Doryn was more than a little relaxed as he sat back in the chair and listened to Piotr finally get around to the matter of business that had brought them together. It was easy enough for him to read between the lines, of course, especially since he knew that his men had seized no small number of shipments in the past few weeks. One of them, if he had to guess, had belonged to this intrepid Merchant of the Exotic. Was it that knowledge that brought a tiny smile to the Northman's face, or perhaps the gentle teasing of Hani's fingers through his hair,-- or something that neither of them were privy too?<br/><br/>"I want to make it clear that, as the City Official in the room, I don't hold your careful means of speaking against you. These matters are for me to breach, as it were, and you are naturally reticent to speak plainly until then." Doryn said, a bit of a smile on his face as he did so. "That said, it is now time to speak plainly, so allow me the luxury of doing such: I know well the importance of smuggling, the black market, and other such things. Especially in a city such as this, where so much is tightly controlled, the person who can get around such... restrictions... is a powerful friend to have."<br/><br/>"Just as<em>I</em>am a powerful friend for such a person... if approached in the proper manner..." Doryn says, that casual smile still on his face, glancing up at Hani with a lightness to his eyes-- even idly reaching out, a few fingers brushing against her cheek before he looked back at Piotr,-- "Yes, I have your barrels of 'Medicine.' Or, in the interests of speaking plainly, of Elven Wine. I assume, in any event, that they're<strong>your</strong>barrels given the story you shared about Perida. An interesting visit that must have been... I can only imagine the contacts you must have made..."<br/><br/>Exotic wonders are one thing, but the Knight-Captain is-- at his heart,-- a simple man who enjoys his alcohol. The main matter 'out in the open', as it were, his hand finds his glass of brandy with an old familiarity as he brings it up to his lips and has a sip of the strong bitter liquor.<br/><br/>"In truth, the raids on suspect warehouses and impounding of various loads of cargo has turned up no small number of interesting items,-- you'd be surprised what people try to smuggle into the city,--" Doryn says, then chuckles a bit as he notices what exactly he said, looking down into his glass of Brandy and then back up at Piotr with a grin. "Well, maybe not<em>you</em>. So, my prospective new friend, please. The time has come to speak plainly. Your 'medicine' is safe, for the nonce, and the only ones that know it isn't medicine are myself and a few trusted men in my employ. I'm sure it would do a lot more good for both of us somewhere<em>other</em>than where it currently is, though, and I'm willing to entertain offers to make such a reality and to ease the entry into the city of any future shipments."<br/><br/>Eyes twinkling, just a bit, glass of Brandy in hand,--<br/><br/>--Doryn glances up, idly, at Hani and smiles lightly.<br/><br/>"...and I'm afraid I haven't been in my native land in quite some time, and have rather gotten used to the climate-- more or less,-- but that said: I<em>do</em>miss my native lands. Sometimes."<br/><br/>There's just a bit of distant sadness in his eyes as he relays that, sparing Hani a brief smile before turning back to Piotr and feeling out the 'Merchant' for his reaction.