Wolf Among the Sheep

Sitting behind his desk, Arawn looked to each of his council as he tapped fingertips lightly against his chin. He looked to each one and then to the group as a whole as he slowly started to speak.

“I have signed our first contract.”

He awaited to see what kind of reaction this would get; Baeshra watched him, an expectant gleam in her yellow eyes as the others eagerly awaited more details of the guild's first paying job.

“It's nothing too difficult. There is a small village to the South that is experiencing some issues with wolves eating their sheep. They depend on sheering the wool to sell at market for their living and attempting to deal with the problem themselves has left some wounded and even a few dead.”

Letting his words sink in he paused briefly to see if anyone would speak up before continuing.

“The pay isn't much; they have only offered 10 gold. However, after completing the job we will not accept their payment but do this out of charity.”

This caused several eyebrows to raise, the first to speak up was his twin brother, Verael. “Brother, so you mean to say, that our first official job with the Company we will be doing...for free? Have you gone insane?!”

Arawn steepled his fingers, raising to a point then flattening as he listened to the valid complaint from his brother.

“Charity, there is no better marketing in the world. Besides, it's not much gold anyway and it won't take us much time nor effort. I will personally be over seeing this first job.”

"You..." Arawn turned his head towards his brother as he continued speaking, “...will be joining me along with Alek and the new girl Sylvara. The plan is to have Sylvara do most of the work, see how she handles herself. Also, brother, I am putting her in your charge. Make sure she does her job and doesn't get into any trouble. Also feel her out, see how she does and if she has potential to further herself here. I have yet to tell her of this so that is also your responsibility.”

"Alek..." His gaze shifted to the half-dressed Castanic woman. “Your job is merely to play backup, but only if my brother gives the word. I trust his judgement and he is rather good at getting out of messy situations. You are basically the insurance policy.”

The castanic woman watches Arawn with a calculating look. Then after a moment slowly lifts a hand with a slight smirk to stroke the curve of her axe "I think I can handle being the insurance."

“And what is your job, dear brother?” Verael asked sarcastically.

“Simple.” Arawn responded, “I am the face of this Company and I will be there only to discuss the contract with the leader of the village and then inform him we are doing this out of the good graces of our hearts."

“In hopes that others will hear of our generosity and send business our way?” his brother asked, always knowing Arawn had alternate motives for everything.

“Exactly. Now, we leave tomorrow, so I suggest you go inform Sylvara of her duties and both get to packing. I'll just need to go over the responsibilities for the others in my absence.”

Verael nodded before rising and leaving the office, Alek following quickly behind him. Once the door shut and foot steps could no longer be heard, Baeshra rose from her chair and made her way toward Arawn. Her foot steps light along the wooden floors as he watched her intently, the castanic moved behind the desk and then perched on his lap with an impish smile. She wrapped an arm nonchalantly around his shoulders, leaning in. "So what is all this truly about, Arawn?”

With a sly smirk crossing his face, he looked to his childhood friend and then to the rest of the council that remained, which consisted of the amani woman Malani, and the high elf Voriel.

“Why, what ever do you mean, my dear Baeshra? Can I not do some good for some poor shepherds?” The sarcasm dripped from every word he spoke.

“Oh, I'm sure you have a sweet side, Arawn. Which, after knowing you these many years, I have yet to see. So, what's the catch?” Her response was playful, for she knew him all too well.

Looking at her and then to the two other women, the smirk never left his face. “Well, we will be earning a teeny tiny proft - with all of your help, that is.”

Clearing his throat, he continued. “You see, the wool from this particular village is bought up rather quickly by some of the best tailors in Velika. Only the most wealthy men and women buy from these tailors. Because of this wolf incident, the supply of the wool has gone down which has caused the market price to sky rocket.”

Arawn paused as he waited for each fact to fully develop in their heads.

“By just thinning out the number of wolves, leaving mostly the mothers and young, the numbers of sheep can increase - thus bringing the supply back up to where it is normally. Now, let's say that a buyer were to purchase massive quantities of wool when the market value was at a low. And then these wolf pups were to grow up and start feeding on the sheep again, causing another shortage. That buyer could sell their entire stock at high prices and make a small fortune.”

Looking around at each of them, letting them see the real value behind this contract. Voriel was the first to speak up. “As a result, we are seeking to claim control of the tailoring market. Thinning the wolves to limit supply, of which we would have insider knowledge. And with control of the population, we could affect the revolving market." She tilted her chin, seeing his meaning. "We only need to thin the numbers of wolves, knowing the packs we leave of pups that will eventually grow to adults...”

