<div class="floatleft">(http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww181/ninjabreadman1993/Dragon%20Agetrade_%20Inquisition_20150128001607_zpsyvaq12th.jpg)<br/>(https://talesfromthecards.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/dunedain.jpg)</div><strong>Name:</strong>Kas.<br/><strong>Location:</strong>Skyhold Courtyard<br/><br/><em>Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop</em><br/><br/>The sound of hooves connecting with the paved ground of the bridge into Skyhold, the echo of metal meeting stone at a steady, methodical pace. It's the sound of a slow, relaxed, steady walk as the horse makes its way through the towering, imposing secondary gatehouse of the great fortress, before its clopping turns into soft thuds as stone turns to soil beneath its plodding hooves. It wickers once or twice, but otherwise remains silent, its tail swishing back and forth as its body rocks with the gentle motion carrying it forwards. Despite this slow side-to-side motion, the rider atop the sleep black creature is almost perfectly still, rolling with each sway as if by habit, not allowing himself to become unbalanced or disorientated...whilst most riders usually get away with shifting from side to side at this speed, a true rider knows how to move<em>with</em>the horse, to distribute weight accordingly so that if a sudden change in direction, speed or momentum is affected, you are far less likely to be thrown from the saddle...and in his line of work, such changes in direction are a hazard of the job. Personally, Kas doesn't care to remember the amount of times that bandits or spies or assassins have attempted to ambush him on the roads, or when he has had to burst forwards in a sudden show of speed in order to escape a potentially messy situation...whilst he attempts to avoid such necessities - an assassin should never draw enough attention to themselves to require a speedy escape - sometimes it is simply unavoidable. And in a drawn out chase or escape, stability in the saddle is of the utmost importance...it wouldn't do to escape your assailants only to fall from the saddle and break your neck, after all, would it?<br/><br/>Kas looks around, his weathered, narrowed eyes surveying the courtyard...not many people are clustered in the main entrance-courtyard - as well they shouldn't be; in the unlikely event of an attack, that is the first place the soldiers will need to gather, and as such it should be kept relatively clear - but he imagines there are more in the main hall, the stables and the tavern. After all, why would you be spending your break near the castle gates rather than in a warm room near a fire and access to plenty of alcohol? Possibly to wait upon somebodies return, but he can't imagine them waiting here long. Due to the obvious limitations of communication, there is really no way to know whether somebody has been delayed or not, and it would be far more expedient to wait for them on the main road that runs through the camp in the valley below, where you can usually find a relatively warm tent and a place to sit rather than standing like an idiot in the main courtyard, getting in the way. So no...not many people in this immediate area, but that is the way Kas likes it; he can't imagine anybody waiting on him besides the Spymaster, and even they would only be awaiting his report rather than him, and less people means that it is far easier to keep tabs on those in the immediate area. Perhaps some would label it paranoid to suspect those in the middle of Skyhold of foul play, but those people would make terrible - and probably dead - Agents. Spies and assassins can infiltrate anywhere if there is even the smallest opening, and no matter how good your Spymaster, there is<em>always</em>an opening somewhere...he should know. He's been doing it for decades, and he hasn't found a system yet that can't be exploited or fooled. Oh, some are definitely very difficult, and many of them couldn't be cracked by one agent alone, but all it takes is enough money and enough information, and you can infiltrate anywhere you want. The key to good security is good systems and consistency. But those very systems make you predictable; where will you guard? The front and back entrances. Where will you patrol? The major connecting corridors. How often will you patrol? Often enough to make certain no section is ever unwatched, but not often enough that you have too many guards in one place. Where will you go to store your valuables? The treasury. When will you go? When the corridors are empty. How will you protect yourself? Take guards. All good procedure...and all one hundred percent predictable. And a good agent will find a way to make you pay for that predictability. And that's assuming everything goes well; if even one person makes a mistake...well, a castle is only as good as its defenders, and whilst Skyholds are among the best, there will always be a few that slip through the net, even if only temporarily. He himself has infiltrated fortresses like this one, after all, and once you've broken into a few supposedly impregnable castles just by slipping a guard a bribe or posing as a travelling merchant, you tend to become wary of becoming complacent in your supposed security.