Jysan Ryderan, Faerie
Shadow Guild
The Rusty Shield Tavern, Savire, Dyrin

The Rusty Shield Tavern.

This would have definitely been my kind of place, if the alcohol wasn't so skunky and they didn't laugh when they served beer to me in a shot glass. I laughed with them though, even though I was pretty sure I was one of maybe only a handful of fae around town. That was the trick about being ridiculed. If you acted like you enjoyed it, it didn't make it as fun for the ones trying to cause trouble.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of tables to cheat at cards, get a hand cut off for stealing, try your luck at swindling, hire a merc to do the dirty business, or find a friend that might cut you in the back if it might benefit them. Normally, most others would give up on a place like this and let it go to the dogs, but they refused to fly the Platinum Crusade's "swords over sun" flag and I took that as a promising sign that maybe this band of hooligans could be useful to the Circle's cause. Beyond that, it looked like the Crusade couldn't keep guards on patrol long enough here before they quit or demanded to be relocated. I couldn't read minds, but I could at least read faces and had the magic to hear their muttering.

Around here, there wasn't much reason for a faerie to be carrying around gold. Heck, even if a few gold pieces felt like quite a burden and to society, a few gold pieces didn't buy very much. Besides, we got by just fine without buying things. We'd either just make them ourselves in our own custom size or we'd indefinitely borrow them from someone else. But really, most of the things other races had and used were too big for us.

I had been observing this tavern for a while now, sipping on my Vilecider for a while, just hearing the gossip and the rumors, piecing the puzzle together from scraps of information that I got from creative eavesdropping. That was, until, I got a little interrupted.

"What's a wee, miserable little bug like ye doin' 'ere?" some dark-clad, black-bearded dwarf scowled at me. "I don't trust ye lil' fae folk. Neva up te any good, so git out an' go back to where ye came from."

A ship-faring dwarf? It was unusual, but not too out of the ordinary. Dwarves mainly liked the mountains and never enjoyed the high seas, so that was already one reason for the bitterness that was probably pecking at his mind when it came to certain life choices. Case in point, he wasn't here because he wanted to. Chances were good he had been beaten out by someone else when it came to his dream career, and he never did let that pass along.

"Jysan Ryderan, at your service," I replied and bowed sarcastically with a smug smile. "I don't believe we've met before."

"Aye, an' a good thing that is!" The dwarf snarled. "Why don't ye jus' go back to whatever hole in the woods ye came from!? Yer a fool if ye think yer welcome 'ere."

"I'm on a scouting mission," I told him with a smile, standing and looking up at his dark, questioning eyes. "You see, I was informed certain parities in Savire were unhappy with your recent change in administration..."

"Ye mean that good for nuthin' Vrell!?" the dwarf asked with hatred on his tone. "Like ye wee lil' bug could do anythin' about im!"

"Oh, I'm not in this alone, my friend," I smiled, looking up and just enjoying the idea of how much I knew that he didn't. "I can't disclose too many details, but in a sense, the Platinum Crusade is like trying to untie a knot. We just need to pull it apart in the right places. Pull in the wrong places, and you just make the problem worse."

He still didn't trust me. Which was totally understandable! Fae are definitely not trustworthy, and I could have confessed to pulling many an act of pure, ice-cold mischief on dwarves before. But I was not the confessing type.

"Here, to take down Vrell?" the dwarf laughed. "Ye couldn't, but even if ye could, we neva saw 'im as king-folk anyway. He knows he has no place 'ere."

"Not yet anyway," I smiled, looking away with a smug grin as I pretended to daydream.

"Wut do ye mean?" He asked.

"Just wait until you start paying taxes to the kingdom," I smirked. "To him, Savire isn't a town or a culture. Psh, to him, it's an investment, and he's hoping to yank out more from underneath your feet than he paid in. Let me guess, you're a ship-builder by trade, aren't you?"

"What's it to you!?" he demanded.

"All I'm saying is Vrell has his sights on world conquest," I told him. "He has an ego that wants to write history with his name all over it. Your superiors will likely sign a military supply contract with him and soon you'll be working on his naval fleet. Once that happens, say goodbye to Savire's culture. You'll be working for him all throughout the war and you'll see Savire transform into a military shipyard port if you don't stand up against it."

He definitely seemed doubtful about it, but it was getting him to stop and think.

"Vrell will have grounds to negotiate and get the cheapest and best deal, and your superiors will be swayed to agree out of fear of being left aside for another company, which will cripple their business," I smirked. "Missing the Vrell military contract, ooh, that's bad news. Your superiors won't like that and they'll see there's lots of money for them if they get involved, but not so much for you. So imagine what that will do to your living wages when the money doesn't trickle down far enough."

"How do ye know this!?" the dwarf demanded.

"I know what greed does to people," I kicked back with a smile, leaning against a neglected beer stein. "It's a drug, really. That little extra money opens new doors and suddenly the old you no longer seems satisfying. And once you have a little taste, you want more and you start inviting the demons in. Demons like 'to hell with the law' and 'let that chump take the fall for it' and 'if this works, could I get even more doing this?' Your superiors will have more in their coffers if they get the contract with Vrell, and you won't see a farthing of it. Next thing you know, they cut your wages and make you work longer."

It was making sense to him, even though he really didn't like the sound of it. Ah, the things you can learn when you use your ears and read between the lines...