Prompt

Draven has returned to the Lair, the Church of Fallen Brothers, after contacting Vixen who told him that Kraegios and Rayong are going to make a treaty to finally have peace between the two feuding kingdoms. This news has caused the Syndicate to be concerned and they need to plan how to prevent this event from happening. Cassian is allowing everyone to meet at the lair as they plan the heist to stop it. The meeting starts in the morning inside a dilapidated church made of wood. Only zealots are allowed to know about the singular black lotus in the garden.

Name | Gender | Age | Rank | Mentions:

Cassian Amaris | Male | 36 | Leader | Mentions:

Draven (directly), everyone else (indirectly)

Cassian stood behind the lectern at the front of the decrepit little wooden church that the syndicate called their lair. It smelled damp, the air hanging heavily over everything within. He had always mused on how much it reminded him of a casket buried in a cemetery. A dark, rotting, resting place of saints that was inhabited now only by sinners. Though Cassian never regarded himself as one of the wretched. The sun had just begun to bleed upon the horizon, bringing in the new day. This had always been his favourite time for meetings, the subject could remain fresh within everyone’s mind for the rest of the day, after all.

This was no simple gathering though, it was a reaction to a very concerning threat. A possible peace treaty between the kingdoms of Kraegios and Reyong had been reported to Cassian by Disciple Draven. It had been within the shadow of their mutual hatred that Black Lotus had been able to flourish, and now all of that was about to be thrown away. They had been more opportunistic then anything in regards to the conflict, offering the syndicate’s services to whoever was paying the highest at the time, however it would be highly likely that both kingdoms would decide that Black Lotus was too dangerous to be left be, and should be stamped out at the nearest opportunity. There was also the issue of money. No more feud meant no more wealth taken from the deep pockets of the nobility themselves. Now that just couldn’t do, could it? That’s what Cassian so figured. He smiled about it all to himself, but he could feel his chest burning with internalized frustration.

“Good morning, everyone,” His soft voice carried easily throughout the church, the room dead silent. He wasn’t one to shout to gather the attention of a crowd, instead his tone was quiet and controlled.

“I do hope you all are in good health and spirits for today’s meeting. I won’t draw this out, so let’s get right to the reason I summoned you all here today,” Cassian’s gaze swept across the audience. “Important news was recently received from one of our Acolyte informants in the royal court of Kraegios. Word of a peace treaty between her kingdom and that of Reyong.”

He observed the reactions of his subordinates, letting unease settle within the air.

“I’m sure all of you can understand that I don’t have any intentions of allowing such a thing to pass,” He leaned forward, resting his left elbow on the wooden lectern with his head in his hand. “I’m sure none of you plan on standing idly by either, considering how likely it is that you all would die.”

“We have a few routes we could take with this mission, and I would like to employ all hands on deck unless proven unnecessary in the near or distant future. I have considered perhaps inciting another scuffle between them by poisoning a member of one of their royal courts, pinning the blame on the other kingdom. This may only lend to suspicion if we fail to leave a subtle yet still convincing trail of evidence behind, however, so I am not set on it,” He spoke flatly, without stumbling over his words.

“I would like to ask my wonderful subordinates their thoughts on what our actions moving forward should be. Please speak in an orderly fashion, and know that if any arguments break out both parties will be duly punished,” He emphasised the last part of his statement before continuing. “Feel free to take your time as well, we wouldn’t want to act on a hastily made plan, after all.”

He smiled a little wider, patiently interlocking his hands together over the lectern.

Mavros Kerridge | M | 26 | Acolyte | Mentions: Cassian {ind.}, Kieran {ind.}, others {ind.}

Mindful of not making too perfect of eye contact with anyone in particular as he silently seated himself a few pews behind more or less familiar faces, Mav couldn’t help but find himself studying the body language of those already seated, and anyone else who had trickled in after his own entrance. There was little incentive as to why such a large gathering had been called judging from Cassian’s stature alone, and by the attentiveness of everyone else he had a visual on, Mav was satisfied to conclude that he wasn’t the only one in the dark at the moment. Not that it was necessarily any more comforting to be in a room mostly filled with killers, but he supposed as long as he never became an object worth killing to the Syndicate and its people, he had little to fear while living among them.

The atmosphere that seemed almost too heavy for the church itself to withstand became a testament to the news Cassian had begun to divulge to the group. The work of processing the weight that the information of the treaty brought was done for him, as Mav observed from the spike in dread and otherwise concern that had begun to circulate. Thoughts of his own hadn’t begun to churn until Cassian had directly laid out how his own life could be impacted by the treaty, and suddenly the heavy gravity in the room weighed on him as well.

