Ash pounds a fist on the table. "But we don't know. Any power associated with blood makes signing the contract in blood that much more uncertain. " He pauses.
"The personal Kanda to the Lord Ruler? Why is she working for Urbain? What are we getting into?" Ash is slipping more and more into his skaa mannerisms. He fine coat is thrown over the chair and his shirt is unbuttoned and the sleeves are rolled up.
Damian gives yet another long-suffering sigh.
"You signed a contract in blood?" he groans. He is becoming increasingly nervous about his new job. Hopefully they could end this operation in short order. It is quickly looking like it will be significantly less pleasant than anticipated.
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"So my original idea for killing this guy was to sneak in and stab him as he slept but with Duality in the mix that might not work. We'll have to take a more subtle approach, I was thinking about impersonating one of the dead women and slowly driving him insane, you people seem to have strange reactions to seeing dead people, maybe we speed up the process with some Grey Death poison.
Then one night he trips and falls, leaving all of his estate to Ashweather Ackroyal".
"Seems like that would be harder to me. If this Duality is there, getting to Urbain once is going to be easier than getting to 'im enough times to drive 'im crazy. Poison might work, if he doesn't have a taster or someun who can sniff it," Damian offers.
Ash frowns at the discussion. "I don't think it's realistic for estate to be turned over to my own holdings; we would be suspected immediately. Poison could be a good option. It could help us circumvent a lot of his martial strength, something we are lacking. I think we need to wait for some additional information about the grounds and the guards before we proceed."
The crew has chosen to once again split up, only this time Jehoy will join Ashweather's lawn maintenance crew, while Damian makes his way to joining the ranks of the guards.
Before your crew begins their shift, each is made to prick their thumb and use it as a signature on their employment contract. Carver, the aging Noble Majordomo, nods and pays each man a week's salary up front. Jehoy, of course, is paid this coin as well. After collecting the signatures, Carver verifies that there are no additional members of the crew, and then explains the tasks to the workers.
"Your job is to maintain the front lawns of Lord Urbain's estate. I expect the lawn to be cut to a uniform height of a man's hem, and I will be testing you. You will receive a meal at high noon, as we would not want to appear to be unkind, and then your afternoon shift will conclude at 5 bells. If you have questions, bring them to your proprietor."
Carver pauses and then speaks to really emphasize the point: "This was both stipulated in your employment contract and explained to your employer as well: None of you should attempt to go past the place where the outer hedges meet the stone. That is the exclusive domain of Lord Urbain, and he acts with lethal intent should he find trespassers there."
Turning to Ashweather, he says "Be aware that their performance reflects on you, and should they be caught where they shouldn't be, you will be subject to the punishment as well. Lord Urbain believes this to be a good motivator in such dealings. You make speak to your crew, and then if you wish you may return to collect them in the evening. Otherwise, there is a gazebo where you may observe their work."
Jehoy: Your first day on the worksite is about what you'd expect from working at a noble's home. The help is intended to be seen working and not much else. The workleader from Ashweather's crew, a Skaa woman by the name of Yune, shows you how to work the push mower and the scythe, as well as the trimmers for working on the outer hedges.
It is hard work, but not without it's charm. Yune has the crew take turns mowing in the sun, so no one is in danger of collapsing from the heat.
As promised, lunch is served at the Gazebo Ashweather was shown by two of the most attractive Skaa women you have ever seen. It is a simple fare, consisting of equal and plentiful helpings of fruit juice and water, and a massive tray of sandwiches made from a variety of meats, with the crusts cut off and sliced in half. There is more than enough for everyone, and most of the crew folds one or two into their handkerchiefs and pocket them.
The afternoon work is more of the same as the morning, but after lunch the crew is in good spirits and the work seems to go quickly. Five bells comes fast, but not before Carver does a spot inspection to see how the work went.
Ashweather: Your day is mostly spent by yourself, sitting in a shaded gazebo and observing your crew. You are visited several times, however, by two different Skaa women, both incredibly beautiful. They bring you your choice of water or juice, and any basic writing utensils or the like you need. These two young women are also the pair that bring lunch to the crew, and you can see several of the men whispering among themselves and looking at the women, but Yune puts a quick stop to that.
Ashweather will indead spend the day in the gazebo, though he’ll make a few checks of his foreman to make sure everything is in order. On the first day he’ll be cautious though, and he hopes JeHoy will do the same.
