Leytan’s comments about a bear were almost laughable were it not for the gravity of the situation, the previous rulers of the city had been massacred and the man was going to suggested wild animals? Under the table Landar’s hand clenched for a for a brief few second as the dull ache in his should torturously flared before it dissipated completely, tempting him with the potential of a painless existence. Ephraim had been the next to speak, mercifully slapping the suggestion of the man away but the man’s tact was not on the level of his hatred of the occult. He almost felt the mood of the room darken; there was no need for hostility in their first meeting as it could forge the path of much of their future interactions. Landar considered interjecting but thoughtfully bit his words, Ephraim was right, Leytan was a fool and pushing the issue any further would only deepen the issues. 

The question over the occult was a driving concern for Landar, his mind ran strong with thoughts of the occult as if witnessing this scene had burst a dam of buried and repressed memories. His mind swam with thoughts of those creatures, the horrendous noises they’d made and how hard they’d been to kill. He’d always thought they should’ve put a knife in the dark sorcerer to ensure that they’d never have to face such evils again but the more moral members of the group had refused to kill an unarmed prisoner. Some of those had been too petrified to even fight the creatures of darkness but thought they deserved the right to choose; it had been a grave mistake on their part to let him live. Still, Landar was sure he had a knife destined for Cyrbassis’ skull and he’d be sure to seal that foul man’s path to damnation. 

Nasharia’s interjection had been most welcome, it’d dissipated much of the tension in the room and her light yet reprimanding tone had been exactly what the room had needed. Furthermore beyond playing the peacemaker, she’d furthered the discussion and focused the goals to be intended; a true politician who he found himself more and more pleased about having backer her both with information and by other means. He allowed a light grin play across his lips when she passed her gaze over to him, nodding curtly as he decoded the words to mean [i]your network[/i]. He found he nodded with her final reprimand, glad that someone had found the tactful way of broaching the need for peace and co-operation, not conflict on the council. When Haljon spoke after Nasharia, the room seemed to pass over on his words as naught but a blabbering drunk but Landar’s informants had raised the fact that he oft acts more inebriated then he actually is, a dangerous man that pulls off hiding behind a cloak of clouded judgement. He rather predictably, suggested his own soldiers take the fore for patrolling the city, an act that would no doubt see him paid more out of the city coffers.

Kanros once again seized control of the conversation, providing both logic and a plan; almost daring other to try and disagree with him. The matter of mercenary contracts was a curiosity for Landar as the Lightning Company had never been at peace; their pay had been mostly drawn from battle and bonuses were from loot but to run the company in the peacetime must go close to ruining almost mercenary captain. He made a mental note to have Lalliana organise information about mercenary company contracts brought forward in order to compare against what Kanros had been proposing, it never hurt to consider all the facts before a full agreement. He cocked his head when he saw the Raven’s mood completely change, given his last words were about Cyrabassis so he was no doubt remembering some foul thing from that blasted place. He raised his own chalice of wine as the Raven looked at him and yet another discussed the matter of information. The salute bordered on mocking, not about gathering the information because everyone here knew Landar would be but just to say [i] I saw that [/i]. 

The monk once again spoke, mercifully backing away from the idiocy of his previous students to propose his own students act as city guards which wasn’t a half bad idea. They’d be free and more than likely inspire more protection from the rumours of the occult than a fully armoured barbarian with an axe. After all the common folk turned to their gods and priests whenever they saw the signs of the occult; it was a pitiful sight but the majority of people lacked the strength to rely on themselves in this world. Contemplating the man’s organisation for a moment, he reminisced on how difficult it’d been to get an informant inside the organisation; people had a way of being infuriatingly sensitive towards an order of monks and those that had no belief would never had made it past Leytan’s judgement. Yet everyone had their vice and he’d been able to find although the challenge of finding Leytan’s weakness was tantalising. Landar felt confident on how to twist everyone on the council except Leytan; save of course for threatening his students which was an unfortunately crude option. Landar had always preferred the use of the carrot as opposed to the stick, tempting someone into your service was always far more exhilarating and using than forcing them. 

Ephraim once again spoke, agreeing with Kanros but just as Landar’s mind began to wander, he saw Ephraim’s gaze turn upon him and request for use of his informants. Landar pursed his lips and was about to answer when the Undertaker instead interjected offering the use of his network, an offer that Landar took a sip to hide the grin that threatened to burst across his lips; instead satisfying himself with another draught of the delightful vintage that he’d brought along. Peace over pride for these meeting Landar had decided and he now decided that he might have to save this vintage for more personal use in the future, it was even more delightful than what the first cask he’d had a year back had promised. The interjection of the Halfling Alaric broke Landar’s intention to respond after the monk had finished but having the thoughts of another occult learned would be useful; it  can’t hurt to hedge one’s bets after all.  

Taking the halfling’s finish as his cue to start offering his thoughts once again, Landar leaned forward and placed his cup somewhat carefully down and cupped his hands before he began [b] “ Firstly I stand behind Nasharia’s assertion that we must stand united else we fall alone. This hall cannot become a place of argument and threats else we’ll achieve naught but harm this city. Towards the use of mercenaries, I think that Kanros knows the best way to manage contracts and I personally believe we should focus on patrols and scouts in order to bridge the gap between our information networks.”[/b] He said with a gesture around the table, before he continued with [b] “But I think Nasharia and I should be able to organise some sort of organised information network in other cities. For guarding the city streets, I think Leytan’s disciples would prove the most useful even if it’s just in a propaganda sense; we construct a shield of the faith for the common folk. Plus I’m sure they can handle any night time robber or vagabond who might prowl the streets.” [/b] The last line brought out a wry smirk on his face; one of his agents who’d tried to infiltrate the order still complained about the bruises they’d been able to inflict in training. 

[b] “Towards our occult investigation, I think multiple view points will be a good option, if any of you didn’t know Alaric has dabbled with the occult here and there, some might even say a séance could be to die for. Having an experimenter and a hunter both offer their opinions would prove quite useful in my personal opinion. I can offer the use of the information of my network and assist tracking down any witnesses but my informants have proven to be somewhat lacking in information so far.”[/b] While the last part wasn’t entirely true, Landar did still need to protect his network somewhat and would it really hurt either of them to think that they were investigating a witness rather than an informant and a witness?