Fei Lak's Audience Hall - Shanggu

[Ashikaga]

The guards seem a bit nervous, but escort the man directly to the hall after a quick and polite search. They did their best to forewarn the Prefect.

By the time Yao Xiong is admitted, Lak seems a bit surprised though it is well concealed by his welcoming smile.

"Welcome Yao Xiong, I am Fei Lak, Prefect of Shanggu and am honored that you would come visit us. May I offer some refreshments to at least appease the travels somewhat?"

Yao noted the suspicion with which he was held by the guards. He imagined the lord would be wise enough not to harm him, lest he earn the King's Ire. Taking comfort in this, Yao bowed politely and looked up to the lord. "I require no refreshments my lord, I appreciate the offer. I would like to begin with one question, what is your view on King Wu and the Qin?"

[Phailak]

Lak saw the dance would begin without any sweet talk first then.

"It is an honor to even have that question asked of me. Unfortunately, with all the recent affairs in Yan stealing all of my attention, I must say I am ignorant as to the happenings further south. That is not to say I am not aware of King Wu's prestigious position in the land. I have had very little dealings with any members of the Qin, it would be unfair for me to express myself in any way concerning them, it would be based on rumors and such. Of course once the situation in Yan is settled, perhaps I can dedicate time to getting accustomed to these various important subjects. Perhaps you have some suggestion for one such as I, in the position I find myself?"

Lak tilted his head to the side.

"I am curious to know why any of my thoughts would matter to King Wu, but I am being rude, I would answer any other queries you might have."

The Prefect's face was a mask of sincerity, the problem would be to discern if the sincerity came from his words or his thoughts.

[KongMing]

The guards looked at each other.

"Euh, Prefect Fei Lak is inside Master Yu, if we may do a quick search of your person, you will be admitted to him."

Yu Dai dismounts from his horse. Yu Dai is dressed in what appears to be ceremonial armour. He carries two swords, one appears to be polished brightly with a serrated edge with no scabbard, the other appears worn and in a scabbard. He is also appears to be carrying a fan made of crane feather. Dai's horse appears to be a majestic steed with an almost reddish hue to it.

Dai hands the serrated sword to Cong Che and approaches the doors to the hall. "All you see is all I carry with me. I swear by my honour and that of my ancestors I bear your Master no ill. To search me would be to shame me and your honourable Prefect as well."

Cong Che watches the scene unfold before him when he becomes distracted as a rider appears out of nowhere and hands him a letter. He quickly places the letter within a pouch and watches Yu Dai.

[Phailak]

The guards looked at each other.

"Euh, Prefect Fei Lak is inside Master Yu, if we may do a quick search of your person, you will be admitted to him."

Yu Dai dismounts from his horse. Yu Dai is dressed in what appears to be ceremonial armour. He carries two swords, one appears to be polished brightly with a serrated edge with no scabbard, the other appears worn and in a scabbard. He is also appears to be carrying a fan made of crane feather. Dai's horse appears to be a majestic steed with an almost reddish hue to it.

Dai hands the serrated sword to Cong Che and approaches the doors to the hall. "All you see is all I carry with me. I swear by my honour and that of my ancestors I bear your Master no ill. To search me would be to shame me and your honourable Prefect as well."

Cong Che watches the scene unfold before him when he becomes distracted as a rider appears out of nowhere and hands him a letter. He quickly places the letter within a pouch and watches Yu Dai.

The guard gives him a strange look.

"Perhaps it is the customs in your land, but here Master it is our duty to search any visitors and hold their weapons until their business is completed."

The guard held out his hand, clearly unimpressed by the vows given.

OOC: He's just a guard, he won't lose his job for this

[Ashikaga]

Lak saw the dance would begin without any sweet talk first then.

"It is an honor to even have that question asked of me. Unfortunately, with all the recent affairs in Yan stealing all of my attention, I must say I am ignorant as to the happenings further south. That is not to say I am not aware of King Wu's prestigious position in the land. I have had very little dealings with any members of the Qin, it would be unfair for me to express myself in any way concerning them, it would be based on rumors and such. Of course once the situation in Yan is settled, perhaps I can dedicate time to getting accustomed to these various important subjects. Perhaps you have some suggestion for one such as I, in the position I find myself?"

Lak tilted his head to the side.

"I am curious to know why any of my thoughts would matter to King Wu, but I am being rude, I would answer any other queries you might have."

The Prefect's face was a mask of sincerity, the problem would be to discern if the sincerity came from his words or his thoughts.

Yao smiled, this put him at a better diplomatic position thenm the Qin officials were usually very stubborn at first. Yao took a deep breath and continued, clearing his head and focusing on the task at hand. "Lord Fei, your most esteemed opinion is important to the King in more ways than one. Firstly, the king wishes to extend an open arm to the north. Future plans make it necessary to secure friends and allies. My business here is not to forge an alliance as yet, more to form a friendship and understanding between the King and the Northern lords."

[Bradums]

A silver-armored young man with long, flowing hair rode toward the audience hall of Fei Lak. A slightly larger and older-looking man with a beard rode beside him, staying back a trot or two and remaining completely silent.

For those who knew of him by his exploits and legends, the rider at the lead was none other than Bei Baorong. He had been employed by the young warlord Li Lang and was made acting commander of his army, conquering Tuying and a nameless village Fei Lak's men once owned that Baorong had christened "Beizhou" - claiming the place needed a good name to keep the people full of zeal and pride.

