by Rajaric on Thu Jul 23, 2009 6:20 pm
Shar was very happy, in fact he was so happy he was almost delerious. The King was missing. If one could read minds, then one would be well aware of what Shar was thinking. One would know that he had sent out a literal army in search of the King, they swarmed the town, checking everywhere. They too knew what was going through Shar's mind, being like-minded themselves. They knew the political implications of either rescuing, or potentially kidnapping the king. This was an opportunity, and Shar loved opportunities.
Shar had originally come to the Capitol city in order to strike a deal with the King, or in reality, his advisers. Shar had a very valuable thing that he was willing to share, for a price. As ironic as it seems, Shar had money and he was willing to sell it. Although it may seem insane to sell money, to Shar it was quite reasonable. In his mind it was actually more of a trade. He would support the King with his money, his supplies, and his mercenaries, and the king would marry off his son to Shar's daughter. Not only that, but if Shar drove a hard enough bargain, Shar intended to gain the traitor's land. Land where cotton can be grow, where commoners can be exploited, beautiful, glorious land.
Although Shar is a sleazeball, he is a particularly clever sleazeball. He has several tricks up his sleaves and he intends to use them. As Shar often says "Why play fair when you don't have to play at all?" The meaning to this particular riddle escapes most, but makes perfect sense to Shar, as twisted as his mind may be.
After a time, a group of the mercenaries that had been sent out to find the king returned, letting Shar know that the King was in a bar in a particularly nasty part of town. That made Shar smile, because the nasty parts were his favorite.
Shar sent for his favorite minion, and sent him out to gain the attention of a local gang, who, for a price, should be willing to approach a particular man in a back alley, where they would then be dealt with. The King in his gratitude would offer Shar an alliance, because the King can't read minds, can he?