Jewels. The root of all evil, as one might say. Letting the bill run through his hands, Zane stared down the portrait on the currency. He needed more of this. Without money there was nothing. With money, there was everything. But the fair route was the one that people would be prospering by. Those who did things as square as possible were often left with lesser or average amounts of currency. However, those who managed to find or naturally had ways to play outside the rules were golden. Nobles. Those born into a family with riches. Hired killers. Greedy, exploitative merchants. Zane didn't want to be any of those right now - two of those were actually completely impossible, unless if it somehow turned out his dad was secretly the king of the elves.

Zane aspired to con people right now. He didn't have much experience with the whole deal, but he knew that he had to start somewhere. Bringing himself off his bed, Zane did his hair, put on his clothes, etc etc. All part of anyone's normal morning routine. His hand drifted to his eyepatch. He had been choosing to wear it as an extra of some sorts. His eye had healed from the bruises around it. Unsure if he should put it on or not, Zane's hand slowly moved away. He didn't need this eyepatch. All it did was show him how little he had. How short of a distance he had come. Why would he want to remind himself of that at all?

Leaving the hotel room with his eyepatch on, Zane descended the stairs towards the city of Hosenka. It was a fine morning tod- oh. It wasn't morning at all. Blinking his eyes, Zane looked upward to the evening sky. It would be dark in no little than an hour. Had he really slept in so late? He guessed he just partied too hard on his first night or two in town... or had it been three by now? It wasn't any matter to him, though. At this time of day in this particular season Hosenka's streets were bound to be plentiful with people. This little area he was in was the place most tourists would be at as well. Those familiar with the city were less likely overall to be swindled, but if this was their first time in town, well... nothing else screamed an easy target like that, right? It was how things went in any city.

Walking through town to better think, Zane already had a few ideas in his head. Some required two people, but for now he'd try to stick with those that needed only one. If he found someone that was worth working for he wouldn't hesitate to do so. Hopefully they were a beautiful woman with a large bust. Then again, Zane figured his luck wasn't THAT good. There was no way that a woman like that would stumble upon him every time that he thought of such a thing. Besides, the last few he ran into didn't leave him with much success. Just an old friend who gave him a bruise and a foreign woman with a heavy accent. One could also count Mary, but Zane wasn't really sure if she could be grouped in with the busty category. Her normal attire made it far too hard to tell.

Trying to imitate an icebergian accent, something he was fairly good at, Zane practiced a few words of it as he made his way towards an area that one could describe as a market plaza. Restaurant, bars, street vendors, shops - you name it. The place was a bit on the small side, but there were plenty of people here at this time of day, Clearing his throat, Zane made his way towards a group of people near the fountain in the middle. Besides this group of a few, there were also some individual people nearby, ones that could perhaps also heard the tale that Zane was about to spin.

Opening his mouth, Zane's Icebergian accent seemed to have a good sound to it. He needed to watch out so that he could assure his Fiorian didn't sound TOO good though. He needed to play the part of a foreigner who had only recently arrived. "Hello, friends." Zane said, the group turning to him. His voice was a bit louder than usual, both to draw a bit of attention as well as to play the part of someone with great importance. "I am Artur, second prince and heir of rightful Icebergian throne." The small group of 3, comprised of 2 women and one man, looked to Zane. The man seemed shocked, but at the same time somewhat ready to believe this story. Zane had perhaps gotten a lucky find here. "Yo, for real?" The man asked, Zane quickly nodding afterwards. Judging by the faces of the 2 women, Zane was willing to assume they weren't particularly smarter or dumber than him. Hopefully this meant there was no interjection among the friends.

"Real, for sure. My tyrant younger sister has sent assassin on me, forcing me to leave home...I fled to Fiore, seeking the, er.. refuge, is it?" The woman nearby chimed in to help 'Artur' with his Fiorian. "Yeah, that's right! Your Fiorian is a bit rusty, but it's cool that the prince knows it that well!" The other girl nodded, the man speaking up once more.  "Damn, that's crazy. What are you gonna?" Zane put his hand on his chin, thinking. "I have a plan. Plan top secret, though. No man can know. Still, require money..." Looking between the three of them, Zane spoke again. "If all three gave 300,000 jewels now, I will send 600,000 jewels each when throne reclaimed." The 3 all looked to each other, all but one of the women, the one who had commented on his Fiorian, seemingly believed. That one woman had doubts. "I mean, I dunno... I don't know much about Icerbergian history. Is there really a prince named Artur?" she asked, Zane gulping a little. Damn. A roadblock. Trying to get out of the sticky situation, Zane spread his arms a bit. "Not many Fiorians know current icerberg history. But there should be none near hear that can deny existence. You free to ask, but most people not know much of Iceberg. Please believe me, I have little proof. You welcome to have doubts, but... just want to go back home. Stop sister." Zane's sob story added to his possible salvaging of the situation. The logic here wasn't that he could prove there WAS an Artur of Iceberg. It was to show that it couldn't be proved there WASN'T an Artur of Iceberg. Zane just had to hope nobody in the crowd nearby knew much about Icerbergian politics...

