[An Inn around Egilrun] Got spades in spades

[Winston]

New Horizons!

Thread Chain

This is one of the following chain of previous threads:

• I Prefer to be Called "Evil Genius"
• [Sweetsong] Pillows can kill!
• [Isonomia HQ] Relocation plans
• [Village Hall] Shielding the cause

Migrants and Devices

Winston is the leader of Isonomia and he and Kas are traveling to Etzos.

He has also saved slaves and run campaigns to offer people a new life in Etzos, etc.

He has also been organising things with

Alex

for establishing Isonomia in the foreign land.

This thread is far from 'job done', but the people and resources being described here do have some grounding in threads already completed

It was a brave new trial and with great delight he loaded a selection of tools into the box. New horizons were no better crystalised by litterally traveling to new lands in the blink of an eye. He used the gifts Saoire gave him as sparingly as he could. Of them all however, the ability to travel great distances was one he both prizes and used greatly... But always for good causes. He knew she would soon let me know if she ever decided he was abusing it and as he tucked the final Hoe into place, its pacifistic energies causing him to grin. He decided that she would be delighted by his most recent creations.

He ran over to the door to

Chest

, that lead out into the Inn at which he had agreed to meet the Etzos expedition.

Leaping out of the construct and into the Inn, he was greeted by the Administrator of Isonomia. "Oh! 'ello

Alex

, gud tuh see yuh."

The man replied with a kurt, but friendly nod. "All packed and ready to go! The volunteers looking for relocation are also ready to go, though are a little nervous." He knew the ferret would be keen to smooth the mood of thoes coming with them. They had spent some time gathering volunteers and building the team they would use to establish the Faction in Etzos, but now they were on the literal doorstep of discovery, it was all quite exciting.

"I must say Winston, we've not had a new outpost formed since Rharne reached out to Scalvaris." He said with a proud not of appreciation towards the Ferret. "If this pans out, it's a big deal." He was of course complimenting the ferret, but he was not taking it before they'd even set foot in said new land.

"Let's nat count our chickens befar dem 'atch." He advised brightly as he checked over the final preparations.

"The representatives from Etzos arrive soon. I have the paperwork all ready and some funds for the new outpost."

The ferret nodded. "Great stoff. Me gat de prototypes ready for de Etzos." He had spent the trials leading up to their leaving working on the new devices. One Hoe, a Spade and a bucket. They were simple devices by their design, though of course of masterwork quality and all made of steal for durability and lightened for convenience. Each one, of course was charged with the Animate technique from his own Sovereign-rich blood and could, by commend, dig, till and irrigate a field without a single finger being lifted. "We will need tuh make mar once we get to Etzos, bot dat will be 'ow we introduce dem tuh de concept."

Walking together, they went out to meet with the dozen or so individuals that were joining them on their expedition. There were two representatives of Isonomia in itself that had volunteered to take on the role of forming and managing the branch over on Etzos and there were the various immigrants wishing to build a new life. They were an eclectic bunch, but no better could be a group of people to make a new home then a bread spread... Slaves, captives and poverty aside.

The room was filled with the surrusation of a bussy trial not yet even begun, packed with potential and creaking at the seams with anticipation.

Until the Diplomat and his entourage arrived, Winston spent some time socialising with the volunteers. His goal was not, in any way at all, to convince them to go. Quite the opposite. The main remit for their having been included was predicated specifically on their desire to do it in the first place. What he offered was reassurance that despite being a long way from what they know, they were not a single moment's notice from help and support. "...soh don't worry. Ef yuh need anyt'ing, we es 'ere and yuh cun cantact us via de representative any time yuh need, oh-key? His words were like a salve, washing away their doubts as they waited for their journey to begin.

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Kasoria]

"All by bags are packed, I'm going away..."

Kasoria didn't remember where heard the line. The song itself was just the faintest recollection of a handful of notes. They trotted through his mind and vanished again, leaving him none the wiser. Some tavern in Etzos? A camp on the march to Rhakros? Around the fire in the Eternal Empire? One of a dozen parties across a half-dozen nations over the last two years? They blended together and even his sharp mind couldn't keep every detail pristine. All he knew was that he'd heard it, and coming upon the scene before them-

It fits.

It was so hot the inn over the hill was actually shimmering as they approached. Heat haze making all the lines muddy and wobbly. Big Miki swiped a handkerchief the size of a towel across his head and huffed like a plow horse. He'd insisted on keeping his breastplate on. Something about finishing like they started. The rest of The Band were arrayed around their little column of scribes and clerks and nobles, gait casual, eyes quick. They'd set off before the sun rose from Scalvoris, for a long day via horse and boat and now by foot for the last part. A traipse across the fields towards where Winston said an inn awaited, and from there...

