After wasting a sufficient amount of time with Lt. Kinet, Dorian decided he needed to be productive here at Wind Pass. While their main objective might be the secret base the stranger had told them about, there was still much that could be learned here. He needed to find this Weyer Paymon and have a chat.

That was easier said than done. It looked like Paymon was in no hurry to greet them, wherever he was. Landing field was apparently not a place to find a source so to the bar is where Dorian should go. There must be one on those levels available to them.

He got directions. And inside, within relatively high-end interior, at least for Arrakis, there sat one of those who arrived as their fellow auditor but had somehow evaporated when they had reached Carthag: Cybillus Ayawa.

Spotting the man Rima had told him was familiar with his elusive prey, Dorian made his way across the bar to join Mr. Awaya.

Cybillus noticed him first. He didn't even give a look to their surroundings. Of course they were watched.

"Drake, Mutellis, right? So you've ended up here. Can't say I am too surprised."

Giving a slight bow to the man, Dorian responded, "You are correct Mr. Awaya. I am actually here in this bar on a bit of House business rather than audit business. I am to make introductions with a Mr. Weyer Paymon and inquire about obtaining his services. I have heard from a few reliable sources that he is a very capable man. I also hear that you are familiar with him?"

"He's a business acquaintance. I represent Richesian commercial interests, he's an importer of our fare. Mutellis are not known for operating in the tech sector though, are they?" It was Ayawa, but he wasn't correcting Dorian. He wasn't petty.

"Now is not the time to limit oneself. There may be some business to be had with some Richesian goods among others, but I have some interest in his importing services. We received a recommendation to seek him out on the trip to Arrakis, but haven't had a chance to make contact. I heard he was residing in Wind Pass, so I thought I would take advantage of our time here since there's little else to be done. Do you think you could arrange a meeting?"

"Might not be that hard. I can show you the way to his office as a basic courtesy, though I believe if it's on House business that you're approaching him, I can't aid much beyond that. The interests of our houses are not exactly... aligned."

Dorian nodded along as the man spoke, "Yes, very understandable." He gives a casual look around the room at various patrons, some or all of whom were likely here purely to observe the two auditors. "It would be business on behalf of House Mutelli and I would be more than satisfied with being shown to the man."

Cybillus finished his drink. "Let's go then." He rose and started moving out of the bar. Those whose positions shuffled restlessly in reaction to that were likely those people Dorian had in mind. They were indeed many, as if there was indeed hardly an accidental patron in this place at this hour...

In the corridor, Ayawa looked at Drake intently, but said nothing, just pointed to the industrial-size grid-like elevator and continued walking. Giedi Prime was famous for its efficient cargo transportation systems, and some if the logic was apparently introduced in these premises. Or was it Ixian?

[Understand 2]

Dorian absently looked as Cybillus pointed out the elevator; however, he wasn't here to admire Hakonnen architecture.
-----
SMR8, What Dat?, Understand 4 + Faith 6, TN 10, +1 Threat: 3#1d20 12 17 16
Failed 0 success vs 2 difficulty

The travelled maybe two levels down, though it was hard to say in a tube, and the board had only keywords, not levels. There were no guards posted here, no Harkonnen bravos brandishing their lasguns. Instead, a neat metal corridor, well-lit, leading to a number of what looked like offices in a corporate building. There was something starkly opposite in the comfortable and tasteful furnishings to the harsh world outside. Suddenly, Dorian could feel as if found himself in a corporate building on Kaitain.

"Where there is spice, there is wealth." Cybillus commented loosely. "The third door there."

"Thank you for your guidance, maybe I can make something from this trip yet." Dorian nodded his head to the man in thanks and made his way to the door, knocking politely.

The door, which looked like something that could host several defensive mechanisms, including a pru-barrier, presumably now inactive, took their time to open - by some automatic or remote mechanism. The insides looked alien to someone of a Faufreluches orientation toward aesthetics, less an office and more an unfurnished heighliner cabin, with the foreboding consequence of industrial-technologist brutalism. In a way, this could be well attributed to how the Harkonnen rolled in general, but all the metal seemed of good quality and welded to perfection, as if it were the insides of a cryogenic chamber of a hydrogen fuel tank. And it was indeed cool inside, shockingly so for Arrakis, what meant that a good portion of windtrap power must be routed toward conditioning. It all felt Ixian, and at the same time reminded why a good portion of the Butlerian/Corrino Empire might find them offensive and why such places had been hosted underground, like this one.

The plaz desk, the only feature of the room ending with a door very similar to which Dorian had just passed through, was occupied by a cold-gazed man.



"I see the audit has reached here. Five questions then. Economise, auditor."