Spiders, Flies, and Possibly Spies

[StaolDerg]

Kaln had managed to exercise his self-control as the Elerians had talked in the other room, but his eyes still flashed dangerously at the Imperator, as if to caution of his next words. The words that came out his mouth were sharp, albeit honeyed for the sake of diplomacy. He set up both hands in an open gesture, replying, "Very well, Imperator. Given that it is within my ability to do so, I will hear your proposition out so I can see what can be done from my side."

He felt still well irate at this high-standards aristocrat, but if this was his only avenue- well, he'd take it, even grudgingly.

[DrMedic]

"This situation within Elenria, it is quite difficult and touchy, especially given how likely it is for Eleria to take flak for aiding the Greatferns. I believe it may be possible for us to help alleviate the situation to an extent for your country, but I will need to protect my men as they work in this relief effort, that means working alongside Kumosenkan to ensure they don't see fit to come in and slaughter us all, and that also means not being raided by a bunch of the people who asked me to lend a hand in the first place. If you can manage to keep your men under control, this will be a relatively simple operation, and none of them will find themselves on the wrong ends of our rifles. Do not think I will take this lightly, Lord Kaln. You wanted my ear, you wanted my help, and of course, I will help you with your problems. I will not tax my limited industries harder in an effort to supply a war which will bear little fruit for Eleria. The help I am able to provide will come in the form of humanitarian aid and tutelage. Have I made myself clear?" He said, almost snarling at the man and staring him directly in the eyes, intent on driving his point home like a nail through pine.

[StaolDerg]

Humanitarian aid and tutelage... It wasn't what Kaln wanted, but it was well an excellent counteroffer. Still, he wasn't sure if it was what he needed. Luxuries were not something he could afford if he knew the less cooperative of his clique would simply squander it for less important matters. He folded his hands, considering his situation and choices, almost barely registering the force the Imperator had applied to his words. The Elerian leader's behavior in person had taken him by shock, to say the least. That he still trusted him as before would be a stretch, with such vicious assault against his leadership ability.

He cocked his head to the side, slowly nodding at the delegation. "Very well, Imperator. You have my word that your men will find no harm against them while upon Greatfern soil. I will station the best forces I have to ensure no bandits and race traitors may lay so much as a finger upon the expedition you dispatch."

He rose from his seat, quiet for a moment before he offered his hand. "This may not have been what I first sought, but will do just as well, if not better. Thank you for taking the time to meet, Imperator. I am humbled by your decision."

His words were honeyed lavishly, and he acted as such, restoring a calm attitude. What he could not say out loud his eyes spoke for, a steely glare that was ground like a knife dragging against a mirror as he met the Elerian monarch's own gaze. 

This was his house, damn it. No matter how high or low, no one insulted his honor in this hearth, even if it was a pile of bricks in a hill.

[DrMedic]

"Regardless of intention, your eyes betray your thoughts. Your lack of honesty does you a great discredit, marring your honor as blood upon cotton. A silver tongue and sweet, delicate words will get you nowhere aside from perhaps an unmarked grave on a hillside, at least, if my wretched father's legacy is anything to go by. You would do well to keep from following in his footsteps. I have seen many a man die well before his time, I wouldn't be terribly concerned to see one more."

The Imperator knew his retort could very well cost him dearly, but it didn't matter to him. From his point of view, his honor was being challenged by a brigand with a lack of ability and a knack for excuses, both traits which would see him do well as a simple infantryman within Eleria. Laurence stood from his seat, fixing his hat back upon his head once more.

"For your sake, Kaln Greatfern, I pray that father war doesn't see fit to cut you down just yet, the bite of his hounds smarts, that much is certain."

He turned to face Takanashi, offering her a hand to help her from her seat. "Come, General Douglas, we have little further business here."

[Sophie]

Takanashi frowned, wishing she could have gotten more information from Kaln than they got. She already knew he wanted weapons and was a hothead. She sighed and took the Imperator's hand. "Very well Laurence. Best of luck with your struggles, Lord Kaln. It seems you may need it."

[DrMedic]

Laurence and Takanashi both left the room, not even giving so much as a light bow to the man. The Imperator led the way down the hall and out the bunker, not even so much as saying a word to the Greatferns standing guard.

"Well, that went as poorly as could be expected, not that I care much."

[Sophie]

"Yes, that was rather unfortunate. Even if we wanted to appease Kaln I wouldn't know how." Takanashi sighed, "Though at the very least we know the location of his hq. That might prove valuable."

[StaolDerg]

At their aircraft, the two would find that the crowd had mostly been dispersed- yet someone remained waiting for them, dressed in a Greatfern warlord uniform, the prominent constellation emblazoned over the lapel of his duster. The guards had more or less mostly dispersed, nowhere to be seen as the man rose their hand in greeting to catch their attention, stepping forward to meet them from beneath the shadow of the plane.

They looked somewhere in their mid forties as the sun liberated their tipped face from the long shadow of his hat as both parties drew nearer to one another, the ribbons of some mildly indistinguishable rank displayed on their shoulder straps, though the big iron on his hip sidearm stashed into his belt's holster suggested some sort of high rank. They drew to a stop a respectful distance before the Elerians, giving both a courteous salute with a near-pristinely white glove. 

