WHO: Fitcher, Flint, Wysteria, Cassius & Co WHAT: Ye olde catch all WHEN: Now-ish WHERE: Various NOTES: Don't have anything open, but feel free to snag me OOCly if you want to do anything and I'm happy to slap something together.
The expression John slants back is similarly put upon, colored with amusement. They have men who have followed them this far, and upended their lives in service, but the Walrus boasts only two great orators among its crew and both of them are seated at the table.
They must make do.
The look on John’s face turns thoughtful. The tapping of the coin grows rhythmic, settling into a groove as they turn this thing back and forth between them.
“We might start with those who conduct their business out of the ports in the Marches,” John suggests. “There’ll be resentment there for the disruption, and that’ll do half the work for us.”
Disruption. John’s voice bends over this word in grim humor. But he’s spent enough time hammering at Antiva to know that disruption is exactly what many view the rolling pressure of war as until it touches them directly.
"Conveniently," he says, for the time being laying aside the topic of who will play as their understudy (fucking Dooley; John may take that humor off his face and eat it). "We happen to be in such a harbor."
Who knows. Maybe they'll get lucky and find some Kirkwall barely-not-a-smuggler capable of stringing a few sentences together.
"I'll ask after what contacts we've to hand in Ostwick and Hercinia. Byerly and Yseult are bound to have a few on the hook."
The coin raps a muted trio of beats against the tabletop.
"And if they ask after the purpose?"
They had said, hadn't they? No masks, going forward. There had been humor in that as well, but this question carries genuine curiosity. How much will Yseult and Byerly be told of this? Stark is an outlier, and so far disinterested, removed from much of the business.
But Yseult and Byerly might make this very difficult. More difficult than deciding upon a proxy to set loose in Llomerryn.
"We've discussed the merits of privateers before now."
And had wrestled so strenuously over the semantics that the idea had been all but smothered in it's crib. But that was before, with Tevinter's sights on Val Chevin—not an ideal target, certainly, but one which might be choked out by raising the Kirkwall chain or some other drastic action if fundamentally necessary. With the reverse on the table—if Tevinter manages to throttle trade along the Minanter as well as on the Waking Sea, what means will they have to stop it?—surely they can be motivated to see the reason in urgency.
Flint pauses, the blank back of the wrinkled chit face up between his fingertips. Hoping to win anything of real value against the house in these games is pure foolishness.
"When we were in Hasmal, Yseult asked after Nascere. She wanted to know what we'd intended for it."
Not a topic John had been prepared to see raised between them. The tap of the coin ceases as John looks back at him, taking in the whole of his expression.
"Did you answer her?" is half a question. What John is asking after is the nature of the thing. How much of an answer did Yseult receive, and how much of it was rooted in truth?
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no subject
They must make do.
The look on John’s face turns thoughtful. The tapping of the coin grows rhythmic, settling into a groove as they turn this thing back and forth between them.
“We might start with those who conduct their business out of the ports in the Marches,” John suggests. “There’ll be resentment there for the disruption, and that’ll do half the work for us.”
Disruption. John’s voice bends over this word in grim humor. But he’s spent enough time hammering at Antiva to know that disruption is exactly what many view the rolling pressure of war as until it touches them directly.
no subject
Who knows. Maybe they'll get lucky and find some Kirkwall barely-not-a-smuggler capable of stringing a few sentences together.
"I'll ask after what contacts we've to hand in Ostwick and Hercinia. Byerly and Yseult are bound to have a few on the hook."
no subject
"And if they ask after the purpose?"
They had said, hadn't they? No masks, going forward. There had been humor in that as well, but this question carries genuine curiosity. How much will Yseult and Byerly be told of this? Stark is an outlier, and so far disinterested, removed from much of the business.
But Yseult and Byerly might make this very difficult. More difficult than deciding upon a proxy to set loose in Llomerryn.
no subject
And had wrestled so strenuously over the semantics that the idea had been all but smothered in it's crib. But that was before, with Tevinter's sights on Val Chevin—not an ideal target, certainly, but one which might be choked out by raising the Kirkwall chain or some other drastic action if fundamentally necessary. With the reverse on the table—if Tevinter manages to throttle trade along the Minanter as well as on the Waking Sea, what means will they have to stop it?—surely they can be motivated to see the reason in urgency.
Flint pauses, the blank back of the wrinkled chit face up between his fingertips. Hoping to win anything of real value against the house in these games is pure foolishness.
"When we were in Hasmal, Yseult asked after Nascere. She wanted to know what we'd intended for it."
no subject
"Did you answer her?" is half a question. What John is asking after is the nature of the thing. How much of an answer did Yseult receive, and how much of it was rooted in truth?