<br/><br/>As it is, he recognises most everybody in the courtyard. That doesn't mean much, of course, since sleeper agents can be hiding anywhere, but he can at least dismiss those he recognises as potential threats; any sleeper agent who has stayed long enough for Kas to recognise them is far, far too good to do anything suspicious or out of the ordinary in broad daylight in the middle of the fortress. They would, at the very least, wait until nightfall...and unless their mission was specifically to assassinate somebody several years after their initial placement, any agents that have become familiar enough to Kas for him to recognise them personally are probably on intel operations rather than "hits." It's just common sense. No, it's the one or two that he doesn't recognise that he needs to watch, but in all honesty, he isn't worried. Again, it's Skyhold...whilst he will maintain a watch on his surroundings, he is fairly sure that any agent decent enough to infiltrate the castle is good enough to know not to try anything in the middle of the day. That, he is fairly sure, is the first lesson of a spy: don't do anything risky where people can easily see you and escape is all but impossible if you get caught. It was pretty much drummed into his head from the very first day of Ben-Hassrath training, not to draw attention to yourself unless absolutely necessary, and he can't imagine any spy network even half as good as the Ben-Hassrath not teaching their agents the same thing. So...whilst it's entirely possible that he shall be hit by an arrow from the battlements, it is also very unlikely right now. Particularly because his arrival wasn't scheduled.<br/><br/>Well, he says "not scheduled." It<em>was</em>planned for this week, but the exact day was left nebulous due to the nature of the assignment he is just now returning from; the Inquisition is attempting to expand its trade influence ever further, gaining a monopoly on more and more assets. Due to its numerous forts, ports and Skyholds own position between Orlais, Ferelden and extremely close to the Waking Sea, a complete control of the trade routes in the immediate area is, as he understands it, more than possible. Access to the Waking Sea means that The Inquisition could, hypothetically, prevent all trade along those sea routes, and its control of the passes means that it could - with some effort - blockade Fereldan from the rest of the continent. This would completely cripple most of the major nations since, whether they like it or not, a lot of their produce comes from Fereldan...and a lot of Fereldan's luxuries arrive via Antiva, Orlais and The Free Marches. The Inquisition would probably never do such a thing, of course, but the possibility that it could scares a great many people...especially the Free Marcher City States, who until recently commanded those Waking Sea trade lanes and held their own unique monopoly on many of the goods that The Inquisition now has access to. Using its diplomatic and political influence, The Inquisition has been able to bribe and coerce many City States under its indirect influence, and strong-arm some others into backing down without a fight, but a few have been more than a little obstinate in their opposition. Ostwick in particular was rather obstinate in its opposition, even going so far as to blockade several local trade lanes and actively threaten any Inquisition vessel sailing close by. A bluff, perhaps, but if the Inquisition came to blows with Ostwick, it has enough City State allies to make a war with The Free Marches entirely possible...and so, Kas was deployed to see what could be done.<br/><br/>Long story short, he traced the problems back to one of the high-ranking merchants within the city, who held indirect sway over the Viscount and was forcing him to oppose the Inquisition to attempt to protect his own personal shipping interests. Kas's job was to find the method of influence over the Viscount, dispose of it, and make it clear that he owed his freedom from the thumb of the merchant lord to the benevolence of The Inquisition...which would, apparently, give them various advantages in the long run. Since this mission relied heavily on there being material evidence to steal (in case The Inquisition requires it at a later date), him disposing of any competent agents at the merchants disposal<em>and</em>ensuring that the Viscount knew of the change in situation, the return date from the mission was understandably up in the air. As it is, it took him several weeks to weed out the various informants, spies and servants needed to finally solve the problem...but solve it he did. He memorised the dirt that the merchant had on the Viscount, stole the material evidence and then planted the evidence of his shady dealings on his person and then informed the viscount...who promptly had the merchant arrested on treason. A good job done, and only recently finished...and now, Kas is finally back in Skyhold for some brief relaxation before he heads out again. He likely won't do much relaxing, though; it isn't in his nature. The Qun doesn't allow for much down time between jobs, and though he is technically Tal-Vashoth now (though he would argue that he is<em>not</em>Tal Vashoth, as he did not