Black Sheep [Ryker/Myscha]

[Charlotte]

One day before Smoke on the Road

The mountains of the Western Isles were certainly not a terrain to be trifled with, especially when deciding to take passage through its often treacherous valleys. The smallest storm could upend the dirt pathways, and natural predators lurked around every corner. Rumor had it, even, that mighty and fearsome dragons lived in these foothills, but lucky for the caravan of Etrurian miners, the air was temperate today and there wasn’t a cloud – or scaly predator – in sight.

However, not all among the group hailed from Etruria. One member of the 30-man caravan was a foreigner – at least to those who she traveled with. She certainly looked out of place among the group, her dark red cloak and tight leathers contrasting against the generally sensible but dull clothing choices of the rest. Paired with her carefully groomed appearance and long blonde locks, she was certainly out of place among the grizzled men. But she was traveling with them nonetheless, for reason’s largely unknown to the group. She was going to the mines for some reason or another, but she wouldn’t be divulging that to any among them any time soon.

Most of the men were guiding their carts down the road or riding atop them, but Charlotte had grown restless, tired of sitting for so long. Jumping off of the cart she’d been resting on, the young woman stretched her arms and stiffened lower back as best she could while still keeping up with the caravan’s movement. They’d been traveling since sunrise, and it was getting pretty close to lunch time, so Ryker – who was walking about 50 feet in front of the group, accompanied by the armored fellow Garvan – would likely call for them all to stop soon.
Charlotte could simply wait for the men in front to fall back and address them, but she was an impatient person when she wasn’t in control. After a few minutes of walking she sped her pace up, catching up with Ryker and Garvan’s position in the front of the caravan. As she approached, the young woman overheard the two men discussing their travel plan, so Charlotte didn’t mind inserting herself into their conversation.

“So how are we pacing right now?” The moment Charlotte spoke, Garvan’s eyes narrowed and shifted to her, as if she had intruded on some hallowed ground. No one had told her she couldn’t come talk to Ryker, so why shouldn’t she? He’d been the hardest to converse with, what with being out in front most of the time or being followed around by his guard dog.

[Saturos Prox]

"Well," Saturos replied, not turning to look at the blonde woman that had just approached. He didn't slow his pace to compensate for the woman's shorter stride, so she'd have to take longer steps to keep up with the two of them. He paid little attention to Garvan's sudden mood shift caused by the blonde woman's presence as he'd grown fairly used to the temperamental man's aggressive proclivities. The man was like a watch dog that got anxious when strangers approached its master, but Saturos didn't remember ever buying himself a pet.

"I was just discussing with Garvan that it would probably be a good time to stop for lunch," he said, now turning to examine the newcomer. "It's just about that time of day, and given the heat, it would probably be best if we took a break while the sun is highest in the sky." Saturos nodded to the woman, Myscha, figuring she would approve of the course of action. A small and slender female with a head of well-kept hair, Myscha was definitely oddball of their group. She had tagged along with the cadre of miners to meet up with someone at the gold mine. She had not told anyone who exactly she needed to meet, or why she needed to meet with them, but she had wielded a letter bearing what Saturos had instantaneously recognized as the seal of the churchman that had staked a claim on said mine, and that had been good enough for him. Part of being a good operative was knowing what to and what to not focus your efforts on, and the personal affairs of his spymaster's client fell squarely into the latter.

"We wouldn't need to break if it wasn't for our delicate woman here," growled Garvan, casting a sour glance in Myscha's direction. Saturos simple shook his head, a cool smile on his face.
"Nonsense," the man posing as Ryker corrected. "You were the one who was complaining that it was too hot just a few minutes ago." Garvan's eyes flashed with anger as his gaze jumped between the two other travelers.
"It was just an observation..." he muttered, turning away from the two to mutter something about uppity jerks. Saturos just chuckled.
"Pay him no mind. We all know he means well," he said with a smile. "It's just that, like I said, it's hot, and we're hungry. Heck, I'm getting a bit grumpy too." It was an odd choice of words, for Saturos's visage and bearing showed no signs of discomfort or agitation of any kind. Indeed, at the moment he was a right paragon of jovial disposition. "Would you mind spending lunch with me today? I haven't had much a chance to talk with you yet."

