Mal Malenkirk
First Post
Karath was the director of the Contraband division of the Security Council of Undhil. The dragonborn was massive and getting a little fat. He was an ex-agent forced to retire from field work due to age, which he didn’t take well at all. He had a legendary temper that matched his reddish skin colour and betrayed his fiery heritage. SCU legend had it that he had burnt his office thrice in two years when he uncontrollably exhaled fire during particularly poor debriefings. At any rate, it was thought extremely perilous to report to Karath after a disappointing performance on an assignment. It was therefore with some trepidation that the agents entered the director’s office.
SCU was a very fluid organization as far as field agents were concerned. The office personnel were steady. The field agents were not. There was great mobility between the branches and Contraband was itself an entry point for new personnel. After all, it was basically just high stake law enforcement so you could break in and evaluate recruits. Compared to the other tasks of SCU, it was fairly straightforward. It was nothing like the complexity of counter-espionage, for example. The only reason why contraband was under the purview of SCU rather than the City Guard was the importance of keeping smuggling under control. In a city that depended so much on its preferred trading partner status, it was crucial. SCU had the reputation for getting the job done while the Guard... well, it was the Guard.
-‘’All right, new team. Again. What have we here.’’ Grumbled Karath, fumbling with his files. ‘’So, Barrion. A regular in these affairs. Seeing as you are on the payroll of the Eladrin kingdom of Silverif, we ain’t about to let you wander from Contraband to Counter-Espionnage, eh.’’ He chuckled and turned to another dossier.
-‘’Nathan Furies. A human. Your kind is a little under represented around here considering your weight in the total population. You are moving in from the City Guard were you did a tour of duty as bodyguard for several senators. I sure hope this isn’t a political move to appease Senator Gaylar. You have to stand on your own merit.''
"My orders is my only politics and the governers gave me none before I left him." replied Nathan without emotion.
-''Fair enough. Who else... Leyra. Healer. Yeah, we always need one of those, which is why you have moved around so much. Four branch in two years! You go wherever our people are getting a beating, eh? But you are an elf worshipping Corallon... isn’t he like the ethnic god of the fey people? Well, just as long as you remember that you fight for the whole republic.’’ He said gruffly.
Karath was well known for his strong support of republican values and his extreme dislike of anything that fostered a sense of cultural identity distinct from being a citizen of Undhil. If anything, he was considered too radical on the subject by many, taking a strong stance against anything he saw as racial based privilege or ethnic organizations.
“Beauty is found in strange places...” Leyra answered the dragonborn mystically.
Having seen a few different task forces already, since there was quite some demand for her healing prowess, the elf was somewhat used to this whole buzz and so remained silent, waiting for further instructions on the mission at hand. Her vigilant eyes survey the scene and examine the others, whom she will be going to work with soon.
The dragonkin stared at Leyra blankly for a moment after her intervention.
-''What the hell did that mean!?'' he exaclaimed dumbfounded. Karath was not known as much of a hilosopher. ''Oh never mind.''
He then turned to the Halfling, file in hand.
-‘’Hum... Garrick. A thief. A reformed thief, born again into the faith of the Raven Queen! With a pedigree like that, you must have wowed the recruiter with your skills. I’ve known a few of the Raven Queen devotees to take too active a hand in increasing Queen’s domain, if you catch my drift. Well, every team need your skill set. But I have my eye on you.’’
When the republic was born, some cults were outlawed. Asmodeus, Bane, Lolth, Tiamat and Vecna’s cults were deemed criminal organizations, to name a few. For a while, there was some support to include the Raven Queen on the black list but its follower managed to lobby their way out of it. There were still suspicions. Most people feared and misunderstood the church of the Dark Queen’s teachings.
"You need have no worries on that score, sir. I certainly do not need to act in that manner. It is my experience that all come to my Lady in time without any...assistance. Even those who seem to live forever as some see it..." Garrick glanced at the 'longer-lived' in the group and a small smile graced his lips "...even they are welcomed in their turn."
