>>6111437>>6111351>>6111240The Woman rouses herself, turning in an agile movement and sweeping to her feet. And then she dips into a curtsy, tipping an imaginary hat.
" Mornlight. Montosi Mornlight, at your service, courier of a distant Senate and underpaid government employee of . . . "
She pauses for a moment. Thinking. A brief shadow passes across her eyes and she clearly decides on her next words with some care.
" Infrastructure support services? Bit of a shortstaff in the department, so I've been lent to the Kalcmiri Greenglass Council to help them with an overdue taxation issue related to some pecularities in local grain shipments. The fields here, they grow a kind of tobacco for export and consumption but there's been a few years of taxing it under label regulatory category Arken-Three, which by way of referencing the Luperni-Cesteriphon-Twin Shores International Shipping Agreements of '265 is ACTUALLY not the proper tax category for agricultural byproducts consumed for personal satisfaction."
She smiles. And then like an army marching on to a attack hillfort she keeps going.
" I was travelling through the region to conduct a growth survey and offer calculation services to the local villages to get their government rebate scheduling fixed, but I got jumped by those Windsworn two days ago and tied to a chair in the middle of this place. I mean I know no one likes a government employee but I'm not even from the tax office, I promise "
She grins, by way of apology. One of the troopers suppresses a yawn.
" Anyway, I won't bore you with grain economics. Pleasure to make your acquiantance, Magnates Edward, Scarlett and Zivka. You often get into daring firefights with roaming religiously motivated marauder factions? I wouldn't think that'd be your usual line of work "
Montosi bounces a little from foot to foot, shaking out the remaining jitters of days of deprivation. For someone who was left in the sun for hours, she's recovering fairly readily.
" I think your idea of negotiation is clever. These people must want something. I couldn't get them to talk at all. It's like they've taken a vow of silence or some such. But they're human? Surely they'll see you have that in common.
If nothing else, they might not batter down the doors if they're busy talking.
Ask them about their leader. I saw him. Briefly. When his goons were tying me to a chair. He had a lady with him, some slick Pytherii thing in full legion harness, which in THIS weather? Void, lady, calm down.
Think maybe they call him the Whispergrain? I'm not up to date on my bandit clans and maraudering criminals but when I was in Kalcmir down the coast, the Red Market called him the leader of the Windsworn. Didn't mention a lady though, which is why I think maybe that's a way to start - some leverage or something. Because he must be doing something for her, or she's doing something for him, and point is this lot will have orders, yeah, in some sense of the word? "
