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A Rose In The Wind: A Saga of the Halmae -- Updated June 19, 2014
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<blockquote data-quote="Ilex" data-source="post: 5330983" data-attributes="member: 82687"><p><strong>15x02</strong></p><p></p><p>Their questions led them first to the keep's library, where the book called <em>The Lady's Ways</em>—the one that Lord Nishi cited as his source for the rite—was stored. Kawazu, the seneschal, took them there personally. </p><p></p><p>Twiggy found the library faintly depressing from the moment she entered it, though at first she couldn't quite say why. It was a perfectly fine library: nowhere near as big as the Adepts' library in Cauldron, of course, but comparable to the di Raprezzis' library back home. Many old, ornate, fascinating books lined the shelves. Then, as she stepped closer, she saw that the books were covered in a fine layer of dust. And, after Kawazu pulled <em>The Lady's Ways</em> off a shelf, he set it on a dimly lit table surrounded only by stiff, uncomfortable-looking chairs.</p><p></p><p><em>Ah ha</em>, thought Twiggy, realizing what the problem with the place was. <em>This room and these books are not owned by people who love reading.</em></p><p></p><p>The book Kawazu had placed before them, however, was beautiful: it had tooled leather covers and, as he opened it, Twiggy glimpsed rich illuminations accompanying the steady hand of a master scribe. Kawazu began flipping pages, but Mena held out her hand to stop him.</p><p></p><p>"If you would be so kind, Seneschal, we will take it from here," she said. </p><p></p><p>Kawazu looked nonplussed. "It is unacceptable for me to leave you in here alone with the collection," he said. "These are valuable books—not that you would harm them deliberately, of course, but unintentional damage—"</p><p></p><p>"I am quite certain we will handle your lord's books with great care," said Mena. </p><p></p><p>"We <em>love</em> books," Twiggy explained.</p><p></p><p>"These books are unusually special," said Kawazu, continuing to balk. "They belonged to my Lady Nishi's father—most of them were copied and decorated by his own hand—"</p><p></p><p>"Did he do this one?" asked Twiggy, glancing again at the fine scribal hand on the pages of <em>The Lady's Ways</em>.</p><p></p><p>"Yes," Kawazu said warily.</p><p></p><p>"It is crucial that our investigation be untainted by your influence," said Kormick. "I propose a compromise. Step aside and let us work, but remain in the room and tell us to stop if we—I don't know, set fire to things or whatever it is you fear."</p><p></p><p>"Not so long ago, the Inquisition would eagerly have burned these books," said Kawazu, without humor.</p><p></p><p>"Those days are past now," said Savina. "You can trust us. Please?"</p><p></p><p>Twiggy glimpsed Nyoko twitch with some kind of impatience, but Kawazu relented. He took up a silent and watchful position by the door. As soon as he was out of the way, Twiggy, Mena, and Savina practically pounced on the book. Mena began turning pages with great care.</p><p></p><p>They flipped past page after page of Alirrian aphorisms, Alirrian prayers, and Alirrian rites. The text was sparse, and there were lots of pictures. It was not, Twiggy thought, a particularly deep book. In fact, though it was beautiful, its content was bland and so obviously orthodox that nobody even needed Savina to confirm it. Then, finally, on a page just like the others, they found it: "The Rite of Joyous Union." They leaned in closer to read…</p><p></p><p><em>As two people are joined in joyous union into one family, and as all who owe their allegiance to their liege lord are unto them as part of a family, so too shall the liege be made part of the family by taking one of the partners to their bed the night before the wedding.</em></p><p></p><p>There was a silence as they all took it in. </p><p></p><p>"Lord Kawazu, you said that Lady Nishi's father copied this book?" said Tavi finally.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed, Inquisitor-san. He was a fine scribe; these books were his in every sense of the word."</p><p></p><p>"And where is he now?"</p><p></p><p>"He died of pneumonia nearly a year ago."</p><p></p><p>"Well, if we cannot talk to the man himself," said Savina, "then I think it's time we spoke with his daughter."</p><p></p><p>### </p><p></p><p>As the party waited in Lady Nishi's parlor for her appearance—and she seemed to be taking her time—Nyoko decided to bring up something that had been troubling her. </p><p></p><p>"Honored heathens, if I may…" she ventured. Nearly as one, they all politely turned to her. </p><p></p><p>"Yes, Nyoko-san?" asked Savina curiously.