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Post by Father on Feb 10, 2022 15:43:09 GMT 1
The more prominent members of the company make their way towards the gate to exchange words, their men watching and wondering if they are about to lay siege.
It is impossible to tell how things will end, but a duel seems likely, Ser Cleos would certainly not be wrong in expecting that outcome, but having it be to the death does seem rather severe, perhaps if they were were more mature, some sort of reasonable compromise could be found where both would walk away, perhaps that might still be possible, perhaps Ser Cleos is unwilling to live without Daena, and Ser Marlon unwilling to live with the shame of having his bride be taken away from him in this fashion.
Happy ending? No.
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Post by Father on Feb 23, 2022 12:58:36 GMT 1
Ser Marlon, Ser Elbert, Lord Varner and other dignitaries rides up to the gates in what they hope to be a show of force to demand Ser Cleos to have Lady Daena released into their charge.
Standing atop the gate, Ser Cleos and Lady Daena delivers a prepared show which everyone in hindsight feels as if they should have expected, and yet, if any had anticipated how this actually would turn out, none had spoken up about it. Obviously rehearsed, Lady Daena and Ser Cleos insists that she is a guest of his, taken his bread and salt and therefore under his protection, and she says that she has no intention to leave. She suggests that she rather would take holy vows and die an old virgin than to share his bed, then with a nod of permission, she signals for him to proceed to taunt Ser Marlon, it likely would take much less for the incensed groom to demand for Ser Cleos to come down and answer for the insults done to him.
What remains of the wedding party seems to have no interest in interfering, to most present, there appears to be only two alternatives, Ser Marlon dies or Lady Daena goes to a Motherhouse, and perhaps both will happen, but diplomacy might perhaps salvage the situation still. A duel must be fought, but a duel need not be fatal. And Ser Marlon and Ser Elbert may yet perhaps be persuaded to annul their contract. If Ser Cleos is to win honorably, perhaps Lord Varner could intercede to give his bannermen sufficient pretext to do so without Ser Marlon having a say at all. It may perhaps be easier indeed for love to prevail this way than killing the groom. There would be time to discuss matters with Ser Elbert and Lord Varner as the rivals prepare for the duel, perhaps exchanging a few words with Cleos and Marlon as well.
It's probably a cunning (logic) TN 9 to suspect that something like the last paragraph might work, 2 DoS to be pretty sure of it being the clearer path to a "happy ending".
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Post by Father on Dec 21, 2022 1:03:40 GMT 1
The duel, as it turns out, is nasty, brutish and short. Mounted on Destrier and clad in plate, Ser Cleos already holds the advantage. And though a single charge may not be much to judge the two by, he does perhaps sit his saddle better than his foe, and The Sunflower knight is the only one whose lance connects properly as he deflects that of Ser Marlon away with his shield. Perhaps Ser Marlon should have yielded instead of drawing his sword in a heavy motion that a trained eye clearly recognizes as defiant of great pain. Ser Cleos descends upon him without mercy, never giving his foe the chance to regain any momentum, while the customs of gallantry would bid him to call for Ser Marlon to yield, clearly outmatched as he is, Ser Cleos does none of the sort, while Ser Marlon is either too stubborn, or too dazed to surrender. Instead the Sunflower knight manuvers his horse such that he may strike at his foe's backside, and instead of simply bludgeoning the helm until his foe finally submits as is the normal thing to do under such circumstances, Ser Cleos thrusts his sword deep where the Hauberk splits at the back of the saddle, making Ser Marlon howl in pain as he falls off. He then dismounts, removes the man's helm and Lady Daena winces in shock as her love ends the life of her would-be husband with a dagger. It may be hard to make Highgarden believe that this outcome was not the intent all along. And perhaps it was. Alive, Ser Marlon might complicate Ser Cleos and Lady Daena's hopes of marriage, that obstacle is now removed, and though the blood spilled on the ground may prove to add further difficulties, they would seem less challenging. Unless, perhaps, Lord Westbrook would happen to take issue with one of his kin being provoked to a duel and then slain, though with none of Ser Marlon's cousins presents, perhaps he is not so important. But Lords can be uncaring about members of their house until one of their name is slighted. If Ser Cleos and Lady Daena had planned all this all along, they ought to have hired a singer to make sure that the tale to be spread is one of The Seven having made their will known by so clearly favoring true love. Cleos HiS: 5d6k3+7 19 6d6k4-3 13 4d6 15Marlon charge: 5d6k3+3 17 5d6k3 16 3d6-3 92x12-7=17 Ser Marlon takes 3 injuries. How idiotic is Marlon? TN 9: 3d6 8 Not a critical hit. Iniative Marlon, Cleos: 3d6-5 8 3d6-4 11Cleos aim+attack: 7d6k4+1 23Marlon is defeated, outcome: Cleos gallant? TN 12: 3d6 9No.
