooped under-deck?" He leans in and whispers, "How many of you would make it through that darkness without the plague making close friends with you?"

 

"Enough," Scarlet says. "Armies on the move make that friend, and I've had my share of the shivers. But enough."

 

Sesus Ormi smiles. "You ever been in a Ledaal boat?"

 

Ayesha assumes that is Scarlet confirming that Greyfalls is the target, after all. At least it confirms there is no immediate threat to the satrapy. "In that case, we can make the breaching of contract worth it, she confirms."

 

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Let's cut this down to a social attack, if we can, or I'd be here playing Bad Cop all night. XD"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "Her MDV is 4. -1 cause you're playing to an intimacy. Her appearance is also... lower."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "Basically, you will win the social roll. It'll be more determined by how much you offer, if she'll burn the Willpower."

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi looks helplessly to Ayesha.

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "So- how much do you offer? A Resources 4 or Resources 5 purchase?"

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "How many men does she have?"

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "At this point I am going to be merciless. If she asks too much I will just hire other mercenary companies to annihilate this one the second she crosses the limits of Nexus."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "About a thousand. There's probally close to 300. There's probally close to a thousand gathered up."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "And she's already outside Nexus."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "Same with the othes. Any mercenary that marches to Greyfalls gets destroyed by other mercenaries."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt kays. In the interests of streamlining...

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "A pity for the more honorable ones, but Greyfalls is more imporant to me than them."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "It /will/ be a Resources 5 purchase to get them to break their contracts. If they do, they'd rather work for you than sit idle."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "(Them, collectively)"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "That'll effectively knock your Resources to 4 for the rest of the season."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "Excellent. Their new job is intercepting mercenaries going to Greyfalls."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt snickers. "Duly noted. Want to bring any back with you?"

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Can she attempt a Bureaucracy roll to pull from some of her mercantile interests to fund this?"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt hmmms. "Sure, seems reasonable."

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Never say I didn't do you any favors, 'yesha ;)"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "Call it a difficulty 5 Bureaucracy roll. Excellency applies, and roll +5 dice for your many, many Connections."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "Er, Intelligence + Bureaucracy."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "can I apply my finance specialty?"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "Yes."

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "Definitely."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "then I buy 3 successes"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt kays.

 

(Judge) Ragara Ayesha rolls Intelligence + Bureaucracy + Bureaucracy/Finances + 5: [ 3 3 4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 8 8 9 9 9 <10> <10> ]

    Resulting in 10 successes.

 

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "13 successes"

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "pocket money ;)"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "You'll have to delay a company for a few months- but it frees up the money to buy the contracts on all three companies with an effective REsources 4 purchase :)"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "So- gonna bring any home, or just leave 'em behind to get potentially re-bought?"

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "alright. Good. Now, if some other companies of Nexus have ships, and I still have some money, then yes, I send some troops upstream. I also need to send agents to other major mercenary centers (the Barony of Blades comes to mind) to keep an eye. Oh, and definitely to the Mountain Folk city in the East. Even if I have to take a loan, if they hire out troops, those are mine, not Ledaal's."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "I knoe some jadeborn cities hire out troops. Those are really super-soldiers, we don't want to fight them!"

-= OOC =- Arcadelt thinks that you'll have to talk to the Jadeborn yourself. And yes, there are some totally-not-pirate captains that will take money to do what they were gonna do anyways ;)

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Whichever troops are best are coming with us."

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi can carry a Mag-4 unit with the Stormwind.

-= OOC =- Arcadelt says, "That's Crimson Banner Executioners, then. The Serpent eyes are skeevy, and the Dukes have those horses to consider too."

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "Ayesha, don't forget to give em' hazard pay for being trapped in a whirlwind for about a day."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha says, "well, those are 100 soldiers or so."

-= OOC =- Sesus Ormi says, "They'll be vomiting on everything."

-= OOC =- Ragara Ayesha izzzz dizzzzy O_o

 

 

 

Hours later...

 

It's late. Time for a last meal, before headed back to Greyfalls. The sun is invisible behind the towers and apartments of Nexus- especially from the Little Market. Only the reddish western tint and the encroaching eastern blue. It's not a fancy place- open air, decent food and drink, wandering musician with sense enough to not need tips to leave a table.