Zane was surprised at what happened next. Instead of someone doubting his claims or people just staying silent, someone actually took his side instead. They claimed to know him as Prince Artur. While Zane knew that there COULD be an Artur of Iceberg, he had this sinking feeling that it was very likely no such prince existed. This girl was most likely trying to take his side, though Zane couldn't be TOO sure about that just yet. He'd play along with her though. Looking over to the woman, Zane took note of her beauty. Smiling internally at just how lucky of an unlucky man he was to run into all these busty women whenever he had a coincidentally convenient inner monologue about it, his face entered into a state of fake shock. It was the happy kind. After all, he had just met his beloved maid for the first time in months. "Stella... is that truly you?" Unable to produce fake tears with his level of acting skills, Zane figured that his words and tone would have to carry his performance instead. "I worried that I'd never see you again..."

Wrapping his arms around the woman for a loving hug, Zane truly hoped that the woman in front of him would continue to play along even with her in his embrace. Hugging this random beauty didn't feel too bad either. "Words can not describe how feel." Purposefully taking out the "i" in the sentence to try to appear as though his Fiorian was still somewhat rough, Zane looked to the passerby's shortly after. They looked as though they were buying it a decent amount. "This is one of my servants... she had been my maid since I was a child. I didn't expect to find her here... I take it you were on your way back from the important task you were sent on in Caelum?" Zane had picked Caelum since it was one of the countries that one would have to go through Fiore to to get to Iceberg. He supposed that people could also go through Minstrel too, but it wasn't as optimal of a route.

The girl who had spoken before seemed particularly touched by their reunion. She seemed to be buying the story even more now as well. "Wow... it's all so touching! You seem like a good prince, Artur. Caring so much about your maid." Zane nodded at the girl, turning his head back to the woman. "Stella and I have a bond that is closer than most of my servants, but I treat them all well nonetheless. Stella, these people thinking of funding my campaign to head back home. Do you think you could help convince them a little?" Zane really hoped that the woman would end up going along with his schemes. Still, if she truly was doing something like that Zane supposed she would most likely want some kind of payment after. He couldn't help wondering if that was on her mind even now. Since this person in front of him could make or break his entire scheme in a second should she wish to, Zane took an extra precaution. "Ah, also Stella, I - wait, let me quiet voice for this one." Zane now had a reason to lean further in, his lips nearing the side of the woman's head that was furthest from the little group of people they had gathered here. Zane's voice came to a whisper, his accent temporarily gone. "I'll give you half if you go along. Nice haircut, by the way." Zane wasn't sure why he added in that last part. It wasn't even an attempt to hit on the woman, if you'd believe it. He would've definitely tried to say something better if he was hoping to impress her in that way. Even in a situation like this he couldn't help but accidentally be a bit weird sometimes.

Backing off, Zane resumed with his Iceberg accent once again. "But yes, where were we... ah, Stella! You were going to tell these people why they finance campaign, right? I'm sure they would not resist your beautiful self, ahahaha." These people were pretty close to giving him the money he was hoping for, or so it seemed. All that was left was for his possible partner in crime here to do her job. Looking over to "Stella" expectantly, Zane awaited for her to win over the hearts of the few that were there. He was sure her good lucks would especially help when it came to the male one among the little group there. The spotlight was on her.

This woman intervening was not a blessing. It was the exact opposite. Zane had been cursed with someone who knew what they were doing. This girl had used his own swindling to not only swindle the others, but also swindle Zane as well. Zane stared into her eyes for a moment, a bit frustrated at her price point. He supposed dinner was nice, though he wasn't sure if he'd get far with a woman who had already tricked him once. Still, not agreeing here would ruin the entire plan. Zane begrudgingly nodded to her before continuing on and letting her do her thing.

Zane nodded along with everything "Stella" had said. "Yes, of course! You have my word. We wouldn't just pay you back. We would remember too. You are great allies in saving of Iceberg." Zane turned his gaze towards the 3 of them. Would they agree, or was it just too much to ask? Using every last drop of his good looks, Zane met his eyes with one of the women of the group, staring directly at her with the best gaze he possibly could, his blue eyes staring into her own. "Please?"

