Ymiden 14
Things were moving faster lately and Patrick was no different in that regard. While he could've very well counted himself the odd man out now, irony deemed him worthy of being shat on once more afterwards. He'd received an invitation to actually meet with one of them, and to burn the note once he'd finished reading it as well. That had been the Trial before and he made sure to follow the instruction carefully, knowing good and well he was playing with the big baddies of Rharne now. He still couldn't believe it quite honestly, and yet somehow he'd managed to accomplish it. A meeting. With the infamous and elusive Shadow Quarter.
Though he expected the company to arrive in his workplace Patrick didn't know how late it'd have to be, until the business reached nearly closing time and only one individual awaited him in back. The Rharnian knew better than to mistake it for another lonesome customer, even when the blonde lady seemed to watch patiently when he finally came to approach. "I take it you're the 'emissary' I'm meeting here tonight." She looked unchanged but her soft voice almost held curiosity, Patrick however couldn't even smile as he slowly took a seat across from the lady. She looked almost perfectly young and beautiful for somehow so involved with a network so dark and mysterious, Patrick knew good and well this wasn't the time to be acting foolish at all on her part. "Curious. I expected someone more taller."
"I like to be full of surprises." He managed to remark with almost a brief smirk, hopeful that the comment didn't come off far to conceded on her behalf. Still the lady plainly watched him as she hardly seemed impressed at all, her glass of wine delicately held as she sipped from it as graceful as a noble.
"So I've heard. My friends have told me much about you, and what exactly it is you want from us all." She rested the wine glass down and in turn, folded her hands together before resting them in her lap under the table. "We might be willing to accommodate your request, but it'll require you to do the same for us also." Patrick shifted forward and almost came off eager, as his heart palpated heavily after hearing what the woman had said.
"With all due respect, I'd like to know who I'm making a deal with officially. Knowing that; I'd be more than willing to do whatever's necessary to further speed things along, as I'm sure your friends and my friends could both help each other out."
"You mean the friends watching you now?" She raised an eyebrow and for a moment he felt accused, that is until he took a moment to think back on the other Trial. He'd walked out on Faith... On the war effort... So it stood to reason that he knew important things, which likely warranted in him being watched by those he'd dipped out on. But... here? "It's okay, I've friends keeping an eye on things too. Seems to me we're both a little cautious." And yet she didn't know? None of them knew he'd walked out on the whole thing? Of course... It was in Zuudaria, only those who were actually there knew. Which meant... The withheld paused seemed to alleviate in a steady exhale as he feigned a soft smile.
"Let's start over then. My friends know me as Patrick." The lady elevated a thin eyebrow in his direction as she seemed to grin just a bit.
"Yoora is my name, though my friends refer to me as the Witch Doctor." She proposed with a hand held out in a delicate manner, in which Patrick graciously took with care so that they might briefly shake to cement the meeting. "I'll admit that I like surprises, but what I like more is the chance for profit. What you're asking for isn't difficult to manage at all, as we've got the means to carry out your requests. However we need a couple things in return..." The smile on her elegant face faded as she looked a little more serious, as the bartender before her leaned a little closer with his attention fully fixed on her. "We'll expect a down payment to begin with, an insurance on the deal entirely as we begin to conduct our business together."
"Name it." He said without hesitation. "Name your price and I'll make arrangements." Yoora seemed to smile at his eagerness right then.
"We're asking for resources that your friends have to spare, particularly we're interested in any items or goods that are of great value. Be they of magical, divine, or alchemical origin, we're willing to accept them in return for our services." Patrick looked away as he felt a huge sting in that, considering he was clearly bluffing at this point in time. Whether or not Yoora was aware of that was unknown, but it was highly important he didn't give her reason to doubt.
"That's it?" He checked in an uncertain tone of voice, his expression loosely comfortable as he struggled to maintain confidence. Yoora however merely seemed amused by that, another delicate sip out of her wine glass taken before she resumed.
