Agreements

Ellaine:

It was easy to break into the Elmheart estate and easier to get the lord bound and gagged. His study room had a plethora of family heirlooms and paintings on display; trinkets, ceremonial weapons and trophies are laid out neatly on a vitrine. None of them seems magical therefore none of them are of interest.

The sound of the a quill writing on paper is the only thing that can be heard in this room. For someone who writes up documents of a daily basis, the Guildmaster's handwriting leave much to be desired. After a few minutes he got up and read the contract he just penned and walked towards our prisoner.

"We have matters to discuss. I am going to relieve you of your restraints my lord, however if you make a noise or do anything untoward, I will remove your head faster than you can cry out for help. Do you understand?" The Guildmaster said.

Lord Elmheart nodded frantically, and in moments his bindings and gag were removed. He rubbed his bruised wrist and then his slightly swollen jaw.

"Why are you doing this? I am sure there's no need for such barbaric methods" Said Lord Elmheart.

   "We know that you and your men were responsible for the deaths of six women from our side of the city." The Guildmaster stated plainly, and the young lord went pale.
   "I... We didn't mean for it to end the way it did, we were drunk, They told me that the incident will blow over if we set the city watch on a wild goose-chase. No one pays mind to what happens to tavern wenches anyway." Lord Elmheart explained.

   "You relish inflicting pain and torment accompanying your carnal pleasures, but I am not here to judge you for your deviant tastes my lord, I am here to make a bargain." The Guildmaster said mockingly.

   "What would poor Lady Silverstone say if she finds out? I reckon this would be enough reason to eliminate any prospects of your families uniting through marriage." The Guildmaster added haughtily.

   Lord Elmheart was lost for words, clearly in shock and when he regained his composure he said:
   "How did you know of this!? this has not been made public. What is it that you want? Gods! this will ruin me" said Lord Elmheart

   "It's my business to know things and it's nothing personal my lord, people like me benefit from the blunders of people like you all the time, so I will speak plainly. What I want is the transfer of ownership of your small piece of land outside the walls, in exchange I will guarantee that the facts of this scandal will remain a secret on the condition that you never breathe word of this transaction to anyone." said the Guildmaster while pointing at the specific clause in the contract.

   "In addition my lord, no harm shall come to you from me, this I swear on Ivana the Goddess of vows and agreements." The Guildmaster added.

Invoking the phrase 'I swear on the Goddess of vows and agreements'  is no trivial matter, for misfortune comes to the one who breaks the promise unfailingly. However I only hear The Guildmaster say these words when he wants a bargain to sound sincere and fair when in truth he intents to willingly break the agreement indirectly. Interesting how a goddess' wrath can be misdirected by technicalities.

"Do we have a deal?" The Guildmaster asked after Lord Elmheart finished reading the pact.
"I, Kedes Elmheart agree to your terms" he then moved to his table to write his signature and stamped the wax seal of his house.

He then handed the document back to the Guildmaster who whispered an inaudible incantation that caused the writings on the paper to glow a dim orange; it means the contract is now in effect.

"I am sorry that our first meeting had to go this way" said the Guildmaster as he reaches out for a handshake.

"You have placed me in a such difficult circumstance, I hope you will fulfill your end of the bagain" the young lord muttered, as he shook the Guildmasters hand begrudgingly.

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It was almost midnight when we left Lord Elmheart's home, the Guildmaster walked ahead of me with a sinister smile on his face, clearly satisfied with his new acquisition.

"Tell me, why did you go to such extent yourself for all of this? This could have easily been taken care of by Danica, hell even Zoe or Mica." I asked him.
"I already told you, everyone is unavailable, and besides getting to stretch my legs once in a while would do me good" he replied.

"Don't take me for a fool Hakob! I know your train of thought is difficult to follow but I also know that you don't do things for mundane reasons such as stretching your legs" I interjected.

His smirk faded, clearly displeased with me uttering his true name, and he answered:

" I've already figured the whole case out even before we left the guild hall, I just needed confirmation on the specifics, hoping that my conclusion would be wrong" he said.

"I already obtained a clue beforehand, Lord Elmheart or at least someone who works for him visited our establishment a few days ago.  The servant wanted to buy one of our girls, the young lord did not wish to speak to me, they didn't want to do business with us, they simply wanted to buy Radne" he continued.

"Imagine if we are the type of establishment that will accept any client regardless of who they are, as long as they pay a good amount, but that's a thought for another time. Let's go home I'm tired"