New Year's Ballroom [L]

[Lord Woodrow]

Apr 12, 2010 15:42:28 GMT -7 Major Tommy Dunn said:

In all honesty, Tom had not considered that Lord Woodrow would take unkindly to him simply sitting there and watching the goings-on of the ball. Yes, he was listening in. Still, it didn't look as though he was listening in, now did it? In his mind, Tom cursed ever so slightly. First impressions were important, and he had messed this one up... Well, He thought briskly, trying to think on his feet before he said a word, I suppose it can easily be salvaged.

"Listening in?" Tom forced his voice to a place where it sounded as though her were just about to laugh. He turned towards Woodrow, trying to read the man's famed poker face with a smile. "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean. I was much more focused on (he inconspicuously quickly glanced at the rest of the ball before pin-pointing the correct diversion) those two women there. The ones that were fighting? It was quite the scene, hm?" He had no idea what the women had been fighting about, but he had seen two women arguing before the crowd closed in a tight, entertained circle.

"But while I have your attention," Tom continued, turning away from the scene that had come and gone like all gossip did, "I suppose I could take the opportunity to explain why I was over here in the first place - it does have to do with you after all. I was just awaiting your conversation with this young man here to take a break... I have something you might be very much interested in. If you'll give me a moment? I'll even throw in a drink. Your's looks like it could use a topping off."

Although Woodrow was quite curious about who the women were who were having a fight (wasn't Tehodis in that direction? Was she alright?), he also knew that the information would be in the Tablet the next day. Especially if it was garnering such a crowd. So instead, he took a seat in one of the stools, nodding to the bartender who had been waiting for permission to refull his glass. He spun to the man (military man, Woodrow would have guesses) and gave a questioning look as if to tell him to go on about what this was all about.

The drink came before him, and he took a sip, savouring in the flavour and the burn. Then, due to the fact he had not heard another word from the eavesdropper (Woodrow was quite certain he was lying about not listening in), he prompted him, "So what is this thing that I'm very much interested in?" He thought briefly about what could possibly catch his eye, his ear. Information on the Defiled Grail, of course. Anything that could be used to blackmail a king, or a warlord. Tehodis. Definitely something to do with Tehodis would have him pulling the man away to a secluded space, questioning him quite rigorously. Now he was worked up. Now he needed to know. Now he wanted it to be about Tehodis. He didn't care about the Grail, or the disgustingly sinful warlords. He just cared about Tehodis.

[Major Tommy Dunn]

Tom smiled when Woodrow gave a silent assent to the conversation. He understood how difficult it might be to get the time of someone like him - he understood it quite completely. He had tried many times to arrange a meeting with the man in his own Headquarters... Alas, that had not gone well. The next opening that was available to a man of his status (which he refused to state for issues of confidentiality) was in a year. And that was not going to work.

Tom took the seat next to Woodrow, sliding it slightly away so that it was at a manly distance. He silently ordered the same thing Woodrow was drinking for himself, and waited until he had the glass and had taken a sip (and after Woodrow had prompted him of course) before saying anything. It was a strategy he'd learned a while ago. Letting the time pass, letting them feel as if they need you, instead of the other way around. "This thing that I'm certain you'll be quite interested in hearing about, is..." He took a sip, using his peripheral vision to see Lord Woodrow. To see if he was indeed showing any signs of anticipation.

"A way to finish off the thing that bothers you, once and for all," He didn't want to just go out and state it without any ambiguity. That left out all the fun. So instead, he took another sip, and sat there casually, letting his mind wander with his plans. There would be Woodrow's desperate want for whatever Tom was selling, the signing of what needed to be signed, and then a whole list of illegal activities... But none of those would really bother Tom. Not like it might make Woodrow's innocence itch. Tom went over his words carefully, mulling over who was surrounding them that might here something they ought not to be listening to... And then Woodrow began a first syllable of curiosity and Tom interrupted, "And not only that, but in a way that I can assure you will be fast and easy."

"I can pretty much guarantee that they'll be out of your way and you'll be able to continue your siege for justice in two weeks. At the absolute most," He sipped again, not really tasting the alcohol as it ran down his throat. He was far too enamoured with the unfolding of his plans to really care what this (scotch? That was probably it. Seemed like something Lords drank) tasted like. He let a couple of moments go by, allowing Woodrow to process information, and then he interrupted the man's thoughts again - "And no, I'm not crazy. I just know what I'm doing." And with that, he finished his drink, dropped a large tip on the counter and then walked off. He went around the dance-floor and then out of the ballroom and into one of the hallways. He followed the path he had determined he would go along beforehand, going slow enough to be followed but not slow enough for it to seem deliberate. And then he paused, in a completely deserted, oft forgotten hallway with a single door leading to a men's wash-room. He turned around, ready to see that (not if) Lord Woodrow had followed him...

