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 Post subject: [Lore] Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: December 30th, 2015, 8:21 pm 
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King

Joined: May 30th, 2015, 10:17 am
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Location: Stirling - Scotland
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Year 466
Dawnstar, Castle Frostfall.



A pall of cloying, pervasive mist hung over the frost covered stones in a remote location in Dawnstar. The Grand Duchy was still young in its independence, not yet grown to prominence like its neighbours. Freezing fog clung to the half finished walls of a tangled web of scaffolds and masonry. There would be no further work today, the winters were harsh in these untamed expanses.

The Duchess sat in her private study; one of the castle’s few completed rooms. She placed the document she had been working on carefully on the top of one of the finely balanced stack of scrolls, delicately piled on the edge of her desk, then conscientiously placed the lid on her inkwell. She had been informed that her guest had arrived, further work would have to wait. Taking care to not cause anything from the carefully laid piles to spill, she rose from her chair and glided across the room to a beautiful dark oak side table, her footsteps making no noise on the carpet draped flagstones beneath. A tray had been prepared on her orders, with two silver goblets and a priceless Perthian wine jug from Strathceard’s cellars. Staring thoughtfully at the tray, the Duchess ceremoniously drew her a small wooden box from the folds of her dress and placed its content next to the goblets.


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The housecarl knocked on the door briefly before announcing the arrival of the guest. Lady Samaia turned, smoothed her robes down and ordered her guest be led in. Miss Liserett’s confident stride caused a stiff draft, and a number of papers from the precariously arranged desk fell to the floor. Samaia grimaced. She knew the layout and order of her desk and if pieces were disturbed, it would cause the whole system to come apart and cease to make sense. Seeing her writings spiral onto the floor, she suppressed a visible show of irritation and walked around the desk, but before she retrieved them herself, Liserett swooped down to help. “Oh dear, my sincerest apologies, please, allow me, Duchess”, she exclaimed cheerfully. Samaia stepped over briskly and being careful not to appear alerted or worried, picked up the rest before Miss O’Kleefe managed to help any further. Noticing her guest subtly glancing at the papers’ contents, Samaia gently plucked the remaining correspondence from her guests hands.

“Thank you, Miss O’Kleefe”, Samaia said perhaps a little more tersely than she’d intended, gesturing towards a simple wrought iron chair in a sitting area near a tall blue tinted window. Liserett perched on the seat and eased back into an elegant position, her hands clasped over her knee in the model of Hermertian High Court etiquette. Samaia returned her guest’s smile as she placed her dropped letters back where they belonged, then took a seat across Liserett’s chair, on a refined cushioned armchair.

“Duchess, I must remember next time I visit, to bring you some Cesterian glass paper weights, a local artisan crafts some gorgeous pieces for me which I use in my own study, they are a life-saver with the desert wind storms. I’m sure they would look right at home in your delightful decor.” The foreign mayor gave a warm smile, her piercing green eyes staring attentively.

Breathing deeply, Samaia forced a smile on her own face. The young woman had, after all, a point. As for herself, she had duties, as well as an objective. “Thank you Miss Liserett, these paper weights sound very practical, what a lovely idea. Welcome to Dawnstar, I trust that your journey was uneventful?”

“Indeed Duchess, the Nether is still free of the endermen plague and so the lines remain safe. I pray this doesn’t change.”

As the conversation flowed from the topics of Chester-le-Ford, the new Embassy of Dawnstar in Port Gallen and the rising Endermen threat, Samaia’s arm twinged, an old wound resonating in pain with her thoughts. Occasionally, the half Aethen, half human Duchess let a moment of discomfort flicker across her face. Bringing peace between the tribes of native Snow Elves and the Human settlers had been difficult, but it had been ultimately possible. The physical consequences were worth the pain, and she would not let any events disrupt her own goals within the Empire. After a lifetime of hard work, it was out of the question that a young serf would upend everything she had fought for. Since the young woman had taken charge of the Wysterian town, she had caused many ripples disturbing the peace in Hermertia. Samaia would not let her late mother’s work be stopped at any cost.

It had been four years now. Four years since Scrios III had been killed. Her features hardened as she tried to focus on the conversation. She mentally berated herself. It was easy to feel angry, but anger was not the answer. Anger didn’t lead to peace. Besides, she didn’t have enough pieces of the puzzle to justify anger. She glanced at the wine tray. It was time to shed some light on one of the pieces.

“Liserett dear, you must be thirsty with all this talking. I for one would tremendously enjoy a cup of wine.” She rose to her feet and once again approached the prepared tray. Apprehension filled her, yet brushed it away as she scooped the tray and brought it to a low table between their seats.

A heavy silence, only momentarily broken as Samaia filled both goblets, filled the room as Liserett considered the tray. A fine silver tray, an expensive looking jug, two silver goblets, and a small empty vial.

For a moment, the Duchess and her guest stared intently at each other, both seemingly trying to decipher the other's expression. Samaia; a renowned diplomat and expert judge of characters, could easily tell that Liserett was a capable actress, and so she was prepared to receive anything the serf said with a pinch of salt, no matter how genuine she seemed.

Liserett picked up the empty vial from the tray and examined it attentively. After a short yet tense moment, she placed it back onto the tray, scooped the goblet, mimicked a toast and drank deeply.

“Delicious vintage, Duchess. Perthian if I am not mistaken, May I enquire as to the nature of this vial?”

