Valentin Valentin possessed one of the most fascinating auras Anton had ever observed. There were the familiar strains of duty and ambition of course, almost every man in every position of power whether high or low possessed those in some measure or another, but something else underlaid it. A hint of what he could only describe as deviousness, spiked with a measure of pettiness to taste. This was a vindictive, spiteful, and incredibly self conscious man who thought far more was owed to him than he had ever received.
Anton decided that he could work with that.
"This, Herr Valentin, is why I was directed to speak with you," he said after the man had concluded his thoughts upon how to actually transport the weaponry to Anton's lands in Karnor. And this time it wasn't even a lie. Few men had the appropriate combination of ambition, guile, and connections required to pursue this course of action while also being held in such a relatively minor station that they required bold moves to make a name for themselves. Almost anyone else in the OIR would've gently dissuaded him from this insane course of action, and quietly flagged his account for any unusual transactions.
"One question reaches out to me above all others however," he asked, pressing past the clear avarice in the man's thoughts. For the moment, their interests were aligned. "Why would a Kalzasern factor assist in the arming of what will, for all practical purposes, be a Zaichaeri militia?" The fact that Anton was technically paying dues and taxes to the OIR and his pocket of land would be a pocket of Imperial influence in the region was an incredibly arcane point - and one that even if it was understood might not prove mollifying to anyone regardless. It would appear, no matter what the documents read, that a regiment of volunteers had sprung up in the farthest reach of the city-state's influence with weapons that might actually keep them an independent force after the conclusion of the war.
Anton decided that he could work with that.
"This, Herr Valentin, is why I was directed to speak with you," he said after the man had concluded his thoughts upon how to actually transport the weaponry to Anton's lands in Karnor. And this time it wasn't even a lie. Few men had the appropriate combination of ambition, guile, and connections required to pursue this course of action while also being held in such a relatively minor station that they required bold moves to make a name for themselves. Almost anyone else in the OIR would've gently dissuaded him from this insane course of action, and quietly flagged his account for any unusual transactions.
"One question reaches out to me above all others however," he asked, pressing past the clear avarice in the man's thoughts. For the moment, their interests were aligned. "Why would a Kalzasern factor assist in the arming of what will, for all practical purposes, be a Zaichaeri militia?" The fact that Anton was technically paying dues and taxes to the OIR and his pocket of land would be a pocket of Imperial influence in the region was an incredibly arcane point - and one that even if it was understood might not prove mollifying to anyone regardless. It would appear, no matter what the documents read, that a regiment of volunteers had sprung up in the farthest reach of the city-state's influence with weapons that might actually keep them an independent force after the conclusion of the war.