[Charlotte]

“Hmm, seems like a fair assessment,” A small nod accompanied Charlotte’s words, some of her silky locks slipping behind her shoulders as they walked. Her paces weren’t as smooth as usual, her head bobbing up and down more than usual. But widening her pace wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as listening to Garvan speak was. Ever since she had joined the miners on their trek, this man had not taken kindly to her – in fact, he was downright rude. She’d never depreciated their work or spoken down to them, and yet Garvan acted like the young woman’s mere presence among them was a personal sleight against him.

Unable to keep herself from rolling her eyes, Charlotte met Garvan’s gaze with her own set of narrowed eyes, though it was quickly broken by the other man’s quick-witted comment coming to her defense. Charlotte giggled, amused at seeing the burly man caught off-guard and flustered by Ryker’s admission. “It’s alright,” she said, casting a quick glance back to Garvan before resting her gaze on Ryker, “I should know how someone with a delicate constitution could be affected by such a tiresome journey.” The blonde couldn’t help but poke a bit of fun at the lug head, even if he did mean as well as Ryker said.

Charlotte wished on her grumpy days she was as chipper as Ryker seemed, despite having been on his feet since early this morning. She had to wonder how he could be so good-humored, considering everyone else was becoming glummer with every passing travel day. His upbeat attitude was likely the very reason everyone had no issue following his lead, despite the group having no official leader. It helped that he was the most articulate of the bunch and stood taller than the hunched backs of the rest. Words couldn’t quell the impatience and tiredness of the travellers, though, so an hour or so break would have to do.

But Charlotte’s impatience seemed it was paying off for once as the man invited her to spend the short break from travelling with him. She’d spent their time on the boat over alone, but over past few days, she’d had her meals amongst the men, having taken a particular interest to an older man named Aeron and his son Gabe. They’d told her most everything about their trip, even how their boss had seemed worried about something the last time during their last tour here - though they’d only overheard this from the mine’s foreman. Besides that bit of information, there really wasn’t much interesting for Charlotte to learn from the lot of them, so having the chance to speak with the most enigmatic personality in the group was a welcome change of pace.

“Not at all,” she replied, returning his smile with one of her own. “I’m sure you want to let the men know we’ll be stopping, so I’ll give you a few minutes. I need to put my cloak away anyways.”

[Saturos Prox]

"Right," said Saturos, giving a nod to the blonde woman before heeding her advice and looking ahead for a good spot to make camp for lunch. The path they were currently on was fairly thin, and not that great a place to stop unless they didn't mind stopping in the middle of the road, but in the distance, the swordsman noticed a small, somewhat flat clearing to the side of the mountain road. That would probably make a good spot.

"Why don't we stop up ahead?" said the unofficial leader of the mining group. He pointed to his decided spot up ahead. "There should be enough room there to get all the wagons off the road." The more irritable man nodded, then relayed the message to the rest of the miners talking to the rest of the two front men with a shout.

"Alright you schleppers, we're going to break up at that clearing up ahead!" he barked, raising one hand up in the air while directing another in the direction of the break spot. "Let's not slow down now!" Murmurs of approval rippled over the group and their pace quickened. The morning march had been fairly grueling, so everyone was eager to rest and eat. Saturos was too, though less for the fact that his belly was empty and more because he was looking forward to poke the brain of the only person in this crew with brain worth poking. Maybe he'd even be able to figure out exactly what the woman was doing out here in the Western Isles, or at the very least get a hint beyond the basic excuse of "meeting up with someone". She didn't really factor into Saturos's own goals out in the Isles, but being the sort of person he was, someone who couldn't stand not knowing what was going on, bits and pieces were never enough.

Saturos could go on and on about how information was both the deadliest weapon and the most valuable currency, for he had heard such speeches from his mentors, bosses, and clients a thousand times over, and sure, it was. But such speeches were so tired, and honestly weren't even why Etrurian did what he did. He wasn't looking to become rich, powerful or famous. Gathering to him was a game of sorts, and it was exciting, and in this particular case, taking into account both his own disguise and how closely Myscha was holding her information to her chest, seeing what he could pry loose provided its own unique amusement. It wasn't a malicious curiosity. In the end, Saturos would probably never do anything with the woman's knowledge, but he just loved knowing things, and loved other people not knowing what he knew.

