Things were proceeding smoothly. So smoothly, in fact, that the Twelve should ordain something go horribly wrong within the next few moons.
The flame of the candles flickered in Nero's cabin, and several maps were sprawled out on his table. One was a map of the Rhotano Sea and the Strait of Merlthor. The other was a map of Vylbrand, and the last was a map of Ul'dah. He took a sip from a nearby bottle of brandy, grunting as the warm liquor spread through his body.
Since Natalie had effectively chased him out of Thanalan, to say that he was expanding his operations aggressively would be to say that Ishgard was mildly devoted to fighting the dragons. His operation was beginning to grow too large for him to manage on his own; several times a day Nero found himself having to swap linkpearls in order to receive updates and information, and sooner or later the amount of assets registered under his dummy company would begin to receive attention from the authorities. Nero was an adherent to the belief that the way to get things right was for him to do it himself, and yet there was simply too much going on at once that demanded his attention.
The longer he spent outside of Ul'dah, the more his plans there had a chance of failing. Scythe had agreed, in exchange for the Limsan weapons, to adhere to Nero's timetable for now, but the gangster was an unstable element. Nero also had to expect that he would not necessarily be safe in Limsa as well; his strikes against the Thanalan merchant ships continued, even if the Second Forte was almost never directly involved anymore, and Merlwyb was allegedly being pressured by Raubahn to keep the pirates under control, which would draw the Maelstrom into the situation.
The smuggler examined the maps again. There were many, many factors to account for. Merlwyb would probably react as she always did: an iron fist and cannonfire. If the situation deteriorated enough, she may end up sending the Maelstrom against the Bloody Executioners and the other free pirates of the city. Such a conflict would put Nero's plans to an immediate halt, as he was relying on the free pirates to make the raids for him, not to mention that the Forte might also be involved by virtue of technically being one of said free pirates.
And what of the Monetarists? They were shrewd enough with their gil that someone, multiple people, would be sent to Vylbrand to investigate who was beginning to choke out their sea trade, as the ports from Vesper Bay and Crescent Cove accounted for nearly a third of Ul'dah's trade. The Monetarists themselves cared for naught but the loss in gil. What mattered was who they would send. If it was simply one of their thugs, then Limsa Lominsa would chew them up and spit them out, as it usually did.Â
Assassins? Unlikely, not unless the Syndicate knew who their targets were. Adventurers? Improbable; adventurers typically didn't interfere with the political happenings. The Sultansworn? A very distinct possibility. Nero was now convinced that they were firmly under the Syndicate's thumb; they might provide lip service to the Sultana, but the fact that Nanamo ul Namo held no real power obviously gave way to the Syndicate's authority. Though, Nero had to admit that "Syndicatesworn" didn't roll off the tongue quite as well.
The Hyur sighed as he rubbed his forehead. He may have to deal with a cadre of knights storming into Limsa Lominsa, assuming he didn't need a bodyguard to deal with potential assassins.
There were so many elements to account for. The Maelstrom, the Flames, the Sultansworn, the free pirates, the Brass Blades, the gangs, the bandits, the merchants, Merlwyb, Raubahn...
Now Nero had a headache.
The flame of the candles flickered in Nero's cabin, and several maps were sprawled out on his table. One was a map of the Rhotano Sea and the Strait of Merlthor. The other was a map of Vylbrand, and the last was a map of Ul'dah. He took a sip from a nearby bottle of brandy, grunting as the warm liquor spread through his body.
Since Natalie had effectively chased him out of Thanalan, to say that he was expanding his operations aggressively would be to say that Ishgard was mildly devoted to fighting the dragons. His operation was beginning to grow too large for him to manage on his own; several times a day Nero found himself having to swap linkpearls in order to receive updates and information, and sooner or later the amount of assets registered under his dummy company would begin to receive attention from the authorities. Nero was an adherent to the belief that the way to get things right was for him to do it himself, and yet there was simply too much going on at once that demanded his attention.
The longer he spent outside of Ul'dah, the more his plans there had a chance of failing. Scythe had agreed, in exchange for the Limsan weapons, to adhere to Nero's timetable for now, but the gangster was an unstable element. Nero also had to expect that he would not necessarily be safe in Limsa as well; his strikes against the Thanalan merchant ships continued, even if the Second Forte was almost never directly involved anymore, and Merlwyb was allegedly being pressured by Raubahn to keep the pirates under control, which would draw the Maelstrom into the situation.
The smuggler examined the maps again. There were many, many factors to account for. Merlwyb would probably react as she always did: an iron fist and cannonfire. If the situation deteriorated enough, she may end up sending the Maelstrom against the Bloody Executioners and the other free pirates of the city. Such a conflict would put Nero's plans to an immediate halt, as he was relying on the free pirates to make the raids for him, not to mention that the Forte might also be involved by virtue of technically being one of said free pirates.
And what of the Monetarists? They were shrewd enough with their gil that someone, multiple people, would be sent to Vylbrand to investigate who was beginning to choke out their sea trade, as the ports from Vesper Bay and Crescent Cove accounted for nearly a third of Ul'dah's trade. The Monetarists themselves cared for naught but the loss in gil. What mattered was who they would send. If it was simply one of their thugs, then Limsa Lominsa would chew them up and spit them out, as it usually did.Â
Assassins? Unlikely, not unless the Syndicate knew who their targets were. Adventurers? Improbable; adventurers typically didn't interfere with the political happenings. The Sultansworn? A very distinct possibility. Nero was now convinced that they were firmly under the Syndicate's thumb; they might provide lip service to the Sultana, but the fact that Nanamo ul Namo held no real power obviously gave way to the Syndicate's authority. Though, Nero had to admit that "Syndicatesworn" didn't roll off the tongue quite as well.
The Hyur sighed as he rubbed his forehead. He may have to deal with a cadre of knights storming into Limsa Lominsa, assuming he didn't need a bodyguard to deal with potential assassins.
There were so many elements to account for. The Maelstrom, the Flames, the Sultansworn, the free pirates, the Brass Blades, the gangs, the bandits, the merchants, Merlwyb, Raubahn...
Now Nero had a headache.
