Maybe I've misunderstood the intent of the write-in but I didn't see it as cutting out the Legerius soldiers from the decision. I saw it more as a modified version of the Robin plan but instead of just announcing it and likely turning the tense situation into a shouting match where no one is likely to make any headway and Sypha herself might shrink from the open hostility it's likely to generate to instead pull her aside and explain the situation and get her thoughts. If she rejects coming to Agrithe that's it for that plan. If she accepts then we're still going to have to announce this to everyone only now Sypha won't be blindsided by the reveal and if she's made the decision to come with us then she can be better mentally prepared to try and talk the soldiers down and to allow it.
Like if anything I was thinking it was a Worst Case: We lose the Agrithe option/Best Case: We get an easier DC on our "Do Legerius's soldiers allow this" roll we're told will happen under Robin's plan because we have Sypha on our side at the beginning of the presentation of our argument.
I don't think there's a world where Legerius's soldiers are ever happy with this choice. You can say that talking to Sypha alone first is pressuring her (and I agree they'll take it that way) but wouldn't just announcing the same facts to everyone at the same time be doing the same? Only now we'd be putting her on the spot in front of everyone. I expect they'll think badly of us and that we're pressuring her no matter how we broach the topic of going to Agrithe but I think the write-in is a gentler way of broaching the issue to Sypha and gives her the call.
As for talking about the Empire, I think that even Bernard understands that there are nobles out there who want this war - they are almost always in any country. Even if top management is not involved, it won't be strange if someone tries to push things behind the scenes. In addition, he and Sypha overheard our conversation with Robert and must understand that we have reasons to think this way.
I rather assumed that as long as our intentions were unknown, Sypha might try to use her authority as an heir to persuade them to trust us. The moment we speak our motives, however, even if she is on our side, it will be her mother's word against her own, and I don't like our chances.
Maybe I've misunderstood the intent of the write-in but I didn't see it as cutting out the Legerius soldiers from the decision. I saw it more as a modified version of the Robin plan but instead of just announcing it and likely turning the tense situation into a shouting match where no one is likely to make any headway and Sypha herself might shrink from the open hostility it's likely to generate to instead pull her aside and explain the situation and get her thoughts. If she rejects coming to Agrithe that's it for that plan. If she accepts then we're still going to have to announce this to everyone only now Sypha won't be blindsided by the reveal and if she's made the decision to come with us then she can be better mentally prepared to try and talk the soldiers down and to allow it.
Like if anything I was thinking it was a Worst Case: We lose the Agrithe option/Best Case: We get an easier DC on our "Do Legerius's soldiers allow this" roll we're told will happen under Robin's plan because we have Sypha on our side at the beginning of the presentation of our argument.
I don't think there's a world where Legerius's soldiers are ever happy with this choice. You can say that talking to Sypha alone first is pressuring her (and I agree they'll take it that way) but wouldn't just announcing the same facts to everyone at the same time be doing the same? Only now we'd be putting her on the spot in front of everyone. I expect they'll think badly of us and that we're pressuring her no matter how we broach the topic of going to Agrithe but I think the write-in is a gentler way of broaching the issue to Sypha and giving her the call.
On the other hand, this is also a viable option. Well, given that this conversation alone will probably take up the entire chapter, we'll probably get a vote on how we'll proceed once we get her answer. Besides, Sypha herself may have a much better understanding of how to persuade others to let her go if she accepts our offer.
[X] Back Robin up on his claim: you know you can outfly that wyvern any day of the week. Sypha will get to safety, you swear it! (Pros: Will succeed at your mission from Archduke. Will prevent the wyvern from catching up to you. Cons: Very possibly will cause an immediate fight between yourself and Mantrae's men. Leaves the Legerians to deal with the Talons.)
- [X] Be open about where you would be flying and try to get Sypha to help you calm everyone down. This is the best way to prevent a war.
Even if it's rather silly, it seems like the kind of impulsive foolish act Ryza might do. And the write-in is a mistake, for sure.
so for write in people what happens if sypha decides to do something her MOTHERS knights don't want her to do after all they don't follow her orders so they might decide screw what she thinks we got to follow orders
Well, per the author's notes on backing Robin's plan, I assume a fight breaks out. I feel like it hinges on if Sypha is still willing to stand by such a decision in the face of that. The general tone of the write-in suggests to me that if Sypha drops it when confronted by their armed refusal we would as well. If not we either go directly into a fight or maybe the update breaks for another vote on whether we're willing to fight them on this.
so for write in people what happens if sypha decides to do something her MOTHERS knights don't want her to do after all they don't follow her orders so they might decide screw what she thinks we got to follow orders
I thought about it, but then I would have to create a too complicated plan that would depend on many factors and cause disputes about the details. So I guess we just tell Sypha that we want to take her to the Archduke and why we think it's the right thing to do, and then we give her the choice of what to do. After all, she knows her mother's people much better than we do.
so for write in people what happens if sypha decides to do something her MOTHERS knights don't want her to do after all they don't follow her orders so they might decide screw what she thinks we got to follow orders
If she decides that because she's afraid her mom's knights would do something reckless, we try to assuage that fear.
