The Lady's Dragon

[Harlan]

Harlan remained skeptical, none of this seemed like a good idea to him. “You want us to rob Lord Roote, and endanger his reputation with the crown, so you can profit one hundred and twenty gold dragons? Don’t you have legitimate business dealings with him that would be hurt by his misfortune? On top of that, you expect us to leave a bounty worth seven hundred gold under your protection while we ride off to fight nine men and a knight?”

All of this seemed far too peculiar for Harlan to ignore. He could have made a larger profit had he split Alyn’s bounty with his four companions, while avoiding having to fight eight guards and a knight blinded by virtue. There was also the simple question of gold. If Simon was willing to risk his relationship with Roote, what was stopping him from screwing over a bunch of wanted bandits and claiming the reward and prestige that comes along with Alyn’s head?

(Observation: 38) Harlan looks for a tell that Simon is hiding something.

[The Gambler]

Simon drank deep from his goblet as Harlan continued to interrogate him with surprising patience.

"Paranoia is a good trait to have for those in our line of work, so I will generously forgive your impertinence," he responded coolly, standing with his goblet and turning to refill it from a matching gold pitcher on a stand behind him, letting the silence hang in the air as he sat back down. "To answer your first question, there are few men in this city worth more than one hundred and twenty gold dragons, so let us not act like that is a paltry sum. Men have done much worse for much less. To answer your second, my businesses operations are just that, my business, though your concern is touching. To answer your third, I merely offered you the service of preserving and storing a valuable perishable item for your convenience. I have worked far too long to risk my reputation by stealing it from you and if we are being frank I find bounty hunting a distasteful profession."

"As I said, I am no courtier. My loyalty belongs to the Ferrymen, not any lord or king."

The man appears to be speaking honestly, at least as honesty as a lifetime criminal could.

[Boros]

Boros was old, but he was no fool. As soon as Harlan mentioned the seven hundred golden dragon, his attention was piqued, it was easy to guess what was that that Simon was keeping safe for the gang. He wondered if he should take it, and use Redhand's head buy his way back into his wife's arms. But that was merely a fleeting idea, he had become a bandit but he still held to some honor standards. In the end, he decided that the best he could do was to stick with this group and hope that he could take a parcel whenever they collected that bounty.

"I see your motives, pretty boy. Trying to think of a strategy that will spare the lives of our targets... I commend you for your honorable stance, goodman." Boros had no idea who he was dealing with. Wilfully ignorance probably. He tapped Harlan's back with an enormous hand, trying to deescalate the situation between Simon and Harlan by changing the subject."But under these conditions we would have to take a more standard approach. "

[Vex]

Vex looked in disbelief as Harlan casually outed their goldmine in front of three strangers. And the fences, technically. "Shut your fucking yap," she ordered, anger flaring in her dark eye, and rose from the chair for a better look at the map in order to determine how long the journeys from there to the border and Stone Hedge would be.

[Lucas of Brindlewood]

Ser Richard spent several seconds trying to swallow enough of what was in his mouth to speak. "Bounty hunters?" He spat with a furious look in Augustyn's direction. "You're setting us up with fucking bounty hunters!?"

[The Gambler]

Vex judged it would take 2-3 days to reach Stone Hedge from here, though patrols along the main roads had likely increased due to the farm massacre. It would take 4-5 from the border.

[The Raven]

May 15, 2018 17:13:48 GMT Lucas of Brindlewood said:

Ser Richard spent several seconds trying to swallow enough of what was in his mouth to speak. "Bounty hunters?" He spat with a furious look in Augustyn's direction. "You're setting us up with fucking bounty hunters!?"

In a flash, Augie had left his chair and was staring face to face at Richard. He lowered his voice before saying, "The Ferrymen don't deal in bounties. Iffen you think I would sell your paltry hides for quick coin, you better reconsider your fucking suspicions. When we hired you, their leader was dead and yeah, maybe they had a bounty like wildfire. But we didn't hire you just to go the way of fucking Longinch and Redhands. We hired you three because we needed competent professionals. And I looked at you very carefully, Richard, before I picked you. You're a fucking professional, aren't you? You're not a damn worm on the hook. You're a fucking viper in the field. I wanted a proper killer who can do a proper killer's job. Is that you... or are you worried about a half-blind bitch and a bedroom boy?"

