a new bartender set an empty tumbler down on the mahogany bar top. poured a well, placed a small square napkin, and served his whiskey. she then walked around a corner, drying her hands with a towel on the way.

”hey, roach...”

soon, he was on his way. a scruffy man in a hat, who looked more like a rancher than a city-slick businessman. he went behind the bar to address him face-to-face. of course he knew of matias silph. he was on tv all the time, and his brother FERNANDO SILPH was a welcome face at ritual—here on the upper level, at least.

”matias silph.” he held out a hand and flashed a crooked smile. ”pleasure t’meetchya. my name’s roach. i’m the owner. what can i do for you?”

MATIAS SILPH

☉

matias is mid-sip when roach approaches. he swallows the whiskey, seemingly indifferent to the burn it brings.[break][break]

"roach. pleasure."[break][break]

his handshake is firm.[break][break]

"this is a nice place you got here. couldn't even tell there was a fire."[break][break]

smiling, he downs the rest of his drink and slides the glass back over.[break][break]

"why's it named ritual?"

[attr="class","ooc"]virgil roach[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-virizion"]

last year’s fire was still a sore spot in roach’s ego, but he let it roll off as usual with a smile. then, he was onto making himself a whiskey.

”i didn’t name it. kept it from the last owner, but he told me he named it that so people would come back. y’know, like part o’ their daily ritual.”

a cork popped. gold poured into delicately cut glass.

”she fixed back up pretty nice, i think—‘cept for this poor ole bartop.” he patted a hand on it, near its darkened scars. ”still can’t bring m’self to part with it.” it was far older than he was.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

his attention glosses over the darkened scars of the bartop.[break][break]

"no reason to. it gives the place history."[break][break]

and character — not that ritual is lacking in it in any sort of way.[break][break]

"you happy with the place? or do you think you can do more with it?"

[attr="class","ooc"]virgil roach[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-virizion"]

”right,” he agreed, ”exactly. you get it.” he raised his glass in approval before sipping.

more with it. roach’s smile curled with a gravelly chuckle. if only matias knew what was just a few meters below him. one day soon enough, he figured, everybody would. this life wouldn’t last forever, nor would ritual’s secrets. a reckoning was coming—but he’d play it smooth until the very end.

”happy? i’d say so, yeah. served me well enough. it’s kinda like you said—this whole place is full o’ history.” he looked around at the walls, and there was genuine love in his eyes. it felt like home, even if it was a front. 

he was always open to suggestions, though.

”why, you think i can do somethin’ more with it?”

MATIAS SILPH

☉

the love behind roach's eyes is one most would be envious of. to feel such an emotion is not something everyone experiences. matias has felt it, too; not of ritual, but the screams of KING WAYLAND drowned out by flames and falling debris come to mind.[break][break]

"nah. this—" he gestures around them "—is good as is."[break][break]

he raises his refilled drink.[break][break]

"but i do think more can be done downstairs. with the right connections."

[attr="class","ooc"]virgil roach[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-virizion"]

so. it was already getting out. it wasn’t surprising. luckily, if anyone were ever to raid the downstairs with a warrant, or an undercover cop made it past security, they’d likely find nothing but stone walls and some illegally imported goods which roach could easily afford a lawyer to cover for. he’d lose a bit of money which he could then quickly replace. not much harm done.

really, it had only been a matter of time.

his head tilted to the side a little, curiously. willing to level, maybe, rather than play dumb like he would with most people in this situation.

”is that right?”

he took a sip, eyeing him over the rim of the glass for a long moment. matias was a silph. one of them owned a council seat, but this family was made of moneybags. roach didn’t believe that kind of wealth could be achieved without a little sin.

”go on.”

MATIAS SILPH

☉

"i'll invest."[break][break]

that's the hook. now comes the catch.[break][break]

"take my money and do whatever you want with it, i don't really care. but i want access and information."[break][break]

he downs his drink in one only to slide the glass back over.[break][break]

"the investment will be anonymous, of course."

[attr="class","ooc"]virgil roach[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-virizion"]

his tongue swiped at a piece of loose tobacco along his gumline, washing it down with another sip of whiskey as he eyed matias discerningly. was this a goldmine, or a trap?

”huh. well, that’s an interesting offer.”

”don’t yer family have uh… all the riches one could ask for?”

he paused, almost not long enough for a response, before his face cracked into a grin.

”i’m just fuckin’ with ya; ain’t no such thing as too much money—and it just so happens it’s a damn good time to invest in my business. got a nightclub ‘s gonna open up here soon. very anticipated.”

his hands rested on the bar, and settled only a little closer.

”but i gotta ask, mr. silph: why the anonymity?”

MATIAS SILPH

☉

matias could not care less about the very anticipated soon-to-open nightclub. he's here for very specific business and he's pretty much acquired that if roach's verbal agreement is anything to go by.[break][break]

well, almost.[break][break]

"as much as i appreciate your establishments, roach, i'd rather not be associated with them. you understand, surely."[break][break]

given his status and all that.[break][break]

"oh. payment will be made in cash."

[attr="class","ooc"]virgil roach[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-virizion"]

”huh.” his thumbs tapped a couple of times on the counter. was it the bar culture, or was it the smuggling ring down below? ”fair enough, then, i suppose.”

he pushed off the bar lazily and took his drink up with him in-hand.

”i do like cash.” his scruffy face was sincere, his eyes were still discerning.

”but we’ll have a written contract, o’ course...” unless, perhaps, this was not only meant to be anonymous to the public, but also entirely under the table.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

"nah. a verbal agreement will suffice."[break][break]

again, he'd rather not have anything linking him back to the bar nor to the smuggling ring down below.[break][reak]

the main reason he wants to invest in the first place is for information for what happens down below. but if it means possibly compromising his position and standing in the league?[break][break]

pass.[break][break]

his hand extends over.[break][break]

"shake on it?"

[attr="class","ooc"]virgil roach[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-virizion"]

he barely glanced down at the hand offered to him, instead chuckling and going for a bottle—not a well, as the previous bartender had poured him, but something more expensive from the shelves. bright amber soon trickled into a new glass. he might’ve seemed to be entirely ignoring matias, at first.

”now this is a good whiskey,” he said finally. ”aged til it’s nice n’ smooth, n’ finished in a rum cask, so ye get all that fruit n’ spice n’ sheit. pretty good summer drank.”

he placed the glass behind the one matias was still finishing, and turned to set the bottle in its place again. then, he stayed there, leaned against the far counter, staring back at his newest potential investor. before he spoke again, he called a ”thank ya bill” across the room as a couple left, leaving them all alone in the bar.

roach licked his lips and then clicked his tongue. something in his demeanor changed.

”i ain’t shakin’ on shit until you tell me whatchya want. what kind of access 'n information are we talkin'? i don’ even know what the hell we’re agreein’ to.”

MATIAS SILPH

☉