We step into a magic door and we're back home.

Outside the Great Parhn Gate, in fact.

That wasn't too hard to get his head around. He'd used portals before, back when the Dreaming World allowed such things. He knew that other mages could use Rupturing to do much the same, using their Spars to tear holes in reality, allowing them to step from one place to another. But the Cadouri had told him his Portals were... not quite so simple. Kasoria had yet to have the complicated explanation, but that answer alone had made him smile.

Leave it to an engineer, and a scientist t'boot, to make magic even more fucking inscrutable.

"I jolly well hope they have water."

"They will," Kasoria said to a sincerely sweating Manclin, dressed in his finest. Most of them were. It was a homecoming, after all. "F'not out, den inside."

"I'll need a gulper or two before we heave off."

Kasoria smiled again, black eyes twinkling briefly. Gulper. Heave off. He wondered how Manclin's nobby aristo friends would react to his new vocabulary. Two arcs seeing the world with a pack of Oh'Pee scavvies as his bodyguards? That would teach anyone a plethora of original language. A born diplomat and innate sponge for knowledge, Fagan had absorbed it all, good and bad. But now it was...

All coming to an end. The smile faded. No long journey for them to come to terms with that, either. Just the long wait from Ashan until Saun, as Idalos woke from frigid slumber, sprang into life and then baked under the suns. The trial had arrived. They would step through the door and then this strange, damned, marvelous, foreign place would be gone, and it would be shit and soot and cobbles again.

He'd seen the same looks on the faces of them all. It had been such a bloody adventure, this expedition. Made in all seriousness, of course, and they'd come close to kacking it more than once. I had been work, business, a contract like they'd all had before. But the sheer range, and depth, and vastness of their travels... scallies like them never expected to see the world. Their whole reality was within a dozen miles of their homes, if that. Even going to Foster's Landing, or even Westguard, was a monumental journey. To cross the seas, the journey across deserts and mountains... see peoples and places they'd only heard of from mummers and rare, rare books... it was not their lot. Save for those so wanted and disdained they quit Etzos forever to sell their swords abroad.

Some of The Band had actually thanked him, for this job. So they could say they had seen. Even if it was just to settle a bet with some twat in a bar.

He didn't know what to say to that.

"Ey oop..." Kas spied someone lounging outside see them trooping down the road and vanish inside. A moment later, a small party emerged, tall, hazy humans... and something smaller, and furrier. "Dere ee is."

The Etzori delegation came to a halt before the ferret-savant, and Fagan Manclin bowed low. This partnership, he was certain, would bear more fruit than any other he had made over the last two arcs. Not just the genius devices the Cadouri had made, but the ability and license to recreate them. His gutted, underpopulated home would be able to make up the labor difference their demands had set. An outpost, a charter, some assurances of cooperation... it was all a piffling trifle compared to the benefits.

"Fine day for a long trip!" He said with a smile that was almost boyish on his lean face. Two arcs ago, it would have been. "Or rather, a short one, if all you tell us is true..."

Kasoria looked down at the Cadouri and nodded, mouth curled into a half-smile. He let his betters talk for a moment, sweeping his hawk-like eyes over the inn. Seeking anything unusual or untoward. Very bad form, he'd decided that morning, to get fucking killed a hundred paces from his homeland.

[Winston]

Inventor, Leader and Business-ferret!

In the hot tavern, within the city of Scalvoris, thanks to the efforts of one tiny ferret Cadouri the laws of physics were more like polite suggestions and common sense was about as common as a teetotal Rhanian, one Winston Miller shone brightly at the arrival of his comrades.

Now, Scalvoris was the kind of place where you might find a Immortal running a fish and chips shop or a fairy teaching ballet, so a ferret alchemist wasn't particularly out of the ordinary these trial. What was out of the ordinary, however, was this ferret's unique talent for taking magic - already a discipline about as straightforward as a corkscrew in a labyrinth - and making it so convoluted that it gave even the most learned wizards a headache.

On this particular trial, Winston had decided to "simplify" a spell for animating his tools. The fact that he chose to do this by involving seventeen types of cheese, a slightly damp sock, and the left whisker of a cat who had seen a ghost was, for the alchemist, perfectly logical.

After all, it was just another trial in the life of Winston Miller and the citizens had learned long ago that when it came to this particular ferret, expecting the unexpected was like expecting water to be wet - it was simply the natural order of things.

"Sir Manny! Masta Kassie Sir!" He proclaimed with a cheeky grin, quite sure his read of Kasoria was both correct and in affirmation that such a nickname would likely not be something he would be fond of, but not something he'd kill the Cadouri over... Yet. Whatever the prospects for the ferret's future, the words were delivered with an interesting and complex cocktail of genuine respect and playful mirth. The ferret was very excited. "Welcum tuh de Unix Hall!

