RP:Fielding Alliances

This is a Rogue's Guild RP.

part 1: [the Problem]
part 2: [the Aftermath]

Summary: Lita and Mahri make the trek to Vailkrin for another meeting with Kasyr, to flesh out the details about possibly breaking a recent blood pact between the vampire and the Cleric, yet to be formally identified... Kasyr has agreed to offer his assistance and send them after various items they'll need to attempt an unbinding... There also discussions that may lead to a budding alliance between Vailkrin and Rynvale.

Lita had planned on waiting for Smoke to be around again. At least at first. But Mahri was around and Lita was itchin' to get back up to Vailkrin and see if Kasyr had been able to kick the right rocks. Not that she couldn't have gone alone. But traveling so close to Xalolious these days made her nervous. So Mahri is part company and part bodyguard on this trip, probably. "I promise, first round's on me." Lita's saying as she leads the way barefoot into the tavern. Mahri had far more memories of the place than she did. She'd seen it on the woman's face after one of Leo's duels. "Okay fine, the first bottle." She says, making a beeline for the bar while the she-wolf snagged a table. "How does one summon a Kasyr, anyway? Is he like a genie?" She's asking when she finally makes her way to the table with a bottle of whiskey and a couple of glasses. "I just sort of hung out last time and he showed." Maybe she should have planned this better. Maybe she should just pour drinks.

Mahri just sort of ambled along with Lita, letting the artist chatter the whole time until they got to the Corpse. Steadman looked their way and the wolf saluted with her chin at the barkeep. At the table she chose, the wolf waited patiently for Lita to join her with whiskey and glases in hand. Once the first round is poured, she settles back in her seat with glass in hand. "I have a feeling he'll know his presence is requested." Mahri takes a drink, silver-grey eyes trained on the door from her vantage. "I could send someone to find him if you'd rather." she offers.

Kasyr might be keeping a closer eye on the situation than he normally would. Not personally, per say, but he'd been expecting a return trip from Lita- which means it's not too long after they've arrived that he'd be alerted to her presence, and that of a fellow cabalite. And given their locale- he didn't overly need to slow himself down with the trappings of decorum. And so, with little more than the scent of Ozone, and the sound of distant thunder- he'd transpose himself, a bolt out of the blue that lights down on the cobblestone outside the tavern. It's actually a bit weird for him, now that he scrutinizes the building, because the warding that had been ingrained into it wasn't quite...there like it was. Tenebrae and Rhevens handiwork had been muted by the corruption to the tree, and it's ensuing ignition. "I wonder how annoyed they'd have been?" Still, for the moment it remains intact, and so he strides into the tavern proper, to see if the Bloodbowl champion was here for, "Business or plaisir, cherie?" Mahri's presence is acknowledged too, a faint nod offered to the wolf. "Evening."

Lita grins over the rim of her glass at Mahri. "I like the not knowing of it." Either way, she'd no complaints of the company. She sips at the whiskey, a stronger brew than she's used to from the island. The crackle of something outside lends itself further attention but she doesn't glance that way, seeing as Mahri's already eyeing the door behind her. "Both, now that you're here." She says with a smile over a bare shoulder for the fellow. "I'm going to pretend you were just happening along by chance, hm?" She'd assume that wasn't the case at all, since Kasyr seemed to be a fount of possible information as of late. "And hope you found good news."

Kasyr s' expression is thoroughly unconvinced, a wry smirk tugging at his lips. "Should I feel flattered, par chance?" The swordsman strides through the room, a few excess sparks swept out of his hair with a brush of his fingers- even as he finds a spot along the bar to sit. "I found -news-. Or rather, confirmed certain bits, but I'm not quire sure how good it might be considered. I suppose it depends on if tu have any more details to share about..." His head cants slightly to the side, "Your friends predicament. Certainly I know enough that I could send tu on an errand, but-" He shrugs, and redirects his attention towards Steadman, "A blood wine, s'il te plait."

This is Lita's gig so the wolf is just going to sit back and drink her drink while she did what she did best - listen. An ebony brow quirked up as Kas made it about a 'friend' rather than Lita, but Mahri isn't stupid. Dumb sometimes, but not stupid. Those silvery eyes of hers slash towards Lita a moment, "An errand sounds like a good time to me," she murmurs. It's Ace's decision what she wants to do, of course, and the wolf is good with whatever. Steadman also, about this time, brings over Kasyr's request of blood wine, along with another bottle of that whiskey because usually the women went through more than one.