With Li Lang's disappearance, however, it was clear that his former employment was over - and he wasn't planning on ruling his own little network of communities. He was a commander, a warrior. And though he was a man of some intelligence (as long as he was sober), Baorong knew he was not a man to babble about in the political battlefield. It was too convoluted and annoying.

So, at the request of the swordsman he had befriended and fought alongside of, the silver cavalier - Bei Baorong - travelled to meet with Fei Lak, the man he had been taught to fight. Approaching the guards, the young warrior sullenly asked, "Is Fei Lak here? I need to talk to him. Here...take my weapons and get to whatever protocol you need to go through. Just don't keep me waiting, I'm already in a bad mood."

The normally glowing young cavalier was apparently moody and depressed as he held out his spear, sword, and two daggers. Either he was having a moment of existential questioning, or he was drunk. As much as the latter was easy to assume from the man, it was likely the former - as he hadn't vomited yet.

[Li Dao Wen]

Slightly intimidated by the appearance of Bei Baorong, the guards, whispering to themselves about the man whose legends they have actually heard of, immediately crossed their spears while they went to get the commander of the guard, Liang Feng. When he heard the description of the man who was waiting outside, he smirked. "Don't keep him waiting eh?" he said snidely. "This is an imperious one isn't he? Let's go get 'im then!"

Moments later the herculean figure of the Western Terror appeared at the entrance to the hall, dwarfing Bei Baorong and the other guards. Like Bei, he was in a bit of a bad mood, having been bored and done nothing of significance the past few days. Tilting his head at the sight of the grand armor and appearance of Bei, he smirked again.

"State your name and business warrior, and you shall be granted passage!" he snorted out in his big, gruff voice. "And you have to submit to a search. Hmph!" With that he took the bared out weapons and placed them in a box, which the guards hurriedly took to a room to the left of the chamber.

Turning to Bei again, his eyes set hard on the younger man, he thumbed his iron clad boots upon the marble floor as he waited for a reply.

[Bradums]

Raising an eyebrow at the large warrior, Baorong tilted his head - looking over the man with a curious gaze. He was apparently the face-smasher of Fei Lak's...clubhouse...conglomerate...oh, whatever the hell it was called.

"I'm Bei Baorong, former commander of Li Lang's forces and current protector of the town of Tuying and the village of Beizhou, both of which I conquered from your master," the young cavalier explained, "But since Li Lang's nowhere to be found, and my comrade Luo Xiao asked me to come offer the services of myself, my army, and maybe even give back Tuying and Beizhou to Fei Lak. So...I'm here to talk to the big guy."

Looking pensively at the large bodyguard, or whatever he was, Baorong peered around. Narrowing his eyes at the warrior before him, the silver-armored horseman said grimly, "You can search me...just don't get too friendly in the process. I'm here to meet a potential lord, not a potential rapist."

[Phailak]

Yao smiled, this put him at a better diplomatic position thenm the Qin officials were usually very stubborn at first. Yao took a deep breath and continued, clearing his head and focusing on the task at hand. "Lord Fei, your most esteemed opinion is important to the King in more ways than one. Firstly, the king wishes to extend an open arm to the north. Future plans make it necessary to secure friends and allies. My business here is not to forge an alliance as yet, more to form a friendship and understanding between the King and the Northern lords."

Lak spread his hands in understanding.

"Well that is a very noble undertaking, you may of course inform his majesty that we welcome any bonds of friendship we may forge. Is there any expectations from his Majesty in regards to the north?"

The Prefect was not naive, he knew he lacked the experience needed to delve into a meaningful conversation with diplomats. It seemed he would have to learn quickly.

Raising an eyebrow at the large warrior, Baorong tilted his head - looking over the man with a curious gaze. He was apparently the face-smasher of Fei Lak's...clubhouse...conglomerate...oh, whatever the hell it was called.

"I'm Bei Baorong, former commander of Li Lang's forces and current protector of the town of Tuying and the village of Beizhou, both of which I conquered from your master," the young cavalier explained, "But since Li Lang's nowhere to be found, and my comrade Luo Xiao asked me to come offer the services of myself, my army, and maybe even give back Tuying and Beizhou to Fei Lak. So...I'm here to talk to the big guy."

Looking pensively at the large bodyguard, or whatever he was, Baorong peered around. Narrowing his eyes at the warrior before him, the silver-armored horseman said grimly, "You can search me...just don't get too friendly in the process. I'm here to meet a potential lord, not a potential rapist."

OCC: Sorry to introdude LDW, I'll move it along since I'm actually here tonight.

The guards under Liang Feng did a light search and let the man through. He was escorted to the hall where Lak was as always knee deep in reports and papers, arguing numbers over with Ma Dieu. He stopped immediately when he saw his guest arrive.

"Xia Mei, please get us some wine and food, we have a guest."

The Prefect turned to Bei Baorong.

"Master Bei, I am very honored that you have decided to visit me. If you give me but a moment, we can share a cup of wine and I hope discuss future plans for Yan. Your arrival gives me hope we can come to an understanding and forge a strong base out of this province."

The Prefect seemed over excited, hardly letting his guest say a word. When the wine did arrive, he insisted Baorong have a seat and a drink, Lak's cup already held to his mouth.

"I am being rude in my excitement. Please join me and tell me of your expectations."

[KongMing]

The guard gives him a strange look.

"Perhaps it is the customs in your land, but here Master it is our duty to search any visitors and hold their weapons until their business is completed."

The guard held out his hand, clearly unimpressed by the vows given.

Yu Dai turns to Cong Che and hands him his sword.

He scowls at the guards, "apparently honour has forsaken these lands," as he submits to the search. There are no weapons on his person.

Cong Che waits outside the building.