Darkening Path 2:D Shadowed house.

B-

I have arranged a trade to be made at the fourth location.  You will receive 2000 Fivestars for the delivery of the following cargo:

• Katrina Ironcastle
• Audryna (or Audrynae) Sloop
• Susanna Raibeart (400FS extra shall be delivered to you after harvest time, if her child is born alive)
• 3 aggressive male hounds, as near to untrained as is safe to travel when crated

Have your men avoid dealing with the traders beyond the drop-off.  I shall make no arrangements for the translation of your money.  No questions; failure shall see you hanged.

-R


R-
I am quite wary of committing men to the transport of any one or thing to #4.  With the recent happenings, I'm told the entire length of our eastern border is overrun with battlemages and Purple Dragons who fully intend to kill at least one man a piece by sunset each day.  Your desire to send a message is clear, but it shall hardly be realized if your messengers die prior to delivery.  We must have additional support; therefore I urge you to place a 1000L down payment for the better outfitting of our troops.

-B


B-
You are not in a position to request any up front payment at all, much less name your price.  If your dedication to Cormyr's strength and health is not sufficient to bolster the rabble under your banner, I urge you to pass your command to a more worthy leader.  Your business front is not so well-trusted and powerful that my word, slipped into the appropriate ears, cannot bring it crashing down about you.  Further, you are not unsupervised; the tools that I employ for you can also easily be used against you.  Day and night, I have knowledge of your every move; your delaying tactics and indecisive nature will be the death knell of every man in your company.
-R

Darkening Path 2:C When we began to weave.

To the ever-faithful Battlemage Beausace:

I trust this letter finds you in a continuance of good fortune.  Please excuse my brevity; I am attending to a rather pesky Drow specimen as I write.  After having some words with my dear wife concerning him, I suspect demonic possession of some sort.

I shall unfold to you the purpose for my request, so that you may lend me some of your wit.  I have in my possession a Dragonborn male who, if left to his own devices, might find himself little better than that old and haggard thing that your contact in Daerlun has described to you.  The name that I loaned you was one of the few bits of information that I could pry from his lips, but to hear that the Daerlun creature that knows of whom my Dragonborn specimen speaks is little better than he is quite interesting indeed.  The Dragonborn is called Aleksei Petrovich Voyonov; he will not give me his clan name, for some reason.  So soon as I have pressed it from him, you shall have it.

I send to you with this missive a malleable creature by the name of Rafael Unessmus.  He no longer has any family of note, and shall not be missed by anyone should our plot twist awry.  Forward him to your sergeant in Daerlun with a writ of your own, preferably one that closes this issue in his mind.  Most guards and soldiers that I know do not know how to let more highly minded folk be about their studies in peace; therefore, I wish him to be out of our way.  Though I know you will miss her greatly, send with Rafael your maid, Karri, and let her twist herself into his graces.  This done, she must prevail upon him to remain in Daerlun.  It is his wish to learn some menial trade; what the trade is matters little to him.  Therefore, if she is as persuasive as you have made her seem, she shall have an easy time of convincing him to break faith with me.  Be warned that he is lately freed of a disagreeable woman, and may seek to comfort himself with Karri rather quickly.  If she is too afraid or virtuous to give in to his advances, being minded of her sons who are left behind with you, find among your house staff some other loose woman who might, and let Unessmus go with her instead.  While by day, Karri or whatever woman you choose may find any little winding use for the man, let him by night be released to the tavern where Hai Shui may be found.  If it is possible, let them board there, that our experiment may be more completely immersed.  Be not afraid for your woman; like Voyonov himself, Unessmus is wholly sold to the notion of honor, and would step in the path of any danger on its way to her.

Our shared specimen is a swordsman of acceptable talent.  His balance is somewhat better than others', as is his ability to sustain poisoning- although most of it is, at this time, self-induced.  Farther than these matters, however, he is unremarkable.  Let your woman periodically write to you about the state of things, and if there be any damage or danger, have her return to you- citing your fury concerning her "escape" from you- to send the man to me.  Unessmus is, according to the writ of the presiding officer here in Suzail, only a free man by my leave.  I shall then turn him over again to the Dragons, who will exact his proper penance from him in time and blood.  Be prepared at all times to kill him.  He is not so precious to my scheme as to prevent his demise if he becomes a problem.

May we be favored by Tymora.
Blessings to you and all your house.

Battlemage Terezio Ranclyffe, Ret.

Darkening Path 2:B The night laughs.

Esteemed patron:

Good fortune visit you.

