The man he was next to was good at conversation, introducing himself only as Borth. Karimir learned an amazing amount about horses, grain, tents, and shamans in the next hour. Borth was surprised that Karimir knew at least as much as he did about weather, though.
Soon enough, the remainder of Karimirs party entered the room behind Hybor, with a select few sitting at Karimirs side and the rest hauling several heavy trunks. At this point, the rest of the Elder Council looked expectantly at Karimir. Assuming that he, as the intruder, was meant to speak first Karimir rose to say his piece in the language of the Hippus.
Gentleman - Karimir scanned the room. I greet you as High Captain of the Lanun. You welcome has been better than any could expect, and I thank you greatly, especially Chief Hybol. I have brought several people who wish to speak to you, so Ill be brief and let them talk about the specifics of the treaty we wish to make over the next few days. I simply want to remark on the wisdom of Tali in making our two peoples his own, as together we are surely more powerful than any nation of Erebus! I understand that your armies under High Warchief Brandon and his High Elder Arry the Wise, but I have confidence that the men theyve left in their stead are fully capable to make both our nations strong.
The Lanun know that you lack roads, towns, farms, workshops all those annoying parts of the world that, unfortunately, even the likes of us must deal with. As such, we have determined what the Hippus require to become level with even the strongest people of the world, and shall freely grant the sum to the Hippus as our token of goodwill and alliance.
At this point, the trunks were opened up. These were filled with gold and silver coins, pearls, gems, and the other riches of the Lanun. It had taken every last coin the Lanun had (and a little more, to be honest), but after meeting these people Karimir was completely assured that the investment was worth the cost. Let the Assembly whine about it, but Karimir had been right and theyd soon realize it.
The Council was overjoyed. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined people would simply give them the money and riches they needed to survive; but Karimir wasnt completely finished even yet.
The Lanun respect our allies, and wish them to become stronger even than they are now. As such, our last contribution is a permanent embassy to the Hippus: I have brought a Captain of the highest rank here to stay, and she will be accompanied by Lanun teachers to give the Hippus the knowledge they need as a people. It will take time, but the Hippus shall become a nation among nations on Erebus, and the Lanun will make every effort to help them. Thank you.
Not one of the Elders was really listening at that point. Theyd been amazed at the gifts of gold; once they heard that the Lanun were going to grant them an official embassy and advanced knowledge theyd been flattened. They were all talking amongst themselves, and only Hybol and Borth were looking Karimirs way. Borth was speechless, but Hybol looked composed, yet pleased.
After Karimirs speech, it took a long time for the Council to regain order. Finally, though, the rest of the Lanun embassy began to speak. Captainess-Ambassador Windstabber spoke of the typical wash that happened at official meetings, and Karimir swiftly tuned her voice out in favor of simply looking at her. She was impressive, intelligent, and ambitious, so her appointment here had been a given, really.
It took four days for the deal to be finalized; not because there were difficulties, but because both sides spent a large amount of time agreeing with each other and complimenting their shared virtues. At the final meeting, the Elders made an unnecessary hand vote to agree, and Karimir prepared to make a farewell speech and go back to Dunwich. However, after the vote Borth stood up to speak before Karimir could. Facing Karimir, Borth began:
We are truly glad that our sea-brothers came to assist us. We are a strong people who need no help, but even the strong should try to become stronger if they wish to survive in the world. Our alliance today has made us both better, and together the Hippus and Lanun shall face the world and charge it! We have been gifted many tokens by the Lanun, and we cannot bear to let our sea-brothers leave without a token of our own. We have debated in secret when you slept over what we should give, and after many hours we have decided.
Karimir was mildly interested; he couldnt imagine what the Hippus had to give that could be of any use to the Lanun. They had little gold here; the plunder from their conquests hadnt yet arrived. A horse? Surely not, since the Hippus werent crazy enough to put one on a ship and the Lanun werent crazy enough to let them. A piece of art, or a decorated tent, maybe. There just wasnt anything else
Borth looked to the door, and beckoned to the person beyond it. In the tradition of the Hippus, we always attempt to unite the tribes. However, words are not binding once they are spoken, they disappear. Writing does no good paper burns, and a treaty unbroken is worth as little as a treaty broken. There is only one way: members of one tribe must exchange with members of the other, so that if either betrays they shall lose lives.
Oh. No. Karimir didnt like how this was going.
We see that the Lanun understand this; they are leaving a very important Chief-Captain here as hostage. We, in turn, must grant them one just as important. However, we wish to truly grant a gift.
Karimir knew, now. Hed heard rumors, but never in his worst nightmares
From beyond the door a veiled woman appeared. Borth continued, Thus, we give Brandons very own daughter Bardonya in marriage to the High-Chief-Captain of the Lanun, the great Karimir!
Karimir felt the words like a sword to the gut. No, no, no, no, no
he was Karimir, secret son of Falamir, a seducer. He wasnt supposed to marry! And especially not to a foreign chiefs daughter, more comfortable on a stinking beast than a decent ship if he was to marry, let it be to some clever Captain like Windstabber, for Talis sake. They didnt even let him see her face, so she was probably ugly. How could this happen
Then the veil lifted, and Karimir immediately forgave the Hippus for everything. Twice.
)
)
Sorry, no, I'm currently closed to sign-ups. Each new player adds up to time I need to run NES, and I currently don't have too much. Maybe in the future. 