Leaning forward in the pew he sat in, Mavros listened carefully to the idea that Cassian had proposed. He had no experience in going through the efforts of covertly poisoning someone, but he did understand the precision required to pull off anything that would impair the event of the signing to take place, no matter how it would have to happen. Group efforts were not Mav’s specialty, but there had been times in his life when he needed to be in kahootz with other equally ambitious thieves and criminals for the sake of obtaining things impossible to grasp at alone. Of course, there was absolutely no honor among thieves, and Mav had personally sold his allies short for his own gain on one or two occasions. However, he knew better than to even consider the idea of pulling one over on both the Syndicate and its members. Not when it was in his better interest to devote himself entirely to the Syndicate and its well-being for the sake of preserving his own.

Inclining his head enough to look at the back of Kieran’s, Mavros took his insertions of ideas into the air and began spinning a web of his own ideas in his head. Mav liked to think he was better acquainted with the pragmatics of risk and reward than most, and he weighed such thing with Kieran’s proposal while considering his own. Even if the signing happened to be months in advance, at best, Mavros was still only good for the things he was recruited for to begin with. He was not a true assassin, not yet anyway, and yet he still felt the need to maintain his value, or risk being another thing in these people’s way.

"Not that I have much experience with orchestrating schemes of this scale," Mavros began tentatively, trying not to shift too uncomfortably in his seat from his own sudden vocalization, "but if these kingdoms are so desperate for a peace treaty, we might be able to exploit their pre-existing animosity to our advantage. Personally, if I were anyone with value in either kingdom, I’d already be bracing for sabotage from my former rival during the signing. And - while it might sound a little counterintuitive at first - stirring up these fears and putting these people on higher guard could be for our own ultimate benefit. If we get a head start on properly inserting rumors and gossip about potential betrayals and reservations in the right social circles, we can more or less control the growth of mutual suspicion the kingdoms probably already have for each other. That way even if they go through with the signing, their paranoia could serve as leverage for us."

He paused, briefly contemplating his own approach to the situation, then continued, "Hypothetically speaking, a smokescreen tactic could work in unison with the pre-established setup of suspicion between them. If we did manage to infiltrate the signing and created a significant diversion - something chaotic enough to pull everyone's attention taut -. that might give us an opportunity to take out important figures from both kingdoms, all while making it appear as if loyalists from each side were responsible for both the chaos and assassinations."

Clearing his throat, Mavros added with a thin smile, "But of course, I’m still learning the ropes of . . . all of this. So the logistics of my ideals could be a bit wishy-washy." He glanced away, trying to hide his mild unease behind a facade of casual confidence. Most of these people lived and operated on stealth and subtleties, but Mavros had also found success with survival through theatrics and loud displays. People, he’s found, tend to look where one directs them to. If one is capable of utilizing both distraction and betting on a herd mentality, then chaos is more structured and easy to manipulate than it looks to be on the surface. Then again, this was no operation he had any exact experience in compared to his fellow Syndicate members. But even if his own ideas were spit on and tossed aside, he could learn how to think like them through this. Overall, this was still a great opportunity for Mavros to learn from everyone around him, because one day, he was bent on completely becoming one of them.

Vixen Nightshade alias: Angeline Jane Howard | Female | 21 Years | Acolyte | Mentions: Cassian, Draven, Sylphiel (ind.)

Vixen looked up at the rickety dilapidated building hoping it wasn’t quite as bad on the inside as it was on the outside. Although it was a hideout, in her experience buildings that were so obviously rotting on the outside were worse on the inside where the rot was harder to spot. She smoothed her cheap green woolen dress trying to calm her nerves. She had changed into something plain so that she did not stand out amidst the band of ruffians she had attached herself to. She touched the door frame as she went in and a bit of rotten wood fell off into her hand. She hoped no young excited males ever ran through jumping and touching the top of the doorway proving that they were tall enough or skilled enough to touch the top of the doorway. She could almost swear such a violent movement would shake the whole church and cause it to collapse. It was not much better inside and she still wasn’t confident that it wouldn’t collapse on their heads. Hopefully, Black Lotus meetings didn’t get too loud and rambunctious as people debated.

She found a seat in a pew near the aisle and gingerly sat down trying to make sure it could hold her weight and she wouldn’t get a splinter in an awkward place. She hoped sitting close to the pew's support would mean it would be able to bear her weight. She had seen other Syndicate members sitting, so she assumed it would hold her weight and it was what was normally done. She sat down an aisle behind Draven as he was the first member she could recognize and she did not trust one pew to hold both of their weight. As an Acolyte, she had not been here before and Draven had had to come immediately back to fetch her for the meeting.

