Eliot made an appearance at the Almaz to 'woo' his finance in the public of the light. The opera had gone well. Rumors spread like wildfire as was the intent. The gossip rags detailing lude remarks even though they'd been completely discreet. But it was a gossip rag so what did it matter, they had captured an unflattering picture which told the wrong story.
He tossed the article into the bin on his wallet. It didn't matter really. He'd been sitting at the same table for the past few days waiting to see if anyone took him upon his offer. He didn't expect anything immediately, but he waited at the time and place and someone may show up. If not, well he'd seek them out. But for now he was content to sit and sip coffee for a few hours and watch people come and go.
He hadn't been in Moscow for months and the later from the Baccarat heir. Security cameras were everywhere it's not like he was overly worried about being tracked down, he wasn't sure that the Atharim really cared about him. They'd kill him for sure, desertion the least of his crimes. Being a god was the most recent. Jer was surprised that his own family hadn't come hunting him.
Jer sat down across from Eliot sipping a coffee. "I didn't expect a former inquisitor to be the first to join me here."
"I'm not here." Jer said with certainty. "But I will listen. Though I don't know why I'm trusting you."
Eliot smiled. "What I have to say could be treasonous at best so I'm trusting you as much as you are trusting me."
"Treason could only be disastrous if you were talking about godlings."
"Or something like that." Eliot smiled and Jer might trust him a little more as he felt the power of the gods from another man emanating from the man in front of him. He didn't do anything, just reached into the power and then let it go. How many gods were in the Atharim?
Jer wasn't sure what was really going on. The Lagueux Family had always been prestigious in the Atharim. And they held a secret so deep that it would rock the foundation of the family. This man was trusting his secret to him. He could out him in hopes that he could be given a free pass -- but Jer knew that was not likely the case. They would hunt him down just as much as they'd kill the man who held the Moscow Atharim in check. It was his home the Regus had chosen due to its closeness to the Ascendancy -- a little known fact at the time that he was a godling himself. And now it was known that both gods and the Atharim existed. The world had changed. And now this man wanted to change it even more and he wanted his help.
"What do you need my help for?"
Eliot smiled. "I need someone who is an excellent judge of character to take the knowledge I have and the knowledge you gain to determine who amongst the people on my list are worthy allies and maybe find someone we can assign to lead the cause in the limelight. We need to take our work public, but I cannot do it. Neither can you, our families have too much at stake. We need a face the world will trust and one that our fellows will follow. Under our guidance of course."
"And what about those hunting me?"
"In the very near future that won't be a problem. With the reopening of the Mansion we will have new rules. I just need to implement the safe guards."
"Okay. What do you want me to do?" Jer wasn't exactly sold on the matter, but if he could make it safe to remain in Moscow then he'd give it a try. At least for now.