[Lord Woodrow]

Woodrow had in fact followed Tom. He had left his drink (mostly) untouched and had followed in quick pursuit of the man who had intrigued him so easily. His mind no longer wandered with thoughts of Tehodis, they had been completely banished from every dark corner of it. Instead, he was fantasizing about hanging every one of those dirty pirates. He imagined burning their ship and them altogether. Watching it sink down to the depths while he listened to their heathenish screams.

Perhaps it was because of these illusions that he never even paused to consider the fact that he could very well be walking into a trap. For all he knew, this man was one of them. For all Woodrow knew he was being lead into a secluded place so that his throat could be slit as easily as he could recall his name. The only thing Woodrow knew, was that he didn't care about anything but learning more about this offer. About this suggestion that could end his severe anger and frustration at those disgusting peasants who killed and stole and raped.

"So Mr..." He waited for a name, but only for a moment. He was too impatient to wait for an actual reply, "What is this plan that you claim will help me? Why is it that I have not heard it before? What do you want?" With this, he ceased his questioning, feeling in the dominant position. He had moved in such a way that this man (this military man?) could not escape no matter which direction he fled (one way was a wall, another was a wall, one was a dead end and the other was Woodrow himself), and was staring him down. Tom was taller than him, if only by a couple of inches, but still Woodrow looked down his nose upon him. He felt as though - he knew as though - he was the one who truly held all the cards. If this man hadn't needed Woodrow, he would have picked someone else. Then again, it was Woodrow whom had followed the man down into dark hallways...

But that was beside the point.

[Major Tommy Dunn]

He was right about Woodrow following. That was a good thing. Not only did Tom love to be right (which meant he was often happy because he was right so, so often) but it also advanced his plan. It brought him farther down the path he wanted to be going on, and thus everything was right with the world. Everything was going (essentially) as he had designed in the months prior.

"I'm Major Thomas Dunn, sir. Of the Artavian army," He offered his hand, and smiled. He could tell Woodrow was trying to be imposing. Tom didn't care, he just shrugged it off, "Don't let that enrage you though. I know you're not a big fan of warmongers, and I'm certain you think I am one. I'm an engineer. I don't wage wars. I invent. I build. I create something from nothing and I'm certain that's one thing everyone can appreciate... I make things like this," He pulled out his most recent invention opened it, pressing a button and setting it on a ledge. The red light glowed, only to inform him that it was fully functioning. The design had only been perfected a few days prior, and still it worked like a charm.

"Don't be alarmed by this. It is not meant to harm. I don't make to cause damage. This little boy cancels out sound and hearing devices. So that no one we don't want hearing us, hears us... Now, to the other invention..." Tom leaned against the wall he was cornered in, relaxing in such a way that made the two men entirely juxtaposed. Woodrow stood tall, straight, nose in the air like the royal snob he was. Tom relaxed against the wall, calm, collecting - smiling. "Well, I suppose first there's one more thing. I'm a pretty trusting person, but with these sorts of things you can never be too sure, so - if you wouldn't mind?" He reached into the pocket inside his jacket, looking for the sheet of parchment he'd had drawn up. He found it, and then snagged the small quill he had brought along as well. "Magic, you know... I've never been a big fan, but sometimes... Well, sometimes it works a lot better than old fashioned elbow grease. This (he gestured to the parchment) is a contract. I'm sure you've used a lot of these. Probably the same kind of thing. Magically bound, blah blah blah. Huge consequences blah blah blah. Feel free to read over it, but it's just a bunch of legal jargon that means you're bound to silence over the things I tell you about here. Would you mind?" Tom held out the parchment and quill, smiling in a comforting manner. The contract held everything he said it did, and nothing more. Even if Woodrow were to scour it with a fine-tooth comb he would not find a lie... This would be integral to him trusting Tom with the later paperwork. Hopefully it would work. Hopefully he'd be too distracted to care.

[Lord Woodrow]

Woodrow snatched the contract away from this Major Dunn person and began to read over it. The man man was right in thinking that Woodrow used these a lot, but they were not his forte. He understood some of the legal phrasing found within, but nothing to an extent that put him in a position to question it. Instead he just skimmed it, ensuring there wasn't anything out of place, and then he took the quill and signed his name, watching the letting glow briefly as the magic took hold. If he told a soul about what he heard from Dunn, he would suffer the consequences... But if what the man had said before had been the truth, Woodrow would be fine with keeping quiet about the information within the conversation. The soldier - engineer, rather - was bound by the same thing, and thus Woodrow now felt freer to speak. Especially with that little machine that the Major ensured Woodrow was for the purposes of blocking sound.