If she decides that because she doesn't trust Archduke Leto or something, then there's no way we could have convinced her (or anyone else present) to go along with it some other way. If you're trying to argue against the write-in, that's the elephant in the room—it might fail, but not for any reason other ways of bringing up our destination would. And unless we're going to just let Sypha go home, damn the consequences, we need to bring it up eventually.
If you're fine with the write-in and just trying to figure out what we'll do if it fails...the answer is probably "argue a lot about whether or not we attack Mantrae's knights and drag Sypha to Cartese." Because that's the most obvious way to accomplish our objective.
I don't like this path of action, mind. But I'm not sure we can speculate about what our backup plan should be without knowing more information—perhaps most crucially, the specific reason why plan A didn't work. Luckily, we're going to learn at least one piece of crucial information by attempting plan A.
[X] The way you want to save Lady Sypha is a mystery, so you want to talk to her privately and see if she agrees.
-[X] Bernard can also join if he insists.
-[X] Explain to her the whole situation and the reasons why you do what you do. How this is all probably a conspiracy by the Empire and that you want to prevent an internecine war between her mother and the Archduke - a war that will only bring everyone pain.
-[X] Promise that you will make sure that she will be fine and will not be treated unfairly. Besides, you don't believe that Artemis and her family would do something like that.
-[X] Ask her to choose if she wants to come with us to Agrithe.
-[X] Bernard can probably go with you too? The rest will probably be fine on their own.
-[X] If she refuses, choose another option.
I just think this would be the most interesting choice story wise, though I would be fine with any option.
[] Back Bernard's idea of going to get more help. He didn't rat you out and cause a fight, and he did talk about compromising. Perhaps if you show that you trust him, he'll trust you enough to convince Sypha to go with you to Agrithe. (Pros: Gives people time to calm down from their heightened emotions. Will probably get an ally to help you get Sypha to safety. Will probably minimize conflict with the Talons. Cons: The last time you went to a strange noble for help, things didn't go so well. You and Robin will be even more outnumbered if things go wrong.)
Actually never mind, this seems like something Ryza would do, good idea or not.
[X] The way you want to save Lady Sypha is a mystery, so you want to talk to her privately and see if she agrees.
-[X] Bernard can also join if he insists.
-[X] Explain to her the whole situation and the reasons why you do what you do. How this is all probably a conspiracy by the Empire and that you want to prevent an internecine war between her mother and the Archduke - a war that will only bring everyone pain.
-[X] Promise that you will make sure that she will be fine and will not be treated unfairly. Besides, you don't believe that Artemis and her family would do something like that.
-[X] Ask her to choose if she wants to come with us to Agrithe.
-[X] Bernard can probably go with you too? The rest will probably be fine on their own.
-[X] If she refuses, choose another option.
Scheduled vote count started by SoaringHawk218 on Oct 5, 2022 at 5:53 PM, finished with 57 posts and 27 votes.
[X] The way you want to save Lady Sypha is a mystery, so you want to talk to her privately and see if she agrees.
-[X] Bernard can also join if he insists.
-[X] Explain to her the whole situation and the reasons why you do what you do. How this is all probably a conspiracy by the Empire and that you want to prevent an internecine war between her mother and the Archduke - a war that will only bring everyone pain.
-[X] Promise that you will make sure that she will be fine and will not be treated unfairly. Besides, you don't believe that Artemis and her family would do something like that.
-[X] Ask her to choose if she wants to come with us to Agrithe.
-[X] Bernard can probably go with you too? The rest will probably be fine on their own.
-[X] If she refuses, choose another option.
[X] Back Bernard's idea of going to get more help. He didn't rat you out and cause a fight, and he did talk about compromising. Perhaps if you show that you trust him, he'll trust you enough to convince Sypha to go with you to Agrithe. (Pros: Gives people time to calm down from their heightened emotions. Will probably get an ally to help you get Sypha to safety. Will probably minimize conflict with the Talons. Cons: The last time you went to a strange noble for help, things didn't go so well. You and Robin will be even more outnumbered if things go wrong.)
[X] Back Robin up on his claim: you know you can outfly that wyvern any day of the week. Sypha will get to safety, you swear it! (Pros: Will succeed at your mission from Archduke. Will prevent the wyvern from catching up to you. Cons: Very possibly will cause an immediate fight between yourself and Mantrae's men. Leaves the Legerians to deal with the Talons.)
- [X] Be open about where you would be flying and try to get Sypha to help you calm everyone down. This is the best way to prevent a war.
[X] Suggest a new plan: your home is not that far from here. This is a long shot, even you admit it, but hopefully once you're at your home you can use the fact that it's yours to convince people to sit down and talk like good guests. Besides, there's no way the Talons will see this move coming! (Pros: You get to go home. Good chance to completely avoid contact with the Talons since you're not going any way they'd look. Cons: Kicking the problem of where Sypha goes down the path. Will have to assert your authority. Home is… kind of a mess right now, not really fit for guests…)
[X] Back Sir Ector on taking Sypha directly to Castle Legerius. The situation has just changed too much; you have to do what you think is right. You hope Robin will go along with it. You hope even more that Artemis and Archduke Cartese will forgive you. The Talons will also surely have something to say about this as well.
