Baysibirks

"Hogar ni yentsu." Jack Paper said to his contact, as per his instructions, a statuesque blonde as the locals tended to be, if he hadn't been quite so taken, he'd want to spent a little more time discovering 'the sights' as they were called.
  "Yay na habor na, ventigi." The red tongue that slipped past the lipstick on her lips was distracting, especially her speaking such a foreign tongue.
  "Your Saami is superb for a foreigner." He said as he was instructed to, he had no idea if it was true.
  "It better be, since I'm not. Inagard Bergsdottir at your service." Ok, so it totally wasn't, but that made for a great countersign, since he knew for a fact just where his contact was from, and it wasn't just this island.
  "They actually sent a Saam ?" Digging into background, the 'you make sure, on your life', version.
  "Half Saam, quarter Rhuthen, quarter Ralt , I get by."
  "Impressive, I couldn't tell any of the other parts..."
  "They're not that different, Rhuthend are fundamentally Eurani, after all, or at least, no less than say, Kelts ."
  "I'll keep that in mind, next time I visit Benevento ."
  "Ah, that's different, the Beneventi are more Etruscan than Eurani."
  "How does that work?"
  "The Etruscan moved off to Ericsson, but they are a distinct people, much more nautical, than say, the Eurani, everyone knows the Benevent and Breciani are the best shipbuilders."
  "With the Kagomine and the Sarn next, true, that is known. The Kelts and Breizh should be better at sea, than they are. And so should the Rhuthen and Saam."
  "Oh they are, when it comes to naval warfare, just not naval commerce. Everyone says shipbuilders, when they mean 'sea-traders'. And the next ones on your list after the Etruscan's descendants are the Kagomine and Saam, for what it's worth, the Sarn, Rhuthen, Kelt and Breizh all are too enamoured for warfare, and not enough of trade."
  "That's my experience, but perhaps the elements will tamper wisdom into any of those, one day." He was having an actual conversation? How novel, he hadn't had one of those, not with a contact, in some time.
  "Tamper wisdom, in a Sarn? I'd love to see that." Nothing wrong with the contact's wit either, the Ehttitud of Sarn was all bluster and bravado, seldom temperance and wisdom.
  "What few people know is that the real seafarers of Sarn, Sarnath, Ralt and Luxem are the Ralt." Here we go, poke fun of her lightly.
  "Really? My mum's mum never sounded particularly seaworthy."
  "Oh, what did she sound like?"
  "Oh, I see what you mean... She was like a fisher's market come to life..." She dimpled at him, such fine dimples.
  "I rest my case. Hardly a sea-conqueror, but she could sell a fish to a skua I'm sure."
  "You're onto something there. By the way, what's your name, I didn't catch it?"
  "I didn't throw anything that valuable away, not recently, anyways."
  "Oh, a man of mystery, and what brings you to Rhuthen, Mister E?"
  "Eee, I cannot say."
  "Ooh, that one was old when my granna was still shucking lobstahs, as one says."
  "Oh, point to you, I'm, as one happens to be, new in town, and taking in the sights, one of which happens to be you."
  "Empty flattery, surely you can do better."
  "I'm here now, doing what I'm told, you can consider me... a blank sheet of paper, ready to absorb knowledge."
  "Ah, I expected as much, my cover's usually impenetrable, and I seldom am asked to help any penetration agents, not lately."
  "I bet, Operation Opera was a nice coup, no one wants to see you slain in the third act."
  "Oh, that was funny. Do it again, that thing with your mouth, where you say things people aren't supposed to know?"
  "Fair enough, can I call you Inagard?" He offered her his arm.
  "Only if I can call you James." His arm almost fell down, he wasn't the only one speaking things that were meant to be secret. "Please, call me Raoul, much more splendid, I am, after all, a student of the Sardé."
  "Just as long as you didn't only learn their lessons in villainy and scoundrelship."
  "Only quite enough to be interesting, I promise."
  "Did you bring someone else with you, undercover?"
  "Yes." He lied. "I meant to anyways, but the plague, well..."
  "Oh, that horrible plague in Asirania?"
  "And Sarn, and the northernmost tips of Rhuthen, where we happen to be, I'm sure there's been some cases."
