RP Logs, Paying Respects, Part IX: Salamah and Bundar

((Now, those who have access to the RP Forum will note these next two Parts don't happen as they did in the forum.  There were two different conversations going on, alternating against each other, and so I basically pulled them apart, and edited them (mostly to take out the 'Meanwhiles' I used to give it some order) for consumption here.))

Laurent

Salamah saw that Jamilla was going off, and wished her the best of luck with Marcus, and whatever she wanted to do. He had matters of importance to see to. He moved over to Bundar and Qaribah and said, "Pardon me, would you like to go to the gardens, I have a few things which it might be helpful to speak of." He smiled and said, "You may bring your daughter, of course." He smiled and said, "I believe there are things that may be done to mutual advantage, especially since we are alreaday here, Your Highness," which was the proper phrasing for an Emir.

al Saffah

"Of couse, Your Grace." Bundar returns the courtesy with an easy smile. He doesn't even have to ask for this not to be strictly a conversation between the pair of them... though Qaribah is more concerned, even if it doesn't show on her face. The possibility that Salamah may have figured out that her father will need her to hand for a discussion like this, and why, is a worrying one- a known weakness is a very bad thing. "I'm listening." Salamah had his undivided interest at right about the moment he said 'mutual advantage.'

Laurent

Salamah began to walk towards the small gardens, pretty sure Bundar was following. And Qaribah. He had seen how she watched everything and said nothing. It was not a style Salamah employed--he often preferred to jump into the action--but it was not the way of someone who was just there as an accessory. "We are all here for our own reasons. Did you ever wonder why I, the farthest one from this planet, came here?" He would sit gracefully on a rock, "House ser Noche gave me a subsidy of a certain amount of money, such that I had to thank them. Can you gues
s how many Solars I was guarenteed every month, by account-transfer?" He smiled politely, waiting for Bundar to guess.
al Saffah

"Hmm... for such a journey, it would have to be a gift of some considerable weight," Bundar muses. Such a subsidy is a priceless boon for any young, up and coming noble house. They will eventually reach the same destination without the subsidy, of course, but the extra funds will ensure that it all happens that much faster. "Some... fifteen, twenty thousand Solars, perhaps? Twenty-five, possibly, at a stretch." One thing he does have an understanding of is money and finance- his education ensured that much, at least.

Laurent

"Twenty-five thousand Solars a month, for a year." Salamah smiled, knowing what Bundar's reaction could be, "Some of that could be transferred to you, and I could speak to Lady Nora ser Noche about obtaining your own Subsidy. But this wouldn't be a gift. Instead...it would be a mark of a mutual agreement. The elections are not all that long from now, over a year, sure, but time can pass quite quickly. When the time comes, perhaps we could act together, and vote together...it'd give our decision more weight if it was done together. Two votes instead of one..."
al Saffah

"No wonder you came to thank them in person," Bundar says, almost wonderingly. With that amount of money in play, the expense of the journey is almost trivial by comparison. "Hmm, yes... and every house, of course, has an equal vote..." And the winner will be most grateful to the houses that supported them in their victory- all that remains is to hope that the house they support does, in fact, end up being the house that wins. "That would... be a most agreeable arrangement, Your Grace." Well, of course it would. It involves al Saffah reaping a share of the benefits Laurent is already enjoying.

Laurent

"My Subsidy for your Highness might be, perhaps, 5000 Solars a month, until such time as ser Noche grants you the Subsidy, and as a sign that I am working on obtaining it?" he suggested with a smile. "So, if ser Noche was willing to eventually follow through on the Subisdy, would that be enough for you to agree to now vote with me--or rather, vote in temporary concord with me, if my vote changes we would have to talk on that..." he realized he was talking too fast, and slowed down. "Vote with me for ser Noche? That I might take this deal to her as an offer..."
al Saffah

Even 5,000 Solars a month is a welcome boon for a house that's still in it's early days. "I would be most grateful," Bundar says with a smile, and means it too. "The matter of the election had been on my mind when I first planned this visit. For these terms? Certainly- when the time comes, I will vote alongside you, for ser Noche to take the Imperial throne." And if ser Noche does indeed hold such Imperial ambitions for the next election, how could they possibly refuse? Every vote counts, after all.