[Introduction] Prologue: The World Summit

[Wolesz]

"Very well. It is indeed quite an impressive ruse." For a moment, the Archon seems to be pleased. "However, you are still off-duty ignoring orders, and... adjustments shall be made on your wages."

"As for the more critical matters, your talents will be a welcome help. However, if notions such as duty and greater good do not touch you, consider your options carefully. If you refuse to help us, and it just happens that because of this Empirius becomes a domain of Hell, no money in the whole Creation will save you from horrors that would make your mind break apart at the very realisation of their existence. If, on the other hand, you agree to join us, not only you shall end up in the most exciting company on Empirius, there will also be spoils aplenty. People will shove money into your hands for saving them." He finished, looking at the halfling and pondering the current situation.

I'd rather let him pester me than set him loose on Morsath. His wit might be... unhealthy. I have always been fond of the old ruler's saying: "The official bearing of a subject should be wretched and idiotic, so that their comprehension of matters at hand shall not confuse the superior."

[shiroken]

The halflings laughs aloud, taking one of Israphel's hands in his own, "Ah! My dear Supreme Archon, I shall make a scoundrel of you yet!"

[Cuross]

Watching the banter between the two, Ardeus takes another drink, [i]I may need to bring more wine,[i] he thinks.

He stands up, "I can trust the Archon to be forthright with his intentions, that much I trust aside from his charisma and dedication to cause," the look he throws Israphel is a glaring look with a touch of admiration, not ignoring the history between their two nations. "But this cloak and dagger charade is not necessary. Your talents are formidable, yes, and we could well make use of an information network, but as the Archon stated, the fate of the world could fall on one missed note or insight. Your payment will come from the spoils you earn only after the matter. Do not burden our minds with thoughts of price and payment."

He sits down again and looks around, "Now, have we any idea where to start?"

[Blauf]

Marlin watched the excitement with mild interest. He hand had strayed toward his mace when the halfling interrupted, but seeing Elnessa's quick reaction followed by the back-and-forth between Calbren and Israphel, he quickly figured the halfling was to be watched closely but probably not much of a threat.

"Calbren, is it? While I value talent over title, and you seem to be talented enough, I am curious about your offer to help with this mission. You have, in the past few seconds, given me the simultaneous impressions that you can get information we need, that you already have the said information, and that you're curious about what's going on based on overhearing something. Which of these is correct?"

Marlin had done his best to clamp down on the formation of a new thieves guild in Solon City; citizens who didn't have to be fearful about a crime wave were happy and productive. Nonetheless, Marlin valued the talents of a thief and had continued to develop some of the talents learned in his own thieving days. The halfling could be extremely valuable to their efforts, or he could be all talk. I guess I'll find out soon enough which he is...

[darthcharon]

Elnessa turned slightly red at Israphel's rebuttal, but said nothing more. 'at least I made no intention of hiding my weapon,' she thought to herself, 'a concealed weapon inspires far less trust than one worn openly.'

The disscussion of Bren Urkal caught her attention somewhat. That name was not entirely unknown to Elnessa, and she had even led a few raids against some of their hideouts. But it seemed that no matter how many times she kicked them out of Alvari, they always managed to slip back in. She suspected corruption among the guards, but couldn't prove it. They were a persistent and fustrating bunch, and it worried Elnessa that it was apparently so wide spread an organization that it reached to Morsath. Still, she remained silent, feeling no need to admit that she was also plagued by this underground crime ring.

[shaderhedemon]

Amarie watches as Calbren Haller comes out of the shadows, ‘Just the person I was hoping to come, I’ll have to call off the search team..’ She watches and waits to see the other’s reactions to him, noting the dislike for Bren Urkal. She was familiar with the crime organization, in fact she did business dealing with them, though not openly. When the others began to question him about payment and the such she begins to whispering to the pseudodragon. With Marlin’s latest question she decides it was time to speak, and she stands up the pseudodragon staring at Mr. Haller.

“I believe that we can trust master Haller. I have had dealings with him and his... men before and his information is almost always correct, if not costly. In fact I would have sent an invitation to him, but I didn’t not know where he was. Now as to Israphel’s suggestion, we first must determine whether of not we need to make the devils angry before we start dealing heavy blows and make them come at us harder. If it holds true though that their leaders have not come yet then we will find a way to strike at them hard enough to force their leaders out.”

She pauses as the psuedodragon looks to her, she looks back then whispers something again, before turning back to the group. “As for today, I declare that we take a break. I will have dinner served and then you may explore the palace or mingle. Use tonight to use whatever connects you have to learn what you can, tomorrow during the noon meal we will continue this particular discussion.”

She pauses again then looks to Israphel, “And as to Elnessa Dragonsoul’s dragon, I granted her permission to bring it before the meeting, the pseudodragons enjoy watching their larger cousins. I would not have any of you leave a life long friend out of this.”


The Low Queen then sits back down as servants begins to bring in food, one servant pulls back a seat for Calbren Haller.

[shiroken]

As the Low Queen speaks, a curious expression momentarily crosses his visage - almost fearful. In the space of a blink, it is gone however and he resumes his easy, almost carefree smile. He graciously takes the seat offered and is silent for the first time since his appearance.

