(( Beware the wall of text below. And curse me for my thoroughness and unwillingness to summarize good dialogue! ))
The sun had long since set and the party at the Bismark was beginning to die down as people slowly trickled off to their homes or other business ventures. Coatleque had said her own goodbyes a few moments before. Earlier than her still was seen Verad Belleveil doing the same. They had spoken only briefly - in such social interactions, she was more wont to do the listening - but this was not the place to discuss business matters. Drinks were agreed upon before she would have to flee the city to return to Thanalan. Even now, moons since the incident at Moraby, she was not entirely welcome in La Noscea.
Entering the Drowned Wench, she spotted her quarry sitting alone at a table across the way. She made her way towards him but not before scanning the tavern for any Jackets in uniform. At this point being perfectly paranoid of potential premium placed upon her head, she could take no chances. Taking the empty chair across from him at the table, she smoothed her dress and folded her hands in front. He had seemed to contend himself, in the mean time, with a rather foul-looking mug of grog and was quietly muttering to himself.
"It's almost no fun to drink here, you know. They have no 'worst drink'."
"Master Bellveil. You could opt for something less than wost once in a while." She interrupted his thought.
"Ser Crofte! But I do! After I've had the worst. The best is much better that way."
"That... does make sense." She replied as she found herself seriously considering his method.
"I do make it from time to time. I take it this has naught to do with the coupon?"
He spoke of a certain coupon she still carried which was issued and endorsed by Dubious Distributions for a full one quarter off of the price of a good or service. Earlier that evening it was made known that the palace carpets had incurred a few new stains due to the mishandling of a leve. Dubious Distributions had taken up responsibility to clean said stains and Coatleque intended to use her coupon on behalf of the city-state.
"You are correct, however. I am not here about your cleaning bill. I have heard you make sense before. Such as your rather heated views on Ul'dahn politics."
She spoke, of course, about a certain poker game they were both present for at the Mandercrown Manse. Things did not end quite as expected that night. Both left the estate knowing far more about each other than they had any right to. Once the assembled had their tongues losened with wine, however, Mister Bellveil could not help but state to all exactly what he thought of their current involvements with each other.
"You've certainly heard enough on that point, I'm sure."
"Nearly every day for the past cycle at least.", she replied curtly.
"Huh! Well, I haven't spoken to you on the matter, so I am puzzled as to how you've heard that."
She tilted her head slightly before realizing her own ambiguousness.
"Oh, I meant politics in general that I hear about. You, on the other hand, were rather loud at Mandercrown's Manse."
"A matter I continue to not regret, for a variety of different reasons. And a stance I still hold."
"Such is your prerogative. I thought perhaps I would give you the opportunity to question me privately over the matter. Perhaps I can offer you a chance to affect the situation more directly."
There was a pause as the Duskwight gazed at her over his mug of bitter sadness.
"Mayhaps I will take that, if only to satisfy my own curiosity on the matter. What, pray, are you allowing me to ask?"
Her expression turned slightly amused at his priety over the matter.
"You may ask whatever you wish. I may chose whether to answer of course."
Coatleque was not prone to monologuing her entire dealings within the Sultansworn, and especially not with her external contacts. There was a fine rope she tread between either side and keeping her balance was tantamount to ensuring proper justice. Lately this balance was shifting further from her to a darker end she was not comfortable with. Tonight she aimed to rectify this however possible. Verad watched her as he considered the sanction he was just given.
"Hrm. Quite a lot to answer, there."
"Indeed. Though at this point you seem to have a more firm grasp of the situation than even I."
"How so? I can't say I've been involved in it since that evening at the manse."
"Nor have I, in truth. My investigation has been stalled while I was distr... busy with distracting someone else."
She had hoped her verbal slip would be unnoticed. In truth she was distracted. Her goal of keeping Jameson busy for Roen had meant she herself was also kept busy from Lazarov. While she was wasting time here, his plans would still be in motion. She was running out of time. Verad scratched the side of his beard while considering the matter now.
"What was Taeros planning to do with that first shipment, anyhow? The one that started all this and has not been seen."
She sighed. It always came back to that one night, and she had grown tired of re-hashing those events.
"I wish the man never even bothered with that nonsense. We were investigating the deaths of a fellow Sultansworn, and the poisoning of Roen in the palace gaols. Per his words, he was attempting to trace where large quantities of Somnus may have been originating from outside of Thanalan. Lazarov just happened to be the smuggler who made the shipment."
"Somnus? That's not what I'd heard were the shipment's contents."
"T'was the bulk of the shipment. What, pray tell, did you hear was the rest?"
"Steel and ceruleum. The same things Nero has been seeking for some time."
"Ah, not this shipment." She replied as she readjusted her seating.
"Mayhaps. The one that Roen was supposed to 'intercept' from Nero's tip-off."
"Exotic goods, contraband, Ishgardian imports, and Limsan made firearms."
"The less I hear of Ishgardian imports the better.", he quipped almost knowingly. "And the shipment, the firearms especially, vanished. Nobody could account for them. Where did they go?"
"Quite so. All of it was turned over to the Blades by Natalie. Most of it remains in their hands, except for the arms which I am told have disappeared. I had no idea until just after Starlight when there was a firefight in Pearl Lane. One gang trying to muscle out a rival. They used Limsan made small-arms."
