On much more comfortable footing, Doryn found that the rest of his meeting with the Archmage went very very well. Quillian had gone on about the threat arrayed against the City, and the Kingdom, while the Northerner had dutifully devoured the reports that the Archmage had shared with him. This was going to be quite a challenge, beyond any that he'd yet faced in his service to the Kingdom, that quickly became apparent as he read about the trouble that Duke Ludwig von Berenholdt had gotten into,-- and<em>gotten away with</em>. Even beyond simply worrying about Hani's involvement with such characters, Doryn knew that he couldn't allow such a loose cannon to operate freely in his adopted home.<br/><br/>Crescent City was<em>his</em>, after all, and he'd not see some insane demagogue turn it into a glowing hole in the ground.<br/><br/>Eventually, of course, the meeting came to its end as Doryn knew it would. Even so, the Northerner only slowly peeled himself away from the papers that had been provided him, knowing that he wouldn't be taking them with him and wanting to make sure that he'd committed as much of the data as he could to memory. Even as sobering as what he'd read had been, Doryn found himself slightly excited about the prospect of matching his wits against a truly worthy opponent, biting his lip just a bit as he finally placed the last of the papers aside and rose to his feet. "Yes, yes, I do believe we're just about finished here. Rest assured, you have my total cooperation in this matter, but even so... It's probably best if we don't meet again directly. I'll arrange a more indirect means of contact with the Duke, if you require such,--"<br/><br/>"--also, you'll have to forgive me in advance the histrionics of my exit."<br/><br/>~<br/><br/>It was almost a certainty, of course, that the Baron was watching over the Archmage's Tower.<br/><br/>Even if he wasn't, really, those were odds that the Knight-Captain didn't want to take. So, as he left the tower, he did so in a bit of a huff,-- an exaggeration of how he'd approached the building, all but warding himself against unclean influences as he left, ranting with paranoiac fervor about users of foul sorcery and how he couldn't believe the Southerners let them dwell<em>right in the middle of town</em>. Such things were for Elves and the Gods, not for Mortal Men, and no good would come of it! It was a well known superstition amongst his people, of course, and in truth Doryn<strong>did</strong>find the open presence of Wizards in Southern Society to be something that he had to get used to.<br/><br/>...he'd mostly gotten used to it since his Exile, admittedly, but it was easy enough to get back into the mindset..<br/><br/>He'd even assign one of his men to watch over the Archmages' tower for the next couple of days, keeping track of the comings and goings of his guest, until someone was able to 'talk some sense into him.' It wasn't much, at least for now, of course. Only a brief hint of a strategy that might serve him well,--<strong>if</strong>the Baron was aware of who his enemies were,-- but these were the early days of this particular game.<br/><br/>Really, Doryn couldn't help but think.<br/><br/><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">This would be fun.</span></span><br/><br/>~<br/><br/>The rest of the day was engaged in as normal a fashion as any.<br/><br/>He took interviews with various members of the Guard, keeping himself abreast of what was going on in the city, and attended to the numerous tasks that marked his position. Most notable was probably the efforts he took on the first matter that the Archmage had given him. Even if it was primarily a test of loyalty, after all, the matter of the slavers in the Under-City was still one that would have to be dealt with. So, Doryn took the effort to arrange a task-force on such matters...<br/><br/>...and since Guards moving down through the cities Sewers, and even deeper, would only be so effective? He even arranged for some posters to be put up, advertising a bounty to hopefully attract some freelance warriors who might look into the matter for him. It was a risky solution, of course, and one that could on occasion cause more trouble than it solved. Of course, considering that Doryn had himself once been just such a freelance do-gooder? It was a solution that he rather enjoyed.<br/><br/>He did, briefly, ponder stepping out for a bit of entertainment that evening,-- the Dew Drop beckoned, even after his previous night there,- in the end, though, Doryn thought better of it. It'd been a long day and he was already running a bit behind because of his meeting with the Archmage and the extra labor that'd added to his day. He still had a wrap up a few things to wrap up to ensure that hed' be able to attend Ethirdir's party. He did double-check on the arrangements that he'd made, by way of apology to Mercedes, and took a few moments to look over his plans for Hani's apology as well.<br/><br/>He'd probably be better off simply showing up and saying he was sorry, of course, and on some level the Northerner knew that.<br/><br/>If he was anything, though, Doryn was rather fond of large gestures.