Private Tales Academic Dishonesty

[Gaheris]

ELBION
PORT DISTRICT

Gaheris opened a slat in the door, and eyed the armsmen waiting outside of it. It was late in the afternoon, the sky behind them a bright, disgusting orange. The sounds of the harbor could be heard faintly in the distance. Outside the door, a group of Red Guild armsmen waited, a small wagon loaded with crates and barrels lingering behind them.

"Gentlemen."

"Ah, hey," said an armsman, probably the one in charge of the operation, considering his arm patch. "Got a shipment of dyes here. Red."

"Red?" Gaheris narrowed his eyes. "We already have red. We needed green."

The armsman gave a noncommittal shrug. "That's what I told 'em. They sent us with red."

Bastards. Idiots. Either they were deliberately trying to ruin Gaheris or they utterly lacked the necessary materials. Either way, the rend result would be the same if things carried on this way. Gaheris sighed pointedly, shut the slat, and opened the heavy wooden doors.

"Quickly, then."

The wagon was wheeled in, decidedly not quickly, but it didn't matter. The local patrols were paid off. The guild of mercers who owned the warehouse were paid off. Everything was pre-arranged by the Red Guild. And as soon as night fell, all manner of unscrupulous scholars would make their way here to haggle for all manner of contraband magical supplies. Illegal tinctures, unnatural ingredients - the works.

The doors shut coldly behind the wagon, and the unloading began.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh stared glumly at the mug in front of her. A mug of wine. Circumstances had forced her to adapt her living arrangements, she was barely a step above the beggars now. She steeled herself and took a sip, trying not to gag. It was like vinegar.

"Come now" she said to herself, "We'll be in the money soon enough". She closed her eyes and took another slug of it, her shoulders coming up in a shudder. Right, enough liquid encouragement. She wanted to go in calm, not stumbling about like a Mantessan noble at carnival.

She rose and drew her cloak about her before stepping out into the evening air. She walked with a confidence she didn't feel, one hand inside the cloak gripping the hilt of a dagger. Naturally Dianaimh would prefer to blast an assailant into oblivion but discretion merited other methods. The Elbion Watch took a dim view of magic being used in an offensive manner.

The warehouse was where she'd been told it was. She'd no doubt there were eyes on her already. She'd spotted several other figures heading this direction, all trying (and failing) to look inconspicuous. Mages and scholars weren't generally known for espionage.

"Oh gods" she muttered before stepping up to the door and giving a delicate rap. The silence that followed prompted a flash of teeth and two heavier fist blows to the wood.

 

[Gaheris]

There was a clacking sound - wood shifting against wood. But it wasn't the lock. A slat opened on the door, eye level, and two dull green eyes stared back at her. The spots around the eyes were crusty, and some errant red welts spoke of the pox. Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal could rest assured she was at the right spot, even if she wasn't going to be terribly enthused about it.

"Passward?" the eyes demanded, narrowing at the woman.

She might have overheard it from the fellows who had gone in ahead of her, or she might know it from someplace else. It didn't matter. The whole thing was in place to keep out randos, not avoid the city watch.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh's eyes adjusted in the half light. She gave a sniff, wrinkling her nose a little as she saw the telltale welts. Well this was just delightful. Now now, it was hardly going to be high society here, she reminded herself, biting back a sharp comment.

She couldn't resist an eyeroll however. "Swordfish" she said, her voice flat. She'd never even set eyes on the bloody things.

 

[Gaheris]

The eyes lingered in place for a moment, assessing Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal in whatever way they could. Evidently they judged her as a sorcerous enough-looking sort, as the eye slat shut abruptly without another word. There was a minor commotion was several locks were disengaged, a metal bar lifted out of place. And then the door swung inwards.

A shriveled, haggard looking Halfling stood before her, about his entire height away from the eye slat. The stool had been pushed surreptitiously to the side. He licked his chapped lips and jerked a thumb over his shoulder.

"Go down about three rows. Through the shelves. Hang a right, keep going. Look for the guy with the pretty hair."

If she proceeded through the shelves, eventually she would pass by a fellow wizard, one heading the opposite way. He clutched a wooden box that shook and growled periodically. And then eventually she would find Gaheris - seated behind a makeshift desk, balancing a sheathed stiletto at the tip of his finger, fixed on the process.

