(Lynessa) You do what you gotta do to earn a little notice.
Seated on the shores of Lake Lovalus, Rharne serves as the home of the Lighting Knights, the Thunder Priestesses, and the Merchant's guild. This beautiful trade city is filled with a happy and contented people who rarely need an excuse to party.
Just when he thought to at least be rewarding for her timely assistance, she immediately turned down the chance of payment... based on the fact it was frowned upon. So there did exist some moral code inside this girl. Which meant he had to be extra careful when it came to private deals, lest she present disdain in the presence of bribery as well. Quite honestly Patrick didn't mind not having to pay her, it meant there was more money in his pocket for future deals... yet that still meant she earned something out of him for her trouble.
Just as he offered to bring up something else that may have interested her, the leashed dog that watched her decided to remind her of their duty. Ha! That definitely proved amusing to Patrick, then again he wasn't tied down by such things. He had no superiority he needed to report to, nor did he have to relay anything he knew either. Because he was his own authority, a figure which freely went about his own business with no inferiority whatsoever. As he watched the knight be dismissed he cracked a smirk, a light chuckle made at the pointless promise he made over his little priestess. "Let's hope it doesn't come t' that." He murmured with a gestured farewell to the man.
He then turned once more to face the cleric in front of him, the corners of his mouth still hung up in a friendly grin. "Patrick." The bartender returned before he took a quick swig from the bottle of brandy. "Now I believe you owe me the courtesy of sharin' yours." Of course Patrick merely posed that statement as a means of learning her name, as he would've been glad to have one to remember along with her face. "As for my offer earlier, I'm sure y' may find this an interestin' opportunity." Pat reasoned as he once more offered the bottle, he then turned to look up at the peak of Rharne. Right where the cathedral was. If the bottle was refused of course, then Pat would've merely held it close.
"See I'm workin' on a bit of a large project, one that requires a lot of friends in many places. It's an easy thing people can assist with, but it just can't be people in general that I count on fer this." Patrick then looked to Lyn once more, the smile no longer there, while his eyes expressed seriousness in this matter. "People I can count on, people that I can trust. That is what'll make this project a huge success. I'm lookin' for partners that'll help me out, keep their ears to the ground and sky. Any and all information that would be deemed useful, should be reported back to me in secret, and in turn I'll make sure to reward my friends in any favor they deem necessary. Whether it be gold or personal favor, I'll take care of my 'friends' real well."
As he implied this he held out a hand to her, not for the bottle if she'd taken it, but for a hand in general as an extension of his offer. "Partner up with me. Relay me anything ya hear, any useful information that I might come t' need. Do that and I'll make sure yer well taken care of, looked after even, as a token of gratitude in doin' so." Although he'd likely be signing his own warrant for treason with those at the cathedral, Patrick had felt this worth the gamble more than anything. That Lynessa was worth the gamble. She could've easily apprehended him and brought him in at this rate, or even worse, do so later on down the line when she could legitimately incriminate him. However...
Something told him that she wasn't going to. It had been an incline of his, a hunch that he had from the moment he saw her. And usually those hunches were never wrong. Usually. The question remained though... what would Lyn choose?
“You still owe me, Patrick,” the young woman said with a smirk. Lyn took the bottle again and drank a bit more. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of something soon. And my name is Lynessa.”
By the time Patrick finished his explanation, Lyn realized it had been a very good idea that she had sent Leth away. Despite his trust in her, the knight would have questioned the wisdom in considering such an offer. Would have outright denied it even. He was a dutiful soldier, but she was a spy. And she knew an opportunity when she saw one. There were only a handful of people that would dare make a clandestine deal with a Thunder Priestess.
As she took his hand, Lyn also took a step closer to the man, not really caring if it forced her to look up at him. “How do you know you can trust me? You don’t even know if I can give you what you want. Or better yet, why should I trust you? For all I know, you’re a man who’s planning on using an innocent little priestess like me.” Despite her accusatory words, her tone was light and accompanied by a grin. Still, Lyn watched him closely, trying to discern any sign of falsehoods.
It was too good an offer for her to refuse, truth be told. Most of her contacts, her resources had been arranged by her order. The priestess wasn’t foolish enough to believe that she was granted the ability to gain every information. They only let her in on the things related to her missions, nothing more. And that was not enough for her. It would also certainly help these days with the tension brewing in Rharne. The risks... well, Lyn would have to play it smart. The priestesses would mostly turn a blind on how their warriors operate, as long as it did not jeopardize their order. It would not do if she got kicked out of the order so soon.
“As much I would love being taken care by you, I need more. If we are to be partners, I want whatever access you have to whatever information you might have.” Lyn didn’t know what this really meant, really. No idea what this man could truly offer her. But that was alright, she had the time to find out. Even if it takes the entire day. Better to be safe than sorry. “What is this project, really? I better know what I am getting into.”