"Now, Major," Woodrow began, handing back the parchment and quill and clasping his hands together when the contrat became absent from them, "Tell me about this method, this plan that you seem so sure of. What invention is it that will help me now?" Woodrow had been approached by men like this before. Cocky inventors who ensured Woodrow that - for a large fee or amnesty for bad deeds - they would tell him a way to get the one thing he wanted most. The complete and final descimation of pirates - particularly, the Defiled Grail. Most of them had been liars, cheats, and Woodrow had had them subsequently (and quietly) hung with the pirates. With the people like them.

For some reason, this man was different. Woodrow felt the man was trustworthy. Perhaps it was the way he walked or talked, or the fact that he was so clean and neat. Everything seemed to have it's place for the man, and even the little metal device had been placed completely straight and perfect upon it's perch. This was not a man who looked desperate. This was not a man who needed something. This was a man who understood something that Woodrow didn't. And Woodrow very much wanted to know what that something was. Even if it meant he had to sign a contract ensuring his silence. Even if it meant he had to use up time he could be using to dance with Tehodis - not that he had even conjured such a thought. He was far too distracted with the prospect of his dreams coming to fruition sooner than he had thought they could. This felt vaguely surreal, but Woodrow refused to pinch himself quite yet.

[Major Tommy Dunn]

Hook, line... This was going well. Tom smiled as Woodrow hurriedly scratched his name into the parchment, only bothering to run his eyes over it a few seconds before binding himself and handing the papers back to the soldier. Tom folded it neatly, sliding it into his pocket and setting the quill down gently (and perfectly) on the same ledge as his device, perpendicular to the metal invention.

"What I have in mind, is this - I've created a device that acts like a series of items. You've probably heard of them. Amulet of Obedience. Ameth? Well this does the same thing, only it's more effective. It doesn't wear off, can't be removed or broken. And it will give you what you want. We get one of them, we add my little guy in and... Problem solved. Get the pirate to lead you right to them and burn it. Send it down to the depths." He had no personal vendetta against pirates. At the same time, however, he was self-serving. If guaranteeing himself amnesty required the death of sea bandits, or even his fellow soldiers... That was something he could easily live with. He was certain he would not lose a wink of sleep, because he was fine. Because he would be untouchable.

All he had to do, was sink it. If Woodrow didn't find a way off this hook, he would be in the clear. He could do anything, experiment on humans, sacrifice the lives of anyone, anyone and all... And no one could do a thing about it. Just the mere thought of it brought a smile to his face. The smile was likely to be misconstrewed as one regarding the death of pirates, and Tom was fine with that. Woodrow was merely a tool. He didn't need to know anything beyond what he was told.

[Lord Woodrow]

He had tried it before. Mind control. It had brought down a few ships, but the grail had been smarter than most. They saw a shiny new necklace and they fled. They knew it was an amulet. IT had been difficult. He had tried once with an Ameth as well. The problem was that it wore off more quickly than they could get there, and the captured pirate would give out an alarm before being thrown overboard. The soldier claimed that his device covered at least one of these problems... But would it be seen?

"I must say that the whole idea is captivating," Woodrow began, relaxing slightly as he fell into natural conversation with the man, "But there are two things you've not told me. Will your device be noticeable? Will the pirates be able to see it? And the other... How exactly do you plan to get one of these pirates? It's not as if you can run to the general store and say 'Two apples, a head of lettuce and chocolate. Oh and that pirate over there.' They aren't easy to get to."

But if Tom had a wonderful plan for getting one of them as well... Woodrow imagined his dreams coming to fruition. It was so close he could almost taste the success on his tongue. Next he would have a chance to get rid of all the mercenaries and bounty hunters. Then he could focus himself on the War. Get rid of all of that. With help from this soldier, Woodrow would be that giant step closer to ruling a perfectly just world.

[Major Tommy Dunn]

Two questions he'd been expecting. Will people see it, and how would it get done. Any other man would have answered questions he foresaw in his initial explanation. Tom was not any other man, however. He was far more intelligent than that, he did far too much research for that - there was far too much riding on this. Woodrow was one of those men who liked to be in control. Being in control meant feeling smarter. Knowing a question your partner in socialization had not considered meant you were smarter. Unless that fellow conversationalist was Tom. Then you had no reason to believe you were more intelligent or more well-versed in the ways of the world.

"No one will see it. That's the most beautiful part. It's something that I actually put into their body. I wouldn't even be able to tell where I put it if I tried." Well, actually - he could. But confidence in oneself guaranteed the confidence of others. Tom was used to... hyperbolizing. "And as for your other question... Well my answer is rather simple though I suppose a man of your impeccable morals would never think of it. For that reason, I think that it would be best I did not say. Then if anything is drawn back to you, you can honestly say that you did not approve it, nor do you condone it... And it will all be purely the truth. So, if we have a deal..." Tom prompted, ready to answer the question of what he himself wanted out of this little agreement. He would delve into his pocket again and withdraw the second contract for Woodrow to sign. The one that would seal his fate. Should the man read it, everything would fall apart... If he didn't and let his anxiety fill out the papers... Then Tom would be home free. A few more moments would tell if he would sink the shot.