turn his back on the Qun, the Qun turned its back on<em>him</em>), there are still some last vestiges of that life that he clings to. After all...he was raised in it, lived in it, believed it for so much of his life that to discard the teachings now just seems...stupid. There is a lot of sense in the Qun, and to throw it away because its practitioners hunted him is shortsighted to say the least. The Qun is all about purpose, duty, the greater good...and that is something to hold high, regardless of how he left the life. Yes, it can be inflexible and short sighted in its own way sometimes, but the principles? They are sound. And he is not about to discard what made him<em>him</em>just because he can no longer stand living in Qunandar. It isn't the Qun...it's the thought that those following it can so easily betray him, despite what he gave them that makes him sick. He was sent to the mainland because, as a human, it is easier for him to blend in...and he was left there because some filthy Vint spy outplayed him and framed him for a treason. He would applaud the agent, if he didn't want to tear him apart with his bear hands.<br/><br/>But no more on that. He doesn't much like dwelling on what he has lost - far, far too painful; even though he could return at any time now that his name has been cleared, he finds himself unable to do so - and so he returns his attention to the present. Turning the horse to the right, he trots it towards the stables and the horsemaster...<em>Asaara,</em>* the Amaranthine Charger he sits upon, has worked hard to get him back to Skyhold in good time and spent far, far too much time in the dingy, dark stables in Ostwick. He had to keep her in the cheaper stables in order to stay incognito (which was hard enough, given her uncommon breed; alas, if you want a decent horse, you'll need to go for slightly higher-bred stock than just the average common horse), and for all her hard work (especially after that chase through the Dales when he ran into that bandit pack) she deserves to be pampered. Reaching the stables, he swings himself off of her back and onto the soft, grassy ground near the well and hands the reigns over to the stable boy. Retrieving his packs from the saddle - not particularly large ones; they hold the essentials only....a change of clothes, a tent, a sleeping roll, basic survival gear and various healing herbs and antitoxins...the rest he keeps on his person, dotted around his thick spy gear - he fishes inside and pulls out a few gold coins and hands them to the sandy-haired, Fereldan-looking youth. He only vaguely recognises him...he must be fairly new.<br/>"<em>Shanedan, athlok.</em>** " He offers a courteous nod; it never hurts to be polite....he can be curt, but he sees no reason not to at least treat the workers with respect....if they didn't do what they do, the entire Inquisition would grind to a halt. They do their jobs, so people like Kas can do his. "See that she is pampered." he instructs, "She gets the best feed, and the best grooming you can achieve." With another nod, but without waiting for the boys answer, he turns and strides away. The money wasn't required - as an agent, he usually gets his horse groomed for free - but it helps to grease the palms of the stablehands...they are far more likely to do as you ask if you give them an incentive. Besides. Being a stablehand isn't an easy or high paying job, so if he tips him...maybe he'll have a better night tonight than he would have otherwise. It never hurts to have the serving staff on your side, after all...they frequently get overlooked, which means they get to go places and hear things that nobody else does. Play your cards right, and for the cost of a nice meal, you can get yourself some rather well placed informants. Hells, one of the attempts on his life in the first few months he was in Skyhold at the hands of the Ben Hassrath was thwarted primarily because a servant he had helped carry a large tub of water had informed him that there was a new girl working in the kitchens who had taken a specific interest in his meal. Turned out that it was an assassin attempting to poison his food, and had he not heard of the suspicious behaviour....well. Always make sure that the servants and the "little people" are on your side. It doesn't take much effort, and the rewards can be great.<br/><br/>Anyway. He leaves<em>Asaara</em>with the stablehand, and begins his journey back towards the side-steps of the fort that lead through the kitchens and storage halls; the main hall entrance is far too far away, and the journey through the side rooms tends to be less crowded and actually effectively faster. The thing is, he has a report to file with the Spymaster, and he knows that if he doesn't do it as soon as he gets back, the Spymaster will not be best pleased, and understandably so. He'll have time to sit down and relax later, if he decides that he desires to; first...the report. He crosses the clearing, and makes his way towards the stone stairs that lead to the interior of the main keep.<br/><br/><br/>-------------------------------------------------------<br/><br/>*<em>Asaara:</em>Wind.<br/>**<em>Shandean:</em>Respectful greeting. Translation: "I'll hear you."<br/><em>Athlok:</em>Worker.