On Morality, Good Governance, and Getting the Thrice-Damned Horn from the Lake!

[Glenn]

Aleksei, learned newcomer to Myrken Wood, had made an offer of dinner, a lovely and collegial incentive in order to seal up the harrowed offer of employment made to him by Glenn Burnie not long ago at all. In return, Burnie sent a missive with a time and a place. For the last MANY years, he and his ingenue companion, the veiled Rhaena Olwak, have spent each and every day lunching about town. It meant that he knew the breadth of the gastronomical offerings, both high and low.

Today's choice was relatively on the low end, but also offered a modicum of privacy, and for Aleksei's sake, it was highly affordable. The highest bureaucrat of Myrken would arrive, exactly on time, completely by himself and dressed for the cold, but not bulkily. This was a man comfortable in his own skin but with a great deal upon his mind and quite eager to get to business, and there was so much business to get to.

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei arrives, just a minute or two late, dragging with him.. a huge sheaf of papers? At least 20 to 30 of the damn things, mostly charcoal drawings on very cheap paper. The sort that is used for sketching. Of course, even 'cheap' paper was difficult to come by in a place in the backwaters of the world.

He salutes the leader of the community with a lifted hand, putting his pack of papers down on the ground next to him. "Evenin'. Sorry, gathering papers is a pain in this weather.

"So, assuming you still need me, I've decided to take up your offer of employment. And I have something for you. Its.. difficult to work with, I'll say that, but I think we can manage between the two of us."

He rests the walking stick he carries against the table next to him. The thing looks so.. fraile, but the way he had used it to shatter that chair so effectively, well. It told a different story all together.

He lays out the drawings on the table. They are designs for a long metal tube. The tube is capped at one end, and there are square metal peices at both ends, with rings in all four corners. A long chain runs from the top rings to the bottom rings, and out to four large anchors with a loop and pulley system on the anchors.

"The concept is simple, Glenn-" He assumes its alright to use the man's first name, since his bodyguard had - "The tube is stood up, hollow end facing downward. Boats are attached to these chains here, and they row away from it at equal speeds. This forces the tube downward into the water. The pressure of the air against the cap here-" He points to the top of the tube - "prevents the water from rising up into the tube itself. Once it reaches the bottom, the boats row and pull to bury it in the mud, creating a seal. Then.. you remove the cap, lower the person down into the water, and retrieve your item."

He shrugs at the follow and takes a drink of water. It was a long winded speech, and it does.. sound simple enough. Of course, there is the problem of materials for starters.

((OOC: Here is a link to a really horrific drawing I did in paint to try and help... http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y219/BetaFlame00/Tube.jpg ))

[Glenn]

Normally, Burnie would never let ANYONE define the conversation like that. He was known for his nearly preternatural lung strength and the fact he could, without more than a moment's thought, start on a monologue long enough that one might grow a beard in the listening. Still, Aleksei was eager, and there was a certain amount of amusement in seeing that cane, remembering the man's actions of the other night. It was a role that he himself was playing not long ago at all.

And anyway, Glenn shared Aleksei's enthusiasm, increasingly so as he heard the plan. It SHOULD work. Thanks to Rhaena's business and investment sense, his own economic training, and certain, unsavory but well hidden connections he had picked up through Giuseppe, he was still quite well off. Even with the donation of much of his ill-gotten drow funds to both the semi-governmental Foundation the veiled woman ran and the house that he now possessed, they had been able to invest smartly (if not entirely honestly, but then what WAS honest in a land where business was barely regulated at all)? Still, one couldn't just jump into this.

"I worry about the boats being able to handle the strain involved. Much of what can be put together in Myrken is of a relatively small scale. We're very far from the sea as you know. Then, the creation of the tube, including its materials. A number of tests would have to be done to find the best material, a middle ground between effectiveness, feasibility, and cost. Then there would be protection from any spillover water, given its contaminated state." Though Tennant had yet to grow a new head at least. That was something. "Still! This is promising, and you came up with it quite quickly. I'm glad. We need people like you, especially now."

