[b][u]Calor Murex
Citadel of Caelum
Manor of Mountebank Soon[/u][/b]

The Manor of Mountebank Soon was one of the tallest residences in the Western District of the citadel, and was positioned nearly adjacent to interior walls. This granted the manor one of the best of an already spectacular view of the rolling Calor Murex Steppes below the mountain range. Sitting at nearly four-thousand meters above sea-level, some claimed it was possible to see almost 300 kilometers on a clear day and to make out details of the city of Cartandal using certain optical instruments. The architects had kept the view in mind when planning the citadel’s construction, as it had been built to be a heavenly palace sitting astride and overlooking the whole of the world. The placement of nearly every structure in the city had been specifically mandated via the delegated authority of the royal family, and even the homes of the lowest of servants were made to reflect a lofty aesthetic. The streets were paved with sterling marble that glittered with mica, the buildingss were gilded with silvery pewter and their arches adorned with brilliant displays of intricately carved ivory. Statues of porcelain and brass stood astride bridges and causeways, overlooking tiled murals of polished granite. The citadel was a gleaming mass of ivory brilliance complimented by silver and golden sheens. Mountebank’s manor was no exception, and could have been not unreasonably mistaken for a palace in its own right due to the sheer number of towers, spires, and flying buttresses that adorned it.

As the sun began to rise in the East, Mountebank gazed across the shaded land of Calor Murex from atop one of his manor’s many balconies. As adviser to the royal family and more specifically the Heretic Regent, he was one of the wealthiest and most influential men in the kingdom. The power he wielded in court arguably surpassed that of the Regent himself. The Council of Ten were known to afford the adviser great deference in many matters of state, and Mountebank was known to hold council with some the leading authorities of culture and business in the kingdom. Whispers spoke of the network of spies he maintained and the agents he employed, who saw and heard all. It would not have been a terrible exaggeration to suggest that Mountebank was the single most powerful political figure in the kingdom.

He had no idea what was going on.

"Mithril." He repeated in a flat tone.

"Yes." Was the simple, faintly bemused reply of Theris Ranor, one of the royal adviser's foremost agents. "No small amount of it either. Nearly a whole kilogram."

"Theris," Mountebank began as he stared out to the still-grayed Western horizon. "Did you know this has been happening for decades?"

"Mithril being stolen, my lord?" Theris raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean this - [i]trend[/i]." Mountebank waved a hand errantly. "At first it was innocuous things. Shipments of wasp honey, of all things. Pitchblende going missing from the waste piles of excavations around Darjai. It was almost a lark. Then it escalated. Whalebone. Obsidian. Electrum."

"Is it so unusual? Those are valuable enough commodities. I can imagine raiders and privateers targeting such shipments." Theris commented, remaining calm in the face of his lord's displeasure.

"I do not quite think you understand, Theris." Mountebank finally turned around to face his foremost agent, just as the sun broke over the last mountain ridge and banished the remnants of darkness from the land below. "These shipments are not the kind of small, piecemeal affairs being transported amongst other goods. These are massive shipments so large they are transported by the ton via carrack."

"Truly? I had no idea whalebone and obsidian were in such high demand. Corsets and chokers, perhaps?" Theris quipped, though he was now standing at rapt attention.

"All the more perplexing in that these shipments have...inconsistent harbor dockets." Mountebank continued. "Sent from distant lands by people who never saw them, intended to arrive in Obrenz and be received by people who do not exist."

"Ah." Theris considered that particular turn for several moments, gazing out at the city for a moment - and wincing as the sun alighted off some piece of metal and lashed at his eyes. "Ah-er. How long has this been going on then? I understand you probably had me working on more important issues...and how is it we even know this is related?"

"Well for one thing, as far as I am aware, there is no need or desire for any quantity of Mithril whatsoever amongst all the merchant houses of Calor Murex. This shipment of Mithril is, quite literally, erupting from nowhere and for no cause. Of course though, the recipient knew nothing of the shipment until four days after when they decided they wanted compensation for our loss of it, and also to know how much they had apparently been in for." Mountebank gestured to the portion of the veranda preceding the balcony proper, still covered in shade and began to walk away from the balcony railing. "The loss, if recognized, is worth several thousand marks. The recipient is threatening to bring the issue to the Obrenz market guilds if we do not recoup what is owed. As for how long this has been going on,"

He paused momentarily as they both approached the Northern rail for the veranda, glancing upwards. "The discrepancies started to crop up nearly two decades ago." He waved his hand errantly once more - seeming to gesture at the structure in the distance.

The royal palace of Caelum.

[center][img]http://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/a6906d66-6b5a-43c4-bf3e-1bcaf89eece3.png[/img][/center]

Theris made the connection and considered.

"This may become untidy." He suggested lightly. Mountebank simply nodded gravely in response.