[X] Back Robin up on his claim: you know you can outfly that wyvern any day of the week. Sypha will get to safety, you swear it! (Pros: Will succeed at your mission from Archduke. Will prevent the wyvern from catching up to you. Cons: Very possibly will cause an immediate fight between yourself and Mantrae's men. Leaves the Legerians to deal with the Talons.)
So I was a bit busy. Had meant to put this out earlier, but hopefully you'll still see it.
I need 2 d10 rolls. One for how Sypha takes Ryza's suggestion, and one for how Mantrae's men take it.
The DC will be lower for Sypha, since you're taking her seriously and letting her have a say in her own fate. It'll also be a tad bit lower for the soldiers, with a lesser chance of resulting in an immediate fight and more chance to potentially back off your demand if that's what the group votes for. Or just getting the first hit in.
[X] The way you want to save Lady Sypha is a mystery, so you want to talk to her privately and see if she agrees.
-[X] Bernard can also join if he insists.
-[X] Explain to her the whole situation and the reasons why you do what you do. How this is all probably a conspiracy by the Empire and that you want to prevent an internecine war between her mother and the Archduke - a war that will only bring everyone pain.
-[X] Promise that you will make sure that she will be fine and will not be treated unfairly. Besides, you don't believe that Artemis and her family would do something like that.
-[X] Ask her to choose if she wants to come with us to Agrithe.
-[X] Bernard can probably go with you too? The rest will probably be fine on their own.
-[X] If she refuses, choose another option.
"If women ran the world, we wouldn't have wars, just intense negotiations every twenty-eight days."
-Second Princess Willina Wyrmblood
You frown slightly as you look around the tense group of bickering adults (and Bernard). They're all making good points, you'll admit that, but they seem to spend more time talking over each other than listening to each other.
Belle is leaning back, still tossing her short sword to herself and not saying a word. When she notices you looking at her, she smiles thinly, jerks her head towards the others, and rolls her eyes. You bite back a giggle; it's clear she's not impressed with the arguing either.
Your humor fades, however, as you look over at Sypha. It's clear the girl wants to talk, but every time she starts to open her mouth someone else starts talking a little louder and she shuts it, folding in onto herself a little more. You don't think anyone's really doing it on purpose, they're all just… very opinionated about what should be done.
Worryingly, it seems that the tension is starting to boil over. Robin hasn't touched his weapons yet, but it's clear his hands are staying near his sword. Sir Ector still has that lance of his, and it's emitting the same unnerving sensation of icy winds. Even Bernard's fingers are creeping back towards the hilt of his borrowed blade.
You have to head this off. Fast!
"Alright, let's all take a deep breath," you say loudly, trying to channel Mother's strength and Father's calm at the same time.
Everyone looks at you, confused. "Ryza?" Robin asks.
"This conversation will go nowhere good if we can't keep calm," you say. "So let's all close our eyes, take a few deep breaths, and reset. We'll be far more productive."
Sir Ector narrows his eyes. "We are not children, girl," he says sharply.
You raise an eyebrow. "You have been fingering that spear of yours since we sat down," you say, ignoring the odd choking noise Belle makes. "Robin's more tense than I've ever seen him. The two yeomen I can see are more interested in watching the argument than what or whoever might be coming from outside. Even Bern- I'm sorry, Lord Bernard looks like he's about to hurt himself frowning too hard." You frown. "Young lord? Sorry, I'm not quite sure the right form of address."
The boy looks caught between telling you off and thanking you for trying. Finally, he sighs. "You'd use 'your lord,' or 'Lord Bernard,' since I'm older than you," he says. You force yourself not to tell him that no, no he isn't. You're trying to calm the situation down!
"Alright," you say. "So what I want everyone to do is breath in, like this," you take a deep breath. Everyone stares at you, but you hold the breath until Sypha takes one as well, her eyes shining gratefully at you. Finally, one after another, everyone takes a breath and holds it in. Thankfully, your lungs haven't started burning enough to force you to let yours out, so you're able to save face as you slowly exhale. "And out." Everyone follows directions. The tension is lessened. Mostly from confusion, true, but it's progress. "And in-"
"Is there a point to this?" Bernard asks sharply.
You fix him with a (hopefully) withering gaze. "Calming down, do please keep up Lord Bernard." He puffs up slightly, but Sypha squeezes his shoulder as she takes another breath of her own. Sighing, he follows suit.
"And out," you say after a moment. After repeating this a few times, you look around. Everyone seems calmer, but you can tell your meditation session has just about worn out its welcome. "Okay. So we've all calmed down, now let's remind ourselves of something important. We're not enemies." You ignore the frowns on a few faces. "We're not! We have our disagreements, true, but in the end none of us are bad people. We just… have different wants, and we're trying to figure out how to accommodate as many of those wants as cleanly as possible."
"She makes a good point."
Everyone jerks slightly as Kelton slumps over and drops to the ground next to you. "Kelton?" Claire asks carefully.
The soldier ignores her. "Look, right now we need to get out of this place," he says tiredly. "The best way we're gonna do that is if we work together and don't kill each other, and we're not going to do that if we keep throwing thinly veiled insults and threats at each other. So let's cut the cr… the arguing."