So the swordsman remained silent as the caravan made its way to the lunch spot, then split off from the rest of the men to go find a secluded spot under a tree. He reached into his backpack and pulled out his noon meal: a sack of salted pork and a slightly stale bread roll. It wasn't exactly the lunch of champions, but it was great on a march. Thus he ate, waiting for his date to show.

[Charlotte]

Charlotte walked back to ever-ambling line of carts, knowing that the 30 or so men would be very pleased to hear that it was time to stop for lunch. While she’d be glad for the break too, Charlotte was more excited to have a chance to finally sit down with, all things considered, the most interesting man in the small mining group. She unfastened her cloak and began folding it in her arms as she approached the small cart belonging to Aeron and Gabe, smiling as the rather handsome son, who was walking alongside the sturdy wagon, gave her a wave.

“We’ll be stopping in a few minutes,” Charlotte revealed just as Garvan’s gritty voice called out over the sounds of the moving caravan. “Make that now,” she chuckled.

“Good,” Gabe said, looking to where his father sat. “Da’s getting tired from the heat. Didn’t expect this today.” He looked back to Charlotte, his tired eyes lighting up just a bit. “You’ll be eating with us again, right?”

Charlotte shook her head as she placed her cloak in the back of the wagon. “Definitely uncharacteristic for this time of year. And actually, I’ll be eating with Ryker this afternoon. He asked, so I figured it would be rude to decline.” The light that had come to Gabe’s eyes faded back away. “Ah, alright.”

“I’ll eat dinner with everyone, don’t worry,” Charlotte assured the man. Gabe had taken a fancy to her over the past few days, and Charlotte couldn’t deny the man his surprisingly good looks for a miner’s son. But he was very plain, which didn’t suit the young woman at all. Still, his father and he had been awfully nice to her, which was more than she could say for most. She didn’t mind the company.

Charlotte stayed to help Gabe settle the cart when they pulled into the small clearing, filling and strapping the feed bag over their mule Daisy’s mouth. Grabbing her small satchel from the cart, Charlotte slung it over her shoulder as she walked away from the circle of wagons and towards the spot she’d seen the leader of the mining group taper off towards. Spotting him under the shady limbs of the large tree, Charlotte approached, motioning to the area he had chosen. “I hope this isn’t how you greet all of your caravan members,” she teased, a small chuckle escaping her lips. “I mean, this is the nicest date I’ve been invited on in a while.”

Ryker had already broken into his humble lunch, so Charlotte simply followed suit, sitting down about a foot away next to him and pulling out her own small lunch of bread and dried meat. Charlotte had little regard for personal space, so if she noticed Ryker grow uncomfortable by the invasion of personal space she wouldn’t respond. Looking up at the lightly undulating branches above as she chewed on her first bite of bread, Charlotte sighed, thoroughly enjoying the bit of shade they were being afforded.

[Saturos Prox]

"I typically eat alone, so you could think of it as a special treat," replied Saturos with a chuckle before taking another bite of his own lunch. "I'm happy to impress." He sat for a moment in silence, chewing his bread simultaneously along with Myscha, then looked over off the edge of the bluff. The mountains, while known for their oft-times perilous terrain and the dangerous creatures that may or may not lurk inside them, were quite beautiful in the noon light. Their peaks rose into the sky like citadels designed by a masterful architect, and the snow-topped peaks of the highest mountain tops glittered as the sun struck their white, icy faces. Each mount cast its own long shadow over the valleys, rivers, and hills that lay down at the bottom of the long, gradual cliff side that the two lunchers currently sat next to. It was quite picturesque to say the least.

"Though I find it hard to believe this is the nicest. I have to imagine a woman like you gets all sorts of suitors," the teal haired swordsman glanced over at the blonde woman with a smirk on his face. "Me? I can't say I swoon too many with promises of salted meats and dry bread." In truth, Saturos was just being playful, but there was some truth to the statement. The Etrurian didn't often find himself in the company of women for purposes other than business, though that could be said for him being in the company of anyone, and while it was true that this trip was ultimately business in that it worked to achieve both of their respective goals, there was nothing business about lunch beyond what he made it. Really, it was nice just to be able to talk and not feel like there was some sort of invisible pressure not to "slip up". A different atmosphere from when he was with Aidan's men, to be sure, for he could probably tell Myscha his true intentions and have it make little difference. Still...

"So, how's the trip been for you so far? Does your business normally require you take long journeys through the Western Isles?"

