The Rabbit Hole (Flowerdene Arc)

“Don’t worry too much about that. If he has his own agenda the Masters will learn of it.” Sara waves dismissively, before taking another sip of the wine. Worrying about such matters is her purview, having been recommended to the Pact to keep a careful eye on its activities. Aiding in suppressing an insurrection was just a side bonus, supposing it is as it claims to be. “Yes, the Flowerdene fundraiser is my work.”

“What groups are involved in it?”

“It’s mostly Church, with the help of my Great Game contacts. Anyone is free to donate supplies for it, however, so if you wanted to spread the word around your own circles I’d certainly be thankful - it isn’t as if the origin of the donation makes much difference.” She ponders the possibility of rare edge cases, and adds a little disclaimer. “Well, assuming the donation isn’t somehow conditional.”

“Would Flowerdene be helping with this endeavor by any chance?”

Sara shakes her head. &quotI spoke to Eli about the fundraiser to get some information, but it’d be best if it wasn’t affiliated with the FDI. As an independent charity we can get a wider appeal from all sorts of groups; as a FDI sponsored drive we’d only appeal to certain revolutionary sorts, and dissuade those who would otherwise want to help the people of the community. Besides, I don’t want to fuel a war, and that’s precisely what working with the FDI would do.&quot

Lord Gazter thinks for a moment. &quotYou seem like the type who wants to prevent bloodshed in all this mess. Am I correct in my assumption?&quot Lord Gazter waits patiently for an answer.
edited by Lord Gazter on 9/1/2016

&quotYes. I’d prefer to avoid any further deaths, if at all possible.&quot The raven nods approvingly, but neither of them feel confident in their abilities to prevent casualties. Too long have the seeds of conflict been allowed to grow unfettered. &quotNot sure if that’s at all possible, but it’s worth the effort.&quot

edited by Sara Hysaro on 9/1/2016

“I might just have a rather unorthodox way of doing so.” He smiles genially.

Sara listens intently, ready to carefully consider the suggestion. So long as it didn’t have any unpleasant consequences or go against the spirit of the Masters’ desires she is open to most anything that might aid her personal wishes. &quotI’m all ears.&quot

“Have you heard about how spirifers have been having trouble recently? There has been a rather interesting movements to crack down on them as of late.”

Spirifers? Sara finds herself puzzled at the topic, though she forces herself to keep her thoughts to herself before making any statements. She’ll have to hear his angle on this matter. “Go on.”

Lord Gazter gives Sara a wicked smile. &quotWell if some illegally obtained souls just happened to be given. Well then they could just happen to end among the supplies used during the fundraiser or the distribution of supplies to the needy, and members of Flowerdene were the ones that transported them, and if they just happened to be caught with them. Well that might just bring an investigation on Floweredene and make Flowerdene look bad in the eyes of the people that they are trying to gather for their little war.&quot

Lord Gazter steeples his hands and sits back in his chair. He smiles. &quotWhat do you think of this hypothetical scenario?&quot
edited by Lord Gazter on 9/1/2016

“Not really a fan, sorry. The supplies are going into Flowerdene, not leaving it. Including the spoils of spirifage into the mix will just make it look like someone was trying to return them to their proper owners.” Her first complaint aired, she turns the hypothetical over, searching for other flaws. “Even supposing things turned out the way you intend, this whole thing would cast suspicion on me as well. I’d likely lose a good portion of my existing contacts, and become a target of the FDI’s aggressions.”

She rests her head on her hand, finding additional consequences of the plan. “Not to mention that the supply drive isn’t the only thing I have planned, and this scheme would thoroughly prohibit that from succeeding. If the insurgence wins in spite of bad PR then the Masters will lose most of their information about the area, and I wouldn’t be able to provide any assistance in mitigating that. If it loses then nothing really changes, and the improvements I’d hoped to make wouldn’t happen.”

She thinks for an additional moment, nodding when she realizes all the main problems have been addressed. “Yeah, I’m not seeing any benefit in this for me or even the majority of those involved. If you wanted to try a stunt like this you’ll need to try another tack. I’d suggest a warehouse owned by the FDI, but again - it’s really easy to damage control this sort of thing and come out looking better in the end. I’d advise against planted souls in general.”

Lord Gazter simply smiles. “Very well then. It was worth asking.” He finishes his glass. “I do hope you keep this between us of course.”

Sara nods. “I promise not to tell anyone.” She finishes up her glass as well, and gently returns Caldyr to her arm as she stands from her seat. She gives Lord Gazter a genuine smile. “It was nice speaking to you - I really do appreciate the effort in trying to solve this whole thing without bloodshed. Do send another message if you have other plans; I’d be more than happy to listen and see what I may do to help.”

&quotFriends are always needed in troubled times like these.&quot He says graciously. &quotI do hope that we can help each other in future endeavors.&quot

“Likewise. You have a good evening.” She waves her free hand and departs into the night. First, a side-trip to her personal Shrine to St. Joshua, so that she might consign all memory of the conversation to Irrigo. Caldyr acts as a lookout along her journey, and informs a confused Sara only of the difficulties spirifers are facing within Flowerdene. Not a terribly important detail, in all likelihood, but one never knows when little details might come in handy down the line.

Sara, of course, would never break her promise. Caldyr, on the other hand, made no such promises. While the raven does exercise discretion when deemed advantageous, in the end nothing Sara learns or plans goes unreported. Luckily for Lord Gazter no consequences are likely to be forthcoming from tonight’s report to Mr Pages.