Drinks are ah de 'ouse tuhday

." The ferret owned the Hall in which they found themselves, but every drink was being paid for by him for the time being. The Inn would not be out of pocket and neither would his delegation.

He nodded in reply to the diplomat's assessment of the trial. "Oh yes. De best kind af trial far a trip. May Cassion be wid os." He said with an excitable grin and a hop from one foot to the other. "Oh, a walk acrass the realm cun be shart an' a step across a stream cun be lang... Et all depends an 'ow distant yuh feel wen yuh get dere. An' me NEVER been tuh Etzan befar." He beamed brightly. "Soh a new place es always a lang way tuh goh." He gestured towards the bar as tray containing several drinks came floating out towards a few of the patrons.

One of the many things the ferret had created recently was a floating tray for serving patrons. It was a simple item, no different from the shovels and buckets he had made for Etzos, only these ones were hard as Embersteel and shaped underneath (for anyone familiar with the design of such things and an eye likely to notice) the shape of a shield. On command of the user, they could defend people in a bar fight, which, quite frankly, were more common then the ferret would like. He'd spent several trials working the alchemy into them and the intricately embossed pattern of his circular magic could still be seen emblazoned across its surface.

It was rainbow coloured and left a discrete, but noticeable, glitter trail whereever it went, which vanished as it evaporated into the air

.

The ferret had a knack of connecting with people. That connection didn't always work out, was not always even friendly, but it was usually there. On this (and most other) occasions, it was invested in ensuring that there were no 'superiors'. Winston recognised many people as senior... but very rarely 'superior' and he waved at the bodyguard happily as he scanned the area for signs of trouble.

Surrounding them was a range of people, all looking eagar, all enjoying a drink and all readying to leave. There were bags, create, supplies and everyone was chatting amongst themselves harmlessly enough.

"Please, let me introduce yuh tuh some af de peepal comin' wid os tuh Etzos..."

Without further ado, he gestured for them to follow, always include Kas and his crew in the invitation, whether it was really his intention to remain 'invisible' or not. "Dese are de people lookin' far new 'omes a new start. Dem are all skilled in different tings an' very eagar tuh get started wid yuh farms and trades. Dem 'ave all been trained in 'ow tuh command de tools far yuh." In truth, it took no training as such, but those that could focus their minds with a little meditation might manage to control more of them at once.

Continuing into the bar, where they would make their departure, he gestured towards two gentlemen, both dressed more formally then the other migrants. "Dis es

Alex

, Isonomia's Administrator. Yuh may already 'ave met? And dis es

Mr Flanders

, 'oo will be stashuned at Etzos at our new Isonomia outpost as et's administrata."

Both the men bowed, showing due respect to the diplomat. "Greetings. Please, call me Lime. I'm looking forward to working with you very closely in Etzos." Said the lanky man destined to run the outpost in their hometown. He was making an effort to hide his nerves, but those with an astute eye might see them come through in his manner nonetheless. "I took the liberty of arranging a few local delicacies be delivered with us, for you to take home with you." He gestured towards a few creates,

containing top rung culinary samples for the diplomat to enjoy

.

Winston grinned, approving greatly of the gifting before looking at Alex for a moment with a curious expression. "Es everyone ready?"

The man nodded. "Yes, Sir, everyone is prepared as soon as our guests have refreshed themselves."

The ferret's expression made it clear that the use of the word 'sir' was something he'd been trying to work out of his assistant, but in present company, the man was clearly sticking to his guns. It didn't annoy him, he was very fond of the man and his respect, but he was always in favour of a casual affair and refused to see himself in the light of a person 'above' the rest. Nonetheless, he smiled and nodded. "Great!"

If they did, Winston took a moment while the diplomats, Etzosian and Sclavarian, got to know one another a little and scuttled over to the mage, Kas. "Sup." He said, in an unassuming and friendly way. "Me can't tell yuh 'ow excited me es tuh start learning fram yuh. Me gat all de stoff me need tuh get started. Any time. Any place. Yuh say jomp. Me jomp." Winston will have explained before now, very briefly, what was involved in unlocking his magic. It was sparkless, needed a Well and some chanting (apparently). He assured the mage that he could handle that bit, if the mage could help with the actual magical skill.

"Yuh still share yuh don't want some aumor ar sometin', Masta?" He glanced, appraisingly at what the mage was currently wearing, one eyebrow raised slightly. "Me shar me cud jost 'opgrade' yuh outfit a littal ef yuh liked?" His tone was somewhere between pleading and curious, but was entirely eager to please.