  "Yes, but a deserted atoll with a few hundred people is scant pickings for that mass murderer. Not like Megamisama, which I heard plenty on your tongue, you may want to work with a dialect coach..."
  "I did, seems just not well enough, you could tell?"
  "No, but Jack Paper could hardly be from rustic Innu city, could he?"
  "Point to you." He raged inwardly, he was giving her knowledge for free, he knew better.
  "What's she like?"
  "Who?"
  "The sick girl, the one you left behind?"
  Everything you're not, were the first words to come to mind.
  "Dark, she is part Kagomine and part Loro."
  "Oh, some Seylon spice, huh? That's how they're called, in these lands, there is much prejudice."
  "Why so much?"
  "Because the southern atolls, and islands, much of Rhuthen, in fact, is just as dark, but the culture is different, they want to be superior, or at least, want to call out the other, that the neighbour on the other side of Eurani does."
  "I can't imagine what they think of Moniq."
  "Oh, no need to imagine, unlike Kagomei, Moniq invaded Rhuthen, thrice, and so did Goguryeo, twice, mention either name, and a riot will likely follow. Kagomei, Tsou, those are safe, they are not our enemies, Moniq, Goguryeo, we haven't convinced ourselves yet..."
  "Abendeen?"
  "Safer, as is Lai Dang, the Lai Danese are like rugs, they lay well on everything."
  "No wonder that's where the treaty was signed."
  "Yes, the paper lays on everything, and covers a multitude of sins. Either that's a dreadful pun, or that hit, probably, far closer to home than you'd like..." She... read him better than people who'd known him for years, like Vull . He was clueless most of the time.
  "I'm sure you'd like to know which, but I can't give you the satisfaction."
  "Oh, I know which one it is, It tells me how honest you are with me, as well..." Damn, was he that transparent? Probably not, but... reacting would tell her something. And here you are, helping me get over my grief."
  "Oh, no, she didn't... make it?"
  "It helps my cover that she didn't, but she is alive and well, in Kagomei, if you must know."
  "You're a rake and a scoundrel."
  "I get by. She kinda likes me that way too..."
  "Oh, I can just imagine she does, who is she, some kind of General, by the book type you probably drive crazy just by existing, or maybe a Nameita, some princess you wooed out of her wits?"
  "I'm impressed, I have friends who wouldn't have said either of those things, and who should have known them. How do you know so much about me?"
  "Besides being Douallé Moneydime's penpal growing up? Oh, nothing, nothing at all. I'd say she sends her regards, but I imagine you heard of her more recently than I did."
  "No, you... two were writing, as kids?"
  "Grade school on up, nothing more innocent right? Except I don't mind helping my friend, if she is on the level... Which she's been ever since."
  "Probably too on the level, considering what she told you about me."
  "Oh, she never said it was you... I just... interpolated... She said it was 'handsome james' or 'dashing jack', or 'cute Caine'."
  "Cute Caine's someone else. The one with the Nameita."
  "Oh, she combined two people?"
  "Easier to make covers that way, that's the first rule, take traits from people, but not just one person, too obvious."
  "And who is that guy?"
  "Best friend, smooth to my rough, but gotta go back to the missus, whereas..."
  "You don't go back to Douallé?"
  "Well, In a sense, but he married his missus, my status with her is... more ambiguous."
  "And her status now is 'down with the plague'?"
  "Or just 'pretending to be down with the plague because she has enough to deal with already', it's not like I can jade bank her and check."
  "You can't?"
  "No, I mean, I'm under fricking cover, I can't attract attention on me like that."
  "No you can't, but I'm her penpal, I can?"
  "And you think it'll do either of our covers any good?"
  "Err, ok, no, sorry, I am not exactly highly trained spy material here."
  "Just stay put, I'm pretty sure it's just cover defense, but if not, I'll write you, ok? Just to let you know. Bad enough when it's professionals, but someone recruited as a kid, I'll let you know."
  "You're so papin, no wonder she likes you."
  "What?"
  "Papin, isn't that the word in Kagomei, for someone level-headed, reasonable, ethical?"
  "Yeah, just not heard it in a while, it's a bit archaic. And It's the first word I ever heard you say with a sarn accent! You say it almost from the nose!"
  "Oh, shush, it's not so bad as that!"