The Waterdeep Pact

[or You and the Aggressive Beholder]

Barnibus Blastwind had a small crisis of conscience, the act of investigating the Open Lord of the City did not sit well with the old investigator. 

So, perhaps against his better judgement, he passed a message to the Open Lord, advising her to speak to Vajra Safahr. 

And so on the 5th of Hammer a figure appeared in the Blackstaff's office. The young wizard had just enough time to grab the ancient stave, before all the world around her began to sloooooow down.

The figure removed her hood revealing, Laeral Silverhand, the Open Lord of the city.

"I think we should have a chat my dear."

The silence between the two women broke as Vajra found her voice. 

"The Xanathar - what do you know, really.  Crime doesn’t worry me, not my business. Leave it to the watch, but Mind Flayers in the city - powerful ones - they do."

The young Blackstaff thought the game was up, seeing as how the overworked Open Lord had taken time out of her schedule to visit her personally.  She decided it was best to be honest about her inquiries.

"The mind flayer we had in custody also intimated you had a relationship with the Xanathar? What do you know of the embezzlement of funds and this ‘Stone of Golorr’?"

The older woman, smiled softly.

"Under normal circumstances Force Grey do not move without my direct authorisation. I have given you a lot of latitude, turning my attention away from your current escapades, because I thought in time and with the proper guidance..." 

She glowered at the Blackstaff in Vajra's hand before returning her gaze to the young woman's face.

"...you'd grow into the role. There are a lot of voices calling for your resignation, thankfully they are bound by the City's charters and bylaws. Just as much as they tie my own hands. Which means they can do little more than sabre-rattle before Shieldmeet."

She let what she had said sink in, brushing something from the wide sleeves of her robe.

"What links The Xanathar and myself, my dear, is MADness." 

She smiled wryly, seeing visible confusion cross the young woman's face. 

"Mutually. Assured. Destruction. He knows that if he ever crossed the line I would rally every ally I could muster and wipe his little blighted city off the map. Likewise, I know that if I tried to stage a proper raid on Skullport, he'd drill his way up from below and begin to disintegrate everything in sight. And so we have our current state. A cold war. A tenuous peace where each side makes exceptions, takes small losses. I permit...no, tolerate, his rats running loose in my city. To a point. And he keeps Skullport open. Which attracts - like moths to a flame - the larger criminal element from our fair streets."

It suddenly dawned on Vajra, and she stammered.

"...politics?!"

The open Lord continued, she knew the current Blackstaff had always been quick once the gears got spinning.

"Yes my dear, Politics. It is a dirty game we play. But the board was already set up long before you or I were placed upon it. It is unfortunate the Mind Flayer escaped, I had hoped to take one of the Xanathar's Lieutenants off the table."

Vajra nodded along, slightly absentmindedly.

"It is unsustainable of course. Once one side shows any sign of weakness, the other would immediately pounce." 

Laeral gazed wistfully at the staff, before continuing 

"I will give Dagult Neverember his due, he was always better at playing the political game than I was. This latest...development was a particular master stroke, years in the making, and caught us all off guard. This Stone I had thought some trinket he'd pinched on his way out the door, but perhaps it holds the key to his embezzled fortune. The timing is just too coincidental."

"If memory serves I think I once saw him use it as a paperweight. I have no idea if its magical, mundane or some sort of artifact." 

All the tension left her, and the Open Lord seemed to genuinely relax. 

A great weight lifted from her. 

"Heck, it might not even be connected to his fortune. And this is just the tangling of two different strands of fate. Either way, I hope you can trust me more in the future with these types of concerns. I may be your superior. But Vajra don't forget, I am also your friend." 

She straightened up, raised her hood, and as the world began to become a little more vibrant, disappeared without a trace.

[Next Poast]