As she got used to the eerie setting she started to see some beauty in the old church such as the patch of moss growing on the floor in the corner. In another, she squinted her eyes hoping those weren't actually mushrooms. She wondered what religion had been worshipped here and if the Syndicate’s tenets had any carryover. She watched the meeting progress unsure if she, a lowly Acolyte, was allowed to speak. She knew much of what Cassian said because she was as far as she knew his main source of Kraegiosan noblemen politics.

She felt her stomach start to twist and churn at the thought of stopping politics in her own kingdom. So far she had only observed and helped assassins into place to manipulate the politics. Now, she was getting the opportunity to make a difference.She waited to see what the temperature of the audience was and what was normal. Finally, she got up the courage to speak after a few ideas were laid out. “The treaty will be signed in six months. There needs to be time for travel of dignitaries and preparations for the ceremony and celebration. They are going to sign in Kraegios at the capital city Gasper. If we need some to infiltrate I could get some Syndicate members to work as servants and then offer them as help for the preparations.” She wasn’t actually certain of that, but she wagered she had a good chance and was willing to gamble.

“It is true. The nobles of Kraegios do not trust Rayong, but with the treaty, it will be clear when someone commits a crime against the other. They’ll have a law and an agreement to enforce instead of constant hostility everywhere. I do think that raising up the old misgivings is a good idea. There are plenty who are not pleased with the treaty where it be that it was formulated at all or they wish a different treaty had been written, but I think the commoners of both kingdoms are tired of the constant feuding and assassinations. They want peace and the politicians are going to try to give it to them. They fear an uprising.” She spoke with confidence that joining the Syndicate had given her and being highborn should have instilled in her. She would not have been able to address a foreign group before.

She knew that Cassian had kept her far away from Syndicate politics or at least being able to observe them for herself, but she was curious. He was the leader. They were supposed to obey him implicitly, and leaders she had heard normally did not ask their subordinate for advice on how to run a mission. He was. What was going on that she did not know? She had expected to come here to listen to Cassian’s plan, not have to help build it. He wasn’t even framing it as a test. Well, maybe a test if he’d keep you around alive, but more because he was testy not because it was a test.

Her eyes widened as she ruminated on what she had said out loud. The people’s desire for peace was a big push on the nobles to finally form a treaty. They were afraid of rebellion, although they would never let a commoner know that. She said her thoughts out loud. “I realized that I said what we need to do. As long as the noblemen feel that their people want peace and might revolt they will probably feel forced to continue with the treaty. The commoners are tired of continuing to starve and die as they are drafted into armies and die untrained, or armies trample their field and they are forced to starve because their meager supplies are ravaged. There is also the heavy weight and cost of war through taxes. We have to find a different way to relieve these things and perhaps cause a rebellion where the commoners want this different solution."

She went silent for a moment hoping her words weren't foolish. Perhaps someone had a better idea. "What if we used to religion? The biggest scam this kingdom has ever seen. We could spread a prophecy. Something about the treaty being the end of civilization as we know it," she mused. Well, her ideas might be far-fetched, but at least she was being creative and bold she might add. She hoped that Cassian had the sense to not denigrate his members who were giving ideas when some were silent, including his deputy who probably should have come to this meeting with a plan if she knew what was good for her. Not everyone knew beforehand, but she assumed Cassian would have told his second-in-command. This was a brainstorming session. He needed to let people say stupid things so they could work through to a good idea.

Draven Facilier|M|24|Disciple|Mentions: Vixen (dir) Other Members (indir)

Draven's mind was anything but empty as his steps led him down the familiar trail to that old, rotting building. The light of day had just barely begun to show, filtering ever so gently through the trees. His pair of steps were not the only ones echoing quietly in the space around him, for along with him followed a somewhat new acolyte and valuable asset to the Syndicate; young Vixen Nightshade, daughter of a noble in the kingdom of Kraegios itself. How delightfully messy it was to have such inside information...

The young Disciple was a man of very few words, even more so when it came to conversing with the young female acolyte. Following her recruiter's (and one of his closer friend's) death, Draven had regrettably been assigned the task of being her handler, which unfortunately entailed spending more time with her alone than not. He'd hardly spoken a word to her throughout their journey here, and his expression was one of tired determination. He'd been up all night, practically serving as a goddamn message and retreiver boy.