[Lucas of Brindlewood]

"Don't matter if you don't deal in bounties. Now I know they do." Richard growled back quietly, trying to keep the discussion between him and Augustyn for the time being. "Do you think me a fool, playing to my pride? In a fair fight I take those two without breaking a sweat. But every man needs to sleep, and shit, and eat. Plenty of opportunities for poison or treachery when you're on the road with a group for days. This lot clearly cares for coin, and I didn't just fall off the back of a wagon-they don't need to come to you to collect a bounty, so your reassurance of your intentions means shit all. It's their intentions I'm fucking concerned about. I'm a professional, you got that right, but you're making me doubt your reputation as one. Professionals tell their associates important information, like the fact they're sending wanted men out to do jobs with a group that does bounties."

[Vex]

Vex heard one of the recruits spew nonsense from somewhere behind her as she inspected the map. She measured the distances on it as best as she could, using her thumb and forefinger, and waited for the mumbling behind her to come to a halt before turning around and giving this... Richard, had it been? a measuring look. "We all have bounties on our heads. Were we bounty hunters," she said, spitting the word out as if it tasted vile, "we'd not be standing around in a fence's office, talking about robbing the crown's taxes." She found she was rather unimpressed she even had to explain this. Then again, looking at some of their former comrades, the bar was basically on the floor. "If you've a problem," she said, and nodded at the door behind the recruit without taking her eye off him. "The door's there."

[Boros]

Boros snorted audibly and nodded, holding himself not to clap. This was a woman he could follow.

"I like you, lass." He said with a warm tone and a grandfatherly smile.

[Lucas of Brindlewood]

Ser Richard turned to look coldly at the woman who spoke to him. "I was not talking to you, but since you've a mind to make my affairs your own, then yes. I do have a problem with you. I don't like liars, and you are lying to my face. Unless your associate was negotiating over a fictional 700 dragon bounty? Somehow I think not. Now, unless you have something useful to say to me, I will be resolving this matter with the person actually in charge here."

He looked back toward Augustyn, awaiting a proper response.

[Vex]

Vex squinted her eye at the old man as if recognising him from somewhere, but then realised he just reminded her of a fat merchant she'd briefly known years back.

When spoken to, she looked from Richard to Augustyn with a growing smile on her face, and by the time she turned her back to them, she was chuckling a little. She stepped back to Simon's desk, tapping her fingers on the map. "May I borrow that?" she inquired. "Bring it back with your cut."

[The Raven]

"My most earnest fucking apologies... Did I somehow deceive you when I offered to help you join a gang of thieves and murderers and rapists? Did I accidentally use a word like 'Kingsguard'? Did I forget to paint Harlan as a thief the moment we met him? You're all thieves now. It's how you're about to become so wealthy. And more relevantly, its why I told you not to mention your fucking bounties to each other. Forget everything your parents and septon taught you, and fucking accept we're all sinners now, and act accordingly. If you can't grapple with that truth, then you truly don't have a place in this room."

[The Gambler]

“Be my guest,” Simon replied, rolling up the map and handing it to Vex. “Do try and get your house in order. Your work at the farm did not exactly inspire confidence.”

[Lucas of Brindlewood]

May 15, 2018 20:41:45 GMT The Raven said:

"My most earnest fucking apologies... Did I somehow deceive you when I offered to help you join a gang of thieves and murderers and rapists? Did I accidentally use a word like 'Kingsguard'? Did I forget to paint Harlan as a thief the moment we met him? You're all thieves now. It's how you're about to become so wealthy. And more relevantly, its why I told you not to mention your fucking bounties to each other. Forget everything your parents and septon taught you, and fucking accept we're all sinners now, and act accordingly. If you can't grapple with that truth, then you truly don't have a place in this room."

"Do me a favor and tell me the important information instead of vaguely alluding to it next time." Richard responded with a scowl. "I'll do your job, but if this lot so much as breathes wrong at me, I'll be back and you will be held accountable for it."

He looked over to the one handed man to see if he was pleased with the developments. The fat old one had never had the look of someone dangerous, but this other one could be a much needed ally for him among this deeply undesirable group.