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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 14, 2021 1:12:31 GMT 1
Laena's eyes open slightly, and gasps slightly when he reveals that the Gardener killers joined Lord Oakheart's Vulture Hunt, and her fingers twitch as she moves the new piece around to fit into the puzzle in her mind. If the Gardener Killers were part of the vulture hunt, maybe they *did* murder Ser Vorian. In which case, Balon's 'training accident' injury may actually have a more innocuous explanation than I feared. But no, Bloodraven said he was confident it was Balon. 'By command, if not hand.' And Balon presumably was in a different group. ...Which means that Balon's *not* leading the Gardener killers. He was too busy murdering Ser Vorian at the time. A nagging fear, finally set to rest, ever since Ser Robyn told her that one of the killers passed him by to attack the women, which combined uncomfortably with Balon's promise to her to not harm House Starkwood until the war started. The relief was palpable. Quickly, she combines what Davos said before with this new information. "So, there was a group of knights with House Gardener shields in the Vulture Hunt? And it is not known where they went? And a group bearing that same heraldry of an extinct house were the ones who murdered the Blackbars, when the Vulture Hunt was going on. That... is indeed a very... indicative link. And means it's more important than I thought for you to capture the leader alive and persuade him to testify to save his own skin. It's far from certain it would be a lethal blow to Lord Oakheart, given his power, but it would certainly weaken him, and perhaps make him more cautious about future .. extra-legal activity. Very useful for you, given your.. relationship."
She smiles at Davos's obvious fishing for information. She could play dumb, but that never suited her. Coy, though? Coy suited her just fine. After a moment's consideration to mentally check if there were other obvious candidates, she responds, still smiling. "Interesting conjecture. There are no shortage of Dornish-haters in the Reach. What made you think of Lord Middlebury specifically?"
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Post by Davos Dayne on Jul 14, 2021 4:57:59 GMT 1
Davos smiles with pleasure at her obvious excitement.
"I do not believe they brought the Gardner shields to the muster. That would have been a bit too obvious, no? However, I was able to learn a great deal of what occurred during the Vulture Hunt, except for two groups. Men like to brag about their accomplishments, or the plunder they took, or whom they won against at dice. Only two things will silence rowdy men - fear and death. Those too foolish to keep silent were killed, or are being hunted by their own as we speak."
He refills his wineglass, and Laena's.
"One group matched Robyn's description of the forces that attacked the Blackbars - soldiers of House Middlebury, led by Ser Marq Warren. The other group was comprised of men from House Peake. Two murders, two mystery groups; simple process of elimination indicates that my brother was murdered by the Peake men. Or rather, as he would have been worth a small fortune in ransom, their leader. No subordinate would dare deny their leader such a prize; no more likely they would have captured Vorian, hoping their leader would be magnanimous and share some of the reward."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 14, 2021 14:29:48 GMT 1
Laena opens her mouth in a silent 'ah'. "And so, you know the identity of the man who slew your brother." A hint of a question in her words, but mostly a conclusion from what he said. She frowns in thought. "Wouldn't taking your brother hostage result in him being able to testify against the attackers, though? Even a King's ransom would do you little good without a head, or in the Night's Watch. House Dayne is not some minor house that can be ignored without consequence. And a noble's eyewitness testimony weighs a lot heavier than logic and speculation, no matter how well-grounded."
"Now, you have shown me your cards, it is only fair I show you mine: Indeed, within my 'suspect zone', there was indeed a single lord notable above his neighbours for his hatred of the Dornish.
"Lord. Gareth. Middlebury." She emphasises each word, before pinching the bridge of her nose in a pained expression. "Though I had not anticipated he would use his *own* troops for such actions. Mercenaries and hedge knights hired through smallfolk contacts, whose testimony could be dismissed, is the proper way to do things. It's like he's not even *trying* to protect himself." She sounds slightly offended at his perceived sloppiness.
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Post by Davos Dayne on Jul 14, 2021 21:06:43 GMT 1
"How much do you know about House Warren? Personally, other than Ser Marq I've never heard of them. Now, if you are to pass judgement, would you believe this one man, or Lords Middlebury, Oakhearte, and Peake?"
He shakes his head.
