Lunch breaks are never really breaks, are they?

[BetaFlame]

Really, when does Glenn get a day off? Never, it seemed. Hopefully, this would have been one of his quiet days for paperwork. Sometime to get caught up on the going ons, read his letters, maybe even have a drink that didn't happen while he feet moved. But alas.. it was not meant to be.

A hesitant assistant, peeking their head interrupted him. "Governer? There are.. two men here to see you. They say they are ambassadors from another country, and need to meet with you about an escaped fugitive in the area.." At least it could be interesting, no? He could see one of the men around the assistant. Tall, built like a bull. Large arms, with shoulders an axe handle across. He had the look of a warrior about him. But at the sametime, there was a look of serenity around him, peaceful even. Most interestingly, he was wearing an overcloak much like the one Aleksei wore. Aleksei's was white with silver trim, this one was white with red trim, and two solar crosses formed at the shoulders. He was giving over a rather hefty warhammer to one of the guards. He had manners, one did not appear before the head of state, even a state as small as Myrken Town, armed.

[Glenn]

Burnie's office was full of clutter. His TRUE office, the one in the Inquisitory, was a short hike away and he could only take so much with him when he moved up in the world. There wasn't a paper in this room he did not absolutely need, and that was saying quite a bit considering the sheer quantity of the piles. He did not rise when the two men entered. He didn't even look up. "You would absolutely make my day, gents, were you to say you're here hunting Khalika Quiller." A slight pause. "Kals Olwak would work too. A trussed up fae named Zilliah? I can offer you so many interesting fugitives. Why, then, do I get the feeling that this is going to be a rather tedious meeting for all of us?"

[BetaFlame]

The large fellow makes a gesture, and Glenn gets a view of a smaller fellow (possibly a woman even) in one of the large cloaks, this one black with silver trim, heading outside. He turns and offers a small polite bow to the governer of Myrken.

"Excuse my companion. He is going to secure a camp site. My name is Roland. And since I don't know these people you speak of, I can assume this will likely be tedious for us both." He smiles, just a little followed up with a gesture to a chair. "May I?" He will wait for Glenn to assent before he sits down, if he does. If not, he is content to stand. It makes him more imposing anyway.

"No, the man I am looking for is Aleksei River. I've been charged with returning him to Rodel for several counts of theft and treason again the crown. I was asked to secure your cooperation if possible. We do not want to intrude if we do not need to do so."

[Glenn]

"Treason against the crown." Burnie would allow the man to sit but he did not offer any drink or other succor. Oh, he HAD such things for necessary purposes (for instance if dratted, unyielding Giscard would suddenly return to Myrken and burst into his office), but for the most part, Glenn greeted visitors for official business with all the possible brevity. Put most simply, he had better things to do. It was, perhaps, odd then, that he would draw this out from the very first moment. "Treason against the crown." What crown? It didn't really matter as of yet. Roland seemed to assume he knew, and the young governor would not contest that assumption directly.

Indirectly, however, it was all part of that backwards drawing out process. No response to the name mentioned, though it was a shame he hadn't come to skin the gypsy wench. Ah well, nothing was ever easy; thus was Myrken. "That is a severe offense everywhere I have ever been, and I have been quite a few places. I imagine the punishment, then, is death or something far worse." It was an easy assumption. The punishment for treason was always death. Otherwise, people would be doing it left and right. Look at Myrken. He really needed to hire a proper hangman.

"Considering the seriousness of this charge, you are going to have to humor me before receiving any support." Burnie, despite his somewhat stoic words, was smiling ever so slightly. "I'll need to hear the whole story."

[BetaFlame]

He watches Glenn for a few moments. There is that same spark behind his eyes that Aleksei possessed. Like a man that knew too much, and wanted to share as little as possible. "In Rodel, no. He is property of the crown, killing him would be a waste of resources. He will be.. reeducated, and his rank stripped."

He leans back, hands folding in his lap, looking at easy. If Glenn wanted this to be an informal meeting, Roland was happy to give him that. A pipe and tobacco pouch were produced from his cloak, then he thought better of it, seeing the papers, and imaging the bonfire a stray spark would create. "Aleksei was given a very important mission. Instead of completing that, he has left the country with no warning, given no report in over a year, and seems to have settled in your town. He has one of our swords, amongst other things as well as a head full of state secrets." Pipe and tabacco were tucked back into the cloak, and he shrugged, sliding the offical warrant for the arrest across the table. Of course, it wasn't written in anything Glenn could actually read, and as short as it was on paper, he could only assume it was lacking in details.

