[center][h3][color=993333]István Shilage[/color][/h3][/center]

[@Psyker Landshark]

The symbol of endlessness continued to swirl through the grounds in even tempo, as the stone-carved face (more a gargoyle than kingly bust) held its tongue until the assassin had finished with hers. He'd known better than to believe the hustle of campaign to have fully shaken that moment from her mind— she worked with enough professionalism that a background of some covert capacity seemed to almost be the only reasonable choice. She was no bloodthirsty murderer-zealot to a foreign church of death, nor did she share the naked avarice of, say, their mutual associate in Urden. To the eyes of those in the sphere that would need watch for them, the guess had come naturally. This was merely confirmation. Any lesser blade that cloaked itself in shadow would have preened and accepted the misidentification as praise.

[color=993333]"Your point is quite apparent,"[/color] he rumbled, a dull earthen eye sliding over to meet her gaze as he worked through his ritual. Assessment of the goings on from the northlands was on today's itinerary, leaving he and his ward with the thankless task of remote counsel and administration to look forward to for the coming hours. As the years continued to pass, he found his mornings had grown to see him wake a little duller than he liked. Given the circumstances of the fief's chain of command at present, he didn't need to go and advise a misstep off the back of a clouded mind.

A calm smile spread over his face, light enough to avoid registering as mockery. Regardless of his reasonable safety (her wariness of investigations would prove well-founded, should the boy suddenly find cause to bring the weight of the Demet fiefdom onto her head), he had no need to further antagonize a Potential Asset.

[color=993333]"As one such ambitious man, I would be remiss not to remember when hands are shown or lines drawn."[/color]

Much. There was one thing he had noticed in between the pointed, knife-shaped subtext. Something that had piqued his interest. He turned to face her fully, as steam wafted forth from the spout of the kettle in his hand. Warmth radiated against his knuckles.

[color=993333]"Now that you've further clarified where we both stand, I have to say: How lucky our host and her swiftly rising star must be, that those interested parties above are no longer privileged by your service. To your clandestine point, I imagine it must be quite the rare thing to find one's way [i]out[/i] of their employ and into another's."[/color]

It wasn't like she could have feasibly aged out of the position and retired. There were more cards to coax onto the table, but he wouldn't be getting them here.