"Oakheart says 'no, they were with me in Dorne'; Peake has his men confirm. Is Lord Leo going to call three of his lords liars? Can he afford to anger them? Can he do so and maintain his perceived neutrality on the matter of who sits the Iron Throne? Has he demonstrated a strong sense of justice over expedience? Not from what little I know of him."
He sighs.
"No, justice is not to be found in the courts here. Not right now."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 15, 2021 2:57:55 GMT 1
"You're probably right. The Oakheart connection makes things considerably more difficult. Even if it would potentially exacerbate the rift between the two factions of the revolutionary camp - the honourable friends and supporters of Ser Daemon, and the scheming graspers - if - or, rather, when - the men escape justice, they will be free, and their guard up. And that does not serve my interests." She casually shrugs. "You've convinced me. We are both pointing at the same conclusion, by different means, which means we are all but certainly correct." She bites her lip in thought. "I am still not liking the idea of ambushing Lord Gareth - too many potentially loose lips required, too many things that could go wrong - but," she raises her arms. "As far as I'm aware, I can't meaningfully contribute to that plan, anyway. We can still go ahead with my suggested plan first - taking out Ser Marq will weaken Lord Gareth's defences, if you are able to act swiftly afterwards, before he is replaced. And if Ser Marq simply disappears while away, that may take a while."
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Post by Davos Dayne on Jul 15, 2021 4:56:53 GMT 1
"Lord Middlebury would not let himself be vulnerable without his pet to guard him. In his absence, it would take a full battle to get to Lord Gareth. The wedding - or rather the return trip from it - is likely when he will be the most vulnerable."
He meets her eyes.
"I need you. I can't do this on my own. I lack the contacts to put together a force of men that would be willing to do this, smart enough to keep silent on it, and can't be traced back to Starkwood or Dayne if they fall."
He puts his hand on hers.
"I need you."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 18, 2021 16:25:13 GMT 1
Laena bites her lip and looks down. "You ask the impossible, I'm afraid. To discreetly hire a group large enough to do such a task, I'd have to hire from Essos. Not only would that cost easily nearly a thousand gold dragons, it would take a long time - even longer to gradually filter them in in groups small enough to not attract notice.
"The problem with hiring local hedge knights is that they're independent. If there's a way to gather enough of them *without* word leaking out that *someone* is gathering such a group ... it's beyond me, I'm afraid. And I'm not confident in my ability to hide myself should I attract the interest of major players. And obviously, their only loyalty would be to coin - they'd be racing each other to sell out everything they know to whomever would be interested. And they'd need a leader," she looks at him significantly. "Who would likely be betrayed for coin, leading right back to us."
"It's a shame neither of us has our own forces we can call on. Really, having..." She trails off and stares into the distance. After a few moments, a small smile forms on her face. "There is - *may be* - a way." She considers a moment how best to phrase this. "I am not sure if they are still around, but there at least was a force *in* Starkwood, but not *of* Starkwood. Such a force *could* do the job, discreetly. *If* their leader could be convinced. And even then, it likely wouldn't be for free. That Man always has his own agenda." She looks at him. "No names, but you know the force of which I speak?"
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Post by Davos Dayne on Jul 20, 2021 19:19:31 GMT 1
"I do. In fact, I helped train them in basic unit discipline and such."
His face darkens.
"'That Man'... I am not much pleased with him. You heard about the Tarly rape trial in the riverlands, I presume? That Man convinced me to stand on their behalf when Lord Blackwood sat in judgement. I agreed; no woman, no matter her family name, should be denied justice for such a heinous act. I spoke of the need to guard them against being harm before they came before the lord, lest they be threatened out of speaking the truth. Instead, when the day came, they denied their prior claims and Tarly was free to leave, unpunished. It was so *very* politically convenient for That Man. Not that I have any evidence that he was behind it of course, but could Tarly really have succeeded at getting to the ladies if That Man wanted to prevent it? I think not."
He sighs.
"Justice now does not erase that injustice, but neither should that injustice prohibit this justice. I am not so foolish or so petty to refuse to work with him on matters I deem worthwhile."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 20, 2021 20:55:05 GMT 1
A dark smile. "Focused on keeping the king on the throne, no matter who or what he has to trample over to accomplish it. That sounds like him, alright."
