The Other Side of the Coin

THE FAR EAST OF NILLORK:

A man sits in a chair at a large dark wooden desk with his hands together and his nose resting atop his fingers. His eyes are narrowed in frustration as he looks forward at the meek looking man standing in front of him.

After a sharp inhale, the man at the desk speaks. "Run that by me one more time."

"U-u-uhh, well... the foreman from the Hysil Logging Company refused our offer again. He had guards with him this time, and he said that if we came by again, he was going to personally mail your... uhh... gentleman's pouch back to Miss Gilla. He said, and I quote, 'your boss ain't using his balls, so, at least his sister can use them to feed her mutts.'"

These words infuriate the man behind the desk, and after a few seconds, he slams his hand on said desk. He then looks at the man before saying, "You listen to me! Next time that old bastard tries to disrespect me! I want you to take his kneecaps! Do you understand?!"

The meek man rapidly nods his head. "Y-y-yes sir!"

"Good. Now get out of my office!"

The meek man quickly retreats out of the office and closes the door behind him. The angry man behind the desk then leans back in his chair and lets out a long, frustrated sigh. He rubs the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger as the office door opens again.

"I see you received your report." An elderly man says as he walks in.

"Yes. Yes, I did." The man behind the desk replies as he leans forward. "I don't understand. I am just as much of a Markana as my dear sister, so why in the hell do these peasants not respect me?!" The man then slams his fist onto his desk again before taking a deep breath and then exhales.

The elderly man then walks over and takes a seat in front of the now revealed to be Oliver Markana. The brother to the head of the Markana throne is similar to his sister in a few ways. He has decently long dark hair that just reaches his neck. He also has a blue gem in his head, but it's a little darker and instead of it being an oval shape, it's hexagonal. Another difference in the siblings is that Oliver is thinner than his more defined older sister.

The elderly man then chuckles. "Your sister is a people pleaser. She only seeks to sweep problems under the rug. Our great prefecture has a serious issue. As a man from the north, I can tell you all about the issues that happens up there. I have heard many rumours and rumbles about potential uprising from the settlers in the north. They have been victims of a broken system for generations that were caused by your great grandfather. I see the kindness in your heart, and I know you wish to resolve those issues, but your sister? She is just as selfish as those rich toads in Mulvenscroll."

Oliver mulls over the elderly man's words for a few moments. He never noticed how selfish his sister was until he met the man in front of him, Haket Greene. As all the other people in his family, Oliver was once blinded by his loyalty to his sister. He always believed his sister would make a good leader, but after their father passed, he left Gilla with the majority of the land. It didn't entirely bother him at first, but after meeting Haket and conversing with him during his visit to one of his given territories, Haket helped Oliver realise that he wasn't truly happy with his position. Haket made several good points such as why should Gilla be in charge when Oliver was just as good, if not better?

Oliver eventually snaps out of his thinking as Haket says, "Copper for your thoughts, sire?"

Oliver leans back in his chair again. "I am trying to think about how to resolve this."

Haket then leans forward. "Well, I didn't want to impose, but I may have some information that may help you make a decision on that."

"I'm all ears." Oliver replies, very intrigued as to what this information is.

"Well... my men in Central Nillork reported seeing your sisters wife Sydna returning from her excursion to Mulvenscroll."

Oliver is confused. "And why would that help me make a decision?"

"Because..." Haket starts. "She was seen with her sisters Virra and Kova along with another snow elf that looked like a sibling, or at least, a relative. However, the most worrying part of the report was that those four were seen travelling with Sydna's usual guard and some people that looked to be mercenaries." Haket then pulls out the report from his pocket and begins to read. "There was an orc, a catfolk and a fairy along with what appeared to be a drop-in of an unknown race."

Haket then hands the report over to Oliver who immediately begins to read the report. Oliver's eyes scan every word, and those frustrations he just had are switched with worries.

"From what I can assess from the report, I believe that Sydna travelled to Mulvenscroll in hopes to find some hired swords with no connection to Nillork to use against you."

Oliver puts the report down. "No way. If I know anything about my sister, it's that she likes to solve her problems herself. She wouldn't bring any outsiders in to fix any problem that she can deal with."

"You have a point. However, if she is bringing in outsiders, then what does that show you?"

Oliver thinks for a few moments, but he doesn't understand where Haket is coming from. Haket soon sees that Oliver doesn't understand, so he continues. "It means... that you have the upper hand. If Gilla is bringing in these sellswords, that means she doesn't believe she can deal with you by herself, giving us- uhh, giving you the advantage."

Oliver finally understands Haket's point, and begins to think. "Yes. Yes! I have the upper hand! I control the board! Gilla knows fine well just how I can save Nillork, and that fact scares her!"

"Exactly, sire! You hold all the cards at the current moment, and I believe we should take advantage of this momentum shift."

"That we must!" Oliver says as he stands up and begins to intensely think for a good few moments. Oliver then starts to pace back-and-forth as a few thoughts bounce around in his mind, but he soon gives up and eventually asks, "How do we do that?"

Haket then walks over to Oliver and places his hand on Oliver's shoulder. "We request a parley."

Oliver then looks slightly up, seemingly seeing the idea materialize in the air before saying, "A parley, huh? That's a brilliant idea! But what would we celebrate? I mean, there aren't any birthdays that I can think of, and I don't think there are any holidays anytime soon."

Haket just looks at Oliver in absolute bewilderment at how his leader's mind works. "No, sire. A parley is a meeting to discuss terms. It is most often used to stop situations such as ours, and to hopefully bring peace to both sides. I believe that if you play your cards right, you could have more land than you could dream of."

Oliver's mind begins to race with the possibilities that the parley could bring, and Haket can see this. Haket then says, "So, do you wish for me to send the invitation?"

"Absolutely! Send it right away!"

Haket then bows his head before walking towards the door. Haket is then stopped by Oliver as he says, "Make it so the parley is at the Markana Estate!"

Haket is stunned, not expecting that. He then turns around and says, "Sire, with all due respect-."

"Before you continue, let me explain." Oliver says before walking over to Haket. "We set the parley at the Markana Estate to make them think that they are in control. However, we know that we have the upper hand! We allow them to have their fancy mercenaries, and we bring the best of our guard. We walk into my rightful home, and we show that we are the ones in charge! We walk in and prove that I am the rightful leader and that my sister is in way over her head. Now, go and send the request. I need to think about what I'm going to say."

Haket is just stunned as he just looks at Oliver who is now staring out of the window. The elder wants to argue against Oliver's decision, but he keeps his thoughts to himself before simply walking out of the room.

As Haket closes the door behind him, he lets out an incredibly frustrated sigh as he talks to himself internally. "What a fucking fool. If he just listened to me earlier, we would already be in charge of this gods forsaken prefecture. I just have to get him on the seat, and then I can focus on what comes next."

Haket then walks down the hallways whilst smiling as everything is beginning to fall into place for him.