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Kasoria]

Kasoria's eye twitched slightly at the reference to Cassion, but he let the shimmer of annoyance drift on without it gaining purchase on him. He reminded himself how far rom home he was, how different things were here... and Fates, it wasn't like recent events hadn't reminded him of that. For a brief moment his mind was thrown back to Scalvoris, the meeting with the Albarech, that stupid girl and her mutant cunt of a mother, Maxine and his lads...

How bad things could have gone... and they were already fucking bad by the time it was ended.

He inhaled quickly through his nose and the hiss of rushing air seemed to banish the thoughts. He'd had tentrials to get over that, and he wouldn't allow it to mar his spirits anymore. A whole constellation of servants and mechanics and assistants and clerks and travelers were orbiting around him now, circling and swimming past him and his men like minnows around sharks. The Cadouri was already jabbering away, doing ten things at once, putting his people at ease and to work in equal measure, getting booze and drink sorted, introducing people, mostly to Manclin who returned the favor with smooth, practiced highborn ease...

Kasoria let himself fall into the background, as it were. Without needing to be told, the rest of The Band had rippled away from the two mingling groups, moving to he outskirts of them all. Keeping their eyes on doors and windows and on unfamiliar, unheralded faces. Kasoria nodded minutely to himself, happy with their initiative. They were, after all, protection for the delegation. Not there for decoration or to make-

'Hmm?"

Shite, it's talking to you.

Now Kasoria actually winced. Him. He. He is talking. He couldn't risk that slipping out at the wrong fucking moment and turning this wondrous, limitlessly useful asset of brain and fur into a potential enemy. But it still took a moment for him to realize a voice was twittering up at him. He looked down and into the soft brown eyes of the inventor, broad smile on his face, guileless as a kitten.

"... 'jomp'?" He frowned deep enough for the action to almost be a threat, before his eyebrows shot back up as his brain kicked in. Finally. "Oh! Ah... jump? Jump to it. Aye. Wiv' the trainin', yeh? Sorry, didnae... ah, follow yeh, for a trill."

Aye, because your accent is perfectly fucking transparent.

The Etzori looked down at his clothes as the Cadouri gestured, as if seeing his ensemble for the first time. Armor had never been something he'd needed, beyond the chainmail vest he habitually wore. Unlike Miki, who wore his bronze breastplate like a gleaming announcement of what he was, Kasoria always relied on the shadows. He wanted his business private, and his protection out of sight. He'd always moved better without the inhibition of metal slapped all over him, too. But the Cadouri's mention of something to "opgrade" (whatever that meant), was intriguing to him.

Maxine's voice came back to him again. Unbidden but undeniable, as it was and would always be. Chasing an advantage, old man? Another weapon for your arsenal? Swords and magic and deals and enchanted items... like a bloody-billed magpie making a nest. He took a sip from the stout placed in front of him; the owners of the inn were efficient in putting Winstons' wishes to order. Food and drink was flowing and the two groups mingled, got to know each other...

Time to eat before we leave. No rush.

"We talked a wee bit 'bout Sovereign in dat bookstore, but dat wuz jus' the basics. We'll go into the lessons, the trial-to-trial learnin', once we get home." He gave a small smile tha was bereft of the usual, expected ferocity. "My home, dat is. An' as far as an... upgrade goes, never been much fer armor. Slows me down. Lights me up." He barked a laugh, sharp and loud enough to make Manclin look up sharply. Then he saw the Raggedy Man was behaving himself and went back to his earnest discussion with Alex and Mister Flanders. "Suppose ain't gotta need t'think like dat now. So riddled wi' mutations, fuckin' blind man could see me comin'."

He took another sip. Looked he Cadouri over. Aye. Intriguing.

"Wodya have in mind?"

[Winston]

Let me twist your arm... FIGURATIVELY SPEAKING! Please-don't-kill-meh!

Winston was not a great politician. It might be that while in the throws of hosting an event, or meeting people for the first time, or even convincing people that were mortal enemies only moments prior to have children together that the great and powerful grease he could add to the wheels to move mountains would make him the perfect candidate... The truth was though, he was subject to a complete lack of deceptional, clandestined motivational maneuvering. As such, if he was told a lemon will be green, the lemon is green.

As such, when he asked the question that came next, the diplomat's words would shape the ferret's perception of Etzos and its people that he would hold as true without doubt... "Soh. Es dere any advice you 'ave far me ova dere? En Etzos? Anythin' me need tuh be aware af?" The nature of how open this left him to the steering of a skilled diplomat very firmly in the centre of what they were best at was lost on the ferret, even if it was not lost on everyone else.

As they spoke, food came and the atmosphere, despite his lack of prowess in the political forum, was kept up-beat and full of anticipation.