-‘’Good. Stick to to that line of doctrine and don't join a sub-sect onb my watch. Okay’s who’s next? Mirage. A tiefling wizard and a mystery man. No known family or associate, yet I’m pretty sure the Internal Security Bureau has looked into it. You might wish to be more forthcoming with information if you want to rise in rank. Meanwhile the only reason you are in is because we never have enough wizard and the file says you know your job. But you ain’t touching something sensitive until your file is as heavy with personal info as your colleagues here.''
"Friends and family are a weakness, one which an enemy can exploit too easily. I shall be able to provide not only the artillery typical of those of my calling, but subterfuge as well. I am most capable at remaining unseen and providing distractions when required." replied Mirage leaving some ambiguity on the subject of his background.
Karath's attention perked up as he made mental notes. Then he turned to the last member.
-''Right, and to round up the team we have a dwarf. Err... bloody dwarves names are hard to pronounce for dragonborn tongue. Anyway, you come from the military. Good man. Me too. File says you are a diehard patriot, I like that. All right, so that’s my new team. Hmm, there are a few imponderable but you all had good evaluations so I will have to trust your former supervisors for the moment. I am wary but nobody can’t say this isn’t an Undhil team. Six different races! All you miss for true greatness is a dragonborn.’’
It was unclear whether the last remark was serious or not. Karath mouth’s twitched but a dragon’s features were hard to read.
Barrion smiles at the Dragonborn's joke, taking his last comment as such
-"Ah, but that's why we have you to report to boss--rounding things out a bit. That's why I'm here anyway."
-''Well, nobody can say you don't have the right attitude.'' Karath. ''You just write one report too many for my taste after the job is done.'' Karath grumbled. Undhil didn't have agents of their own in Silverif's law enforcement branch. It told a lot about which nation was currently in the most solid position and it irked the patriotic dragonborn.
-"Six races? So many selections for a crow's buffet." the dwarf Dagran chuckled beneath his beard. "I don't suppose you were planning on filling us in on how many first-time anti-smuggling teams end badly? I've heard some stories..."
-''You know how it is. Rookies die, veterans survive. That being said, there ain't any rookie in the general sense in this room. You've all seen your fair share of action. That's the silver lining. You should do okay. Now walk with me, I'll introduce you to your control and she will brief you.''
The director led the new agents toward the control room.
SCU was a very fluid organization as far as field agents were concerned. The office personnel were steady. The field agents were not. There was great mobility between the branches and Contraband was itself an entry point for new personnel. After all, it was basically just high stake law enforcement so you could break in and evaluate recruits. Compared to the other tasks of SCU, it was fairly straightforward. It was nothing like the complexity of counter-espionage, for example. The only reason why contraband was under the purview of SCU rather than the City Guard was the importance of keeping smuggling under control. In a city that depended so much on its preferred trading partner status, it was crucial. SCU had the reputation for getting the job done while the Guard... well, it was the Guard.
-‘’All right, new team. Again. What have we here.’’ Grumbled Karath, fumbling with his files. ‘’So, Barrion. A regular in these affairs. Seeing as you are on the payroll of the Eladrin kingdom of Silverif, we ain’t about to let you wander from Contraband to Counter-Espionnage, eh.’’ He chuckled and turned to another dossier.
-‘’Nathan Furies. A human. Your kind is a little under represented around here considering your weight in the total population. You are moving in from the City Guard were you did a tour of duty as bodyguard for several senators. I sure hope this isn’t a political move to appease Senator Gaylar. You have to stand on your own merit.''
"My orders is my only politics and the governers gave me none before I left him." replied Nathan without emotion.
-''Fair enough. Who else... Leyra. Healer. Yeah, we always need one of those, which is why you have moved around so much. Four branch in two years! You go wherever our people are getting a beating, eh? But you are an elf worshipping Corallon... isn’t he like the ethnic god of the fey people? Well, just as long as you remember that you fight for the whole republic.’’ He said gruffly.