"Interesting. The very same?"
"That I cannot say. The originals were never inspected closely enough for comparison. But what else could they be?"
"That gets to my next question - what exactly is Nero's plan? Or was? As far as you know."
What indeed was Nero Lazarov planning. The question that Crofte herself had been pondering for weeks now. She heard many theories, but had little evidence for any particular one. All she knew was that he was a very determined Pirate, and the monetarists were feeling the effects now. If trade began to dip further, the wrong people may decide to take action.
"Your guess is as good as mine. If you believe Miss Llorn, he is building some sort of Garlean doomsday device."
"I'm not sure what else he could be doing with that much ceruleum and steel."
"From what I recently heard from Roen, whatever they are planning it involves Ul'dah and a radical change of a 'corrupt system'."
It was true she had recently spoken with Roen herself. The meeting was not mutual, they were practically thrust upon each other by a third party. A party who was now holding yet another smear article over their heads as a threat unless one of them finally acted to shift the balance. Verad continued on.
"I was there to see him make that deal. Large quantities, regular shipments. I doubt he intended to build low-income heated housing."
She shrugged at Verad with a slight smirk.
"One can hope? Compared to the Goblet, that would certainly be a radical change..."
"If I were able to buy out the shipments, mayhaps that'd be true."
His suggestion gave her pause.
"I can't imagine what that would cost."
"Between the inheritance and dividends from Vesper Bay, it's more feasible than I originally believed."
"I am glad to hear you are doing so well at least."
"It undermines my selling position," he snorted with some measure of disgust "but I manage. Most people assume I'll be free of the worries of gil ere long. Mayhaps they're right."
"That is not such a bad problem to have, is it?"
Verad took a drink, swills it around with a pained look - probably from the drink itself - and set the mug back down again.
"I have to engage in the levemeets because many people assume I am running a scam on the Goblet. Strict compliance is my only defense. I am not taken seriously by the wealthy, and I lose my credibility with the poor."
The sudden conversational shift to the merits of fiscal responsibility had her eyes glaze over. She rolled them to the side with a tilt of her head.
"This is why I leave finances to others."
"It's a digression at any rate. The next question is simpler - why would I want to be more involved?"
She found his directness refreshing.
"Simple. You sounded quite angry at the apparent lack of action by either side. I am preparing to move against the pirate soon, but I need help."
"I am. But, the more I thought of it, the more of a comfort it appeared to be. Inaction, after all, means ineffectiveness. I would be comfortable with a stalemate of move and counter-move once I extracted myself from it - and given my last conversation with Miss Deneith, I've done that quite ably."
"Roen..." Coatleque's voice lowered with her eyes as she studied the wood grains in the table. "I fear she is losing herself to this man."
Verad rested his hand on the hilt of one of the daggers at his sides. Not in a threatening gesture - his grip being too light and in the wrong place to draw.
"Let her be lost, then."
Her eyes widened at that as her attention snapped back to him. "You do not mean that..."
"What else is there to do at this juncture? I've spoken with her. I've heard the words from her own lips. She is as much a part of this plan as he is. Do you ever think of how little we think of her, to think she could only come to this conclusion because of some man?"
"I... no. What I do think is that he is not telling her his true intentions."
Her words were a half truth. Verad was right, and she knew it. For all the time she had known Roen, she was always treated as a child by those around her. As a teenager about to be thrust into the world, and all the parentals around her were doing their best to shelter her from it. Had it ever crossed her mind that the woman truly was convinced and accessory to Nero's plans? This was not the place for such musings, however. She continued.
"Have you heard what he is capable of? About the noble house he had extinguished?"
"I had not." He replied with a shake of his head. Coatleque cleared her throat and lowered her voice once more for fear of being overheard in this place.
"The man ordered the execution of an entire Ul'dahn noble house. Men, women, and children."
Verad widened his own eyes now, but only for a moment. His jaw set. "Does she know this?"
"She does now. He did not tell her when it was done."
Coatleque swallowed hard then as the relization of what she had just revealed set into her mind once more. Yet there was that other piece of truth which continued to claw at her mind every time she repeated the words. You have no proof. She never did. All of her leads were based off rumor and happenstance. In the end, she had no hard evidence that the man was anything more than 'just a pirate'.
"And yet, given her absence here, I can assume that she is still in his presence.", Verad continued.
"It is as you say."
"Let her be lost, then."
"She swore to me she would have stopped him if she knew of the plan." Coatleque protested suddenly. "She swears she would still do so. This tells me he is not being honest with her. She asks me to believe he will not do such again, but..."
Verad took another drink, finishing the foul liquid and setting the empty mug aside.
"You know, she came to me about whether or not to reveal information to someone, knowing that doing so might hurt Nero."
"Oh?"
"No minor gossip, either - Nero had done the man a great wrong. But she was conflicted all the same. And the more I listened to her dilemma, the more it sounded as if she weren't certain because it would put Nero and the man's plan at risk. In the end, she had decided to withold information from the man. I wonder what she's withholding from you?"
"I would say I was surprised if not for what I now know. Did she reveal this information?"
