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[latkje]

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[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.

[latkje]

Oh, I usually tell the exact amount of truth that I mean to. [ He tries to come up with a more appropriate word. ] Settle? Condense?

[trueltning_fury]

[yeah he figured as much. birds of a feather.]

Both are more like it. Too much time and even grudges can wane. Some, not all.

[latkje]

I don't know. [ He doesn't hold many grudges, and never has. Part of running away from things is not looking back. ]

But I spent a while trying to understand it. [ Grudges, he means. The resentment the conquered feel toward Harmonia. What it would be like to carry something inside you for a century— what it might be like to live for a century with nothing inside to carry you. ]

[trueltning_fury]

[his gloved fingers curl around the top of his mug but for now, Geddoe leaves it on the table. Sometimes you just need to know the drink is there.]

Have you? That's more than most would.

[even if the destruction of his birthplace was a factor motivating him to wage his little private war against Harmonia originally, he doesn't still consider it even slightly important. But everything done in the Fire Bringer War, yep, that's still a hard knot of resentment somewhere deep inside.]

What made you give up trying?

[latkje]

I've lived a life of unusual circumstance. [ A shrug. ]

Who said I've given up?

[ Maybe he'd given up understanding what Zaj was trying to do, but Zaj was dead. ] Part of trying to understand is knowing when you don't.

[trueltning_fury]

Fair point. [slow nod] I was going on the past tense, there.

It's not as though I expect anyone who's never held a Rune to understand. Some things you just can't explain no matter how many words you have to make the attempt.

[latkje]

Geddoe. [ He raises the glass to his lips, but doesn't drink. ] You don't have that many words.

[ Then he drinks. ]