Prehistory 101 [TWS]

> Approach Lady Ardefine, casually flirt, if you gain her interest then you've gained the interest of everyone there.

Not quite true. Samuel Blackburn and a lot of the party here is nouveau riche, whereas the Ardefine family dates back to before the turn of the millenium. It's said they were one of the few aristrocracies to come out of the dotcom bubble back then. Ancient History. Besides, 'interest' does not guarantee 'leverage'.

...Especially with the thing in what? This sounds important, and we've got future president Kilroy here. Only flirt with Lady Ardefine if you think you've got the skills to pull it off. She sounds hard to impress.

Kazakhstan. Well, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, what's left of Kyrgyzstan. Not that there's much there anymore in all three of them anyway. Nasty business. Nasty, nasty business, not least because of the uranium.

"I'm of the opinion that the Kazakh-Uzbek Conflict would have gone very much differently," you mention offhandedly as you pass the cluster surrounding the Lady, "if it hadn't been for the intervention of the Kyrgyzstanis."

"Oh, my dear Samuel! Do come here and tell us more." The Lady Ardefine's voice has a surprising heft to it - in another time and age she could have made a life as an opera singer.

Give the Sheik a lot of Champagne, if he's already nervous maybe it'll make him tell you things

"Actually, my lady, I'd quite like to introduce you to a friend of mine, who has a somewhat personal stake in the subject. I assume you've heard of the Sheik En Al Binbun."

She smiles and places her champagne glass on a waiterbot. "Yes, quite! I spoke to him just now. He was very...ebullient." She turns her piercing gaze onto you in full, and there's no doubt as to what it says: Your move, buster.