"Only after I undermined her and told him she knew. We argued, of course - this was just before the card game, in fact - and she insisted that he would have found 'closure through other means,' I believe were her words. Means that I assume meant no harm to Nero."
"Indeed."
Verad inhaled slowly.
"So, no, I do not trust her. I think she's in love, and it's very easy to convince a person like that to do anything. It's why I don't indulge in the emotion myself."
The two sat in silence for a time as she mulled over his words. How distracted had she been exactly? How long had she now pulled herself away from larger issues that she could not see any of this happening right before her? She found herself staring at the table once more. Her mouth twitched when Verad broke the silence.
"But I think it's also possible that she's decided for herself, lies or no, that Nero's path is the right path."
"I know not which of us is the greater fool then. Though I did encourage her to pursue his affections."
"With or without knowing the extent of the matter?"
She blinked and looked up sharply.
"Without, of course. T'was moons ago before any of this came to light. Just after that shipment was taken."
"Then I can hardly fault you for the matter."
"Despite all of this, Master Bellveil, she is my friend. Yet now she is forcing me to draw a blade against her to protect the city she once served. As well as the man she seeks to destroy."
"Ah, right, that - there's another question. Now, when I was lying in the street, half my ribs broken, my face a pulp, and what I'm fairly sure was at the time a shattered family jewel, and you appeared to mend my wounds before others could pull me away from the Blades - were you already at Taeros' arm? As I saw you at Starlight?"
She found her stomach twisting in knots suddenly. Of all the lines of questioning this one she was least prepared for. Yet it should not have been compeltely unexpected. She certainly had made no amount of effort to hide their relationship in recent weeks. Her expression became slightly serious again as her training took over and set her nerves to 'business' mode once more.
"I... no, I was not."
"And you know it was under his orders that I found myself in that state, do you not?"
"Half true, if at all. Natalie Mcbeef gave the order."
"Why, pray, would she do that?"
"Why did Natalie do anything? Misguided senses? Fell on her head once too many? In this case, she was working with Jameson rather closely. I still do not know what she knew about him."
Verad shook his head, obviously unconvinced.
"On her own initiative, of course. He keeps his hands clean. He was hardly at risk when I found the milkweed milk in one of his warehouses, the relics in another. There was always someone else who would suffer for those discoveries."
"Considerable setbacks as they were to him."
"So, knowing this, knowing that because they were his setbacks - and these were no small things, no safe and legal goods that were lost to him - I found myself in that state on the street. And you know this. And still you are at his arm."
There was another pause as she realized the implications he was levying at her.
"It... is complicated. More-so than you may like to believe."
"Convince me. Because Roen has done a very poor job indeed of the same."
Coatleque looked back down to the table, her hands were knit together in a tight ball.
"Roen is my friend, as I said. You are aware of her history with Taeros? And her brother?"
"I only met her brother recently. Beforehand she had not told me he existed. But yes, I am aware of the history with Taeros."
"After she was released from the gaols and cleared, I had aimed to help her further investigate Taeros. Our intention was to gain leverage to finally bring him low."
"Of that I am aware. Indeed, I played my part."
She continued.
"After the incident with the Blades, after Natalie... died... the balance shifted. I had to do something to keep him distracted. I had nothing else to throw at him but... but myself."
He looked at her flatly.
"I would not blame you for thinking the worst of me."
She had expected beration, consternation, and further accusations about Oaths and Morals. Instead Verad just raised his eyebrows at the confession. "Of course, such tactics are far from uncommon. You've read my memoirs, and I engaged in them myself in at least two chapters. Similarly, part of the problem with such tactics, as happened in one chapter, was that I found myself so thoroughly charmed by the hidden depths of the succubus that I was loathe to banish her. Do you find yourself charmed by hidden depths?"
"... yes, of course. Of course you did. There is nothing I can say to make it sound any less tawdry. Only that I have done far worse in my past."
He shook his head.
"That's not my question. I'm not judging you for the act, Ser Crofte. What I am asking is if it is no longer an act."
"Whether it is or not at this point, does it matter anymore? Roen has lost sight of her original goal. I cannot continue to distract him and make Ul'dah weaker while Nero is planning Twelve-knows-what against the city."
"It matters because on the one hand I am assumed to be loyal to someone who is acting against the city I hold dear on the one hand, and am being asked for assistance by the agent of someone who had me beaten half to death on the other. Who knows he had it done."
"If I had known what Natalie was going to do..." She began to defend herself then stopped and slowly shook her head. "Nothing I can say will excuse it. I will not even try."
"Then that Anden fellow from the trial would have done it. I do not fault your actions at the time, Ser Crofte. I believe you when you say you didn't know. What galls me is knowing it now and still coming to me for aid."
"I understand it is ... much to ask. I would leave if you wish me to, with nothing further, but know that your assistance helps me more than him still. He is starting to trust me..." As she said this her hand reached up to her neckline and pulled forth the silver key on a chain around her neck. "I have access to his personal office."
"And?"
"And... Even if I wanted to leave, I may not reach the door alive."
"He trusts you, and therefore you know too much."
"Whether deception or not, I am no longer free to decide."
"Therefore you need some other person to make use of that key around your neck."
