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Post by Father on Feb 23, 2022 16:37:40 GMT 1
"I don't want to die" Wenda offers meekly. "What must I do?"
Her response does not inspire any confidence in her ability to see it through, but perhaps the girl has hidden strengths she might yet summon forth?
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Post by Laena Pyre on Feb 23, 2022 20:47:43 GMT 1
Laena has misgivings, but people have surprised her before. "For right now... accept death." She changes what she was about to say from 'nothing' right at the last moment, and holds up a forestalling hand. "That sounds counter-intuitive, but bear with me.
"What you fear holds power over you.
"Understand this: if you go to the headsman fearing Death, the Stranger will wrap his fingers around your throat and choke your ability to speak from you. And you will die.
"Only by accepting death will your fear not choke you.
"Only by accepting death will you have a chance at life.
"I acknowledge that is not easily done, but let me tell you a couple of things. Firstly, you will die like a noble. One moment you will be resting your head on the block, the next moment, the Stranger will be escorting you to the Court of the Father, where you will be welcome. And you will likely be completely unaware of how you shifted from one moment to the next. You may miss your family, but on the scale of infinity, you will see them all soon enough.
"Once you accept that Death is not an ending, merely a transition to a better, more just world, then it loses its power over you." Laena speaks with the calm, quiet confidence of a true believer.
"The second thing I want to tell you is something I learned when I was a child. Listen carefully, as this is important." She looks down and pauses a moment, gathering her thoughts. "We naturally give others power over us. When someone praises us, it typically makes us happy; when someone criticises us, it typically makes us sad; to name just two examples. Similarly, especially as women, our bodies are under the power of others - our father, our husband, whomever.
"What people have power over, they can control. And what they control, they can destroy. Your body, your mind, your soul. They can destroy you, every single inch of you.
"Bar one." She says that with a definite quiet intensity.
"Call it 'the last inch', your 'core', or whatever you want. But there is a part of you that *no-one* can take from you. It can only be given away. Find that core within yourself. The part of you that no-one else can touch without your consent. Find it, and hold it tight. Never let go. Horror, hardship, pain - they can all erode you. Let them. Just keep your core safe. It doesn't matter if every other part of what makes 'you' is broken or gone, you can rebuild yourself from the core.
"I promise."
She gives an apologetic smile. "It's a lot to take in and understand, I know, especially in such a short time. But if you can understand that, truly understand that, then you will understand just how utterly powerless others truly are over you, and how little fear they truly deserve."
She gives a wryly amused look at Wenda's expression, before moving her hand to pat her shoulder comfortingly. "Just think on it. Pray. I'll go and speak with Lord Appleton, see if he's willing to go along with my idea. If he is, when I return, I'll let you know the details.
"And, hey," She moves her hand to cup the other woman's chin, moving her face so their eyes are locked together. "I believe in you, else I wouldn't be here." She lies, with seemingly complete conviction.
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Post by Father on Feb 24, 2022 23:30:25 GMT 1
Wenda listens intently, though it is dubious if she actually is any better equipped to do what she must after the speech, but she reaffirms her intent to do so, a little more forcefully this time.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Feb 25, 2022 1:05:43 GMT 1
Giving Wenda's shoulder one last reassuring squeeze, she smiles, then leaves, heading towards the Appleton keep, to try and meet with Lord Appleton. After an unexpected (albeit useful) distraction, she discreetly makes her way to the Appleton keep again, more successfully this time, and attempts to gain a quiet audience with Lord Appleton. While recognising that he was likely not in the mood for guests, she did reveal (to the bare minimum of people) that her intention was, if possible, to try and help him. She just had to hope that would be enough. Appleton - Appleton Audience: 7d6k5+7 27 ...Yeah, that should hopefully be enough.
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Post by Father on Feb 26, 2022 15:30:31 GMT 1
"My Lady, if I knew I would have the pleasure of company, I would have sent for a better bottle" Lord Appleton greets her, weary and bitter, but does a fair job at suppressing it, he does not seem drunk, not yet.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Feb 26, 2022 20:18:06 GMT 1
"Lord Appleton." She greets him with a respectful curtsey. "Do not fret over the quality of your wine. You have far greater matters weighing you down already, and I do not seek to add to your burdens." (Assuming one is offered, Laena will take a seat.) "Indeed, that is the sole reason I sought this audience tonight. A tragic affair, which all could see wounded your noble soul, and will weigh on your conscience, for all that you had no real choice."
She leans forward slightly. "But what if I were to tell you, that that was *potentially* not entirely true? That there was, depending on if the lady in question can fulfill her part well enough, a way to provide you enough political cover to send her to the Faith, rather than the Father?" She pulls a slightly embarassed expression. "It would, however, involve deception. A sin, for sure, but to my eyes, a lesser one by far."