Arawn cut her off, with a wave of hand. “Which will take upwards of six months.”

Voriel nodded lightly. “To allow the market time to stabilize low.”

“Indeed,” replied a rather enthusiastic Arawn.

“And...” Malani's voice cut through the discussion, “At the same time, we become heroes to these villagers. When the population rises again, they will contact us, insuring we control the market.”

“Exactly.” Arawn's eyes gleamed as his plan was fully laid out in front of the women.

“So, what's our role?” asked Baeshra as she looked up to him from his lap.

“You three shall be playing the most important role of all. When the market bottoms out, I want you three to buy all the wool using whatever connections you have. I don't want one person to be buying too much, keep it careful and not leading back to us. Be smart, spread it around, but don't spread it out exactly even. While I don't think there is anyone watching us yet, let's not draw suspicions so early.”

With that, he looked at each of them before continuing. “Any questions?”

They all shook their heads 'no'.

“Everyone understand what they are supposed to do?

Looking to each one individually, they all responded with a firm 'yes'.

“Well, since there aren't any questions and we all understand our parts, this meeting is over as I have to pack as I leave in the morning.”

(( Sorry for the delay, folks, here's the next bit ))



Verael's demeanor had shifted once they left the office. A slight twitch could be seen in the corner of his eye. He kept several paces ahead of Alektos, until he stopped abruptly and turned back to look the scantly armoured woman, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm sure a new recruit can handle a few wolves, three of us seems a bit much for such an easy, and unpaid, task."

His gaze started at Alektos' legs, and slowly made its way up her curves, stopping finally, at her eyes, a wicked gleam in his own. "I do believe, I need to confirm that you have the appropriate skills necessary, to be proper 'insurance', if you're going to be coming along... after all, you carry yourself well enough, but I would need to see you in action."

Noting his gaze Alektos returned it with one of her own, slowly appraising him with her eyes before returning them to his. "I could say the same to you. Neither of us has seen the other.. in action. An easy enough situation to fix I'm sure." Stepping closer she asks "Shall we?" Then brushes past him and continues walking away a little extra swing in her hips.

Grinning to himself, Verael kept two steps behind her, watching her 'assets' as he followed.

+Some time later+

Verael chuckled to himself as he tightened one of the leather straps on his breastplate. "Well, you certainly have the weapon skills I was hoping to see. There shouldn't be any issues on, or off, the field." He glanced back at Alektos, taking in a long, appreciative look.

Grinning at Verael, Alek streched her arms abover her head for a moment before dropping them and saying, "You're right. I dont see us having any issues.

"I'm going to go out ahead of you and Sylvara, I want to see just what the situation is. Perhaps see if we can't bait these damned animals."

"I will see about rounding up some supplies to get these wolves taken care of." Looking thoughtful for a moment she continues, "I will look for a decent tanner while I'm at it, maybe we can make a small profit off the pelts at least."

Taking a moment, Verael penned a quick note on a scrap of paper he found in the room: Sylvara. Time for you to shine in your first job with the company. You will meet myself and Alektos at Perdale of Valley of Titans as soon as you are able.

On his way to the stables, Verael stopped a young messenger and handed him a few coins, along with a folded note. "See that this gets to a Castanic woman named Sylvara, the sooner the better."

+More time later+

Verael dismounted from his horse, and surveyed the small town that was to be the base of operations for their "charity" job. He handed a few coin to a local to watch over his mount while he took to finding the one that had hired the company.

"E-excuse me! Are you with the Onyx Rose Company?"

Verael turned toward the voice, his eyes falling upon an older human man, who looked to be in his late fifties. The young castanic nodded his response.

"Oh good. But... is it just you? Arawn had said he would send people, you see..." the old man frowned slightly as he continued, "and with the wolves as they are, I don't see how you will handle them alone."

"I am merely the first here. Verael Tyri'da, brother to Arawn," he removed his gauntlet and shook the man's hand, "I should have two others arriving shortly enough. I wanted to get here first, and see what exactly we're dealing with."

