[Phase 2] What's your game? [Lynesse]

"A point well made Lord Marq. I have much to be thankful for, including my present freedom, the warm hospitality of the Blackbriars, and the good health of myself and my brother. Whitewalls and the Reach have both proven beautiful, and I have greatly enjoyed the tournaments I have attended. I look forward to the festivities to come. And yet we do not say to the watchman "Do not sacrifice your happiness, make merry while the sun shines, or to the sworn shield, "forget your duties for a moment, and smell the roses before winter comes." Duty is fit for every season, and every hour.

She mulls this conundrum over for a long moment, giving away that she was troubled by her own answer. "How do you find such balance Lord Marq? You have shared the motivations that drove you as a young man, motivations that could very well consume a man, or set his soul affire with dedication, even obsession. And yet I have seen you at your rest, or at feasts, enjoying yourself as though not one of these concerns even stirs briefly in your memory. How does one focus on the simple joys of life, when there are such grave wrongs in need of righting?"

Her charming facade had slipped a little, as Lord Marq's easy banter had driven Lynesse toward more genuine introspection than she had intended. Such navel-gazing might be considered inappropriate in an acquintance, let alone a young woman, but for a moment, Lynesse had forgotten herself.

There was much and more to reach into Lord Marq's words. Were the courses prospective husbands, or merely prospective options and plans that might attain her goals.

That he wished her to avoid a match with Lord Eldon was crystal clear, but his motivation seemed murkier. Perhaps he was simply inclined to see her marry a man of less abominable character. Perhaps he deemed the match poorly suited to his own political agenda, which he surely possessed. Perhaps he hoped to direct Lynesse into a match more suitable for those goals - he had indicated that Redtusk and Abelar Hightower might make more suitable matches, and it was true, by most reckonings, but of uncertain benefit to Lord Marq.

"Once again I am humbled by your advice Lord Marq, and once again saddened to learn more of Lord Bryce's wisdom, only to grieve more deeply for his recent passing. You speak of moderation, and patience, and these are surely great virtues that in my intemperate youth I have valued too cheaply."

She pauses a moment, in thought. 

"My Lord, I was not present at the Tourney in Highgarden, and have heard rumours embroidered in the retelling. Lord Bryce and Lord Jon Hightower were both men of great stature in the Reach, and both have perished in circumstances of treachery and dishonour. Is there any hope that some veil be lifted and such grave losses for the realm given some accounting?"


[Sorry for the tardy response. If possible Lynesse is trying to gauge Marq's disposition toward these deaths, although I presume Marq won't simply give details away, might some manner of empathy check be permissible?]

“It is a great shame that such crimes go without chastisement or punishment, while men keenly throw themselves into the lists or on the field of honour for imagined slights.” Lynesse’s voice is tinged toward raw and honest anger at this point. “It strikes me that we Andals have far exceeded with our ability to do violence our ability to see justice done in its turn. Praise be that the gods will see it done in theirs, should we falter.”

(Apologies for the lat post, should be back to regular posting)

“A dark line of thinking my lord. His heir was Lord Desmond, no? So Lord Desmond certainly benefited until he too was slain. The question the becomes was Lord Desmond killed as part of the same plot, or out of a sense of retribution for Lord Bryce, deserving or not? Certainly Desmond’s death was a far different sort than Lord Bryce’s, which implies a different hand.”

Lynesse considers her own bias, “But I am a child of familial infighting, and so I presume that to be the case elsewhere. As a man of wisdom and insight, perhaps Bryce was feared for what he knew, or what he might say. He was an ear and a voice Highgarden, where ears might hear or voice some detail, and out of fear of that detail, his life might bejeopardised. The question of who benefits is only useful if the benefit is public, whereas those who connive to murder are likely to obscure their motive as best they can. Perhaps the line of inquiry would be to inquire among those who knew him best, who kept his closest confidence and who might know of that secret benefit his murderer might pursue?”

“Or else the answer is likely the obvious one. The man who buried Desmond like a nuisance to his own ambition. The man who strove to marry female heiresses because he desires above all things to a lordship.”

Lynesse did not suppose to answer such questions with certainty, merely to lament her ignorance of the truth, which frustrated any attempt at a just outcome.

"I must admit I did not make the acquaintance of Lord Desmond, as he was not prone to visiting Oldtown or Mustard Hall. I have only briefly made the acquaintance of Ser Farman, and while he has a reputation for ambition, I would not expect such wholesale slaughter from him as was shown in the deaths of Lord Desmond and Ser Dagos. You would know more of him than I. Do you think him responsible, or do you suspect a more complex plot?"

She was sure he must have an opinion, after proving himself so astute, and so indebted to Lord Bryce, it was too far fetched for her to believe he had not invested a great deal of time- and resources- to the endeavor.

“I would think that there are those in the Reach who would have assisted in the installation of Lord Desmond simply because of his ancestry, and those who might have removed him for the same reason. And yet, any party to do so with the patronage of Ser Farman must know or suspect his involvement in the other death, making it a thoroughly mercenary transaction.” Lynesse winced at the thought of such ruthless calculation.

“If the ally is opportunistic, rather than acting on Lord Desmond’s heritage, they would have been induced by the prospect of Ser Farman’s favour or patronage. We could therefore exclude the many knights who left the Laughing Stream for patronage elsewhere.” She considered weaselling around the next logical conclusion, but decided it would make Marq think less of her if she did. “It would also force you to consider the possibility of Lord Eldons involvement, given his reputation, and the rumours that he hosted some manner of party alongside Ser Farman earlier in the year.”

She fidgeted idly with her seven pointed star as she wove together such loose strands of reasoning as she had.

“But this is all conjecture, based on a series of probabilities that could each be false. I mislike assassination, Lord Marq, and not simply because of what is has cost me. I would help you piece together this mystery for the sake of Lord Bryce’s memory, for he seemed a good man. But I think perhaps you already have more than I can offer in terms of conjecture, and your house a wealth of arms and riches to which I can hardly contribute,” she tilted her head, half apologetically, half self deprecatingly.

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Can I contest the deception roll?