Titus' face gets incredibly serious.
"Why is it that my Dominus assume I'm an idiot? I'd like to see your actual furnishings. I'm only going to ask once."
You hear the rattling from the kitchen immediately stop, clearly she can hear you. The dominus' face turns splotchy as he both pales in fear and blushes in embarrassment at the same time, "I ah.. m'lord..." and he looks for a way out, not in the physical sense but out of the situation.
Tertius steps forward, his voice scornful despite the diplomatic words, "Perhaps your having the regular furniture cleaned? Perhaps it's finished and should be brought back in..."
The dominus jumps at this, "Ah yes that's it exactly!" and sweat rolls down his cheek, "I'll see to it at once!" He practically runs to the back entrance, shouting towards someone outside, "Bring the... er, clean furniture back in, take this old stuff back to storage."
Tertius grins at you while the dominus shouts, his voice low, "He won't pull this nonsense again."
Not a problem farm so much, he was 5 units off his last shipment, which is a far cry better than his performance for Verienus so he was simply informed that he owed 5 extra on the next one.
Tertius shrugs, "Anthony'd probably understand this better than I..."
The Dominus comes back as farm hands enter and pick up the furniture, taking it back out, one of them grumbles something about having just brought it in and another tells him to "Shut it."
Shortly after that they bring in some fairly high quality furniture, on par with what you have in the castle. The Dominus gives you a nervous look...
He blinks at you, again looking for some way out, "I will ah, make sure I always have... my furniture... in order from now on m'lord." and he dips his head in a bow, his eyes saying he's afraid you'll kill him.
He blinks at you again, caught unprepared by your directness, "er ah, yes m'lord, of course m'lord... Tea?" and he gestures towards the dining room table again where a new cup has already replaced the old one, this one of fine quality.
He stares blankly at the man, blinking a few times.
"I would ask you what you were thinking, but you were concerned about your family's welfare. So, let me spell things out for you. I am the lawful Komis, here, appointed by the Emporer. If I were deposed by a coup, and the taxes I'm now sending to the Doukas stop unexpectedly, there would be consequences. We are at war with locals, and the Doukas is hard pressed for materiel to build with. He is neck deep in war, and growing more frustrated by the minute. What do you think he would do, if he had to send forces down here to figure out what had happened, and learned this kind of thing happened? What do you think the punishment would be? In a time of war no less?"
His mouth opens without his even realizing it as what you say sinks in... he begins to shake as fear causes adrenaline to kick in...
From the entrance to the kitchens you hear his daughter, "Father?" she rushes to his side, "Father go lay down, I will speak to the Komis for you, everything will be okay..." her voice of reason doesn't seem to reach him, but when she guides him to stand up he does so.
"With your permission m'lord, my father needs to rest and I will return very shortly."
assuming you give it..
She guides him down the hall and returns a scant minute later, curtseying and blushing, "My deepest apologies m'lord, my father has fits as many of the great men do." You realize that she didn't call her father a great man, she simply made the statement that great men often suffer from fits.
"Ma'am, you should all be damned glad I am not Lord Verienus. While what you've done encroahes on treason, I'm not going to hurt any of you.
You've been caught in the middle of something I should have seen coming and prevented. If anyone is at fault here, I am as Komis, to protect my Dominuii. Now, please, calm down, and let's see how we can salvage this situation. Please, sit."
She rushes in and helps him to his feet again, they make it to the entrance to the hallway when he stops and turns around despite his daughter's efforts, "What... what can I do... do to make this right?" He still looks shaky, but somewhere in there he's find a wet noodle of a spine.
He shakes his head, but instead of fear you see simply sadness in his eyes, "I don't know m'lord..." then he blinks, "No wait I can tell you the names of three Dominus he's working with, (three Dominus names) I recognized the men he brought with him as belonging to them. He took ten men from me, he could have as many as a hundred."
"Thank you Dominus. We'll check it out. Xenon watch over your family, sir." He'll get up to leave. "I'll try not to harm any of your men, Dominus." He'll put on his helmet and bow, then leave.