 

A smiling man with emerald hair parts from the crowd. "Ayesha?" he asks, then grins. You recognize him- Mnemon Foriev, a fellow student of the Spiral. Sort-of friend. Last you'd heard, he was climbing the Thousand Scales.

 

Sesus Ormi pauses, noting the man incoming cautiously. "Ayesha, this is...?"

 

A light meal is all Ayesha can stomach. Just thinking in the trip back, riding a whirlwind, with a hundred mercenaries, for a day. Le sigh. And it is a pity, because Nexus has some things Greyfalls lacks, like genuine southern restaurants. Still, they are in war, so sacrifices must be made. And finding old friends... is unexpected. Ayesha stares at Foriev for a few seconds, and then stands, bowing to the man. "Lord Foriev, how?... I am sorry. It has been almost four years. It is good to see you, my friend."

 

Sesus Ormi pays close attention to Mr. Foriev, using the Eyes of the Wood Dragon - any act of violence that Mr. Foriev employed would be ill-advised indeed.

 

Mnemon Foriev seats himself without a moment's hesitation. "So. There's a rumor," he says, leaning forward across the table, "That your up to some mischief, out further east." He has a merry twinkle in his eye at that.

 

Ayesha nods to Ormi, "Lord Ormi, this is Lord Mnemon Foriev, we studied together at the Spiral Academy. Lord Foriev, this is my dear friend Lord Sesus Ormi, like I do, he lives in Greyfalls." Ayesha sits down again and tilts her head to Foriev. "My lord, I am unable of any mischief, as you well know."

 

Sesus Ormi says, "Boring as the third book of Pasiap, our Ayesha."

 

Mnemon Foriev grins at that. "Of course," he replies. "I can't recall, have you met my wife?" He waves a hand, and a woman with dark, russet skin comes over. She carries a faintly smokey smell- not unpleasant. Like incense, burning. "Lady Ragara Ayesha, Lord Ormi, please meet Lady Mnemon Salit."

 

Sesus Ormi smiles softly, bearing himself with as much grace as his socialize excellency can provide. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Mnemon Salit." He notes that Foriev does not use his family name; why? Perhaps worthy of consideration later.

 

Ayesha smiles faintly to Ormi. Boring? Her? Hmmph. Then she stands to bow to the newcomer. "An honor to meet you, Lady Salit," she greets, always polite. "I did not know you were married, no. I am afraid living in the far Threshold means I lose track of many important events."

 

"Of course," Mnemon Salit replies. She dimples when she smiles. "We're headed back to the Isle soon- I only drug Foriev away over a need to pick up some trivials for my studies from Nexus- but just wanted to thank you, for your efforts. It's thanks to Dynasts like you, that we'll be able to rebuild the Realm."

 

Sesus Ormi smiles softly. "Well... Thank you. We only hope that, in time... this can all be forgotten. Best if such efforts as ours are lost in the fog of good news."

 

Sesus Ormi says, "You could join us, you know. Wait out this sad war."

 

Mnemon Foriev gives Ormi a quizzical look. "Why would we join you, when you've already joined us?"

 

Sesus Ormi 's smile hardens slightly. "We aren't on anyone's side, I'm afraid. Greyfalls stands alone."

 

Ayesha is not sure how to answer that comment. Are their actions causing House Ragara loss. Well, yes. But they are also in self-defense. It was Ledaal who wanted more than just the agreed tribute from Greyfalls. "I hope we will, Lady Salit. Lets hope common sense returns soon and peace with it."

 

Mnemon Salit gives Ormi an indulgent smile. "And yet you spoke of sides not a moment before." She fiddles with a curl in her hair at Ayesha's comment. "So do we all." She glances at the setting sun, and rests a hand on Foriev's shoulder. "Come. It's getting late."

 

Mnemon Foriev gives an apologetic shrug as he rises. "A pleasure to see you again, Lady Ragara Ayesha. And to meet you, Lord Ormi."

 

"I do not think there has to be more than one side," notes Ayesha, "we are all dragon-blooded, and relatives." She stands too, and sighs, "it was good to see you again, Lord Foriev, please, take care."

 

Sesus Ormi watches them go, lip quirking. "That was... awkward."

 

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