Satisfactory due to the sheer potential of L'Renouille.  Smugly because he'd predicted such an atmosphere months ago from behind a far-off desk.

The place was freakishly perfect.

One wouldn't think so at first.  The city certainly looked the part of backwater and archaic seat of monarchic power.  Swords and warriors and stone and tapestry - all that rot.   The classical architecture and marble palace presented the grandeur with a backbone of culture and steel that one with half an intellect would expect.  It's facade was nearly as traditional as the cobwebbed byways and general spirit of Rockaxe.  There was, however, a crucial difference in the air of the neophyte metropolis.  Smog of the coalfires and filth from the dregs of humanity coupled with a lust for power less skillfully masked than in the knightdom.  Not to mention a misunderstood little insturment of political damnation called corruption.

L'Renouille had fallen in love with vengance - a clever distraction, Jess would admit.  The place had gone blind to it's own tragedy in the shadow of an martyred unicorn.

It was a solid sort of city.  A city of iron and brick and stone.  Gilded spires reared hautily above struggling greenery and the filth of the wretched masses .  Progress, they called it.  Progress was their hunter.  If they could not reap that whirlwind they deserved to be of the lower class.

No matter.  What was important was that trash could be bought, and trash could be wasted, and trash could be easily led.  The sheer lack of democratic process here was testament enough to that, though his evaluation of Agares's use of terror tactics and propaganda could be far from accurate in such a short timespan.

 L'Renouille was a city afraid.  Of Jowston, perhaps?  Perhaps.  He'd have to look into that. Fear too was useful.

In any case, the rift twixt ragged pedestrians and bauble-like carriages which shared the same streets was important.  It signified something deeper, something apparent to the trained eye.  For L'Renoiulle was under the spell of four very magnetic men wether it realized it or not.

Agares was, of course, the obvious.  A blind man's guess - and untouchable by birth.  Foolishness.  There were rumors of dreams of immortality.  There were rumors of capitulation to Ruka Bright.  There were rumors of instability.  In short, the man would best be dealt with from afar.  And the aforementioned Ruka... would probably be even more well left alone.  In his case, instability was an understatement. That was alright, though.  Such insanity was unacceptable in a ruler, but madness would take care of it's own spawn.  In any case, he was unpredictable to deal with before establishing contacts.  The third power was a conspicuously absent Leon Silverburg - the man who'd play his cards to position himself invisibly into every aspect of the nation's life. Hmph. Jess knew that particular game of poker well enough to leave the man be.  Until he had a trumph or two himself, that is.  Now the fourth... the fourth had undoubtably the weakest grip on the country.  Within the palace walls, however, it was entirely a different story, and Harmonia and Highland would be practically umbilically linked were their alliance to solidify further.  A logical choice, then.

Did the people see the foreign threat in their midst?  Could they comprehend the ideological squabbling that must split them when four leaders conflicted?  Unlikely.  Sheep.  The tumultuous political climate was hidden well in a veil of bloodlust.

Jess was very, very good with veils..

L'Renouille - no, Highland - was fractured.  Mirror broken in the wake of four great personalities.

The principle to be applied to such a situation, as he had experimented with it, could be summed up in the words "divide and conquer".

L'Renouille was easy prey.

Carpe Diem.

As in any healthy city of size, there were men to guard personages of wealth and prestige in Highland's capital who found themselves rather lacking in funds.  Predicatably, some could be bribed.  Sensible creatures.

Such was the sort of man whom Jess had presented with a sliver of unmarked gold.  Intelligent people - namely Jess- preferred the metal to coins in times of war.  So much more useful if one's currency was devalued by a sudden massacre of it's home state.  The low-ranked soldier, he assumed, had no such thoughts.  General lack of aptitude on the part of common military grunts was not lost on Jess Stanton.  Not that he was overly familiar with military uniform yet, but a man standing guard over the palace's central gardening shed was unlikely to be at the apex of the chain of command.

"So are you interested?"

"Dunno..."  the startlingly well-groomed guard attempted to lie.  Attempted being the operative word.  The moron was practically drooling over such a simple stick of metal.  Bah. Jess had scads more of the stuff safely locked away in his brand-new personal safe.

What, he was supposed to be idiotic enought to go get sleep when he entered the city?

"I could take my business elsewhere.."  honestly, this whole thing sounded so trite. Idiocy. Yet men like the mouth-breathing slacker before him expected triteness.

"Nooo, no sir!  I wasn't sayin' that at all, sir," the distinctly average man babbled.

"Good.  Now where exactly would one find the High Priest if one were to look?"

"Well sir, like I tol' ye when ye were a' askin' at the bar, sir, I sees 'Igh Priest Sasalai walkin' about in the gardens in the mornin', sir,"  obviously, the military here had a severe lack of standards.  As fortune woudl have it, that was not Jess's problem.

