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Post by Finas//Alvin [Blaze001] on Aug 16, 2011 0:43:10 GMT -5
Red is Alvin
Blue is Finas
Black is Narration.
It's a beautiful day as a lone carriage departs from the Imperial Capital, Zaphias. On the front, with the driver, is an Imperial knight.
His helmet off, it seems to be a blond-haired man. Captain Finas Scifo. This means that the contents of the carriage must be worth something.
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Post by Kaufman on Aug 16, 2011 1:03:54 GMT -5
[Kaufman is laying back against her seat in the carriage, flipping through paperwork to pass the time. Even as the vehicle jostles around, her posture stays steady--she's well-used to such rides, having been on numerous business trips before.
It's nice to have an imperial escort for a change. Normally she takes the common coaches, as the private carriage services have exorbitant fares. Even though she makes an effort to dress in a standard business suit for such situations, there always seems to be this certain aura of guildness about her that has prompted nasty altercations with her fellow passengers in the past. It seems no matter how many times she explains the legality of her presence, some idiot always assumes she's an outsider bucking the system. This time, though, she put in a request with the knights to avoid such nonsense and managed to get herself a private ride free of charge. Definitely should have tried that months earlier, she thinks. The knights, for all their paranoia about the guilds, can be downright courteous sometimes.
At least, if one has the proper paperwork signed by the proper higher-ups to show them.
The ride seems destined to be a dull one. The weather's decent, the roads are fine and at the rate they're going she should be at Capua Nor earlier than usual. She only has a couple managers to check up with there, then she'll be on her way home to Dahngrest.
She sighs and adjusts her glasses. Hmm, maybe she'll try to nap in a little while. Her sleep schedule's all messed up as it is, and that'll probably do her some good.]
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Yeager
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Post by Yeager on Aug 16, 2011 9:32:32 GMT -5
[The problem with nobles, Yeager thinks, is their sense of entitlement.
It isn't as though he's not personally familiar with the concept--he was a noble once, after all, and did a variety of snobbish things before the wake-up call that was his resurrection--but it is quite annoying when it comes to doing business with them. Entitlement, after all, breeds jealousy and greed, enough for some noblemen to forget that, being an arms dealer (and an illegal one, at that) he is wholly unaffiliated with their respective causes.
This morning he had the lovely experience of being ranted out by a Lord Wheaton who had discovered that Yeager was selling to one of his political rivals as well as himself. Though Yeager had tried to explain that his business activities by no means implied his support for the rival's desire to seize part of Wheaton's faltering estate, the man had taken too much offense to see reason. Ultimately he'd forced Yeager from the carriage they'd been sharing, declaring that if Yeager were to sell to such trash then he might as well walk the rest of the way to Capua Nor.
Oh well. Wheaton will come running back at a later date, Yeager knows. It isn't like he can buy tripwire-triggered landmines from the imperial armory with any degree of ease, after all.
Yeager takes to walking, not having much else of a choice. Thankfully, it's cool in the forest and his briefcase isn't heavy. He sticks to the main road, and after a while the clatter of another carriage's wheels rises through the air.
He stops and waves from the side of the road, offering his best I-swear-I'm-not-a-highwayman smile in an attempt to hitch a ride.]
Excuse me! Sir!
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Post by Finas//Alvin [Blaze001] on Aug 16, 2011 11:20:35 GMT -5
"Looks like we're going to make quick time." The coachman observes to the captain.
"Yeah, I'm glad the rain finally stopped. I don't think I could handle sitting and listening to the rain plink off of my armour..." Finas comments, smiling lightly.
They were heading towards the Quoi Woods. Due to Deidon Hold being closed at the moment.
Which was when the carriage trundles to a stop next to a hitch-hiker.
"What's the matter?" The Coachman says, curiously.
Finas, in the meanwhile, has taken to lounging against the wall with his eyes closed. Not asleep, just not watching.
That voice sounds familiar. He thinks.
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Yeager
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Post by Yeager on Aug 17, 2011 0:24:24 GMT -5
Are you heading towards Capua Nor? I'm so sorry; my horse was spooked earlier and broke free from my carriage. I've been walking for a few hours. If I could please join you, I would be very grateful.
[He shapes the lie without a hint of hesitation, his tone politely pleading.]
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Post by Finas//Alvin [Blaze001] on Aug 17, 2011 10:34:34 GMT -5
The coachman looks towards the knight, who shifts and knocks on the carriage.
