Grancourt Family/High Marshal Tharan!

High Marshal Tharan

(Laurie has become a man of the shadows, and has finally got out of the academy, but hasn't seen or spoken to his friends in a little while. Upon hearing of his old friend and ex-liege's promotion to High Marshal of Carelia, he decided to test out his new skills and pay him a visit...)

Mr. Popular

Laurie sneaks into Tharan's office, just managing to slip past the guards, dodges under a table when he hears the door opening.

As Jahar leaves the office of Tharan, Laurie slips inside before the door shuts. Seeing a pile of papers as high as the man's head he quietly steps around the side and sits at a chair against the wall. Speaking up for the first time, he says:

"So, finally Mr. Popular are we?"
"Laurie, for you that would be...General Sir, ...So, finally Mr. Popular are we?...General Sir...
At ease, man of shadows, could I use you already or are you still training?"

An Old Gift Finally Received

Laurie smiles at the "old man" giving him credit for not jumping and knocking all the papers to the floor upon hearing Laurie's voice.

"I've told you before my good friend, you will always be my liege...It's about time you got a council position here in Carelia, and it's obvious you're good at control, i mean you keep Jahar on a tight leash..."

Tharan raises an eyebrow at Laurie, and Laurie starts to chuckle. Tharan joins in as Laurie reaches for his pocket. From inside his new black jacket he pulls out an exquisite purple quill, with feathers that look like an eye.

"I do believe, this was supposed to arrive in your hands a long time ago old man...Jahar wont mind that i took it from him without a scene - i could have made it a lot worse!"
"Quite, so, how is the training coming along? Are you finally ready?"
"Unfortunately not, my liege. Frankly, i've been a little bored the last couple of days, what with having no gold, nay, not even any silver, i haven't been able to go to the academy. And today, the tax day when i collect my measley pittance, the academy is stuck. Apparently i'm not allowed to do Paid Work too much either..."
"Ah, that can be a problem"
"However, i should be finished soon enough. A nice young noble has offered me a little more gold, and i would expect to be out of the academy in hopefully not more than 2 days...High Marshall."

Laurie took a look at all the paperwork on Tharan's desk and whistled...
"So, is that what you get for being High Marshall?! A pile of scrolls? I don't envy my brother now! This sneaking lark is the life...no restraints, come and go as you please, of course, you do have to watch out for those Arch Priest types..."

All This Paperwork

Tharan Sighs

"Laurie,

Just go now and you’re allowed to backstab some papers…; Please don’t hesitate; just make your day….

Oh, and thank you for the quill, I could use it for sure."

Tharan looked at the purple quill with feathers. Laurie had tried to give it to him weeks ago, he said. How in the name of Cornelius did he knew that I could use this some day…

Tharan looked at the overkill of letters…then he took another letter from the 4th pile of the left and started to work again…with another big sigh.

A "Weight" Off His Shoulders

Laurie watched as Tharan dipped the new quill into his inkwell and picked up another letter. It was probably his millionth of the day, and his fingers were already turning slightly black with the ink.

"I know those fingers, them's be writing fingers Tharan! You be getting writing fingers!!!"

Tharan didn't even look up from his writing. Laurie realised that it was time to leave.

"I just wanted to say hello Tharan, High Marshall. I apologise for my entrance, it has just been a long while since we last spoke. I'll be leaving you to your paperwork now. After all, i do have a hard days training tomorrow!"

And with that, Laurie placed a small black/green rock on the desk. It was from the sea, having be rubbed smooth by the grains of sand.

"This is a present from me - a paperweight to go with the quill. I'll be seein ya - General Tharan."

Opening the door, Laurie steps past the bewildered guards who had not seen a man walk in and heads back to his small room in a quiet tavern close to the academy.