"Where?"

"'Long tha' path naer the wood, sir.  'Es a strange one, tha' 'Igh Priest..."

"Yes, yes.  I'm sure he is, " Jess responded, noting the general wasting of time as a sign of weakness in the boy.  Excellent.

"Well, now.. if'n ye don't moind sir, I'll need a bit more ta keep quoiet about ye bein' here an' askin' at all.."

"Will this buy your silence?" another trifle of a payment was presented.  Yes, that was it.  Keep doing what he expected and the man would forget all about this little exchange...

"Oh yessir!  Er... now ye'd better be on yoir way, sir.  B'fore someone else comes 'round and.."

"Yes.  My thanks, " Jess replied offhandedly, bearing himself and the weight of a feline companion away from the sample of substandard humanity.

The shadows were stretched by a rising sun, and Jess had an important meeting to get to.. even if the other participant was unaware of it.

Colorful myriads of birds flittered about, singing their sweetly enamoring, yet wary and attacking, song, attempting to ward off intruders to their territory. Graceful butterflies bobbed and weaved about, looking for the sweet food inside of the flowers which opened its nectar to any who could acquire it. Every living thing in the forest seemed to breathe simultaneously, as if
they were all connected.

Ah, the powers of the Beast Rune. It allowed the High Priest to see vital connections in life. Everything here depended on everything else, in one way or another.

Despite Sasalai's serene appearance as he closed his eyes and sat on the soft grass, allowing himself to slip into the world of meditation and calm, he felt the desperate need in his hands and blood to kill something. Perhaps Ruka wasn't as bloodthirsty as he had once believed. He had not asked Sasalai to call the Beast Rune into this war. Yet, at least.

Or perhaps, and more likely, there was the possibility that Ruka wanted a larger town. More lives for the Beast Rune to devour, and more power for the Beast Rune. More power. More blood, more...

Drat.

A butterfly.

A butterfly sat.

A butterfly sat on top of his hat, not capable of comprehending what it was or who he was. Or what its action signified. He scowled. How dare a stupid insect perch on top of His Worship's head!

"Be gone, foul arthropod." He swatted at the offending insect. "My hat is not a flower." It refused to budge. "I ask again. Leave this place. You needn't be here." The butterfly did not understand the power behind a High Priest's words, obviously, as it did not move. "If you do not move, I have divine right to end your insignificant life. Are you willing to risk your life for such a
fruitless endeavor?"

The butterfly did move. It crawled downward, staring directly at the angry High Priest.

"Fly away. Now."

It still remained stubborn.

"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you."

With a quick pull from his right hand, he plucked the butterfly off of his hat by its wings, dangling it in front of him. He rose to his feet and stepped quietly over to a pond sitting nearby; thrusting his right hand into the water, he robbed the insect of life.

He felt a small twinge in his rune-bearing hand. The thirst for blood let up, just slightly. It obviously needed much more, but a small relief was always better than none.

He sat back down, thinking of the one person who he had ever felt connected to. Luc, Leknaat's apprentice. And slave. He snorted. Luc would never see the light, as far as he was concerned. Unless Sasalai showed him it. That would be his mission, after this silly, frivolous, and pointless war.

His worries escaped him as he leaned back slightly, becoming one with his surroundings.

A particularily pampered little section of the grounds made itself known in the fluttering of wings.  Ah.  This must be the sanctum of the High Priest, then.  Honestly, didn't the man have anything better to do... like, say, ruling his country?  Ah well.  Jess supposed that one of the pitfalls of near-absolute power would be a tendancy towards complacency.

Perturbed,  the foolish cat that lay nestled in his arms gave a sort of hiss.  Probably a reaction to the proximity of another True Rune... silly Mother.  It was such a pain dragging the thing around everywhere.  But what else was he supposed to do, leave such a valuable artifact ripe for theft?

Idiocy.

Apon further inspection, it could be noted that the young man of distinctive dress was resting.  Excellent.

Jess had always enjoyed the element of surprise.  Attack from behind.

"Excuse me.. High Priest Sasalai, I presume?"

The clergyman seemed startled, as expected, and leapt up to scrutinize the politician.  Sasalai was no doubt confident in his ability to procure Jess' death by Beast Rune if need be.  Theocracy, democracy, or aristocracy - it was always the same.  Rulers had a quite fatal habit of underestimating their adversaries.   Was that glare supposed to be intimidating him?  Should he be running about having a panic attack right now?

"Who are you and what are you doing here?"

The cat gave a low growl.  Maybe Mother had had more sense than he gave her credit for.  Just let the High Priest try and attack him magically... cocky boy.  The ruler with the strange headgear was naught but a typical magic user.  All ever-so confident is their precious little shards of power.