"We want protection from those who are allied with your friend, as they'd most certainly use this as an opportunity to undermine us. Therefore if we're to continue working together, you're to imply that we're not allied nor existent while around your friends. As the 'emissary' between us it's crucial that you remember to protect us, otherwise we'll be forced to see fit with removing you from the picture entirely." He gulped hard at that point. These were people that he knew weren't kidding around, therefore if he couldn't follow through with these conditions they brought... then he was deeper into a world of pain he'd never be able to escape. It was far too late to go back from this point on, so he couldn't take any of it back much less afford to fail either.
"I'm sure we can work out the details on that." He agreed with a few nervous nods, Yoora's only response being the smile she gave him in return. "Should I use a specific name in question? Or?..."
"You're the emissary Patrick," She told him in turn with a gentle hand brought to grasp one of his, "it's up to you to figure it out. Be creative if you need to, but under no circumstances are you to give away our names; much less refer to us for what we are." With that said she twisted to move out of her chair, one last thing mentioned to him as she started to walk away from the table. "Remember Pat, we're watching you." He didn't dare look up to her as she continued to walk away, as he felt quite unsure as to what exactly just happened. He knew he'd just made a bargain he couldn't take back, hell he couldn't even negotiate since he wasn't on best terms with Faith at the moment. But... To think that he'd just successfully been in contact with a Kingpin, his heart sank heavily as he tried to keep his hands from shaking afterwards.
"Okay think Pat... Think about how you're going to go about this...." It was all so fast and sudden that he still felt the need to remain seated, his eyes nervously checking the rest of the bar past his shoulders as only a few more patrons drank their booze slowly. Out of the several that remained one of them.... no... two had to be a plant that watched him by now, though he hadn't any clue as to just who could be allied with who. The only thing he could legitimately guess was that there as a Zuuda in there, and an informant for the Shadow Network too no doubt. One of each and they were both watching him, seeing what it was he would do or say from this point on. Immediately it made Patrick paranoid of the fact he'd have no extra privacy, making him that much more of a danger to those he cared about.
Finally when got up he moved to the bar once more only to take out a piece of paper and quill from Daveth's office, a carefully considered note written in turn as he blew on the ink to dry it quicker. Once that note had been finished he folded it carefully until it made one neat little square, where another word was written to address it to the person in question. Faith. Sure enough when he finished another took a seat at the bar, her delicate fingers folded together as Pat looked up to meet her eyes. "Lexi."
"Hi Pat." She greeted back softly while noticing he slipped the note away to the side. "What's that?"
"Nothing." He remarked with a fast shrug before placing an empty mug over it. "Just something I need to give a friend later." As he spoke somehow the Rharnian felt his sense of confidence restored, then again it also pleased his blackened heart to see Lexi again.
"Speaking of friends you know Crowley hasn't left us alone? Says he's only trying to help, but something tells me he's worried about you more." Her words were sharp and direct, but when she looked at him her narrowed eyes softened just a little. "Should I be?"
"What?" She looked to him as though he should've known what she implied. "Worried? No! I'm..." He paused as he wasn't sure if the word was right to use. "I'm good Lex. You should look after Dax, make sure he stays out of trouble." At that implication Lexi looked to him bitterly, almost offended by what he'd just said as she sure enough stormed off without another word. Somewhere deep down he would've felt a sting at watching that, but for what it was worth seeing her walk away in that manner brought a faint smile. He didn't know if there was an actual reason or if maybe he just enjoyed it, but needless to say it led him to leave the mug alone until the last few customers finished their rounds. When he picked up the used mugs and took them back the kitchen, he then proceeded to help Daveth lock the place up with a thought spared back to his note.
When he checked back there sure enough it looked to had been removed, which hopefully meant that whoever watched him got the message. Even more hopeful, that the right person got that message in fact. Needless to say he considered that bold move a possible payoff, now all that remained was for him to receive word back from Faith if at all possible.
"Patrick", "Follower", "NPC"