Lita will cover Kas' drinks too, because that was what you did when someone took time out of their schedule to help you with things. "Not much to share." She makes a point to take another sip from her glass and avoid Mahri's looks here. Thankfully, Mahri's not dumb. "A few weeks worth of sleepless nights and reckless dreams... said something about," she settles her glass on the table a moment to find the right words, "Do you believe in souls? That more than one could inhabit a body? I don't know that I'd believe any of it myself but she said it looked something like a soul trying to leave the cleric's body. Possibly not his, even." Dark eyes flicker towards Mahri again as she taps her index finger against the rim of her glass. "An errand?" Interest piqued. "What do you have in mind?"

Kasyr may appreciate the courtesies, to the point that his ears cropped up, but he thankfully isn't quite so hard-pressed as to ignore the reality of the situation. There was still things not being said, "Reckless dreams? Not sleepwalking, are you?" With an appetite, that would be an issue. Still, whatever ill-humour might have been fomenting within his heart, it's abruptly curtailed by her inquiries as to the nature of the soul. "I can answer you with certainty that they exist. That certain creatures have dealt in them, consumed them, and traded everything they had to defy the order of things." There's a pause there, as he casually snags the bottle of bloodwine before it can be poured into a glass and takes a swig, "Et given the whole matter of possession et worse things besides- I'd say the scenario you're laying out is plausible. If that helps." Though what one would do with those details is a seperate problem besides, "Just a small acquisition of supplies, en fait. Holy water, the sort that they keep for special occasions at Cenril, ou quoi-ce-soit. Dragons blood from one that's considerably old." There's a pause here, and the swordsmans expression shifts just slightly, "Someone adept with...hydromancy, ou quoi-ce-soit. Who can work under pressure, et quickly. " Not quite how it went before, but it should fare all the same.

Mahri finishes her whiskey, pours another - but instead of taking that relaxed pose on the chair, elbows come to rest on the table. Talk of souls, dreams and now tasks - she's showing the full attention she'd been pretending not to have before. "Is what you're going to do withi these things and person going to harm the person they're going to be used on?" Is death on the table here, and whose? Mahri can handle the Dragons blood, given Lita's adverse reaction to such things. The Mage's guild might point them in the direction of a hydromancer - unless, "Do you know of anyone adept with hydromancy, Kas?"

Lita is or course leaving things unsaid, but she's no idea what's important in this situation and it feels like the less she shares the better, just yet. Lita would have been a lot more resolute in her lack or belief of a soul or similar entity prior to whatever she'd witnessed from that cleric. Now, couples with the fellow vampire's assurances, there are only more questions. None of which she's of a mind to puzzle through just yet. But she's no reason to doubt him, he's already far more information than she does, the only thing she can do is be appreciative moving forward. "Not sleepwalking." She makes a face though, because with the beach house being vacant, she could only assume. "Haven't woken up any place I didn't fall asleep in prior, at least. Mostly just very vivid, strange places." She drops some of the pretense that this isn't just about herself. She nods as he rattles off this list and glances at Mahri. "Leo's on good term with Cenril, might be able to barter some holy water. Might need you to uh, ask about the dragon's blood though." A faint smirk as Mahri brings up those questions. Though harm had death hadn't crossed her mind until then, oddly enough. She's not sure she wants to know now, even.

Kasyr gives Mahri a wry smirk, "Nothing es easy. To the point that on my end, I'm going to be sifting through the necromancers I know to ensure that such a thing would go smoothly et the intended recipient didn't simply. . ." He draws a thumb across his throat, before offering a lopsided shrug, "Nothing's easy on that front. Et non, most of my contacts were with the guild, et I'm...not as beloved by them, courtesy of the change in leadership." Lita's answers, whilst still vague, are at least helpful, "Well, not waking up scuffed or bloodsmeared es always progress." Dreams being weird isn't much of a detail to the swordsman, and so he glosses over that, "I mean, If you're dealing with Rynvale- you could probably ask the town's border guard for something fresh, given all the ferals they deal with. You just don't want something overly young." He -could- retrieve some of these items himself, he supposed. But, it always helped to see just how serious someone was about an endeavour, "Was there anything else you wanted to ask on this front? Or still, figuring things out?"

Mahri 's not comfortable with the the thought something could happen to Lita, namely her permanent unaliving (no puns intended here). Did she trust Kasyr enough? Yes. Did she like this whole plan? No. But, it was Lita's decision in the end to go through with whatever it was they were planning, so Mahri'll press her lips together rather than say anything. "I can get what's needed and put out word to the guild assistance is needed."

Lita leans over a bit to refill Mahri's glass, offering the woman a pointed look as she does so. "We'll make it work." She says, glancing up again to Kasyr. "And thank you, for your help. I don't know what you charge for it, but consider it uncontested." She'd assume it would be a hefty sum but now that she's said it out loud, maybe it would have been best not to agree to offer him a kidney or some such in the future. "Mahri said you've been looking for info on the Houses. Looking for anything in particular?"