She leans back up and spreads her hands. "To be clear, I am not here as an advocate, merely as.. as a friend. One's heart would have to be made of stone to not feel sympathy for you and the maiden both. So, I am here with a plan which *may* work to spare you both much pain." She holds up her hands. "If you do not wish to be part of a public deception, even to spare Lady Wenda's life, I understand. All that you have done, you had no real choice in. To *choose* to commit a lesser sin is different from being *forced* into a greater sin, no matter how noble the goal. Say the word, and I will leave you in peace, and we can forget this talk ever happened." She looks at him sympathetically. Her last words clearly providing his conscience cover to reject her idea, rather than trying to guilt him into it. Hopefully supporting her goal of looking like a friend, rather than someone with an agenda.
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Post by Father on Feb 27, 2022 0:24:42 GMT 1
"It would have to be a very convincing plea of mercy to move the crowds enough for Lord Walgrave to concede that the expectations of Old Oak loses it's precedence" He studies his wineglass intently, waving for a page to offer Laena a glass if she wants.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Feb 27, 2022 16:15:36 GMT 1
Accepting a glass gratefully, Laena nods agreement. "Absolutely. Particularly as she is half-Dornish. I can indeed not think of a way to make Lady Wenda alone sympathetic enough to sway the crowds." Clasping the glass between her hands, she leans forward again, and speaks softly. "But what if... she were *not* alone? What if you could not execute the lady without *also* killing a true innocent? One firmly under the watchful eye of the Mother." She gently pats her stomach to make sure her meaning is clear. "I have spoken to the lady in vague terms - not wishing to get her hopes up - and she has expressed a clear preference for dishonour over death.
"From a practical perspective, it would require you to have access to a maester, and ideally a septa as well, who would be sympathetic and willing to publicly lie to save the young maid's life." Might as well lay that out quickly - if there was no chance of that happening, the plan was doomed, regardless of intentions.
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Post by Father on Mar 1, 2022 17:15:45 GMT 1
"I am no Lord Durwell to parade out witness after witness in the right ordering to make my peers only too happy to turn Meadows into Flowers." Lord Addison seems daunted by the the effort required to do the same. "If the maester can be persuaded to declare that there are signs that her womb has quickened, it might be enough, it may perhaps not be"
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 2, 2022 16:03:18 GMT 1
Laena cautiously nods. "A lot will depend on Lady Wenda's ability to present her case convincingly." She agrees, before leaning forward, as she now gets to her true purpose here. "However, she will need a lot of help. This is one of the great tragedies of this kind of war - civil war - that it rewards those who can ... think along lines we are not officially supposed to, to put it diplomatically, and punishes those with honour and integrity.
"I am not saying it is right or just, but it is true.
"You may be .. disquieted by Lord Marq's activities - which speaks well of your character - but they are *necessary* to navigate this seething morass of intrigue and backstabbing we now inhabit. As you well know, as a Lord, your responsibilities extend far beyond yourself. If you fail to navigate these waters well, your house, your people, may well share in the destruction so wrought. Today, the casualties will likely not extend beyond Lady Wenda, and your soul. Tomorrow, you may not be so lucky - and believe me that I am well aware that 'lucky' is the last thing you feel right now.
"Today, presenting the right kind of show could make the difference between a young maid living or dying. There is no shame in this making you uncomfortable. But, as a lord, if you cannot navigate these waters to protect your house, it is the honourable and responsible thing to find someone who can. To bind someone to your side who lives and breathes these intrigues, and can help protect you from tomorrow's knives in the dark.
"You are a talented tourney knight, Lord Addison. When your foe is in the light, and the rules are being obeyed, you are better than all bar a special few. But you don't need me to tell you that foes now lurk in darkness everywhere, and the rules of society barely even qualify as 'suggestions' any more to all too many. And in *that* battle, you are as if you were trying to joust wearing naught but your smallclothes, while wielding a toothpick. I would not change that, though - the Reach *needs* good, honest, honourable men, to balance out the grasping schemers. My point is that those good, honest, honourable men need somone beside them to protect them from men and women of low character and high ambition.
"In *this* case, that presents itself as myself telling you that, even if it makes you uncomfortable, to give Lady Wenda the best chance at survival, there *needs* to be a show. It needs to be clear to all that you are being forced in your choice."
[Not sure if an Intrigue roll is required/appropriate here. It's kind of my main 'goal' here - not 'propose to me here and now', but 'you need to get married to someone who has my talents, or next time it could be a lot worse (oh, and did I mention how fertile I am?)'.]
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Post by Father on Mar 3, 2022 15:22:59 GMT 1
"No, I just don't have his skills, Lady Meadows had obviously cuckolded her husband and other things besides, although it would seem he did it chiefly to help install a friend." Lord Addison seems to admire Marq greatly, though probably chiefly for his jousting prowess. "Most of us are simply content to tend to our own lands until such a time as Highgarden calls the banners, and most of us will have our lands after, some may owe ransoms, some may be dead, all will have less men to till the fields and some will have their fields ruined and their villages burnt."