You smile gratefully at him. "So, I was thinking during this argument, and I think everything would go much more smoothly if Lady Sypha and I could talk alone, just us girls."
Instantly, everyone seems to have something to say. "How dare you-" Bernard start sharply.
"Why would we let you just walk off with our Countess's daughter-" Sir Ector growls.
"Are you sure that's wise, Ryza-" Robin tries to caution.
"Gutsy little thing, ain't you?" Belle laughs.
Frustrated, you extend your wings sharply, causing the air to crack with the speed of their unfurling. That shuts everyone up instantly, though you note one of the yeomen's fingers grabbing an arrow. "I meant just over there by that tree," you say, static hissing faintly around you as you feel your ears lengthen. "I'm not going to go running off with her, but it strikes me that she's just about the only one who hasn't gotten more than a word in edgewise! And since we're talking about what she's going to do, she deserves to have a say!"
A long moment of awkward silence fills the forest as you fold your wings and shorten your ears, bringing the hints of draconic heritage under control. Calm, you want people to be calm…
"I think it's a good idea," Sypha says with forced cheerfulness. "Mother did always say that children see the world more clearly than adults, so maybe Ryza and I'll be able to figure something out!" She pats Sir Ector on the arm. "I'll be fine, Sir Ector. Ryza saved me, she's not going to hurt me. I'm sure of that."
Slowly, the cavalier nods. "I… suppose… that is true," he says.
"Of course it is," Sypha said, standing and dusting her dress off. "Alright, Ryza, let's go have a chat."
The two of you walk to a tree few meters away, until you can only faintly hear the murmurs of the group behind you. Sypha quickly shoos away the nearest yeoman, sending him a bit deeper into the forest. "I'm sorry for putting you on the spot like that," you say as the two of you sit down.
She smiles sadly. "Better than not being heard at all, I suppose," she sighs. "I know I should try to be more confident, like Bernard or Mother, but… I'm scared." She looks down as if that's some terrible shame she'd just admitted to. "How do you do it? Not be scared, I mean. I know you're strong and you've got magic and wings and everything, but how do you…"
You gently reach out and offer your hand. A moment later, she takes it and gives you a squeeze. "I… I am scared," you say. "With so many things that can go wrong, how could I not be scared? I just know that I have to be strong, so that I can do the things that Artemis is relying on me to do. So I can make her proud, and Mother proud, and Father proud. I… I don't really know how to explain it, Sypha," you say before flinching. "Can I call you that?"
She nods before pulling you in for a hug. "You saved me, Ryza," she says. "And if everything I think happened while I was… gone, actually happened, then you had very little reason to. I'd be honored to call you my friend." Pulling back, she smiles at you. "Thank you. I'll… I'll try to be brave. So I can make Mama proud of me."
You glance over at the group, taking some pleasure in how both Sir Ector and Bernard are both desperately trying to not look as upset as you're pretty sure they are they are. 'Take that,' you shoot mentally at them. 'Sypha likes me, so there!'
You then remind yourself what you're going to have to say to her. "I'm happy," you say gently. "And… well, I'm going to ask you to remember that you said that, since… well, I'm going to say some things that might make you not like me as much."
The younger girl frowns. "What do you mean?" she asks warily.
Taking a deep breath and choosing your words carefully, you begin speaking. "So you know that these people tried to kidnap Artemis as well, right?" Sypha flinches and nods. "And they took you and Bernard."
"I think they only took Bernard because he was with me," Sypha says. "He was escorting me home. I love Legerius, but it's nice to see other places, and Uncle Rickman does always go on about how important family is." She shivers. "We were just starting to make camp when those Talons were everywhere. They didn't even give anyone a chance to surrender… if their leader hadn't recognized Bernie and thrown her wyvern between him and their mage, they probably would have killed him too."
You slowly nod. "Well, the point is that it's clear someone went to a lot of effort to set this all up," you say. "And Archduke Letoro and Artemis think that the only people who really make sense are the Empire."
Sypha bristles slightly. "Uncle Rickman would never do anything like that!" she says firmly. "And I can't see any of the others I've met doing something like that! They're all so elegant and sophisticated…"
"But are they the only Imperial noble people around?" you ask. When she doesn't immediately answer, you keep going. "We know that someone has to be behind this: from what I've heard mercenaries don't do things for free. And we know that they have to be paid a lot of money, since wyverns are apparently pretty rare. So it makes sense that someone with a lot of money would have to hire them, and the only people who would really benefit from kidnapping Kingdom noble children is the Empire."
Slowly, Sypha slumps back, her eyes wide. "You… you really think so?" she asks. "It could be the Ringali, they don't like Agrithe much…"
You shake your head sadly. "I know you don't want to think bad of your cousin's people," you say. "But… but sometimes even people who you should be able to trust can do bad things." The memory of draconic roars of rage echo through your mind. "My father and mother… they were killed by other manakete… even though the Mother said we should never kill each other. That murder was a sin."