She stretches her arms above her head, before bringing one down to cover a yawn. "Given that, and the natural political leanings of the Dornish, it may actually be even more difficult to convince him to spare the women and children than actually take action, so I'd feel more comfortable if you joined them to reduce the chance of them being caught in a 'tragic accidental crossfire'. But is he aware of your feeling of antipathy towards him? Or does he have any other reason to see you as .. potentially an obstacle? And what of Ser Robyn? I know - or at least 'strongly suspect' - he'd *want* to join in this action, but adding each person does increase risks exponentially, so I defer to your judgement as to if we should include him."
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Post by Davos Dayne on Jul 20, 2021 22:42:32 GMT 1
"Dornish political attitudes ought not be taken for granted. I've spoken to a number that are not happy with Prince Maron 'buying' his bride with our independence and tax money. The so called 'concessions' that so many of you northerners are upset about are all freedoms we had previously. Lord Oakheart's Vulture Hunt shows that the Dornish can't even expect the 'King's Peace' either. I suspect that Ser Daemon would likely have most of Dorne - except House Martell, of course - on his side if he vowed to restore Dornish independence and denounced ilk like Oakheart and Middlebury in a meaningful way. He would need the support of another powerful house of course, one liked as well as House Martell..."
Davos shakes his head dismissively.
"But we aren't here to discuss politics. To answer your questions, I am certain That Man is smart enough to realize full well how I feel. However, that was not enough to stop me from continuing fighting in Battle Valley, so I doubt he cares much about it. I am as of yet still potentially useful and not an obstacle, so I doubt he would refuse to help on my account. As for Robyn... I don't know if he would ever forgive us if we excluded him. If he ever found out our part in it, of course. I wouldn't be surprised if he though that exacting justice - or at least vengeance - on the murderers might endear him to a certain young lady."
He sighs.
"Which of course means he would want to tell her of his involvement, putting himself and all involved at risk."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 21, 2021 13:10:45 GMT 1
Laena raises an eyebrow when he talks about the attitudes of the Dornish, but lets the subject drop, merely mentally filing that information away for potential later use.
"I have spoken with that lady, myself. While I do not believe that she is accepting of extra-legal actions in general, in this *specific* case, I am actually confident she will keep quiet. So, let us do this: we shall include Ser Robyn, and afterwards, I will go with him to that lady, and I will be the one to tell her of what happened, and I will do so in a way that doesn't implicate you or anyone else. So, if I have made a mistake, it only impacts us. Though to be clear, I would not risk myself if I felt that was in any way likely. Or Ser Robyn, of course."
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Post by Davos Dayne on Jul 21, 2021 15:12:29 GMT 1
Davos nods in agreement with her assessment and her plan for involving Robyn and telling Falyse.
"All that is left is logistics, then - hypothetically."
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 21, 2021 15:42:08 GMT 1
"Without That Man, there is no plan. I will speak with him. Given our relationship, that's unlikely to raise any eyebrows. Should I succeed, I'll send you a message, and you can bring Robyn in. We don't want to do that early, to make sure he doesn't act rashly and tip our hand.
"If I can't convince him, I'll try and see if I can come up with any other alternatives, and we can meet up again and discuss them." She hesitates a moment before continuing. "Not that you don't certainly already know this, but when the time comes, please stick close to Ser Robyn. I do not wish to be the architect of further tragedy for that family."
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Post by Davos Dayne on Jul 23, 2021 23:04:27 GMT 1
"Of course. He performed well in the Riverlands, but this is... personal. Personal of the sort that can make a man do foolish things."
He pours himself another glass of wine, and gestures with the bottle at Laena's glass, asking if she would like more.
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Post by Laena Pyre on Jul 24, 2021 15:58:07 GMT 1
Laena shakes her head, and puts a hand over the top of her glass. "Not for me, thank you. A pleasant bottle, but if I have more now, I'll probably end up staggering around the feast later." She assesses him a moment. She could probably seduce him - even in mourning, a man has needs - but ... she just didn't feel the need. After a few months without Balon she'd probably feel the itch again, but for now, she was satisfied. So, she stands, and stretches again. "Speaking of, I had best be off to prepare." A small smile at him. "A pleasure, Ser. I'm glad we had this conversation. Until the next time." And once he says his parting words, she departs back to her tent.
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