I thought it was an acolyte's job to relay such informations, but no, of course I must be assigned to the one welp who can't even do that majority of the time. He grumbled to himself. The smell of rotted, dampened wood filtered in through his nose as soon as the old rickety church came into view. Draven stepped rather gracefully over fallen branches and overgrown ivy that coated the old worn path up to the doors. He carefully opened it, stepping aside to let Vixen inside first before breezing in behind her. For the moment, only himself, Cassian, and Sylphiel were here. He glanced up to their leader, his stride unbreaking as he passed by Vixen, taking a seat in one of the pews. His fingers looped into the hood of his cloak, removing it from his head before bringing his hands to rest in his lap.

It wasn't long at all before other members began to filter inside, and he could hear the pew shifting and creaking behind him as he assumed Vixen was finally taking her seat. Draven's gaze had not drifted from Cassian, waiting patiently for everyone to arrive and take their seats. Finally, the Syndicate leader's voice calmly echoed within the old church walls, explaining the very information Draven himself had just relayed in the midst of the night. It wasn't any less terrifying to hear it a second time.

He was sure he wasn't the only one to feel the heaviness that seemed to coat the air as Cassian finished speaking. When the floor was opened up to everyone, Facilier remained silent and stoic as always, his hazel gaze drifting quietly to look at Kieran as his fellow Disciple spoke up. His brow furrowed slightly, not exactly thrilled at the prospect of dragging along the acolytes or working in a big group at all, for that matter. He knew his fellow man well enough by now to know that he probably felt similarly about it, and would be hoping for others to pipe up. Thankfully, they did.

Draven shifted in his seat to cast a glance at Mavros, another new recruit and acolyte. At first, Facilier found himself annoyed at the other man for speaking up before even the deputy had said her peace, but the irritation quickly subsided upon listening to him. He had many fair points. As he finished, Draven's eyes narrowed only slightly in thought, taking a brief moment before speaking. "I find myself agreeing with the idea of a smokescreen tactic," He said carefully, slowly, his voice rumbling throughout the quiet space. "Chaos, as dangerous as it can be, may not be as risky as trying to be covert and stealthy with it. Creating some sort of mass diversion under the guise of loyalists could prove useful. The animosity between both kingdoms is still present, and if I know anything about people, it always will be regardless of if a treaty is signed or not. That's all the advantage we really need."

His attention was turned to Vixen as she too began to speak, the first words she'd said since arriving. As much as his irritation towards her burned, he couldn't help but understand she held the most valuable information in the room. It bugged him that their fates rested pretty much on her shoulders, and they were just supposed to trust that whatever information she gave them was coming from a place of loyalty to the Syndicate and not to her kingdom. Draven wasn't quick to trust, especially not quick to trust someone like her. But he had to admit...if what she said was true, perhaps a rebellion wouldn't be such a bad idea after all...

He shifted his gaze back to Cassian, wondering if he or the deputy would speak on matters for themselves.

Cassian Amaris | Male | 36 | Leader | Mentions: Vixen, Mavros, other members (indirect)

He waited for the chatter to die down somewhat before speaking.

“Six months in the city of Gasper…” He addressed Vixen’s words first. “That is plenty of time, at least. We can work with that.”

Cassian didn’t seem visibly concerned at all. If anything, he appeared to be at ease.

“I suppose we could supply those who wish to rebel with the manpower and materials to do so. We’d need to do some snooping around though, to make sure we wouldn’t just be falling into a trap. Religion is also a possible method, yes, but far more difficult for us to control unless we manage to take over an existing church,” He looked around briefly and laughed. “A church that is not currently in a state of ruin, I mean.”

“A smokescreen tactic, hm…depends on what the diversion is, I suppose,” He tilted his head a little. “It would have to be something big and showy enough to make the risk of operating so openly worth it. Like…” He paused for a moment. “....A fire. Arson could be easily pinned on Reyong if we played our cards right, and we could find ways to trap members of the Kraegios royal court within the flames. It would be dangerous for us too though, being caught up in the fray and all. If anyone has any alternatives though, I’d be simply delighted to hear them,” He shut his eyes lightly as he finished his sentence, feeling somewhat lightheaded. He opened them again after a few moments, returning his gaze to the crowd.

Cassian’s body felt heavy, his throat horribly scratchy. He hadn't felt his best all day, yes, but it had only gotten worse as he spoke. He sighed quietly, hoping that his subordinates would not have noticed, or at least thought nothing of it. He knew he was a sheep among a den of ravenous wolves, it had been that way for quite some time. One slip up and they’d tear him to shreds. His expression was peaceful as ever, as he now leaned against the lectern.

“Thank you all for your contributions thus far as well, your input helps contribute to the future of the syndicate,” Cassian reaffixed his gaze on the crowd a few seconds after speaking. He was turning up the pressure a little bit, hoping to distract from his current frailness.