Catching up with the King [Plot|Private|Lagi]

Now that Azix was settled in Reim after his trip to Imuchakk and his hurried trip back to save Ariella, it was time to get caught up on the Opportunity Initiative. In his absence, the orange magician had left it in the hands of Yakuroro. Hopefully the Imuchakk magician had made sure to at least keep the program running at the very least, if he hadn't expanded it. Azix visited the bank to get Yakuroro's access to the fund's accounts removed and deposit a portion of the dungeon's treasure into the account, before heading to Opportunity Hall. The rest he planned on using to help the Grumptoes and Kios.

He arrived to find Gilda behind the desk, looking over a stack of papers. When she heard the door open, she looked up to see the Marquis and smiled. He looked much better than he had when he had rushed Ariella in to heal her. Azix returned the smile and approached her desk, pulling a chair over to sit down. "Sorry about the other day. I came back to some craziness. So, how have things been around here?"

Gilda waved off his apology, not wanting to prod into outside affairs. She gestured to the stack of papers she had been looking over, "Quite well, actually. While Yakuroro hasn't been around in a while, he had a Lady Soushui looking into finding connections from the looks of it. This stack of papers is full of different business owners that are interested in the prospect of assisting the program. They haven't agreed to anything yet, but it's a start."

Azix picked up the top few sheets and started going over the names. The list was impressive, this Lady Soushui had gotten much farther than he had with finding interested people. It was concerning to hear that Yakuroro hadn't been around though. He had placed a great deal of trust in the Imuchakk leaving the Opportunity Initiative under his care. For the moment, he wondered if Yakuroro hadn't gotten into some trouble and made a note to look into the matter later. "She managed to get a lot of names, looks like I have some work cut out for me."

Gilda nodded, "Oh, I forgot to mention that Yakuroro managed to secure a partnership with the Reim Historical Society, as well."

Azix arched a brow, "Reim Historical Society?"

"They are an organization dedicated to uncovering and preserving Reim's history. A handful of the workers have been helping out with archeological digs and other historical work." Gilda believed it was a good expansion, adding training for more mental pursuits over hard-labor.

Azix drummed his fingers on the desk as he listened, coming to the same resolution Gilda had. He agreed with Yakuroro's addition to the program and planned to look more into the historical society at a later time. "How have things been going with the El Nagi clan?"

Gilda brought a finger to her mouth as she thought, "Kylar has handled more of their scheduling and reports. He's upstairs actually."

Azix thanked Gilda before excusing himself to talk to Kylar. The man was going over the worker's schedules and gave Azix a friendly handshake in greeting. "Welcome back, Azix. How was your trip?"

Azix sat down in a chair, "Quite well. I enjoyed my stay in the country, but I am glad to be back in the warmth. The workers integrated well. I saw the second group on my way back. Anyway, I was curious about the El Nagi clan. How have things been going?"

Kylar chuckled at Azix's reply, the Reimian man couldn't imagine going to somewhere as cold as Imuchakk. "Things have been great. It seems the King has brought in a few new species and has been using the works to help train them. They've been getting a lot of hands-on experience. Everyone that has been working with the clan loves it."

Azix nodded, that was good news. He had been worried that Roark's plans might displace or interfere with his own ideas, but it seemed they were working hand-in-hand. The partnership with the El Nagi clan would hopefully prove fruitful in the long run. The mention of new species did cause Azix to arch a brow, "Do you know what kind of beasts?" Azix was curious to see what Lagi was working on.

Kylar laughed, "Of course. The workers have talked about how cool these beasts are. One of them is called a Pentax, which is a plant-like creature that produces seeds of whatever crop it eats. The other is called a Boufer cow, its waste can be used as a strong fertilizer that improves crop yields, but allows crops to grow in areas that normally couldn't support farming. The implications for farming are impressive."

Azix's eyes went wide, while the implications for farming were grand, the magician was thinking of Kios. He wanted to help the small farming town in return for housing the Grumptoes. Azix wondered if he could obtain a couple of the animals from Lagi. After some small chat with Kylar, the orange magician excused himself and left Opportunity Hall to find the King.

Along the way, Azix realized he was quite hungry. Once he arrived in the government district, he found a place to eat nearby the palace. He was shown to a table near the back of the restaurant and he ordered a soup accompanied with tea. While he waited for his food to arrive he looked over the other guests.

Lagi walked into the restaurant by himself, he had his kingly garments on as he looked around for a seat. It really has been a while since he decided to take a break, he was swamped with a bunch of work, but it still didn’t seem like enough. One of the few things on Lagi’s mind was the thought of calling a council meeting. He never did it by himself before, but Lagi did want to toss out the proposition out to the council. “The pentax sales are going good, as well as the Boufer cows. “ Lagi would say to himself as he stopped and noticed Ax. He shifted over to the other side of the chair and took a seat. “Fancy meeting you here?

A familiar face entered the restaurant and Azix arched a brow. As if by Fate, he had run into Lagi again, just as he was searching for the man. He waved Lagi over and waited as the man sat down. Lagi's mention of both species of beast did not go unnoticed by the orange magician. "Indeed. I was on the way to see you as well."

The waitress came up with Azix's soup and a cup of tea, setting it down in front of the Marquis. Seeing Lagi, the woman blushed and gave an awkward curtsey, unsure how to respond to a man of such power. "C-Can I take your order?" When Lagi replied she would giggle nervously and shuffle away.

Azix would watch with an amused smirk on his face and wait till she was gone before continuing, "Anyway, how have you been?" Azix would share details about the Opportunity Initiative and a bit about his trip, excluding details about the dungeon. Once they had caught up, he would turn the talk to business. "Some of my workers told me about these creatures, a-h-h, the Pentax and the Boufer cow? I was wondering if I'd be able to by one or two of each. I've been thinking about starting a farm with the intention of using the crops for the schools. With more children going back to school, I thought I could give those less well off free meals. It'd be on my dime anyway."