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Post by Father on Jul 9, 2023 9:51:17 GMT 1
If anyone wants to try and influence Lord Westbrook and/or Daena's father through peer pressure (rumors) or directly, feel free. Could make things interesting.
Or maybe some NPC's might play the rumor game, a couple notable ones were around.
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Post by Balon Blackbriar on Jul 16, 2023 6:28:21 GMT 1
If anyone wants to try and influence Lord Westbrook and/or Daena's father through peer pressure (rumors) or directly, feel free. Could make things interesting. Or maybe some NPC's might play the rumor game, a couple notable ones were around. Would Balon get any bonuses to a rumor since he was there, witnessed the kidnapping, tracked them down and spoke with them prior to the fatal duel? I'd attempt something directly but Balon is sorely lacking in the intrigue department.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 19, 2023 1:47:09 GMT 1
When Laena first heard the story as to what happened, she dismissed it as irrelevant people doing irrelevant things, but something about it stuck with her. After some consideration, it came to her. A man discarding the mores and morals of society was hardly rare nowadays, putting it mildly, but that was near-universally either for personal power or to advance their faction's interests (which was, largely speaking, 'personal power with extra steps'). This was for love. And that, Laena realised, made a difference. 'Love' may typically be the domain of the Maiden, rather than the Mother, but maybe she could put her fingers on the scales regardless. Oh, she wouldn't stick her neck out for such a powerless unknown. But a bit of effort? She can spare that. A moment's consideration, and a narrative forms in her head. 'There was a rift between Ser Marlon and Lord Colton Westbrook due to some less-than honourable action on Marlon's part in the past which Lord Colton had to exert himself to make sure it never came to light, and that is the reason why none of Ser Marlon's cousins appeared at his wedding.' Yes, such a tale might give Lord Colton the political cover he needs to have no need to act against Ser Cleos to defend his family's honour, and the only person it would really offend is well past caring. Still, Laena taps out her thoughts, there was one obvious wrinkle: why *didn't* Lord Colton send a familial representative to his cousin's wedding? Even if it was only a single unimportant member, not having any presence was ... unusual. And it was rather public - even families with serious internal feuds would feign internal cohesion for external eyes, so as to seem bigger and scarier than they really were. Yet Lord Colton didn't. This bore some investigating. Her rumour would be dead on arrival if it went against known facts, and would be all the stronger if it had a core of truth to it. So, she sends agents to find out. If they couldn't find the reason, hopefully no-one else of import would know either, and she could release her rumour as-is. And if they could, that could form the kernel of truth at the heart of her narrative. 4 Weddings - Knowledge (Streetwise) - Colton-Marlon rift?: 6d6k4 15 Average roll
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Post by Father on Jul 22, 2023 10:20:50 GMT 1
Would Balon get any bonuses to a rumor since he was there, witnessed the kidnapping, tracked them down and spoke with them prior to the fatal duel? I'd attempt something directly but Balon is sorely lacking in the intrigue department. Maybe, depends what he's trying to do.