[Charlotte]

"Well then I shan't take this for granted then,” Charlotte replied, though she wasn’t surprised to hear the man usually separated himself from the group. Since she’d been traveling with them he’d eaten all of twice with Garvan, and once with the men. Every other time, he’d retreated off to who knows where, thought he always seemed to return right as the men were ready to get moving again. But while he didn’t get a lot of face time with the other miners, Ryker still somehow managed to be respected enough amongst the men for them to follow him without question.

Now, it wasn’t hard to see why. He seemed trustworthy enough and got them safely from place to place. He was young, sharp, attractive, and had a knack for flattery – all traits of a desirable leader, in Charlotte’s mind at least. When presented with the alternative – Garvan, most likely – it was no wonder the men were more likely to follow the teal haired swordsman.

A raised brow and amused grin were all the comment about her suitors would garner from Charlotte. No doubt, the woman was quite used to receiving attention from the opposite sex, and often her looks were a great help in her line of work, especially when an opportunity included a bit more than just “strictly business” line items. Still, while she was used to it, Charlotte found she didn’t have the time to entertain anything past a physical or business relationship with someone. She’d had her emotions tied up in her work before, and she knew it never ended well. It wasn’t something she often explained to others, because honestly, who cared? Her clients certainly didn’t, and Charlotte had little time for friends.

“It’s been enjoyable enough,” Charlotte said, quickly reflecting on the trip up to this point. “Aeron and Gabe have been more than hospitable.” Sometimes too much so, Charlotte thought of Gabe, the poor guy. “A little bumpy for my tastes, but hey, we’re in the mountains.” The young woman considered her answer to his next question carefully. “In all honesty, I haven’t been in these parts for a few years now. Most of my clients are in Lycia, though I have a handful in Bern and Etruria as well.”

As she spoke, a thought came to Charlotte, one that piqued her curiosity enough to immediately voice it. “You’re awfully interested in ‘my business’ for a miner,” she chuckled, looking over to Ryker and hoping to gauge a reaction. “I’d have to say, I haven’t been asked for proof of my travels in some time. Have you always been a miner?” She’d admit, the last bit was something of a lie – Etrurians always asked for papers like it was their birthright to know your business, but the majority of the time Lycians and Bernese didn’t care unless she was looking to speak with someone of importance. Still, Charlotte saw an opportunity to potentially get an answer other than “standard procedure” from the man; he seemed too well spoken to fall back on that old line.

[Saturos Prox]

“Proof?” parroted Saturos, turning the word around as a question. He shook his head. “No proof. Just curious.” The teal haired man took a chewy bite out of his pork before turning to look back out at the view. He meditated on the meat for a good moment, like a cow chewing its cud, before swallowing the salty mash and turning back to the blonde woman. “After all, it’s not every day that an attractive, well-kempt, expensively dressed woman comes along on a miner’s trek through the mountains.” Putting his lunch down on his leg, Saturos looked into his satchel and pulled out his canteen. He unscrewed the top then took a quick swig, before recapping it and placing it beside him. He grabbed his lunch again.

“You can’t blame me for being curious,” he continued with a chuckle. He took another bite out of his loaf of bread. “I mean, I imagine it’s something important. You wouldn’t come all the way out here unless it was.” His words were muffled as he spoke through chewed bread, but he realized his blunder and covered his mouth. Proper manners in front of a proper lady. Once the food was swallowed, he finished his thought. “Gold always is, though, I suppose. After all, that’s why we’re mining it.”

Saturos mulled over a few words in his head as he took another bite of bread, using the chewing time to think. The woman’s casual use of the word clients when discussing her business implied that she wasn’t on any sort of diplomatic travel. She was most likely a free agent with some sort of skill set or connections that made her valuable to Bishop Aurelian, but for what reason the Etrurian couldn’t know just yet. She had, smartly, stayed very hush hush about her business. As always, of course, it could all be a cover, but Saturos saw no reason for her to need a cover. She was out here to meet with a representative of the bishop, and all she was doing was tagging along with miners working for him, so unless she was an assassin, which, sure, she could be, she probably was telling the truth.