[Glenn]

"Reeducated." Burnie's smile intensified, became almost feral, a wild thing, though it did not reach his eyes. "What is that, save for a very particular death of the mind. A man walks into the room as one person. He walks out as someone else. Did not the person who entered that room die? He certainly no longer exists." Oh yes, Glenn knew a thing or two about such things. He knew of growth and he knew of change and he knew of... intercession. He had seen it first hand, with his own 'eyes.' He had seen the varied reeducation of his beloved Rhaena Olwak. Sometimes he even missed her, all of his Rhaenas, each iteration in its own with way.

"So, a sword and secrets. I could dissemble, could say that Aleksei is not known to me, but he is. More than that, he's a prized employee. A waste of resources? A waste of investment. I've invested time, effort, my own secrets into the man. I'm curious what sort of compensation you would offer in return. I acted in good faith, after all. Not knowing of any criminal activity. I act in good faith now, seeing you when it may not be in my interests to do so." The smile had long switched back to a more pleasant thing. Now it was positively lazy. "So perhaps we may get for you that sword and lock away those secrets. Surely, that would be more than enough?" He didn't quite lick his lips, but it truly was a temptation. "Unless there's something else to all of this?"

[BetaFlame]

"Indeed. But you never really knew Aleksei, not really. You've invested secrets into him, mm? What did he offer you in payment? In trade?" He leans back in the chair, considering the man before him. Clearly, he wants something. Well, lets try option one then. "As to what we can offer you? My King had decided Rodel can no longer live in isolation. We need to reach out into the world, open trade. We need things, and we have other things to offer. Glasssteel, for one. I assume you have seen Aleksei's sword? Its half the weight of iron, and twice as strong. Expensive to make, but.. luxury items often are, no?"

He leans forward so his arms are resting on the table. "We offer Myrken exclusive rights to our trade hub. You would get taxes. The protection we can offer, which is specialized to the problems I can -feel- here, plus first selection of anything we bring out, along with a.. steep discount, shall we say?" He was basically offering to turn Myrken into a inland port city of trade. "I can feel the.. darkness, shall we say, that has settled here. We could help you deal with that."

[Glenn]

Such a smile on Glenn Burnie's face. He didn't laugh but it was a very near thing and this time, the humor did go all the way to his eyes. "Oh, Roland. So you say that your King has every intent that his kingdom opens up, and likely this is as good a place as any other, I admit. I'm sure it would have many benefits for us, but I wonder, I truly wonder, in a land of glass swords and SUCH state secrets, just what Myrken could offer in return. Up until a year or two ago we were farming quite a bit of dirt. Now, don't get me wrong. I am endlessly proud of my people and how far we have come, but our improvement, such as it is, is only improvement when looked at relative to those around us and to ourselves. I think, were we to start trading with you, we would very soon find ourselves dependent."

A slow raise of his hand as he sat back. "You speak of your king, so you understand what I am about to say already. Here in Myrken, we have a king of our own. Were we to become so dependent, as you have described without describing, then I would betraying both my king," and yes, he says that utterly deadpan, "and myself. For I have vows of loyalty, as you can well imagine. You seem to me a man who values expedience, convenience, but, do you value those things over and above loyalty and honor?"

Of course loyalty worked both ways. "But then, I still wish to know more. As you must know, it is only with the proper information that I can properly govern. Why did he steal that sword? Aleksei River does not strike me as a common thief. I have never seen him lusting for material riches. In fact, he tends to see such things as an annoyance, and the twin need of subsistence and sustenance as the greatest nuisance of them all."

[BetaFlame]

He does smirk at Glenn's smile, head tilting to one side. "Why, Governor, have you seen the mountains around here? Metals. My homeland is poor in them. Iron and copper are very valuable. Plus, there is an abundance of open land here. With proper engineering, we could likely even drain that wetland to the north and put the land to better use. Your lands are rich for farming. You rule over farmers-" He doesn't say in a tone meant to insult, its a statement of fact. "- surely you know what happens to soil after things have been grown in it over and over. We'd happily take your mineral rich dirt."