When the mage (the ferret's newly found and already revered master) said the word 'jump' the ferret smiled and jumped. It was obvious to the ferret that this was either a test or some misunderstanding... but he was taking no chances and refused to fail such a simple test so early in the process.

He nodded in reference to starting lessons once back in Etzos, he was clearly eagar, but didn't for a moment second-guess the man's decision on the matter. "Raja dat bass!" He said with a playful salute. "Me es lookin' farward tuh seein' yuh 'ome. Yuh mot be keen tuh return." He offered, reading the fondness with which he spoke of the place from his manner.

Then things changed as the deminor of the ferret transformed. There was a cloud that fell over him as Kas asked what he had in mind. It was something so obvious and stark to the mage mid conversation with the Cadouri, it might seem stark. His manor took on one of abject mischief, just for a moment, almost impish as he grinned. "Heavy? Slow? Abviouse? Hehe." He leaned in towards the bodyguard and for a moment spoke to the Raggedy Man (whether the ferret knew the title or not) with a quiet challenge in his tone. "Yuh never seen ferret-armour en akshon 'ave yuh?" The cadouri had a talent for managing his relationships, even with a single person, salesman, friend, business partner, it might always seem clear which one he was playing in a conversation and right now, it was show-man promoting his wears... with perhaps a pinch of a game at foot.

Without further ado, he stepped backwards. The mage could follow him easily, but as he dropped from his chair unassumingly,

he placed something into the pocket of his brightly coloured jacket

and were it not for the fact he had watched him do it, the ferret might well have become invisible as he scurried off into the room. It might be that the mage could follow him, perhaps he had 'tricks' that would help him, but it was not from him the ferret was hiding anyway.

With silent glee, the ghostlike Cadouri moved towards the diplomat... Was Winston playing with fire? Would the bodyguard (whom he was not showing off to, he was showing off to the Raggedy Man) take exception to the invasion of this privacy? Would he consider the fact the ferret was approaching the Bodygard's ward unseen to do god knows what an unacceptable challenge? All of these things MIGHT have ran through the mind of a less whimsical individual, but to Winston, it did not occur at all that such a game would be anything but entertaining for all involved.

Creeping up to the diplomat, he took a clothes peg and with exacting care, choose his moment deliberately. Waiting for Fagan to adjust his stance for some unrelated reason or to move off, he attached the peg to his belt with a little hop from under a table, before vanishing once again into the unseen. It might be that the ferret's agility and aptitude for hiding made up for his rudimentary skills as a thief, but whatever the case, 'the target' went on none the wiser.

A short time later, the ferret literally appeared beside the Mage with an expression that the very definition of smug could use in the dictionary to paint a picture of what it looked like.

He tapped his suit

with one eyebrow raised. "'ard as steal. Flexible as Cloth. Light as a feather. An' cun be silent and gives af no scent tuh be tracked... Pffft... Ef yuh slow en DIS aumor, den yuh jost slooow." He chided playfully as they watched someone politely point at the peg as the Diplomatic party moved around the room, doing their work. If the the 'victim' looked their way, they would be met with an innocent grin.

Assuming the mage didn't kill him for assaulting his ward, the ferret concluded. "Me cun do dat tuh a cloak far yuh, tuh cover yuh whole head an', uh, oddities. Are de clothes yuh are wearing right naw. Tink an et. Winstaaan's Works are always open."

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Kasoria]

Kasoria was not, as should come to a great surprise to many, much of a prankster. Not merely because he was enmeshed in a dour and pitiless profession. There were many men who walked the same path who could play a jape. In point of fact, joking was not unknown to him. Dry jests were something The Band knew him for, even if they unnerved him with their grisly timing. But pranks were different. They required more moving parts, mechanical knowledge as it were, and a mummer's sense of stage timing.

It was no surprise to him, then, that the engineer would be fond of them.

He just shrugged as the Cadouri asked permission, settling for sipping his ale while he watched him... and then was not watching him. The tankard froze haflway to his face as the clear, furry form went transparent in a moment, becoming a mere outline that juxtaposed against anything behind it like spiderwebs blowing through the air. But if he moved swift and sure, Kasoria could barely see him at all.

Barely. But not invisibly. Old as he was, Kasoria was proud of that.

"Where'd the wee one go?"

Kasoria just nodded his head at the flitting form across the room, ignoring Raand's frown as he following his gaze. The big bald man eventually just shrugged and ordered another ale. Giving his Highmark a quick update on where they were with the luggage, the men, the delegation... and distracted as he was, Kasoria could catch The Drift. They were all impatient. They hadn't seen home in two arcs, and even those with no kin left alive there were eager to get back. Everything was ready and packed and loaded and they saw no reason to wait any longer. The Scalvorian part of the equation was, frankly, not on the list.

