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Post by Ser Donnel Blackbriar on Aug 8, 2018 15:58:48 GMT 1
"Ser Roland!" Echoes across the empty street- most people prefering more earthly activities in the evenings.
Ser Donnel waves at the younger knight as he catches up. "This is a fortunate place to spend our day after jousting!" Ser Donnel states. "I had something that needed to be discussed with you either way! Do you have a moment to spare?"
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Post by Roland Cordwayner on Aug 8, 2018 17:51:58 GMT 1
Roland bowed slightly as the famous Ser Donnel graced him with his presence. It was a clear day and the evening sun was still warm where Roland's simple clothing left his skin exposed.
"Of course Ser Donnel, though I hope you are not doing me the courtesy of informing me that you intend to challenge me tomorrow."
"Facing Ser Quentyn then yourself in sequence would be ill fortune at such a large event."
"I have said my prayers for the Warrior's strength tomorrow and for the Father's justice to be delivered to Septa Tyane's murderers, I have as much time as you require."
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Post by Ser Donnel Blackbriar on Aug 8, 2018 22:20:50 GMT 1
"Very well. The prayers must come first indeed. My father used to tell me to always pray first thing in the morning, because no matter how the day turns out, you will have paid service to the gods." Ser Donnel digresses: "My prayers used to go mostly to the Warrior, but as I have aged, I rely more and more on the aid of the smith. Because the Warrior may grant you the skill tomorrow, but the Smith lends you the strength needed to work on increasing your skill yourself."
Opening his arms he admits: "Alas, our dear septon would berate me for my self-absorbed ways, praying for my own strength, and not only for the strength of the seven themselves!"
Catching himself in his eulogy, he clears his throat before changing the subject. "I come to you because of your faith. I come to you for something that may aid not just you, but everybody involved..."
How to tell a man that leaving his friends will strengthen him... Idiot! Should have let Lady Pyre do the talking, then you could be just standing in the background, nodding like a puppet.
"As you have observed yourself, my son is in need of... assistance. I must admit most of my prayers are directed towards my family, and not my own fortune, and his prayers have weighed heavily... Laena Pyre, a cousin of the Starkwood line, have come with a solution, hopefully guided by the Father himself. She will ask the Starlings to take in Balon as a companion, for a... change in nature. I would wish for you to go the other way. My younger sons needs somebody their own age, Ser Eoric, our captain, will need somebody younger to aid him, and I think you will find many things alluring about moving north to Blackbriar lands too..."
Too much! Stop talking before you say something stupid. "So..." So? Is that the best you can add? You are too old for this, what are these youngsters interested in? "I heard of your heroics yesterday... Quite steep odds you faced there!"
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Post by Roland Cordwayner on Aug 9, 2018 12:02:22 GMT 1
Roland frowned even as Ser Donnel made his offer.
"You honour me greatly, but I fear I cannot accept. My sword is already sworn to Lord Starling, he has treated me fairly and I believe has further need of my services."
"Lord Starling has high standards for character and honour, and I fear Ser Balon will not meet such requirements after his disgraceful performance so far at Highgarden. Accidents happen at tourneys, but it looks like murder when a man prompts a duel by wild accusations and then gives heated words. While the Companions present here are externally recruited and such is not unknown among our ranks, the majority of our knights are raised by Lord Starling himself. I hope such permits a path for rejection with such dignity as Ser Balon has left himself intact."
"Needless to say I am flattered to be asked by one of your reputation, and bear you no ill will for his misdeeds. Should circumstances change, I would be glad to serve a house as pious as Blackbriar, should I prove worthy on my own merits rather than merely as a trade."
As a second son and with his elder brother long possessed of an heir, Roland increasingly needed to ensure his own place in the world. The future of House Cordwayner was seemingly secure and offered no place for him in it. Lady Maegelle has seen to that it appears, turning my own family against me by disrupting my correspondence...
"It is wise to seek to correct a misdirected lance or dishonourable path, but what if the object to be changed proves the agent of change instead? A bad apple can ruin a whole barrel, even if every other apple is pristine."
