Questioning the Notion

[Brian]

"Yes," the man says brightly, as the guards spread out and form up behind the group.  "There was a minor, ah, accident at the farm when you came last, so I apologize that your normal partner couldn't make it."  He shakes his head, gesturing at the dull-eyed red-skinned men behind him.  "But our production was not halted, so these soldiers are in good working order, of that I can assure you."

After a moment of fumbling, the man produces a rolled up contract, which he presents to Nathan.

[Rezantis]

Nathan's eyes widen, then narrow again as he fixed the man with a piercing gaze.

"Explain this 'minor accident'," he says sharply as he takes the proffered contract.

[Brian]

"Merely a ... dissenting voice.  But, I assure you that the church is no longer aware of our operations, and it shan't happen again."  The man's earnest grin seems believable, but his urgency is suspect.

[Rezantis]

Nathan doesn't verbally answer, but simply keeps his gaze fixed on the functionary.

No, no, that's not good enough.

[Brian]

OOC: Dice COULD be rolled for a presence attack here, but looking at the modifiers, and considering you brought a batillion with you ... yeah, you just win.

"T...there was a small problem," the man confesses.  "A training camp was destroyed, and...."  He trails off, glancing at Tom and Seven.  "W-well, the Church remains ignorant as to our true goal; this setback did not compromise us or our plans in the slightest."

The man's smile falters, and he actually tugs on the collar of his shirt.  "Regardless, w...we're prepared to offer you this, uh, meager contingent by way of apology.  We're convinced their ability will satisfy you!"  He nods quickly.  "These are high caliber volunteers, not convicts who have been sentenced to experimentation; no expense was spared!  I assure you, there will be no issues with rebellious nature with these; they've been trained very well."

Nathan's glare is only disturbed by Tom putting out a hand when Seven's teeth begin grinding very loudly.

"A...and there should be no more church troubles, so we should be able to supply the full army by the deadline you specified!  Did I mention their combat prowess?  As many as a dozen grasslanders have to band together to stop even one, and their savage fighting methodology is the cruelest known among any sphere!"  He flinches again, spotting Bjorn.  "Um.  So, how else could I serve you today, Masters?"

[Rezantis]

"You said," Nathan says icily, "first that the church was 'no longer aware', and yet in this explanation I see no explanation of how they came to be aware.  Who destroyed the camp, and were there any survivors?"

While waiting for a response, he unrolls the contract and turns his glare to it instead.

[Brian]

Victorian-era legalese.  It so flowery that it's practically indecipherable.

"Eh, there was a, um, heretic to the church; he's the one who attacked the camp," the man explains.  "So the church was chasing him.  In the meantime, he managed to acquire the service of our superb thralls -- Due to a failing on the part of the previous overseer, no fault of the product!"  Here, the man brightens slightly, finally having something positive to say.  "One of our eyes-and-ears in the church network monitored the dispatches.  As far as they are concerned, all pursuit of the heretic vanished without a trace.  Which makes sense!  Church knights are no match for our soldiers!"  He smiles and nods at this, as though this is great news.

In the meantime, the contract has small print and is very extensive.  It will take a lot of going over to be solid on all the details, but essentially outlines payment terms for an army of thralls -- 5,000 of them.  Payment will be given in terms of land in Anabara.

[Rezantis]

"So you're telling me," Nathan says, his tone maintaining the icy facade he's been using so far, "that there is a priest running around with a group of thralls.  While the results of combat would be encouraging had they been verified . . . you don't know who he is; where he is; or what he's up to.  You may not even know the possible ramifications."

"Precisely who deemed this situation to be 'under control'?"

[Brian]

"Governer Fawkes," the man sputters, his smile fading to a sick look.  "We're confident that this can't happen again; new measures were instituted...."  He trails off, then shifts his shoulders uncomfortably.  "The heretic hasn't been seen in some time, and even these soldiers must eat.  For all of their prowess, it seems most likely that he and his soldiers wander the grasslands ... and the savages there let few remain.  Certainly, they're scarcely a match for our soldiers, even in force, but once they starve...."  He shrugs again.

[Dracos]

Dracos eyed the man with a fierce glare, casually skimming his surface thoughts.

"So how did that heretic come to take a set of these soldiers?  It would do little good if they were demonstrated in Anabara prior to the fulfillment of the contract."

OOC:
<freya> Drac-work rolls {6d6}[1,4,5,5,5,6] = 26

[Brian]

"We don't know the details," the man says apologetically.

Phil, experienced at reading the thoughts of weak-willed folks, is able to delve into the man's surface thoughts, and can even pull out a few deeper memories -- but for what it's worth, the man thinks nothing beyond the generalities of, "Please don't let this contract fail, please don't let this contract fail...."

For the specifics, he's in a tight spot; what he's doing is illegal by the laws of the Church.  Worse, he's selling weapons to the enemy.  He and his group desperately need to guarantee some form of asylum from the Church; land in Anabara would be the ideal solution (he is, of course, assuming that he'll be able to travel there without trouble).

"But even so," he says, shrugging, "you know more of events in Anabara than I.  Has the heretic appeared there?"

[Dracos]

"If he had, we would not be having this discussion.  We would be erasing evidence," He simply stated.  "We will be forced to do so if such word somehow makes it to Anabara."

[Brian]

"Er," he says, wincing.  "Quite so.  But then, it seems it's well in hand!"

[Rezantis]

"I think we are going to need to speak to Governor Fawkes," Nathan says, frowning, "We need to verify one way or the other what has happened to the missing thralls."

[Brian]

"Eh ... well, yes!  Certainly!  That is no trouble whatsoever!"  He nods quickly several times, and then hesitates.  "The quickest--  No, no....  The safer way would be through the fields," he decides, pointing in one direction -- further down the slope of the hill.  "The church is about, and we'd best avoid the roads ... apologies, good sirs, but no sense putting ourselves at unneeded risk!  I, er, am certain that the Governer will be more than able to provide comfortable accomodations for, er, alll.  All the same, there's a wayhouse along the way where we train our, that is, your soldiers.  We can stop there for a brief rest!"

Grinning, he nods several times, "If you are ready, sirs?"

Phil, still touching on the man's surface thoughts, sees a quick plan forming in his head: When we stop at the training grounds, they'll be easy to distract with a few demonstrations -- a runner can go ahead and let the Governer know what they're upset about, and he'll be perfectly prepared to answer their questions by the time we arrive!