The Captain is a tall Moon Elf roughly in his late twenties with the typical rolling gait of a man more used to a ship. He bows with a flourish that denies any likelihood of military service, "M'lord Komis thank you for meeting me. I am aware your time is valuable so with your permission m'lord we'll skip the pleasantries?"
again, assuming you agree
"I have men that need to be paid and a ship without cargo. I am told your seeking a regular run. The way I see it, you need me. There are few that can outrun a pirate vessel and even fewer that'd choose that life, I happen to be one of those." and again he flourishes a bow, "So then as to my price, 25 silver marks a trip."
He looks less than impressed.
"First off let me thank you for bringing my cousin back here safely and quickly."
"It is true I can use a ship and a man to captain it. I also intend to build a fortified port at the mouth of the river for such a vessel. I would imagine it will need an administrator, but that's a ways off. I also have a shipwright, who, once he has the wood, will build merchant vessels and whatever the caratosian navy needs. As far as the merchant vessels, a fleet of them would need an Admiral. I would not pay this future Admiral, however, 25 silver a trip. Do you know anyone willing to work for a more managable wage?"
He rubs his chin, "Administrator... Admiral..." and you see his eyes light up, "An... understanding could be reached, I would be willing to work for less, for the potential for future profits."
He chuckles.
"Sorry to bandy a carrot in front of you like that captain, but as you say time is short. I do not wish to make light of the skill it takes to evade pirates and adhere to a schedule, or keep men loyal under those conditions. All of these things I plan, but to be honest, having regular deliveries of iron, and my dues to the Doukas, will most certainly help that happen quickly. Let's work out a monthly salary for you, that you can pay your men out of and you can collect when you arrive here each time. I won;t restrict you from makeing other deliveries, or moonlighting, but my shipments must take priority. I'll pay a month in advance, and a bonus for you taking a cut up front and not milking me for all im worth. Honest pay for honest work, plus a bonus? Is this acceptable?"
His eyes furrow as he thinks this over, then he gives a sharp nod, "Okay then, seven silver a month and I'll run circles around those pirates and get your goods where you need them, when you need them there. And when it comes time for administrators and admirals, you remember my fairness."
"I will captain." He'll write a note and sign it, authorizing the consigliere to give him 10 silver. "Take this to my consigliere." He'll offer his hand to shake it. "Welcome aboard."
He shakes your hand gladly, "And that's how deals should be done, with a handshake." and he nods as if to confirm his own words, "Well then m'lord I'll take up no more of your time," and he scoops up the note and bows with a flourish before departing.
Remus's messenger is shown in after giving you a minute to refresh yourself. He's a young boy maybe 15 years old with an innocent yet responsible expression on his face, he bows awkwardly, "M'lord err a Komis.."
He nods, "Yes m'lord, Remus says to tell you that Tydel has been to visit again and that Leander has committed to giving him men and that one of the men Tydel is getting is an in...form...ant..." and he gives you a puzzled look at this last word, "What is an in-form-ant, m'lord?"
He grins, "That's smart!" then realizes himself, "Sorry m'lord" and dips his head, "He said to tell you the man had an accident with a plow once," and again he looks up at you confused, "What does that mean?"
He nods, takes a deep breath, then starts "Remus says to tell you that Tydel has been to visit again and that Leander has committed to giving him men and that one of the men Tydel is getting is an in-form-ant and that he had an accident with a plow once."
When he arrives he looks as if he's been well fed and given a chance to bathe, his clothes have been cleaned... all told he's been treated like a guest that isn't allowed to leave, not like a prisoner.
He's in his thirties and has the weathered skin and thick shoulders of a man who's worked a farm his whole life. He bows quickly and then straightens, "M'lord Komis, I seek amnesty and the protection of your walls in exchange for information."
He thinks that through a second, "I am just worried that I won't be punished m'lord..." then without waiting for you to respond he answers your question, "Tydel Verienus is stylizing himself as Komis, insists that everyone call him that. He has about 150 men training as militia and claims to have a secret way into the castle. He has four Dominus with him and some others that have given some men as support." and he clears his throat, "I was sent with some men to raid some supply wagons, we killed four militia and took the contents, that's when I made my escape."
He shakes his head, "I didn't see the contents m'lord, I snuck away while they were distracted looting them. There's an old abandoned estate, I can show you on a map which one it is."
I assume you have a map brought, he will point one out, you'll see an old nasty scar on his hand, "From a farming accident when I was a boy m'lord."
