Events of 11-9-1266 TGR - House Affairs
Dinner Conversations on 11-9-1266 TGR
After the conversations started on Nov 21 14.
As there seemed to be little interest in dessert, the group adjourned to the Salon with Phillipe in tow. “Sit, Phillipe. I know you think that I am unnecessarily hard on you, but when one of us asks you a question, we need an answer. The stakes are too high. I don’t have the time to wait and learn all of these things on my own. It doesn’t matter what the answer is as long as you tell me the truth. I could toss ten topics out to our group and I will guarantee that some of us would disagree on all ten of them. That doesn’t matter. We work through it. I don’t care how any of the prior Ambassadors behaved. You are working with us now and the diplomacy stops when the guests leave.”
Branwyn put her head in her hands for a moment to gather her thoughts and then looked up and continued. “Jennevive was quite correct earlier today. The idea of a crusade only works if the people who are expected to fight it think that it is their idea and they are not being manipulated. That illusion is nearly gone now that the priest of Cahus has discovered Mistress Waverlyn’s plot for Tristan. So now we must …” she paused trying to think of the correct word. “I don’t know. Spin? We must make anyone who needs to see that the former Ambassador was working as a rogue. This was her doing and not at the command of the Queen of Drillian. If the Kayugans still want a crusade, it will be of their choosing. But it will not be at the urging of myself and Drillian shall not be blamed for whatever the results of such a crusade shall be.’
‘If Terraguard wants a war with Drillian, it is our job to prevent that. By negotiations, diplomacy or matching strength with strength, but not by diversions and schemes that will ultimately backfire as Mistress Waverlyn’s plots have. But this is not where my skills lie. I need all of my best people to help me in how best to do this. We need to paint Mistress Waverlyn in a poor light and that with our arrival, a new fresh relationship with Drillian can be obtained,” Branwyn looked around at the group and then at Philippe. “And you need to tell us everything you know about the plans for the crusade, Phillippe. Who she was working with, how far the plans went. All of it that you can tell us, because Tristan may be leaving us soon and I need all the help I can get.”
Branwyn looked down again for a moment and then locked her eyes on Tristan. “You know the truth now. You were never meant to be here. You were meant to be at the Vilmar Citadel. It is a nice place. Count Vilmar is a good man and his Iron Guard is formidable. Brother Stephanie is a ridiculous man that has the Count’s favor simply because there is no better option. You would sideline her in no time at all and be the Count’s most trusted advisor. I have no doubt of that. And if I should fail here and war comes, Drillian will need its best military tacticians at home. I know you believe that there is a path chosen for you and Mistress Waverlyn has changed that and used you most terribly. I will understand if you wish to leave. I cannot ask you to stay under these circumstances, no matter how much I may want to.”
Marisu clasps her hands in front of her. "I'll play devil's advocate, if that's alright. Perhaps Mistress Waverlyn saw Terraguard becoming more militant, and decided on this route as the best way to distract Terraguard from Drillian. As Terraguard's largest neighbor, and suffering from The Mist and the current sentiment among some of our nobility, we might look like the best target. She might have had good reasons for her tactics, as much as we dislike it. We don't know the situation well enough to tell."
Marisu takes a deep breath. "But we might be able to still keep it alive, if we choose. We just have to convince the Church leadership that the crusade was pretty much their idea, and Mistress Waverlyn was trying to help them. After all, she had no magic. She couldn't force anyone to say or do what she wanted. If she put forth an idea or suggestion, they listened because they wanted to, or already believed it somewhat. We don't *know* she did anything evil, even though the evidence could be read that way. But even if she did, we can lay that at her feet as her actions. As far as we know, all of the manipulations were hers, not Drillian's. Evidence may come up later that contradicts it, but we can't know that now, just plan for the possibility and try to find out the truth."
Marisu looks around at the others. "Truth is, as they say, a two-edged sword. We may get cut by it. But I think we need to keep looking for it. I think it's our best weapon here right now. If we know the truth of everything, we can be prepared for whatever happens. Tristan, I'm sorry you were maneuvered away from the place you were supposed to go. But I think, if you are willing, we need you with us. If you can stand with us, you are a believable conduit into the Church heirarchy. Without you, they can dismiss what we say as lies or mistruths. But you should be an unimpeachable source. If you tell them the truth, they can confirm it and believe it. And, as the person most affected so far, that gives weight to your words."