“And no, I haven’t always been a miner,” he said, answering Myscha’s last question. “I’ve actually never been in a mine before, believe it or not. I used to work in Clevsin as a bookbinder, assembling books for sages, government officials, or whoever else would need such a service. Unfortunately, though, my shop burnt down in a fire when one of my apprentices got careless with a candle and turned a stack of manuscript into a bonfire.” Saturos shook his head as he paused in the middle of his made up tale. “I didn’t have the money on hand to rebuild, and I wasn’t about to take a loan from some conniving banker, so I started working odd and end jobs here and there. Then one day I come across a man looking for manpower to work in Bishop Aurelian’s mine, and the pay he offers is good, so I sign up.”

“Why, do I not strike you as the mining type?”

[Charlotte]

“Good point,” Charlotte chuckled, taking a bit of her slightly stale bread. She hadn’t forgotten how different she looked from the miners that surrounded her, but she tried her best not to flaunt it. She had no quarrel with these simple men. All things considered, she respected them immensely for being able to devote their lives to one job, offer some stability for their families. It just wasn’t something Charlotte could ever fathom for herself. Much too boring for her tastes.

The woman supposed she couldn’t fault Ryker for being curious about her purpose all the way out in the mountains of the Western Isles. It certainly hadn’t been a trip she’d been planning – in fact, she initially turned down the offer. But when she learned what she’d be moving, and more importantly how she’d be compensated, Charlotte would have been a fool to decline. She’d tolerate losing a few niceties for the pay she’d be receiving in return, not to mention the excitement of what would be contained in the package.

Charlotte considered what else might be safe to say to the miner in front of her, but she decided for the moment she would let him continue to drive the conversation. It was hard for the dramatic woman to bite her tongue and not say something about her job, but at the same time, her client had been explicit about maintaining complete secrecy about the nature of the job. Considering they were Etrurians and some of the shady things those people did, Charlotte decided that for now she would heed their request.

As Ryker explained how he came to mining, Charlotte raised an eyebrow as she chewed on a piece of tough jerky. The teal-haired man certainly appeared to be telling the truth, not afraid to look her in the eye as he spoke. He never stumbled on his words, only paused when it made sense. In fact, if Charlotte had only met the man in passing and this was all he’d ever said to her, Charlotte wouldn’t think anything ill of the story at all.

Nonetheless, she didn’t believe him. A bookbinder with no mining experience with a build like his? Not to mention, calling it a “service” was certainly not how most dedicated book binders with their own shops would refer to their art. Now, Charlotte was polite enough to not accuse the man outright, and besides, for all she knew he’d had some terrible thing happen to him that he wanted to avoid bringing up in idle conversation. As well, she didn’t know what types of odds and ends jobs he had done, and for how long. It only took a few months doing some heavy labor or mercenary work to tone an already fit body.

Still, considering everything together, Charlotte couldn’t buy it. So she shrugged, smiling as she looked back over at Ryker, pushing her hair from resting on her right shoulder over to her left. “Well, more of a miner than a bookbinder, that’s for sure.” Setting her lunch to the side on top of her small pack, she leaned back, resting her palms on the ground behind her while still looking at Ryker. “Not a day in your life...” Charlotte mumbled under her beath, her eyes flitted down to the man’s toned biceps and strong shoulders before connecting with his eyes again and raising her voice to a normal volume. “Must have been some heavy books those apprentices of yours burned to a crisp. Shame too; I bet you were an immaculate binder, what with your attention to detail.”

[Saturos Prox]

A disguise was like a clay pot filled with water. By itself, a crack had little effect on the integrity of the whole, and even a breach could be patched. But add a number of cracks and holes together, and no matter how small each individual puncture was, it would take little more than a hard tap to shatter such a compromise vessel to pieces. The art of disguise was just as much patching holes as it was preventing them.

Saturos couldn’t help but chuckle as the woman expressed a slight disbelief in his story. Not just her words, but her body language told him that she wasn’t quite buying everything he said. She was an observant one, wasn’t she? The Etrurian had come up with the bookbinder story to explain why such a well-spoken, knowledgeable man was out in the mountains mining, and had thought it pretty water tight. Up until now it had been as all of the men in the mining posse hadn’t second guessed his story after hearing him talk for just a moment. His speech, his poise, and his bearing were all unfamiliar to them, or rather considered too high class for them, so seeing as how most of them had never even read a book in the first place, they were quick to believe his tales. But not Myscha. She was too sharp.

