Contact (Clement & Aru)

[Ifran]

"You are here," Aru acknowledged with a slight smile, "and I am here. This is a good beginning." He kept his Arumenic common, speaking only in the Basic Mode. "I am amenable to dealing with you. It behooves both Anubis and my lord to maintain a certain amount of mystique. In the meantime, he would like the identity of the one who took out a contract on him, and whether you accept currencies other than gold." Many found the stark stances of the Ano Cultists off-putting, inhuman or unnatural. Having watched Ifran develop as an artist over the years, Aru had picked up a thing or two from him in exchange for sharing the ways of keen logic. His weight shifted, his musculature assuming a lazier contrapposto than was normally his wont. It was merely a change in focus, not a lack of focus. *** "Contrapposto," Ifran said, turning his hips and his shoulders on different axes, then intensifying the contortion into, "S-curve." He had two khopeshes in hand, and was going through his forms. Later he would call in a slave skilled with long daggers and they would spar in earnest; Ifran had always wanted his skills to be as honed for reality as for the stage. Aru could not fault his logic in this. While admiring the physical beauty and balance of the work, he was not envious. His own weapons were his words, wielded by a mind sharper than any blade. "Syna's Arc," he called, and Ifran pointed one khopesh horizontally while drawing the other over his head in a wide arc to assume a suddenly defensive posture. "Dust Devil," he called, and Ifran spun away from an imaginary attacker, twinned blades whirling both to protect and to attack, while various hands touched ground to speed his momentum and maintain his balance. *** "Certainly," he said, his voice falling out of formality, a sharp, conspiratorial smile slicing across his face, "certainly you have greater plans than merely running an assassination racket." This was no mere flattery; from what he understood, Anubis was quite a talented assassin, and from what he saw of this man, measuring him by means considered arcane by some, but merely logical by his brethren, he seemed to be more than just a man running errands for said talented assassin. "You don't seem like the type to play second fiddle," he said, his voice full of grudging respect and admiration.

[Clement Reijnder]

He seemed to consider what was being asked of him, which was only polite and right to do. His first instinct was to shrug the fellow off at the mere suggestion that they take anything less than gold, but survival didn’t always mean gold. Other things could be used, after all. A bottle of whiskey on his part, since he’d most likely waste his gold on it anyway. He made no attempt to hide the look-over he gave the other man, most likely a careful measuring glance. “If the payment pleases Anubis, it is accepted.” He rubbed at his mouth a moment as the man talked more. Finally he said, “We’re equal partners in this venture.” Second fiddle his leather-clad arse.

[Ifran]

"Understood," he said, then glancing around. "Would you mind terribly if we repaired to somewhere that serves strong drink? I would, of course, buy. Expense of business and all." His smile spoke of complicity again, as if he had no problem spending a Noble House's coin to acquire alcohol for his new business associate. Anyway, liquor made such business dealings run more smoothly, greasing wheels, and lubricating society. "Anyway, you know what he wants; we have to wait to see what she wants before anything happens. I'm curious..."

[Clement Reijnder]

The man had posed a very serious question that even Clement, with his scheming and typical love of strategy had not considered - What did he want beyond what he was doing now? What was he working towards? The question genuinely bothered him, since he did not have an answer. The mention of alcohol, though, brought him out of the brooding that he was so prone to do even in the company of others. He gave a small nod, stating plainly, "I'm never one to turn down a drink, friend. I'm sure you have a place you prefer. I doubt you'd care for the places a man like myself frequents." Friend... Not a title that many would want to have given to them by the man. He was already attempting to calculate exactly how he was going to discuss all of this with Cyrah, considering that he'd been banished from their home again. He was starting to think he spent more time living on the streets than he did in the place that was supposed to be his home. A note under the door would suffice, but she'd have to find him to tell him what she thought of this. They'd never accepted anything but gold for their work, but she'd stressed she was keen to do business with this specific Eypharian.

[Ifran]

"You needn't worry after my comfort," he said. "The company is more important than the locale, friend..." Then he smiled apologetically. "I am Aru, and I will call you friend if the cloak and dagger routine is necessary for your and Anubis' safety." He waited with his apologetic smile for the man to identify himself or not, with a real name or not, and lead the way to some watering hole or another. Aru, Arumenic for river, and he was malleable as water, but also inexorable like water.

[Clement Reijnder]

"Clement Reijnder," he said calmly. First and last name. While the surname wasn't a known one in this area, it did carry about bit of clout behind it in other areas. His family was a slaving family - Not the ones that tended to do any of the dirty work, either. Stating his name, however, made it quite clear that he was not afraid of having a name put to his face. He was not the type of man to hide, and the truth was that he wouldnt' have been able to if he wanted to. He was the face of Anubis. It made him a target - Named or not. He moved about a corner. "We'll go to the nearest then. The heat this time of day makes my bits sweat." He was the type of man that made a mother proud.

[Ifran]

"If this is a two-person racket," Aru said, "it would behoove us to secure this man as an ally as leverage for Anubis." "Also, as leverage against Anubis if need be." Aru inclined his head in agreement; he and Ifran had long since made a practice of honing their strategic minds against each other. "You must befriend this man if possible," Ifran continued. "Find out what his angle is, what his desires are, both temporary and far-reaching. If he is Anubis' lover, this will be..." "...easy," Aru agreed. *** "Ahh, Aru re P'aaleq," he said, offering his surname though it was mostly useless. He glanced down and then back to Clement's face. "Well, Clement Reijnder, wearing leather pants in a desert city will do that to a man's bits. One learns to adapt or cope with the salty buildup." There was a lilt of amusement in his tone, but his mocking was not as sharp as it might have been. The name Reijnder struck a minor chord within his memory, but he would have to follow that lead later to modulate it into a major chord of complete understanding.

[Clement Reijnder]

He let out a small chuckle to what was said to him. He was a man of good spirits when it was time to be. Good spirits tended to bring about good spirits. Or sometimes the hopes of them, which is what Clement was starting to develop as he swung open a door to a relatively dark and empty drinking hole. "Oh, I've got a few lovelies stashed about the city that are always willin' to lend a hand and a washcloth should I need one," he jested. "Harder for a snake to bite through leather than cloth. Seven years here has taught me to suffer in the name of safety. After you, Aru."

[Ifran]

"I am glad that your bits are well cared for," he said, smiling and fearlessly exposing his back to the man as he walked into the place, stepping immediately aside to let his eyes adjust to the warm gloom. When Aru walked in the gardens of the rich, he wore sandals. Today, of course, he wore high boots under his layers of linen since he was walking in terrain where gardeners weren't employed to remove unwanted serpents and other undesirables.

[Colombina]

The XP Wand Is Waved! Intrigue! Assassins! Arms! On a different note, I can't award you xp through your npc, or give xp to your npc, so good call on threading some Ifran dialogue through this. Ifran's Loot 1 XP Khopesh 2 XP Investigation 2 XP Subterfuge Lore of How to Contract Assassins Colombina is pleased.