“To see me? Huh, it looks like everybody wants a piece of me nowadays. Well anyway, here I am, here in the flesh that I continue to have for the time being. “ After Lagi’s response to Azix, he would then turn to the waitress and smile. “Black tea and an omelet, please..” After she giggles and walked away, Lagi would then turn back to Azix. He was rather curious as to what he wanted in the first place. Beforehand, Lagi was asked about how he been.” I would like to think that I’m doing alright. There is plenty of things I’m trying to push for, as well as building up my clan’s personal wealth and improving the country as a whole. I would like to think I’m doing alright, but I’m honestly tired. As a matter of fact, a man named Altair Loros came to see me not too long ago. “

Before he could go into that further, Lagi would start to listen to the plans that Altair had for the students. The concept of using those creatures for free meals was definitely something that Lagi wouldn’t mind. “You’ll get two of each as a bundle for half price if this was based off your personal uses, and that would be because we are well acquainted with eachother, but the thought of giving the less fortunate children a chance to fill their stomachs is something I can’t ignore. " Lagi sucked his teeth as he looked away. “Whatever, two of each wouldn’t hurt me in the slightest; you can have them for free if they are being used for that purpose alone. I’m not going to have the children of my country starve while trying to get an education to better themselves.”

Azix smiled as Lagi explained that he was still devoting his efforts towards improving the country. He gave a knowing look at the King's mention of fatigue; micromanaging Kios, the Opportunity Initiative and his side jobs took a lot out of Azix. The orange magician arched a brow when Altair's name popped up. "Oh? You've met Altair? How is he?"

Lagi's offer to provide the beasts for free surprised Azix, he hadn't thought the King that generous. Not everyone threw all their money to help others, it was a rare experience to be on the receiving side. It didn't sit right with Azix to accept the farming beasts for free, this was a product of not only Lagi, but his clan and the Opportunity worker's efforts. Azix produced a sack, filled with gold coins, in the palm of his hand and slid it across the table to Lagi. "I couldn't take them for free. While I plan to use them for the children, I can't say I wouldn't use the food for myself as well. That should be enough to cover it." He gestured towards the sack on the table.

At this point, the giddy waitress returned with Lagi's order and nearly spilled his tea when she set it down. Lagi could notice the  folded piece of parchment tucked underneath his bowl. Inside was the waitress' name and her address. It would seem that underneath a shy exterior, the young woman had a subtle boldness in her advances.

Meanwhile, Azix ate his soup, ignoring the waitress' antics and Lagi's response. The young woman was clearly willing to receive the King's affection and the orange magician wouldn't blame the man for trying. Once she was gone, Azix would change the conversation back to friendly matters again, now that the business was over. "You said you're tired. Is there anything I can help with? I heard that the assassins were taken care of, what else happened while I was away?"

When the waitress returned with Lagi’s things, he would give a kind smile and thank her. Thank you; I really appreciate your hard work.” He wanted her to relax, it wasn’t like Lagi was some tyrant or anything that would be close to flip out if she messed up or anything. Lagi had his fair share of mishaps and he wouldn’t fault anyone else for having them. When Lagi noticed the folded piece of parchment, he would open it briefly and blush immediately. Lagi would then quickly put it away in his pockets for safety. Believe it or not, bold women were actually attractive to Lagi, he was seriously considering seeing her after this. However, Azix’s voice would bring him back to reality with the handling of gold. “As you wish, can’t say I didn’t try to be generous. “Lagi would say as he pocketed the gold coin purse. “As soon as I distribute the shares among me and my people, I’ll be sure to send the two Pentax and the two Boufer cows as soon as possible.

Lagi would then go back to the case with Altair. “He put on quite a show; somehow he managed to amass 2000 of my citizens to dress in Kou slave robes and lay out in front of my palace, feigning death. Then he asked to meet with me, in which I accepted. Around that time, he introduced himself as the head of the Loros tribe and a king candidate, as well as his current dilemma with Kou. He was requesting assistance, prior to his accusations of Kou killing his people and taking their land while he tried to unite his people. He wanted an alliance with me, and then used something called Soul Gaze. I been meaning to ask you, what is the nature of that spell, is it an illusion? What did he do to me? Lagi would say this as he started eating his omelet.

The orange magician was quite amused to learn how Altair had requested a meeting with Lagi. "I bet he got your attention with such a flashy entrance." Azix furrowed his brow, "Soul gaze? It's not a spell that I'm familiar with. What exactly did he do?" What Azix knew of Altair's magic was limited to what he had witnessed in the Coliseum. He knew Altair was a life magician, but his own studies into that type were very basic.

Once Azix finished his meal, he remembered that he still had work to do before the day was over. "Well, I should probably get going. Send the beasts over to Opportunity Hall, I'll let the staff know to expect them. It was nice catching up with you. If you need anything, just send word."

After excusing himself, Azix left the restaurant and headed back to Opportunity Hall. He informed Gilda of the incoming shipment and asked her to notify him when they arrived. Azix would have to rent a wagon to transport the beasts to Kios. Once he was done with that, it was time to start looking into the contacts Lady Soushui had provided.

[exit]

Right, I suppose I should get going myself. I’ll be sure to send them over to the opportunity hall right now, as soon as I get back to the El Nagi village. “ Lagi would say as he took some of the money out of the bag of coins in order to pay for the meal that they both had, and proceed to walk over to the maid that served them for the day. “ The food was good, I’ll be seeing you later tonight…. Ok?” Lagi said that in a soft and passionate voice, he was somewhat looking forward to the rest of the day.

-EXIT