The two of you sit in silence for a moment before Sypha sighs. "I… I guess that makes sense. They were taking me back into the Empire, and I did sometimes overhear them talking about wondering how the northerners were doing…" she shivers. "I just can't believe it… it's been decades since there was any real conflict between the Kingdoms and the Empire! I wasn't even alive when the last border war ended! Emperor Thaddeus has been working so hard to try and stabilize things so that everyone can live in peace! He's even sent envoys to the Divine Realm and the Whitewings, trying to form a permeant peace treaty! Or at least, that's what the rumors are at Mt. Wyrmbone…"
"Maybe some other Imperials don't like that," you offer. "Maybe some of them think that the Empire shouldn't be nice to smaller groups."
"I… guess…" Sypha says. "Some of the people I overheard talking about it didn't sound to happy that the Emperor was talking about peace…" She shivers. "So you think they might have been trying to provoke a war?!"
You nod. "I think so, and I think Artemis and her father think so too," you say. "Which is why I want to do everything I can to stop it. War… war took my parents from me. I don't want anyone else to suffer like that."
Sypha pulls you in for another hug. "I'm sure you will, Ryza," she says. "You've already saved Bernard and I. I didn't hear anything about the Talons going after everyone else, and if you've talked to Archduke Letoro I'm sure he's sending warnings to all the other nobles to keep their guards up!" She leans back, a firm look on her face. "What else needs to be done?"
You hesitate for a moment before steeling yourself. "Archduke Letoro… wants you, to come to Agrithe with me." Sypha flinches, but she takes a deep breath and gestures for you to go on. "Just temporarily! He promised that, after he and your mother got to talk, he'd take you home. He promised me, and I intend to hold him to that promise! Besides, Artemis would never let him do anything bad, and he loves her so much. And Dione, Artemis's mother, she's really kind too. We'll all make sure nothing bad happens and you go home as soon as possible."
Sypha studies you warily. "And you think this will prevent a war?" she says.
"Your mother… she did a really bad thing," you say. "Archduke Letoro said that if I hadn't been able to bring Artemis home, he would have been forced to declare war. I hope that, even if you weren't to come with me, that he still wouldn't do it, since Artemis is still safe, but I don't know." You sigh. "I'm sorry if it sounds like I'm pressuring you, Sypha. I do like you, really I do, but I have to ask… will you come with me? To Agrithe? To make sure nobody has to suffer?"
"… and if I don't?" Sypha asks, a strangely calm tone to her voice. Calmer than you've ever heard her.
You squirm. "… I don't want to do anything to hurt you or make you scared…" you say weakly. You want to tell her that of course you'd never force her to do anything, never transform and carry her off like that wyvern had… but you had promised Archduke Letoro that you'd bring her to him. Maybe you could justify changing your mind, since the situation had gone way off plan, but you'd still feel like you were breaking a promise, and Mother had always said that promises were important; if other manakete couldn't take you at your word, then what good was your word? You don't know what you'd do yet, everything's going so fast…
Sypha studies you for several long seconds. Finally, however, she gives a small smile and puts her hands on your shoulders. "I trust you, Ryza," she says. "And Artemis is really smart, same with Archduke Letoro. If they think it's for the best… then maybe it is." She frowns as she glances over at the others. "Now to convince Bernie and Sir Ector to agree… they're not going to like this…"
You shiver. "How much are they not going to like it?" you ask warily.
"Really, really not like it." She takes a breath. "But they're not stupid. If they know just how dangerous things are, just how important it is that the alliance between Legerius and Agrithe remains solid, then maybe, just maybe…" She gives a firm nod. "Make your case, Ryza. I'll back you all the way. At least I can make sure they don't do anything rash."
"Thank you, Sypha," you say, standing and offering her your hand. She smiles, takes it daintily, and allows you to help her to her feet. "Let's make peace."
"Let's make peace," she repeats.
The two of you walk back over to the group. You're slightly surprised to see Sypha follow you over to Robin, wedging herself between you and an even more surprised looking Kelton. "So, we had a talk," you say. "And we agree what should happen next. Are you ready to hear about it?"
"Do we want to?" Bernard asks icily.
"Probably not," Sypha says firmly. "But you will hear my friend out." For a moment, you're sitting across from Countess Mantrae again. That same sense of steady calm exudes from the younger girl, and you feel yourself hoping that you might pull this off.
Sir Ector clearly notices the change as well, his eyes widening. "Young lady?" he asks.
"Ryza has a solution, and I trust her," Sypha says. "You will hear her out, and then once we have heard her we will discuss this in a calm, reasonable fashion. Is that understood?"
Slowly, the cavalier inclines his head to Sypha. "It is, young lady." Claire bows along with him, as does Kelton, surprisingly.
Bernard looks like he's wrestling between annoyance and pride, but he nods as well. "Very well, Sypha," he says. "I'll hear what this 'manakete' has to say."
Sypha smiles at both of them. "Thank you," she says, nodding to each in turn. "Ryza, if you please?"
Slowly, then with growing confidence as nobody interrupts you, you tell the group what you'd told Sypha. You explain the Archduke's chain of logic, how he asked you to help prevent a war by bringing Sypha to Agrithe. How he promised that she would go home as soon as possible, but that he needed to do something. How you would ensure that happened, just as you'd ensured Artemis went home from Legerius.
