“I’d just be interested to know how it was done and why. It’s just interesting and something I’d like to know,” she responded to his question easily, “whether it can be used well I am not so sure. Sunberth is different now from when the gangs ruled properly. It’s more of a hodgepodge now, I think. You are right when you say that power seems to have coalesced around certain individuals”
She took a moment to pause in consideration at his offering of the note and merely raised an eyebrow at what it contained, a simple question that seemed to say that he was simple in his thoughts. Was he? No, she doubted it but wondered if it were a question he wanted an answer to. She thought upon it and though it seemed strange she knew it could do no harm. She merely took the quill and wrote underneath in her slow, angular script ‘Knowing people’. It was answer enough and didn’t say much.
“Ruby and Brega hate each other, well that isn’t a surprise. They are in the same business after all. Or do you mean that they hate each other personally? Because that it far more intriguing and speaks of something worth exploring. Old history may not be usable but then again it casts context upon what you say and that is useful in and of itself” she left the question hanging between them and wondered how much he knew.
“That’s not to say that I wouldn’t use it if I could, but more that I have spent years thinking about how it happened and knowing would be enough I think. It would bring understanding and isn’t that what history is about? I think? As to every link, well that could take a long while indeed. Perhaps a framework?” she suggested, “and then future thoughts shared?” the offer was implicit and open, he was a curious creature and she made a point to learn about such people.
She considered his insight upon the mines, the words tied neatly with her own suggestions and thoughts but therein lay the problem, it was so attractive because she wanted it to be. She couldn’t just accept that he was right as astute as he appeared to be. It required more evidence than wanting it to be so. Still, it was a place to start and more than she had possessed before she had begun to seriously muse upon the issue. She tilted her head and looked into the middle distance as she thought.
“Your words on the mines seem sound but I’d still prefer to investigate it further, drag up something beyond hearsay and rumour. The two are useful of course, I know that, but if we can understand the history of the psychology then we can use it more effectively. I’d rather not misread the city if I can help it, it has a tendency to fight back brutally”
“As to saving them, first they must want to be saved. We can’t claim to be saviours without the opportunity to prove it so. Forging such a situation would be difficult. Collapsing the anarchy seems the best way but as you said the politics – if Sunberth has them – are too fluidly small I think. Allying with small groups means the only way to do so would be to hit them all where it hurts at the same time. Difficult” she thought aloud.
“I think Tua holds the key. Or he did. He had connections to all and perhaps has information worth pursuing for our own ends. We need to create a situation where people want us and the best way to do it might be very cruel indeed. Take away their work, or at least the easy access to it beyond verbal agreements. Watch them fight each other, watch them get desperate and step in,” she spoke simply, taking the quill and circling Tua’s box neatly.
“If this is a web then it has a centre, or multiple centres. If we can attack them then what you say takes place. Comfort in power means stagnation. Stagnation serves us no purpose. So Brega and Ruby hate each other. Perhaps the blacksmiths do too. I know that the casino and the blood pits disdain each other. The taverns spit on each other too” she sighed.
“Too many for one conversation,” she stated simply, “you are available often? Are you available now? Perhaps you could teach me of this Ruby-Brega divide? One needs to start in one place after all. And I’d rather gain stimulation through words than through your body Matthew at any rate”
“How much do your wares cost?”
She took a moment to pause in consideration at his offering of the note and merely raised an eyebrow at what it contained, a simple question that seemed to say that he was simple in his thoughts. Was he? No, she doubted it but wondered if it were a question he wanted an answer to. She thought upon it and though it seemed strange she knew it could do no harm. She merely took the quill and wrote underneath in her slow, angular script ‘Knowing people’. It was answer enough and didn’t say much.
“Ruby and Brega hate each other, well that isn’t a surprise. They are in the same business after all. Or do you mean that they hate each other personally? Because that it far more intriguing and speaks of something worth exploring. Old history may not be usable but then again it casts context upon what you say and that is useful in and of itself” she left the question hanging between them and wondered how much he knew.
“That’s not to say that I wouldn’t use it if I could, but more that I have spent years thinking about how it happened and knowing would be enough I think. It would bring understanding and isn’t that what history is about? I think? As to every link, well that could take a long while indeed. Perhaps a framework?” she suggested, “and then future thoughts shared?” the offer was implicit and open, he was a curious creature and she made a point to learn about such people.
She considered his insight upon the mines, the words tied neatly with her own suggestions and thoughts but therein lay the problem, it was so attractive because she wanted it to be. She couldn’t just accept that he was right as astute as he appeared to be. It required more evidence than wanting it to be so. Still, it was a place to start and more than she had possessed before she had begun to seriously muse upon the issue. She tilted her head and looked into the middle distance as she thought.
“Your words on the mines seem sound but I’d still prefer to investigate it further, drag up something beyond hearsay and rumour. The two are useful of course, I know that, but if we can understand the history of the psychology then we can use it more effectively. I’d rather not misread the city if I can help it, it has a tendency to fight back brutally”
“As to saving them, first they must want to be saved. We can’t claim to be saviours without the opportunity to prove it so. Forging such a situation would be difficult. Collapsing the anarchy seems the best way but as you said the politics – if Sunberth has them – are too fluidly small I think. Allying with small groups means the only way to do so would be to hit them all where it hurts at the same time. Difficult” she thought aloud.
“I think Tua holds the key. Or he did. He had connections to all and perhaps has information worth pursuing for our own ends. We need to create a situation where people want us and the best way to do it might be very cruel indeed. Take away their work, or at least the easy access to it beyond verbal agreements. Watch them fight each other, watch them get desperate and step in,” she spoke simply, taking the quill and circling Tua’s box neatly.
“If this is a web then it has a centre, or multiple centres. If we can attack them then what you say takes place. Comfort in power means stagnation. Stagnation serves us no purpose. So Brega and Ruby hate each other. Perhaps the blacksmiths do too. I know that the casino and the blood pits disdain each other. The taverns spit on each other too” she sighed.
“Too many for one conversation,” she stated simply, “you are available often? Are you available now? Perhaps you could teach me of this Ruby-Brega divide? One needs to start in one place after all. And I’d rather gain stimulation through words than through your body Matthew at any rate”
“How much do your wares cost?”
