[V] Potential?

Cassius · 1 [V] Potential? Sat Jul 21, 2018 2:58 pm

Cassius

Pirate

Posts : 491
Location : Water 7
Join date : 2017-12-09

Cassius Sinclair
The Kraken
[V] Potential? D5da255ae42b2fbe08f85ac5f848e11c

Cassius stepped into Ursa's main office building, decorated and operational as a full tavern. It was here the Big Bear and his associates heard out people's job requests, sitting with them over a stiff drink to negotiate the job, its terms and the payment. It was unlike any office Cassius had ever been in, though he hadn't seen many. In fact he was more comfortable doing business in a place like this than he was a more formal setting.

To one side was the bar, where people who actually wanted a drink (apparently the bar itself was actually pretty well known around here) could order a drink. Opposite it on the other side of the building was a similar bar table with two neatly dressed attendants. It was here that one was to request an audience with Ursa or one of his associates for job negotiation. Cassius eyed the bar for a long moment before deciding he needed to function without liquid courage for once, and made his way to the Request Counter.

Good afternoon sir, are you here to request a job, take a job, or something else? The man in the fitted suit asked from behind the counter with an almost electronic tinge in his voice.
I need to speak with Gruff over a job proposal, let him know I'm here. He knows I'm coming.
Of course sir, we're happy to help. Please feel free to find yourself a table or seat at our wonderful bar while we relay your request to our supervisors. Your business is important to us.
Riiiiight. Cassius said, eyeing the man up and down. Something about his tone made Cassius uncomfortable and it wasn't until he turned to leave that he noticed the two men were exactly identical. It made his scales itch and he didn't hesitate in separating himself from the twins as quickly as possible.

By the bar he ordered rum, neat, his go to drink. He downed two and was nursing a third, lost in his own thoughts when a strong, wooly hand gripped his shoulder. Cassius turned to see Gruff standing behind him, tall and cut with muscle beneath his coat of grey wool, the goat gave him an even look,
Well, come on then, let's chat.
Gruff turned and walked towards one of the backrooms where negotiations actually took place. Ursa valued his customer's privacy and after seeing the Blood Bowl, Cassius had to admit he was impressed with the way the office area was run.
What's with tweedle dee and tweedle dumb? Cassius asked as they navigated the back hall to find an unoccupied room.
Oh you mean the cyborg twins? Yeah weren't exactly coded with personality but they run a tight ship. Gifts to Ursa from the 3rd District a few years back.

Gruff stepped into a room, letting Cassius follow behind him and take a seat at the large wooden desk in the center of the room. Gruff closed the door behind him before taking a seat opposite him.
Alright boy, you wanted my attention now you've got it for...let's say the next five minutes. What'cha want?
It's not what I want, it's more of a...business proposition.
Business proposition? Oh boy, here we go. What do you have to offer, huh? The clothes on your back? Pass, the jacket looks like it was sewn in a gutter.
The Nil District.

Gruff paused and Cassius quickly found himself in a very uncomfortable, long silence as the goat simply stared at him. Then, out of nowhere Gruff let loose a deep belly laugh, slamming his wool mits on the desk several times in howling laughter,
The Nil District?! Those urchins? Bwahahaha. You're out of your goddamn mind. What good could the urchins of the Nil District be other than maybe to show some of our heavier boys their diet plan of garbage and air.
I know, it sounds insane but just listen for a second. The people of the Nil District are overlooked by everyone and anyone in Baltigo. They're bottom feeders but because of that status they...I saw a fire burning in a group of them, a desire to change things, to be better, stronger. If we can get some mercenaries to train them, give them proper supplies we could train them and-

I'm gonna stop you right there Cassius, I know where this is going. Gruff said, holding up a hand,
The mercenaries of the 4th District aren't Ursa's personal army. We don't need people with a great desire to fight or loyalty or anything of the sort. This is a business, not a nation. All we're looking for are people already capable of fighting, we're not here to train and raise an army, just pay the lowlifes who were lucky enough to be taught how to hold a sword or short a gun before their fathers either died or left.

You don't understand though, the people of the Nil District are loners. They have no one but themselves and each other. They're the perfect operatives for infiltration missions, information gathering, they can hide in plain sight on the streets without a second glance.
Gruff sighed,
Look, I believe you, I do. I'm sure there are plenty of benefits to being a street urchin, but the fact of the matter is you're still viewing this organization like a military, which we're not. Again, we're a business and feeding those skinny bastards enough to even be strong enough to hold a sword let alone learn how to swing it is just too much of a deficit. We'd bleed Beli for months only to get mercenaries who may or may not be effective in the field. It's not a risk we're willing to take right now.

Cassius stared at Gruff, he hadn't exactly been expecting the goat to agree, but at least maybe entertain the idea or offer some sort of aid to get the project off its feet. Even if it was just excess food from the bar or a couple of paid Mercenaries to come down and start training the people of the Nil District.
Alright, well then, I'm sorry for taking your time, thanks for hearing me out. Cassius said and began to rise out of his chair.
If you really want to make something of that district you're going to need to win them over. They won't trust an outsider, especially not after you did what I heard about. Gruff said with a chuckle.

They'll respond to money, food, and most importantly jobs, but you can't just make promises, you need to show results immediately. Handing out a bag of food one or two times won't be enough either. Sure they'll happily devour it, but they won't trust you, not one bit. You'll just be the grocery fish.

Okay, so what do you suggest? How do I set this up?

From the sounds of it, you're trying to set up a little intelligence network. Spycraft and the like, gather information, sell it to the highest bidder, etc.
Cassius opened his mouth to rebuttal and turn the direction of the conversation around but Gruff held up his hand, silencing the fishman.

Relax, your new business venture secret is safe with me. Who knows, maybe if you make something of yourself and turn this into something we can both come back to the table someday. One thing I will tell you, this city was built on the remnants of an older version, we call it Old Baltigo. The only entrance into those ruins that wasn't sealed up or built over is down in Old Baltigo. As you can imagine ruins like that built beneath a city like this? Welp, there are stories about networks of tunnels running for miles throughout the underworld and the above ground buildings around you here. It's something worth checkin out in my opinion.

Cassius nodded, his mind reeling a mile a minute as he tried to make sense of everything Gruff had said. Old Baltigo, he had never heard of that before, but if it did exist then it could be exactly what he needed. The people of the Nil District would surely know how to navigate it and, with enough repurposing and infrastructure investment he may be able to turn those ruins into something of use after all. Spies using that network would be able to get in and out of buildings scattered about the island without a problem, unseen specters or ghosts.

He turned to Gruff and said, I see, I'm sorry we couldn't come to an arrangement. and then quietly, so that no one but Gruff could hear added,
Thank you.
Cassius then turned the door knob and stepped out into the hallway. There was a lot of work to be done, first and foremost establishing himself in the Nil District as one of their own and uniting them as a force rather than rag tag groups of beggars. It would take some time and a hell of a lot of work, but it could be exactly what Cassius needed to get more information on the slave market and that strange symbol on the ship that took Cecile.

WORDS: 1534
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1 [V] Potential? Sat Jul 21, 2018 2:58 pm

Cassius