Burnie took a sip of wine. Despite those oaths of Aleksei's, he seemed quite shameless in drinking before the newcomer. "And I'm happy moving forward with you as part of our staff, with compensation quite fair relative to the fact you're working for a distant province's government, you understand. You could probably make more as a scribe for a rich noble, but the work wouldn't be nearly as interesting. That aside, there is one matter we have to discuss. I'd rather get this out of the way from the get go. If I hire you, I need to know Myrken any myself can count upon you."

Glenn would pause, but only for dramatic purpose and with a hand rising to cut off the man across from him, just in case he saw that as an opportunity to speak up. They couldn't have that. "I'm happy to take you at your word, to an extent, especially after the other night and after the work you put into this design, but it'll be a little bit before you really get the keys to the castle, so to say. People's lives hang in the balance. State secrets, you see. There's plenty to do on all levels of salience though, so there's no reason to worry. You won't be bored during the time it'll take to really prove yourself, either for lack of work or lack of intellectual stimulation."

"So, time will sort out that bit." A nod there, and just enough pause to drink. There was really nothing that required a response as of yet, unless of course Aleksei had either some firm evidence to his loyalty or some strong offense at what had been said, reasonable as it had been. "The second is a bit more complicated. What I need, first and foremost, is pragmatism. For good or ill, the responsibility of governance has fallen upon my shoulders. It is my duty to maximize the safety and overall well-being of Myrken and the majority of its people with every decision I make. that means that there are often losers, that dangerous beings are not given the sort of leeway they may in safer times and in safer places, and that I am forced to make decisions that would have severely chafed against my personal ideology just a few years ago. I take little joy in some of the decisions and I try to minimize damage to ANYONE involved, but quite often, there are unpleasant necessities. We're in the business of practicality, Aleksei. You'll always have room to object and, far better than that, to suggest other alternatives, but I need to know that you're ultimately able to handle such necessary unpleasantness." Despite these heavy words, Burnie's expression was easy-going, even as he continued to occasionally sip from that glass of wine.

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei listens attentively, nodding here and there, and make no move to interrupt, taking the time to eat a bit of food. He was always hungry, this one. He found Glenn's straight forward attitude.. refreshing. He respected what the man had to go through on a daily basis. Running anything, even a town, was no small feat. This town certain attracted the crazies. If he is at all bothered by the wine Glenn drinks, he certainly doesn't show it.

"I'll address a few of your concerns with my design first. Its very.. rough right now. I can improve upon it as we go. And I know -just- the type of people to ask about making it. Bell makers." That was probably a stroke of genuis all on its own. Who else would know better about making a curved piece of steel that had to withstand a lot of pressure? "As for the boats?" He spreads his hands and shrugs. "Honestly, I'd prefer having it lowered in magically. There are several methods, but I don't know what you have acccess too.. and I love boats." He flashes a quick grin at Glenn, and leans back in his chair, folding his arms across his chest.

His demeanor.. changes a little. He becomes more serious, his eyes.. less warm. He watches Glenn for a few moments before finally speaking. "We all have secrets.. I don't expect you to spill all yours. I also.. don't expect I will be spilling all mine to you until you do. And I have no problems with your conditions. I have no oaths against violence, Glenn. I just prefer not to have to do it anymore."

[Glenn]

There was just the tightest of smiles on the left side of Glenn's face. It was really more of a grin. Physically, he was quite youthful when you got close, but it was rarely expressed in how he moved or spoke or looked at you. When you got close, though.. "This is Myrken." That was a statement that could mean a thousand things, very few of them good. "The only sort of magic we have is the sort we don't want. Strike that. I'd prefer to have no magic at all. If we had no magic, we wouldn't need any, and that's exactly how much we want. Unfortunately, you saw some of what we DO have the other night. And.." then another little pause. Glenn had been thoroughly affected by the events of a week ago, but it was hard to say, as of yet, just how and how deeply. "well. There's a full report and you will be able to read it soon. It's organized chronologically, and trust me, that's the only way to properly digest this information." Because he wasn't about to lead with 'Catch is a unicorn!' after all. "Let me just say that most of the magic we do have available will lead to potentially greater problems."

There was that hand again to halt conversation, though. In some ways, the second part of their discussion was far more important than the first. "I'd rather avoid violence if at all possible. However, I will be honest. My attempts to use more imaginative solutions as of late have met with varying amounts of failure where... brutal violence might have actually done the trick. Perhaps your point of view will be just what we need on that count, however." Stranger things had happened. "As for secrets? I'm in the business of them, but I wouldn't be in that business long if I didn't know a thing or two about discretion." That last word seemed to catch upon his throat, distaste entering his eyes, though it seemed to come as a surprise to him.

