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[latkje]

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[trueltning_fury]

[there is a brief and yet telling pause before Geddoe meets his eye and then shrugs one shoulder indifferently]

How long do you think Sasarai can go on in his position, knowing full well where I am and how to find me, before he'll have to do something about it? The treaty protects the Grasslands; it doesn't protect me.

[which isn't an answer, more a suggestion. He doesn't need an excuse to disappear, but finding True Wind would be awfully convenient for his purposes]

There is another solution for dealing with it, though I'm not sure there's time to prepare for it.

[latkje]

Honestly? [ Given everything Sasarai is dealing with… Nash waves a hand around, vaguely. ] Two years, maybe three. [ The Harmonian bureaucracy is not particularly agile. That's why they have agents to take care of these things before the great leviathan can move. ]

But you couldn't stay here forever, anyway. [ That's the problem with forever. ] What were you thinking?

[trueltning_fury]

[he's basically known from the moment Dios came looking for them to help Sasarai that his time with the SFDF was on a finite countdown. Geddoe just doesn't want to leave his bros in the lurch.

But that's for worrying about later.]

Sealing it. [which, given the dubious knit of his brow, not his favorite solution but factually, an option] But the Sindar methods of sealing are lost, they say. They were found by one man, but he died with that secret. The Alma Kinan have a similar method...

[nah he's not going to ask if Nash made himself a nuisance in Alma Kinan]

Given enough time to do the research, maybe something more secure can be devised. But I don't know if another fifty years will pass and another treaty will expire before either of us ever found it.

[latkje]

[ Hmmm. That isn't a bad idea. ]

I saw part of that ritual. The unsealing. [ He was distracted, what with Yuber et. al attacking, but— ]

I took notes. [ Which isn't to say that he could replicate it— most of what he saw he didn't understand. But that wouldn't be a bad place to start. ]

[trueltning_fury]

And I was present when True Fire was unsealed, but I saw nothing of it that would hint to the means of sealing it. The Alma Kinan method might be better, if imperfect.

[notes, huh? Not surprised. Diligent after all, eh Nash?]

I don't know if the shamans pass that knowledge on to each other, or would give it to an outsider, but a visit to the village would be a start.

[latkje]

[ It's something he picked up a few years ago— writing everything he remembered down after important encounters or interludes. It made drafting reports easier later on, and kept his memory more reliable.

It's the worst thing about him, really: he's pretty good at his job. ]

I could check the One Temple library, too. [ There's a lot there. ] But this is all theoretical. We don't need to go betraying our secret plans just yet.

[trueltning_fury]

Mm, true. I think the Alma Kinan would be fairly alarmed if I just showed up one day asking after Rune sealing techniques. [there's a wry gleam in his dark eye] After mouthing off for decades about never sealing mine.

[he got so engrossed in this discussion that he forgot how much ale was left in his tankard; not enough, judging by the sudden tip-up and then glance into the depths. He twists in his seat just enough to raise a hand and flag the bartender in the universal sign of needing a refill and then settles back down]

What's the time frame on something like this, anyway? Is there any urgency, a sense that the Harmonian Main Army might like to take over the mission?

[latkje]

You could go in disguise. [ He places an elbow on the table and points a finger like a gun. ] Something more approachable, and more female.

[ This is his new favorite plan. Alas, judging from his wooden theater performances, Geddoe could never pull it off. ]

The bishops are all arguing about what we ought to do. Luc did a real number on the Temple hierarchy, and there are still people in Crystal Valley who don't believe he was really a traitor. [ Whatever his ultimate goals, Luc presented a version of the war that won enough favor in Harmonia to get him appointed bishop. ] I don't think official action will be coming for a while, because the consensus just isn't there. But I'm sure unofficial action will be following swiftly.

[ It wasn't exactly uncommon for bishops to run their own private operations, and if one of them managed to restore the True Wind Rune, he could get the rest of them to listen, just like Luc did. ]

Maybe someone will hire your pal Duke.

[ Way better than the Howling Voice Guild. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[Nash now is not the time to bring up your secret fantasies. Also what. That deserves the darkest stinkeye Geddoe can manage with only one eye]

You would look far better in a skirt than I would.

[besides, he has the Alma Kinan's favor, decades of good will and all that. Nash? You're the one who might have to sneak in.

He contemplates the endless possibilities, who in Harmonia could do what with whom, while the bartender drops off the refills and beats a hasty retreat, only speaking once they're alone again.]

Please do, it'll keep him out of my face. He wouldn't know the first thing about where to start such a search, he'll be halfway into Tinto before anyone catches on.