[Blauf]

As the group dines, Marlin seems a tad fidgety for a minute or so before settling down to dig in. Noticing glances from a couple of the others, he smiles and comments, "Forgive me. I don't usually eat such wonderful food and I can never keep straight which fork to use when. Too much else to worry about, I suppose!"

[Wolesz]

And if a blade grew out of my hand, would it be kept unchecked on the grounds that it is my lifelong limb? Someone here wants to take sides, or does not realise how dangerous politics is at times, thought Israphel, but he knew better than to insult his new allies. I might as well just enjoy the dinner right now.

[darthcharon]

Elnessa stares at the food as it is brought out. She hadn't realized how hungry she had been until this moment. She had flown nonstop from Alvari this morning, and had allowed herself only a small strip of jerky at noon. She did her best not to look too hungry, not wanting to appear a pig before the other nations, but it would have been difficult even if the food hadn't been so tasty. As it was, it took all of her efforts to at least appear decent, all but shoveling the meal down her throat.

She had been so focused on the food, she almost didn't notice that Caliev was still watching the halfling."Caliev," She begins, shortly after swallowing a large chunk of food, "Jlaa. Jaci ui ti gethrisjir ekess xoal tivol. Amarie tepohaic jihaia jacion, vur wux jalla lae algbo." Only then does Caliev reluctantly turn his head away, choosing instead to sit curled up immediately behind her, though he continues to peek up at the gathering from time to time.

[Wolesz]

Israphel's eyes wander towards Caliev's as Elnessa speaks to him again. Curiosity can be clearly heard in his voice as he speaks.

"This one is a truly formidable comrade-in-arms. Might I ask, how did this...bond come to happen? It is rare to see one of the dragonkind fighting for a human's sake." Mercifully rare.

[darthcharon]

Elnessa looked up at Israphel, almost as if she was suprised that he had asked.

"Truthfully, I don't know," Elnessa admitted, "I've known him since I was a little girl. I can't recall exactly when I first met him, but I don't remember ever being suprised by him. He's always felt like... a part of me, even when I was just a child. He was a lot smaller back then, but then, so was I." She turns her head around to look at Caliev and smiles. Caliev merely rests his head against the floor.

Turning back to Israphel, she continues. "The priests believe he was sent by Sarenrae himself to protect us from some great and terrible evil, though until recently they... well, lets just say it wasn't devils they thought I would be charging at. In any case, I don't know if that's true, but what I do know is that there is a link between us that allows us to share our thoughts to a limited degree. We are still two unique individuals, but he can react to me far swifter than any mount ever could, and vice versa."

[Cuross]

"It seems much the same with my mount, the bond we share." He takes an amused bite of the roast before him, "However, it is a beautiful creature. So often do I hear stories of dragons and the like from my people, that it is hard not to look at... Kuhleef? Cayleave?... without some unease. I can only assume that I pronounced his name incorrectly, but you only mentioned it twice in that tongue while addressing him."

Ardeus takes more amused bites. He directs his attention to Israphel over his goblet, "And Archon. What sort of comrade-in-arms might you desire, had you the fortune to obtain one?"

[darthcharon]

Elnessa smiles at Ardeus's attempt at Caliev's name. "Cah-lee-ehv" She pronounced. "And truthfully, I don't believe he's a true dragon. No offense to Caliev, but dragons are supposed to have intelligence that makes wise men look like children, and while Caliev here is certainly more intelligent than, say, a horse, he isn't quite as bright as a wise man." She looks at Caliev again. "Plus, he didn't always used to look like this. When I was young, he simply looked like a large lizard. The wings didn't appear until I was twelve. And recently I" Elnessa stops.

Her right hand shifts to cover her left arm. Just a few weeks ago, she had woken up and found silver scales on her arm, not unlike the ones on Caliev. Over time, they had spread to her back, her neck, and even her thighs. She didn't know where they had come from, and she was too frightened to show them to anyone else. So she hid them beneath bulky armor and clothing, but at the rate it was spreading... It would not be long before even that could not hide them.

Shifting uncomfortably, she suddenly realized that she had stopped mid sentence. "Forgive me, I was momentarily distracted. Recently, I, uh, have noticed that his tail has gotten longer in proportion to the rest of his body." Elnessa chides herself for almost slipping, then returns to her meal, hoping that no one calls her on her pause.

[Wolesz]

Israphel didn't really notice Elnessa's strange behaviour. He was instead pondering the answer to the King's question.

"Your Majesty... I never had the need for such a person. I spent my life either alone, or dedicating myself to the greater whole. The closest I have had to what you call a comrade-in-arms were my disciples. Founding fathers and mothers of the Hellknights."He smirked at mentioning this moniker, but quickly resumed."But the relationship between a master and apprentice is not equality. You might consider this boasting, but rarely I had the opportunity to find an equal. And sincerely, I find dedicating one's life to a single being wasteful."

After a moment, he adds: "In a more lofty way of speaking, I would say Morsath is the only comrade-in-arms I might desire, the only one I would give my life for."