The young messenger finds himself in the small town of Chebika standing in front of the tavern, The Oasis. Loud noises could be heard coming from the inside as the messenger walks on to the deck. Upon entering the tavern, the messenger scans the area and notices a large gathering of people around a table, all laughing and carrying on like they were having a good time. Not seeing the target person, the messenger heads over to the bar and asks the bartender if he has seen a female Castanic.

With a begrudged look, the bartender points to the table where the crowd of people are located, “She'll be over there, lad. If you are here to take her away, then be quick about it. She has caused enough ruckus already!”

The messenger looked at the crowd with uncertainty as he maneuvered around the people while trying to make his way to the table. Upon finally reaching the table, the young messenger found four passed out men and one female Castanic gulping down a mug of ale as the crowed was chanting “Drink!, Drink!, Drink!” Everyone starts cheering as the female Castanic finishes off her mug and slams it onto the table with a smirk on her face.

Seeing the opportunity, the Messenger quickly jumps in next to the female Castanic and taps her on the shoulder. “uhh..Ma'am? Would you happen to be Miss Sylvara?”

Sylvara gives the messenger a quick look over and responds, “Sorry kid, you are a bit too young for me.”; the crowd starts laughing from Syl's response.

The young Messenger starts to blush from embarrassment, “N..No Ma'am, Yo..You misunderstood, I..I have a me..message for you.” He quickly holds up the piece of paper while trying to avoid the eyes that are lurking upon him.

Sylvara starts laughing as she takes the note from the messenger, “Ah, I am sorry then, my new young friend. Please forgive my misunderstanding.” Syl then grabs a small sack out of her side pouch, “ Here, take this as a tip and this as part of my apology”; she tosses him two gold coins.

Syl then moves her focuses onto the note in her hand, “Sylvara. Time for you to shine in your first job with the company. You will meet myself and Alektos at Perdale of Valley of Titans as soon as you are able.”

Syl rereads the note a second time for clarification, “Well, it looks like this “myself” forgot to sign the note so guess I should just look for Alektos then.”

After putting the note into her pouch along with her small sack, Syl takes a quick gander at what has become of her drinking competitors. With a smirk, Syl grabs one of the non empty bottles from the table, takes a quick swill, and then tries to stand up. “Sorry guys, it looks like we are gonna have to end our little game a bit earlier then planned, It would seem work is calling.”and with say that, Syl walks out the door and heads for the nearest pegasus station.

The streets of Velika bustled with a thriving call of business. Men and women in finery remained apart with tiny cups in hand speaking with merchants and contacts that forced their way among the shopping adventurers. Others simply gathered in groups to laugh and share their tales of journeys, a bottle passed between them. Servants hauled numerous crates and bags of parcels and goods to carriages and carts. No one could ever say a simple shopping trip was every boring.

Men and women of affluence watched from high windows, fingers itching with the gold changing hands. Perhaps some of those very shoppers feeling the same with eager eyes seeking deals.

Voriel returned to a small outdoor cafe, slipping into a chair with Malani, Baeshra, and a few spots still open for others. Each of them had notes and chits, orders and contacts, to try and track down every possible path for purchasing the wool as directed by Arawn.

"Ladies, do you believe Antonius will be joining us as well? I imagine we have much to speak of, and a few more to check into. I swear, I never realized how many textures and options there were for this wool."

The assignment was not the most glamorous, but at least they could have a chance to visit, and spend...well..money. And what could be more fun than that?

It was a war zone. Tucked in a corner of Velika's business district was one of the open air trading pits. A writhing mass of the federation's member races had all gathered there to trade with one another in the hopes of striking it rich. Voices of all octaves cried out their orders to one another as invisible sums of gold were tossed between them.

"Gimme a bid on 300 Nor!" yelled one Aman trader, his shout matched by corresponding hand gestures.

"I'll have them at 285!" replied a Baraka from across the pit.

"Done! 285!" The Aman waved back as he closed the deal.

Antonius leaned against a column several meters away from the heart of madness. In his hand was his distinctive black journal that bore his family sigil. He scribbled within it the day's asking price of various stocks and commodities he'd been keeping an eye on. Satisfied, he shut the journal and placed it back inside of his jacket before heading to get some refreshment at one of the local cafes.

He hadn't gotten very far before he noticed what seemed like a few familiar faces. He strained his eyes just briefly to ensure he wasn't about to make a fool of himself to some strangers. Smiling, he jogged over at a light pace to meet up with his companions.

"Hey over there! I wasn't expecting to bump into the three of you here. What brings you all to the CBD today?"