Characters involved are: Liete (RED), Rico (ORANGE),
Logged by Rico
Nortune, Latina's Bar
This is a large room, lined in several tables, stools, and of course, a large woden bar. Cheap liquors and petty ales are stacked behind the bar on shelves, well guarded by the bartender of the area. Since its said that Latina is 'an off icial amazoness', you decide that probably it wouldn't be the best thing in the world to pick a fight with her. A small <stairway> leads upstairs to the Champs Room, while a <doorway> leads out.
Contents:
Liete
And so it begins again. As if mesmerised by the grain of the wooden table below him, Rico sits slouched over the table, his head rested in hands, idly peering at the table surface through his empty glass. The stains give the wood a certain grimy character, that seems to suit this dump, he thinks, as he looks up. Same old people. Same old faces that were here yesterday, and the day before, and will be here tomorrow. Not looking at him for fear he'll bite or something. Idiots. He peers enquiringly at the grimy wallclock above the bar, barely being able to make out the unpolished hands behind the smokestained glass. They should be here by now. Oh well. A quick nod to Latina, and she begins to pour another drink, as Rico resumes his tablestudy.
The usual workings of the bar are disturbed when the bar door opens and several Kislevi soldiers walk in. Some of the regulars decide to leave the bar, to avoid any problems, or perhaps, out of paranoia. Others stay, for lack of caring in the least. The bar, though, is much emptier now than it was before. The reason for the 'visit' comes to light soon, however, as a young woman in an emerald robe walks through as the soldiers part to give her room. She then, starts walking towards Rico's table, a bit more confident with the guards around but still unbearably nervous..
As the soldiers enter, Rico's ears prick up, and his scown softens slightly. These guys look like they mean business. A beating? Please let it be a beating. There hasn't been a good brawl here in months. His eyes widen a little, as the young woman enters. Not a beating, but this looks interesting. As she crosses the room toward him, he looks up at her enquiringly, as if all this bar were his office, and this soiled and glass-strewn table his desk. Now, where was that typewriter? Never mind, he thinks, as the young woman draws up to the table.
"I-...i'm sorry to disturb you," she says, bowing briefly. "I wish...to have a w-word with you," she motions to the table briefly, "...d-do you mind i-if I have a seat?" well, of course she would be nervous. She has no real idea what Rico is like...just that Sigmund rarely speaks with her concerning him, it's never her buisiness to inquire about that anyway. That would be ungrateful of her...and she owes Sigmund so much. What if he's...violent? What if the guards aren't enough to stop him if he gets upset? What will she do? She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Calm down...
Fear. Rico is almost bored with that look he sees in the young woman's eyes now. It irritates him. Still, best not to antagonise who looks this important. So hammer says, anhow. Still, best to humour her, for now. He clears some of the glasses away to one side of the table, and manages not to stare for a while. "Not at all. Looks like I have little choice, anyway..." he says, in a voice that would suit a grin, and perhaps a wink from anyone other then Rico. Of course, neither is apparent, as he pushes out the chair opposite him with his foot.
Liete isn't so sure of that, "T-thank you," she says, trying to avoid a straight look at his face, otherwise she may likely turn beet red...but it'll be difficult to offer anything without a look at his face, she knows that. So she does, and as she guessed, she blushes rather bright red, "Um...where to s-start...?" his manner isn't really helping her, either. She takes in a deep breath, "Alright...um...I h-have come to offer you...a w-way out of D-Block, and hopefully even Kislev in the long run, i-if that is your w-wish.."
Whoah. Now _this_ is interesting. Rico's ears visibly prick up, and he looks straight at the young woman across the table. His elbows leave the table, and he sits back against the wall, never looking away from her, except to note the positions of the soldiers around the room. If not for them, this might not look legit at all. But now he's being offered this? There MUST be a catch. He's betting it's a fairly large, restrictive one after the trouble they went to to get him here. He rests his hands, gripping the edge of the table nearest him. "I'm listening.".
Liete nods slowly, "Well...we...need someone to t-train soldiers f-for us. E-either in gear, or physical c-combat. You...y-you are one of the strongest and most experienced people i-in both of those areas in our c-country as of n-now," she nods. "W-while I c-cannot force y-you to be employed in K-kislev's defense...t-that's wrong anyway. I...only ask that you share your strength and experience. In e-exchange, we'll m-modify your collar to only explode when it is removed....we'll e-even be willing t-to pay you for your work."
Rico stares down at his hands, gripping the table more firmly now. He'd never thought of it that way, but he could believe what she said. That isn't the problem, though. Working for Kislev? And the catch? He'd listened to hammer rambling on about there being a catch to eveything too many times. "I see. And what's the deal with leaving Nortune? Who's to say this thing can't just be reactivated any time you feel like it?". This was the clincher, he felt. The offer lay there between them, tempting him. Yet there was still uneaasiness. Which is good, according to hammer. Darnit, I'm not good at negotiations. He looks her straight in the eye, awaiting his answer.
Liete shakes her head, "There...there will be no need to reactivate it. We p-plan on having you watched d-during your time in our s-service." Of course, they'd be insane to place their COMPLETE trust in the prisoner. "Y-you wont be able to leave right a-away," she says, after a pause. "Once y-you've d-done some work t-training some soldiers...as the b-bargain says, t-then we'll allow y-you to l-leave. H-however, y-you still m-must wear the collar. I'm a-afraid I c-cannot order that in t-this case." It's not her decision to make, it's Sigmund's, right? She looks to him, waiting for a response, but her face is still rather red.
Still, the uncertainties present themselves, and Rico thinks. Sure, they might be lying through their teeth. But this girl sure doesn't look like she's in any state to lie convincingly. Noticing that for the first time, he asides, "Relax! I don't bite!", before continuing, his solemn silence continues, and he thinks again. Whatever about the uncertainties, it's a step forward. Which has _got_ to be a break from this boring hellhole. The gears inside his head churn, mulling over some of the less rough points, until he gets tired of thinking, and speaks."Your offer's certainly tempting, given that I'm bored outa my skull in here, and any news is good news when it's about gettin' outa here.", he notes. Afer another pause, in case he missed something, he finally cracks something resembling a smile. "Sure, why not?".
Liete sighs, visibly relieved, "T-thank you, i'm glad you t-think so. I...I think i'll be off to make the n-necessary preparations, t-then," she slowly gets up out of her chair and bows. "T-thank you for your time, Mr.Banderas. I-i appreciate it," she finally smiles, calming a bit.
Rico nods. "Well, it's been a pleasure talking to you, mysterious stranger...". Wit doesn't suit him well, but he seems to think so. He thinks, then stands, and reaches out one large hand. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you later, boss.".
Liete gasps, "Oh, i'm sorry! I-I forgot to introduce myself!" she hastily bows, "I'm L-liete Algorim. I am the royal a-advisor," she then looks at his hand, and suddenly feels very embarrassed, "S-sorry," she takes it and shakes it.
Rico grins, widely, and almost eerily this time. "Well, never mind, boss. Let's get this thing deactivated, and I can start whenever." He seems almost genuinely pleased, in a gruff kind of way. Little do any of the room's inhabitants know, but he is. Fancy that. The handshake breaks, and he walks over to the bar, to collect his drink.
Liete nods slowly, "I shall go m-make the preparations, then. Tomorrow, I should be ready...if I am, I will be at the edge of D-Block," she starts out, "T-thank you," she says, finally, before leaving, and taking the soldiers with her.
Liete has disconnected.