"I... perhaps. Even still he will know where it came from. I can find his secrets myself in time, I am sure of it."
"Then I have to confess my confusion. What involvement do you seek, if not that?"
Back to the task at hand. Her expression turned serious once more and her voice steady.
"As I said, there is a greater threat that needs to be dealt with first. What good is destroying Taeros if Nero then destroys us the next day?"
"If you like I can throw a dragon at him. Mayhaps convince him to make use one of these relics that have been lurking about."
"... if you can summon such things to your will then perhaps there are two threats now..."
She spoke with some measure of sarcasm which elicited an inquisitive, almost dumbfounded stare from the Duskwight.
"You have no idea what's been going on around the desert, do you?"
She tilted her head just then. "I have been rather distracted lately, if you were paying attention... Something I plan to remedy while James is away on business again."
"No, I understand, it's fine. Suffice it to say no, I cannot summon such things to my will, and even if I did I would use them to trail advertisements in the Thanalan sky. But please, go on. This greater threat. What would you have me do?"
"Oh, right. The night of Natalie's death she had secured a note with an address in the Goblet. It was to be a meeting place between Sebastian Redgrave and some unknown contact. I now know that Redgrave is just an alias for Nero. Whoever he was meeting may have information on where to find him, or stop his shipments at the least."
"Do you want his shipments stopped?"
"If it helps, then of course. Otherwise, my goal is to bring the man in to face justice. But the address is in the Goblet, and my face is well known in Thanalan."
"If you want them stopped, give me Taeros' funds, and they will be stopped.
She quirked an eyebrow while sitting in stunned silence at the request.
"This is no jest! I can stop them, but I require the funds. Do so, and Nero will never lay hands on another without resorting to outright piracy."
The very idea of trying to reallocate Jameson's funds brought a rather unpleasant memory to light. She instinctively rubbed her throat slowly.
"It is not Nero's hands I am worried about in that case."
"Propose it to him openly, then. Is he the type to require a business plan?"
"It may help. I could propose the idea to him. What I cannot do is re-appropriate them myself."
"As for the warehouse, I am gathering you want another body there for the investigation?"
"Aye, that is what I am looking for."
"In that case, I have to decline."
"It need not be you." She interjected at his refusal
"I will not send another in my place."
"I see... and understand."
They sat in silence once again for a good while as both had much to think on. Again it was he who spoke up.
"This is the last I'll speak on the matter. If Taeros accepts the idea of simply buying out Nero's shipments, by all means, let me know. But I have other
concerns, and Roen clearly does not desire my assistance - or anyone's, I should think."
"... she was your friend once as well... Verad. If we simply abandon her altogether will it not only push her further away?"
Coatleque's expression was almost imploringly. For that instance all she could think of was losing her friend to whatever path of madness Nero was leading her down. "It is not a matter of what she wants, but what she needs..."
"Hardly. I think acting in a manner counter to what she wants before she's reached the same conclusion we have will do that. How she will -rage-! Imagine those eyes turned on yours as she insists that she could have -saved- him, if we'd only given him more time. But you misunderstand. She was never a friend. Not that way. I can count on one hand the number of times we met and I was not there to console her from a crisis of faith."
His confession shocked her into silence once more. Slowly she sat back before continuing.
"Perhaps we differ in our ideals of friendship then. No matter... your mind is set, as is mine."
Verad leaned back and closed his eyes in thought.
"No, never a friend. She was an ideal. I saw her at her lowest point, moons ago, and never have I seen someone who so embodied my principles in that moment. What could I do but help her? But more fool me for treating people as principles, I suppose."
"So what am I to you then, Master Bellveil? I should like to know where I stand in case our lives depend on one another again."
Her voice was low but serious. The conversation had taken an unexpectedly dismal turn. Verad only tipped his head to the side and rested his chin upon his hand as he gave her a scrutinizing look. She held his gaze but the expression she returned was forlorn. She did not want to lose yet another friend over a difference of ideals.
"A stoic Sworn with poor luck when it comes to the unfair sex and a desire to defend the city - even its worst. My savior - and I know a genuine one, and for that I hold you in great respect." He looked up to the ceiling before continuing. "And there's something to be said for someone who can put up with me in the altogether. No, I think I'd call you friend more than I'd call Roen that. I feel a need to help you because you are you, and not because you embody something else to me."
Her expression turned most serious for a moment after that as she took in his words. "Thank you, Verad. And I would defend such again if I had to. So we are clear - my duty is not influenced by my personal life. I will not allow Jameson Taeros to cause me to harm others for his little games."
"I have faith that will prove true when it's put to the test. And if you find yourself on the end of his wrath, I have a house full of heavily armed Keepers, as you've seen. Safe harbor is an option."
Managing something of a smile at that notion, she rose from the table to be on her way for the night. "I pray every night it does not come to that. I will continue to influence him as much as I can in the mean time. If you have no further questions, I should return to the city before I am missed."
"Likewise I believe I have an appointment that I may have kept waiting. Oschon guide you on your path, Ser Crofte."
"And on yours as well, Master Bellveil. I pray we meet again soon, and in better light."
She gave the man a slight bow before turning and making her way to the airship. Her heart was heavier than she would have liked to admit though. With no further help, it seemed she would need to turn to another organization for her plans.
