(Private) Secret Conclave

[Malcolm Green]

A quiet night at the blue note. Very quiet. Jazz played lightly in the background to an almost empty bar. Green sat close to the front as much a lone patron as a gruff looking sentinel. A pitcher of beer perspired close to his hand and he fiddled with newspaper, trying to draw out the time before the Sovereign's arrived.

Had they heeded his call? Had they rescheduled? He had heard nothing since he had posted his letters but it wasn't like he had made it easy to contact him.

A huge hand ran over his canvas shoulder bag as if he expected the contents to up and vanish.

The play had been set. All that the Spymaster could do was watch and wait.

The mountain was patient.

Lynn Mills Trickster Ramona Bohannon InvertedMonkey Ava Campbell Saeyer @Laire Selena

[InvertedMonkey]

The ogress is early. In her experience it tends to be best to arrive early to such things. You can make a better social point with your entrance when you're a little late, and everyone can see you, but that's never been her concern. So, early, her truck rumbles into a spot outside the Blue Note, and moments later, the door swings open and her boots carry her inside. As usual, her eyes are attentive, as they sweep over the bar, and then land on the mountain. She nods to him, and approaches.

[Lynn Mills]

Lynn arrived not too long after Ramona, parking her battered car nearby and locking it securely. Making her way in, she paused in Ramona's wake, letting her scan the room before walking forward. There was really only one person that could have called this meeting and so she made her way over to where Malcolm sat.

"Hey there."

[Malcolm Green]

Green read casually as the Sovereigns arrived, one by one. It was a simple matter to look up and nod as the chairs around him filled. At length he shifted in his seat and folded up the newspaper (what a relief!)

"Uh. Hi. Yeah. Guess you got the message." His chunky fist quirked as he reached for his beer. "Did you guys want a drink before we get started. I... uh... need to debrief? Debrief, yeah. Thats a word."

He paused to give the Sovereign's time to settle and obtain what drinks they desired.

"Right. So. You may have guessed it, but here it is: I am the Spymaster. Last year Byeli and the others tapped me for the job after the Council was formed. Now, they didn't give me a brief or anything, and I sure as hell wasn't going to kick of some stazi state shit, so I looked to where I could be of some use. As it turned out, it was Out There... I always say keep your eyes to the horizon, right; we know we got elder wyrm issues, but we got no idea what else is going down out there. So thats where I set my focus, you know: watching the trods when I could; mostly hanging out at Sal's Fleshmarket. Hobs talk. So..."

"Harvey... You could say the old hand took me under his wing. Apprentice, like. Showed me how to use the Mirror, which was real handy out at the Fleshmarket. I'd guess the hobs could connect a mountain giant with the 'Hold. But what about a greasy goblin wizened? Or a dwarf? Heh! Or a broad shouldered draconic dude? When I wasn't using my own masks, I'd borrow Harvey's face. His reputation alone, you know? They left me alone. That time's done, I guess. He went with Byeli and it won't be long before those rumours get out."

He took a quaff of his pale ale.

"Anyway. What have I been doing? Well... Picked up a rumour that a powerful Contract had surfaced round these parts. You may have heard the story - of Red Wren and the Children's Contract? The Fear Makers Promise?* Well, it was one of them. Not the Children's Contract. Similar effect but, you know, different. I heard that some local hob's were trying to make big by fencing it. They call them the Boggan Brothers. I also heard that they had interested buyers already: some group calling itself the Family and some Court of hard asses calling themselves the Dusk. I figured I'd toss my hat in the ring too. Hell, we need some artillery against Fairweather, yeah? And if nothing else, if I could get that Contract you guys could barter it for favours or leverage or something. And right now, we need something."

He fiddled with his bag.

"Anyhow. I got it. First pass, the Brothers scented me. I learned. Next pass I sent out some Spies. Daniel Leto and Milo, if you must know. They've proven themselves, yeah. Note that. They walked right up to the Brother's camp and negotiated a deal; fulfilled their side of the bargain; walked away with the goods. Now I got this Fear Maker's Promise right here. Its yours. Do with it what you see fit."

He dug into his bag and placed a box on the counter. The box was of shiny black lacquer, about the size and dimensions of an A4 ream.

"Thats... uh... what I've managed to pull off since the Council was formed, yeah. So. What do you want me to do?"

Gemstone eyes moved from one Sovereign to another. That he could be replaced had not entered his head.

Notes

*See the SAS of the same name. The Children's Contract was a story level McGuffin that established the plot and propelled it forward.

Thanks to Selena and Trickster for letting me work towards this over the past year

[InvertedMonkey]

As the mountain speaks, Ramona slowly starts to smile. It starts out as a small thing, appraising, hopeful. As her expectations are met, and exceeded, it grows into a full-fledged smirk, a satisfied expression, and a look of anticipation, as if she's expecting more good things in the future. It's certainly interesting to learn that Daniel and Milo are spies. The ghostbuster gets yet another hat. Or would that be proton pack? And praise for Milo's work? That's unexpected. She's sure of Green's judgement in most things, but skeptical of that. Perhaps Daniel kept the little jerk from screwing it all up. Though it is rather unwise to speculate without the acts.

Her eyes rest on the lacquered box. It doesn't look any different from a prop in a cheesy movie. Yet it is a Thing of Power, if Green is to be believed. And the mountain has her trust. She glances up at him, "Well, first of all… congratulations on the post. It suits you, and clearly you're already doing awesome at it." She smirks, but her expression returns to contemplative as she looks back at the box, "For those of us that aren't so up on our Contract lore, maybe somebody could explain what this is first?" She glances up around the table. Ava seems likely to have the answer, and even if not, Green probably knows what the hell this thing is. "What's it do? What's it cost to use it?"

[Lynn Mills]

Lynn leaned forward and gazed thoughtfully at the box. "And what did it cost Daniel and Milo to obtain it? If it cost them as dearly as I think it did, I'd like to look into renumeration for them." She settled back in her char and nodded at Green. "Again, very well done, both in finding out about this and taking the appropriate steps to obtain it."

She looked at Malcolm and tilted her head to the side a bit. "As you're our Spymaster, how would you prefer that we contact you? For 'official duties'?"