Aye, well, we ain't in a position to give orders. Yet.

"Ain't lookin' t'rush 'em, Kas, but c'mon, we been-FUCK ME!"

Raand nearly jumped from his chair as the Cadouri just appeared, without so much as a puff of smoke, right next to Kasoria. The Raggedy Man didn't react beyond a sidelong glance and a slow sip of his beer. Too busy enjoying the sight of an increasingly confused Manclin wondering why people were whispering around him.

"A'right. I'll admit. S'pretty handy."

"What is??"

"Dat suit he's wearin'. Let's 'im go invisible-like, an' s'hard as steel. So 'ee says, anyway."

Raand looked skeptical, but he supposed it was mage shite that was beyond him. He liked to keep his life mor mundane; let Kas and the girl handle the... damn. His face fell for a moment and he turned away from his partners at the table. No... not in their little group anymore. Fates, he hated having to remind himself. Kasoria scratched under his chin and appraised the objectively gaudy suit the ferret was decked out in. Hardly his style, but color and fabric was hardly an issue with this kind of thing, he knew. You worked with the materials available, and requested. So if it was instead, say, a simple tunic and a cloak...?

"How much'd that cost a man, d'yeh think?"

"Kas, old boy... do I have something on my face? People have been... staring."

"Nah, mate," Kasoria said with perfect honesty as M

[Winston]

Owe me a favour?

In a world so driven by war, greed and strife, there must always be time for a little joy, or what was the point? As such, the response from Raand made the ferret grin in a kind and entertained fashion. He was indeed much in favour of a good prank, an attribute practically essential to someone that spent so long in the presence of Fairies, but oblivious to the suitability of such a thing at a diplomatic meeting such as this.

"Yup." He agreed plainly. it was a ting that on more than one occasion had very genuinely saved his life.

The ferret was half expecting the bodyguard to test the suit's claims any moment, but given he was on his 'best behaviour', he decided he was safe.

Winston sucked air in through his teeth when the topic of cost arose. He never used to be any good at this kind of thing. Value was in the eye of the beholder and for a ferret that liked shiny things, he had a habit of underselling his talents... Recently though, he'd grown more adept at it, honing his ability to focus on what he wanted vs. what his talents were actually worth. He had very little interest in Nel. It was a means to and end and so for this reason, he had acrewd a generous wealth of the stuff, but some things, like magic, skills or just help... These were often not something you could by with money. "Dere are a great many ways tuh pay far a ting. Such a garment dat me cud make yuh might be a once en a lifetime artical. Cud set yuh back de price af a small boat." His words were plain and simple, to the point and devoid of pride or boastfulness. Whether the man believed the ferret or not, Winston was beginning to wonder if there was an alchemist on Idalos that could rival his wares these trials and so the truth backed his cause no doubt. "Me usually es very 'appy tuh take payment en Magic, Wells are, in de case af soch a talented badygaurd as yuhself, services?" There was a glint in his eye. He had turned from gathering shinies, to nel and then wells... but most recently, he'd turned to persuasively collecting people. Useful people. "Ef yuh wud be soh kind as tuh take a jab far me some trial. Make share me ge somewhere safe, per'aps. Ar maybe get me out?" It was a gamble. What was to stop the man taking the offer then disappearing forever..? Winston hand a hunch this particular individual was both worth the gamble and unlikely to want to enter into a 'debt-based' arrangement anyway.

He would be happy with the coin if that was the shadowy man's preference, or an errant Well if he had any to spare. "Tink an et. Noh worries." He added finally as the diplomat approached with a slightly bemused look on his face.

The ferret grinned, content in the knowledge he'd be sneaking around in a little while to remove the pag soon enough.

"'ow goes et den?" The diplomat had offered no special warnings with regard to their visit and the ferret was eager to see his new companion's home. "'ere..." He said, picking up the handle of a full-size shovel he could not possibly hope to wield by himself. "...fallow 'im." He said plainly to the spade as he let a little ethar into the device to activate it.

Without a moment's hesitation, the shovel floated up off the floor and began to hover beside the diplomat. "Take et... Yuh cun give et new commands once yuh activate et as lang as it's within a few feet af yuh." He beamed, happy to have been able to fulfil his initially very lofty claims. "Jost rememba nat tuh use dem far violence, please."

He reminded the diplomat, with a polite, but for those paying attention, genuine warning

. "Me only made dis one far naw, bot once we get tuh yuh 'ome, me will be makin' a bonch mar." He beamed as he gestured towards a door on the far side of the room. "Shall we?"

Spoiler

Winston can use spirit domains in

his alchemy

and so is triggering the things described above by detecting the domain of pain.