Ah, what a hole to poke. Despite his athletic build, Saturos was seen by most of these men as skinny, weak, and cerebral: nothing that typically described a miner. They would look at his arms without a second thought. But Myscha’s discerning, womanly eyes could instantly separate the toned muscles of an athlete of sorts from the soft, fleshy body of an artisan or scribe. Sex appeal. It was something he couldn’t forget.

“I don’t like to brag,” replied Saturos, not skipping a beat, “but I was very good at what I did.” He took another bite of his bread. “And yes, they were heavy. You’d be surprised how much of a work out you can get from lifting stacks of paper and leather all day. It’s not easy work, and neither is actually binding the books, although that takes a special kind of finesse rather than strength.” The Etrurian tossed what was left of the stale loaf into the air, before catching it on his shoulder and rolling it back down his arm until he caught it in his hand. A useless demonstration, sure, but not all interaction needed to have meaning.

“But these arms don’t come from bookbinding, as you’re already implying,” the disguised operative continued, answering Myscha’s unvocalized thoughts. “My first job after losing my store was masonry. I sold my services out to a local master mason, under whom I spent most of my time hauling stone from here to there. I wasn't trained, of course, so I never got to cut or set the stone, but there was coin involved so I didn't mind much. From there I realized how easy it was to get work doing physical labor, because no one has to train you. Too bad you get paid a pittance.”

“I’m sure those days are long behind you, though, Miss Myscha,” finished Saturos with a nod, referencing the finery she wore. “If you even ever had them in the first place, that is.”

[Charlotte]

Charlotte continued to listen as the man continued to divulge more about himself, though it was with a heaping plate of scrutiny. She’d made the decision in her mind that the man wasn’t who he said he was and was lying through his teeth. Considering her basis for her disbelief was largely made up of gut-feeling paired with a few small observations, though, she knew she didn’t have ground to stand on considering how well he was covering his tracks. Almost too well; the man was very good.

The validity of his story, though, didn’t change the fact that he was doing his job of leading the men and herself to their destination, so Charlotte didn’t mind for the moment. Sure, she was curious, but the man had just asked about her, and Charlotte loved talking about herself, even if the majority of what she said would be just as fictitious. She took a moment to run through what Bishop Aurelian knew about her before responding, keen on keeping her story clean of human error.

“Hah, you could say that I suppose,” Charlotte smiled, taking a small sip from her water skin before continuing. “I had to do some heavy-lifting to get where we sit today, sure, but not in the literal sense like yourself. My parents aren’t from any renowned families in Etruria, so I had to do a lot of work to prove I was, ah, competent enough - for entrance to academies, for clients, you name it. I can’t say I miss those days.”

Charlotte shook her head, finishing off her jerky as she seemed to be mulling over days past. In reality, she was just deciding where her lie should go next. In a way, she always felt especially dirty lying about her upbringing when she had to play the part of the formally educated and proper girl. One of the things she was most proud of was the fact that she was largely self-taught, and that much of her intuition simply came from her, not some instruction manual. But when working with Bishops and nobles who didn’t like to associate with “gutter rats” like she arguably had been, her lies and faked papers were a necessity in order to keep her clients. Shame they couldn’t see past upbringing like she did, but it never surprised her.

“Some days were more of a struggle than others, sure, but I’ve made due as you’ve already noticed,” she said, acknowledging his observations. “When you provide a valuable service with no questions asked, you’re duly compensated.” While she tried to remain as vague as possible, of course slivers of the truth would slip out. In retrospect, a ‘no questions asked’ policy was a bit telling of her profession, but many people operated on discretion, she supposed.

[Saturos Prox]

“No questions asked?” repeated Saturos, an amused look on his face. He shook his head, still grinning, as he took another drink of his water. She may be here on business for Aurelian, but it didn’t sound like it was anything official. An assassin? No, he’d already thought of that earlier. It was unlikely. Assassination was for people who one couldn’t reach normally, and everyone at this mine would already be working for Bishop Aurelian. If he wanted someone dead, he could just order it. Still a mystery, then. “When I think of the kind of work that people need done with no questions asked, nothing reputable floats to the top of my list.”

