5685: The Pact (West Majatra)

[GreekIdiot]

July 5685 - Somewhere outside of Wiel, Vanuku

Balthazar entered. It was a quiet, dusty little room. So very Jelbic. And Yeudi. Could've missed it from outside. An abandoned warehouse in the middle of thick trees and bushes. Crickets around. It was very hot, middle of July.

The Goldblooms, since they went Dundorfian-Yeudi, would not be attending. Nor would the Canrillaise-loving schmucks from Kalopia. Neither the Thallers. But someone from Melikvan would also arrive. Maybe even from Baofluz? This was, after all, about West Majatra.

And not about idiots. Idiots from the east. From the islands. From the south. Southeast. Idiots. Artanians, idiots.

After lingering a bit on a Zardic afterthought (idiots?), she noticed a woman already sitting in one of the chairs around the steel, empty, harsh looking table. Mid 40s.

He didn't know her.

Greetin- [...]

And he froze, realising who she was. Or rather, of which family.

Now this, would be a pact. The pact.

[Kubrick]

Before the woman could even respond the door swung open again. Several men entered. One in an expensive tailored suit with a full black beard, a keen eye would spot the signet ring on his finger bearing the three lions of the Banmek-Sntazed family. Another wore a simple outfit, sunglasses and a baseball cap - presumably incognito. Though, he also wore a big golden signet ring that the elites of the great Yeudi families would certainly recognise. The third man wore a simple black suit and had an earpiece.

All three sat down, with the latter two waiting for the first one to do so. The bearded Jelbic man then spoke up.

You look quite shocked, mister Tzafrir, seeing ghosts?

The RSB agent with him let out a chuckle, the man with the cap and sunglasses remained eerily quiet - simply staring at the woman.

[GreekIdiot]

Balthazar Tzafrir, Tzafrir House - West Majatra

I... I - I mean [swallows nervously]

The RSB agent beckons him to sit. He chooses the chair opposite to the woman. The 2nd man with the golden signet ring, however, deliberately sits next to him.

The woman places her hand on the table softly - a golden signet ring shines on her finger.

Balthazar swallows, again. How did the Jelbic do this.

Why.

[Kubrick]

Prince Féodr Banmek-Sntazed

The well-dressed Jelbic poured a glass of water from the jug on the table and moved it across the table towards the Tzafrir.

Around forty years ago my grandfather was living in exile in New Verham, my father was a boy of around five years old. It was in the middle of the rainy season and it was pouring down hard, I remember him telling me. Either way, my grandfather received a phone call from a trusted and well-liked associate who was at that time doing business in Amudim.

He spoke of a massacre of great proportions. A targeted attack on one of the ancient families. Well, at first my grandfather didn't mourn their loss, they had been a thorn in our family's side during the Empire and before. But then his friend plead for the lives of two people that he had smuggled into his private jet. One wasn't even born yet. A husband shot, a wife hidden away and trying to find a safe place.

My grandfather was a sentimental man, a kind man, who knew what it was like to not be home. He took them in..

From his breast pocket he takes a heavy old yellow envelope with deep reddish brown stains, he opens it and carefully takes out an old letter which at the bottom is signed with fading bloody fingerprints. He puts it on the middle of the table for Tzafrir to see.

As he lay bleeding out, a man wrote down a request for asylum for his wife and unborn child. That same man apologised for everything that happened in the past and asked for help. The letter ends with a pledge that whoever helps them will have their eternal gratitude.

Over the years my grandfather and father became good friends with the woman. She is sadly no longer with us. The unborn child however sits at this table. He too has become a staunch friend of my father, who you surely know. He is very friendly with my brother the Archduke too. And with the Prefect of the Grand Council.

The past is behind us, mister Tzafrir, it must be buried. We must move forward, unite the Yeudi lands, unite the Yeudi people and bring their lost children home.

[GreekIdiot]

Balthazar Tzafrir, Tzafrir House - West Majatra

The words of the Prince were not... unreasonable. But it was them. Them!

I assume we're talking about the pact following the reunification and the collapse of the 3rd Point Federation as it is today? We're aware Tel Bira has made an agreement with the Triad Republic - they're currently negotiating with the rebel forces in Sholemberg.

[looks to the Prince in deliberate meaning]

I also assume the Benowitzes also have a deal with Bannerhafen, considering the Triad reached an agreement with Fort William.

The real question is Pontesi.

The woman winced at the mention of the name. Balthazar threw her a momentary side-eye, pressing on.

Our thanks to Vanuku are in order. Should be part of the pact. We need a truly united front, timeless, unwavering, in the background; we agree, but what o-

The woman leans in, her hand still on the table, golden signet ring still shining.

The Prince is right, Tzafrir. They are our brethren. You are our brethren. The past is the past. We must move forward.

Balthazar hovered mid-sentence, looking at her. Thinking.

The massacre? The past is the past? What the actual f-.

[MrFacts]

Tavit Tavitian, head of secret services of Pontesi, entered the room, looked to Balthazar Tzafrir and the RGB agent and knodded to both of them. Scanning the room and sits down at the first seats he finds with his left arm on the backleaning and his legs crossed. 

Well, here we are. I wonder about what this conference will be about, even though i love some nostalgia, i rather go straight to the point. We all want a re-unified Amudim, but how will it proceeds? I have been send to listen to all of you and to be honest also to see if Pontesi will become finally an equal partner in all of this. The 3 point federation has collapsed under our own eyes or say I am here to see if we all can find a new way of cooperation.