Kasyr nods to the pair of them, "Parfait- As for the charge, well. We'll figure that part out, enfin. You'll need to keep me posted on . . . your friends condition when we next meet." This time, the swig he takes from a bottle is a long way, a decent pause so he can properly consider the offer being made about the houses, "Actually, there -es- something now." His voice pitches down notably here, "Anything you can find about any smuggling routes Nasar uses would help. As well as any interference or interception of their goods- since, it might meddle with a... pre-existing arrangement I've established with Rynvale, tu sais?" Screw having competition.

Mahri 's lips twitch slightly as plans are sort of made to get what Kas needs and Lita poses that question about the Houses. But, now they have something concrete to look into. "We can't have that," Mahri tsks. No interferences between Vailkrin and Rynvale. This was a pro-bono job for Kas, but Mahri made note to ask about the arrangement and getting in on it. "We'll find out for you."

Lita shifts in her seat a little when Kasyr mentions smuggling routes. A reason to pick Cal's brain some for information. Very little happened in the island's underbelly without his knowing. Though he's not so keen on vampires, he's also not one to vet where the money comes from. All spends the same, he'd say, no matter whose blood was on it- so long as it wasn't his. Lita can't help a smile at the words in her head. Thankfully Mahri takes the lead with that response and Lita nods her agreement. With a little luck, this could all pan out to Vailkrin being a welcomed ally of the island's in coming times.

Kasyr looks pleased as punch, though, he can't help but adding, "You -might- want to schedule an appointment when you have everything, however. It es one thing to wait until you get my attention, it es another when co-ordinating the expertise of others in tandem with myself." The kensai may have grinned a bit there, his gaze tilting towards the door, "I can see about ensuring that there's something for you if you drop by the capital next time." The wine bottle is given a subtle jostle, before his attention tilts over to Mahri, "I do appreciate it, however. I'd rather things go smoothly so we don't get a second civil war."

Mahri quirked that brow again, "I'll be subtle." She has that ability - mostly. Maybe she can recruit from elsewhere to get the information needed. "When is good for you? Say, a week from now?"

Lita nods again at his suggestion of sending word first next time they make the trip north. "Will do." She manages a smile, trying to look far less worried than she is suddenly, following Mahri's vein of questions. She could stop and ask more questions but that wasn't really her style and anyway, she hadn't seen the cleric in weeks now, so there wasn't much information to be garnered from him. "The opposit of war isn't peace," she says glancing at the table between the trio as she quotes the infamous playwright. "It's creation." Peace was simply the byproduct, sometimes accidentally so. She seems in less of a hurry than Mahri, though, and glances back to the she-wolf. "Let's work on one part at a time. Run down the list and then we'll send word to set a meet." They're to-do list was getting longer by the day, it seemed.

Mahri grunts at Lita's suggestion. She's not the patient type.

Kasyr offers Lita a playful retort, "I'd be of a mind to agree, were it not for our tendancy to innovate during times of conflict, cherie." His head then tilts over to Mahri, though there's a momentary pause as he runs through the logistics, "A week es adequate- sooner may be better. There's a ...timeline, i'm trying to adhere to, while maintaining discretion." He may have murmured something akin to 'somehow' there, but he's already brushing by it. "In that's the case, should we consider this meeting adjourned, par chance?"

Mahri finishes her drink then refills the glass. She's not going to say whether or not the meeting is over so she shifts a glance towards Ace. The wolf is just here as back up if needed.

Lita nods again. Less than a week? She's chewing at the inside of her lower lip before she realizes Mahri is staring at her. Right. "Sure." She stands, fishing a handful of coin from her pocket and heading to the bar to settle up. A chance to find some semblance of composure again. And all she's all smiled on her return only moments later, reaching a hand out to Mahri to tug the woman to her feet. "Ready? I'll walk you home." She's teasing, probably.

Kasyr may have strived to mess with that composure just a touch more, because it's during that time where Lita is paying the tab, that the kensai simply flickers out of sight, the only sign that he'd occupied his seat being a few sparking motes which hang in the air before fading away. Mostly, he had paperwork to return to, and now a few new letters to write.

Steadman is watching all of this, of course. He took the coins and went back to stocking and washing glasses while Lita heads back over to the table. Mahri stares at the offer hand just as Kasyr does his thing and just sort of poofs on out of there. "Here I thought I was the one watching out for you." Mahri didn't really need the help to get up, but she'll be taking that unopened whiskey along so she'll let Lita pull her up while snagging it off the table. "If you don't mind, I'll go first, make sure it's safe and all for you."