How to Lose a Banker in 10 Days (closed)

[sohighandwild]

WHO: Ket and Derrica
WHAT: Debriefing a field trip to Antiva
WHEN: Front-dated to late Cloudreach
WHERE: The Gallows
NOTES: None for now

Ket had supposed that being given a mission in Antiva was either a sign that she’d succeeded in building a baseline level of trust from Riftwatch’s leadership or that Riftwatch was short of fluent Antivan speakers. Either way, they'd had some assurance that she wouldn’t simply vanish into the city as long as she had an anchor shard in her hand, so the risk of sending her out on her own initiative was likely negligible. She was still pleased. It had been many years since she’d been practicing her trade in her home nation, and it felt satisfying.

It had also given her the opportunity to pick up a few souvenirs, including the rather nice bottle of wine that she currently has tucked under one arm. She feels strongly that she’s earned an afternoon off, but what good is it if she can’t press someone else to join her in some light day drinking? Normally, she might suggest setting up on a balcony or the ramparts, but after Antiva the muggy haze Kirkwall has on offer hardly seems worth it. But whenever she tracks Derrica down, she’s willing to let her pick the location as long as she agrees to some light truancy.

Comments

[tender]

A tip of the cup in silent support of my outstanding charm, before Ket starts describing the man in question.

"Oh no," Derrica intones, a grin working across her face in spite of instinctive pity. "Was he really good at his job, or did he just think that he was?"

Not that it mattered for Ket's purposes, only for Derrica deciding how invested she was in Nicola Belotti's success.

[sohighandwild]

She tilts her hand in a so-so motion. "Experienced, hard worker. I don't know enough about banking to tell you how much talent is involved in being a clerk, but he's not bad at it, he just failed to have a useful relative working in the Banca della Costa."

She takes a drink, and adds, "I expected selling him on Riftwatch to be the hard, part, but honestly, I think he'd have been willing to throw in with anyone from the Chantry to the Venatori if they'd gotten him the promotion he wanted." Not a very charitable view, but a useful state of affairs.

[tender]

"I wonder what it's like, wanting to be a banker."

Certainly, this has turned out to be useful to them. But still, Derrica can't quite fathom wanting such a job so badly.

"The Scoutmistress will be pleased though," Derrica posits, without any real concept of what would or wouldn't please Yseult. "Did you have to promise him anything other than the promotion?"

[sohighandwild]

"Not even that," of her first observation. "He's already a banker, he badly wanted to be a slightly more important banker." Truly, an epic ambition.

"But no, what he really wants is to feel important. The promotion in combination with the prospect of clandestinely helping the war effort seemed to strike him as rather exciting. And," dry, "don't underestimate the power of spite. The extent to which I could embarrass the man I was getting out of his way to the promotion also interested him extremely. It seemed ... personal."

[tender]

Important or not, wouldn't being a banker be it's own drawback?

Derrica's nose wrinkles, but as she leans an elbow on one knee, she questions, "So how did you embarrass him...rival?"

Do bankers have rivals?

[sohighandwild]

"So. This young man, Tonali, had an uncle who worked at the bank and was going to pull some strings on his behalf, but wouldn't you know, getting everything handed to you by family doesn't make one inclined to hard work. He had what informants characterized as a 'debaucherous' style of life." Ket looked cheerful at the memory. "He was rather good looking and very bad at noticing when someone was cheating him at cards. He kept making moves to leave the party, but he wanted to win his money back, and I let him win just often enough he thought it was possible."

A pause, and then: "Also I may have lightly drugged his wine toward the end of the evening to be sure he'd oversleep the morning of the interview. But the losing money was very important," not just because it was funny, "because it meant his uncle wasn't willing to put himself out to get Tonali a second chance."

[tender]

"You went easy on him."

In a manner of speaking. Derrica doesn't sound all that concerned about the derailing of Tonali's life plans, but—

"Was it a shocking amount of money he lost to you?"

Derrica's shifting slightly as she speaks, passing her cup from one hand to the other to reverse the position of her legs on the bench. One ankle tucks neatly back under the opposite thigh.

The real question is whether or not Ket had to turn that money in to Riftwatch. Maybe that's the nicest thing to do, but.

But.

[sohighandwild]

She raises her eyebrows. "I don't know, how easily shocked are you?"

It was quite a lot of money, and most of it went in Riftwatch's coffers. If Ket took a small commission, well, earning money was not technically the assignment. The assignment was to secure Belotti, and that she is reasonably sure she's done. (She might drop him a line now and then to keep him feeling fond of her.)

"Also, part of it bought this wine you're enjoying, so you're welcome."

[tender]

"It's good wine, so I won't complain."

And likely wouldn't have complained, even without the wine as a light bribe. How much space did Derrica really have to criticize considering her previous employ? Piracy is different from swindling how?

"Do you have to go back?" is a better question, surely.