Patrick could help but chuckle a bit when she guaranteed that he owed her still, the smirk on his face only widened as he kept her name well in mind. Lynessa. "Indeed I do, I'll make sure t' pay well in return too." Whatever it was she wanted out of him, he'd certainly make sure he upheld his end of the bargain for sure. She definitely posed an interesting sort for him to figure out, and quite honestly Patrick found her quite the woman to measure up now.
Aside from admiring her features he still had to remember what she was, a cleric that belonged to those within the priesthood of the cathedral. Her implied accusations merely brought a shrug out of him, and he cast her a casual sort of grin from where he stood. "Perhaps," He suggested with a soft shake of her hand, "but isn't finding out whether or not we can trust one another half the fun?" The implication came with a wink as he released her hand, his body pivoted so that he could rest his back against the alley wall. "Besides I can think o' worse things than bettin' on a priestess, particularly one who seems as clever as you are."
He might've been attempting flattery then, usually liked to butter up potential friends or allies. Of course Lynessa seemed like a fitting 'friend' or contact in his budding network, but quite honestly Pat never thought he'd skirt chase a cleric before. Whose to say he couldn't strive for the fun in both. "Fair enough, I'll tell ya whatever I can. Better believe it isn't much though." He insinuated as he crossed his arms, already he felt like he'd practiced this speech one time too many. Or perhaps too few? He hadn't quite made a full front attempt at establishing everything, in fact today was just the first of several milestones really.
Once he'd contacted the Shadow Quarter and partnered up with them... maybe.
"Where to begin," He briefly looked up in thought before his gaze fell to her once more, "let's just say that I'm a loner who needs friends. People I'm lookin' t' confide in when it comes to secrets and trust, a business man hopin' t' earn his fortune on the very nature of information. So naturally I'm keen t' keep an eye out for those I consider my partners, they give me anything in particular and I can be sure to relay it to the highest bidder." He scratched his neck for a trill as he continued. "As for what I have to offer? Its pretty limited right now aside from money, but give me a season's worth and I'll hopefully have enough friends. Information comes with a variety of prices and I can certainly reward the same, that is if it seems attainable within my growing network."
"As for earlier," He then pointed out of the alleyway with his thumb, "that was the first big step in making contact with a few potential partners. They're a secretive lot that nobody can find, so hopefully after today I'll have their attention enough to stir some interest. If I'm lucky," He heavily emphasized on the 'if' word, "then they'll come find me." He looked to the priestess once more, his casual smile a bit faded as the arms unfolded to dip hands into pockets.
"That's about it really, like I said it's not much but with the right people; this can really be somethin' useful for someone much like yer self. Anythin' else you'd like t' know? Or have ya reached a decision?" He respectively inquired with eyes heavily on Lynessa, now came the time to determine whether or not she'd take up on his offer... or shut down his project before it'd even started.
It was not at all surprising that Patrick did not truly answer her question about trust. They both knew there was no way there was no way to prove whether the other was trustworthy. Admittedly, what the man was saying was very true for her. These games that came with her job – dancing around the truth, lies flowing as smoothly as a clear stream – gave her a thrill like nothing else could.
She smirked at his smooth compliment. The man was good with words – there was no doubt about it. Honeyed words were certainly one of the easiest weapon wield in her line of work. “You’re making me blush, dear sir.” Her smile only widened when Patrick agreed to share with her what he knew. She didn’t mind his admittance that what he knew was not much. Anything could be useful somehow.
Again, the priestess listened to her newly-made acquaintance carefully. The man had merely began creating a network of some kind – not too different from the goal she had for herself. But unlike her, Patrick wanted to sell his information to the highest bidder. The idea was appealing, of course – gold’s useful in so many ways – but it did not serve as her purpose. Patrick also seemed like he had given some thought to this careful planning of his. It certainly wouldn’t hurt to work with someone who knew his ways around secrets. “Then we’ll work together. Finding people that may be valuable.”
Lyn figured this little arrangement of theirs should not cause her much harm, even if it went wrong – for now, at least. So, the priestess met the man’s eyes and smiled. “Very well, it’s a deal. Though I am curious about these people you’re talking about.”
The fact she could admit her capacity to blush gave Pat definitive reassurance, considering Lynessa could only be considered one of his many conquests. Confidence may have been very well found in his ability to seduce others into the same bed as he, but Patrick quite honestly could never deny himself the chance for a chance at fun. Naturally if it proved to be a challenge, much like his other partner Zana, then he of course felt all the more inclined to put forth the great amount of effort.