[latkje]

You're right, I would.

[ And he doesn't seem bothered by the rejoinder. ]

So don't worry about Duke. [ A shrug. He knows Geddoe can imagine the other possibilities. ] And jeez, keep going at this rate and I'm going to have to worry about the bill.

[ This doesn't stop him from taking a sip. He's just complaining to complain. ]

[trueltning_fury]

I warned you.

[not that he's working to get drunk, no, but a decent afternoon in a tavern is going to take more than one drink]

So. We have time, but not a lot of it. There are a lot of unknowns. Sounds like the kind of thing that will keep me busy and interested.

[latkje]

[ A shrug. What can he do? ]

My missus says I never listen.

[ No one would say that Nash's problem is that he doesn't listen. ]

How long do you need to get ready?

[trueltning_fury]

[Geddoe offers a smirk for the mystery woman in Nash's life. Whoever she is, she's probably glad he's always working]

Frankly, I could be ready by midday tomorrow, but we'll say dawn the following day just to be sure. In case I feel like casting a few fishing lines before leaving.

[he's got his own network of informants, and now's a good time to call in some favors]

[latkje]

Does that fruit seller still take his off days in the middle of the week?

[ Not that he's prying. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[DAMMIT NASH.

There's a flash of surprise and alarm before Geddoe clamps down on it. Figures he'd know but still.]

Maybe I don't need any fruit this week.

[latkje]

Yeah, not after you've cleaned me out, huh? [ He smiles, and leans over the table a little. ]

Take all the time you need, but I'll level with you. I haven't heard of anyone else taking up this mission, but I left Crystal Valley almost a week ago. [ So all of his information from the capital is about a week out of date. He has his methods of relaying intel across distances, but that takes time. And of course, there's always the possibility that someone was dispatched before that and Nash didn't know. ] I'd like to assume someone else will be showing up, so that I can be duly unimpressed instead of unpleasantly surprised.

[trueltning_fury]

[much better. Definite slow nod here.]

Got it. I would conservatively assume that as well, for all we know actual bounty hunters from across the continent have heard the news and are already traipsing through Grassland. [he hasn't been in the area for a short while, after all] But then, the Lizards should take care of most of them.

[latkje]

What makes you so sure they wouldn't go looking for it themselves?

[ It isn't only Harmonia who would have an interest in acquiring the thing, after all. ]

[trueltning_fury]

I've known the Lizard Clan a lot longer than you have. [whippersnapper!] If nothing else, they respect the Fire Bringer and the agreements we've always had. I believe Dupa wouldn't make a move on a True Rune unless they had the Flame Champion's express permission.

[which still isn't a guarantee, for one Hugo might not be ready to start giving orders like that, for another they might consider True Wind a gift to the Flame Champion, but the Lizards are fighters, not mages. They'll err on the side of not messing around with runes if they don't have to.]

[latkje]

Uh huh. Maybe not Dupa. But what about one of his ambitious underlings? Or even outside the Grasslands. You might trust Wyatt's daughter, but what about the Zexen Council? [ Does anyone trust the Zexen Council? ]

Don't pretend any of these scenarios wouldn't be a threat to the peace the Fire Bringer forged. Including having the Flame Champion's express permission.

[trueltning_fury]

If I expected any of the scenarios to be more likely than Harmonia trying to get their hands on it, you would be right. There's no predicting one person's sudden attack of ambition, no matter which country that person is from. [giving him a sly look over the rim of his tankard] But you and I are both in the business of calculating risks. It's impossible to predict every outcome so w can only throw our greatest weight behind the most likely ones.

That said, I know Lizards. I know Karayans. There's a new Council in Vinay. [as yet untested, true, but...] The big picture isn't going to be as threatened by a rogue factor among them compared to a threat from outside.

[latkje]

[ He raises a mild eyebrow. ]

Harmonia isn't on the outside of this. [ Not the war, not the peace, not the treaty. It was their rune to begin with.

In a valiant show of restraint, he refrains from making a one-eye joke. But for the record Nash thought of several. ]

[trueltning_fury]

That's a matter of perspective.

[he may not be a native Grasslander but he's as good as, after nearly eighty years of this. Come traipse on his protected land at your own risk, Harmonia]

[latkje]

[ Really making it hard not to make a one-eye joke. The depth perception punchline basically writes itself, c'mon. ]

I guess I forget how living on the border makes you feel further from your neighbors.

[trueltning_fury]

[do it, he would be the first to dare you]

That's more true than you know, Nash. But I've also had a very long time to let certain feelings...mmm, fester isn't the right word. I'm not sure how to explain it.