"Well met, Your Imperial Majesty, General. If you'd be so inclined, I'd like to have a word or two, for..." -he made a small gesture towards the bunker- "...possible alternatives to whatever Lord Kaln has presented you with."

[DrMedic]

"I suppose it depends precisely who is offering and what exactly it is that you're asking for. I'm willing to at least entertain the prospect, but I'll warn you that I'm not in the best spirits, Kaln has disappointed me, I pray you do not follow in his footsteps." Laurence replied. He was intent on at least hearing the fellow out, even if he wasn't exactly confident anything much would come of it. 

[StaolDerg]

The officer nodded, placing both hands behind his back. "Then allow me to introduce myself- I am General Falkar of the Fourteenth Army of the Delta, military governor of the Greatfern holdings in the southwest and its people. I am asking for your assistance against the man you have just spoken to- Lord Kaln, supreme leader of the Greatfern Free Army- or at least the reconsidering of aiding him to begin with. But in the interest of upholding my honor, I will make clear now that I am here to represent a specific party within my clique, and not merely my own interests. I represent the part of my people who would like nothing more than to reform the state that TAKPOE is and alleviate the pressure on Elenria as a whole to fulfill such exorbitant demands, even if that means seeking a deal with the Inselni and Crown. We want... a fresh start, so to speak. Not with Kumosenkan, for we're patient waiters for them to eventually depart, but with our own people upon the brilliant land of Elenria, who we very much have had a bad history between, and will only continue to have if nothing is done."

The warlord paused, nodding towards the bunker. "You may have heard that Kaln wants the shattering of Elenria into two states: human, and non-human. He would willingly destroy our people in a war that would kill us by the spiders or by each other, even those that we have had bad blood, just to prove himself a better military leader than his forefathers. The brigand has already robbed us blind, acting like an aristocrat while planning his big campaigns."

He'd turned animated, his eyes lighting up with fiery passion as he spoke, making small hand gestures with his right hand. "I am sure you know we are not starving, and while we certainly have food, we have no schools level with those of the TAKPOE, no industry, and no infrastructure. We have full bellies, but we are still hungry- hungry for modernity that is denied by our fellow Elenrians to the vastly higher east because blithering fools like him continue to level any reputation we have. Not all of us are terrorists. Not all of us are hungry to keep fighting wars. We're patient because we want to live our children to live better lives, not because we want to send them off to fulfill our own egos in the grave."

He paused again, suddenly brushing himself down, conscious of his eccentric performance. "Do excuse my excitement, Imperator," he apologized. "I simply hope that you may take my perspective into consideration before handing him tools to turn another dune war into a full-on war that is unwinnable."

[DrMedic]

General Falkar's words had piqued Laurence's interest. This was the kind of man he could see himself working with, rather than a financially destitute approximation of the Emperor.

"Alright, you've got my attention, what is it you propose?" 

[StaolDerg]

Falkar smiled and nodded, more than elated to have the attention of the Imperator. He straightened, making an effort to be concise.

"I shan't ask for anything major, your Imperial Majesty- only that you at least refuse to aid Kaln. But I seek to unite the Greatferns- not to fight another war, but to finally rejoin Elenria as countrymen. I believe that if we give the TAKPOE regime a single chance to make good our relations anew, we may be able to finally see the development that they receive from the Kumo. In this proposition I would ask to purchase weapons and supplies to counter my colleagues' potential challenges that may be presented as I seek to negotiate with the east, or if I cannot, then the guarantee to recognize my clique as the lone legitimate Greatfern authority, should my forces succeed in rising from my small region to liberate our fellow people and contest agains the other military governors for control."

[DrMedic]

He thought for a moment, weighing the options before him as he raised an eyebrow to Takanashi.

"Well, this is a rather interesting development. How about you walk with us a moment back to our aircraft, we can discuss this further there with a bit more privacy whilst I perform my pre-flight checks."

[StaolDerg]

The warlord nodded his assent. "Of course, Imperator." He'd walk with them back to the aircraft, casting a wary glance behind him. All things considered though, he was in good spirits. He certainly had the Imperator's ear, which certainly bode well for his argument- assuming just how badly Kaln had messed up. He'd stand by the wing, waiting to be prompted by the Elerians.

[DrMedic]

Once they were at the runway, Laurence immediately set to performing his pre-flight checks on his plane, keeping his voice down somewhat as to avoid rousing suspicion. He did however relax his speech a bit, his accent slipping back in despite nowing he was surrounded by active or former military, he felt it appropriate given the circumstances.

"So then, Kaln, he doesn't seem to be the most successful at drumming up support, and he seems to have the wrong idea about Eleria's accomplishments and ideals. Is he the same way within the Greatferns like he implied, or is he more an iron-fisted 'my way or the highway' sort? And how much support does he really have within your organization? I'm curious, seems the whole house of cards could come tumbling down at any moment and he'd be left trapped inside. Dinnae ken he's kept it up so far, so credit where it's due..."