[Lord Woodrow]

There was a bit of grey area here. Things like this were illegal, things like this were what Woodrow disapproved of. But... certainly there was a difference between a civilian using this strategy in order to do something illegal and a government organization using it to take down a band of murderers, thieves and rapists. The line was blurred, it was difficult to tell where was too far and where wasn't far enough... But this was the Defiled Grail, the people he had been chasing for years. The people that continued to evade capture and continue to steal and kill. The people that continued to ridicule him from a distance.

"Yes. Under the condition that you do not tell me any further about this endeavour. Find one, bring them in, do your task and alert me when we can set sail. I don't need any other details," Woodrow offered his hand vaguely, a symbol that he accepted all this. Although his face seemed stoic and his manner polite, within the confines of his own mind Woodrow was being to leap for joy. He danced and sung and celebrated in his head as the thought of finally destroying the grail became more and more serious. As the thought of moving on to the next phase of his plan was real, and attainable. It was no longer just a dream.

"Until then, I suppose, Major. You know where you can find me."

[Major Tommy Dunn]

"Ah... Not quite yet, Lord Woodrow,

[/b]" Tom said, pulling the man back by the hand he had offered. He relinquished it as the other man stepped back within the range of the sound-cancelling device and used the hand to reach into his pocket. "There's just one more order of business." He unfolded the sheet of parchment slowly, watching Woodrow as he did so, gauging his reaction to this turn. He seemed not to be too sorely affected by it. A faint glimmer of curiosity, perhaps, but for the most part it appeared the man was either expecting this or did not show surprise.

"What I want for my hard work," He handed the contract to Woodrow, giving the man a moment to grab it before turning and snatching the quill off the ledge and offering it to the Lord. The contract detailed how Tom, following the success of Defiled Grail destruction, would be granted complete and total immunity by the Peacekeeper's Brigade for any and all deeds of the past, present and future. He would be untouchable. He could do experiments on humans without a care about whether or not he would be arrested. He wouldn't have to be stressed about his past mistakes. "Immunity for the Artavian Army for the period within which it is lead by Adria Tiira. All of us are untouchable by the Brigade until she is either... decommissioned, or steps down. Does that seem fair?" He had to lie. Woodrow would never agree to what was really listed. That's why Tom was so happy that he seemed eager to leave. If he didn't read the papers over... Everything would be on the right course.[/blockquote]

[Lord Woodrow]

"Fine," Woodrow said, perhaps too quickly. He took the papers and the quill and quickly scrawled his name on the places he was meant to sign and then forced them back into Tom's hand. At this point, he didn't think twice about his decision. At this point, he didn't think that perhaps tomorrow, or the day after that, he might regret his decision. It simply didn't seem normal to do so. For years he had been hunting the Grail. Hunting those specific pirates who refused to die or be captured. And it wasn't as if Major Tom had asked Woodrow for permanent immunity. The moment Adria Tiira died, or resigned, or went missing... He could act against the army. And even against Tom here. For now he'd have to wait, but that would be alright. The warlords weren't his next target anyways.

"You know where I'll be, I assume, Major. When you are ready, come to me there. We'll send out a fleet which you are welcome to join," With that, Woodrow pulled away, walking down the hall feeling lighter and happier. Quite simply he was now in such a perfect mood. No thoughts of Tehodis crossed his mind, no wonderings of Tom's other intentions. He was far too happy for such things. "And... Thank you, Major," He added, turning back briefly to offer his appreciation, "If this works it could mean great things for you."

[Major Tommy Dunn]

Tom didn't reply to Woodrow. All he offered was a smile as he slipped away the parchment and the quill, watching the man disappear down the empty hallways back to the music that sounded so muted from where he stood. Tom turned off his small sound-cancelling device, putting it in it's place and then he began to make his way to the nearest exit. His task for the night was finished, and he couldn't help but be amazed at how simply it had come to that conclusion. So long as he didn't fail in his capturing and implanting of a pirate... He would be home free. He would be untouchable and in that singular, perfect place that no man - not even Lord Woodrow himself - occupied.

Everything was going as planned, and the excitement caused his fact to morph, to make way for a toothy grin as he hummed, distancing himself from the party. The sounds of a countdown coming hear were audible from streets away, and lovers hid in shadows, celebrating the new year in their own fashion. The drunks in the tavern shouted and sang jovially and everything just seemed so right. So much brighter, more vibrant. "Just a matter of time," He said only to himself, finally finding himself off the grounds of the gigantic ballroom. Tonight he would head home, and in the morning he would have a meeting with a well-known mercenary. Someone who could easily catch the person he wanted. Everything would fall into place and Tom would be the most powerful man on the face of the planet.