Marisu looks back down at her hands. "There are a couple of questions that could help us. Was Mistress Waverlyn reacting to a threat she saw in Terraguard? Yes or no, that could help us decide if we want to continue to support the crusade. Tristan, you should decide if you will stay with us, or go back to Drillian to where you were supposed to be. It's your call to make. Aunt Jennevive, you support the crusade, you say. But your usual tactics among us seem to mostly just make Tristan and Branwyn want to do the opposite, purely out of irritation and annoyance. This is good for you if it's what you're aiming for, but we should all be aiming for the same goal, whatever it is. I think the best way is to decide, together, what that goal should be, and go there as a group, not fighting and squabbling with each other. If we have share that goal, we can all work for it in our own ways. Branwyn and Tristan, if he stays, are our face and our heart. They're the ones with the reputations, and they'll have to believe in their goal for it to work. Neither one of them is deceptive enough to work for something they don't believe in. Aunt Jennevive and I can act as advisors, in our own ways. And everyone else is our eyes, ears, and brains. Rumors you hear, ideas you have, people you meet. All of it is important."
She leans back against the cushion and sighs. "Sorry. I got a bit carried away." She grabs at her drink and takes a swallow. "Speeches are great and all, but they don't help us make a decision." She puts her glass down again. "Personally, I'd be okay with the crusade faltering, IF we can do it without risking Terraguard attacking us. But if there's a valid fear of them invading Drillian, then I would rather aim that at a different enemy of theirs."
As Tristan is thinking about this revelation and Branwyn's and Marisu's points of view Phillipe takes the opportunity to speak up.
"Branwyn, I am always here to serve you, not the crown but the Ambassador. My job is to provide you with what you wish to allow you to do your job the best way you see fit. The only reason I know anything about the crusade that Mistress Waverlyn was advocating for is that I heard her in conversations occasionally through an open door. She did not invite me into her councils such as this with you." he gives a small smile and bow of his head in gratitude.
"As to who Mistress Waverlyn spoke with you had previously asked me who in the church she spoke with. I have that list of names for you. I limited it to only the twenty most frequent visitors over the past year." He slides a parchment onto the table for Branwyn. Friend Porto, 26 times; Companion Hellinth, 22 times; Uncle Donooldo, 18 times; Bradt (messenger), 18 times; Sister Shilpse, 12 times; Patron Aslif, 12 times; Patron Manwell, 12 times; Companion Lorap, 12 times; Priest Eglant, 12 times; Priest Zont, 12 times; Priest Oglint, 12 times; Friend Thou, 11 times; Brother Raplin, 10 times; Islet (messenger), 10 times; Brigthorn (messenger), 10 times; Goplit (messenger), 9 times; Driplet (messenger), 8 times; Foegone (messenger), 8 times; Wornt (messenger), 7 times; Crasp (messenger), 6 times.
"As you can see she had many visitors and there are many others who may have spoken with her. These are the names of those that came to her residence for appointments. I hope this is useful without being overwhelming."
“Phillipe, you are part of this household and I am not one for secrets. If you share your knowledge with us, you can be an invaluable part of our team here. I see no reason to shut you out of discussions that you can contribute to, unless you give me cause. And you have not given me any reason to suspect your loyalty.” Branwyn picked up the parchment and read it aloud for the members of the group that could not read. She then handed it to Marisu in case she wanted to inspect it again more closely.
“Priests and messengers,” Branwyn shook her head a little. “You would think all these priests would have better things to do than spend time with the Drillian Ambassador. Like plan a feast or something. But I suppose she needed to convince all the different Kayugan factions if this plan was going to work. And that means many priests.’
‘But Marisu brings up a very important issue. How serious is the threat of Terraguard attacking Drillian, Phillipe? I have heard the banter. Kingdoms have to use their military now and again, et cetera. Boredom and reputations, one has to be prepared, and other such nonsense. But do you know of any evidence, anything concrete, that warns of Terraguard declaring an actual war against Drillian?”
Deep in thought and trying to process all that he has learned Tristan finally speaks up, "Branwyn, if this crusade is called and the master of my order, Father Morton, calls me to it then I have no choice. However, we do have a chance to unravel what Mistress Wayverlyn has started. I do not wish to fight in a crusade that has tainted goals. There is no honor or glory to be found in that. I have been used as a puppet before and it appears that I was to be used again. We need allies in powerful places. Others to oppose the idea of a crusade."
Looking at Phillipe "You need to get me the religious orders of every priest on that list along with their titles. I need to know how far spread this poison has gotten in the church."
"Ilero, perhaps you can see if anyone from the underbelly of this city is stirring up the commoners to petition for this crusade? I agree with Jenevive, that a crusade is only going to work if the masses are in agreement. So someone has to be trying to stir up trouble."
"Branwyn, I know the mages guild do not often involve themselves with church politics, but perhaps you can see if there are any allies in the mages guild? Divinations are not something I can perform, and we could really use some help in that area. Right now, though I hate to say this, I don't know who I can trust in the church...."
Laughing he runs his hands through his hair and says "Who would have ever thought that I would be trying to STOP a crusade...."
