[IC] Negotiation with the guild
Vasati threw back his head and laughed, the sound deep and genuine. When he lowered his head, his eyes were filled with mirthful tears, and he spent a moment wiping them clear.
"My apologies, Signor. I do not mean to give offense. Rest assured that any who claim to have "powers" over a city as magnificent and vast as Vincio Alla Sabia are either a charlatan, a fool, or both. No, no. You are correct. The wards are quite strong. They protect her as they always have, and always will."
He extinguished his cigarillo, and immediately set about the intricate ritual of withdrawing and lighting up another one.
"When I was a much younger man, I had heard rumor and legend of the Estervault, the living heart of the city. Have you heard the tale? No? Well I had. I spent years searching for it, roaming about maze of sewers, necropolises, and tunnels where light never comes. I got lost more times than I care to count, and am only standing before you now due to a willingness to survive and persevere through any hardship. I will not speak too much of those times, but let me just say that the taste of raw rat is not something I am likely to forget any time soon. It took me years, years of searching, but eventually I found it, the living, beating heart of Vincio Alla Sabia."
He was ecstatically gesticulating with the lit cigarillo, waving it about wildly as he told his tale.
"Had I been a fool, I would have sought to steal it. I am a thief, am I not? But neither you nor I can live without a heart, and both you and I would rip the throat out of any who tried to take our from us, would we not? Ah Signor, indeed, we are survivors, you and I. I was not a fool then, and I did not try and steal it. Instead, I merely sat with it, deep within the city, and listened. I do not know how long I sat within the Estervault, it felt like centuries, yet eventually understanding came to me. None can command this beautiful city, she is too vast, too proud. But with the right set of ears, one can hear the beating of her heart. One can learn her secrets, and learn to navigate her ways. There is no part of this city that is inaccessible to me, for it is all a part of her, and she shows me the way. I understand her, and I have taught that secret to my whispers. Oh, oh what a glorious secret it is."
He took his first drag, the cigarillo already a quarter burned due to his showmanship.
"And so I seek to create a Market where all may have a chance to profit and thrive within this glorious city. A thriving Market for shrewd fences, talented thieves, honest merchants, and nefarious dealers. But no slavers, that is my only rule. I am not interested in the peddling of flesh. Do this for me, Signor Messenger, see that my enterprise thrives, and you will have the story of who possessed the Arch Key."
He reached out a hand to shake, his personal sigil flaring briefly as he did so to seal the words.