Finally, once you're done, Sypha speaks up again. "I have complete faith in Ryza. Also, it is clear that something has gone terribly wrong with the vital alliance between Legerius and Agrithe. It is clear to me that someone needs to go to Agrithe and ensure that any… hard feelings, are smoothed over. And since he has so kindly invited me to be his guest, it seems only logical that that person should be me."
A tense silence falls over the forest before Belle starts slowly clapping. "Damn, I wish I'd been half as eloquent as you two when I was your age, young ladies," she said. "Guess expensive educations are good for something after all." The Legerians all glare at her, causing her to grin cheekily. "Ah ah ah! Full pardon, remember?"
"We could still arrest you for that display of contempt of the sovereign, thief," Sir Ector says, but there's no heat to his words. Instead, he's turning back to stare at you. Swallowing, you meet his gaze as firmly as you can.
Finally, he speaks up, his eyes not leaving you. "Lady Sypha, we allowed Lady Ryza to speak privately with you," he says. "By your leave, I believe young lord Rickman, Guardswoman Claire and myself should also convers privately."
Sypha nods. "If you think it best, Sir Ector," she says.
Bowing, the cavalier stands, followed by Bernard and Claire. The three of them shuffle off to the tree you and Sypha had been sitting at, put their heads together, and start whispering furiously to each other.
Slowly, Sypha lets out a breath. "I can't believe that worked…" she says, hugging herself as the calm surety flows out of her voice.
"We're not out of it yet, young lady," Robin says, his eyes fixed on the trio. "But… it's possible now, which is better than I thought things were a moment ago." He spares you a glance, and you flush as he smiles and reaches out to rub your head. "You did well, Ryza. You did very well. Lady Artemis would be very proud of you." You lean into his stroking, smiling happily.
Kelton grins. "Hey, I thought I was your favorite guy," he said. "Replacing me so quickly?"
Blinking, you scoot over and hug him. "Nope. There's enough of my heart to have lots of friends," you say. "And I am so, so glad you're okay. How are Lancel and Axton and Actaeon?"
The soldier sighs. "Good thing you didn't ask me that an hour ago, or I'd say they were dead," he says. "Claire… told me they'd been killed, by some sort of monster that had burst into the castle and kidnaped Lady Artemis, when she asked me to help her get Lady Artemis back." His face twists in anger and pain for a moment before he swallows. "She… corrected, herself, to say that they're both alive and unharmed."
You let out a sigh of relief, they're okay! "Thank you, Kelton," you say. "Thank you for coming. I'm glad to see you again."
He smiles wryly. "I'm glad to see you too, kid. Glad to see you and your crazy wings and lightning too." You puff your cheeks up as Sypha giggles. "So, manakete, huh? That's a new word."
"Yeah," you say. "I learned my lesson from Artemis: it's best not to assume people know everything about me."
Sypha looks like she's about to ask you some a question of some sort, but a moment later the trio breaks up and makes their way over. None of them look happy, but they don't seem hostile. 'Is it possible?' you ask yourself hopefully as they settle down.
Sir Ector takes a deep breath before speaking. "I will state the obvious, I would very much prefer that Lady Sypha go straight home," he says stiffly. "However, in light of her determined defense of your character, young lady Ryza, and the… seriousness, of the situation, I am willing to concede that it might be for the best of all the Kingdoms if Lady Sypha… smooth out any hard feelings between Legerius and Agrithe." He holds up a pair of fingers. "On two conditions."
"First," Bernard says, his voice equally stiff. "young lady Ryza, you call yourself a manakete, yes? I have never heard of such a thing, but I assume you have some sort of divinity? Something you can swear an oath before that would bind you? I would ask that you swear such an oath, to defend my cousin from any enemy, and that should Archduke Letoro try to hold her longer than needed, you will return her to Legerius, on your own if need be. Swear in such a way that you cannot break your promise."
"Second," Sir Ector continued. "We wish for one of us to accompany you and Lady Sypha to Agrithe." He held up a hand. "We will not attempt any sort of deception, that we promise, however we have to ensure that… decorum, is observed. That Lady Sypha be given all the status of guest she deserves."
You frown: you don't think you'd be able to carry three people half-shifted. Not for any length of time. If you agreed to this, you'd have to leave Robin behind. The man obviously senses your conflict as he gives you a reassuring nod. He doesn't speak, seemingly content to let you make your own decision.
It's so nice, to be trusted!
Sypha, however, starts to open her mouth. "Bernie-"
He raises a hand. "Don't worry, Sypha," he says. "I would swear on the Emblem itself that I went to Agrithe completely of my own free will, that there was no coercion and that no retribution was needed." He meets your eyes coldly. "If you agree to these conditions, Lady Ryza, then we will allow you to take Lady Sypha to Agrithe."
The girl herself frowns. "I allowed it," she said, folding her arms huffily.
Claire gives a small, fond smile. "My lady, we both know that your mother would back us in an instant if we ignored that order," she says gently. "I can only pray that she is as merciful with us returning empty-handed."
As Sypha tries to reassure her friends, your thoughts race. It's… possible, that you could get away with only doing one of the things they ask, but it would be a long shot. Refusing both would almost certainly see them rescinding their permission.