The sun had long since set and the party at the Bismark was beginning to die down as people slowly trickled off to their homes or other business ventures. Coatleque had said her own goodbyes a few moments before. Earlier than her still was seen Verad Belleveil doing the same. They had spoken only briefly - in such social interactions, she was more wont to do the listening - but this was not the place to discuss business matters. Drinks were agreed upon before she would have to flee the city to return to Thanalan. Even now, moons since the incident at Moraby, she was not entirely welcome in La Noscea.
Entering the Drowned Wench, she spotted her quarry sitting alone at a table across the way. She made her way towards him but not before scanning the tavern for any Jackets in uniform. At this point being perfectly paranoid of potential premium placed upon her head, she could take no chances. Taking the empty chair across from him at the table, she smoothed her dress and folded her hands in front. He had seemed to contend himself, in the mean time, with a rather foul-looking mug of grog and was quietly muttering to himself.
"It's almost no fun to drink here, you know. They have no 'worst drink'."
"Master Bellveil. You could opt for something less than wost once in a while." She interrupted his thought.
"Ser Crofte! But I do! After I've had the worst. The best is much better that way."
"That... does make sense." She replied as she found herself seriously considering his method.
"I do make it from time to time. I take it this has naught to do with the coupon?"
He spoke of a certain coupon she still carried which was issued and endorsed by Dubious Distributions for a full one quarter off of the price of a good or service. Earlier that evening it was made known that the palace carpets had incurred a few new stains due to the mishandling of a leve. Dubious Distributions had taken up responsibility to clean said stains and Coatleque intended to use her coupon on behalf of the city-state.
"You are correct, however. I am not here about your cleaning bill. I have heard you make sense before. Such as your rather heated views on Ul'dahn politics."
She spoke, of course, about a certain poker game they were both present for at the Mandercrown Manse. Things did not end quite as expected that night. Both left the estate knowing far more about each other than they had any right to. Once the assembled had their tongues losened with wine, however, Mister Bellveil could not help but state to all exactly what he thought of their current involvements with each other.
"You've certainly heard enough on that point, I'm sure."
"Nearly every day for the past cycle at least.", she replied curtly.
"Huh! Well, I haven't spoken to you on the matter, so I am puzzled as to how you've heard that."
She tilted her head slightly before realizing her own ambiguousness.
"Oh, I meant politics in general that I hear about. You, on the other hand, were rather loud at Mandercrown's Manse."
"A matter I continue to not regret, for a variety of different reasons. And a stance I still hold."
"Such is your prerogative. I thought perhaps I would give you the opportunity to question me privately over the matter. Perhaps I can offer you a chance to affect the situation more directly."
There was a pause as the Duskwight gazed at her over his mug of bitter sadness.
"Mayhaps I will take that, if only to satisfy my own curiosity on the matter. What, pray, are you allowing me to ask?"
Her expression turned slightly amused at his priety over the matter.
"You may ask whatever you wish. I may chose whether to answer of course."
Coatleque was not prone to monologuing her entire dealings within the Sultansworn, and especially not with her external contacts. There was a fine rope she tread between either side and keeping her balance was tantamount to ensuring proper justice. Lately this balance was shifting further from her to a darker end she was not comfortable with. Tonight she aimed to rectify this however possible. Verad watched her as he considered the sanction he was just given.
"Hrm. Quite a lot to answer, there."
"Indeed. Though at this point you seem to have a more firm grasp of the situation than even I."
"How so? I can't say I've been involved in it since that evening at the manse."
"Nor have I, in truth. My investigation has been stalled while I was distr... busy with distracting someone else."
She had hoped her verbal slip would be unnoticed. In truth she was distracted. Her goal of keeping Jameson busy for Roen had meant she herself was also kept busy from Lazarov. While she was wasting time here, his plans would still be in motion. She was running out of time. Verad scratched the side of his beard while considering the matter now.
"What was Taeros planning to do with that first shipment, anyhow? The one that started all this and has not been seen."
She sighed. It always came back to that one night, and she had grown tired of re-hashing those events.
"I wish the man never even bothered with that nonsense. We were investigating the deaths of a fellow Sultansworn, and the poisoning of Roen in the palace gaols. Per his words, he was attempting to trace where large quantities of Somnus may have been originating from outside of Thanalan. Lazarov just happened to be the smuggler who made the shipment."
"Somnus? That's not what I'd heard were the shipment's contents."
"T'was the bulk of the shipment. What, pray tell, did you hear was the rest?"
"Steel and ceruleum. The same things Nero has been seeking for some time."
"Ah, not this shipment." She replied as she readjusted her seating.
"Mayhaps. The one that Roen was supposed to 'intercept' from Nero's tip-off."
"Exotic goods, contraband, Ishgardian imports, and Limsan made firearms."
"The less I hear of Ishgardian imports the better.", he quipped almost knowingly. "And the shipment, the firearms especially, vanished. Nobody could account for them. Where did they go?"
"Quite so. All of it was turned over to the Blades by Natalie. Most of it remains in their hands, except for the arms which I am told have disappeared. I had no idea until just after Starlight when there was a firefight in Pearl Lane. One gang trying to muscle out a rival. They used Limsan made small-arms."