</p><p></p><p>Nyoko stared at them, in their solemn Inquisitorial robes, and wondered how to say what needed to be said. "You—" she began. "You might need to know—You are the <em>least</em> convincing Inquisitors <em>ever</em>! How do you expect to get anywhere by being so <em>nice</em>?" She had not expected to let the words burst out in quite that way, but she had spent the entire morning being so flummoxed. </p><p></p><p>There was a slight pause as the party absorbed her words.</p><p></p><p>"I have been accused of being many things," said Kormick. "'Nice' is not one of them."</p><p></p><p>"Honored Justicar," said Nyoko, "I happen to think that you <em>are</em> nice, in your way, and I appreciate that. I appreciate that about all of you: you say please, you offer compromises. But while you are acting as Inquisitors, you <em>must</em> be cold, aloof, and dangerous."</p><p></p><p>"I hope you're not suggesting that we should have killed that peasant who did not bow to us on the road," said Mena, sounding cold, aloof, and dangerous. </p><p></p><p>"It would not be my role to suggest such things or not," said Nyoko. "I merely point out a matter of protocol. You did not teach him to respect you as he ought. The same is true here, with Seneschal Kawazu-san, for example. If you don’t command proper respect, you will get none."</p><p></p><p>"But surely respect can be earned in many ways," said Savina. "Sometimes you earn it by making people feel comfortable and respected themselves." </p><p></p><p>"Savina, again you surprise me with your knowledge of Undian tactics," said Kormick. "I wouldn't have believed you knew about the Mutton Jig."</p><p></p><p>There was another pause.</p><p></p><p>"I'm sorry?"</p><p></p><p>"You know, you know: when you lure the mark in for a rich meal and many drinks before stabbing him in his very full gut. That said, Lady Nyoko, I also take your point. There may come a time when straightforward force is required."</p><p></p><p>Nyoko seized the opening. "I propose a system of signs," she said. "If, during the rest of the investigation, you say or do something that is far too friendly for an Inquisitor, I will stroke my eyebrow." She demonstrated carefully. "If circumstances become such that you ought to threaten them with the full weight of your Inquisitorial power, I will tug on my ear."</p><p></p><p>She wasn't sure they were paying as much attention as they should. Savina, for example, was still gaping at the Justicar's reference to his homeland's dismal-sounding mealtime traditions. <em>That's all I can do,</em> Nyoko concluded silently. <em>Anything more, and I'll be interfering with an Inquisition, not simply offering instruction about protocol.</em> Nyoko bit her tongue, and moments later, the door opened. As Lady Nishi stepped into the room, emanating privilege and resistance, Nyoko waited to see how these inexperienced Inquisitors answered the noblewoman's silent challenge.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ilex, post: 5330983, member: 82687"] [b]15x02[/b] Their questions led them first to the keep's library, where the book called [i]The Lady's Ways[/i]—the one that Lord Nishi cited as his source for the rite—was stored. Kawazu, the seneschal, took them there personally. Twiggy found the library faintly depressing from the moment she entered it, though at first she couldn't quite say why. It was a perfectly fine library: nowhere near as big as the Adepts' library in Cauldron, of course, but comparable to the di Raprezzis' library back home. Many old, ornate, fascinating books lined the shelves. Then, as she stepped closer, she saw that the books were covered in a fine layer of dust. And, after Kawazu pulled [i]The Lady's Ways[/i] off a shelf, he set it on a dimly lit table surrounded only by stiff, uncomfortable-looking chairs. [i]Ah ha[/i], thought Twiggy, realizing what the problem with the place was. [i]This room and these books are not owned by people who love reading.[/i] The book Kawazu had placed before them, however, was beautiful: it had tooled leather covers and, as he opened it, Twiggy glimpsed rich illuminations accompanying the steady hand of a master scribe. Kawazu began flipping pages, but Mena held out her hand to stop him. "If you would be so kind, Seneschal, we will take it from here," she said. Kawazu looked nonplussed. "It is unacceptable for me to leave you in here alone with the collection," he said. "These are valuable books—not that you would harm them deliberately, of course, but unintentional damage—" "I am quite certain we will handle your lord's books with great care," said Mena. "We [i]love[/i] books," Twiggy explained. "These books are unusually special," said Kawazu, continuing to balk. "They belonged to my Lady Nishi's father—most of them were copied and decorated by his own hand—" "Did he do this one?" asked Twiggy, glancing again at the fine scribal hand on the pages of [i]The Lady's Ways[/i]. "Yes," Kawazu said warily. "It is crucial that our investigation be untainted by