Living on an island had advantages, to be certain. Easily defended. Hard as hell to get to. Living there for a protracted period tended to start wearing away at it, even more so if it was not a very good island to begin with.

"I am not ignorant, Governor. You live here, nominally under the King, but if you pay your taxes for the trade, would he truly protest? We don't want to rule over you. Honestly, we don't want to be here. We loathe and pity the rest of the world, with its rampant corruption. The King I serve is new. His ideas are fresh. Aleksei was a test of those ideas, and frankly, I feel the test failed. But in the end, I serve. If you wish to formalize a trade treaty, I will work with the Ambassador of your King, and should you agree to help us with the problem of Aleksei, I will insist on Myrken being the center of the trade hub, and we will follow your local laws."

He leans back, though, considering. There is a little bark of a laugh at part of Glenn's statement, "He took his title as a surname to blend in. Clever of him. He's know as Aleksei of the River where I am from. Why did he steal it? I haven't a clue. Perhaps.. you should ask him? He was allowed to use several things when he became the Third Knight, but once he abandoned Rodel, he kept the objects. Had he returned them.. this might have gone differently."

[Glenn]

"Hm." It's all he says. All of those words from Roland, and for that considerable effort, just a hm. "Regardless, of whatever else, let's begin small. You're unsure of this entire endeavor. I see that now. Not retrieving Aleksei, of course. The trade bit. I'm hesitant to allow a rapid influx of new and revolutionary products to a people ill-suited for them," spoken nice and business-like, very even. "And you'd rather this be done with the highest chance of success, or at least the smallest chance of disaster. Best we keep things small, quiet, and controlled, and leave others out of it for now. If we have initial success, it can be expanded more broadly to the satisfaction of all parties." All perfectly reasonable.

They had to get to that point, though, and they weren't quite there yet. "You still haven't agreed to the terms I suggested, however. The knowledge gone from his mind. The swords returned to you. These are the things you want, no? Right now, without interrogating him myself, it is more than I can even offer, but I am open to offering them if I find your cause to be just. Part of that is time. I will need it to investigate your claim. That you don't know WHY so deliberate a man as Aleksei of the River seems to be acted in so rash and dangerous a manner.. well, this bothers me, you see?"

[BetaFlame]

"The details of the 'trade bit' would be better worked out with one of the government officals. I am just the messenger in that regard, Governor. My suggestion, as a man with an education, would be to allow bits to slip into trusted merchants here, and see how they are received, eh?" He offered Glenn a smile. Of course, he was being played. Glenn was fishing for information on the subject of Aleksei. "You want answers I cannot give you. Not without speaking to my King. Even if you know secrets already, I am not allowed to discuss some things with you. Aleksei has our property. Some of it is the sword. Some of it is.. other things. Aleksei himself is owned by the Crown, just as I am." He stands, slowly. He didn't seem the type to move very fast, as large as he is. "I will give you time to speak with Aleksei, and consider our offer. I am under strict orders to bring him back. He has to answer for his crimes. Frankly, he has offended us. I helped train him, you see. So did the King. What he has done.. its a slap to the face. But, I am not unreasonable. I will make your offer to the King in good faith, and allow you time, since that is what you have asked for. I would rather do this with your cooperation." The implication, of course, being he could do this without Glenn cooperation. But that wasn't very civialized, nor a good way to start into the outside world.

A hand extended toward him, "Let's call this meeting over, shall we? No sense rehashing the same old questions. I need to speak with my King, and you need to speak with Aleksei."

[Glenn]

"I will look into matters." Simply put. There'd be little hesitation in the shaking of a hand. It cost Burnie nothing in this situation. The 'messenger' as it was, had been civil, if rather patronizing, but then Aleksei was as well. Terrible trait of a people who thought themselves above most, who took it for granted. Just the sort of people Glenn was good at stabbing between the ribs when they least expected it. That Roland didn't seem interested in the WHY of Aleksei's betrayal was particularly vexing, not that Glenn let many things vex him these days. A personal betrayal from a protege of sorts? And the why didn't matter?

"I'm sure we'll be able to get to the bottom of this and satisfy all parties. My thanks for your candor, I do understand your position, as I think, you understand mine." And with that he was seated again, seated and head down, starting work once more. The foreigners could see themselves out.