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Description

On a warm evening in a timber warehouse in Venoan Territory a state meeting happened between a Dark Elf and a free Human. The meeting went unnoticed by those not involved save for a rat more focused on her own ratty concerns. Dark Elves, or at least those with money, were tolerated and there were means of bipassing. A couple Scudo* were more than enough to get the cooperation of the staff for a quiet meeting in silence and a few local hirelings provided covert security. The Human was somewhat more unusual. He was not a native, nor was he one of the usual foreigners which did business. He was a Proxy, part of the small class of free humans retained by the Dark Elves for external engagements where their presence would be counterproductive. In this particular instance, espionage.

"Good evening sire." Juarando Sacerdorez said quietly. The reverence which slaves had drilled into them childhood was counterproductive for proxies, but some acknowledgement of superiority was required.

"Good evening. Your work has been satisfactory and so the Council has entrusted you with a high priority assignment." Shahim ti'Werith replied businesslike to his charge. From a concealed pocket he produced a message cylinder. "This documentation is to be leaked to the High King through their channels without them knowing that this was our intent. I trust the expertise of your network."

"Does the council desire any unusual specifics in execution?"

"Have the leak happen somewhere other than Venoa if possible, preferably Norinto or Tardovia, but if that can't be arranged in more than a month a Venoan Leak will do. Beyond that and the paramount importance of secrecy in this endeavor, you have full discretion. Success on this front warrant a considerable reward." What failure would warrant was left unsaid but was plainly clear.

"Very well." The Proxy said. "Is there anything else."

"Nothing beyond the normal need for reports. Code words are on the note taped to the cylinder's sides. Sufficed to say we will know if the leak was successful. Good luck."

"As if I need it. It will be done" Juarando said before bowing slightly and making his way out. Being able to mouth off to a Dark Elven superior was a privilege that few could ever know and he savored the moments that he felt he could get away with. Other than that they departed without a word.

A week and a half latter after a few letters and linkglass messages had made their rounds he was on a stagecoach going southeast. Two days after that he arrived in a small town famous for it's Mushroom Sauce, picking up several large jars of the stuff while having a meeting with another traveling merchant. A handsome young man named Enrico Capecchi from whom he collected a dozen reports and to whom he provided the Cylinder, a few other tidbits of information, sixteen Lyra for his troubles and some general instructions. The twenty six year old was charming, eloquent, an excellent listener and utterly mercenary. He was part of no less than seven spy networks, though Juarando was his best customer by far. Both because he could afford to pay him better than the competitors and that he had enough leverage over him to ensure both cooperation and discretion. He was definitely the right man for the job.

Five days latter Enrico had the cylinder's reports with several other items compiled into a single folio. In a respectable bar in Norinto's Ceramics Quarter he handed them over to one Ascanio Rovetti. Those involved in the spying trade were a diverse lot and this low key meeting confirmed it. Where Enrico was handsome, outgoing, talkative and was adept at charisma and improvising the older Rovetti was paunchy, subdued, methodical and to the point. More notably while Enrico was in for the money and the challenge, Rovetti was in it for King and Country, as well as the notion that Countries should be Kingdoms. In his eyes the Serene Republic had been setting a dangerous precedent for centuries and had been giving ideological ammunition to traitorous rebels who'd tear down the divinely ordained system of monarchy and replace it with the madness of the mob or the veneration of coin above all, degenerating the nation and leaving them vulnerable to Drow corruption. Both of them felt that they knew the other well enough (though in this field Enrico had the edge as Rovetti was more of a known factor) and if they did not like each other they both were professional enough not to let that hinder their activities. A bottle of respectable wine was shared and Enrico's Folio was exchanged for a few letters of import and eight Lyra.

The next day Rovetii shifted through the documents he'd acquired before he noticed the relevant documents, which pertained to the hiring of mercenary company called the Grunerhunds and shipping them out. Usually dry stuff and increasingly irrelevant nowadays, save for two points. First of all was their destination, which was far far off to the South and West in the general direction of the Coldlander's new colony. In of itself unusual and worth remembering. But whom hired them was far more important.

A day latter a messenger swan touched down into an artificial pond in Tialansyrn, the Southern Port of the High Kingdom. There a loving keeper tended to the wayward bird and quietly removed her package from it's harness and handed it off. In an hour's time it was in the local Hall of The Watchers with it's contents being given over to Acolyte Linilaen Ialsiin. In general she liked her job, but the fact of the matter was that it was punctuated. The most common activity of the Watchers was making sure that the son of the right human noble house married the right noble born daughter and that families kept up their Anti-Drow stances, which did have plenty of interesting information and events to parse through and recommendations to make but there were times when not a lot was going on and she was left looking through the banalities of barons and barons to be. After a rather pleasant lunch she looked through the fresh reports she'd received hoping for something juicy about the son of the Count of Ginvoldi that could get him hitched with the Widow Marchioness Velano. What she got instead was a report on Drow Activity in the Southwestern Continent.

An hour latter she was discussing the matter with her superiors. A day latter an inquiry had begun. Two weeks latter the ship which had made the voyage across the sea had been tracked down. A week after that it's crew had been pumped for information which confirmed the story. Plans for the Red Gull to either get impounded or suffer an unfortunate "accident" were contrived in the coming months, but in the meantime the Corrupted One's plan would end in fire.

*Venoan Coin, 1/24th of a Lyra and 20 Serpenti. About 0.66-3 days wages for a typical worker.

