48

Strategic Complications

Deep within the halls of the Grand Opera House of Savanti, past the red velvet carpets, and past the white busts of actors past, lie the backstage halls, where the nitty gritty business of playcraft forms.

Almadis Mayer watched while rehearsals went underway, watching from a distance in the unused theatre seating of one of the smaller theatre rooms. He leaned back, with feet resting on the seat in front, and a script resting on the propped leg. His quill wielding hand worked at the pages, striking out certain parts and adding others as and when he felt necessary.

Editing: a chore that felt endless.

That had no impact on his mood however, as he watched the new group of actors rehearse their parts. For the most part, they were serviceable enough, if not uninteresting and mediocre. The real jewel in this crown was the long coated, snow white chested, golden-brown canine with an uncanny ability to slip into any role with such nature that you could swear that was what she had been her whole life, and perfect, white smile that could melt hearts and, more importantly, get arses into seats.

What was her name again? Tessa? Tashili? Something like that.

He flicked through the notes on the script, looking through the cast list. Most of them were D-list at best, reaching heights no greater than tavern bards in the absolute arse end of a Republic farm town. Actors and singers like that were a mark a dozen.

Tessari! That’s her name! A pretty name for a pretty girl with a nice, bright future. A future where people travel far and wide to see her perform in one of his plays.

Not to mention she had an incredible body. One where you had to make any excuse for her to present it.

Originally, Halina was meant to be dressed in a heavy robe crafted from cascading rows of shining, silver grain that swayed as it does against a gentle breeze. For the deity of agriculture, harvest and fertility, this seemed fine. For Tessari, they decided to emphasise the fertility aspect. They emphasised it heavily.

By the nature of physics, it isn’t easy to get flowing strips of silk to remain in the places you want them to for over an hour of constant movement, and the costume department was experimenting with certain adhesives that would get it to naturally contour with the shape of her body.

Right now, she was dressed in her simple street clothes. Comfortable clothing to prevent distraction from the rehearsals.

Almadis descended from the rows of seating as she finished her line read. Her fellow actors congratulated each other on a mediocre performance, and dispersed for a break to rehydrate, relieve themselves, or to top up on their moon dust.

Almadis walked up behind her as she gathered up her notes and slid his hand onto her shoulder.

She tensed up reflexively, as though a spider had just crawled across her fur. ‘Oh! Director Mayer! I didn’t see you there.’

‘It's okay to be nervous. It’s a big play. One of the biggest. My best yet. You’re witnessing a classic in the making, and so many would kill to be a part of it. You, my dear,’ he took her chin by his hand, and turned her eyes to his. Those deep, brown, honest, innocent eyes. ‘I see you as the future of the theatre. The whole world shall know your name by the time I’m done… we’re done.’

‘Does this mean I don’t have to take my clothes off anymore?’

‘Now let’s not be hasty. Maybe we can compromise. How about just down to the undergarments?’

‘Um… Right. I-I have to go. Go rehearse some scripts.’

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He held on a little longer, and she pulled away, scurrying to pick up her notes, and hurried off.

Perhaps it was for the best. Titillation like that appeared to be going out of style as of late. Some deemed it unrealistic. Odd how their plays always ended up filling fewer seats.

Nah, who was he kidding? People never grow out of looking at attractive people. Sure, some loud few can scream and yell and stomp their feet, but the fundamentals remain. People simply enjoy looking at other attractive people, and nothing will ever change it.

‘Sir, you have visitors.’

That sudden interruption pulled him from his thoughts; valuable thoughts and each could potentially be worth thousands of sovereigns. It was his personal assistant, a plain-looking deer by the name of… What was her name? Well, it doesn’t matter. This was his third replacement this month, and the pickings had been quite slim recently.

Was she the most qualified for her position? Certainly not. However, she wasn’t unattractive. She may never be an actor like she wanted, but this was as close as she could get, so she worked well and hard enough.

‘What? Who?’ he said, still trying to remember her name. ‘Whatever. Tell them I’m busy.’

‘There’s three of them in robes with intimidating masks.’

‘No, wait, that is actually important. Keep an eye on the rehearsal. Once they’re done, tell everyone but Tessari that we thank them for their time, but we’ve decided to go with more fitting actors for their parts.’

‘And who are they?’

‘I don’t know, I haven’t found them yet.’

There was always something so wonderfully atmospheric about the main theatre’s backstage during after hours. Old mannequins lurched in the dark, ropes and pulleys hung down like the branches from trees, and the unused background sets gave an otherworldly feel to an otherwise mundane place he had seen a million times before.

Almadis had never been there once the lights had been extinguished. It would make for a fantastic set piece for a potential play regarding killers or ghosts or both.

They bled out from the dark, taking a point ahead of him. A trio of person-like shapes darker than the darkness around them. The three shadows morphed into one, and before him stood a being clad in a carefully tailored robe, with pointed shoulders, form fitting gauntlets, and a pained, silver penance mask in the likeness of the ones said to be used by Xieros: The King of Torment.

Intimidation and style. There’s something to be admired about that. Almadis would have felt admiration, if he didn’t feel a shit almost escape from his bowels.

‘Do you have to appear like that? You nearly scared the life out of me!’

The being did not answer.

‘How menacing. I like that. I have a play in the works that could use your presence.’

The being still did not answer.

‘Very well, suit yourself. Did you fulfil my little request?’

For the first time, it spoke, with a voice devoid of all emotion, drama, showmanship, and dare he say, soul. A voice quite like eating ice. Uncomfortably plain for someone of his profession. ‘The pact was clear. The target was the mercenary wolf of the Guild.’

‘And what’s the result?’

‘There was a... complication.’

‘How? How can there be a complication? I hired you to attack the wolf in charge of the Mercs Guild. You attacked the wolf, right? How can it get complicated?’

‘There was more than one wolf.’

‘What? No! There isn’t! There shouldn’t! How? There should only be...’ He stopped mid-thought. Something had occurred to him. ‘What did these wolves look like?’

‘One ash grey, like an overcast sky.’

‘Okay. Yes, that’s her. And the other?’

‘Darker than night.’

‘Damn it!’ He threw his script with force, pages flying everywhere and floating back across resulting in negative distance.

‘We find your strategic skill to be insufficient for this task.’

‘No! No! I played General Carradous in The Taking of Iron Hill! I know strategy!’ He rubbed his temples. This wasn’t a complication; this was an outright kerfuffle. ‘It’s no matter. We just have to show her that we’re serious. We can make up for this. The next demonstration, I want you to do something big. Get people scared. Cause some chaos. Can you do that?’

A slow nod was his response.

‘Very well. Go now. You’ll get your reward once it’s done.’

The shadow faded into the darkness around him, and Almadis felt able to catch his breath again.

Damn that wolf. And the other wolf. Damn them both. He would never have had to resort to this if it wasn’t for her.

She never accepted his offers, no matter what play or how much money. The insolence of it. She could be a star. The greatest in the whole world. People would beg and plead and pay out the nose for even the slightest glimpse.

How the hell does a woman with a body like that end up in charge of a guild like that? Such a waste of an opportunity.

Well, sacrifices must be made to keep the city stable. If a little intimidation, a little chaos, and a little blood was necessary, then so be it.