Of Diligent Servants
Eighteenth Day of the Fifth Month 293 AC
You find Monford Velaryon working his way steadily through a bottle of Arbor Gold to the tune of music drifting through the keep window from the city bellow. While not many in Sorcerer's Deep outside the Scholarum have a firm notion of what their are celebrating that has not stopped them from taking to the taverns and the streets following the signing of the accord. It is clear, however, that the Lord of the Tides is considerably less cheerful in his drinking though he tries to put on a cheerful front.
"Congratulations, Your Grace. All honor to the alliance..." The lord rises unsteadily to his feet.
"Wine can make some discussions flow easier and others more troublesome," you say tone carefully neutral as you catch him instinctively. "Perhaps tis best to do away with it for the moment."
"Of course, I..." As the lord reaches for the bottle confused you clear the fog from his mind with a spell.
The silence stretches awkwardly before Monford finally speaks up again, to apologize for his state, regaining some of his usual poise in the process.
"Be at ease, my lord," you reassure him. "Drinking to dull the edge of the revelation is more than understandable."
"Worse than my
daughter took it," the lord replies shaking his head in equal parts bitterness and bemusement. "There is so much to learn, so much I should know already lest I stumble around this new world like a blind man through a snake pit."
"It pays to remember that it's not
just a snake pit, but an opportunity," you remind him quietly. "The promise of a better world for all, bringing together the sorcery of the Freehold with wisdom and compassion our ancestors were sadly lacking. Arcane lighting to turn night to day, houses of stone where before they would have been wrought of wood or wattle, safer sea journeys..."
As you had hoped, the latter promise sparks deep interest in his eyes. Not for nothing is House Velaryon known for its seamanship. Thus you explain your agreement with the tritons, their laws, customs, and wants as much as skills. The conversation puts him on firmer footing, dealing as it does with a strangeness whose scale he can relate to and even profit from.
Even the news that the maesters might be treacherous and the Citadel is not to be trusted to remain neutral in the current struggle for Westeros is not enough to unbalance him. Suspicion and the games of intrigue come easily to one practically raised in court. He vows to keep a watchful eye on his own maester and try to ascertain his loyalty long before the planned invasion of the Seven Kingdoms, tentatively set for some time late in the year. To judge from the relieved smile with which he greets that news you suspect it might have been even more effective to simply lead with that.
Regardless, you leave Lord Velaryon in much better spirits than you found him to find Lord Brune less in need of comfort and more of restraint. The old man is understandably ill-at-ease at keeping a traitor and poisoner under his roof. Thankfully, the promise to help him deal not only with that but the expedition to the Whispers is enough to see him content, if far from happy with the arrangement.
By contrast the Sealord takes your vague announcement of redrawing maps with a wry smile, even allowing himself a jest about 'awaiting it with bated breath,' while Zherys recounts that the situation in Volantis is stable as can be hoped, with no bloodshed since the day known as the "Elephant's Wake".
***
Nineteenth Day of the Fifth Month 293 AC
As you work with Lya through the arcane intricacies of skimming the realm of spirits without even stepping into it she recounts her own successes, in some ways no less momentous than those of war and diplomacy. "I've figured out a simpler way to craft assistants like Spark and Ember, though at a price not only paid in gold," she explains. "Not only does the process cost about twice as much in reagents, but the creator must sacrifice a significant portion of their own vitality to the working."
Dedicated Wright Research Complete. Wrights can now be crafted without the Craft Construct feat at twice the material cost and requiring the sacrifice of 2 Constitution from the caster.
What do you do next?
[] Move on to Sins of the Past (Wildfire Removal)
-[] Write in
[] Write in
OOC: Not a very exciting chapter, but containing a lot of stuff that needed to be addressed.
] Distract King's Landing by unleashing The Roaming Chaos with the mission to steal all the booze.