[color=olive][h2]Richard Montag[/h2][/color]
[@GreenGoat] [@Flamelord]  [@Beloss]

He listened to the offer from the magus many times his senior with stolid composure, not disturbed in the least by the blatant truths further laid bare before him. Walgrave spoke plainly and truthfully, no doubt from a position of experience both anecdotal and personal, which added a significant weight to his words that would have made a lesser man acquiesce without a second thought.

[color=olive]"That is a very generous offer, too generous if I were to say, but I feel compelled to point out an...error of perception."[/color] Richard said as he set down his glass and motioned for their group to look down the long table before them. Since there arrival the room had exploded with activity that was well beyond the pale of anything witnessed in the Clocktower, with many a rowdy Servant trying to demolish the furniture as well as the food, yet his wandering finger seemed to take care to pause upon those figures wearing the cloth vestments of Casters and the refined armor of Sabers

[color=olive]"The instant that they were summoned, all our mysteries mattered for nil. You are the second, perhaps third if we account for the Einzbern, most experienced Magus in this facility, and were this purely a conflict between magi then your bounded fields would be terror incarnate to assail, but we are not fighting with magecraft, but with Servants. Servants who are as apt in wielding magic from the Age of Gods as they are in rebuking it, which leaves us in a position where our own craft will do little to slow down a Servant if they truly wished to enter our rooms. Either of those wrestling Berserkers could just as likely topple a section of this manor and destroy the structure the field was bound too."[/color]

His hand completed its sweep of the room and returned to fold with its twin and rest on the table before Richard, the man's face impassive as he picked at the loose threads brought before him. There was no malice in his words and he didn't think Walgrave to be arrogant in his assertions, but being so long lived it was understandable that he would be confident in his abilities. If Walgrave was going to cast aside finery and speak candidly, then so would he.

That it would have been astonishingly simple for Walgrave to implant a bounded field that could kill Richard at his leisure was not lost on the dapper Magus either. 

[color=olive]"Looking past the implausibility of mounting any substantial defenses that could not be disassembled, evaded, or bludgeoned through, there is the matter of your generosity. The [i]overwhelming[/i] generosity of what you so kindly offer, and for such an ambiguous request as not turning my Servant upon you. Money, influence, protection, and endless options for renewal. Most families would be on their knees swearing their undying loyalty after a noble [i]bought[/i] them out. No, I'm sorry to say that I won't begin a partnership by indebting myself to you so heavily I may as well have signed away my autonomy via Geass."[/color]

[color=olive]"Please don't misunderstand my remarks to be a wholesale dismissal. This still holds the potential to be worthwhile endeavor for the both of us, but if we are to cooperate then it will not be as Master and Servant. I will not accept your currency and for the duration of the war I require no favors among the nobility. The nature of our association outside the War should be determined after the War, and there is little to gain with haste in that regard. Accepting that we are meager in comparison to the Heroic Spirits around us should at least be a basis for equity in our treatment of each other, no?"[/color]

[color=olive]"A defensive field upon our sleeping quarters may prove lackluster, but I am confident in saying that they could serve ample purposes in regards to utility if we were to agree upon a neutral meeting location to discuss away from prying eyes. Detection of magi and spirits, as well as any form of concealment, would be of greater use to us. After all I am the Master of Assassin, so it would do me no good to act like a Knight class."[/color]

[color=olive]"The amended nature of our agreement should be read as thus; Assassin and I shall endeavor to preserve the lives of you and your own, just as you shall do for us. Continued survival will benefit us in both the short and long term, though we will save the discussion for benefits exchanged between us based on this relationship for a later date. I am perfectly content to keep my daggers pointed elsewhere so long as you do the same."[/color]

Richard paused, seemingly satisfied with what he had said and ready to turn over the conversation to Walgrave when his gaze shifted back down the table, brows furrowing in contemplation. 

[color=olive]"Hmm, we may want to induct a more magically inclined Master / Servant pair into our cabal soon. Between a knight, an assassin, and a Caster, we would be adequately balanced to handle a wide deal of confrontations "[/color]



[hr] 

[color=darkviolet][h2]Tamamo No Mae[/h2][/color]
[@KoL]  [@ADamnFiddle] [@Nanashi Ninanai]

With their bond a bit stronger after being tested, it was high time Tamamo got back to proving her worth as the greatest spouse ever brought forth by the grail and act to bring good fortune to her Master. Ordinarily seeking an alliance was fraught with mistrust and apprehension mixed in amidst the uncertainty of your collaborators identity, but for a blessed moment neither factors were hindering Caster in her pursuit of an ally for Seyrun. Across the way was a sister in arms against an unseen force aligned against them, and this woman was tied to Tamamo's past in a roundabout way so they had some similarities to work upon.

Downing her drink in an unladylike gulp, Tamamo excused herself from her Master's intimate company and circled around the table, carefully avoiding the arm wrestling match in order to arrive behind the quietly conversing pair of Himiko and Ravel. Quiet, yet still somewhat audible to the servant with ears like radar dishes. 

[color=darkviolet]"Teacher? Ara, your compassion is truly prolific to offer instruction to your Master so soon upon your meeting, and how wise a Master to seek out the tutelage of my priestess."[/color] Tamamo spoke warmly, strongly approving of the words she had picked up on the tail end of Ravel's conversation. Her every mannerism was eager to be united with the priestess, though she maintained a respectful distance with hands clasped before her. Unlike with her Master there wouldn't be any explosive outbursts of skinship just yet. 

[color=darkviolet]"I know you two must be busy getting to know each other, but would you like to eat with my Master and I? We would really be honored to share in your company, Himiko."[/color]