"Interesting. The very same?"
"That I cannot say. The originals were never inspected closely enough for comparison. But what else could they be?"
"That gets to my next question - what exactly is Nero's plan? Or was? As far as you know."
What indeed was Nero Lazarov planning. The question that Crofte herself had been pondering for weeks now. She heard many theories, but had little evidence for any particular one. All she knew was that he was a very determined Pirate, and the monetarists were feeling the effects now. If trade began to dip further, the wrong people may decide to take action.
"Your guess is as good as mine. If you believe Miss Llorn, he is building some sort of Garlean doomsday device."
"I'm not sure what else he could be doing with that much ceruleum and steel."
"From what I recently heard from Roen, whatever they are planning it involves Ul'dah and a radical change of a 'corrupt system'."
It was true she had recently spoken with Roen herself. The meeting was not mutual, they were practically thrust upon each other by a third party. A party who was now holding yet another smear article over their heads as a threat unless one of them finally acted to shift the balance. Verad continued on.
"I was there to see him make that deal. Large quantities, regular shipments. I doubt he intended to build low-income heated housing."
She shrugged at Verad with a slight smirk.
"One can hope? Compared to the Goblet, that would certainly be a radical change..."
"If I were able to buy out the shipments, mayhaps that'd be true."
His suggestion gave her pause.
"I can't imagine what that would cost."
"Between the inheritance and dividends from Vesper Bay, it's more feasible than I originally believed."
"I am glad to hear you are doing so well at least."
"It undermines my selling position," he snorted with some measure of disgust "but I manage. Most people assume I'll be free of the worries of gil ere long. Mayhaps they're right."
"That is not such a bad problem to have, is it?"
Verad took a drink, swills it around with a pained look - probably from the drink itself - and set the mug back down again.
"I have to engage in the levemeets because many people assume I am running a scam on the Goblet. Strict compliance is my only defense. I am not taken seriously by the wealthy, and I lose my credibility with the poor."
The sudden conversational shift to the merits of fiscal responsibility had her eyes glaze over. She rolled them to the side with a tilt of her head.
"This is why I leave finances to others."
"It's a digression at any rate. The next question is simpler - why would I want to be more involved?"
She found his directness refreshing.
"Simple. You sounded quite angry at the apparent lack of action by either side. I am preparing to move against the pirate soon, but I need help."
"I am. But, the more I thought of it, the more of a comfort it appeared to be. Inaction, after all, means ineffectiveness. I would be comfortable with a stalemate of move and counter-move once I extracted myself from it - and given my last conversation with Miss Deneith, I've done that quite ably."
"Roen..." Coatleque's voice lowered with her eyes as she studied the wood grains in the table. "I fear she is losing herself to this man."
Verad rested his hand on the hilt of one of the daggers at his sides. Not in a threatening gesture - his grip being too light and in the wrong place to draw.
"Let her be lost, then."
Her eyes widened at that as her attention snapped back to him. "You do not mean that..."
"What else is there to do at this juncture? I've spoken with her. I've heard the words from her own lips. She is as much a part of this plan as he is. Do you ever think of how little we think of her, to think she could only come to this conclusion because of some man?"
"I... no. What I do think is that he is not telling her his true intentions."
Her words were a half truth. Verad was right, and she knew it. For all the time she had known Roen, she was always treated as a child by those around her. As a teenager about to be thrust into the world, and all the parentals around her were doing their best to shelter her from it. Had it ever crossed her mind that the woman truly was convinced and accessory to Nero's plans? This was not the place for such musings, however. She continued.
"Have you heard what he is capable of? About the noble house he had extinguished?"
"I had not." He replied with a shake of his head. Coatleque cleared her throat and lowered her voice once more for fear of being overheard in this place.
"The man ordered the execution of an entire Ul'dahn noble house. Men, women, and children."
Verad widened his own eyes now, but only for a moment. His jaw set. "Does she know this?"
"She does now. He did not tell her when it was done."
Coatleque swallowed hard then as the relization of what she had just revealed set into her mind once more. Yet there was that other piece of truth which continued to claw at her mind every time she repeated the words. You have no proof. She never did. All of her leads were based off rumor and happenstance. In the end, she had no hard evidence that the man was anything more than 'just a pirate'.
"And yet, given her absence here, I can assume that she is still in his presence.", Verad continued.
"It is as you say."
"Let her be lost, then."
"She swore to me she would have stopped him if she knew of the plan." Coatleque protested suddenly. "She swears she would still do so. This tells me he is not being honest with her. She asks me to believe he will not do such again, but..."
Verad took another drink, finishing the foul liquid and setting the empty mug aside.
"You know, she came to me about whether or not to reveal information to someone, knowing that doing so might hurt Nero."
"Oh?"
"No minor gossip, either - Nero had done the man a great wrong. But she was conflicted all the same. And the more I listened to her dilemma, the more it sounded as if she weren't certain because it would put Nero and the man's plan at risk. In the end, she had decided to withold information from the man. I wonder what she's withholding from you?"
"I would say I was surprised if not for what I now know. Did she reveal this information?"