The Etrurian brushed off the observation playfully, but he mentally took note of how suspicious her task actually was. Typically when Etrurian nobles and higher-ups needed things done in a clandestine fashion, they turned to Inquisitional Intelligence. It was expensive, but Saturos’s presence here demonstrated that Bishop Aurelian had the ability to do just that. Now, granted, dragons threatening Etrurian gold mining operations would hurt more than just the bishop, thus most likely justifying the operative’s presence all the way out here in no man’s land for a nominally small fee, but still, if he had wanted to, Aurelian would have probably been able to call in a favor and have Saturos make whatever rendezvous Myscha was going to be while performing his reconnaissance. So what Myscha’s presence meant, at least to the operative, was that the bishop wanted to keep whatever he was trying to do within his own sphere of influence. This wasn’t something he wanted to go circulating through intelligence.

It was interesting, of course, but interesting or no, Saturos found himself at a loss of just what that could be. Again, murder was already ruled out of the equation, so maybe miss Myscha was an expert of some sort come to analyze the situation of the mine? But what would make that worth all the hush-hush? Was Aurelian planning on cooking the books a little bit, to avoid paying his fair share to the Prophet? It wouldn’t be a first. Myscha could easily be a black market buyer looking to swap a sizable share of the bishop’s unrefined gold for goods and services that would be much harder for the Herald’s agents to trace. Interesting.

“You’re not smuggling the bishop’s mistress in that satchel of yours, are you?”

[Charlotte]

“True in many cases,” Charlotte noted, her shoulders shrugging as she paused, finishing off the contents of her waterskin before closing it back up. She’d have to remember to refill it before the continued moving. “But some people just prefer keeping their business exactly that: their business.”

Now, the young blonde tended to know more about the job she was working than she let off. Most of the time she was perfectly fine being handed a brown paper package, being told where to take it and how much coin she’d earn doing so. But most people wanted to tell her more, like they wanted to justify what it was they needed transported so secretly. Charlotte didn’t care all that much in the majority of cases, but sometimes what her clients revealed was of some interest to her, considering she could make a lot more money selling it to someone else than simply moving it as requested.

This was one of those times. Charlotte never met with the Bishop directly, but she’d been referred as one of the top private smugglers by an Etrurian lord whom Charlotte had done a lot of business. When Charlotte met with Aurelion’s advisor, she was only given a very brief explanation of what she was doing and what she would be moving, but it was enough to reach out to a few parties she’d worked with in the past that she knew might be interested. She’d already been paid half of what she would earn up-front, which is what she always required when moving something valuable essentially by herself. It was a lot, but not nearly as much as she’d been offered by one of her clients in Laus. It was tricky business, trying to pull one over on an Etrurian Bishop, but the thrill of it outweighed the risk.

Charlotte laughed as Ryker jokingly guessed at what she was moving, shaking her head as she shifted slightly in her spot. “Please, if I had a satchel that could do that, I’d be be back home making a fortune off of selling the thing!” Charlotte’s laugh subsided into a chuckle as she thought of how she might be able to describe what she did to the man. It was boring, talking in all of these subtleties and bringing nothing of real value to the conversation, so she decided to do her best to tell the man “what she did” – albeit with a few white lies sprinkled in for good measure.

After resting her hand on her chin and thinking for a moment, Charlotte looked back to Ryker. “Say you were an Etrurian blacksmith, and you’d just created a style of blade that could, I don’t know, change the way we make blades.” She was obviously no blacksmith, but she did her best to make the analogy work with her limited knowledge. “That’s a valuable design you have there, no doubt, and you have someone who is interested in investing – they’ll buy the design and keep it safe for you, and at the same time convince shops to start making and selling your blade, and all the while you’ll bring in a portion of the monthly profits from those blades.”

“But this investor is halfway across Etruria, and you’re no traveler. You have a wife and children and shop of your own to run, so you need some who can not only move the design safely for you, but can also discuss business with that investor and likely bring the design and help get it into the other shops too.” Charlotte paused, thinking over the scenario she had laid out. She’d done all of those things before, sure, but of course she was leaving out a lot about her job. She didn’t mention that sometimes she was moving illegal substances, or that sometimes her visits with investors were not to talk business, but rather to discuss topics of another nature. And she certainly wouldn’t mention that if she found a way to better profit over what she was handling, she would always consider bringing the goods to competition. She was a thief, after all.