As for the two skaa woman, he will try to engage them in some basic small talk, with an aim at getting a few basic questions answered. He will keep his noble demeanor, but mix in a few skaa phrasing’s to try to make them at ease.
Your first day of training is a hard one. You arrive at a non-descript warehouse on the docks, which is the address given to you by the guard.
Inside you find six guards wearing the livery of House Urbain, including the two Terris you met the previous evening; Half the group is male, and the other half is female. There is also a Noble female wearing what looks like docker's clothes, with a long blade belted on one side and a short blade on the other.
"Well, you came, despite my warnings. Let's see what you're made of." says the Terris woman you met the night before.
With that as the only preamble, she throws a feint with her right hand while she also kicks out at your knee with her left leg. It would look awkward, but you're too busy fending her off to think about appearances.
When Carver does his testing, he manages to find one of the spots where you managed to cut it to more-or-less the exact length. He nods at the work, then returns indoors, and you follow the crew back out onto the street, where they split up and head their separate ways. Yune gives you a stern warning about not getting too drunk tonight and making sure to pay all your bills, then tells you that she'll see you in the morning.
As you speak to the young women, you get very similar answers: Lord Urbain is an excellent and fair host, and that they appreciate his attention to detail. You also discover that they are not servants, but guests in his home that offered to bring people of lower standing a bit of cheer.
You get the idea, as you listen to both of their stories , that Lamisse has something that she wants to say on the matter, but given her position and standing, you feel that it would take a great amount of charm in order to get her to speak her mind.
Ashweather weighsprwssig for more information, or waiting for another time. In the end, he’s not sure if he’ll get another chance like this.
Damian grunts as he pulls back from the fake, receiving the knee kick for his flinching.
Damian fights defensively, it's fairly obvious that he learned to fight more by being beaten than any actual instruction. He has a tendency to wait to attack until he's fairly certain that he can land a high powered blow, spending the rest of the time blocking and dodging, though if he thinks he can intimidate his opponent he'll unflinchingly allow some blows to land to showcase his toughness. He mostly focuses on conserving energy and outlasting his opponents, trusting to his natural physicality and pewter powers to suddenly overwhelm his opponents after they've tired themselve out attacking him.
You manage to stop at a general goods store and purchase a pocket knife. It is hardly what you would call a potent combat weapon, but it is small and easy to conceal, which could be useful in your line of work. You make your purchase and rejoin the others.
You spend the better part of the day fighting, and while you manage to hold your own, it's clear that the Terris Sargeant, whose name is Zellah, is a well trained fighter and, more importantly, a good teacher. In addition to morning training with unarmed combat, you spend some time practicing long and short blade forms, and there is even a quick bit of training with long staves.
You also learn that the young woman not wearing house colors is also a potential guard for Urbain's house, and that she has been waiting for a while for a partner, as all of the patrols are done in twos: one male, one female. Her name is Kliss, also of House Urbain, although as she explains when she introduces herself, she is not directly related to Lord Urbain himself.
There is a short break for lunch in the late afternoon, and then it is exorcise and weight training, lifting and moving heavy objects back and forth across the open warehouse floor.
Before you know it, evening has come and you are released.
Damian grunts and nods his head as they release him, and heads back to meet with the rest of the crew.
Okay, folks, feel free to conspire make your plans!
Ash sits in his skaa clothes, itching a little at the course fabric. “There seems to be something going on here but i haven’t been able to pinpoint it. The skaa women have rite answers, but i think they we’re hokding something back. I think in a few days i can learn more. ” he takes a sip and then looks between the others. “Did you information gathering go any better?”
"All the guards have partners, so I'm probably never gonna be 'lone. But, my partner's kin to Urbain, if distantly. So she might know somethin' useful. I'll be able to quiz her, will just have to find a way to get her out of the way when it's time ta move."
Having made no concrete plans, you each return once again to your cover identities to attempt to gather more information about what is going on at Lord Urbain's estate.
This few days progress much the same as the as the previous day did; you oversee your crew working, they do a good enough job to allow them to keep working, and you have a chance to interact with both of the young women who serve you food and drinks.
Over the next few days, you hurt more than you thought possible, but you quickly learn that you are getting better at armed and unarmed combat.