A couple minutes had passed. Zane waved goodbye to the little group as they wished him farewell for now, his hands running through the bills to count them. It was the right amount. Looking up to his "partner" in crime, Zane sighed as he held up the stack of jewels he had in his hand. "You're lucky you have a nice face and a large chest, or I'd just run off with this amount right now." His voice was now the same as it usually would be, finding no more need to continue on with the accent given that nobody was paying attention to them anymore. Splitting up the bills to equal 70% and 30%, he lamented how weak he was. Zane was always far too easily convinced by a pretty lady. You'd think he'd have the habit of resisting down by this point, but he could never quite get the hang of it. Finally getting the right amounts, Zane took the stack that held 70% of the total and offered it out to the woman. "I can't really blame you, though! That was a pretty smart move. I think your intelligence makes you pretty cool, even if you did just make me lose most of my potential profits there." With a smile, Zane held it out to the lady. He always was an odd one. Even though the woman had just ripped him off in a sense, he was still so willing to admire her and call her cool. It was unlikely she'd appreciate such a thing too much, though.

Putting the rest of the money back in his pocket, Zane looked around at the area the two were in. Things were getting less busy now, but there were still plenty of places to eat open. The variety was as wide as it was deep in Hosenka, the tourist town having just about everything someone could possibly want to eat within its borders. "So, you want me to take you out on some date, right?" Looking back to the woman, Zane continued. "Is this because you thought I'm good looking, or is it because you wanna try to rip me off again? Or, wait... both?" He asked, placing his hand on his chin and tapping his feet a little in thought. His serious  side had dulled down a bit after that initial encounter the two had. He was now back to his usual self. "Either way, there's a good restaurant I know just down the street. I wouldn't mind the food myself. Shall we get going, Ms... ?" Zane asked for her name as he held out his hand to her, his face forming a smile. He knew this woman most likely did not care for him at all, yet he was still letting himself get used. Zane knew there was probably some deeper reason. Perhaps he felt as though he needed to prove himself to someone. Even if it was most likely that this woman was not going to be impressed by him at all and only saw him as a way to make money, there was still a chance, right? Zane knew it was sad of him to do all this, yet he did it anyways. He wanted to be admired, and he was willing to go through such things even for the slightest drop of it.

"I'm Zane, by the way."

Zane couldn't help but wonder if it was truly wise to meet this woman's demands. She clearly was a good actor, but it wasn't like he couldn't just skip town whenever he wanted. There was a small bit of bitterness in him towards how she acted on the subject of his scheme. He was betting on nobody showing up, and probably woulda still gotten the money somehow. She only made it easier, at least in Zane's eyes.

While Zane did feel complimented by being called handsome by the lady, he couldn't help but feel that everything he was going to get here was nothing but an act. She had already shown off such skills earlier after all. Chuckling a bit at her choice of name, Zane realized that he was probably not going to learn anything about this girl. Certainly not anything that was true, anyways. Zane still had to get her the dinner though. He had made a deal, one he was planning to honor. If nothing else happened during that dinner he'd simply never have to see her again, something he had a feeling would probably be better for both his schemes and his wallet. "Nice to meet you, 'Stella'. Follow me, we should be there in a minute or two." Zane accepted the situation he was in. This wasn't real, but at the very least something fun or interesting could happen. And at the VERY very least he'd get a good meal.

Heading down the city block, Zane held his hands in his pockets as the pair approached the restaurant that Zane spoke of earlier. He'd been here the first night he got to Hosenka. This was a place that was clearly on the fancier side. There wasn't a dress code, but the interior of it looked like it was intended for those who had a lot of money to blow. Zane had a fair amount either way, so even with how much it'd cost for two the price didn't really worry him. He felt like eating something nice again anyways. "Here we are. Menu's kiiiinndda generic, but everything else is pretty nice." His feet making his way to the door, Zane grabbed onto its handlebar and held it open, gesturing his hand inwards as he let the lady go first.

Should the two have finally gotten in, Zane noted that the pair might have to wait a minute or two. The server seemed to be busy, but Zane noted that there was a couple that was just about ready to leave soon. Seeing as the two now stood near the front counter of the place with nothing to do for a minute or two, Zane turned to face Stella once again, looking down at her. "I'm going to guess that you're not going to actually tell or show me anything genuine this whole evening." Zane's words were blunt, yet he still spoke in a tone that wasn't too serious. It was clear that he had mostly accepted the situation he was in. "I am kinda curious about just why you'd even want dinner, though. You could've just bought this easily with the money you made. It wouldn't even be 5 percent of your share if it was a meal for one."

While Zane did remember the handsome comment the woman had made earlier, he wasn't entirely sure if that was even genuine or not. He looked her closer in the eyes now, curious. Zane was goofy, but he wasn't an idiot. Something about not knowing anything made him a bit frustrated. He thought he'd accepted the situation, but something inside of him made him feel... competitive, in an odd sense. He didn't wanna lose to this woman. He wanted to get at least SOMETHING out of her before the night was done. Some kind of real info, something he could tell was a fact, or see with his own eyes. Zane's eyes were already one of the more good looking parts of him, so to have them stare into someone else's eyes with such intensity was most likely a bit overwhelming at the very least. "I don't think me being good looking would be enough for a girl like you to simply just go on a dinner, riiiight? There must be something else..."