I set pen to parchment as soon as we had reached the waters of the Dalelands, to alert you to the fact that we shall be on our way to your port by the time you have received this letter.  Barring poor fortune or weather, the sails of the Princess Gildenglade shall hit your horizon in two days.  Assuming you looked over this letter before truly giving your mind to its content, you may at this point note that I have not only disposed of DiCiprione, but also the Brinecove Maiden of that title.  I made use of a process more democratic than the crew mates were used to, but especially due to the variety of names suggested, I told them all that I would not have them wincing and suffering with a name that any of them might be embarrassed to pronounce in a good tavern.  I assure you that Princess Gildenglade was the second to least tawdry of the lot- and in the process of its selection, I discovered that my crew has quite a unique sense of humor.  It is a quality in their natures at which I find myself pleasantly and exceptionally surprised.

I must admit, your nature is of great interest to me.  The very act of seeking me out merely to make an utterly mundane and legal request for food, has piqued my interest.  It gives rise to the idea that you are either in the acquaintance of the four captives that were briefly aboard this ship, that you have some business with the pirates that we unknowingly saved out of the hands of the Urmlaspyr guard (whether your business be with the pirates or the guard), or that you are the intended recipient of the terinav root.  I cannot by this recent contact judge which of these situations may fit you, if indeed there is only one that does, but any combination of the final two would leave me in a position of debtor before you.  Further, I found it most curious, upon my arrival here, that I should be brought fruit and preserved meat by a small private boat, and as no one but you and my crew could have suspected our change of course, I believe I must thank you for your consideration.  Unless you are intending to deduct the cost of these delicacies from your named price, I may be two times over in your debt.  If I have unknowingly cost you some time or money, I must make amends, and I am further compelled- whether otherwise owing or not- to settle the want of thanks for the cargo of that private boat.

As it touches monetary debt, however, I find that mere words rarely suffice.  I would readily welcome the chance to give you a more tactile form of thanks and apology, but it is proffered only on one condition: that I might upon the safety of this vessel receive you as a guest.  You may, for your own safety and comfort, make use of two armed escorts, so long as they remain out of my cabin.  If they wish to enter, they must abandon their arms outside.  I mean you no treachery, and shall so long as you are without arms, be so myself.  In your physical presence, I shall be pleased to speak about the opportunities to which you alluded in your first missive.

If you have no care to do this, then farewell; you shall have to rely upon others to serve future needs, for I have other matters to which I might lend my attention, and I shall not be made a ghost's errand boy.  Yet I perceive, by the style and tenor of your writing, that your wit is sharp; thus I assume you will naturally want me for a friend instead of a competitor.  As I have great confidence in the keen of your intelligence, I shall make preparations to receive you and your escort in two days.

With all courtesies and honors due you as our patron,

Jackal
and the crew of the Princess Gildenglade

Darkening Path 2:A Slow march.

To the Honorably Retired Battlemage Ranclyffe, my esteemed master, Battlemage Beausace, sends the following message:

I, a mage in service to the Cormyrean crown and to you, Battlemage Ranclyffe, do wish upon you and all your house the blessings of the gods, the good-will of your neighbors, and the dishonorable death of your enemies.

As she is quite efficacious at garnering information such as you had requested, I had Karri make search throughout Xiousing for anyone who may know of this "Master Kwai."  I received, through her extraordinarily great effort, only the tale of a man who knows some other man or woman in Westgate who may perhaps know of this Kwai.  She promised me upon her very soul that her source is an unfailingly honest Semmite, but besting that concern was the fact that the creature of whom said source speaks seemed to me to be quite worthy of doubt, so I delayed my reply to you until such time as I could get some kind of direct contact in Daerlun- which is where the man was said to reside.  My dear Karri went to work immediately, and put a letter to that freedland's city guard up there in the care of a proper Purple Dragon messenger.  I enclose here the letter I received back from that sergeant who responded, for the matter of it is so profoundly strange that I shall be most interested to discover precisely what manner of headache you have gotten into this time.  I pray you enter into detail with me, as I would very much like to be your accomplice in a greater fashion.

Long live the king.

With all respect due you and the crest,
Battlemage Erylanae Beausace of Marsember

Thus ends the message.  I and my two sons have been given leave to wish you all the gods' blessings, among them your lady's continued good health.
Karri Nglend of the House Beausace in Marsember


To the respectable Battlemage Erylanae Beausace of Cormyr-

I greet you heartily in the Name of Sune, whose Blessings I crave on your behalf.