He is not wrong in that estimation, right until the eventuality that one of his brothers marries a woman of ambitions, a lord's lands and titles are far more likely to be usurped by family than outsiders.
"Perhaps a certain amount of ambition requiring one's sense of right and wrong to sometimes be put aside is needed to play such games, but if I had it, perhaps I would be better served in simply letting her die? It is not I who would be blamed for the injustice." He does not appear quite willing to simply sacrifice Wenda for political comfort and expediency and he certainly does not have the political savvy to take advantage of the image created of him being merciful, but in Laena's estimation, he does seem to prefer not having to take Wenda's head. "However, if a sufficiently compelling plea of mercy with authoritative voices in support were to be made, would not my position be changed?"
How much he would contribute personally seems unclear.
So I'm thinking something along these lines: -Wenda needs to make a TN 12 Will Courage test to do her part on the scaffold. -Then she needs to make a TN 20 Simple Intrigue vs Crowd (Walgrave has very high ID from status and stuff). --She must clear TN 13 without assists or she fails to be "convincing", leading others to likely decide not to assist at all. --Two people on the scaffold can assist this test, but the maester "claims" a spot, so if he does not help, that is one less assist allowed. --The other can either be the septon suggesting that The Seven approves of mercy, or Lord Addison himself. --Will (Coordinate) can be used to add more assists by having helpers in the crowd add their voices, however, such assist is capped at +1 for anyone not having 5+ Status or the famous benefit. (And Walgrave will dislike any who does this). --Lord Appleton can be one of the additional voices (and his assist is worth +2), but Walgrave will dislike him if he assists.
On a success, Walgrave is outplayed and will realize as much, so Addison gets to be merciful without Old Oak hating him (but if he assisted Wenda, he will take a disposition hit for it), on a simple failure, most of the crowds will think Addison should grant mercy, but Walgrave will take it as a slight if he does, but disappointing the crowd likely carries a heavier cost (Overall won't be better for him compared to the scenario where there is no such pleading for mercy). On a critical failure, the tale doesn't stick and she'll be worse off than if she hadn't tried that gambit.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 4, 2022 11:17:56 GMT 1
[This is a pure OOC post to make clear my plans.]
1) I will *not* be asking Lord Appleton to assist - my personal objective in this is to win him over as much as possible, and that is counter-productive - he needs to publicly have his hand forced through no fault of his own.
2) With a TN of 12 for Coordinate and needing 2 DoS for a single addition, there is only a chance of a single addition. I'm currently thinking Redtusk - IIRC, he is brave, famous, and chivalrous. Go to him with an 'I heard a rumour...' angle, and I'm hoping he could easily be persuaded to do the 'right' thing 'if the rumour is true'.
3) So, the way I understand it, I have to (a) Convince the maester (b) convince the septa/septon (c) Roll coordinate (d) If I get the required 2 DoS, convince Redtusk.
How exactly do you want to do all this, since I imagine you don't want this thread to last another 3 months or so?
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Post by Father on Mar 5, 2022 15:57:54 GMT 1
Hmm, the key point is how to sell it to the maester. The septon and Redtusk are probably easier-ish hurdles, though all might wonder how Laena of all people learned of the pregnancy, and they might want something in return, maybe.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Mar 6, 2022 18:49:15 GMT 1
"If Lord Bryce Bridges can be murdered while inoffensively enjoying Lord Leo's hospitality, then no-one is truly safe, though there are more fates than simple death - such as being forced into doing actions that sit ill with your conscience for the sake of politics." She gives a rather significant look. "Maybe you will be fine - but do not trick yourself into believing that politics is something you can simply 'opt out of' in these times and everyone around you will simply respect your wishes."
She sits back and holds up her hands. "However, I have said my piece on that matter. The most important person this eve is Lady Wenda. And the key to saving her is your maester. While meeting him with you would likely make the matter easier, I'm actually thinking I should meet him alone - that way, if things go horribly wrong, it only blows back on me, and I am conveniently isolated, while you have an entire house relying on you. However, I would appreciate you telling me about the man, so I can think on how best to approach him." Laena had no intention of having the matter blow back on her, but the more noble and selfless she seemed, especially to his benefit, the better she hoped she looked to Lord Appleton.
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Post by Father on Mar 8, 2022 20:09:24 GMT 1
He's the maester, Lord Appleton shrugs, runs the books, runs the household, does all the things he can't be bothered with doing. For all Laena can tell, the maester might be a Ronnel having a thousand and one schemes behind his lord's back or a loyal man quietly performing such tasks the lord does not wish to do and Lord Appleton appears to mostly be interested in jousting. Maester profile: Secretive, Ambitious, Competence, Flawed, dutiful TN 9: 5#2d6 3 6 8 4 10-Secretive: Not good for Laena (in this case, means Lord Appleton doesn't have much clue). -Ambitious: Normal -Competence: Normal -Flaws: Not good for Laena -Dutiful: Good for Laena
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