If that happened… diplomacy will have run its course. You will either have to back down and accept that you can't complete Archduke Letoro's wish… or you'll have to use force.
[] Your Oath:
-[] Swear in the Mother's name. This is a meaningful oath, but you're not the most devout of manakete. They might realize that this isn't quite as ironclad as they probably want.
-[] Swear a Stone Oath. Go all out and swear the most meaningful promise a manakete can make. This was the promise that Father and Mother made when they married, the sort of oath that never gets broken.
-[] Swear no oath. You will not bind yourself to these people. They will have to trust you for you, not because of any fancy words.
[] Sypha's Escort:
-[] Invite Bernard along. He's Sypha's cousin, so she'd surely want him to be safe too. He also is still injured, so it'd be best to get him out of harm's way as soon as possible. He is a bit of a twit, though…
-[] Invite Sir Ector along. He's clearly making a big sacrifice, letting Sypha go anywhere other than Legerius. Memoires of Phoebe's desperate wish to do something to help makes you willing to put up with his lance to make things go more smoothly.
-[] Invite Claire along. Sypha clearly likes her, and she sounds kind of nice. She and Kelton also seemed to have something going, so maybe you two can bond over liking him!
-[] You're not leaving Robin behind! You brought him to this place, you're bringing him home again! This won't go over well, but you can't just abandon him!
[] You did everything you could, but the conditions are too much.
-[] You pray you can end this with minimal blood... Your heart is filled with Determination
-[] Back down; you don't want anyone to get hurt. Hopefully Archduke Letoro won't be too upset…
EDIT: Just to make it easier for me to figure out who's voting for what, I'm going to ask that you only vote for either agreement or disagreement, not both.
[X] Your Oath:
-[X] Swear a Stone Oath. Go all out and swear the most meaningful promise a manakete can make. This was the promise that Father and Mother made when they married, the sort of oath that never gets broken.
[X] Sypha's Escort:
-[X] Only swear after Mantrae's people say they'll make sure Robin gets home safely.
-[X] Invite Claire along. Sypha clearly likes her, and she sounds kind of nice. She and Kelton also seemed to have something going, so maybe you two can bond over liking him!
[X] You pray you can end this with minimal blood... Your heart is filled with Determination
Huzzah! Diplomacy wins again! Since Ryza doesn't seem to understand that the Stone Oath is likely a Marriage Oath, I think it's best to go with it regardless. That or Manaketes have a binding oath used for multiple purposes, including marriage. One of the two.
[X] Your Oath:
-[X] Swear a Stone Oath. Go all out and swear the most meaningful promise a manakete can make. This was the promise that Father and Mother made when they married, the sort of oath that never gets broken.
-[x] Invite Bernard along. He's Sypha's cousin, so she'd surely want him to be safe too. He also is still injured, so it'd be best to get him out of harm's way as soon as possible. He is a bit of a twit, though…
Now, given that Bernard just mentioned an Emblem I have a pretty good guess of how the Manakete Genocide happened. I have a sneaking suspicion that we're in a Madness Won scenario, where the "Dark Dragon" won the internal war against the manaketes, then the last survivors of the Dragonstone faction created the Emblem and likely a Falchion equivalent or two or several to provide the humans with a way to take revenge by proxy/defend themselves. Specifically, I'm talking about the Fire Emblem. I'm fairly sure I know the largest inspiration for this quest now too (Shadowdragon) which is giving me... many thoughts. Regardless, I'm glad to see the diplomacy option won, because it does mean good things for our future options: aka, recruiting.
As for why I wanna bring Bernard along, well, mostly, it's because he's injured and because he's the most useful political hostage if we get to that point. Also, he seems to be a genuinely good person who could change his tune if exposed to non-propaganda sources. Playing the long game here, though it's also likely what Ryza would do In Character.
[X] You did everything you could, but the conditions are too much.
-[X] You pray you can end this with minimal blood... Your heart is filled with Determination
[X] Your Oath:
-[X] Swear in the Mother's name. This is a meaningful oath, but you're not the most devout of manakete. They might realize that this isn't quite as ironclad as they probably want.
[X] Sypha's Escort:
-[X] Invite Bernard along. He's Sypha's cousin, so she'd surely want him to be safe too. He also is still injured, so it'd be best to get him out of harm's way as soon as possible. He is a bit of a twit, though…
Robin can reasonably be trusted to get himself back home. (Worth confirming with him that he's okay going the 'slow' way though.) Bernard's hurt and the rest of them have a fighting chance if they don't have to protect anybody and can either fight or run as needed.
"This conversation will go nowhere good if we can't keep calm," you say. "So let's all close our eyes, take a few deep breaths, and reset. We'll be far more productive."
Sir Ector narrows his eyes. "We are not children, girl," he says sharply.
"We're not enemies." You ignore the frowns on a few faces. "We're not! We have our disagreements, true, but in the end none of us are bad people. We're just have different wants..."
I do not look forward to the day that Ryza learns that that's enough to make you the enemy of some people.