"Only after I undermined her and told him she knew. We argued, of course - this was just before the card game, in fact - and she insisted that he would have found 'closure through other means,' I believe were her words. Means that I assume meant no harm to Nero."
"Indeed."
Verad inhaled slowly.
"So, no, I do not trust her. I think she's in love, and it's very easy to convince a person like that to do anything. It's why I don't indulge in the emotion myself."
The two sat in silence for a time as she mulled over his words. How distracted had she been exactly? How long had she now pulled herself away from larger issues that she could not see any of this happening right before her? She found herself staring at the table once more. Her mouth twitched when Verad broke the silence.
"But I think it's also possible that she's decided for herself, lies or no, that Nero's path is the right path."
"I know not which of us is the greater fool then. Though I did encourage her to pursue his affections."
"With or without knowing the extent of the matter?"
She blinked and looked up sharply.
"Without, of course. T'was moons ago before any of this came to light. Just after that shipment was taken."
"Then I can hardly fault you for the matter."
"Despite all of this, Master Bellveil, she is my friend. Yet now she is forcing me to draw a blade against her to protect the city she once served. As well as the man she seeks to destroy."
"Ah, right, that - there's another question. Now, when I was lying in the street, half my ribs broken, my face a pulp, and what I'm fairly sure was at the time a shattered family jewel, and you appeared to mend my wounds before others could pull me away from the Blades - were you already at Taeros' arm? As I saw you at Starlight?"
She found her stomach twisting in knots suddenly. Of all the lines of questioning this one she was least prepared for. Yet it should not have been compeltely unexpected. She certainly had made no amount of effort to hide their relationship in recent weeks. Her expression became slightly serious again as her training took over and set her nerves to 'business' mode once more.
"I... no, I was not."
"And you know it was under his orders that I found myself in that state, do you not?"
"Half true, if at all. Natalie Mcbeef gave the order."
"Why, pray, would she do that?"
"Why did Natalie do anything? Misguided senses? Fell on her head once too many? In this case, she was working with Jameson rather closely. I still do not know what she knew about him."
Verad shook his head, obviously unconvinced.
"On her own initiative, of course. He keeps his hands clean. He was hardly at risk when I found the milkweed milk in one of his warehouses, the relics in another. There was always someone else who would suffer for those discoveries."
"Considerable setbacks as they were to him."
"So, knowing this, knowing that because they were his setbacks - and these were no small things, no safe and legal goods that were lost to him - I found myself in that state on the street. And you know this. And still you are at his arm."
There was another pause as she realized the implications he was levying at her.
"It... is complicated. More-so than you may like to believe."
"Convince me. Because Roen has done a very poor job indeed of the same."
Coatleque looked back down to the table, her hands were knit together in a tight ball.
"Roen is my friend, as I said. You are aware of her history with Taeros? And her brother?"
"I only met her brother recently. Beforehand she had not told me he existed. But yes, I am aware of the history with Taeros."
"After she was released from the gaols and cleared, I had aimed to help her further investigate Taeros. Our intention was to gain leverage to finally bring him low."
"Of that I am aware. Indeed, I played my part."
She continued.
"After the incident with the Blades, after Natalie... died... the balance shifted. I had to do something to keep him distracted. I had nothing else to throw at him but... but myself."
He looked at her flatly.
"I would not blame you for thinking the worst of me."
She had expected beration, consternation, and further accusations about Oaths and Morals. Instead Verad just raised his eyebrows at the confession. "Of course, such tactics are far from uncommon. You've read my memoirs, and I engaged in them myself in at least two chapters. Similarly, part of the problem with such tactics, as happened in one chapter, was that I found myself so thoroughly charmed by the hidden depths of the succubus that I was loathe to banish her. Do you find yourself charmed by hidden depths?"
"... yes, of course. Of course you did. There is nothing I can say to make it sound any less tawdry. Only that I have done far worse in my past."
He shook his head.
"That's not my question. I'm not judging you for the act, Ser Crofte. What I am asking is if it is no longer an act."
"Whether it is or not at this point, does it matter anymore? Roen has lost sight of her original goal. I cannot continue to distract him and make Ul'dah weaker while Nero is planning Twelve-knows-what against the city."
"It matters because on the one hand I am assumed to be loyal to someone who is acting against the city I hold dear on the one hand, and am being asked for assistance by the agent of someone who had me beaten half to death on the other. Who knows he had it done."
"If I had known what Natalie was going to do..." She began to defend herself then stopped and slowly shook her head. "Nothing I can say will excuse it. I will not even try."
"Then that Anden fellow from the trial would have done it. I do not fault your actions at the time, Ser Crofte. I believe you when you say you didn't know. What galls me is knowing it now and still coming to me for aid."
"I understand it is ... much to ask. I would leave if you wish me to, with nothing further, but know that your assistance helps me more than him still. He is starting to trust me..." As she said this her hand reached up to her neckline and pulled forth the silver key on a chain around her neck. "I have access to his personal office."
"And?"
"And... Even if I wanted to leave, I may not reach the door alive."
"He trusts you, and therefore you know too much."
"Whether deception or not, I am no longer free to decide."
"Therefore you need some other person to make use of that key around your neck."
"I... perhaps. Even still he will know where it came from. I can find his secrets myself in time, I am sure of it."