Samaia, still studying Liserett, chose to deflect the question. “You drank from your cup with no hesitation, Miss O’Kleefe. Interesting. Why do you think the vial is there?”

Her guest let out a sigh, then took a deep breath. “This seems to be a test. Your hospitality felt like a test since I arrived as a matter of fact, so I am not surprised. I am curious though, about the purpose of this test. My first impression is that this is a trust test, is my wine poisoned or is it not? Trust is earned, not given, so I inspected the vial before drinking. No powder or liquid residue visible, but there seems to be a streak of something dried up. The vial is not clean, but whatever it contained was not used today. Besides, poisoning your guests doesn't strike me as something you would do anyway; you are as straight as an arrow. So then what is the actual test? I assume that this vial was meant to make me react in some way. Why would I react to it? I can only deduce that it was found somewhere on the day Scrios died. I suspected Freyr was right in that my fiance’s death was a murder; the timing of this incident was rather… convenient for some, although I would say if the wine he drank was in fact poisoned, then I would speculate that I was the intended recipient since he was not supposed to be in my room before the ceremony. Now, if I am right in those assumptions, there is something that boggles my mind, Duchess. Why would you omit this evidence from the court, while you were under oath, no less? And why bring it up now, years after the events?”

Samaia leaned back in her seat leaving her own cup untouched. Her guest had revealed a lot of information there, how much of it was true? The desert snake was hard to read, yet she could see turmoil under her poise. “Miss Liserett, please do not take me for a fool, you know where this vial was found.”

This time, Liserett appeared puzzled. Her eyebrows rose slightly, her eyes widened for a moment, then she frowned. Anger being a pure and strong emotion, it was always the easiest of emotions to read on faces. The signs of anger were practically universal, across cultures, races, even species. There was no mistake. Her guest was very angry, there was little room left for other emotions. She watched Liserett’s regain her composure, yet her voice was icy, even by this wintery region’s standards, as she enquired. “And where was this?”

“The vial was found in your luggage Miss O’Kleefe.” Liserett’s features betrayed nothing this time. She did not reply, she simply waited for her hostess to elaborate. The Duchess sighed wearily. Although part of her was still outraged, hungry for an answer and asking for revenge over the loss of her former King, she was not one for intrigue, witch hunts, plotting and other such machinations. Revenge would not help the Empire. “You say nothing, don’t you wish to defend your integrity?”

Liserett refilled her own goblet before answering. “Duchess, there is nothing I can say to make this vial disappear and claiming my innocence would only further increase what suspicion you might have. I said what I had to say at the trial. Speaking of which, I ask you once again, why did you omit mentioning the vial in your testimony?”

“Spirits were heated, both sides had partisans that wouldn’t listen to reason, I believed the vial would only bring further confusion to the situation. I didn’t know, then, that you were the instigator of Scrios III’s death, and I still don’t today. But I also don’t know for sure that you are innocent. What I do know is that you are power hungry and that since you took over as mayor, you keep disturbing the peace and quiet in this Empire, over and over. You may like the attention Miss, but these are uneasy times and peace must be preserved, I will therefore be grateful for you to refrain from bringing further chaos to Hermertia.” Seeing Liserett square her jaw and narrow her eyes, the Duchess added: “These are not threats Liserett. I speak to you as an old ally of your House and as a loyal Hermertian. This is what must happen. I cannot maintain peace all on my own, although some days I feel like I do. Will you see reason and collaborate?”

To her annoyance, her guest then picked up the vial and rolled it between her fingers, once again taking her time to answer the question. “So this is it? This is the extent of your inquiry; you reveal this vial and you so quickly dismiss it? You speak of preserving peace, Duchess, as if it is what we have now. I do not have peace. I had an attempt on my life the night of my wedding, and the result was the death of my fiancé. I received dozens of letters these past four years, threatening children’s lives as well as my own. Last year, my guards intercepted a Perthian who came all the way to Chester-le-Ford and attempted to enter the Villa, a poisoned dagger at his belt. I hardly call this peace. I too would love peace; the Cestrian economy would hardly benefit from conflict. As ambitious as I might be, I am not the source of your concerns Duchess, although I suspect you know fully well who is.”

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: December 30th, 2015, 8:27 pm 
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Duke

Joined: May 30th, 2015, 8:19 pm
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Location: Waterloo, ON, Canada
*gasps*

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: December 30th, 2015, 9:36 pm 
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Duke

Joined: May 30th, 2015, 6:01 pm
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Location: Michigan, USA
:O

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: January 1st, 2016, 11:29 pm 
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Joined: May 30th, 2015, 7:09 pm
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Should we maybe add something like, you have to have as many beds in reasonable places as villager eggs you get

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: January 1st, 2016, 11:58 pm 
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Wrong thread Iggy

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: January 2nd, 2016, 2:19 am 
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Joined: May 30th, 2015, 7:09 pm
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Well. Too late now. I'm not fixing it

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: January 2nd, 2016, 3:30 am 
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Joined: May 30th, 2015, 6:33 pm
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Please keep threads on topic

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: January 2nd, 2016, 9:11 pm 
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Joined: May 31st, 2015, 3:32 am
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A very interesting account of events. I am very curious to see how this all unfolds... the mystery still remains unsolved but I am still not dismissing my suspicions of Liserett!

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 Post subject: Re: Foreign Diplomacy
PostPosted: January 2nd, 2016, 9:33 pm 
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I am not dismissing my suspicions that you have suspicions of liserett

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