Jess allowed a disarming smile to color his features.  It wouldn't do to lose the advantage of seeming nonthreatening.

"Your guards are distinctly lax.  Really, you must have something done... but that's none of my concern. My name is Jess Stanton," the politician lowered himself into one of hte nearby benches, almost reclining though never losing eye contact.   "I'm here to make a deal."

"Ah.  So they are, eh?  Hm.  I will have to change that, "a small smile came to the boys lips.  Manipulation?  Unlikely.  People of his station were too arrogant to bother when confronted with a marked inferior.  A mistake of the highest calibre, really... for Jess now knew what the High Priest expected of him.  "What kind of deal?"

Buisnesslike response and an ungarded smile? Efficient but subservient was the order of the day.  Jess could pull off that one easily.

"Ah.  Efficiency.  If you'll pardon my frankness, there is a certain standard amount of flattery which should be given in a situation like this.  You'll forgive me if I don't waste our time?"

"Waste away, Mr.Stanton, " the smile broadened. "At the moment I have all the time in the world."

Jess had been right - most definatley subservience.  Careless boy... expectations were revealing.

"Ah.  In that case," Jess set his cat down on the bench, rising himself to pull off a flawless court bow.  He hadn't been to dozens of interminable negotiations alongside Anabelle without learning a thing or two.  "I am honored to be granted the audience of His Most Supreme Holyness the High Priest Sasalai and by proxy the Glorious Harmonian Empire.  Might my humble, insignificant self  be allowed to illustrate an offer of miniscule importance in comparison to his own?  Or shall he call the guard down on my heretic form?"

Sarcasm was kept at bay by sheer strength of will, dammed up so that only mild amusement trickled through.

"Hm, " unreadable tone, and another smile made it's entrance.  Well, at least the boy had a modicum of control over his vocal cords. " Interesting.  May I ask exactly who you are and what you can do?"

"Hmph.  Good. I had hoped that you would tire of that little game.  I find myself somewhat rusty at it, given my recent employment. Democratic rule presents a whole different dynamic, as I'm sure you must be aware."

Jess paused, retrieving his errant feline and seating himself once more.  There was no way in hell that the Cat would leave his side.  Not while some fundamentalist kid who was leader because of a stupid religeous excuse had the magical equivalent of a holy mace to his head.

"I was the Assistant Mayor of Muse for four years.  Until, that is , I decided to take up a more lucrative trade.  Information brokering."

"Information brokering, hm? Is that truly a profession, or just a polite way of saying you've betrayed your country?"

"Both actually.  Your point?"

Moron.  Of course Jess knew the point.  But that arrogant little comment... was the boy trying to flaunt social superiority through rudeness?  Maybe.  Testing him somehow?  Likely.  No matter.  Arrogance was what he had expected.

"I was simply curious.  I can understand why you would turn your back on the weak, failing City-States."

Jess decided to ignore what could degenerate into a pointless session of derision. " In any case, I have heard through certain... channels, that you have been sending in cultists to disrupt the workings of the City-States.  As such, I had assumed that you might be interested in a continuous flow of accurate information from the aftormentioned nation."

"Oh?" Cultists? Sasalai thought with a scowl. The Temple of the Silver Moon? I never ordered such a thing. But they are supposed to be directly under my command... hmm, this could pose to be a serious problem. But I must deal with Mr. Stanton first. "Interesting proposition you have. You are offering your network for my use?"

"That would be the reason I took the trouble to bribe my way in here," Jess replied. "Of course, nothing comes without a price... but I'm sure that we could work out a mutually beneficial relationship." The cat rumbled a throaty purr after this.

"Oh, I'm certain we can." He smiled, hoping to cover up his displeasure from earlier.

"Good. In short, I propose a somewhat limited arrangement. I will grant you pertinent information upon request - sourced, of course, by original documents. You can have them magically checked, if you like. I do assume that you would be familiar with the reasons why. Information piracy is an unfortunate blight upon quality operations such as my own.... not to mention inferior product..."

"Hmm, and exactly what do you expect in return?"

The older man's slate-grey eyes narrowed somewhat, growing harder, more business-like. "A sum of money. And, more importantly, asylum in Harmonia should my activities become public."

"Asylum is easy... but how much money do you think you're worth?" The answer would help him determine Jess' character.

"Gold, Your Holiness. Currency is so corruptible," he said. Sasalai had to agree, but he did not directly voice this. "And... how much do you think?" He grinned. Trying to weasel his way out, of course. He would get a fair price, nevertheless.

"Ah, I see you are an intelligent one." He smiled. "All right." He sat back down, working out a good calculation in his head.

"Mutual, Your Holiness." Flattery, Sasalai thought, but ignored it.  Jess stroked the grey cat in his arms, allowing him to bide his time.  The small scrap of paper that he inscribed a message on remained unnoticed.