Given his recently growing concerns regarding those agitating on Ser Daemon Blackfyre's behalf, Roland also feared adding to the already strong sympathies for the Great Bastard among their ranks.
The Companions were honourable men, but would naturally be drawn to a martial figure like Ser Daemon rather than a bookish King, particularly if influenced by an agitating force like Ser Balon. Ser Addam and Ser Daeron's sympathies were well known to all, but neither man was half as outrageous by deed or word.
[OOC:
TN 8 Awareness (Empathy) to pick up on the feeling about the Companions.
As ever, open to being swayed here by intrigue if desired, albeit might take multiple intrigues.]
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Post by Ser Donnel Blackbriar on Aug 11, 2018 1:47:33 GMT 1
Ser Donnel nods agreeably as Roland declines, but his slight smile grows stiff as Ser Roland pushes further. "My son has great character. He has acted recklessly and without the decorum expected from one of his station. Lord Starling will hopefully agree with my assesment, and will realize both the potential, and the gratitude he will recieve."
"Your bad apple analogy proves inadequate, for a bad apple never turns good. A better analogy would be a dirty apple. Because although appearing dirty, it will be a great treat, if you can just pull it from the barrel and clean it."
Ser Donnel then stops his retort as his speech grows faster, and his face grows redder. He draws a breath and continues:
"But this subject will be broached with Lord Starling. I want new blood to help develop our own knights, and given your enthusiasm, you would be my first choice, Balons possible departure will just make you more needed. I need to know what you would want personally."
[Can do an intrigue, but it might be a bit unfair!]
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Post by Roland Cordwayner on Aug 12, 2018 20:56:46 GMT 1
Roland spread his arms wide, palms raised in apology.
"You are correct Ser, at least as far as my ill-judged analogy goes."
"Such a decision is of course Lord Starling's - you have heard it from my own mouth that I will counsel against it, but I do not do so from personal animosity or rancour."
At Donnel's question, a fey mood struck Roland. Second sons are not generally asked what they want.
"What do I want?"
An exaggerated comic shrug and an uncharacteristic burst of humour. Perhaps the Septon's words yesterday had awakened something within him.
"Oh, the same things any scheming younger son wants."
"The ancestral seat at Hammerhal. Three sons and four daughters. A white cloak and a Valyrian steel sword to accompany it. To defeat my namesake in the joust, in an epic "Song of Rolands". A beautiful bride from the Reach. "
He waved as if to disperse the internally contradictory list of desires he had just spoken, adopting a more serious tone. But humour can oft hide the truth, even from ourselves.
"Security. I was House Cordwayner's "spare" of its "heir and a spare", but with my brother's son fully grown now, where does that leave me? I must make my own way in this world, and soon."
[OOC: I don't mind losing intrigues if you fancy one, feel free to bounce some ideas around via PM if there are things you're interested in achieving! Equally happy to chat through things in character instead
TN Awareness (Empathy) 8 to see how much truth there is beyond some of Roland's jesting, if you fancy.]
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Post by Ser Donnel Blackbriar on Aug 13, 2018 6:53:56 GMT 1
"It is indeed the nature of the spare to be given little of what he wishes. But take it from me, we can achieve the second best, and with benefits a lord could never dream of. I cannot give you Hammerhall, but I can give you rooms in a castle to call your own. You will get the red cloak of a knight, and your sword will only be castleforged. I can give you a place to practice your craft, but to defeat your namesake you must do yourself. I can give you the bride, but the children you must sire yourself. I will not make you an epic, but I will provide opportunities for you to create the story yourself. I can give you wood and hammers, but you must rely on yourself to build a house from it." It is not clear from Ser Donnels voice if the last part is literal, one cannot put it beyond a man who does not trust his squire to ready his horse without supervision.
