Maleki did not respond or even acknowledge what Aleksandra asked or said for quite some time. Her line of thought and very simple questioning was innocent enough. But the fact of the matter was, the night that it happened, and the nights that followed were more than simple. While the march of the army came and gone in a single night, the effect stayed for weeks. It was not something that Maleki enjoyed or was proud of, but because of him, there’s a semblance of balance in the ruined city. By the Pits, Maleki doubted anyone considered it a living free city. But no one wanted to claim it, so the money earned was the money that it had. Just one big wheel. It wasn’t until late, when Tommen had nodded off against the rock and it was about time for the watches to begin before Maleki said anything on the matter.<br/><br/><span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“The banners came and gone just like that,”</span>Maleki said, his voice quite low and measured. He was making sure that it would not progress further.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">”Someone had been bribing the guard for long enough that they opened the gate for the army. Killed whoever resisted, apprehended the rest of us. For the next couple of weeks, someone that’s more useful as a puppet than a diplomat ran Valkaren for them. Sorting through the people he used to consider his friends and getting rid of the ones who wouldn’t fall in line. I was spared as leverage for our nobility. In the end, everyone fell in line and I was treated like a prisoner in my own home.”</span>Maleki cleared his throat for a moment, pausing the story and giving himself plenty of time to compose himself. A subtly shaky sigh signalled the continuation of the story.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff"> “There were three homes of nobility who had heirs who were smart. Their parents were the ones that fell in line, not them. Better to play dead and plot than actually die. Then there was my tutor. Old army buddy of my father’s who slipped out of your father’s sight when our parents started arguing too much. There was a friend of mine who joined up with us, and an heir working directly with the new lord who supplied us. So in total, there were six that knew what was going to happen, aside from me…”</span><br/><br/>Maleki seemed to tense for a moment, before going slack, eyes blankly staring into the small fire that he had made.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“I do not know who’s banners flew because I was not the one who was assigned to handling and securing documents. My job was simple. When we finally made our miniature rebellion stable, I was hidden and armed, claimed to have ran away in the night. The new lord was not concerned, and our spy was handed over by her own handmaids. Girls I grew up with inside my home. The ruse was broken. The noble heirs seized their family title and barricaded a section of the district. My mentor found what city guard wasn’t bought and used them to buy time.” </span>Maleki said, his voice falling into the distance, mind obviously elsewhere as his body simply kept up with what memories rolled through his head.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff"> “What seeds that were planted were not working. Not enough time was being bought. So my friend and I went to the backup plan we never wanted to use.” </span>Maleki stopped there, body and mind fighting over what details to share.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“Out of our seven, four survived. As far as I could tell compared to what I know, only one of them was given a quick and painless end.”</span><br/><br/>Maleki let out a clearly shaky exhalation and his voice seemed to return from wherever her was wandering.<span class="fixed-color" style="color:#4da6ff">“The Ruined Oligarchy -what they thought was a fitting name- now rules Valkaren as something vaguely similar to a trade republic. The Armor of Glass Free Company, a private company of soldiers that the Oligarchy sponsored and contracted, is made up of people like what Tommen will become: people who come for the coin and stay once the job leaves them jaded and lethal. Get the Oligarchy on your side, then you have the Armor and more answers than I can give you, princess, if any information survived. Outpay the Oligarchy, and the Armor will void the contract and get you part of your army so you can get answers from this LeVane yourself later. What you do is your decision, but I find it difficult to believe that either option is something you can do as things currently stand. So while I handle the red in my ledger, you can look to put some in yours to increase your odds.”</span>