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei nodded. He could understand the man's reluctance to use magic, he just hoped that reluctance did not stem as far as it did in his homeland. But that was something to be discussed later. His eyes remained cold, his voice steady and even. It was like talking to a different person, almost. He remains leaned back, studying Glenn. He misses nothing, noting the distaste at the end of his statement, but he doesn't comment on it.

"I will do what I need to for the benefit of everyone, Glenn. I've done things I didn't like, and things I am not proud of. I understand. I will do my best to find alternate solutions where I can, because that is what I bring to the table here. My mind." He closes his eyes for a moment, taking a few deep breaths, trying to find his center once again. When his eyes opened, they were back to normal, and that same smile spread across his face. "Maybe working together, we can find a way to bring a bit of harmony here, eh?"

He just pops another bit of food in his mouth and chews slowly, taking the moment to collect his thoughts. "If we are in agreement, I would still like to work for you. I also have two more business proposals for you, if you are interested?"

[Glenn]

Well, this was all quite lovely. Serious discussion with both of them on the same page. It was terribly hard to get on the same page with so many of Myrken's notables lately.. those notable by being on Burnie's list of the outlandish and interesting, the things and 'people' who needed to be dealt with. No, this was going quite well. "You'll allow me one question, for curiosity's sake if nothing else. Security as well. Just one, then I'll hear your proposals, though I was hoping you'd take a probationary but increasingly senior position on my staff. I have oh, two dozen educated imports and locals with talent who spend their days researching ways to make Myrken better and deal with crises, mundane and supernatural. I don't think there's a body like that in any of the nearby provinces at the least."

All that as preemptive to whatever business ideas Aleksei had. He could still propose them as broader ideas for the province, but it was really best if he was a peg that fit into his proper place. And yes, all that before he even asked his question. "I have my reasons for working towards the greater good, for having tied myself so tightly to this place, to call it home and sacrifice for it. It will be a challenge for you and a chance to stretch your intellectual muscle, but I am curious why here, why now, why us? If it is redemption you're looking for.." Just a moment hesitation now. Did he really want to warn off this newcomer, so helpful, just when he needed help the most? A few weeks ago he wouldn't. Now, though? "Myrken taints good men and crushes heroes underfoot. But then that's the very chaos we're trying to fight, and perhaps the harmony we would seek to create would allow for a very different Myrken Wood, one where the stories ended differently."

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei smiles slowly, and just laughs at the question. Ah, why indeed? He really had no idea. Something had captured him. "Truly, answers to 'why' are the hardest to answer, Glenn." He leans forward resting his elbows on the table, and tilts his head a little. "I'll answer it as best I am able, though I don't know if it will be to your satisfaction." He considers the best way to start, then shrugs. "I come from far off. A place where men have a similar view on magic that you do. My view is a little different, but not so dynamic I can't work with you, never fear. I decided my home was too.. stifling and starting traveling. One winter's day, I see a tavern with two warm fires and go inside. I start asking questions about traveling. A rather.. striking young woman and I have a conversation.

The next day, I met you. I decided I would leave my winter in the hands of fate. I flipped a coin, it said stay. I got to asking you about finding work for the winter, and that.. fellow went insane in the Dagger. I helped you fight."

He sighs and looks up at the ceiling for a moment. Nervous habit he does when he is thinking. "So, I think I will end up here for some time. There is much I feel I need to do. This town.. is in chaos, and it needs order. I think you can provide that."

"Does that satisfy you, Lord Glenn of Myrken?"

[Glenn]

The smile was reciprocated. How could it not be? Everyone that came here had a story but some were more similar than others. "It is the hard question, Aleksei, which is why I only asked for one question and why that was the one. One word of warning, though." There was that halting hand again, perhaps his most annoying mannerism now that he no longer had a cane to tap. "Do not mistake disdain and aversion for ignorance. Magic is DRAWN to Myrken, and has plagued the people of Myrken Wood for generations. And when we pick it up to fight back, it often turns us into the very monsters we had been trying to fight. That's true for me as well, in its own way." Ah, but an important fact had been left off, so after the slightest of pauses, Glenn changes direction just a bit. "I'm not Myrkenborn, by the way, but it is very much home. No, I think.. despite your desires otherwise, we will trade stories before long, or.." And then the smile became all the more genuine, "the stories that we tell others who have entered our confidence, as much as the truth as we are willing to tell anyone. Those stories."