A tense silence falls over the forest before Belle starts slowly clapping. "Damn, I wish I'd been half as eloquent as you two when I was your age, young ladies," she said. "Guess expensive educations are good for something after all." The Legerians all glare at her, causing her to grin cheekily.
I dunno what you guys think, but Belle is one of the few adults present whose opinion I think Ryza should care about, so this is a good sign.
"First," Bernard says, his voice equally stiff. "young lady Ryza, you call yourself a manakete, yes? I have never heard of such a thing, but I assume you have some sort of divinity? Something you can swear an oath before that would bind you?"
Little does Bernard realize that swearing an oath on her pinky would be enough to guarantee Ryza's honesty.
[] Your Oath:
-[] Swear in the Mother's name. This is a meaningful oath, but you're not the most devout of manakete. They might realize that this isn't quite as ironclad as they probably want.
-[] Swear a Stone Oath. Go all out and swear the most meaningful promise a manakete can make. This was the promise that Father and Mother made when they married, the sort of oath that never gets broken.
-[] Swear no oath. You will not bind yourself to these people. They will have to trust you for you, not because of any fancy words.
Okay, the thing is...Mantrae's men might intuit that swearing in the Mother's name isn't as ironclad as they want, but they also don't know enough about manakete to understand why a Stone Oath is meaningful.
[] Sypha's Escort:
-[] Invite Bernard along. He's Sypha's cousin, so she'd surely want him to be safe too. He also is still injured, so it'd be best to get him out of harm's way as soon as possible. He is a bit of a twit, though…
-[] Invite Sir Ector along. He's clearly making a big sacrifice, letting Sypha go anywhere other than Legerius. Memoires of Phoebe's desperate wish to do something to help makes you willing to put up with his lance to make things go more smoothly.
-[] Invite Claire along. Sypha clearly likes her, and she sounds kind of nice. She and Kelton also seemed to have something going, so maybe you two can bond over liking him!
-[] You're not leaving Robin behind! You brought him to this place, you're bringing him home again! This won't go over well, but you can't just abandon him!
Sypha seems to trust Bernard better, and Bernard definitely trusts Ryza better.
The problem being, of course, that we don't want to leave Robin behind with nothing. But a simple write-in should help there.
[X] Your Oath:
-[X] Swear in the Mother's name. This is a meaningful oath, but you're not the most devout of manakete. They might realize that this isn't quite as ironclad as they probably want.
[X] Sypha's Escort:
-[X] Only swear after Mantrae's people say they'll make sure Robin gets home safely.
-[X] Invite Bernard along. He's Sypha's cousin, so she'd surely want him to be safe too. He also is still injured, so it'd be best to get him out of harm's way as soon as possible. He is a bit of a twit, though…
It's actually not, it's just super serious. Not quite to the level of an Unbreakable Vow from Harry Potter, but it binds both heart and dragon, and if you break it no manakete will ever trust you again.
[X] Your Oath:
-[X] Swear in the Mother's name. This is a meaningful oath, but you're not the most devout of manakete. They might realize that this isn't quite as ironclad as they probably want.
[X] Sypha's Escort:
-[X] Invite Bernard along. He's Sypha's cousin, so she'd surely want him to be safe too. He also is still injured, so it'd be best to get him out of harm's way as soon as possible. He is a bit of a twit, though…
[X] Your Oath:
-[X] Swear a Stone Oath. Go all out and swear the most meaningful promise a manakete can make. This was the promise that Father and Mother made when they married, the sort of oath that never gets broken.
[X] Sypha's Escort:
-[X] Invite Bernard along. He's Sypha's cousin, so she'd surely want him to be safe too. He also is still injured, so it'd be best to get him out of harm's way as soon as possible. He is a bit of a twit, though…
This guy is meeting us halfway despite his feelings on the matter. I want to return the trust he's giving us.
Swapped to Bernard. Leave the guy with wyvern lance with the slower group. Doubly so with not leaving them with an injured member.
It's actually not, it's just super serious. Not quite to the level of an Unbreakable Vow from Harry Potter, but it binds both heart and dragon, and if you break it no manakete will ever trust you again.
Oooh! Thank you for more cultural hints I can do something with! BtW, I really really should gush about how much I love what you've done with Manaketes, but I can never find the time...
Ah well, I'll find a moment eventually
Edit: SoaringHawk left an insightful on my analysis. Fuck, now I'm going to go insane trying to figure out what I have right and wrong there XD
I mean, I don't think this should be necessary and it would be kinda petty to ask of it and assuming they're going to be kinda petty about not having Sypha themselves, but I'm not opposed to the notion either.
[X] Your Oath:
-[X] Swear in the Mother's name. This is a meaningful oath, but you're not the most devout of manakete. They might realize that this isn't quite as ironclad as they probably want.
While I sincerely doubt we'll be breaking this oath regardless, I feel like it's better not to take any chances here.
[X] Sypha's Escort:
-[X] Invite Claire along. Sypha clearly likes her, and she sounds kind of nice. She and Kelton also seemed to have something going, so maybe you two can bond over liking him!
Picking Claire because Ector needs to stay with the rest in case the Wyvern catches up and, even if he swears he came willingly, I feel like taking Bernard would cause more complications down the road.
.