I must put great Care into penning this Letter, for as you by now might have noted, I am not greatly learned.  I might have had my Woman to do it for me, except she could not bear the Matter of it.  I released her from the Duty, and struggle to put my Thoughts to Paper myself.  It is a hideous Thing for me to struggle with that which a better graced Creature ought to do- yet, I could not bear to look upon my dear Woman trembling and gagging at the Descriptions that shall follow in this my Letter to you.  I pray your Patience.

The Man you seek is indeed in Daerlun, and I, upon receipt of your urgent Missive, had minded to simply send him to you.  Were it not for the creature's Obstinacy, he would be made to present the News of his Existence- and further, that of his Contact in Westgate- himself.  Yet, as he will neither move nor be moved, I endeavored to learn all manner of Detail that I could get of him.  I was largely unsuccessful, and would not so much as have had his Name, were it not for the young Woman who sent it back with her first Word of his Presence in her Tavern- it is Hai Shui.

I say again that with all my Ability, and that of four strong Men in my Charge, the Wretch could not be forced.  When first I entered the Tavern, I did not think the Name given me by my Informant was his own, as he did not so much as lift his bedraggled grey Head from the Table when I stood at the Doorway and called.  Yet, when the owner's small Son came halfway down the Stairs- obviously under a Fit of Curiosity- and cried out in Fear at the sight of armored Guards in his mother's Business, the Man looked up and fixed me with a sharp Gaze, like unto that of an enraged Bear.  Were I a lesser Man, such a penetrating Stare might have melted my Sinews at once.  All the whole Place hushed when he arose from his lonely Seat at his far Table.

First, he bested us one by one.  Then, he trounced us all together.  All the while, he was so possessed of strong Drink that he could not so much as stand straight with his own Power, instead swaying to and fro with such vexing Inconsistency as to make him impossible to track and strike.  The Air about him was perpetually noxious, so that one of my Men fell before him merely by being breathed upon.  As if to taunt us all, this strange Beast did imbibe as we fought, and even used his empty Flagon as a makeshift Weapon against me.  Our struggle was violent, and we did sadly damage a few Chairs and Knicknacks in the Place.  However, after each Pass, we found ourselves merely fatigued, and not one harmed.  When we could no longer among us muster any Contest, we sat at his Table and broke Bread with him, for there was nothing else to be lawfully and honorably done.  Words were tedious to him, and though he spared us a few to check upon and toast our Health, I could get from him no Information touching his own State.  I have never heard such short, yet effective Circumlocution in all my days, and it mightly reminded me of his Way of fighting, which seemed to be not active striking, but instead the turning aside of our Blows.

The tavern Owner had mercy upon my Mission, and drew me aside to speak kindly with me.  It is from her that I learned that Hai Shui has not left her Place of Business for more than two hours since the ending of the War.  I was astounded at this News, for I have for some time patrolled the Streets nearby, and have not once heard Complaint of the perpetual Presence of this elderly Drunk.  Many of the regular Patrons, she said, had over Time learned his Ways- his favorite Flagon, his favorite Chair, his preferred drinking Songs.  One intrepid Waitress managed to notice that he seemed to favor Spiced Beef, and the Item- which was previously rare on the Menu- quietly became more standard Fare.  Perhaps in Response to these or some other unperceived Kindnesses done him, Hai Shui became the place's chief Protector, thoroughly walloping any Brigand who would do harm to it, its Patrons, or its Owner.  It is his Habit, when the Tavern is empty, to walk about it twice or thrice, as though that were Part of some sort of Ritual.  She has never seen him do any other sort of Religious Practice, and thus fears greatly for his Soul.  Time means nothing to him.  He refuses to occupy any Bed, preferring instead to simply lay down on the Table whenever he is too heavy for his liking, and cannot be awakened by Anything save his own bodily Urges, unless some Harm is come.  A Harm that rouses him from such Slumber has great Reason to fear, as he is more fierce then than at other Times, she says.

When I returned to the Table, I observed for myself that all about us spoke to him as though he might speak back, occasionally patted his Shoulder, or kissed his grizzled Cheek- which irked me thoroughly, remembering that Guardsman that was felled merely by the breathing of his exhaled Air- and generally did all that loving Grandchildren might do for a codgerly Grandfather.  I at last dropped your "Master Kwai" in his Ear, and he looked upon me strangely, as though searching for some demon's Mark upon my Face or in my Eyes.  After some Time, he gave me only "Westgate" again, and I knew that this was all the Answer I would ever receive.  I do hope that This is of some Help to you.

Sune and all the Gods keep us all.
Sergeant Mhai Cindrezi of Freed Daerlun