Two armsmen milled about nearby. They carried crude, flanged maces, but seemed to be too bored to be bothered to look intimidating. Or alert.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Pretty hair. Well she'd be the judge of that.

Dianaimh gave a curt nod of her head in acknowledgement. "My thanks" she said before striding by the halfling, repressing the urge to shudder. Filthy creatures. She was glad she had barely enough in her purse worth robbing. In the visible one at least.

She found the spot without issue, sidestepping a fellow mage who was keeping a tight grip on a moving box. Slipping around a burly looking guard, she tried not to roll her eyes. Keeping up appearances. The physical calibre of her compatriots hardly merited a fist, let alone a lump of iron.

The hair was pretty. Immaculately kept and well groomed. Enough to make Dianaimh wish she'd taken better care of her own over the last day or two. Thanks be to the gods that a simple cantrip was enough to keep lice out.

She put her most winning smile on her face, seating herself on the box that seemed to serve as a seat for customers. "Is the stiletto up for grabs too?" she enquired, moving her bag to sit in her lap. Her nose twitched. The box had definitely held something nautical in a past life, knowing her luck it'd be garum.

"The chap at the door said you're the fellow to be dealing with"

 

[Gaheris]

The stiletto pitched forward not long after Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal took her seat, clattering onto the table with a sad sound. Gaheris frowned at her question. "I'm afraid not."

He took the dagger back, clipping it back to his belt, and then taking a moment to size up his customer. Something about that smile struck him as insincere, and he had a feeling he was in the presence of a kindred spirit, however regretfully.

"That's correct," Gaheris said, straightening slightly in his seat. "What can the Red Guild get for you this evening?"

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Dianaimh's mouth twisted a little as if disappointed. "Shame, it looks a fine piece of work. Sort of thing I might clean my nails with". Her attempts at joviality seemed to be falling flat so she focused on getting to the matter at hand.

She drummed her nails off the table, "I certainly hope you can be of assistance. How adept are the guild at obtaining items that might technically, temporarily mind, be in the possession of another?"

 

[Gaheris]

Gaheris raised an eyebrow. "Adept enough, depending on the details."

He had spent time, about a month ago, liberating eggs and treasure from a dragon. Nasty business. Plenty of casualties. But once you outrun a wall of fire breathed by a dragon, everything else seemed small. Easy.

"It'll run a pretty fee. You can pay, right?"

Call him prejudiced, but Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal did not exactly look to be rolling in gold. More like filth, if he were feeling particularly mean. But he wasn't.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

Small talk didn't seem to be his strong suit, he was right to business. Dianaimh nodded though her teeth gritted a little at the description of the fee as 'pretty'. That and the blunt query as to her financial status was not appreciated.

"Well the pay off is substantial" she blathered "But really due to the specific circumstances of this, I felt that perhaps a joint enterprise might be more the manner in which to approach it. Naturally for your assistance you would be allocated a share of the profits. A forty percent stake would be sufficient no doubt?"

 

[Gaheris]

The eyebrow fell. Far quicker than it had been raised. Ah. So it was going to be one of these today. Gaheris blinked slowly, already looking bored. They just always had to haggle.

"Only if you're doing sixty percent of the work," he replied, "But you wouldn't need a band of Red Guild muscle if you were capable of that, so...?"

He trailed off, gesturing for her to continue - either to amend her offer or explain how she would be, theoretically, carrying the team she needed.

 

[Dianaimh Ui Muirgheal]

"Well naturally you pulling your weight would result in a more equal division" Dianaimh said, brushing it off as if it was inconsequential. She did her best to keep voice calm, he didn't outright say no! "It's not entirely without my abilities but for extra insurance, I'd be glad of some assistance. Why take unnecessary risks?"

Her fingers drummed on the table for a moment. "This item is guarded by wards. Ones I can undo" she held up a hand to forestall any questions "-provided I can guarantee that I'm not being shot or hacked down by any sentinels. I need a few solid swordarms, if there's someone capable of a bit of the arcane arts, that would be more than welcome".

She gestured to herself with a smile, "Of course little old me won't be able to take much but your compatriots would be welcome to all that they can carry".