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Kasoria]

Kasoria smiled as the ferret made his pitch, mainly because that was exactly what it was. It was easy to forget the Cadouri had a healthy dose of cunning to him, what with his endless curiosity and bouncy, squeaky, intensity in whatever his mind latched onto in the moment. He was very much the mummer's form of an addled and hare-brained genius, forever thinking grand ideas and never remembering the realities of the world around him. But the fact he knew the value of favors, of information, of keeping a debt in his pocket rather than just taking the coin and being done with it.

That told Kasoria the little creature knew how valuable such things were. You didn't act like that if you were some air-in-the-clouds fool. The mention of his services got a wry raised eyebrow from the black-eyed man. My, did the ferret have some dark designs he wished executed, perhaps literally? Or was Kasoria's favor in his homeland more worthwhile? Either way, it came down to the same old question-

Are the goods worth the price?

He flicked a gaze up and down the clothes the ferret wore and decided it probably was. The mail vest he wore didn't inhibit him, but replacing it with... well, clothes would make things even easier for him. He sipped his drink and nodded contemplatively, careful to appear considerate but not definitive.

"Aye, dere's likely a way 'work dat out, I'd say. We gedd'ome an' settled, we'll 'ash it out proper, aye?" His eyes turned hard just as he saw the flicker of success in the Cadouri's eyes. That was the one downside to such human intelligence at work in the black, glassy eyes of an animal: it made it far easier to read them. "But I decide the favor, f'dat's what we decide. Nay deal we make'll match nor be greater'n my duty t'me home. Remember dat."

There was enough of a timbre in his voice to lightly coat the words with warning, but no more than that. He let the Cadouri go back to his devices, showing Manclin some wonderful spade that was... autonomous, by the looks of it. Kasoria shook his head yet again. The ferret had a boundless capacity to make wonders from the mundane; his homeland would find need for that. As Fagan asked questions and the Cadouri explained his works, Raand drained his glass and spoke lowly.

"Wada we gunna do at home, Kas?"

"Ain't got family still dere?"

"Got me sister, aye, but dat ain't what I meant, an' yeh know it."

Kasoria inhaled sharply but didn't reply. That was a question he'd been mulling over himself. The Band had been contracted for the duration of their journey around Idalos. Now that was mere breaks from ending. Once they were back in Etzos, contract completed, terms met, of you go and don't spend it all in one place. But something had changed on this grand, arcs-long tour. They didn't feel like a group of sellswords thrown together for a job then broken apart again once it was over. They'd all had that experience before; this wasn't the same. Even the most cynical of them could feel it, if not accept or agree with the sensation. Embers of that camaraderie from Rhakros, from the march, the underground war against Sintra... those times of horror and dubious glory that bound them to each other, no matter their arguments and grousing and brawling... they'd come back to the fore.

Kasoria felt it too. Felt it and thought about it, because while he appreciated the sentiment, he valued the asset just as much.

Four bloody-minded bastards who'll follow you anywhere, follow your orders, look to you as commander. There's much work to be done at home. More than just one old man can handle. Why throw away your own band of killers now, on the cusp of returning?

"We'll talk about dat once we're 'ome," he said finally, trying ti make it sound like it was a decision he'd made long before, and he was now relaying to under men. "Once the nob an' the new 'uns are settled." He frowned for a moment, mug halfway to his lips. "Dint you 'ave a brother, too?"

Raand snorted and spat. "Aye, but fuck him."

"Shall we?"

Winston's words found Kasoria's chortling softly into his beer. He rose and seemed to grow with the gesture. Raand did the same a moment later, the deference to authority unmistakable. They swept their eyes around the room, taking in locals and Scalv migrants and their own people all at once. Kasoria finished his drink and placed it upside down on the table. No more, down to business, as was the Etzori custom.

"I'll go wi' dem. Get our people gathered, his too. Dun' mind indulgin' the wee stoat, but we ain't waitin' forever. Not dis close t'home."

"Any idea what dis portal'll be like?"

Kasoria pursed his lips. Thinking back on the Dreamscape and its endless doors. The Rupturing portal he'd traveled to Storm's Edge in. Those tunnels of magic and living dream that stretched the soul and body to infinity and crushed it to an atom and vomited them both back up into a new place. Then he shrugged.

"It wun' kill us. All I got fer yeh."

"Very helpful."

"I do try," Kasoria said with a half-smile, before following Fagan as he in turn followed the Cadouri outside.

[Winston]

A bit like being pushed through a colander... sideways...