Status to determine intrigue order vs ser Roland D4: 3d6 6 |
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Post by Roland Cordwayner on Aug 13, 2018 11:16:37 GMT 1
[OOC: Shall we crunch numbers then play out the scene? I'm just switching between consider and shield of reputation, which I succeed on by round 6, so mainly comes down to whether Donnel can Convince (?) Roland by earlier than that. I'll take frustration when near defeat to prolong things and try to get closer to the disposition step increase. In character this is presumably Roland pondering Donnel's offer (consider) and trying to play on his own reputation as a tourney knight and having saved Lady Alicent (Shield of Reputation) to improve Donnel's opinion of him. ID: 10 Composure: 11 DR: 4 D4 - Donnel - Status: 3d6 13D4 - Donnel - Alternate consider/shield of reputation: 3#5d6k3 10 12 14] |
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Post by Ser Donnel Blackbriar on Aug 13, 2018 19:50:29 GMT 1
Convince Roland x6: 6#5d6k4 19 16 17 11 20 21ID:11 Composure 11 1=6 2=6 3=6 4=3 5=9 6=9 So the way I understand it you win when your shield of reputation kicks in? Do you get minuses due to frustration on that? Sorry😅 was never really involved in intrigues in drqgonsdance!
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Post by Roland Cordwayner on Aug 14, 2018 19:35:30 GMT 1
Donnel had a way with words and the reputation to back them up, and his entreaties slowly gained purchase with Roland.
The two men talked back and forth, delicately avoiding the subject of Ser Balon to avoid souring matters. While Roland was not Donnel's equal with words, he relied on his recent deeds to improve the offer from House Blackbriar.
"I am glad that you understand the need for me to bide my time, but you honour me with this offer. Should circumstances permit and Lord Starling have no need of my service I may well swear my sword to Blackbriar. If not, I shall seek to recommend men I know of suitable bearing and skill to aid in this endeavour."
[OOC: Negotiated yield.
- Shield of reputation results = +1 disposition for Donnel towards Roland.
- Roland yields, agrees to help recommend suitable knights and speak highly of Blackbriar and at least consider the offer for his own part too (IC, he needs to see if Starling needs him, how things work out with Hightower and indeed House Cordwayer).
- +1 another disposition = now Amiable for Donnel towards Roland.]
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Post by Ser Donnel Blackbriar on Aug 15, 2018 13:25:16 GMT 1
"The older we get, the more time we afford ourselves. You can have all the time you wish for. On the morrow I will talk to Starling myself, and we shall see what he thinks!"
Ser Donnel seems content with Rolands answer, and he swiftly turms the talk over on lighter subjects.
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Post by Alliser on Aug 15, 2018 21:18:00 GMT 1
As Donnell takes a turn off subject he sees a well dressed Lord with an unimpressive face decorated but a well groomed goatee approaching the Sept. (This could just be a simple introduction of Alliser to Roland and we can carry on further in the Mikel thread) |
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Post by Roland Cordwayner on Aug 15, 2018 22:15:38 GMT 1
The Lord Spongeholder. Well, if any man had cause to visit the Sept it was surely Lord Alliser Levalle. However, Roland suspected some scheme rather than simple piety motivated his movements.
He nodded in acknowledgement but continued his conversation with Ser Donnel, who made for far more palatable company.
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Post by Ser Donnel Blackbriar on Aug 16, 2018 15:43:37 GMT 1
Ser Donnel looks over to where lord Allister stands. "Lord Allister. We are talking about the tilts, I heard you showed quite a bit of prowess today." Ser Donnel turns to admit the newcomer. When introductions have been made ser Donnel queries openly: "Have you got anything new on the murder?"
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Post by Alliser on Aug 17, 2018 17:09:45 GMT 1
Lord Alliser gives ser Donnell a warm smile. "Ser Donnell! I was hoping I could catch up to you." He crossed the courtyard briskly and arrived smartly, looking towards the young Knight he waits to be introduced. "Nothing yet I'm afraid. It appears there was too much activity to be discovered by any one person, but there is a new line of inquiry we shall be looking into." He gestures towards the younger Knight, "and who is this fine example of chivalry might I ask?"
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