“So, I guess this means you’re staying,” Branwyn said with a grin and sank back against the sofa feeling that she could now relax a little bit. “None of us really know the mages well enough to trust them completely, but Midguard has been kind and has standing in the guild. I think he would be a good place to start. I was planning on seeing if they could ascertain anything on the death of the Ambassador while you all were gone anyway. Just let me know what you would like them to do and we’ll see if we can approach them in a way to not cause too much of an alarm. Perhaps Marisu would be willing to help with the phrasing, depending on your questions.’
‘Oh, and Philippe, besides the war information I asked about, I told Tristan earlier that he should wear regular formal dress to the Prince’s ball. Was that wrong? I don’t think I will ever have gone to a party with so many priests. Am I going to be in a ballroom amid a sea of priestly robes and Tristan should be in his as well? What are you wearing, Jennevive?”
Tristan looks at Branwyn and sees part of her stress fade away, "I never wanted to leave Branwyn. You are my friends, my place is here with you. But I have a duty to the church. I want to stay here but we need to expose this crusade for what it is or I may be called into it. As far as the divinations go, I guess I do not know what the limitations are on a mage's divination skills. What kind of information can their divinations grant them?"
Phillipe gave a slight yawn. "Joseph, I want you to remember to be in the courtyard just after dawn. Branwyn has something for you to do for her."
Phillipe gestured that it was time to wrap up this evening, "The maid will want to clean up soon here in the salon, they are done with the dining room now. Sir Tristan should wear what he feels comfortable in. No one will be expected to be in Ceremonial robes or armor," glancing over at Indigo. "You should be expected to look your best however so what works best in that regard will be my advice."
Jennevive stands up, "I will go off to my room ow. I think that Tristan should wear the best formal wear he has with his holy symbol worn over them to signify who he wants to be. I will be wearing what I wore to the coronation, as no one here will remember what that was. " she smiles at Branwyn.
"Good night all," Jennevive says on her way out the door and down the hall.
As they started to file out of the salon, Branwyn called up to Philippe, “I do expect to hear what you know about this supposed war in the morning!”
She turned back to Tristan and said, “There was no need to study any type of divination spells in Drillian so I really don’t know much myself. But within minutes, Marisu got the mages talking about crystal balls and scrying spells, so they must be able to do something. I would ask her to go over there, but we don’t have much time left before you all go. Marisu is learning a new spell in the morning and then she, Miranda and Imari really only have one day together to plan the party Philippe wants to have before two of them go off in an airship and the other hunts a werewolf. Invitations should go out soon, so decisions need to be made sooner rather than later if anyone wants any input on it other than Philippe. I planned on taking care of these research types of things while you were all away. It will keep my head in books and out of trouble, which will probably be a good thing for everyone.”
Marisu stands up. "I was hoping to spend some time over there studying anyways, Branwyn. I'll make a point of it after we get back." She pauses, then, "Oh, while we're on the topic, how should I go about trying to learn more advanced magic? You never made a promise to train me, and I didn't ask, but now that I'm not at home I don't have access to the tutor I used there. Should I ask at the Mages Guild to see what their rates are? It would also give me a chance to pick their brains on our various problems while I'm there."
Branwyn let the others head off to their rooms so she and Marisu could talk for a moment in private. “Maybe we should discuss this in more detail tomorrow after you have learned the spell you had planned for the morning, but I am curious what you meant by advanced magic. I wasn’t aware that you were at the stage where actual new spell training was required. If that is the case, I will tell you what I told Miranda. I am not a very good teacher or role model for a proper mage. There are much better more academically trained teachers of magic that can guide you better than I ever could.’
‘Besides that, I don’t really think I am going to have the time to lock myself away for a couple of weeks for training. It’s going to make me sad enough to lose you for the time you will be doing your diplomacy training, much less spell training after that. We might not see you except at dinners for a whole month at the least if that is the case! But, you do have options for teachers. Miranda is skilled at teaching and has been quite eager to share her knowledge if that is what you need, or you may certainly inquire at the Guild.’
‘Now, all that being said, if what you would really like to do at this time is learn new spells at your current casting ability, there are a couple of options depending on the rarity of the spell you are looking for. You should be able to find any common or even some uncommon spells hidden in my library somewhere. You won’t need a trainer, only the time to research them. However, if you are looking for rare spells, you may very well need to do research in the guild library. Rare spell research can be quite time consuming, but possible. You will just need to find the right books and bury yourself in a library until you get it. It is solitary work and requires much concentration. You let me know what you want to do and we will figure out the best way to get you what you need.”
Marisu smiles at Branwyn. "Thank you, Branwyn. I didn't realize Miranda was a teacher. I guess it just hasn't come up. I'll have a talk with her in the morning at breakfast and see if she would be willing to teach me. I think I've been ready for more advanced magic since we got here, but there just hasn't been time to pursue it. And I'll try not to let my duties to the Ambassador slip while I'm studying. Doing all of this is slightly more important than my learning another minor spell or two."