The Cadouri eyed the man innocently as he watched him consider the offer, trying (and perhaps failing) to hide his attempt to weigh the mage's interest beneath a cloak of amiability. It was an advantage sometimes, being considered inconsequential and harmless. An advantage he was more than happy to exploit at his own discretion, though he doubted the keen-witted bodyguard was much fooled as he made his reply... and warning.

The ferret nodded happily, waving a hand at the suggestion that there was any attempt to exploit the man for more than he'd wish to offer. "Most excellent, yus! An' don't worry. Et's nat a blood aoth. Me nat tricking people intuh things dem would never want tuh do. Whatever me ask far would af cars be sometin' no mar den yuh wud narmally 'ave simply charged coin far." He winked in a cheeky fashion as if to suggest the warrior could trust in a ferret. "Noh prablem, mun. We'll get yuh mesured op en noh time, oh-key?"

As the band of hired hands spoke amongst themselves, Winston mostly made about his own business, making no effort to listen in on their conversation.

When the man asked about the experience in the portal, the ferret chuckled at Kasoria's response. "Hehe, don't worry mun. Et's jost like walkin' trough a dar..." He said as he turned to approach the door... "If de dar wus a collindar an' yuh was a length of spaghetti passing trough one af et's 'oles." There was no doubt in the ferret's tone that he was jovally teasing the man with no serious intent at all as he chuckled and hopped up onto a table.

"Cun me 'ave everyone's attenshun please!"

He shouted, the sound resonating around the room considerably more clearly than one would have given the tiny ferret credit to have been able to achieve

.

The room fell silent as all attention was drawn to the charismatic creature. "Et's time tuh goh peepal!" He begun, raising his hands in a gesture that suggested it was reason to celebrate. "Please come trough swiftly an' en single file. Once yuh an de odda side, please don't stap an' simply move aside tuh allow oddas tuh fullow. Once we are all through, me will check everyone es gud befar we enter de city. Please defer tuh our gud friend Mr Manclin Sir far any mattas directly relatin' tus Etzas etself are tuh Mr Flanders Sir for any Isonomia mattas." Having laid out the plan and lines of communication, he agve a cheerful nod.

With that, he turned and gave a chipper call to all to follow. "Away we go!"

Placing a hand on the door, he nocked twice and then opened the door with the help of a stool placed beside its doorknob.

Behind the door, rather than a store closet, was the City of Etzos

, standing tribute to its walls and the will of its people, in its far away lands... just within reach. "Jost a hap an' a skip away!.. An' maby a few sivs..." He added as he passed through the gateway with but a moment's glance at Kas' men for fun.

All template credit, love and admiration goes to Kisaik

[Kasoria]

"He's jokin', right?"

"Little late t'ask now, mate."

There was a roll of filthy laughter from his side and Raand shot Vaul a dirty look.

"Dunno what yer so fuckin' happy 'bout. You gotta go in, too."

Vaul considered this for a moment, then cut off another mouthful of cheese from the hunk in his hand. "Highmark's goin' through. F'ee didnae think we could, he wouldane let us."

That was annoyingly fair, and Raand was left with little to to but silently fume. He looked around at the gaggle crowding around them now. Accents ranging from Scalv to Etzori to some he'd only heard in passing susurrated around them all. He could feel the tension reaching a breaking point, the solid knowing that the lethargy of waiting was about to be cast away. Then the Cadouri hopped up on a stool, rapped on the door, and-

"Fuck me..."

Scalvoris was decidedly not on the other side of it. What was there, shadowy and silhouetted, was the city they'd all be born in. The Band and the nobles and the scribes and all of them clutched to their belongings, their weapons, their hearts. They were going home. To that dirty damned bitch they hated and loved in equal measure. So enrapt were they that even Winston's last cheeky barb didn't get much beyond a snort from Miki. Then he was gone, stepping through with a brief shimmer of ether, like he'd walked through a mirror made of water.

Manclin stepped forward, as their leader. Kasoria was next to him, as his guardian. And as that, he put a hand on the younger man's shoulder. Manclin looked around and saw a hardness in the Raggedy Man's eyes. This was his last duty, or second to last, and he wasn't about to slacken now.

"First me, den youse. Just in case."

Manclin turned back to the portal, as if his Spark-less vision could pierce it and see some deception or danger. But, of course, he could not. This was no different than Kasoria leading the way through a motley crowd or a dangerous wildland. He went first, because he was more expendable, and better equipped to deal with trouble. He thought for a moment this might be beyond Kasoria, but then again...

After all you've seen, few things are.

"Yes. Quite right."

But the older man squeezed. Face lit by the light of magic and the specter of their homeland. A fierce, hidden joy that he'd buried for arcs finally coming to the surface, now shared with one who would appreciate.

"Be home soon," he said with the ghost of a smile, then turned and walked through the portal."

Continued here