"Hm," he mumbled. If his services bear the use he claims, he does deserve a good price. If they are indeed useless, I could certainly destroy his career and life. Very simple. "For this service you provide, how does one hundred
ounces of gold sound to you?"

Jess seemed to think over his offer. "...One hundred and twenty-five. You must understand that I do have certain staff to support, Your Holiness."

"One hundred. Not one ounce more." One hundred was fair enough. Now he was just getting greedy.

"Very well, then. I shall have to take my business to Leon Siverburg." Sasalai certainly recognized the name, as the Silverburgs were one of the most infamous families in the entire region, but he remained unconcerned as Jess arose and bowed again.

"If you can find him, of course. But he won't offer that much."

"Really? I highly doubt that, Your Holiness. Lord Silverburg might not have the financial resources that you do, but as your rival he has a great deal of political power to offer. And money is, as we all know, but a sort of power. Hmph. Wealth versus power... I wish you luck in your endeavors against him, as I doubt the useless aristocracy shall ever make you a real opponent." Obviously trying to goad me. But he brings up some good points. Very well.

"Of course, I can bargain. You know that, of course. Your words are simply used to squeeze money from me, but I know well of the power Silverburg has. One hundred and fifteen."

Jess smiled a small but genuine smile at the new proposition. "A pleasure doing business with you. I trust that payment shall be arranged upon our first true transaction?"

Sasalai nodded curtly. "Of course."

"Then I bid you good day." He bowed again, then began to walk away, but before completely leaving Sasalai's sight, he looked back over his shoulder and called, "And I would suggest that you have the patrol which guards this garden severely punished. I'll contact you in a few days, regardless."

"All right. We'll meet then. Good day."

As Jess made his exit, Sasalai mused over the scene which had just passed.

What luck. My coming here truly must be fate.

Now that had been an interesting meeting.

The money, of course, had been the important thing.  Crux of the Plan, in fact.  But it felt so good to finally be back to doing what he did best after that horrid sojourn in the forest.  These petty, squabbleing leaders made for an exciting game, even if they were much more dangerous than Rousseau or Anabelle.

The rest would be simple from here.  Bribe an official to give him a minor position in government, and then depose the minor official.   A more important position... he would have to see if it was needed.  Camoflage could be an asset or a hinderance.

In his arms, the Cat yowled.

That boy - the Priest- had been a predator. The dangerous type, High Priest Sasalai. Powerful magic roamed the streets of L'Renouille indeed.  It would be to Jess's advantage to graft his own rune himself but... irrational as it was Jess refused  to be like him categorically. And no one would expect such a weapon to be present apon his pet, now would they?  Of course not.  The politician wondered if the Priest would be taken down a notch or two if he knew that a simple feline posessed somethign as great as his own power.  He's pay good potch to see that little moment...

No matter.  Coffee.  Jess needed coffee.  His veins cried out for sustenance.

The little restaraunt that he entered was pleasant in it's own way.  Plenty of tables for paperwork, and plenty of liquid bliss to brighten his day.  Not that it needed much more brightening.. everything was going according to Plan.

So the boy thought him a servant?  Obviously.  Not that Jess could blame him - Sasalai of Harmonia most likely thought everyone a servant.  Spoiled boy, probably very used to getting whatever he wanted because of petty magic.  Hmph. As if Jess would be satisfied with some ruler's table scraps. But magic could not stop the boy from committing a momentary and very advantageous slip.  Threats might have been sadly inappropriate given their proximity at the time...

Yet when Sasalai returned to his little enclave the boy would find a note detailing exactly why it would be be a mistake for him to betray their agreement, destroy Jess's career, or simply destroy Jess.  For it would be such a shame if Jowston were to be given evidence that Harmonian militants had been behind the disappearances of their precious children.
 

After finishing his meditation exercises, Sasalai stood up yet again, this time walking away, leaving the gardens of L'Renouille behind. He walked by the gardening shed and stepped right up to the only guard in sight.

"Excuse me, but did you see a man around here?"

"A'course I sees a man here. Whot kinnae man would ye be wantin' ta know about?" Bumpkin, he thought contemptuously, but made no comment.

"A man with auburn hair, grey eyes, and the most ridiculously yellow pants one could ever possibly lay eyes upon."

"I haven't seen ennyone of that type, Yer 'Oliness. Why're ye askin'?"

"Oh, no reason. No reason at all. I simply was curious as to who that was... and why you're lying to me as you speak."

The man's already less-than-intelligent expression dumbed down a few notches. "Whot're ye talkin'-"

The man, snared by Sasalai's magic, flew into the sky, then propelled forward with a quick push, slamming head-first into a tree.