“That’s where I come in. Either the blacksmith or, more often than not, the investor hires me. I transport the design and keep it safe and secret from any prying eyes, negotiate the deal with the investor, and start helping him sell the design to shops across Etruria, all for a fairly reasonable fee and while keeping everyone's best interests in mind. Sometimes I help find the investor too, but most of the time I’m just moving something from one place to another or looking to sell someone’s goods for them when they aren’t able.” Generally that reason being the goods were stolen from them, Charlotte thought, but that was a minor detail.

“Does that make sense?” Of course, there wasn’t much the blonde could clarify, considering that she’d already revealed a lot about what she did without outright telling the man that she smuggled valuable, illegal goods, made deals with dirty men, and sold stolen goods to interested buyers. Charlotte was actually impressed she had been able to make her job sound so... legitimate.

[Saturos Prox]

“So you’re the consummate middleman, then?” Saturos summarized, taking the last bite of his lunch. He continued speaking with his mouth full of bread. “You take someone with something to offer but no means of doing anything with it, and you match them up with someone with resources who can actually do something with it. Only you never actually put them together, because if you did you’d be out of a job.” The Etrurian chewed a couple seconds longer than swallowed the now mushy lump of bread. He took a sip from his canteen, but no water met his lips. Darn, all out. He’d have to go fill up from the communal water barrel after lunch.

He turned his gaze back at Myscha, and a thoughtful look spread itself across his face. So now he had an idea of what she was doing, but was she delivering something, or was she going to pick something up? She could have something very valuable on her person right now in fact, or she could have absolutely nothing at all.

“I imagine you have quite the network of friends and colleagues then,” continued the operative, a thoughtful look spreading itself across his face. Even if she hadn’t been working for one of the most powerful bishops in western Etruria, Myscha’s own description of her work was a clear signal to Saturos that the woman was very good at what she did. To be able to find any old craftsman or inventor and match them up with an investor willing to pay enough that Myscha could take take a tidy sum off the top required very strong connections, and a very good sense of the black market. The Etrurian had no doubt that had she wanted to, this woman could have gone very far in the Inquisitional Intelligence.

But alas, her desires seemed a bit too mercenary to send her into espionage work. Spies had to be willing to go long periods of time with little, or sometimes no payoff whatsoever. The Herald didn’t exactly pay his eyes and ears exorbitant fees, but that being said, they did have access to all the knowledge Etruria had to offer, and were able to carry out lengthy operations on their own time. Saturos knew many an operative that had operations on the side using the resources given to them by their position. Some even played the part the legitimate business men, but most chose to abuse their power for more shady purposes.

Perhaps, when this was over, Saturos would have to extend Etruria’s hand to the woman.

“That's probably a lot to manage.”

[Charlotte]

“Exactly,” Charlotte smiled, putting her lunch aside after folding the small leather pouch closed. What she wouldn’t give for a steaming hot bowl of beef stew right now, even with the uncharacteristic weather they were having. Anything would be a welcome break from the same lunch she had partaken in for the past week or so of traveling. Running her now free hands over the soft, grassy ground, she plucked up a particularly long blade of grass, twirling it in between her fingers.

The blonde considered for a moment if there was anyone she’d met in the past few years she still considered her ‘friend.’ It was a challenge keeping in good favor with folks she worked with on a day-to-day basis. Sure, she did everything she could – within reason, of course – to stay in the good graces of her clients, but the majority of the time she worked directly with their hired hands whom Charlotte only connected with inasmuch as she could use them to her advantage. Charlotte knew quite well that wasn’t what the man was referring to. No use debating semantics when she knew what the man meant by what he’d said.

“I’m never left wanting for work, that’s for sure,” Charlotte said, her slender digits still twisting and twirling the same piece of grass she’d picked just a few moments earlier. Certainly keeping minimal good company could be lonely at times, but when your work was based on screwing people over, feelings were bound to be hurt. People couldn’t separate their business and personal lives, so Charlotte saw no reason to partake in a personal one when she had as much work to wade through as she did.

Managing the logistics of her self-made profession was difficult at times. Charlotte was still working out the kinks, but by and large she wouldn’t have it any other way. “It can be at times, but I’d rather manage everything on my plate right now than be walking into those mines every day for the next few months.” She dropped the now practically shredded piece of grass to the ground before plucking up a new one for her to roll between her fingers, her lips curling into a cheeky grin. “I get that all this is the easiest thing right now, but don’t you want to get back to binding books all day? I can’t believe you’re all that thrilled to be doing this.”