Another character?

Fortunately, he had one of his best men, or should he say women, premanently assigned to Me'tha now. Admittedly, her methods were a bit unorthadox, but she did her job well.

Kidjea tried to ignore the little hearts dotting the i's as he read about the fascinating new creature that Me'tha had managed to uncover. He sighed. Railyn was indeed one of the best operatives at his disposal, but, well, she WAS a kobold... Well, almost all the spies were, really. But Railyn was somehow MORE kobold than most.

Kidjea hoped this 'Rastilina' could surivive such interest. A creature unseen before on this world. This was certainly something that would require investigation. Who knew what power it might possess. If Me'tha was willing to transport it so far to find a Goblin caravan.

Why a Goblin caravan was doing at the southernmost reaches of the continent, beyond even the Orc lands, Kidjea couldn't even phathom.

-----

Railyn waited patiently in the mountains above the city of Pa'Tok. Visitors to the city at this time of year gained an undue amount of attention. Every vendor in the streets would have been pushing their wares upon her. Not exactly the best way to remain inconspicuous while spyinng upon a famously paranoid member of the Elven court.

Still, being so far away from her charge made her edgy. Especially since the hills were so boring and nothing to do. That, and Me'tha's prisoner was WAY cute. Very easy on the eyes. Railyn couldn't wait to get a view of her up close, maybe even interview her. That could be.... entertaining.

She didn't have orders to extract the prisoner, but 'mission necessity' could always be invoked. It's not like there were any other operatives around to deny any claims she made. It would give her SOMETHING to do, she guessed.

-----

A contract signed, TB set orders in motion to assemble a caravan. It was good to have extra insurance (and targets) when making a trek north through orc territory. How Me'tha had made the southern trip with his own tiny group was a wonder to him. It wasn't as if Orcs liked Elves more than Goblins.

George and Lenny were off assembling their equipment, mostly frightfully large clubs with the occasionally pointy bit. Brute force was covered, but finesse was also necessary. That's why he sought out the Mercenary Guild. Their halls were quite close to TB's own shops, but he wasn't sure how happy they'd be to receive him...

As TB came up to the hall, two Goblins, fully armed, came out. They stood fast in front of the doors. They regarded him stoicly as he approached. When he was a few meters away, their hands went to their weapons.

"The guild is closed to you." One of the guards said flatly.

"A Goblin business, closed to a Goblin?" TB said, coming to a stop before the guards, "I had no idea business was so GOOD these days..." he trailed off, looking down the empty road leading to the hall.

"Our business could hardly be wanting enough to join your missions. We know your record." The other guard said quickly.

TB's features hardened. "I hired your best swords for a dangerous mission. The pay was good. It was a more than fair contract."

"And our men died, while yours did not."

Let's make a deal

"A thousand gold crowns now, nine thousand after I have the staff... and the northern countries to your brethern after the successful completion of all my plans. What do you say?"

TB's reply was automatic. "Twenty thousand total, and more up front. It seems to me that getting a demi-god to pay might be an even more difficult task than wresting control of a scepter from one." 'More money, up front' was a long standing rule, impressive amount or no.

Two more larger bags appeared clinking into place beside the first. "Deal. I trust five thousand gold crowns will be sufficent?" Me'tha answered lazily.

Lenny whistled appreciatively. "Wow. That's enough to buy lunch for us for a week, maybe even two!"

TB cast a withering glare over his shoulder. "Did I say you could speak, lummox?"

"No boss," came the crisp reply. TB turned back to the business at hand, pulling out a standard contract from the drawer, and inwardly cursing himself. He should have asked for more.

"And my name's Lenny, not Lummox, boss. Musta confused me with someone else."

-----

Rastilina pondered her story as details of the contract were hashed out. It wasn't enough to simply tell them where the most dangerous place in all the world was and have them head there, after all. They might be suspicious if she told them straight out and abandon the dangerous quest for a scepter. Taking too long was pointless as well, however, as she was certain that any torture she recieved would be expert, will very slim chances of an 'accident' occuring.

Such was life, but perhaps they would let her lead in an effort to ward off booby traps.

-----

The Elven Court was a shining example to the world. A shining example of wealth, opulence, and excess, it's reputation was legendary. Which was just how Kijdea wanted it. The parties kept the amateurs away from the politics, and allowed him to focus on the truly dangerous specimens. As spy master, he had enough to deal with, the meddling of amateurs would have been a time-consuming annoyance.

As it was, the paperwork was substantial. There was the summary report, of course, but to really keep on top of things, a man had to read the in-depth reports at least weekly. A sign of the times, it was then, that he read all of the reports on Me'tha. Every word.

Me'tha's depature from the capital was...troubling. Lush though he appeared, the lordling had far too much money and ambition, a troubling combination. He was subtle as well, having orchastrated three attempts to raise his profile in the court, two of which were successful. One of which, Kijdea remembered, chewing on his lip, succeeding despite his counter plotting. A rare feat.

Fortunately, he had one of his best men, or should he say women, premanently assigned to Me'tha now. Admittedly, her methods were a bit unorthadox, but she did her job well.

Kidjea tried to ignore the little hearts dotting the i's as he read about the fascinating new creature that Me'tha had managed to uncover.