Silaes waited nervously in the shadows of the corridor he knew Oromis would walk alone, en route to his meeting with the generals. While he was aware of the emperor's itinerary, he had not yet learned enough about the man to feel in any way confident about how he would react to Silaes’ favorite form of job application. Many a time had Silaes approached a prospective client in a situation when the client’s life was clearly in his hands. It showed Silaes was capable of completing his duties, and it always offered some degree of intrigue and excitement for the employer, which usually was enough to keep them from meddling with the details of the job. Yet despite this being Silaes’ preferred approach, he regularly caught himself itching at his neck at the place it would be severed should Oromis react poorly. When he heard footsteps approaching, Silaes sunk deeper into the shadows of the corridor and forced himself to regain his composure. He had to appear in control of the situation, for the sake of the show, regardless of the fact that his only escape was a too-long drop from the nearest window. He waited silently as the tall, powerful looking man approached. If Oromis’ rumored powers allowed him to detect Silaes, he showed no sign of it. The thought of the god-emperor being aware of him and showing no fear did not help to ease Silaes’ nerves. Just after Oromis stepped past him did Silaes finally speak, emerging from the shadows as he did so: [color=034d83]”My name is Silaes Attor. In Jadis I am sometimes called the deadly shadow, and I have been sent here to kill you.”[/color] Silaes then raised his hands to show he was unarmed and continued to speak, [color=034d83]”I will not be completing this contract, however, as it appears my employer no longer wishes to pay me but instead wishes me death. I come here, instead, to offer my services to one I hope to be a more reliable employer...”[/color] --------------- As Oromis left their brief hallway meeting, Silaes silently exhaled for what felt like the first time in five minutes. He still had his head, and it would appear he would be keeping it for the foreseeable future. What’s more, he now also had a new high-profile job. [color=034d83]”My how the tables have changed”[/color] he muttered to himself as he left the keep to inform his men, and give them orders to prepare to set sail in the morning. They would be sailing for Etruscia… --------------- Silaes sipped calmly from his steaming goblet to stay warm as he waited for his man Arshan to report back what he could about the generals. While he and his men were leaving in the morning, Silaes still knew the only way to improve his situation in this empire is to have a better understanding of it. To him, that meant it was time for a little “domestic espionage” Just as Silaes finished his tea, Arshan approached him at a casual pace and continued walking past him. Silaes smiled faintly as he picked up the note Arshan had subtly dropped and read it. [color=007236]“Jalek wishes to meet other generals by the front gate tonight. Astra is sending a representative, status of Wolong unknown.”[/color] Silaes placed the paper in his goblet and heated it until it caught flame. He then left to prepare himself a costume, dumping the ashes from his goblet as he went. He would show up to this meeting, and if he only saw one emissary there he would pretend to be a representative of Wolong. Otherwise he’d likely just stay hidden in the shadows and follow from a distance.