The halting hand became a quick clap, before Burnie reached for his wine once more. "As for the rest, you said all the right things, naturally, quite deftly at that. Now let me hear those proposals of yours."

[BetaFlame]

He laughs again, shaking his head and grinning, trying to hide it behind a drink of water. "I assure you, I don't try and impress anyone with my words. I speak only what I perceive to be the truth. Truth, is an ephemeral thing, however."

He eats another bite of his food. It really was quiet tasty, this. "Good choice of dining, by the way."

Oh yes. Proposals. Absent minded sometimes, he was. "First. I have someone I would like to bring in to help me. She has a magic background, and I firmly believe that magic is a tool that can be used just like science. Carefully, and with good planning, it can used to achieve great things. Even more so when you use it with science. I think she will be an asset. You've probably seen me talking with her. Eleanor. She will be staying at least the winter, and she's very intelligent. I think you will find her an asset."

The next was probably his biggest proposal. It would involve a radical change in the town, and one he fervently hoped Glenn would approve of.

"Second, I would like to build an Academy to Science here. A place where younger people with sharp minds could come and study the art. Myrken would benefit greatly from finding people who can separate it from a dependence on magic, while still being able to accomplish the samethings."

He watches Glenn for reaction to the next bit.. "But I want one thing to be clear.. I want magic taught there as well. The safe and ethical use of magic. That's what we need. Not war magic. Magic for things that are productive. Ice that never melts, so we can store meat in the summer. Ways to clean water."

[Glenn]

Upon the compliment Glenn would stop, completely and utterly, and take a bite of his own food. His eyelids fell shut and he seemed to almost be straining for something. "Hm." After a few long moments he opened his eyes. "It is, isn't it?" Then, as if it had never changed at all, his countenance shifted back into a smile. "If nothing else, through your association with me, you'll learn all the best places to eat in town."

Eleanor, then? With knowledge of magic and a willingness? Burnie's voice was even, not teasing in the least. "... the striking young woman, I take it?" That had been a lapse on Aleksei's part, a dropping of his seriousness, and not a tactical one either, but it was almost endearing. It was a sign of humanity and if anyone would appreciate that, it would be the once-mapmaker who always had so much to say about the very subject "But if she proves herself capable, I'm certain there's room for her as well. I'd have to see some sort of demonstration and.. some expression of eagerness along the lines that you've shown me in our talk today. If she shares your enthusiasm at all, I think she'll fit in just as you will, though."

And then there was the mention of the academy, and the real reaction would come even before the proposed inclusion of magic: Skepticism. When magic was mentioned, there was little change. "Cinnabar," and the name of the man who was still technically governor of the province was tossed into the conversation without any explanation. Surely Aleksei had done enough research on Glenn to know Calomel's name before sitting down to this talk and the promise of commitments threin. "wanted an academy, one along those lines. It never got off the ground. We all would be immensely pleased by such an institution. The problem is a lack of infrastructure. There's barely anything that would be considered a proper school for Myrken's children. There hasn't been enough stability to support such even THAT much of an endeavor up until NOW" That last bit was said with, if not pride, then confidence. Things were better than they had been.

"Think of it, Aleksei, were we to have an Academy as you propose here when the majority of our people cannot even sign their own name, it would create an unnatural and dangerous intellectual stratification." There was his pausing hand once more, and it was a scribe's hand and a duelist's hand both, perhaps a strange mix, but one that seemed as natural as anything else upon the strange young man. "Now, were we build the framework, start with a proper system of schooling for the children, even some mostly basic pedagogy aimed at their parents, and then in a few years' time, after we've achieved a bit more stability and done something to raise the whole province up, move forward with a more advanced academy, and yes, one that could teach things on a..hybrid approach, integrating certain elements of magical theory in organic ways...." Now it was Burnie that was looking for a reaction. Dreams, if not dashed, then certainly delayed. How would Aleksei take that?

