<div class="floatright"> (http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2011/052/c/a/theon_by_ammotu-d3a31ne.jpg)</div><strong>Shirvan<br/>HP</strong>11|<strong>AC: 16</strong>|<strong>Saves:</strong><em>Fort:</em>+2 /<em>Ref:</em>+4 /<em>Will:</em>+2<br/><strong>Initiative:</strong>+6|<strong>Active effect / conditions:</strong><strong>Resist</strong>acid, cold, electricity 5;<strong>darkvision</strong>60 ft.|<br/><hr/><br/><br/>The golden-eyed man forced a brief smile to his lips. This was not quite what he had expected, his source had clearly oversold the 'opportunity' that was to be had. Still, it was a source of coin and handling something like this effectively might present further opportunities down the road; it seemed like a 'high effort, low reward' sort of 'honest work' venture at this point, but if his new companions proved reliable or at least<em>malleable</em>, that in itself could prove a good investment. So far, Oleg and Svetlana didn't strike him as the brightest bulbs around - some mercantile cunning, perhaps, assuming they were competent at their chosen vocation.<br/><br/>Shirvan glanced back at the people he was with - Rory had come along with Jean, whom he had mostly spoken to and seemed agreeable enough - both mercenaries, both bright enough, though Jean was obviously the spokesperson between them for a reason; she seemed to be finesse and grace compared to his great martial strength and -- apparently, going by his questions -- knowledge of strategy.<br/><br/>The halfling girl he had recruited was as eager as she was eccentric -- how useful that was would reveal itself in time. The Aasimar had needed someone with the outdoor skills he still lacked and those she had in spades. Plus a sort of magic that seemed strange and backwards to him, at least compared to the arcane arts he had studied. He couldn't truly complain, however: her magic worked, whether it came from gods or spirits.<br/><br/>"If it's a comfort, perhaps your letter was the final push for them to throw coin at the problem," he proposed as he turned his attention back at Oleg's grumbling. He was hungry too, of course, but opted to let the others go first before he accepted his own bowl. "Good thought," he nodded. "Let's go over this in detail," he proposed. "How does the collection usually go? Do they come in, do you go out? Do they come on foot, on horses? How are they armed? Always the same faces, or different ones?" Shirvan rattled that off as if it was an inventory list, clearly expecting a proper response to each and every part of it, including the initial questions posed by Rory.<br/><br/>Another thought came to him, however, as he suddenly looked first towards Jean, then Karyna. "Could we disguise our tracks? Wouldn't want them to realize ahead that we have four people armed and armored just waiting for them to come into reach." He gave a little grin - he had no idea if it was feasible or even doable, as a city person, but he always tried to plan around potential difficulties ahead, even if they were outside his comfort zone.