Rising higher

[Nephrite]

"Yes." Moore says. "I don't expect you to fight with us unless you'd like to. I mean, someone at your skill level is obviously talented anyway, but I want to make sure you understand that I trust you know where to apply yourself and don't need me dragging you into outrageous fights against the forces of Hell. Well, unless you want to, I guess." 

[Anastasia]

"I'll pass on the combating," Melia says, "Okay, so what is it I need to know?"

[Nephrite]

"We're currently engaged against Shar, primarily, but as you know, Hell and their agents are out in force as well." Moore says. "Right this second we're working against the Grand Sultan and efreet, so that's where I'd really like your attention focused. I have some documents I took from a raid we succeeded in at Salty Pier, but I imagine a great deal of the information is out of date by now. So, if word gets anywhere that you're aiding us, you'll have Sharrans, Hellish agents and Efreet coming after you, just to name a few. I imagine Tiamat's cronies probably don't like us either at this point."

He drums his fingers on the table for a moment. "What I need most are targets of opportunity, either locations or people specifically. Our group works best as a strike force to quickly get in and get out -- we're not built for long-term sieges right now. We're also not struggling for resources, but could always use more. I suppose..."

He leans back and continues think. "If I were to put it in order of priority... Lucrative locations to attack, isolated individuals to either capture or kill, people to add to our cause. I think that's what I'd say for right now. I can't be everywhere, so I don't know what already exists out there. If you need funding for anything, you have it, no questions asked. I implicitly trust Tannin and if you're who he sent, then I implicitly trust you as well."

He reaches over the table and offers a hand. "Is this a cause you can agree to aiding?"

[Anastasia]

A long whistle as Melia sits down,  chair turned around so that she can rest her chin on the backrest. "You've been busy. Got a few questions before committing. I understand Hell and the efreet, they're basically cousins. Why Shar, though? You got enemies enough with those two without adding that bitch to it."

[Nephrite]

"She's making inroads to try and increase her power." Moore says. "There's something called the Prophecy of Primus that some believe in -- basically, Shar manages to win and turn the entire of Creation into the deepest darkness." A shake of his head.

"Whether you believe in it or not, it's a worthy cause to fight back against her and her awful followers." Moore says, firmly.

[Anastasia]

"Secondly," Melia says after a nod, "You and your crew are all about the hit and run, the daring raid. How do you deal when the enemy reverses that? It's bound to happen."

[Nephrite]

"Generally, if they've gotten themselves into a very defensible position, we use our abilities to smash through it quickly to get to our goal." Moore explains. "It's happened a few times that we've had to defend a position because of the fortifications there or something of that nature. I've also recently come into control a handy tool that can prevent teleportation for a mile out when I need to use it." He adds.

"If you're asking what happens if they attack us here? Well..." He takes a breath. "I honestly had never considered anyone would be dumb enough to try it. But you're right, it could happen. That's a matter that I'll have to address."

[Anastasia]

"Third," Melia goes on, a slight nod to your words, "What sort of pay and reward structure are we looking at? In detail."

[Nephrite]

"We currently have an agreement that all the funds are pooled for one resource for everyone to use." Moore explains. "Obviously, if you provide us information on a lucrative target and we recover items or gold from there, you're entitled to a share of it. If you'd like to specify what that share is before you agree to anything, I can work with that. Can I ask what you've normally done in the past?"

[Anastasia]

"20% commission for any leads that lead to treasure, or an equal share if I end up directly participating," Melia says, "Tannin says the plunder structure on Aurora mostly works because of the forges there, but I'd prefer solid gold regardless."

[Nephrite]

"As long as you can accept a magical item that's worth that same amount, I see no issues with that." Moore says. "For things that end up with no way to really price them, we'll work something out. Is that fair?"

[Anastasia]

"Fair," Melia says, "Finally, who are your superiors here?"

[Nephrite]

"The only person I'm responsible for reporting to is Erathaol. Other than that, I'm in charge of this fortress and the people in it. You can consider everyone here my advisors, if you'd like." Moore says.

[Anastasia]

"High up in the chain? Good." Melia says, "You have a spymaster."

[Nephrite]

"It's part of my charm, I guess." Moore says with a small chuckle. "If you have any questions, concerns or otherwise, let me know."

He offers his hand across the table again.