That however was something he needed to keep in check though, thus he refrained from further complimenting her for now. Instead he only gave her a wide grin at best, satisfied to hear her agree with the proposition as well; and include the interest in finding others that would be valued. "Sounds great love," He enthused with a chuckle, "The more we have fer our support the better our chances o' learnin' somethin' good." Patrick reminded her as he stood from the wall finally, his hand held out for the bottle as Lynessa finally returned it to him. "They're a secretive lot; like t' remain that way too, findin' them is damn near impossible even when ya know where t' look." He implied as he took another swig, he then looked at the contents to find less than half the bottle remained.
"I'm gonna have t' be more careful about my next plan, I doubt they'll like it if I pester their shipments fer long. Gimme 'til Saun and I should be able t' arrange somethin', we'll see if we can't reach them and branch out on this network we're buildin'." With that he waved to the woman a farewell, with a friendly grin of course, and then moved on to depart from the alleyway. He more or less pretended nothing happened while he was there, and headed on down the street on his way back home. Quite honestly he felt as though he couldn't get out of the Dust Quarter quick enough, now that he would likely have an extra set of eyes watching him for the rest of Ymiden.
Saun… That sounded good enough for her. In the meantime, the priestess could direct more of her effort dealing with her current mission. Maybe this little agreement of theirs might prove to be beneficial for her little mystery. For now, Lyn had no choice but to be content with whatever resources her order provided her. Perhaps it would give her the chance to find out more about Patrick. It definitely would not hurt to be cautious.
As the man walked away, Lyn watched his back until he was entirely out of sight before finally stepping out of the alley. Unsurprisingly, her robe quickly garnered unwanted attention. The Dust Quarter spared no real love for the priestesses. That was her cue to return to the cathedral as soon as possible – and also the fact that Leth must be waiting for her.
Lyn would need to make a plan, a set of goals that she needed to make this deal with Patrick work. She had told him that she would look for people too. She had an idea where to start… Alia had been one of the favored priestesses and for good reason. Her mentor would know where she should start.
With that in mind, the young woman made her way up to the top of the city. The whole time she could not quite decide whether or not to tell her stormbringer of what had just transpired.
Knowledge:
Deception: Pretending to Be Lost
Deception: Playing the Part of an Innocent Healer
Deception: Hiding a Threat under Innocence
Intelligence: Gaining Information before Going on a Mission
Intelligence: Noticing When Someone is Hiding Something
Intelligence: Connecting the Dots
Intelligence: Easier to Get Answers from a Man without Another Man Around
Investigation: Question After Question
Investigation: Knowing What You're Getting Into
Investigation: Leaving No Stone Unturned
Tactics: Splitting Up from Your Knight
Tactics: Knowing When to Back Down
Tactics: Sending Your Knight Away at the Right Time
Patrick: Not a Passing Do-Gooder
Patrick: Tricked Your Order
Patrick: Owes You a Favor
Patrick: Planning a Large Project
Patrick: Partner-in-Crime
Thunder Priestesses: Don't Tell Her Everything
Thunder Priestesses: Sometimes Turns a Blind Eye
Loot: N/A Injuries: N/A Fame: N/A Devotion: +5 Ilaren for investigating on behalf of the Thunder Priestesses
Points: 15
These points CANNOT be used for magic!
Patrick:
Knowledge:
Acting: Feigning Innocence
Deception: Controlling Facial Expressions to Fool Others
Discipline: Remaining Calm During Your Own Setup
Intelligence: Shipment's in Rharne
Intelligence: Buyers/Sellers Within the Dust Quarter
Investigation: Reaching Out to Potential Assests
Investigation: Making Yourself "Known" to Certain People
Intelligence: Building Partnerships With Contacts
Intelligence: Creating A Diversion To Send A Message
Negotiation: Paying Your Dues
Negotiation: Understanding the Value in Opportunity
Persuasion: Using Facial Expressions with Suggestions
Persuasion: Implications For Elaboration
Rharne: Drug Vendors With the Dust Quarter
Rharne: Shipments and Supply Routes
Rharne: The Shadow Quarter
Personal: Reaching Out to The Shadow Quarter
Lynessa: The Thunder Priestess
Lynessa: Smart and Resourceful
Lynessa: A Potential Asset
Lynessa: A Partner and Informant
Faction: The Thunder Priests
Faction: The Shadow Quarter
Loot: N/A Injuries: N/A Fame: N/A Devotion: N/A
Points: 15
These points CANNOT be used for magic!
Comments: I enjoyed this thread. This was the first time I read one of your threads, Lynessa, and I was impressed. I noticed that there is no mention of your income and expenses in your ledger though. Does it have something to do with your character being a Thunder Priestess or did you just forget to add them?
Patrick, your posts were great, as always. I love your character, and I'm already looking forward to the next time we see the Sessfiend in action!
If you have any questions, comments etc. please send me a PM!