"Excuse me, Miss Kaufman? Would you mind if we took another person on to Capua Nor? We have someone here who lost his horse."
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Post by Kaufman on Aug 17, 2011 12:25:43 GMT -5
[Kaufman leans to look out the window as soon as the carriage stops. She eyes the man outside suspiciously--hmm, he doesn't look bedraggled enough to be a thief. Gray suit, silk cravat, slicked-back hair and neatly trimmed mustache...he appears more noble than anything, though the briefcase in his hand indicates that he's in trade. He also has a vaguely familiar look about him, indicating that she might've crossed paths with him before, though for the life of her she can't recall where.
Finas' muffled knock and inquiry force her to abandon her musings for the moment. She debates with herself, not really wanting a passenger that she might end up bickering with, but she's really too kind for her own good. She can't leave someone stranded, if that's truly the case with this man.]
Let him on. But search him first, in case he's armed.
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Post by Finas//Alvin [Blaze001] on Aug 18, 2011 1:41:37 GMT -5
"Yes, ma'am." Finas responds before hopping off the carriage and walking around.
"Excuse me, sir. Would you mind? I have to ensure the passenger's safety after all."
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Yeager
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Post by Yeager on Aug 18, 2011 12:07:22 GMT -5
Not at all. [Hm, guess there's a woman in the carriage. Maybe some noblewoman that he knows? That might make for a pleasant ride.
He reaches into his suit jacket and up his pants legs, retrieving a pistol and a few knives and dutifully handing them over to Finas.]
That should be everything. But feel free to pat me down if you wish.
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Post by Finas//Alvin [Blaze001] on Aug 19, 2011 2:10:47 GMT -5
After stashing the weapons away, Finas does, indeed, pat the man down.
"Excuse me, sir, I'll need to take and check your breifcase, also." Finas asks, the example of politeness, despite his voice lacking the upper-class edge one finds on Imperial Knights.
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Yeager
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Post by Yeager on Aug 19, 2011 10:22:53 GMT -5
[He gives him the case without protest. There's nothing much for Finas to see there, after all--just a few forms and a weapons catalog disguised as imperial armory inventory. It'd be way too risky for him to stick his guild's name or symbol on anything, so unless Finas felt like carefully scrutinizing the papers, they'd just look like government documents to him.]
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Post by Finas//Alvin [Blaze001] on Aug 29, 2011 16:28:56 GMT -5
And that's all that the knight thinks they are, closing the breifcase and handing it back.
"Everything seems to be in order. I apologise for the trouble, sir."
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Yeager
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Post by Yeager on Aug 30, 2011 17:16:09 GMT -5
It's no trouble at all. [With that, he opens the door and steps up to climb into the carriage.
And stops for half a second, staring at Kaufman.
Oh geez--if only he'd caught her name before, so that he could have made a quick escape. Definitely not the person he wants to see here. He debates with himself for the second that he looks at her, wondering if it would be better to let this particular carriage go by. But then again, that would look suspicious after he went through the trouble of being searched and all, and he doesn't see any kind of immediate recognition on Kaufman's face, so perhaps he ought to play it cool and hope she doesn't realize who he is.
He knows his voice would be an immediate giveaway, so he hastily adopts the first accent he can think of--a southern Tolbyccian drawl--as he shuts the door behind him.]
My apologies for delayin' you, ma'am.
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Post by Kaufman on Aug 30, 2011 17:22:33 GMT -5
[shrugs] It wasn't for long. Glad to help you out.
[That vauge, nagging sense of familiarity is eating at her. She definitely knows the man from somewhere, and mentally runs through the places where she mingled with a more upper class assortment of people recently. She can't think of anyone she saw that fits his description, though...maybe she ought to see if his name rings a bell.]
[she offers a hand] I'm Kaufman, by the way. I'm the head of Fortune's Market's operations.
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Yeager
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Post by Yeager on Aug 30, 2011 17:31:51 GMT -5
[shakes her hand, offering the first ritzy-sounding fabricated name that comes to mind] Pleasure to meet you. I'm Ernest Dillingham. I work for Garrison Industries--the defense contractor.
[Not that he particularly wants to be associated with weapons right now, for fear that she'll draw a connection, but he's thinking fast and it at least fits the nature of the papers he has in his briefcase.]
What brings you to the empire? Trouble with the shops?
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