"Then I have to confess my confusion. What involvement do you seek, if not that?"
Back to the task at hand. Her expression turned serious once more and her voice steady.
"As I said, there is a greater threat that needs to be dealt with first. What good is destroying Taeros if Nero then destroys us the next day?"
"If you like I can throw a dragon at him. Mayhaps convince him to make use one of these relics that have been lurking about."
"... if you can summon such things to your will then perhaps there are two threats now..."
She spoke with some measure of sarcasm which elicited an inquisitive, almost dumbfounded stare from the Duskwight.
"You have no idea what's been going on around the desert, do you?"
She tilted her head just then. "I have been rather distracted lately, if you were paying attention... Something I plan to remedy while James is away on business again."
"No, I understand, it's fine. Suffice it to say no, I cannot summon such things to my will, and even if I did I would use them to trail advertisements in the Thanalan sky. But please, go on. This greater threat. What would you have me do?"
"Oh, right. The night of Natalie's death she had secured a note with an address in the Goblet. It was to be a meeting place between Sebastian Redgrave and some unknown contact. I now know that Redgrave is just an alias for Nero. Whoever he was meeting may have information on where to find him, or stop his shipments at the least."
"Do you want his shipments stopped?"
"If it helps, then of course. Otherwise, my goal is to bring the man in to face justice. But the address is in the Goblet, and my face is well known in Thanalan."
"If you want them stopped, give me Taeros' funds, and they will be stopped.
She quirked an eyebrow while sitting in stunned silence at the request.
"This is no jest! I can stop them, but I require the funds. Do so, and Nero will never lay hands on another without resorting to outright piracy."
The very idea of trying to reallocate Jameson's funds brought a rather unpleasant memory to light. She instinctively rubbed her throat slowly.
"It is not Nero's hands I am worried about in that case."
"Propose it to him openly, then. Is he the type to require a business plan?"
"It may help. I could propose the idea to him. What I cannot do is re-appropriate them myself."
"As for the warehouse, I am gathering you want another body there for the investigation?"
"Aye, that is what I am looking for."
"In that case, I have to decline."
"It need not be you." She interjected at his refusal
"I will not send another in my place."
"I see... and understand."
They sat in silence once again for a good while as both had much to think on. Again it was he who spoke up.
"This is the last I'll speak on the matter. If Taeros accepts the idea of simply buying out Nero's shipments, by all means, let me know. But I have other
concerns, and Roen clearly does not desire my assistance - or anyone's, I should think."
"... she was your friend once as well... Verad. If we simply abandon her altogether will it not only push her further away?"
Coatleque's expression was almost imploringly. For that instance all she could think of was losing her friend to whatever path of madness Nero was leading her down. "It is not a matter of what she wants, but what she needs..."
"Hardly. I think acting in a manner counter to what she wants before she's reached the same conclusion we have will do that. How she will -rage-! Imagine those eyes turned on yours as she insists that she could have -saved- him, if we'd only given him more time. But you misunderstand. She was never a friend. Not that way. I can count on one hand the number of times we met and I was not there to console her from a crisis of faith."
His confession shocked her into silence once more. Slowly she sat back before continuing.
"Perhaps we differ in our ideals of friendship then. No matter... your mind is set, as is mine."
Verad leaned back and closed his eyes in thought.
"No, never a friend. She was an ideal. I saw her at her lowest point, moons ago, and never have I seen someone who so embodied my principles in that moment. What could I do but help her? But more fool me for treating people as principles, I suppose."
"So what am I to you then, Master Bellveil? I should like to know where I stand in case our lives depend on one another again."
Her voice was low but serious. The conversation had taken an unexpectedly dismal turn. Verad only tipped his head to the side and rested his chin upon his hand as he gave her a scrutinizing look. She held his gaze but the expression she returned was forlorn. She did not want to lose yet another friend over a difference of ideals.
"A stoic Sworn with poor luck when it comes to the unfair sex and a desire to defend the city - even its worst. My savior - and I know a genuine one, and for that I hold you in great respect." He looked up to the ceiling before continuing. "And there's something to be said for someone who can put up with me in the altogether. No, I think I'd call you friend more than I'd call Roen that. I feel a need to help you because you are you, and not because you embody something else to me."
Her expression turned most serious for a moment after that as she took in his words. "Thank you, Verad. And I would defend such again if I had to. So we are clear - my duty is not influenced by my personal life. I will not allow Jameson Taeros to cause me to harm others for his little games."
"I have faith that will prove true when it's put to the test. And if you find yourself on the end of his wrath, I have a house full of heavily armed Keepers, as you've seen. Safe harbor is an option."
Managing something of a smile at that notion, she rose from the table to be on her way for the night. "I pray every night it does not come to that. I will continue to influence him as much as I can in the mean time. If you have no further questions, I should return to the city before I am missed."
"Likewise I believe I have an appointment that I may have kept waiting. Oschon guide you on your path, Ser Crofte."
"And on yours as well, Master Bellveil. I pray we meet again soon, and in better light."
She gave the man a slight bow before turning and making her way to the airship. Her heart was heavier than she would have liked to admit though. With no further help, it seemed she would need to turn to another organization for her plans.