[BetaFlame]

He smiles and nods at his question of Eleanor. "Yes, she is the striking one. I think you will find that she has a lot to offer, and I am willing to vouch for her. As far as that will carry me right now, being as I am a stranger to you still."

He listens to the proposal for the academy, nodding. Perhaps he was right, doing it in stages. He would still have to recruit teachers, find books, hire scribes. Hell, he had to build a building! "Good idea. Perhaps I can trade with the craftsmen here to teach their children in exchange for services to build said building?" He tilts his head, gears in his mind turning.

"I also couldn't help but notice a miltia starting here. Perhaps offering more military oriented courses will help draw attention as well. The tradesmen here could even offer apprenticeships with the school." Aleksei was nothing if not a planner, and a pretty good one at that.

"I've taught at a school such as I propose, and my father -" There is a note of.. something in his voice. Hate? Disdain? Hard to read it, he's so schooled at hiding things, "-administrated one while I was a child. I have a fairly good grasp on what needs to be done."

That out of the way he moves on to his -real- curiousity. "I have a counter to your earlier question. Why hire me?

[Glenn]

Now Burnie was shaking his head a little, somewhere between amused and bemused. "Am I not mistaken that you've only been here a terribly short time Aleksei." It was at that exact moment that Glenn realized just who this newcomer reminded him of. Things might have been so very different for him if Alistir Savoy had not been broken by the Ashfiend. Perhaps it would be the healer across from Aleksei now, instead. But that was just a momentary lapse, a burst of nostalgia though not a wistful one. Glenn Burnie was no longer capable of that. "For, that would, by every definition of the term that I know, make her a virtual stranger to you as well."

But despite all that, he wasn't going to press further. It was just worth pointing out, that was all. If Aleksei wanted them to give Eleanor a chance, they would. There were more important matters than poking at his new associate anyway. "We do have a volunteer militia and there's been some.. well, you're not the only go-getter around here as of late. I'm working on vetting the interested party's credentials and gauging her temperament a bit better. We'll see in the days to come as any personnel change will affect how we treat it."

"As for the school itself, we'll have to bring it to the group and do a bit of proper research. I think I'd want to see if Rhaena wanted to get involved too. Having a building in town itself is a good idea, but I want to be able to reach the farmers as well, so we might have travelling tutors to supplement. We have to make sure we need a new building instead of just reappropriating existing space as well. Mainly it'll depend on the sort of interest we can rouse and whether or not we're going to include the various and sundry orphans of Myrentown. Amongst other concerns." In general, he was glad Aleksei was willing to start small and modest, to do it right. That, if nothing else, meant that he was thinking long term. And, of course, he had just been offered a piece of information, so a small hint of something equivalent would be returned. "Personally, I've only seen the dark side of such an attempt, first hand at least, so I am hesitant to trust my own experience and knowledge on this matter. Effective, but at a high intangible cost."

Ah, and now Aleksei was going to turn Burnie's question back upon him? Well, that was no problem at all. "Not as difficult as your soul searching, I'm afraid. My staff tries hard and half have some formal educational, maybe a bit less than half.. but Myrken is distant and people have had hard lives here for generations. A good scholar is hard to find, and a good scholar who is capable of such quick and deliberate action in the face of extreme danger? Then when you top it of with what seems like an honest desire to help? No, my why is the simplest thing in the world, really."

[BetaFlame]

Aleksei nods. He's very glad Glenn is willing to be honest with him. He had worried that he was going to get stifled with political nonsense over and over again. He gives Glenn another smile and reaches across the table, offering him his hand, "I look forward to our endevours together then. And assuming you don't have any further questions for me, shall we enjoy the meal?"

If Glenn does shake his hand, he isn't shaking the hand of a pencil pusher. His has rough hands, like those of a man that has spent time with either tools.. or weapons.

Oh, there is a lot more than he is letting on for sure.

"To the future, then?"

[Glenn]

"To the future," Burnie would nod, giving some sort of assent to his suggestion that they enjoy the meal. This was not a man who was in any rush to talk about his past, and the young bureaucrat was in no great rush to learn it. There would be time for that and more. "And to a more ideal Myrken Wood."