From the Beginning
Previous: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred
Next: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Two

Description

On a warm evening in a timber warehouse in Venoan Territory a state meeting happened between a Dark Elf and a free Human. The meeting went unnoticed by those not involved save for a rat more focused on her own ratty concerns. Dark Elves, or at least those with money, were tolerated and there were means of bipassing. A couple Scudo* were more than enough to get the cooperation of the staff for a quiet meeting in silence and a few local hirelings provided covert security. The Human was somewhat more unusual. He was not a native, nor was he one of the usual foreigners which did business. He was a Proxy, part of the small class of free humans retained by the Dark Elves for external engagements where their presence would be counterproductive. In this particular instance, espionage.

"Good evening sire." Juarando Sacerdorez said quietly. The reverence which slaves had drilled into them childhood was counterproductive for proxies, but some acknowledgement of superiority was required.

"Good evening. Your work has been satisfactory and so the Council has entrusted you with a high priority assignment." Shahim ti'Werith replied businesslike to his charge. From a concealed pocket he produced a message cylinder. "This documentation is to be leaked to the High King through their channels without them knowing that this was our intent. I trust the expertise of your network."

"Does the council desire any unusual specifics in execution?"

"Have the leak happen somewhere other than Venoa if possible, preferably Norinto or Tardovia, but if that can't be arranged in more than a month a Venoan Leak will do. Beyond that and the paramount importance of secrecy in this endeavor, you have full discretion. Success on this front warrant a considerable reward." What failure would warrant was left unsaid but was plainly clear.

"Very well." The Proxy said. "Is there anything else."

"Nothing beyond the normal need for reports. Code words are on the note taped to the cylinder's sides. Sufficed to say we will know if the leak was successful. Good luck."

"As if I need it. It will be done" Juarando said before bowing slightly and making his way out. Being able to mouth off to a Dark Elven superior was a privilege that few could ever know and he savored the moments that he felt he could get away with. Other than that they departed without a word.

A week and a half latter after a few letters and linkglass messages had made their rounds he was on a stagecoach going southeast. Two days after that he arrived in a small town famous for it's Mushroom Sauce, picking up several large jars of the stuff while having a meeting with another traveling merchant. A handsome young man named Enrico Capecchi from whom he collected a dozen reports and to whom he provided the Cylinder, a few other tidbits of information, sixteen Lyra for his troubles and some general instructions. The twenty six year old was charming, eloquent, an excellent listener and utterly mercenary. He was part of no less than seven spy networks, though Juarando was his best customer by far. Both because he could afford to pay him better than the competitors and that he had enough leverage over him to ensure both cooperation and discretion. He was definitely the right man for the job.

Five days latter Enrico had the cylinder's reports with several other items compiled into a single folio. In a respectable bar in Norinto's Ceramics Quarter he handed them over to one Ascanio Rovetti. Those involved in the spying trade were a diverse lot and this low key meeting confirmed it. Where Enrico was handsome, outgoing, talkative and was adept at charisma and improvising the older Rovetti was paunchy, subdued, methodical and to the point. More notably while Enrico was in for the money and the challenge, Rovetti was in it for King and Country, as well as the notion that Countries should be Kingdoms. In his eyes the Serene Republic had been setting a dangerous precedent for centuries and had been giving ideological ammunition to traitorous rebels who'd tear down the divinely ordained system of monarchy and replace it with the madness of the mob or the veneration of coin above all, degenerating the nation and leaving them vulnerable to Drow corruption. Both of them felt that they knew the other well enough (though in this field Enrico had the edge as Rovetti was more of a known factor) and if they did not like each other they both were professional enough not to let that hinder their activities. A bottle of respectable wine was shared and Enrico's Folio was exchanged for a few letters of import and eight Lyra.

The next day Rovetii shifted through the documents he'd acquired before he noticed the relevant documents, which pertained to the hiring of mercenary company called the Grunerhunds and shipping them out. Usually dry stuff and increasingly irrelevant nowadays, save for two points. First of all was their destination, which was far far off to the South and West in the general direction of the Coldlander's new colony. In of itself unusual and worth remembering. But whom hired them was far more important.

A day latter a messenger swan touched down into an artificial pond in Tialansyrn, the Southern Port of the High Kingdom. There a loving keeper tended to the wayward bird and quietly removed her package from it's harness and handed it off. In an hour's time it was in the local Hall of The Watchers with it's contents being given over to Acolyte Linilaen Ialsiin. In general she liked her job, but the fact of the matter was that it was punctuated. The most common activity of the Watchers was making sure that the son of the right human noble house married the right noble born daughter and that families kept up their Anti-Drow stances, which did have plenty of interesting information and events to parse through and recommendations to make but there were times when not a lot was going on and she was left looking through the banalities of barons and barons to be. After a rather pleasant lunch she looked through the fresh reports she'd received hoping for something juicy about the son of the Count of Ginvoldi that could get him hitched with the Widow Marchioness Velano. What she got instead was a report on Drow Activity in the Southwestern Continent.

An hour latter she was discussing the matter with her superiors. A day latter an inquiry had begun. Two weeks latter the ship which had made the voyage across the sea had been tracked down. A week after that it's crew had been pumped for information which confirmed the story. Plans for the Red Gull to either get impounded or suffer an unfortunate "accident" were contrived in the coming months, but in the meantime the Corrupted One's plan would end in fire.

*Venoan Coin, 1/24th of a Lyra and 20 Serpenti. About 0.66-3 days wages for a typical worker.

From the Beginning
Previous: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred
Next: Infrastructure: Part Three Hundred and Two