your influence," said Kormick. "I propose a compromise. Step aside and let us work, but remain in the room and tell us to stop if we—I don't know, set fire to things or whatever it is you fear." "Not so long ago, the Inquisition would eagerly have burned these books," said Kawazu, without humor. "Those days are past now," said Savina. "You can trust us. Please?" Twiggy glimpsed Nyoko twitch with some kind of impatience, but Kawazu relented. He took up a silent and watchful position by the door. As soon as he was out of the way, Twiggy, Mena, and Savina practically pounced on the book. Mena began turning pages with great care. They flipped past page after page of Alirrian aphorisms, Alirrian prayers, and Alirrian rites. The text was sparse, and there were lots of pictures. It was not, Twiggy thought, a particularly deep book. In fact, though it was beautiful, its content was bland and so obviously orthodox that nobody even needed Savina to confirm it. Then, finally, on a page just like the others, they found it: "The Rite of Joyous Union." They leaned in closer to read… [i]As two people are joined in joyous union into one family, and as all who owe their allegiance to their liege lord are unto them as part of a family, so too shall the liege be made part of the family by taking one of the partners to their bed the night before the wedding.[/i] There was a silence as they all took it in. "Lord Kawazu, you said that Lady Nishi's father copied this book?" said Tavi finally. "Indeed, Inquisitor-san. He was a fine scribe; these books were his in every sense of the word." "And where is he now?" "He died of pneumonia nearly a year ago." "Well, if we cannot talk to the man himself," said Savina, "then I think it's time we spoke with his daughter." ### As the party waited in Lady Nishi's parlor for her appearance—and she seemed to be taking her time—Nyoko decided to bring up something that had been troubling her. "Honored heathens, if I may…" she ventured. Nearly as one, they all politely turned to her. "Yes, Nyoko-san?" asked Savina curiously. Nyoko stared at them, in their solemn Inquisitorial robes, and wondered how to say what needed to be said. "You—" she began. "You might need to know—You are the [i]least[/i] convincing Inquisitors [i]ever[/i]! How do you expect to get anywhere by being so [i]nice[/i]?" She had not expected to let the words burst out in quite that way, but she had spent the entire morning being so flummoxed. There was a slight pause as the party absorbed her words. "I have been accused of being many things," said Kormick. "'Nice' is not one of them." "Honored Justicar," said Nyoko, "I happen to think that you [i]are[/i] nice, in your way, and I appreciate that. I appreciate that about all of you: you say please, you offer compromises. But while you are acting as Inquisitors, you [i]must[/i] be cold, aloof, and dangerous." "I hope you're not suggesting that we should have killed that peasant who did not bow to us on the road," said Mena, sounding cold, aloof, and dangerous. "It would not be my role to suggest such things or not," said Nyoko. "I merely point out a matter of protocol. You did not teach him to respect you as he ought. The same is true here, with Seneschal Kawazu-san, for example. If you don’t command proper respect, you will get none." "But surely respect can be earned in many ways," said Savina. "Sometimes you earn it by making people feel comfortable and respected themselves." "Savina, again you surprise me with your knowledge of Undian tactics," said Kormick. "I wouldn't have believed you knew about the Mutton Jig." There was another pause. "I'm sorry?" "You know, you know: when you lure the mark in for a rich meal and many drinks before stabbing him in his very full gut. That said, Lady Nyoko, I also take your point. There may come a time when straightforward force is required." Nyoko seized the opening. "I propose a system of signs," she said. "If, during the rest of the investigation, you say or do something that is far too friendly for an Inquisitor, I will stroke my eyebrow." She demonstrated carefully. "If circumstances become such that you ought to threaten them with the full weight of your Inquisitorial power, I will tug on my ear." She wasn't sure they were paying as much attention as they should. Savina, for example, was still gaping at the Justicar's reference to his homeland's dismal-sounding mealtime traditions. [i]That's all I can do,[/i] Nyoko concluded silently. [i]Anything more, and I'll be interfering with an Inquisition, not simply offering instruction about protocol.[/i] Nyoko bit her tongue, and moments later, the door opened. As Lady Nishi stepped into the room, emanating privilege and resistance, Nyoko waited to see how these inexperienced Inquisitors answered the noblewoman's silent challenge. [/QUOTE]
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