Karath was well known for his strong support of republican values and his extreme dislike of anything that fostered a sense of cultural identity distinct from being a citizen of Undhil. If anything, he was considered too radical on the subject by many, taking a strong stance against anything he saw as racial based privilege or ethnic organizations.
“Beauty is found in strange places...” Leyra answered the dragonborn mystically.
Having seen a few different task forces already, since there was quite some demand for her healing prowess, the elf was somewhat used to this whole buzz and so remained silent, waiting for further instructions on the mission at hand. Her vigilant eyes survey the scene and examine the others, whom she will be going to work with soon.
The dragonkin stared at Leyra blankly for a moment after her intervention.
-''What the hell did that mean!?'' he exaclaimed dumbfounded. Karath was not known as much of a hilosopher. ''Oh never mind.''
He then turned to the Halfling, file in hand.
-‘’Hum... Garrick. A thief. A reformed thief, born again into the faith of the Raven Queen! With a pedigree like that, you must have wowed the recruiter with your skills. I’ve known a few of the Raven Queen devotees to take too active a hand in increasing Queen’s domain, if you catch my drift. Well, every team need your skill set. But I have my eye on you.’’
When the republic was born, some cults were outlawed. Asmodeus, Bane, Lolth, Tiamat and Vecna’s cults were deemed criminal organizations, to name a few. For a while, there was some support to include the Raven Queen on the black list but its follower managed to lobby their way out of it. There were still suspicions. Most people feared and misunderstood the church of the Dark Queen’s teachings.
"You need have no worries on that score, sir. I certainly do not need to act in that manner. It is my experience that all come to my Lady in time without any...assistance. Even those who seem to live forever as some see it..." Garrick glanced at the 'longer-lived' in the group and a small smile graced his lips "...even they are welcomed in their turn."
-‘’Good. Stick to to that line of doctrine and don't join a sub-sect onb my watch. Okay’s who’s next? Mirage. A tiefling wizard and a mystery man. No known family or associate, yet I’m pretty sure the Internal Security Bureau has looked into it. You might wish to be more forthcoming with information if you want to rise in rank. Meanwhile the only reason you are in is because we never have enough wizard and the file says you know your job. But you ain’t touching something sensitive until your file is as heavy with personal info as your colleagues here.''
"Friends and family are a weakness, one which an enemy can exploit too easily. I shall be able to provide not only the artillery typical of those of my calling, but subterfuge as well. I am most capable at remaining unseen and providing distractions when required." replied Mirage leaving some ambiguity on the subject of his background.
Karath's attention perked up as he made mental notes. Then he turned to the last member.
-''Right, and to round up the team we have a dwarf. Err... bloody dwarves names are hard to pronounce for dragonborn tongue. Anyway, you come from the military. Good man. Me too. File says you are a diehard patriot, I like that. All right, so that’s my new team. Hmm, there are a few imponderable but you all had good evaluations so I will have to trust your former supervisors for the moment. I am wary but nobody can’t say this isn’t an Undhil team. Six different races! All you miss for true greatness is a dragonborn.’’
It was unclear whether the last remark was serious or not. Karath mouth’s twitched but a dragon’s features were hard to read.
Barrion smiles at the Dragonborn's joke, taking his last comment as such
-"Ah, but that's why we have you to report to boss--rounding things out a bit. That's why I'm here anyway."
-''Well, nobody can say you don't have the right attitude.'' Karath. ''You just write one report too many for my taste after the job is done.'' Karath grumbled. Undhil didn't have agents of their own in Silverif's law enforcement branch. It told a lot about which nation was currently in the most solid position and it irked the patriotic dragonborn.
-"Six races? So many selections for a crow's buffet." the dwarf Dagran chuckled beneath his beard. "I don't suppose you were planning on filling us in on how many first-time anti-smuggling teams end badly? I've heard some stories..."
-''You know how it is. Rookies die, veterans survive. That being said, there ain't any rookie in the general sense in this room. You've all seen your fair share of action. That's the silver lining. You should do okay. Now walk with me, I'll introduce you to your control and she will brief you.''
The director led the new agents toward the control room.
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