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Post by Father on Jul 25, 2023 18:35:53 GMT 1
As far as Laena's inquiries goes, Lord Westbrook chose to accompany Lord Tyrell to the tourney, with all his knighted kin, reportedly all hoping to impress him to win favor, it is a little unclear, as it appears his nephews are all vying for the hand of his daughter, most curious, the source does not report on the girl having any great beauty, which may imply some sort of ailment making Ser Jon unlikely to father any children, although a more likely alternative would be that Lord Westbrook intends to skimp on the dowry by placing her husband in command of some holdfast, but that would be far less interesting.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 28, 2023 2:03:21 GMT 1
Laena taps out her thoughts as she considers her results. Trying to generate sympathy for the couple by emphasising it was clearly the lady's choice was obviously not going to work - what worth the cow's mooing to the butcher? Trying to manipulate Lord Leo into expressly forbidding the Westbrooks from acting was similarly pointless - it merely all but guaranteed the couple would be murdered by the Westbrook's rivals rather than the Westbrooks themselves, so as to cause the family trouble with Lord Leo. No, she had the right tack - persuading the Westbrooks to not *want* to act. Her initial idea might work, but the Westbrooks would know it to be false, which could cause them to become confused, and who could predict how confused people would act? Better if the tale told was not known to be false by anyone... ...Slowly, she refined her idea into a new form. "Ser Marlon was utterly furious that his wedding was spurned by all his cousins. In fact, in one conversation, some combination of a sympathetic ear, drink and rage compelled him to denounce Lord Colton as a sycophant, preferring to lick the Longthorn's ass clean over actually being there for his wedding." There. Plausible, near-impossible to disprove, and just crude enough to really drive the wedge home. Good enough for her. 4 Weddings - Deception (Disguise): 6d6k4 12 Well, shit. 4 Weddings - Persuasion (Convince): 5d6k4 17Well, I'm sure that won't backfire on me in any way. At least I wasn't talking shit about anyone still living.
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Post by Father on Jul 31, 2023 13:42:09 GMT 1
Once in a while, schemes goes awry, as Laena is later approached by Lord Westbrook very curious as to know from where she had heard of those words from Ser Marlon, for surely the lady is too noble to put such foul words in the mouth of the dead? Face value or suspicion TN 7: 2d6 5Streetwise TN 12 looks like: 3d6 12Laena can probably fast-talk her way out of the scheme, or try and double-down to achieve her objective somehow.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Aug 1, 2023 2:05:42 GMT 1
[I am assuming this will just be a simple intrigue, so spending my last point of Glory for +1B. 4 Weddings - Double Down - Glory Spent: 7d6k4 16] "My Lord Colton. Firstly, please accept my apologies for any hurt my words may have caused. Finding out we didn't really know someone is often painful, especially so when it's family, however distant.
"You are entirely correct when you say it is distasteful to speak ill of the dead. In truth, I did not advertise my actions precisely *because* of the sour taste it left in my mouth. I had hoped to say those words and be done with the matter." She breathes in and out deeply before continuing. "But it seems I lack the skulduggerous spirit to properly hide my words, so here we are.
"To cut to the heart of the matter: why would I - as you say, a virtuous lady in good standing - speak ill of the dead - an act which I have admitted I found distasteful?"She places her hand over her heart, and in a soft, emphatic voice proclaims. "Because even above decorum, I serve the truth. And there is no conflict in my heart over this.
"That is, after all, how and why I became involved in this situation. My source approached me, knowing of my virtue and sound judgement from past interactions, trapped in the horns of a dilemma. To do nothing would be to knowingly let a lie stand - and they knew all too well how much harm an unchallenged lie could cause, whatever the intent behind them. They detested the idea of complicity in that. However, to publicly proclaim the truth would be to betray a friend, which they were equally reluctant to do.
"In the end, they decided on a third way - a lesser wrong, which they could at least live with. They approached me, and confessed the truth, trusting in my judgement to make the right choice. I agreed, and told them that I would make the choice, and they could rest easy.
"Ultimately, I chose to serve truth over decorum. I know my source to be a good person, honourable, and a confidant of Ser Marlon. It was to them directly Ser Marlon spoke the words I repeated. And it was because of my complete faith in their good character that I was confident enough in their words' truth to repeat them.
"To finally answer the question you asked me: I'm afraid I will not reveal my source's identity. The same moral integrity which gave my source the confidence to approach me to handle the matter justly forbids me from ever revealing that - or any other - confidence given to me."She finally lowers her eyes briefly. "Again, I apologise for the pain my words caused, but I do not regret them, nor would I take them back. In times where comfortable lies are on every other tongue, I believe that uncomfortable truths are needed now more than ever."
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Post by Father on Oct 18, 2023 12:00:18 GMT 1
Lord Westbrook sighs and mutters about how sometimes, it's better not knowing of such things.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Oct 21, 2023 1:23:55 GMT 1
Laena gives the Lord a smile painted with pain and sympathy. "I wish I could honestly claim to still believe that, my lord." She says, softly, before curtseying and leaving him to his thoughts. Enough time spent so frivolously. Time to move to more important matters...
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